tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89120049931372781292024-02-20T23:27:19.031-08:00My HCG JourneyMy thoughts and ramblings while on HCGJoannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-6952925695211196482011-02-27T00:59:00.000-08:002011-02-27T00:59:44.929-08:00AfterwardsOK, so I'm off the HCG for the time being. I'm not sure if I'll do another round any time soon. There were a few things that bothered me. <br />
<br />
Firstly, there was the itchy-rashy side effect of injecting myself in the leg. It's not very seemly to be walking around in walmart scratching your leg above the knee the whole time. If I ended up on something similar to "people of walmart" well....let's just say it wouldn't surprise me.<br />
<br />
Secondly, there was the whole really limited diet that my family didn't really care to help me stay on. I honestly didn't want to eat the mac n' cheese my 4 year old had me taste, but he kept saying it was too hot. I had to show him it wasn't, or he wouldn't eat it. I know, poor excuse. I don't even <i>like</i> mac n' cheese!<br />
<br />
Thirdly, all the oils that decided to leave my body through my skin were not doing my complexion any favors. I have never been more broken out in my life (and I had <i>really</i> bad acne as a teenager). I've been off for about a month and am just barely getting my skin back to a manageable state.<br />
<br />
<br />
So, what have I decided to do instead? <br />
<br />
Well, I tried Power 90 (the "easier" version of P90X for those of you who've heard of it), and let's just say that it is incredibly hard, and I don't do yoga. Like really, I don't do yoga. I pretend to be on water breaks during the 5 minutes of yoga. I can do downward dog, and upward dog, but the whole plank to upward to plank to downward is too hard for me. I just can't do it.<br />
<br />
So, I have decided to run. Yes, that's right, run. Have you ever seen <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Run-Fat-Boy-Blu-ray/dp/B001D11A6S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1298796881&sr=8-2">"Run Fat Boy, Run</a>" ? Well, let's just say that watching me run is kind of like watching that movie, only without Simon Pegg. <br />
<br />
And when I say "run" what I really mean is: "only when it's not snowing, cold, or windy, and only then at a brisk walking pace." Yeah, there's not a whole lotta running involved. I'm working up to it. I even got this great app on my phone called Runkeeper. I've used it twice. Which is precisely how many times I've been "running". I had grand ideas of doing the SF 24th of July 5K this year...but then I started laughing at how ridiculous that sounded. Me? Run a 5K? Even walking a 5K at this point is a huge joke!<br />
<br />
I'll try to keep this updated as my progress well, progresses. I can safely say with certainty right now, though, that a 16 minute mile is by no means ideal, and I am trying to work that down to, say a 10 minute mile. hahaJoannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-46166267876476028492011-01-30T10:14:00.000-08:002011-01-30T10:14:46.241-08:00Paying the PriceSo, I cheated last week.<br />
<br />
I really didn't have much of a choice.<br />
<br />
<br />
Wednesday, Mike called me around 11 AM and said his truck got stuck in the snow in a pass between Clarkston and some other small town in northern Utah. I was not happy about this, but he said he was working with the mayor of Clarkston to get the truck out.<br />
<br />
At 1 PM I got another phone call from him. He was seriously stuck, and nothing could get him out. The tow truck company wouldn't go out that far to get him, and the mayor (in an attempt to pull him out with his truck) got him even more stuck in the snow. He was stranded, and needed me to come get him. Oh, yeah, the other fun part? He left his wallet in the truck, so he didn't have any money. (I was not pleased)<br />
<br />
I had been waiting for the arrival of the Munchkin's new bed, and it hadn't come yet. I told Mike I'd get someone to come wait for it and then we'd leave. I called his mom, who said she'd watch Munchkin while I made the 6+ hr roundtrip drive. As I was talking to her on the phone, the bed came (finally!) so I ran Munchkin over to her house and then drove off on my not-so-merry way.<br />
<br />
4 hours, a missed exit, and 3 missed turns later (which led me 50 minutes out of my way in a giant loop - not happy about that either), I was sitting in front of the town hall of Clarkston, waiting for Mike to show up. They'd ventured out with the city grader, hoping that could get up the pass and pull him out. It didn't work. We drove back in to Logan (another 40 minute drive) and found ourselves a hotel room. Luckily I had some spare money, because otherwise we would've been screwed.<br />
<br />
So, now we get to where I had to cheat. I was actually pretty good on Wednesday. I didn't have time to eat before I left, so I stopped at Carl's Jr. and ordered the low-carb burger. I ate the lettuce, tomato, and half of the hamburger patty. I ordered it without mayo, mustard, and ketchup, and then peeled the cheese off (because I forgot to ask for no cheese). That night we ate dinner at Subway in Logan. I had the oven roasted chicken breast salad. I put lots of veggies on, probably more than the 3.5 ounces I'm allowed, and used vinegar as a dressing. (I did cheat later at the hotel and I had a small chocolate chip cookie)<br />
<br />
Thursday morning was bad. We weren't sure when the deployment team from Mike's work was coming up to pull him out, and we didn't know how long it would be until we could eat again. (And by "we", I really mean "me") So, I ate breakfast. I had eggs, some yogurt (strictly for digestive purposes, since I had left my meds at home), and a danish of some sort. I had orange juice, too, because it was the least sugary drink they had there. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and went to explore Logan.<br />
