My HCG Journal. Looks like I need to start one!

[CherylB]

Hot, huh? Triple digits are killer. You guys in the middle of the country seem to get the worst of winter AND summer. What is "GC"? You sound like you are doing very well! Getting into the habit of moderating our eating before and after a special meal or event is how we learn to keep off the weight! Bravo!

I don't know if it gets harder to lose the weight as you get closer to goal. They say that it does, but until I've tried a few more tweaks and determined that it's not due to something I'm doing, I will have to assume that there is something I can do better.

If things continue to move very slowly, I think I'm going to eat more moderately and still take the hcg pellets. Hcg isn't the ONLY way to lose weight! And with all the fresh produce that is in season right now, it seems a shame not to incorporate more fresh, healthy foods into my diet.

It's really nice to be under your window! I dropped almost 3 more lbs at the end of the first round, before I got my calories up in P3. It kept me from needing any CD's.

I will definitely go cold-turkey on the soda. How a zero-calorie drink can prevent weight loss, I don't know. But maybe the Aspartame is affecting something. I know it's not a good thing to be putting into my body (or anyone's body.) I never was a soda person, but it's too hot for coffee and iced coffee without some kind of cream in it would be nasty! Wouldn't it??? I guess I could make iced tea. That would be better!

Well, my Mom has 3 slices of pizza with extra cheese coming her way! And some reeses mini peanut butter cups, too. She's going to love me. She said she's been munching too many chips in the evening. She's made it almost 80 years without having an eating compulsion, and now it's potato chips!

I'm feeling good today, considering the blah feeling that comes from being stalled. "Ain't no sunshine when she's gone" (the whoosh fairy, that is.) Things will improve! I know in my heart that they will.

Hope things cool off there tonight!

[Zbunny]

I'm not Marie, but I'm her self-appointed spokesperson today

I believe that gc = gift card.

[CherylB]

OH! I was thinking gas card, but that didn't make any sense! Thanks, Sheri!

[Cruzcrzy]

Sheri is correct it is gift card. Thanks Sheri.

Cheryl, those mini reese's peanut butter cups are the BOMB!!!! I am glad you are feeling good today. You are right, things will improve. We have so much to be thankful for. We are blessed beyond measure . Have a good evening, dear friend.

[CherylB]

Things that I normally would think taste so good just don't do it for me anymore! My tastes are changing and so is my attitude about indulging. It just doesn't hold the fascination it once did. Thank God for that! That is the biggest miracle about Hcg so far for me. Food is no longer my master.

You too, love! Blessed beyond measure indeed. ((HUGS))

[Cruzcrzy]

Hi Cheryl,

Happy Sunday! The scale is not my friend today. Boy, what a difference a day makes, LOL. I am UP!!! I really was not THAT off plan, but, my body has indicated otherwise. My eating will be minimal today. We have plans to go to a steak restaurant, but, that will be my only meal today, and maybe some fruit. I will drink lots of water. I am still in my window, but, this was a big gain for me. I've decided I need to start exercising. NOW, just to put that decision to ACTION.

[CherylB]

I am in the process of starting to exercise, myself. What is it you want to do? I am going to focus on a kettlebell workout in my living room. I have the space freshly cleaned and ready, now I just have to grab a kettlebell and turn on the dvd. I've been doing "research" and learning the moves, so the first time will be me just getting the feel of them and learning how to do the moves safely.

I'm sorry you are up a bit today. Water comes and water goes, but it's all the same to us on the scale! Don't go overboard and remember that you are trying to eat a higher amount of calories to keep your weight stable. Enjoy your dinner out (with you gc.) Then get back to more controlled eating at home. All the eating out can be dangerous because you have no control over how it's being cooked or what is being added to it. Kind of scary!

I finally got some sleep and woke up just 30 minutes ago! I was up all night long, and ended up eating the rest of the food I intended to give to my Mom today. I didn't get to sleep until after sun-up sometime. So the food-fest is now over and I have taken a full dose of milk of mag and will only drink water today.

