HCG Alternative Plans week of 12/27/2010

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Currently, I am probably 10-15 lbs above goal... I've been avoiding the scale, and will face it in the morning. I get pretty obsessive if I weigh too often. I'm not actually terribly unhappy with my current shape and size ( I'm a size 5) but am terribly small framed and short, and look better a bit lighter. Problem is, if I get my booty to the size I like it, my upper b body and face get scrappy. I'm hoping this diet can help with some reshaping.

It will be nice to see someone smaller than me (I'm 5'2", also small framed)! And nice to see someone with just a little to lose. Be sure to take a before pic!

I have no idea about the reshaping...I measure my inches even during P3 and have never dropped inches during that phase...but lots of others do. I wish I could target my inches during weight loss. I've got droopy drawers and droopy bra cups to deal with!

[baabng4ever]

Hi to all! I hope that everyone had a heartwarming holiday.

I have been eating whatever I want in quantities...well, in uncounted - but not crazy out of control amounts. I am up just under 2 pounds after the holidays. I am either starting a new round tomorrow or the next day. Just gotta get together the stuff and then all will be a go. Honestly, I cannot wait to get all of this crap food outta my house. I did enjoy it. I do not feel guilty. Now, I am ready to kiss it goodbye for the next round!

Good to see everyone here and some people already clocking some nice losses to boot! Woot Woot!

Just wanted to check in and mark my spot....

[DrunkenSailor]

Hi everybody!

I'm back for another round. Doing the last minute loading tonight, and need to go shopping for P2 food tomorrow.

I stabilized between 166-170 from last time and want to get securely into the 150s on this round.

[minimonkey]

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome! I am really ready to start this. I will definitely take pics, but I want to do it myself, not have my partner or roommate take them... I don't really want to tell them what I'm doing exactly... they'd probably worry a lot.

I am curious how this will work for someone with only a little to lose, as well -- I get to be the guinea pig? Cool!

This seems a good time to do it, too, because I actually havent been dieting at all for a number of months, and my weight has been pretty stable based on my clothing.

Hope I don't drive you veterans crazy with a ton of newbie questions, though... be sure to tell be to shut my yapper if that starts to happen!

Seems that a lot of us are ready for a chage after holiday indulgences and such.

[MagieDen]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome! I am really ready to start this. I will definitely take pics, but I want to do it myself, not have my partner or roommate take them... I don't really want to tell them what I'm doing exactly... they'd probably worry a lot.

I am curious how this will work for someone with only a little to lose, as well -- I get to be the guinea pig? Cool!

This seems a good time to do it, too, because I actually havent been dieting at all for a number of months, and my weight has been pretty stable based on my clothing.

Hope I don't drive you veterans crazy with a ton of newbie questions, though... be sure to tell be to shut my yapper if that starts to happen!

Seems that a lot of us are ready for a chage after holiday indulgences and such.

Ask away, I am new and I have more questions still and will probably have more throughout this.

[IslandDiva]

Good morning, all--just a quick post to mark my spot and share that the scale was down a lb this AM, my first loss since Dec. 22 and holiday indulgence, I am back on the wagon and in full recovery mode! Today's weight 164, only 9 lbs to goal (which I might adjust a little lower once I get closer).

Happy day!

Stay strong everyone, WE CAN DO IT!!!!!!

[MagieDen]

Originally Posted by IslandDiva

Good morning, all--just a quick post to mark my spot and share that the scale was down a lb this AM, my first loss since Dec. 22 and holiday indulgence, I am back on the wagon and in full recovery mode! Today's weight 164, only 9 lbs to goal (which I might adjust a little lower once I get closer).

Happy day!

Stay strong everyone, WE CAN DO IT!!!!!!

Way to go!!!

[Deb294evr]

WONDERFUL ISLANDIVA!.. Down a pound here too!.. hope everyone is having a great week so far... I am SOOOOOOOOO busy... all the work I did not do last week, is looking at me in the face this week...