<br />
Let me tell you, there's not much to do in Logan at 9:30 AM. We walked around a few stores before we decided to go to the cheese factory. Gossner's cheese is totally amazing. I have fond childhood memories of that place, and it makes really good cheese. We taste-tested a few samples, bought some smoked cheese curd, and enjoyed it in the car. For lunch we went to Cafe Rio and split a burrito. Yep, at least I wasn't eating a <i>ton</i> of bad, but really yummy, Mexican food! As we were eating lunch, the deployment team called to say they'd be there in less than an hour. We hurried back up to Clarkston, and I waited in the car while they pulled Mike's truck out. Poor thing has a majorly dented rear bumper and some damage to the front bumper. But at least it's out.<br />
<br />
By the time we got home, it was almost 6 PM. I don't even remember what we had for dinner, but it probably wasn't good for me either.<br />
<br />
I'm paying the price now, almost 5 days later. I still haven't gotten back to where I was pre-cheating. But, I'm not going to get too upset over it. I really didn't have a ton of control over the situation. I'm just glad it's over and I can get back to the diet. Of course, it's really hard now, because I <i>have</i> cheated, but I'm hoping to make it all work out.Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-65795834783351765072011-01-23T08:40:00.000-08:002011-01-23T08:40:04.801-08:00Day 4Today is the start of day 4. I'm not going to lie, yesterday was tough. This morning's been tough, too. But, I've already lost over 4 lbs, so it's worth it, right? <br />
<br />
I discovered some gum. Okay, okay, I know I "discovered" gum my very first round of HCG as well, but this is new! The Extra dessert flavors are fab! Well, I'm not a big fan of the strawberry shortcake, but the mint chocolate chip and the key lime pie are heavenly. My new favorite flavors by far. My husband says I chew too much gum when I'm on HCG, but the truth of it is, if I didn't chew the gum, I'd be snacking on something.....or starving and constantly complaining about it.<br />
<br />
So there you have it. The secret to my 4 lb weight loss success. Gum. Who'd have thunk it?Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-55824012435890849002011-01-20T11:14:00.000-08:002011-01-20T11:14:17.175-08:00Day 1I'm starting over today. I don't know why it is that diets are more successful when they're started at the beginning of the new year, but for some reason they are.<br />
<br />
So, here I am, Day 1 of my HCG shots (again!). <br />
<br />
So here's how I did last year:<br />
<br />
3 rounds. 35 lbs lost. 20 lbs gained. All in a 12 month span.<br />
<br />
Kind of depressing. Of course, I am still 15 lbs lighter this time of year than I was last year. That's a bonus, I guess.<br />
<br />
Also depressing is that last year when I started my 1st round, I was a rectangle. I had no waist. My measurements were all the same. Really depressing.<br />
<br />
Today I took my measurements and again, I am a rectangle. It's depressing.<br />
<br />
My only consolation prize for today is that soon I will have a waist again. My legs will be smaller, my neck won't be as fat, and I won't get heartburn from drinking water. Soon I will be skinny. Soon I will be down a hopeful 35 lbs.<br />
<br />
I just hope that I can stick with it. (We did get a new kind of needle that doesn't hurt as badly, so I think that will definitely help!)<br />
<br />
Wish me luck!!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-13044486068398600822010-10-21T00:42:00.000-07:002010-10-21T00:42:00.187-07:00ConfessionsI haven't been working out.<br />
<br />
I haven't been eating too healthy, either.<br />
<br />
Today I had In-n-Out burger for lunch (with a chocolate milkshake, of course!)<br />
<br />
I'm also addicted to Werther's original hard candies.<br />
<br />
I haven't weighed in 2 weeks, too.Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-44522626324463388062010-10-06T00:43:00.000-07:002010-10-06T00:43:46.638-07:00On My OwnIt's hard being good.<br />
<br />
It's hard finding time to work out.<br />
<br />
It's hard to eat healthy, when everyone around you isn't.<br />
<br />
But! I have purchased a whole bunch of those SmartOnes and Healthy Choice low-cal meals. I had one for dinner tonight. It was good, and only 350 calories. YAY!<br />
<br />
Of course, the 4 pink Lofthouse cookies and the piece of chocolate cake I had throughout the day didn't help.<br />
<br />
But, I did eat a salad at the Corner Bakery Cafe in SLC for lunch. And it wasn't the big salad. It was the "cafe" size (small). It was yummy.<br />
<br />
So, I'm going to try to be good with the food. Once the cookies and the cake are gone, that's it. <br />
<br />
I do need to focus more on finding the time to workout. I'm thinking about starting up on Turbo Jam again. I really would like to do P90X, but I'm so not in good enough shape to even attempt that! So, I think starting with Turbo Jam might be a good choice. Hopefully I'll be able to get some workouts in this week. *fingers crossed*Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-38789087437320611532010-09-29T22:28:00.000-07:002010-09-29T22:28:04.846-07:00AnnouncementI've decided to cut this round short. yes, instead of going the full 49 days, I will only be doing 23. This is a good thing. I plan on jumping right into some different workouts. We have a couple of new gyms in our area, and neither of them require contracts, so I'm hoping to give them a shot. We'll see. I may just stay home and workout there. But, this is definitely a good thing. Life is just so busy, even with a schedule, that I am struggling to stay on the diet. Finding the time to prepare the special food (and the money to buy the special food) is becoming harder as the holiday season approaches earlier than I anticipated. But, like I said, I'm good with this. I've lost about 8 lbs, so it's definitely a good jump start to my weight loss goal. :)Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-43699489536821609132010-09-28T09:50:00.000-07:002010-09-28T09:50:34.189-07:00ProgressOkay, so I know I promised an update yesterday, but yesterday was a really BAD day. And I cheated. But like I said: it was a <strong>really</strong> bad day.<br />