I have decided to swear off of the diet sodas I've been drinking everyday of this round and go with either water or diet iced tea sweetened with my Ez Sweetz. No more aspartame. (Well, it's still in my sugarless gum. Will work on that, too.) But the gum I did in R1 and lost great still.

I didn't weigh today, because I'm not into torture. But tomorrow I will see what the weight has landed on after the up day and down day.

I hope everyone has a nice Sunday! Marie, enjoy your dinner!

[CherylB]

I'm on the computer (like always) and I decided to look for inspirational/motivational pictures of athletic women. Well, I didn't find those so easily. But now I'm reading through some inspirational quotes and I want to share some of them that speak to me. These are under "Motivational Quotes"~

"You can not plow a field by turning it over in your mind."
Author Unknown

"The best way out is always through."
Robert Frost

"Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."
William B. Sprague

"Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome."
Samuel Johnson

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
Albert Einstein

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose--
a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye."
Mary Shelley

"It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, 'Always do what you are afraid to do.' "
Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Storms make oaks take roots."
Proverb

"Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks."
Johann Gottfried Von Herder

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore,
is not an act but a habit."
Aristotle

"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us."
Samuel Smiles

"If the wind will not serve, take to the oars."
Latin Proverb

"Men's best successes come after their disappointments."
Henry Ward Beecher

"Believe with all of your heart that you will do what you were made to do."
Orison Swett Marden

Aren't those great? I'll post more that are under the other headings.

[CherylB]

Here are some from "Inspirational Quotes"~

"If you would create something, you must be something."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be."
Horace Bushnell

"Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true."
Leon J. Suenes

"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do."
Epictetus

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
Wayne Gretzky

"Men do less than they ought, unless they do all they can."
Thomas Carlyle

Anybody feeling any of these? I am!

[CherylB]

Here are some more, in no particular order or subheading~

"Keep steadily before you the fact that all true success depends at last upon yourself."
Theodore T. Hunger

"The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen."
Frank Loyd Wright

"Success is sweet: the sweeter if long delayed and attained through manifold struggles and defeats."
A. Branson Alcott

"Failures do what is tension relieving, while winners do what is goal achieving."
Dennis Waitley

"Everyone has a fair turn to be as great as he pleases."
Jeremy Collier

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."
Robert Collier

"Dost thou love life?
Then do not squander time,
for that is the stuff life is made of."
Benjamin Franklin

"Our life's a stage, a comedy: either learn to play and take it lightly, or bear its troubles patiently."
Palladas

"Govern thy life and thoughts as if the whole world were to see the one, and read the other."
Thomas Fuller

"After the game,
the king and the pawn go into the same box."
Italian Proverb

"The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live."
Elbert Hubbard

"Life's a voyage that's homeward bound."
Herman Melville

"As I grow to understand life less and less,
I learn to love it more and more."
Jules Renard

Help! I can't stop!!!

[CherylB]

Last one, I think~

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
Henry David Thoreau

"Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake."
Henry David Thoreau

"Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us."
Thomas Paine

"Sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny."
George Dana Boardman

"Every man, as to character, is the creature of the age in which he lives. Very few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of their times."
Voltaire (Boy, I hope not.)

"Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts."
Marcus Aurelius

"Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right."
Aldous Huxley

"To reach a port, we must sail—Sail, not tie at anchor—Sail, not drift."
Franklin Roosevelt

"Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind."
Seneca

"In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia."
Author Unknown

"The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can."
Robert Cushing

"What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself."
Hecato, Greek philosopher

"To conquer oneself is the best and noblest victory; to be vanquished by one's own nature is the worst and most ignoble defeat."
Plato

"We only become what we are by the radical and deep-seated refusal of that which others have made of us."
Jean-Paul Sartre

"Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life."
Herbert Otto

"Heed the still small voice that so seldom leads us wrong, and never into folly."
Marquise du Deffand (I love that Still, Small Voice.)

