Starting Another Round

Phase 2

Day 1

Weight: 137.6 lbs

Previous Round LIW: 126.8 lbs

Difference: +11.2 pounds

I decided to start another phase but this time I am trying sublingual drops. I bought the injection HCG, mixed it with 5mls of water and added another 5 mls of Titos Vodka. I got the recipe from My HCG Journey. I've always read that you build up less of a tolerance with sublingual drops. It has been about 6-7 months since my last round and I was ridiculously hungry during the the entire thing. I was getting so discouraged. I was also unable to maintain my weight as well as I did in previous rounds.

Today was my first VLCD (Very Low Calorie Day). I had read that we could add Miracle Noodles/Rice to the HCG diet and was very curious. When I found them at my local Whole Foods I was excited about trying them.

HCG Diet Journey has some information on them being successfully used with the HCG plan. Others have stated it was not helpful and made them stall. I'm going to try them every now and then and see if I have any adverse affects. I had about a 1/4 cup with my VLCD meals today. 

The most compelling argument against using miracle noodles is from the HCG Diet 411 website.

"Mirical Noodles.Unfortunately, I've got some bad news for folks.  I've been doing a lot of research on the konnyaku/miracle noodles/glucomannan flour, and I do have some answers for you.

First, Miracle Noodles, Shirataki Noodles, Glucomannan Powder, Konnyaku, and Konjac Flour are all basically the same thing in different names and shapes.  It's a traditional japanese and chinese food that they've been eating for hundreds if not thousands of years.  It's safe, natural, and genuinely good for you.

Glucomannan is a soluble fiber that is indigestible by the human body - hence all it's health claims and advertisements – and the ‘zero calorie’ label.  What is not reported, except in medical journals, is that the more soluble a fiber is, the more it is fermented by microflora - gut bacteria in your large intestine.    As a result, glucomannan is 90%-100% fermented into waste products (gasses: methane which is ‘excreted’ from the colon and co2 and h2 absorbed by the blood and breathed out) and short chain fatty acids (specifically acetate, propionate, and butyrate) which are then immediately absorbed by the body as caloric nutrients and metabolized, mostly by the liver and colon.

As a result, people who naturally have intestinal flora that can successfully break down the glucomannan will be able to derive metabolic nutrients and calories from eating it, and will also be drawing nutrients and suppressing adipose tissue lipolysis, a fancy medical term meaning it makes the bad/spare-tire fat cells assume they don't need to release any of their fat stores.

On P3, or on a normal diet, the additional benefits of glucomannan that are covered by all the advertisements make it a great food.  Using the tofu-shirataki noodles (which are MUCH more pasta-like, but the tofu is barred on P2) are a good dietary choice.  Using konjac flour as a thickener and eating the shirataki noodles or miracle noodles in whatever shape you choose goes terrific with asian dishes, and is a very healthy choice.  The glucomannan fermentation and absorption is really a very positive digestive function, promoting a healthy digestive system.

The devil comes in P2, where HCG 'opens up' your metabolism.  The short chain fatty acids that are the principal result of the fermentation of glucomannan thus play a far greater role in your 'open' metabolism, blocking the release of the stored fatty acids in your adipose (bad fat) tissue and providing energy for your internal organs that would otherwise be drawn from your stored fat.

For now, the shiratake, tofu-shiratake, and miracle noodles will be going into the fridge for storage until P3.  The konjac flour will be staying in a tiny spice bottle on the shelf, next to the stevia and erythritol, where I expect to use 1/4 to 1/8th of a teaspoon at a time as a soup and sauce thickener.

Good luck folks, now I'm off to make some fake sweet and sour chicken. : ) "


     

Eat Your Vegetables

Today's Weight: 135.0

2 days ago weight: 132.4 lbs

LIW: 126.8 lbs

LIW Difference: + 8.2 lbs

Weight gain is due to me eating gluten infested bread. I wanted to eat some Mexican sweet bread and I'm paying for it.

I'm trying to have a different outlook on eating. I'm almost 10 pounds heavier than my last injection weight and I'm not fitting well into my pants, some don't zip up any more. It's distressing but I'm going to attempt to do my correction days and stick to the diet better, that's all I can do.