<br />
So, here's the progress so far: total lost: 8 lbs. Not as good as I would have hoped, but it is my 3rd round and I am starting lower than my first good round (a little higher than my 2nd round, but the same weight that I ended after cheating that whole 40 days). I haven't lost any weight for 3 days, but that's okay. I have lost a few inches total, but not a big enough difference to start jumping up and down. I'm hoping for some better progress next week.<br />
<br />
I'm debating whether or not I want to only do 23 days now, or the full 49. I haven't filled all of my needles yet, and I really think that maybe this would be a good, quick jump start and then I could work out and eat diet-y food without being so strict. I don't know. Hubs wants me to do the full 49 days. I guess we'll see what happens. I still have a week to decide.Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-76452590347892781452010-09-26T16:54:00.000-07:002010-09-26T16:54:04.645-07:00Caution: This post may be full of whining. Read at your own discretion!It's hot.<br />
<br />
And my swamp cooler is broken.<br />
<br />
And my apartment faces west, so it's really, REALLY, <strong><em>REALLY</em></strong> hot anytime between 11 AM and 8:30 PM.<br />
<br />
Also, it's Sunday. Church was hot. The walk to and from church was hot. And now I'm stuck at home, where it's.... Ready for this? HOT!<br />
<br />
I recall freezing my first two rounds of HCG. I'm wondering why it is that I am melting in this sweltering heat now. My SIL did HCG in July, when we went on family vacation up to Park City. She wore a sweater down to the pool while the rest of us were content in our bathing suits and towels. Yeah, I sure would appreciate being <em>that</em> cold right about now. <br />
<br />
I'm so hot that I'm half tempted to get in my hot car and drive to Walmart where I will then become the freak who gets stuck in the ice cream display. Yeah, that'll be me. When you see it on the news you can say, "Hey! That's the chick with the HCG blog that I read!" (Yes, all two of you! I know I'll be famous!)<br />
<br />
Also, I'm not nearly as tired as I was my first two rounds. I thought I was going to be exhausted this time around, too, but I just saw a spider on the ceiling and I have never gotten my butt up off the couch faster.<br />
<br />
I also just remembered that my DH brought one of our upstairs fans downstairs into the kitchen to blow the smoke outside from when I burned dinner last Tuesday. It never made it back upstairs. Yeah, guess who's smart? I am now sitting in the lap of luxury on my couch. That's right. The fan is blowing on me.<br />
<br />
Okay, so one problem solved, I guess.<br />
<br />
But the other problem remains: I am STARVING! And frustrated. I ate 3.5 lbs of fish last week, and only lost a couple of pounds.<br />
<br />
Okay, okay, so I cheated Monday. And Tuesday. And a little bit Wednesday. And maybe Thursday and Friday. Okay, I confess, I had a PBJ sandy on Saturday. But still! I only cheated a little at dinner time, and the rest of the day I was good! Besides, fish doesn't even have that many calories! I was probably well under my 500 calories before I cheated.<br />
<br />
Fine, I know. I shouldn't be cheating. It's just so dang tempting. Those stupid PBJ sandwiches that my 3 y.o. loves so much. They are so enticing. I had to make myself one...or four....just to remember how yummy they were.<br />
<br />
Okay, so here goes: I promise to behave this week (with the exception of Thursday, when we'll probably go out to dinner for my son's birthday. I make no promises for that day.) Where should we go? Goodwood BBQ? Pirate Island Pizza? CPK? Who knows. I'll report in later.<br />
<br />
One last thing before I go: I didn't take my measurements last week. Kind of totally forgot to do it. So I promise to take them tomorrow and report in with my total lost. Okay. I'm done whining now. Thanks for letting me vent!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-58511429114010555592010-09-21T10:24:00.000-07:002010-09-21T10:24:18.502-07:00I can't believe I did itI <em>cheated</em>. Yes, that's right. I cheated!<br />
<br />
What happened was this: <br />
<br />
It was Monday night, FHE you know (Family Home Evening) and we were going down to Santaquin to a park by my niece's house where the kids could play in the splash pad. We were going to have dinner. We were supposed to be there at 6 PM.<br />
<br />
Well, I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 6 PM. We hurried down to the park, arriving at 6:30 PM. I didn't bring my food because I don't eat usually until around 7 or 7:30 when I'm on this phase of the diet. The kids started playing on the splash pad. Everyone started eating. I realized we were gonna be there for a while. UGH! I didn't have my food, and I was <strong><em>starving, </em></strong>having just woken up from my nap. I had a few slices of tomato, 2 small meatballs, and a little bit of the pulled pork. I was tempted to eat the roll too, but decided to be good. Then they pulled out the cookies. They were the Keebler cookies: grasshoppers, striped cookies, and peanut butter cookies. <br />