"A man who finds no satisfaction in himself will seek for it in vain elsewhere."
La Rochefoucauld

"Fear less, hope more, eat less, chew more, whine less, breathe more, talk less, say more, hate less, love more, and good things will be yours."
Swedish Proverb

"Go back a little to leap further."
John Clarke

"Half of the failures in life come from pulling one's horse when he is leaping."
Thomas Hood

"I failed my way to success."
Thomas Edison

"It is foolish to fear what you cannot avoid."
Publius Syrus

"One who fears failure limits his activities.
Failure is only the opportunity to more
intelligently begin again."
Henry Ford

"A man's life is interesting primarily when he has failed--I well know.
For it's a sign that he tried to surpass himself."
Georges Clemenceau

"Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities."
Aristotle

"The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions—the little soon-forgotten charities of a kiss, a smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment in the disguise of a playful raillery, and the countless other infinitessimals of pleasurable thought and genial feeling."
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"Happiness consists in activity: such is the constitution of our nature; it is a running stream, and not a stagnant pool."
John M. Good

"Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his own."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances."
Benjamin Franklin

"I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than attempting to satisfy them."
John Stuart Mills

"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
Mahatma Ghandi

"The rays of happiness, like those of light, are colorless when unbroken."
Henry W. Longfellow

"To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others."
Albert Camus

"It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves."
Francois De La Rochefoucauld

"The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook."
William James

"The more a man knows, the more he forgives."
Catherine the Great

"One who understands much displays a greater simplicity of character than one who understands little."
Alexander Chase

"Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."
Louisa May Alcott

"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions."
Albert Einstein

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
Marcel Proust

"To rejoice in another's prosperity, is to give content to your own lot: to mitigate another's grief, is to alleviate or dispel your own."
Thomas Edwards

"Arguing with a fool proves there are two."
Doris M. Smith

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few;
and let those be well-tried before you give them your confidence."
George Washington

"Let us believe neither half of the good people tell us of ourselves, nor half of the evil they say of others."
J. Petit Senn

"Ask yourself this question:
'Will this matter a year from now?' "
Richard Carlson, writing in Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each."
Henry David Thoreau

"Let us strive to improve ourselves, for we cannot remain stationary; one either progresses or retrogrades."
Mme. Du Deffand

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you. Never excuse yourself."
Henry Ward Beecher

"There is nothing noble about being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self."
Hindu Proverb

Okay. I know you're thinking, "She's lost it! What is she doing copying all these quotes?" Well, they're mostly for my own benifit because I want to be able to come back here and read them again and again. But I wanted also to share them with you, my friends. We can all stand to take in a little wisdom from time to time, if not on a daily basis.

I have a stained glass thingy that I keep in the kitchen window sill. It is a quote from the Sanskrit, which I have to admit I don't even know what that is. But I love it:

"Yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope."

I hope some of these bless you, too. Sometimes, all we need is a really good quote that speaks to us, to get us out of the rut we've been in for ages and ages.

My rut of stagnation and inactivity is about to be filled in and I'm moving on!

[Cruzcrzy]

Hi Cheryl,

these motivational quotes are wonderful. I will have to cut and paste them and print them out. Thanks so much for posting them.

I hope the scale is nice to you today . I am down. I ate very clean yesterday. When we went to the steak restaurant I had a steak salad only. It was very good.

WHEN I exercise, my exercise of choice is walking. It really is the only thing I enjoy and can be consistent with.

Ds arrived home from SC last evening. His last class starts tomorrow. It will finish up August 5, and then he will return to SC. I hope and pray he gets a good job in a timely manner. He's already gotten some calls, so it is a good indicator. It's hard to believe he is all grown up, and will be out on his own soon. It is bittersweet. Once I know he has a job I can quit worrying . That is what I am telling myself anyway, lol. His girfriend is already there and started a job July 1. He was there in between class helping her get moved into their apartment. He works at the University in a student position so his time off is flexible.

[Cruzcrzy]

Hey Cheryl,


thinking of you . I hope you are doing okay today .

[CherylB]

Hi! Sorry I've been away. What a busy day! I can't seem to get caught up, but now I think I can relax. Glad your DS is home for a while! It's hard when they move away, isn't it? I was just emailing back and forth with one of my nephews who is in Indiana. We hardly ever talk but today is the day. We're getting caught up on the news.