Shall return as I can!.. keep on keepin on !!!!

[Deb294evr]

go MAGGIE.. how was yesterday for you?

[MagieDen]

Originally Posted by Deb294evr

go MAGGIE.. how was yesterday for you?

This body with the help on HCG released 1.6 lbs as of this morning. Awwwwwww!!! I can't believe it, my husband can't believe it either.

Happy releasing!

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by MAgieDen

This body with the help on HCG released 1.6 lbs as of this morning. Awwwwwww!!! I can't believe it, my husband can't believe it either.

Happy releasing!

WHOOO HOOOOOOOOOO... look at you!!!.... Yes maam, believe it and it will happen.... so excited for you Maggie, keep up the great work, and you will be at goal in no time!...

[Gremom]

Great job everyone!!

Well, I am still up 1.5lbs today, but I am not sweating it. I had family in town and I did indulge a bit and now I will get down to business. I am going to keep track of my calories and get back to exercising since being sick. I think the little gain will come off in no time. I considered the last 2 days somewhat of loading days and will be better for the rest of the week. I am looking forward to family being gone and getting back to my normal routine.

[imdreaming]

'mornin ladies Good to see you getting strong starts!

Minimonkey- you will be amazed at how quick you can get to goal, especially with only 10-15 pounds to lose!!

Maggie- Yay! You and DH will be blown away My DH can't believe how quickly I changed

Island Diva, great job and you will be at goal before you know it!

And Deb, the great cheerleader Way to go!

I decided it was nice to be at work yesterday. Kept me busy with no temptations around. I was amazed at how much I had piled up, even though my boss told me it was so slow and he was bored all last week I only worked Monday last week, but this week I will go in on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday all day. That should help me get caught up

I held steady at 130.4 for my first 24 hours off the hHCG. I did increase my calories yesterday to about 850 and plan to do the same today. Tomorrow I will start adding in more fat yum!

Good luck to everyone else just getting started!

[imdreaming]

Stacey, you're doing great and now you will be able to focus again. You will be at goal in no time!

[Deb294evr]

Gremom--- It WILL come off FAST!.. you know it and no sweating it... great attitude!

imdreaming-- CONGRATS on the stand still!...fantastic!... I can't wait to be where you are!....

[ouizoid]

I was up 7lbs from my pre xmas weight--as of this morning, I have released 5.5 of those naughty carby watery pounds--yay! Hope to be back to 166 by NYE. Nice to see everyone is having the same kind of success. Got to love low carb/low fat protein--it does the trick.

Going to be cold and rainy today, so thinking of some soup options to stay warm. I love Pacific mushroom broth (5 cals per cup) with a bag of miracle rice--for 20 calories, a big bowl of spicy fillingness. Gets me through the afternoons.

Happy losing to you all--

Ouis

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by ouizoid

I was up 7lbs from my pre xmas weight--as of this morning, I have released 5.5 of those naughty carby watery pounds--yay! Hope to be back to 166 by NYE. Nice to see everyone is having the same kind of success. Got to love low carb/low fat protein--it does the trick.

Going to be cold and rainy today, so thinking of some soup options to stay warm. I love Pacific mushroom broth (5 cals per cup) with a bag of miracle rice--for 20 calories, a big bowl of spicy fillingness. Gets me through the afternoons.

Happy losing to you all--

Ouis

YEAH!! excellent release of that carby water!!... WOW!!!

[ouizoid]

you are such a sweet and supportive person Deb--thanks for the WOW!

[MagieDen]

Originally Posted by ouizoid

you are such a sweet and supportive person Deb--thanks for the WOW!

Ditto on the comment about Deb! Congrats. on the releasing!!! The soup sounds fantastic, making me HUNGRY.

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by ouizoid

you are such a sweet and supportive person Deb--thanks for the WOW!