<br />
I had a bite of the grasshopper. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Kind of reminded me of a Thin Mint (Girl Scout cookies), but not as good. Then I had an entire peanut butter cookie (kind of like the GSA Tag-Alongs, only not as good). I wanted another one badly, but I didn't eat it. <br />
<br />
The worst part about this story? We left by 7 because Munchkin was freezing. It was cold and windy and he was soaking wet and shivering. We were home by 7:30. Had I known, I totally wouldn't have cheated! But, what's done is done. I am resolved to be extra good today though, to make up for it. I have my charitable organization meeting tonight, and they always eat dinner. I am determined to not cheat tonight. And possibly ever again. But we'll see.Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-11249056296388305672010-09-19T11:16:00.000-07:002010-09-19T11:16:49.559-07:00Day 7 or I forgot to eat my apple AGAIN?I planned this round of HCG very carefully. I have a really hard time waking up <em>early</em> on Sunday mornings, so I wanted that to be my 7th day. You know? The one where you don't shoot yourself in the leg to give your body a bit of a rest? Yeah, that one.<br />
<br />
The problem is this: Here it is, just past noon, almost time for me to eat lunch I might add, and I <strong><em>still</em></strong> haven't eaten my morning apple. Why is that? Well, because I woke up at 10. You can't eat for a full hour after waking up. At 11 I was just starting to get ready and putting the Munchkin into the tub for his morning soak. Now here I sit, blogging at 12:15 PM, hungry, and wondering why. Then I remember, oh yeah, I forgot to eat my apple AGAIN! <br />
<br />
This happens regularly. I routinely forget to take my morning apple with me to work. Sure I remember my lunch, but remembering a tiny little apple seems like almost too much for my brain this round. I don't get it. <br />
<br />
But, the good news is that I have lost about 5 lbs, so I'm really quite happy. My once-tight-then-too-loose-then-too-tight designer jeans now fit only snugly instead of the "I can't breathe when I wear these" fit, and I'm starting to need the assistance of a belt again to keep them up once they stretch out. I no longer have to pour myself into them, too, which is nice. I really hated jumping up and down to get them up.<br />
<br />
I'm taking my measurements tomorrow. My first round I took them daily. My second round I only took them the first week. This round I think I'll stick with once weekly and be surprised by the progress I'm making....hopefully in the right direction! ;)Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-80177642275600521262010-09-16T22:39:00.000-07:002010-09-16T22:39:03.057-07:00OMG I WANT SOME FREAKING CAKE!!And I want it <span style="font-size: x-large;">NOW! </span><span style="font-size: small;">I am so grumpy because I'm STARVING!!! I want to eat the potato chips and the cake and the PBJ sandies. But, I have lost 2.5 lbs already, so I guess that's good. It's definitely a step in the right direction.</span><br />
<br />
I was thinking about it this morning, and realized something.<br />
<br />
Round 1 I was so sick during my load days that I lost 10 lbs my first week.<br />
Round 2 I gained 8 lbs my first 2 days, then it took 3 weeks to take the 8 lbs off.<br />
This round, I'm already off to a decent start. I only gained 1 lb on my load days, so taking it back off was a lot easier than that 8 lbs from the last round. <br />
<br />
I am determined to succeed this round. However, I have a few obstacles:<br />
<br />
My son turns 4 on the 30th of this month. Party=cake & ice cream. We also usually go out to dinner for birthdays. I'm totally going to struggle. The alternative, though, was waiting until the beginning of October, and then I'd still be on the diet for Thanksgiving, which is <em>so</em> not going to happen! haha<br />
<br />
Ok, this helped a little. I still have a craving for the cake and the chips, but I think the tea is helping. Hopefully I can keep my willpower up!!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-35120545043697749102010-09-15T19:09:00.000-07:002010-09-15T19:09:23.136-07:00Day 3Wow, Day 3 and I'm already wishing I were done. Yesterday was my last load day. I'm wishing I could have eaten more food. Today my SIL had Little Caesar's pizza. I so wish I had eaten some pizza before the load days were over. And potato chips! ooh, i just remembered I have a bag of those Lay's Cheddar and Sour Cream ones. They're my favorite! OH, and Munchkin made me make him 2 PBJ sandwiches today, and it took all of my self control not to lick my fingers off! Oh, and of course there is the triple chocolate fudge cake with triple chocolate fudge frosting that I made and then forgot about yesterday! It's sitting there, taunting me on my kitchen counter. <br />
<br />
It's okay though. I have at least 35 lbs to lose, and I am going to be dedicated this time (as opposed to my 2nd round when I cheated so badly).<br />
<br />
I am going to take it one day at a time. I got through today without any problems. Let's see how tomorrow goes. :)Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-79233748473248687902010-09-13T07:24:00.000-07:002010-09-13T07:24:52.779-07:00Starting Round 3WOW! It has been a looong time since I've posted anything. Sorry about that.<br />
<br />
So, I guess my last post was in May? I finished my 2nd round in June, but only lost a total of 5 lbs because I cheated the <em>whole</em> time. Yeah, not going to happen this time.<br />
<br />