One of the things I've done is taken the plunge into farm grown vegetables. One of the best things I could do for my weight control is to eat more vegetables. I've been trying to adhere to the Paleo diet except I don't tolerate the nuts but I still find myself over eating on the high calorie foods. I also binge eat. I use to not binge eat prior to doing HCG.

I got a box of fresh local veggies grown by my friend and fellow roller girl. She owns and runs her own farm Johnson's Backyard Organics in Austin, TX. I was scared to try it since I have no idea what some of these vegetables are! That was another sign that I needed to eat more vegetables.



I have to admit, I tried to eat the fennel stalk because I thought it was dill! Thank goodness for You Tube.

I decided to take one beet, the fennel bulb, carrots, some garlic and a zucchini I found in my fridge and loosely followed this recipe for a Roasted Fennel and Carrot Salad.

I have to have easy recipes. I am easily intimidated by cooking. I tend to throw things together, never measuring ingredients. Again, this adds to my inability to keep my weight under control. I'm over weight because I eat the wrong things, plain and simple. I'm going to keep on and not give up though.

I Fell Off The Wagon

Today's Weight: 135.2

Weekly Summary
Mon 3/18: 131.6
Tue 3/19: didn't weight myself
Wed 3/20: didn't weight myself
Thur 3/21: 139.8 (I was so angry at myself for letting my weight climb so much!)
Fri 3/23: 137.8
Sat 3/24: 135.2

Phase 4

I've been doing correction days since Thursday when I reached 139.8 lbs! Amazing how I can do that in a matter of 3 days. I weighed 131.6 on Sunday and by Thursday I was almost seeing the 140's! Part of that weight gain is because I went off the wagon and I not only drank yummy bloody mary's but ate gluten and almond butter. I just wanted to eat a little bit because I missed sweet bread so much that I just went crazy. I'm working on modified correction days. I have a job interview and have to fit in my brand new suit I bought by Tuesday morning! I know part of it was emotional eating because I'm nervous about this job interview. Notice I didn't weight myself for two days because I knew I didn't want to stop myself from eating! If I would have gained a lot on Tuesday I would have cut myself off the bread and almond butter but noooooooooo I intentionally didn't want to know! Part of why I don't update my blog as much is because I don't want to acknowledge that I have been eating more than I should or eating the wrong foods. I'm trying not to panic and I am going to make myself do better!

Frustrations and Setbacks

Today's weight- 135.4

2 days agp 131.6

PTOM has messed up my dieting. I'm so frustrated. I ened tearing cartliage off my rib in roller derby and began taking steroids to bring down the inflammation. I also took some non steroidal anti inflammatory pain killers. With swelling for the actual injurie and the additional water I was retaining due to the medicines I was gaining back almost all the weight I had lost. It began freaking me out so I stopped taking all the meds and just suffered the pain. Itso going on three weeks and I have gotten a rib protector vest that in combination with ibprophen makes playing roller derby tolerable. But all the pills and emotional eating from the pain it has made me gain weight and that makes me so mad. I'm trying to do correction days and if I go down in weight tomoorrow then I will feel tons better.

I never wanted to see 130 ever again and now I am at 135!!! :(

Coconut Flour Pancakes

Weight: 131.4

Phase 3 and 4 combo

picture from The Unrefined Kitchen

I have gotten on a coconut flour pancake kick. It's phase 3 and phase 4 safe. I use different recipes and since I am not a very patient cook I acutally mix the ingredients in my smoothie blender and pour it onto an electric grill. I refridgerate a portion and freeze a portion. I usually use blueberries with sugar free pancake syrup for a topping. I've noticed you have to make them small to flip them so I'll post different recipes from different sites since everyone seems to make them a little different.

This recipe is from Nourishing Days:

Fluffly Coconut Flour Pancakes

Recipe Notes: Both cow and coconut milk work well in this recipe. You can also add cinnamon or fruit as desired. Just keep the pancakes small and watch them so they don’t burn.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup milk (raw cow’s or coconut both work)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon honey or a pinch of stevia
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• coconut oil or butter for frying

Directions

1. Preheat griddle over medium-low heat. In a small bowl beat eggs until frothy, about two minutes. Mix in milk, vanilla, and honey or stevia.
2. In a medium-sized bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt and whisk together. Stir wet mixture into dry until coconut flour is incorporated.
3. Grease pan with butter or coconut oil. Ladle a few tablespoons of batter into pan for each pancake. Spread out slightly with the back of a spoon. The pancakes should be 2-3 inches in diameter and fairly thick. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the tops dry out slightly and the bottoms start to brown. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
4. Serve hot with butter, coconut oil, honey, syrup, or fruit.