Originally Posted by MAgieDen

Ditto on the comment about Deb! Congrats. on the releasing!!! The soup sounds fantastic, making me HUNGRY.

aaaaaaaaaaaaweeeeeeeeee you girls!...:blush: All of you wonderful ladies are the ones who motivate me... so it goes both ways!!...

[lostfox]

Originally Posted by Gremom

You have got me REALLY interested in the rotation diet. I have been low carb, but would love more variety in my eating. I just hate to count everything that I eat. I lost a lot of weight counting calroies after my first 2 children, so maybe I just need to do that again. I am getting a little tired of so much meat. Don't get me wrong, I love meat, but i would love a little more choices in my food.

What kind of hemp protein powder do you use? I want to get some, but wasn't sure what tasted good.

I really think you have inspired me to try counting cals and adding some more carbs, while still keeping cals lower. I need to switch things up a bit. Thanks so much!

Hey Stacey

Thanks! I'm glad I inspired you to add carbs, count and keep calories low, and switch things up! I don't love counting calories, but I can work out a rough, simple plan for 600 and 900 calorie days to keep it simple, and then just count for my second week on the diet... I know it's worth it and something I have to do as best I can, in order to get the results.

How long have you been low carb? I can understand your wanting more food variety and to eat less meat all the time. The almond baked goods have totally been helping me with limiting carbs and filling me up, I was interested to read a bit about how much of a superfood almonds are, tons of potassium and magnesium, for example, which is perfect for dieting.

I ordered in some hemp protein powder, it was around the same price as all I've seen in the stores in the US - $10 at Trader Joes and at vitamin shops there. Apparently the brand I ordered was high quality. It tastes good, works well in baking and my smoothie tasted good, it's just a little nutty. It doesn't have nearly as much protein as whey or rice, but it's worth it because the taste, the fatty acids and the fiber, at least to me... hemp seeds also are an incredible weight loss food, though calorie dense. I don't do dairy, and the rice protein powder I tried, while effective for VLCDs and weight loss, was the worst tasting stuff imaginable. Anyways, the brand I ended up with was EFAgold.

If you've been low-carb for a while, you may want to try carb cycling and taking it slow while readjusting your body to adding more carbs. I know the body adapts quickly, easily making glucose from protein when you're low carb for example, - there have been studies that have shown that the body quickly adapts to high carb conditions as well, after a week or two. I've got to try to dig that study out if anyone's interested.

[Gremom]

Originally Posted by imdreaming

Stacey, you're doing great and now you will be able to focus again. You will be at goal in no time!

Originally Posted by Deb294evr

Gremom--- It WILL come off FAST!.. you know it and no sweating it... great attitude!

imdreaming-- CONGRATS on the stand still!...fantastic!... I can't wait to be where you are!....

Thank you both for your encouragement! Seriously, this thread and you all are addiciting!! I love to log in and see what everybody has to say.

I am sipping on a protein shake right now and am thinking soup for later as well. I love soup anytime of the year.

I will say, the protein shake is the first "food" I have had today other than a cup of coffee and I was not hungry at all. So I'm thinking that the hcg is working for me. Yay!

Am still hoping to get in a good workout later when my brother and his girlfriend leave. She is outside right now playing in the snow with my 3 kids. Better her than me!

Sorry, I am rambling! :blush:

[Gremom]

Originally Posted by lostfox

Hey Stacey

Thanks! I'm glad I inspired you to add carbs, count and keep calories low, and switch things up! I don't love counting calories, but I can work out a rough, simple plan for 600 and 900 calorie days to keep it simple, and then just count for my second week on the diet... I know it's worth it and something I have to do as best I can, in order to get the results.

How long have you been low carb? I can understand your wanting more food variety and to eat less meat all the time. The almond baked goods have totally been helping me with limiting carbs and filling me up, I was interested to read a bit about how much of a superfood almonds are, tons of potassium and magnesium, for example, which is perfect for dieting.