I don't know why I cheated. I don't feel good. Before, after my 1st round, I felt great. Now, I've gained back a significant amount of weight because I stopped caring. Not. Good.<br />
<br />
I feel gross and icky all the time now. My clothes don't fit, and I'm not going to go buy bigger ones, because I just got rid of all of my bigger clothes. I don't want to end up in that vicious spiral again. So, what am I going to do about it?<br />
<br />
Start another round, of course!<br />
<br />
I had to wait 10 weeks inbetween 2 and 3, anyway, and I think I might be at 11 weeks now?? I forgot...lost track...yeah, not a good thing.<br />
<br />
So today was my first shot in over 3 months. I had to psych myself up for it. I forgot how much this vitamin B makes it sting. Also, my needles are a little challenged, so I'm constantly worrying about them getting bent. They bend super easily. Oh well, next time I'll request different needles. These are like the kind my SIL used when she was on it, not the kind I had my 1st round.<br />
<br />
So, today is a load day, and already the thought of food is making me sick! I know, crazy, right? Maybe it's because I've been loading up all weekend? haha I just wanted to get all of those yummy yummy good foods that I won't be able to eat out of the way. <br />
<br />
Also, gotta do my grocery shopping for the rest of the week today or tomorrow. I forgot how much specialized food you need. I'm going to try and do it without the Melba toast, which is noble, I know, but we'll see how long that lasts.<br />
<br />
I'll try and update this more regularly. I really think that writing everything helped me lose 35 lbs my first round, so here's to losing that much this time!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-63787698285839168132010-05-13T23:51:00.000-07:002010-05-14T00:10:18.770-07:00Just a Little ScareI had quite the scare Thursday. Apparently I have been having some health issues that I didn't know I had. When the first tangible symptom presented I quickly went to the local Express Med (my doctor's office, 30 mins away, had already closed for the day). I was the only patient there. I got checked in, gave the standard samples they needed, filled out all the info, and sat waiting in the smaller <strike>waiting </strike>exam room.<br /><br />I waited.<br /><br />And waited.<br /><br />And waited.<br /><br />When the nurse, or whatever she was (she was <em>not</em> a doctor) came in, she was stumped. She began asking questions. I told her I was on the hcg diet, and she immediately blamed that, even though I was exhibiting several symptoms for an infection. She didn't know what to make of it, and left to do research....get this.... on the internet.<br /><br />My confidence in her abilities was quickly crumbling.<br /><br />After waiting an hour and a half, and listening to her tell me that my body was eating muscle (pretty sure hcg doesn't cause that....Dr. Simeon would have noted it in his book), she decided to send me to the hospital for some further testing.<br /><br />OH JOY!<br /><br />Fast forward to the hospital. After hours, the ER has to check you in. So not fun. I get checked in, return to the lab dept. and have MORE blood drawn. I requested they do it in the left arm, so I would have matching battle scars. They didn't think I was funny.<br /><br />Now, I know it is weird to be able to give yourself an injection every day but not be able to watch blood being drawn, but have you seen the needle they use for that? It's HUGE compared to my little, teeny tiny injection needle. Plus, with an HCG injection, nothing is coming out of your body. Unlike when they draw blood and you can't feel your arm because the tourniquet is so tight, and then you can feel the blood leaving through the incredibly HUGE, painful needle that has just been jabbed, hopefully, into a vein in your inner elbow. Yeah, not my favorite part.<br /><br />Then they let me leave. I went home, stressed. I was hoping they would rerun the tests that Express Med had supposedly run, and that it would in fact come back as some weird, common infection, and nothing more serious.<br /><br />At one point the lady at Express Med had suggested that either a) my body was eating my muscle tissue or b) my kidneys were failing/not working as well as they should. Now, when you can see that a patient is visibly FREAKED OUT about suddenly being sick, when there had been no sign at all that they were, you should NEVER, ever, NEVER tell them that their organs might not be working, until you are absolutely 100% positive that the said organs are in fact not working.<br /><br />I kind of felt like I was in my own episode of <em>House</em>, only without Dr. House or his staff (mainly Dr. Chase....mmmm.....) to take care of me and figure out what was wrong.<br /><br />After about an hour of anxious waiting (I know it's not that long, but it seemed like forever), I got a call from Express Med. It was a really nasty infection. The nurse was so surprised. She seemed to think that it was something much more serious, and hcg related. I was kind of bugged, because she obviously didn't know anything about hcg, so for her to make such suggestions was just silly. She told me that I would need to eat more than 500 calories (because "it's not healthy...your body can't support itself on that little amount of food") and/or stop taking the injections immediately ("it's not really safe").<br /><br />Let me ask you this: If it weren't safe, would my entire family have been on the diet and lost as much weight as we had? And, don't you think that I would have exhibited these symptoms during the <em>first</em> round of hcg, and not two weeks into my second round? And, if it wasn't safe and your body couldn't sustain itself on that amount of food, don't you think that doctors wouldn't be prescribing it to people as a weight loss aid? Just some questions to mull over.