Savory Coconut Pancakes
from nomnompaleo.com

 

• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon of butter

1. Beat the eggs and coconut flour together with a pinch of salt.

2. Over medium heat, melt ½ tablespoon of butter in an 8-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet.

3. Pour in half the batter. When the edges turn golden brown (about 2 minutes), flip the pancake over and cook for another minute or so.

4. Repeat with the remaining batter.

 
(Makes two 8-inch pancakes)

Check out Nom Nom Paleo for lots of great pictures on how to.
Finally from The Unrefined Kitchen:

Coconut Flour Pancakes

Ingredients:
5 eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce or pear sauce
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
cinnamon to taste (I do a pinch)
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. honey (optional)
(Optional) add-ins such as berries or dark chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Heat large skillet or pancake griddle. (I heat a griddle to 325 degrees.)
2. Mix all ingredients together except add-ins. Mix with electric mixer or immersion blender. Let batter sit for 5 minutes so that it will thicken.
3. Carefully fold in berries or chocolate chips or other add-ins.
4. Grease griddle or skillet with butter or coconut oil.
5. Use 1/4 cup measuring cup to ladle pancake batter onto hot griddle or skillet.
6. Cook 3-4 minutes per side (if set at 325) or until it bubbles and is easy to flip.
7. Flip pancakes and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

*Serve with butter, pure maple syrup and fresh fruit. Enjoy!

Reward Eating

Weight: 131.2

Phase3 and Phase 4 combo

My updates get further and few in between but only because I'm trying not to obsess about my weight. I try to think about my weight maintance as a simple everyday thing that doesn't require much attention. Though of course we all know it's a constant struggle to not give into temptation and eat until you're happy. Eating makes me happy, I admit it. A significant component of my weight gain is emotional eating or "reward" eating. I think, "I worked out today I deserve a cookie". Of course it's never one cookie either, it's a handful of cookies. Oops. Did those cookies just jump in my mouth? I have been trying not to do that lately. I'm still keeping to a gluten & nut free diet and I try to minimize the amount of dairy I consume. I also continue to take Dexatrim which I'm ashamed to admit since I know they are not healthy but I get so hungry without them. I'm taking it one step at a time though and am not going to try to give up all my vices at once or it's a sure road to failure.

I did sneak a mini- round of HCG about a month ago and I was able to get to 126.8 lbs. My lifetime goal is 125 which is the high end weight for my recommended height/body type. I'm still trying to do correction days to get within 2 pounds. The more I exercise the more hungry I get and it is more difficult not to over eat or give into carb cravings and the more I want to "reward" myself.

I take it day by day. I have not been eating after 6:00pm and that has really helped keep my weight  from sky rocketing. I've made it through one more day today!

I have some updated photos.

Me prior to HCG, about 165 lbs

After HCG, about 135 lbs

I don't have any recent pictures of me full body but you can see the weight loss in my face. I'm always embarassed to post pictures but I know I love to see before and after pictures of other people and always admire their courage to post them. I guess it's only fair that I post some also. 

Psychological Hunger

LIW 131.6 lbs

Today's Weight: not taken

Yesterday's Weight: 131.8

I have figured out that a significant part of my problem for keeping my weight off is psychological hunger and "eating until satisfied". I've often thought that the biggest flaw in Dr. Simmons HCG diet is phase 3 and 4 ambiguity on those 3 little words. Seems so simple. Just eat until you are not hungry any more. I've noticed there is a disconnect between my brain and my stomach. I don't know when I'm truly hungry or satisfied or when I am still in need of calories to sustain my metabolic activity. The sad reality is that I need a lot less than I want. When I eat enough to maintain my current body weight it seems like I am still starving myself. Other people notice too. I wouldn't be surprised to find myself walking into a room filled with my friends, family and Intervention tv film crew. It's understandable that they would be concerned being that keeping my weight down is such an all consuming commitment. An obsession. Oh crap, it does sound like some sort of eating disorder. I have to get control over the psychological hunger. Is there a healthy way of doing that?