I ordered in some hemp protein powder, it was around the same price as all I've seen in the stores in the US - $10 at Trader Joes and at vitamin shops there. Apparently the brand I ordered was high quality. It tastes good, works well in baking and my smoothie tasted good, it's just a little nutty. It doesn't have nearly as much protein as whey or rice, but it's worth it because the taste, the fatty acids and the fiber, at least to me... hemp seeds also are an incredible weight loss food, though calorie dense. I don't do dairy, and the rice protein powder I tried, while effective for VLCDs and weight loss, was the worst tasting stuff imaginable. Anyways, the brand I ended up with was EFAgold.

If you've been low-carb for a while, you may want to try carb cycling and taking it slow while readjusting your body to adding more carbs. I know the body adapts quickly, easily making glucose from protein when you're low carb for example, - there have been studies that have shown that the body quickly adapts to high carb conditions as well, after a week or two. I've got to try to dig that study out if anyone's interested.

Hey Carina!

Thanks for all that info! I too, don't eat dairy or gluten and unfortunately, I can't do almonds either. For some reason, mu body can't handle them right now and I miss all the yuumy almond flour creations. I do use coconut flour, but need to order some more.

I had done a lot of research on hemp as well, and found it to be very nutritionally dense. I think I will order some now.

I did LC for the first 4 months of last year and then got really sick up until about 2-3 months ago and then started back up. Finally found out that I have gluten and yeast issues and that is why I was so sick. LC has literally been a life saver!

I am going to start out slowly and really may not add more than up to 50-60 carbs on higher days. Today is going to be a low carb/low cal day and I think tomorrow will be as well, followed by one day a little bit higher. I really need to get to the store, so I can be prepared.

Again, thanks for all your help!

[lostfox]

Originally Posted by Gremom

Hey Carina!

Thanks for all that info! I too, don't eat dairy or gluten and unfortunately, I can't do almonds either. For some reason, mu body can't handle them right now and I miss all the yuumy almond flour creations. I do use coconut flour, but need to order some more.

I had done a lot of research on hemp as well, and found it to be very nutritionally dense. I think I will order some now.

I did LC for the first 4 months of last year and then got really sick up until about 2-3 months ago and then started back up. Finally found out that I have gluten and yeast issues and that is why I was so sick. LC has literally been a life saver!

I am going to start out slowly and really may not add more than up to 50-60 carbs on higher days. Today is going to be a low carb/low cal day and I think tomorrow will be as well, followed by one day a little bit higher. I really need to get to the store, so I can be prepared.

Again, thanks for all your help!

Hey Stacey - I didn't realize we had so much in common - similar current weights, similar goals, and similar food intolerances. That's sad about the almonds, but great you use coconut flour. I also heard ground up pumpkin seeds can be a good substitute for almond flour. Mix in some hemp protein powder, and you can totally make those almond baked goods without the almonds, I bet.

Yeah, hemp seeds are incredible. I didn't realize the protein powder is only hemp seeds, milled in some way... when I grind them in my food processor, they turn into nut butter, so they must mill them in a special way to keep them light and fluffy.

I do have some info that may help you also - I couldn't find this anywhere on the web but in a book by an ND that I have - Mark Stengler had written about how Gentian root can be used to cure yeast in an indirect way, as well as resolve food intolerances. It's a digestive bitter, you take it with a couple of meals a day. It helps break down the food so that there are no incompletely metabolized byproducts for the yeast to feed off of, after a couple of months of using it, the yeast dies off because it is starved! He says:

"I learned many years ago that most cases of intestinal yeast overgrowth are in large part due to poor stomach and digestive function. By using gentian, and thus improving digestion and absorption, you stop the development of metabolic toxins that feed the yeast. Once their food supply is cut off, they die." (!!!) and he has done lab tests on his patients to prove it, they had yeast before, and none after.