<br /><br />So, I am glad to report that I do NOT have to quit the diet. I don't have to stop taking the injections. I don't need to eat more food. And, most importantly, I am NOT losing/eating my muscle tissue, contrary to the belief of the staff at Express Med.<br /><br />There is a lesson learned from all this. What is it?<br /><br />If you're sick, just go straight to the ER. You'll probably end up there anyway, especially if you go to Express Med. Save yourself the extra 15 mins of driving through ripped up SR 192 through 3 towns to get to the hospital while you're freaking out because the people who are supposed to know what they're taking about don't. Just go right to the ER. It'll save you a lot of stress in the long run, I'm sure of it.Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-5816342051814052762010-05-09T22:01:00.001-07:002010-05-09T22:19:49.339-07:00FrustrationYes, I'm only about a week and a half into this second round, but I'm struggling a little.<br /><br />I have only lost about 5 lbs so far. Yes, it's okay because my first two days were load days - and good ones at that - but I keep freaking out a little each morning when I get on the scale.<br /><br />I have to remind myself, deep breaths, it'll be okay. It's not like I have 10 days left. I have 30 days left. It's okay. I'll catch up. My goal is attainable. It will be O.K.<br /><br /><br />Hopefully.Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-40811001332896371872010-05-03T10:12:00.000-07:002010-05-03T10:50:17.934-07:00Day 4 - Round 2I gained 4 lbs on my load days. I've lost 5 lbs, making a net loss of 1 lb. I'm really quite excited about it. I was really nervous about the weight gain, but now that I've lost it all by day 4, I'm not too worried about it.<br /><br />I'm hoping to lose another 3 lbs this week. Hopefully I can hit my goal of 35 lbs, but we'll see!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-49746103521905934752010-05-02T18:02:00.000-07:002010-05-02T18:18:12.022-07:00Day 3 - Round 2My last couple of days have been awesome! My load days differed significantly this round from last time. Last time I was so sick. This time I ate like a queen!<br /><br />Saturday morning, my DH took us out to breakfast at IHOP. I ate so much food it isn't even funny. Then we went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory with my parents for my mom's birthday. I had the salmon and Steak Diane combo. OMG it was so much food! I also had several glasses of Coke. Then, before we got the check, the waiter asked if we wanted dessert. Their featured dessert was red velvet cake alternating with cheesecake. OMG! 4 layers of yummy goodness. I ordered one to go. Then, I ate half of it on the ride home!!<br /><br />Today has been hard, but not nearly as hard as my first round. The hardest part is that I'm so used to eating other healthy foods that I forget sometimes. Like, right now there are some Sugar-Free peanut butter cups sitting on the table. I can't tell you how many times I've picked them up and almost opened them, before remembering "oh yeah, I can't have those for 7 more weeks." <br /><br />I was a little frustrated to get on the scale my first two days because of the weight gain. However, I was almost 100% positive I'd gain 10 lbs, and I lost almost half a pound between my binge at the Cheesecake Factory yesterday and getting on the scale this morning. What the???<br /><br />My goal for this round is to lose another 30-35 lbs. I'm thinking it's definitely possible, if I stick with the diet and don't cheat!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-87543034791186641972010-04-25T22:58:00.001-07:002010-04-25T23:14:02.217-07:00Preparation for Round 2I am getting ready to start my second round this weekend. I'm so excited! I just received some super cute (size 30) desiner shorts that I can't wait to fit into!! Of course, it will be July by the time I got off of my second round (shots and maintenance), but I'll still have time to wear shorts, right? Unless it snows in July....which would be weird.<br /><br />I'm a little nervous about starting my second round, though. I know a couple of people who didn't do so well on their subsequent rounds, and I'm a little stressed about that. I'm sure it will be fine, though, once I get started.<br /><br />The thing that makes me crazy, though, are all the excuses I've heard, in person or online, for not sticking with a program that is really so easy. "I only cheated once." "I don't have time." "It's easier to just go out than eat what I'm supposed to." "It's too hard to follow the diet."<br /><br />Seriously? You are able to lose up to 35 lbs (depending on your starting weight, I'm sure) in as little as 7 weeks, and you're cheating because it's "too hard?" This has been the easiest diet I've ever been on. Yes, it takes a lot of self control, but it's totally worth it. All it takes is 7 weeks of a little self control, and you can lose weight. No exercise. No nasty diet food. The food we eat is actually really good, and you have a lot of different combination choices.<br /><br />So, I will start writing more faithfully once I start round 2. I will probably start Friday, so I will definitely see you all then!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-12647056135218272812010-04-10T21:28:00.000-07:002010-04-10T21:36:22.382-07:00Post-MaintenanceWell, I'm off maintenance. I can officially reintroduce starches and sugars. Slowly. Very slowly.<br /><br />Today I had a few m&m's from my son's Easter basket. They were just ok. I also had a piece of Harry and David Moose Munch. It wasn't what I had hyped it up to be. I went out and bought more sugar-free candy. It's just so much better. And better for you.