Weight Today

152.8 lbs

Hurray. I won't cheer too much, I actually broke down last night and ate a big o'l chocolate chip cookie. I'm sure it's going to show on the scale.

Diet Pills Help

I must admit, diet pills help. Today I took some over the counter diet pills and they helped a lot. I've been hungry through out the diet. I know a lot of people say they don't feel hungry but I wasn't lucky enough to be one of those people. The only bad thing is that it's given me the jitters pretty bad. Oh well. Last night I couldn't stand it any longer and I ate 4 small chocolate covered cookies. I was so happy eating them, I gained a little bit from yesterday, 154.4 to 155.2 but I think it was worth it. :) 7 days to go!

Today's WEight

157.2

Had To Have The Cookie

Yesterday's Weight: 156.8 lbs
# of Days on Injection and low calorie diet: 14 days

Yesterday I had less resolve, probably due to monthly women issues. I did read that you don't really lose weight during this time and that some even stop the injections for a few days. I'm going to continue the injections and continue the VLCD (very low calorie diet). Except I felt much more hungry yesterday. I kept craving sweets or starches. I finally gave in with a one melba toast, 1 semi sweet chocolate chip, and 2 small chocolate covered cookies. I decided I was going to forgo the weight loss and even risk some weight gain. I will post the weight from this morning a little bit later since I haven't weighted myself yet. I notice  that if I do it first thing in the morning I'm retaining a bit more water than if I give it about 15 minutes.

Today's Weight

Today's Weight: 157.8

I was able to finish reading the book HCG Diet Made Simple and it was a really good book. They not only have recipes that 'spice' up your diet on Phase 2 but also some great information on how to survive the diet and various reasons why one may stall. Also it has a big portion of how to do it yourself and where to order the HCG from if you are interested in skipping the doctor's visits.

Weight

Weight this am after the biscotti and melba toasts: 158.8lbs

Initial Diet Weight: 170.2

Biscotti Happy Dance

To my horror this morning my husband let me know that last night I ate a piece of biscotti and 3 melba toasts. I take Ambien at night to sleep because with this diet I find I can't go to sleep. All I remember is going to bed with my HCG diet book. He said I got up and came back with an opened box of melba toasts and he took them away but I had eaten 2. He said I came back with a biscotti SMILING. He said I proceeded to assure to him that I'm allowed to eat biscottis on this diet. I was insistant so he said he broke off a piece and I was so happy that I did a happy dance and devoured the piece of biscotti. No wonder I'm not losing as much weight as I would expect. I'm sticking to the diet but at night under the influence of sleeping pills I'm walking around doing happy dances with food. I kinda didn't believe my husband since I have no memory of this. But sure enough. I found a half eaten biscotti on top of the stove and an open melba toast box. The box was opened from the bottom and had a whole torn into the box on one side. I must have torn my way through a corner. My husband now has strict orders not to allow me out of his sight and to not provide me with any food no matter how much I insist it's on my diet.

Weight Summary

Initial Weight: 170.2 lbs
Today's Weight: 159.2 lbs
Total Number of days on Diet: 11 days

Break 160lb

Finally! I don't know what happened there for the last 2 days but 160 just kept looming around. One day I even went up appx. a pound. WTF?! It was the night I had done 2 hours of straight roller skating! I'm chalking it up to water retention and continuing onward through the fog.

I've still been wanting to eat a cookie and 3 nights ago I had a break down and ate 5 teeny tiny organic semi sweet chocolate chips. I couldn't help myself! I saw my hand moving towards the bag and it was like an out of body experience. Ok, maybe the Ambien I took to go to sleep had something to do with it. I just can't sleep on this HCG. Thankfully I have a lot of energy and I'm not tired. It's crazy. I'm really happy I'm losing weight. I'd still kill for a snickerdoodle cookie.

A Cookie! Just A Little Piece

How I'd love to have a cookie. Any kind. Not picky. Chocolate chip, snickerdoodle. Just a little piece.

I'm really craving something with flour. This must be what a crackhead feels like when he/she is deprived of their next hit. I'm a little moody and grouchy but nothing too bad. I wasn't as hungry today throughout the day and eating 96% fat free cow helped tonight.

I've noticed I get colder easier. I was always one of those people that NEVER got cold and froze everyone out. I actually wore a sweater all day today and it was in the 60's. I'm assuming that has to be a side effect of the HCG. I've also noticed I've had trouble sleeping at night. I have a lot of energy and rarely get tired. I'm also assuming that is a side effect of the HCG because I'm usually always tired and fatigued.

I'm not complaining about the 1 lb loss but I sure do hope that I break 160 lb tomorrow.

1 Pound

Weight 160.8

One More Day Down

I don't think it was as tough this afternoon. I got hungry but hopefully it's getting better. This afternoon I grilled 3.5 oz of tilapia. If I can break 160 lb by tomorrow morning I'll be so happy! One more day down, a bunch to go.