Sounds like you have a great plan. Hey and you were only 1.5 lbs up which is awesome. A day or two of VLCD will probably get rid of that and get you back on the losing train.

Today I'm back to the VLCDs myself also. Holding steady at 151.5 and ready to break on through to the other side.

[Thin4me]

Marking my spot and loading tom. in preparation for round 2~ Having a bit of knee surgery Friday and want to be back to losing by then. After the knee heals, I want to get back on my treadmill. I find that it is a great stress reliever for me.

So happy for all those who are losing! Can't wait to join you guys. Round one was good, now working on round 2 so it will be GREAT! Would love to finish three rounds total by summer!

[Gremom]

Originally Posted by lostfox

Hey Stacey - I didn't realize we had so much in common - similar current weights, similar goals, and similar food intolerances. That's sad about the almonds, but great you use coconut flour. I also heard ground up pumpkin seeds can be a good substitute for almond flour. Mix in some hemp protein powder, and you can totally make those almond baked goods without the almonds, I bet.

Yeah, hemp seeds are incredible. I didn't realize the protein powder is only hemp seeds, milled in some way... when I grind them in my food processor, they turn into nut butter, so they must mill them in a special way to keep them light and fluffy.

I do have some info that may help you also - I couldn't find this anywhere on the web but in a book by an ND that I have - Mark Stengler had written about how Gentian root can be used to cure yeast in an indirect way, as well as resolve food intolerances. It's a digestive bitter, you take it with a couple of meals a day. It helps break down the food so that there are no incompletely metabolized byproducts for the yeast to feed off of, after a couple of months of using it, the yeast dies off because it is starved! He says:

"I learned many years ago that most cases of intestinal yeast overgrowth are in large part due to poor stomach and digestive function. By using gentian, and thus improving digestion and absorption, you stop the development of metabolic toxins that feed the yeast. Once their food supply is cut off, they die." (!!!) and he has done lab tests on his patients to prove it, they had yeast before, and none after.

Sounds like you have a great plan. Hey and you were only 1.5 lbs up which is awesome. A day or two of VLCD will probably get rid of that and get you back on the losing train.

Today I'm back to the VLCDs myself also. Holding steady at 151.5 and ready to break on through to the other side.

Wow, we do have a lot in common! I do miss the use of almond flour, but sometimes I would find myself eating a bit too much of things made from it. So it is probably for the best.

I do have the yeast under control quite a bit now. I did go through about a week of die off symptoms and that was rough. I totally went cold turkey and ate only meat, fat and very few veggies to starve the yeast and it worked. Thank you so much for the info though. It never hurts to know more!

I am sure you will break through the 150's here soon. It felt so great to be in a new decade that I hadn't seen in almost 3 years. I hope to be in the 130's after this round of hcg. I think it is possible!

[Gremom]

Originally Posted by Thin4me

Marking my spot and loading tom. in preparation for round 2~ Having a bit of knee surgery Friday and want to be back to losing by then. After the knee heals, I want to get back on my treadmill. I find that it is a great stress reliever for me.

So happy for all those who are losing! Can't wait to join you guys. Round one was good, now working on round 2 so it will be GREAT! Would love to finish three rounds total by summer!

I hope everything goes well. What kind of surgery are you having? I had knee surgery 10 years ago and it took me a while to recover. I am sure it will go smoothly for you. I find that my elliptical is theraputic as well.

[Gremom]

Was able to get in a 20 minute cardio dvd and it felt great. I just had some celery and pb for a quick little snack and will probably have soup for dinner. Not feeling all that hungry right now, so that is good!

[Deb294evr]

Go Stacey GO!!... I can't wait to get out of work, so I can do SOMETHING besides think of food... goodies everywhere ... oh well, I'll jump on the Ellip when I get home...

[minimonkey]

Congrats to all who are losing that holiday weight, and a big whoohoo for everyone on this thread... you are all such wonderful, supportive people. I can't wait to join you!