Almond Flour

I have to admit I am looking forward to being able to eat almond flour in Phase 3. I hope I don't gain on it but have heard good things about both almond flour and coconut flour. In the HCG Diet Made Simple book the writer states that "flours, rices and grains DO contain starches, EXCEPT for almond flour, which contains 1.03 grams of starch in every 100 grams and coconut flour contains none." Also almond flour is considered a "superfood". It is highly nutritious that is low in carbs and packed with vitamins, minerals and good fats. In Elana Amsterdam's book the Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook she provides readers with a breakdown of the nutritional values of almond flour vs. other flours. It's crazy!

For 100 grams of each floor they contain the following:
                                  
Almond Flour: 21.94 g of protein    <1 GI (glycemic index)     10.4 g of fiber
White Weat Flour: 9.71 g                71 GI                                   2.4 g of fiber
Rice Flour: 5.95 b of protein            98 GI                                  2.4 g of fiber


You can actually make sandwich bread and hamburger buns with almond flour. I've really learned to LOVE it! My son is a picky eater and since almond flour is so rich in proteins, fiber and vitamins/minerals I sneak almond floor into anything I can. Tonight I made him some matzo balls that I later use for "rice". If you cook the boiled matzo balls, smash them up and make a mock tortilla. You can use almond flour to "bread" veggies like zuccinis and pickles. As soon as I get to that face I'm going to share all my recipes with you all. I hope it helps! I mean...pizza! We can have pizza!!! Oh I'm so excited.

The Quinoa Debate

To my dismay, quinoa appears to be higher in the GI index than is acceptable on Phase 3. According to the book HCG Made Simple quinoa has a GI (glycemic load) of 10 for every 3.5 oz or 100 grams. 

Congratulations to all HCGers

Today's Weight: 140.6 lbs
Yesterday: 140.4 lbs

Round 2 VLCD #21

I did better during the day yesterday but still ended up eating a yogurt, apple, some toffee peanuts and chocolate chips at night. I felt I did better during the day though because I felt I didn't pick at food throughout the day as much as I have been. I also keep spotting heavier but no TOM. I have endometriosis and cysts so I tend to have bad hormonal surges every now and then. I'm sure the HCG and TOM issues have something to do with it. Last night I was ready to throw in the towel. I just wanted to get off the diet and forget about losing weight. I have had a more difficult round this time around and I started at a higher dose. I think that might have had something to do with it. I'm getting leg cramps at night and feel exhausted. It's ok though. I'm committed again today. I have roller derby practice tomorrow evening and might skip it again. I think that helped on Sunday. I skipped it because I just felt outright weak.

Even with all that said I think having HCG and the diet has provided me with a great opportunity that I didn't had before to lose weight. All that exercise and food restrictions with nothing to show for it. I've only lost a total of about 6 pounds for these 21 days being that I really started to "mess up" about a week ago. Again I keep telling myself it's ok. Each round is going to be different and each person is different. For those of you out there that are not having as much success due to "cheating" on the diet tell yourself it's ok and keep going. There is nothing "wrong". There are so many factors that can alter your success rate. The potency of the HCG, the delivery method, hormonal changes, TOM, and stress to name only a few. So even though I love to read everyone's blogs and am happy to read your success stories I have to admit I secretly feel a bit sad that I haven't been able to lose as much or keep as committed. It's easy to fall into a state of negative thinking and feel helpless and hopeless. So for those of you out there who have the same issues... it's ok. Your 6 pounds is not someone else's 16 pounds but it's YOUR hard fought 6 pounds! :) Re-focus and re-commit. Forgive yourself for the handful of chocolate chips and let it go. It's pretty awesome that you have committed to such a huge life style change. So to everyone out there congratulations and let's all keep on losing! I'm gonna go have a cup of hot tea now.