Weenie and Derby

Weight: 161.6
Initial: 170.2
Daily Loss: 3.2 lbs
Total Loss: 8.4 lbs

I'm very happy with my weight. That's all I try to focus on when I get hungry. I get much hungrier in the afternoon and evening. It's tough!

Yesterday I weenied out of boot camp yesterday mainly because I had some child care issues but I was concerned with the low calorie diet and exercising for 2 hours. But this morning I womaned up and went to my roller derby training. I was amazed that I didn't feel hungry or dizzy. It was fine. Roller derby is in the morning though right after my shot and I wonder if that has anything to do with it. You definitely feel with more energy and alertness right after the shot. Well, I've off to eat my 3.5 oz of chicken and 3.5 oz of cucumbers.

I Am Not A Cook!

I am by no means now or have I ever been a cook. I manage but that's about it. The worst part of all is that I don't like to cook. This makes dieting, especially such a strict diet, extra difficult. I've read other blogs and people talk about the neat recipes they've tried using the limited ingrediants during Phase 2. I think if I have to make cook from recipes it will make the diet totally unbearable. I failed at the South Beach Diet for that reason alone. Earlier this week I went to Cosco and bought chicken breasts. I weighed them out to exactly 3.5 oz with my new digital scale. I was little surprised at what 3.5 oz was. I knew it was a small amount, about as big as a deck of cards there was a lot of variation in the size of the chicken. Some pieces were as big as morsals and didn't look significantly thicker but weighed more than some of the other "bigger" pieces. Your allowed 2 meats a day, each weighing 3.5 oz (raw). I put each 3.5 oz piece in ziplock bags after I grilled them with only salt and steak seasoning. Hey, it was yummy. And when your hungry it's the best bland chicken ever. You also get an alloitment of 2 portion of 3.5 oz of certain veggies. I'll post what a typical meal looks like to give those contemplating this venture a clue of what those portions look like.

Focus Focus Focus

I've just gotten through eating my 1 fruit snack (only 2 fruits are allowed). I ate an apple. I had tea for breakfast (skipped breakfast). I have to admit that every time I get a hunger cramp I get a little bit woozy. I'm about to go to my physical fitness boot camp and I'm really hoping that I"ll be able to maintain a high level of exercise on such little calories. All I can do is attempt it. I'm tempted to wear my roller derby helmet just in case I faint, I don't want to hit my head... oh wait, that might actually knock some sense into me!

I know anybody who is on a 500 calorie diet is going to lose weight. Unless you have so medical issue that is totally unheard of then it's just simple math. I understand that the HCG makes you burn about 2000 calories and I think it takes something crazy like -3000 to lose a pound. The problem I've always had in the past is that I couldn't do a low calorie diet, even a 1200 calorie diet, because it would lower my blood sugar too much due to my hypoglycemia issues. I took diet pills and wasn't hungry but quickly got dizzy, shaky, blurred vision, angry, and finally just dropped. Since the HCG is helping my body keep fueled with long term fat reserves I think it's keeping me from having those huge drops in sugar. My body is weird, the more I exercise the more I gain weight even if I keep my caloric intake low. I might be consuming more calories to off set the blood sugar and not really notice maybe. Who knows. But it's not muscle. People say it's muscle but muscle doesn't jiggle and make you not fit into your pants. The more cardio I did the more weight I would gain. I would let off exercising and then would lose it without dieting. If I dieted and exercised with out the HCG I noticed I was dropping my sugar levels, feeling ill and had a huge headache. And I still gained the weight. My theory is that I'm one of those people that have a screwed up hypothalamus and "it" tends to panic when I'm stressing my body and it goes into FAMINE MODE. Store, store, store the fat. That's my theory any way. The HCG has mad e a real different these last few days and I hope I don't go crazy and attack a cow as I'm driving to boot camp.

No pain no gain... I mean loss

Weight: 164.8 lbs

I lost about 3 pounds. That's about 5 pounds total since I started on Tuesday. I'm very excited and feel the diet is well worth it. I'm about to go start my day. I will update as I go along.

10 pm and hungry

I have to admit, I'm hungry. Not horrible hungry but hungry. I'm feeling a little light headed but I don't have a headache and that's the important part. In other people's blogs it always seemed they weren't as hungry! Maybe I didn't 'load up' on fats enough. Who knows. Only 4 days into the three week diet part II phase and many more days to go. :( I'll see if the weigh in tomorrow is worth all this. :))

In the beginning...

I never was the type to get into blogging. But once I began this "extreme" diet I decided it was time to start typing. I'm sure that the saying is true..."misery loves company" and so it begins...