<br /><br />I did the shopping today and bought a bunch of "healthy" stuff, like gluten free muffin mix. It'll be interesting to see how good (or bad) they taste!<br /><br />I am determined to keep eating some of the things from maintenance. Like, today it was so nice outside that we pulled out the Weber grill and fired it up! I had a nice sirloin steak with grilled mushrooms (and melted Swiss cheese on top). For dessert my fabulous husband grilled me a Fuji apple, sprinkled it with cinnamon, and then I topped it with the whipped topping recipe from the maintenance program. It melted just like ice cream. It was fabulous! I even got my son calling it ice cream. He's three, so I guess that wasn't too hard, but he LOVES it! He even ate some of the apple.<br /><br />My husband just started the program, he's about 5 days in, and is liking it so far. It's funny to see him do it though, because he's always complaining that he's "starving." I laugh and remind him how he treated me my first few weeks. At least I'm kind enough to eat my cream cheese muffins in the kitchen behind the wall where he can't see me!<br /><br />I have decided to do a second round. When DH ordered his stuff, he ordered me some as well, so it's sitting in the fridge waiting to be mixed. I have three weeks of waiting. If my calculations are correct, I can start May 1st, or thereabouts. I'll be done in time for summer vay-cay to Deer Valley. Hopefully by then my swimming suit will fit (I tried it on tonight....not yet!).<br /><br />It's been fun to see the interest in what I've done to lose the almost 35 lbs. So many people I know are doing the program now. It's awesome! Most of my family is on it, or will be shortly, and even some family friends have expressed interest in joining the "fun!"Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-81775194134092445342010-04-07T20:01:00.001-07:002010-04-07T20:15:02.179-07:00Maintenance - Day 20Tomorrow is my last day on maintenance. I must admit, I'm a little scared.<br /><br />Today I had to do an egg day because I was 2 lbs over my last injection day weight. BOO! Good news though, it took almost 3 full weeks to gain 2 lbs. That's pretty good, considering that before all I had to do was look at a bowl of cereal and I'd gain a pound! Can I just say, eating 12 eggs in one day is not as easy as it sounds. It sucks! I am so sick of eggs!!<br /><br />So here's to tomorrow and my last day on maintenance. On Friday I start phasing in my starches and sugars. Exciting but SCARY!!!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-43027997839704505452010-04-03T15:44:00.000-07:002010-04-03T15:50:07.351-07:00Maintenance - Day 16I am quickly approaching the end of my 3 week maintenance program.<br /><br />I've been yo-yo-ing a little, which I understand to be normal. I'm doing well though. I'm within the 2 lb range of my final injection day, so all is well :)<br /><br />I am excited to be able to eat "normal" again, but will be keeping a lot of the things I've been eating on maintenance. My all-time favorite recipe is the cream cheese muffins with a little SF syrup. YUMMY!<br /><br />And the SF peanut butter cookies.<br /><br />And the whipped topping on SF Jello gelatin cups. Mmmm....<br /><br />And the SF candy has been quite delightful as well.<br /><br />So, as you can see, my diet will have changed. It will, however, be nice to be able to eat bread again. I miss my PBJ sandies. Mmmm....And I have a girl scout cookie with my name on it in my trunk...just waiting....<br /><br />But I'm not going to go crazy. I've been eating, and eating well, so it's not like I'm starving all the time. A lot of times I am actually quite full. <br /><br />Last night we had Easter dinner with my family, and everyone had pasta/Caesar salads with jello and hogi sandies and strawberry shortcake (my assignment). I planned ahead and brought a zucchini which I sliced. A hard-boiled egg which I mashed up with some butter, and then had some of the deli turkey (no sugars in it, I checked the lable), some tomato, and some of the pickles and olives. Then for dessert I set aside a bowl of cut strawberries, sprinkled on some Splenda and used my whipped topping recipe (which EVERYONE enjoyed immensely) on top of it. Ooh it was delightful! Of course, it was only like 400 calories total, so I had to eat some food when I got home because I was <em>way</em> under my calories, but that's okay. I made what we had at the party work, with a little planning ahead.Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-32554792811731819262010-03-24T16:28:00.000-07:002010-03-24T16:44:50.978-07:00Maintenance - Day 6Well, so far so good.<br /><br />I haven't yo-yo-ed as much as I expected to. I lost close to another 3 lbs, then gained just over a pound back yesterday, but that was totally my own fault. I went over calories. Not going to do that again, let me tell you! haha<br /><br />I've found some really great recipes online that I want to try. It's amazing how many recipes can be made sugar-free by substituting Splenda instead of sugar, and how many recipes are gluten/starch free.<br /><br />Example: I was on <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/">King Arthur Flour</a>, perusing their products, books, ingredients, etc, and drooling all over my keyboard. I love KAF almost as much as I love <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/">Williams-Sonoma </a>and <a href="http://www.surlatable.com/">Sur La Table</a>....and I guess <a href="http://www.chefscatalog.com/">Chef's Catalog</a>, too. But seriously, I LOVE KAF.