A few weeks ago I was sitting in a hair styling chair getting my hair done. I noticed my hair stylist was periodically sniffing the air and making comments under her breath such as, "that smells good" and "God, I'm hungry". I took pity on her soul and let her know I was more than ok if she wanted to stop and get something to eat. She appeared surprised. I don't think she even knew she was talking out loud. "I'm on this new HCD diet" she said. "I can't eat anything but 500 calories a day" she said sadly. She must have noticed the look of total shock on my face and quickly followed it up with, "...but it's doctor approved and supervised diet, I take daily injections of this hormone..." She must have noticed the look of shock on my face was not wavering. Now, I should quickly mention here that I'm not from the USA and I come from a third world country. I'm a firm believer in if I can catch it I can eat it. People aren't vegetarians. Iguanas are vegetarians. And nobody, including iguanas, should be on a 500 calorie a day diet. "I've already lost 30 lbs in 1 month" she said proudly. Holly iguanas! I'd been wanting to lose some weight. I participate in a physical fitness boot camp 3x a week and derby for 2x a week but I always seem to gain weight when I exercise. Everyone in my house is under weight and we are very conscious of eating well (no additives, no hormone, happy cows and happy chicken eggs only). I only wanted to lose 15lbs, just a measly 15 pounds. I quickly calculated that in my head. 2 weeks. Just 2 weeks right? Of course, I knew better than this but my weight was really bothering me so I found a doctor and went on this crazy not for iguana diet.


Monday January 11th:
I arrive on time at my doctor's appointment. Dr. G explains the diet to me, goes over my medical history, and takes some blood. For those of you who are unaware it's a 500 calorie diet for the first 3 weeks in combination with daily injections of the pregnancy hormone HCG. I passed my physical but there were some concerns. I suffer from hypoglycemia due to poly cystic ovarian syndrome and take metaformin to control my blood sugar. He was concerned that with the amount of exercise that I do it might not be a good idea to continue the metaformin. The nurse warned me of the side effects including hunger and crazy mood swings. Focus on the 15 lbs I kept telling myself. Focus. Focus. Focus.


Tuesday, January 12th
Got my medication 
Injection #: 1
Phase 1
Initial Weight: 169
4pm: I went home and quickly drew up the medication and injected myself in my right thigh. I felt a bit light headed but I don't think that had anything to do with the medication I just get light headed when I see needles. The actual needle is so thin and I held the skin pretty taunt between my fingers that the shot itself did not hurt. Hurray!  I went to my physical fitness boot camp for 1 1/2 hours and didn't feel any different. I dreaded getting some sort of headache the most. I didn't get one. I was happy.


Phase one of the diet is the 'fun part'. You have to eat fatty food to "load" and prepare for the following weeks. I thought it was going to be funner than it was. I was only able to put down a few fried pickles and few chicken wings. I'm not use to eating that much fatty food but I sacrificed myself. ;)


Wednesday, January 13
Injection #: 2
Initial Weight: 169
Current Weight: 169
Daily Weight Loss: 0
Phase 1


I continued to eat fatty foods including a hamburger and fries. I felt miserable all day. I hate eating that badly 2 days in a row. I'm glad I didn't have boot camp that evening or I would have passed out for sure. I did put down a mighty pint of ice cream though!


The second injection hurt a bit more than the first. I self administered it on my left thigh. I think my skin was somewhat dry and I actually heard the needle make a scraping noise as it was going in. That made me feel woozy but I lived. 


Thursday, 1/14
Injection #: 3
Initial Weight: 169
Current Weight: 170.2 lb
Loss: none, actually gained 1lb
Phase 1, starting Phase 2


I was still fat loading during the day and after my third injection at night I began my diet. I went and bought a digital food weight at Target. I weighed out 3.5 oz of raw chicken breast and 3.5 oz of salad greens. I also had a big glass of tea. I cooked the chicken and ate it all up. Not too bad. I wasn't hungry afterwards. Geez, could this really not be THAT bad? The HCG is suppose to control your hungry and it seemed like it was working.


Friday, 1/15
Injection: #4
Weight in AM: 168.6
Loss: almost 2 lbs
Phase 2


During the morning I omitted breakfast as I was told. It wasn't too tough and I had a fruit snack, 1/2 grapefruit, at 10am. I ran some errands and came home a bit hungry but not too bad. I ate the 3.5 oz of meat and 3.5 oz of veggies. I was happy. It was 3:00pm and I wasn't near death. I didn't have a headache. I didn't feel overly odd. I felt a little bit light headed but most of the time I was overly concerned with the possibility that I might be hungry. 4 p.m rolled by and I was getting hungry. I could have 5 strawberries for the day so I ate one. By 5 p.m. it sucked. I was hungry. Iguanas are yummy you know. They make good soup. Ug! That's when I started blogging. 5 p.m. I ate strawberry number 2. 5:30pm I had to bust out the 3.5 oz of chicken. I put a lot of seasoning on it and ate it with the 3.5 oz of veggies (tomato and spinach- though I thought tomato was a fruit). Christ I was getting hungry. I was surprised I wasn't grouchy, moody, or had a headache. I have gotten "hot flashes" these last 2 days on and off. I ate my dinner very slowly. Cutting up the food in tiny morsels. I even licked my plate! Hey, don't hate. I'm from a third world country remember. I can do that. :)


I'm not as hungry now. In fact, I'm surprised how filling the food was. Blogging has helped. I highly recommend blogging or having a diary if you are contemplating this diet. I read a lot of information from other bloggers and they give you the nitty gritty. Grits? Anyone say grits?