<br /><br />Imagine my surprise when I started following them on Twitter, and found that they were doing recipes for Passover (which I believe is next week....I'm not Jewish, so I wouldn't know for sure). Anyway, one of the recipes they had was for a <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2010/03/21/no-flour-no-leavening-no-baking-no-way-chocolate-nut-cake-is-perfect-for-passover/">chocolate cake</a>. OH MY HEAVEN! I so want to make this cake. You have no idea. It looks so good! It does use sugar, but that can be easily substituted out for Splenda. And the chocolate chips...well, you can order unsweetened chocolate chips from KAF. I supposed you could use unsweetened baking chocolate and chop the crap out of it, but whatever's easier for you. <br /><br />Anyway, I'm seriously thinking about making this cake next week. Maybe I'll take it up to my parents' and we can all enjoy it together on Easter. I'd love to see their surprise when I start eating a chocolate cake! haha<br /><br />Also, did you know that Almond milk is lactose free, unsweetened, and tastes like watered down skim milk (or blue milk as it's fondly known at our house)? It's not bad with peanut butter cookies. My husband gags everytime I get it out, and it is a little pricey, but it's not bad. Definitely an option I'm going to keep in mind. It only has 40 calories per 1 cup. How much does milk have? Ummm...more than that, I'm sure. :D Definitely a healthy alternative to my binge-drinking milk and cookies/cake days of old. (I used to love milk)<br /><br />And cream cheese muffins are delightful with a tablespoon of Sugar Free Log Cabin Syrup drizzled over the top. Oh they are to die for!! MMMMMmmmm MMMMmmmm.....I want one now. Good thing I don't have any left in the fridge!! haha<br /><br />Sugar free candy's not so bad either. You have to be careful, because the calories are still higher, but there's no sugar, so it's okay to have some in moderation. I personally LOVE the Werther's sugar free hard candies, the Dove raspberry truffles, and I'm liking the Russel Stover's peanut butter cups. I haven't tried any other kinds yet, but so far the Werther's are my absolute faves. I'll let you know as I try the rest of the stash (I bought some of everything a few weeks ago in preparation for maintenance, just in case I got a sweet tooth craving).Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-72536539974037993932010-03-21T08:39:00.000-07:002010-03-21T08:50:22.448-07:00Maintenance, Day 3So, this morning when I weighed, I thought I had gained 2.2 lbs. Silly me! It must've been too early, because in reality I lost 0.8 lbs!! haha So, no correction day needed yet.<br /><br />I'm really quite happy that it's going so well. It is a little tricky at times, because yes! I want another muffin with my breakfast! haha. I've got to re-learn self-control all over again. The first time was with 500 calories a day, and now it's with the 1900-2100.<br /><br />I've been having fun making all these different recipes, though, and there are some definite favorites that I want to keep around after maintenance is over. Like, the cream cheese muffins drizzled with a little bit of SF Log Cabin brand syrup. Mmmmm.....so good! And the "Magic PB cookies" are fantastic. Bonus about the cookies? My 3 y.o. LOVES them! He loves all things cookie, anyway, but these are healthier, because they are sugar and gluten free, and use natural PB instead of the preservative loaded stuff.<br /><br />Now, I know what you're thinking: "Oh no! She's become one of them! Those people that only eat SF, Gluten-free, preservative-free things!" I haven't. I'm just saying that some of the SF/gluten free recipes that I've been using are really good, and I'd like to keep them around. Don't worry! :)<br /><br />OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! I almost didn't tell you all! I've decided to do another 49 day round of the HCG protocol. I have 3 weeks of maintenance, then a 3 week waiting period before I can do it, but I so want to. My SILs, MIL, and husband are going to do it all together (probably). My DH has been researching some things, and has learned a lot. I still have 29.4 lbs until I reach my goal weight, and I would like to reach it before we go on family vay-cay this year (at the beginning of July). I figure that if I start as soon as I can after the 3 week waiting period, then I can jump right in and be done with maintenance the day we leave! I know, cutting it close, but totally worth it if I can lose another 30 lbs or so on a second 49 day round.<br /><br />So! Here's to a successful 3 weeks of maintenance, 3 weeks of waiting, and 2nd round of Phase 2! :)Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8912004993137278129.post-14389292245583890412010-03-20T07:22:00.001-07:002010-03-20T07:27:50.603-07:00Maintenance, Day 2I gained 2 lbs from my weight yesterday. At first I was freaking out that I'd have to do a correction day. I got out my paperwork, and it says that the weight you go off of is the last injection day. Well, I pulled out my paper, and I haven't gained or lost from my last injection day. I stayed the same! Yay! No correction day for me!<br /><br />Breakfast this morning was great. I had a fried egg, 6 strawberries with whipped topping, and 2 cream cheese muffins with sugar free syrup dribbled over it. I'm really excited for lunch. I'm having my normal spinach chicken salad, but with 7 oz of chicken instead of 3.5. And for dinner I'm having mixed veggies and a nice, large steak cooked in butter. Mmmm.....<br /><br />Okay, so even though I'm not hungry, because I just ate breakfast, all this talk of food makes me think I am, so I'm going to go work now. :)Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01944989665273286235noreply@blogger.com0