I went shopping and bought clothes. It still sucks! I hate clothes shopping and I always have. I hate fitting rooms and not knowing if something will look good on you. I tried on a bunch of things. I'm still "thinking young" and some of those things will be stuff I can never wear again, unless I get "physical." It's no longer a matter of if but when. I am so jelly-like! It's gross.

So, bought things to workout in and things to wear during the summer. Spent a lot of dough! Had major sticker shock when I went to buy a new razor. I have used disposable ones for years, but I hate the way they get clogged up so quickly even when rinsing often. So I sprung for a new Venus razor. The razors aren't expensive but the cost of the blades is INSANE. I was looking at men's razors, thinking they might be better. They wanted $27 for a pack of blades for one of those razors! I went with Venus cause the blades were the cheapest. The labels on the shelves that show the unit price and the price per 100 said $317/100 blades! (Not venus but the expensive ones.)

So, I fasted yesterday and only chewed sugar-free gum and drank water, and took a dose of MOM. It didn't work quite the way it usually does and I should probably take another dose, but time is not permitting. Tomorrow I'll be kid and dog sitting at my sister Donna's house. I have to be there by 0900 and I'll probably be there til mid afternoon. Another scorcher today and tomorrow will be one, too.

Today, I showered and shaved (I hate shaving) and went to the stores. Got gas (OMG) and then the clothes, forgot the pet food and treats, then went back home. Since then I've been trying to get caught up with emails and texts, and if my sister Robin hadn't called me to ask if I read her texts, I would have forgotten them altogether! We talked for about an hour and a half. Why does my phone get hot the longer I talk on it??? Nobody else I know has that problem. I've had hot phones for as far back as I can remember.

So, with all the running around and typing today, I haven't eaten for two days now! I didn't intend to fast two days in a row, but it's turning out that way. I have zero hunger. ZERO. I am thinking of doing this plan radically different. I really want to enjoy all the fruits and foods available in the summertime, and I'm so tired of packing my food when I go somewhere, or eating before I leave, etc.

Plus, with the new vigorous exercise plan I'm about to embark on, I will need to eat more anyway. Also, they say that if you aren't used to exercising and you are on P2, starting to exercise can cause you to stall. Well, I'm losing so slowly now that it doesn't make much sense to keep to a P2 plan.

I think I'm going to keep taking my pellets for appetite suppression and for fat burning, but I'm going to start eating like a normal, healthy person. I will find things that I can eat when I am outside the home, and I will count calories. I will keep them under 1500, maybe closer to 1200 per day. I will keep the fat low and the protein on the higher side. I will also stay away from bread products. But I'm going to allow myself some freedom as I enter into this new "phase" that will last for the rest of my life.

Also, if I do the above plan, there will be no more P2's and 3's and 4's. No weeks or months where I won't be able to continue to lose weight. I can keep working steadily at losing and get the most out of my summer. If it doesn't "fly", I can return to plan B (Atkins was plan A.)

All the moments in the dressing room today really opened my eyes. I've gone as far as I can go without exercising. I don't like the way I'm looking and I want to dress in things that won't work right now. It's time for a change.

On the bright side, I'm a size 10 and not the 12 that I thought I was!

[Cruzcrzy]

Hi Cheryl,

WTG on the size 10.

I really appreciate you sharing the new plan you are considering embarking on(or have you decided for sure?). I've been thinking alot about the same thing today, ALOT. In fact, I feel a bit depressed today. I have been thinking there must be something different, but, similar. I don't like all these phases either. Like you, I am looking for something permanent that will last for the rest of my life, a life of moderation of diet, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle. I have more to lose, but, I just can't bear the thought of going through P2 again. I have my physical on Thursday, so I think I will start experimenting with the hcg after that to get the rest of the weight off. I support all who are doing the OWL program or Dr. Simeon's, but, I need a modified something else.

[CherylB]

Well, it must be in the air! LOL I was doing fine on P2 when I was losing well, but when things stop working, that's when I start getting restless! Marie, why not try something like I'm going to do? (I already bought some things at the grocery store today, so I'm sort of committed.) If it doesn't work, we can try something else or go back to a more traditional P2. But, I'm going to continue taking my pellets; 4 3x/day. If it helps my body to be satisfied on a reduced calorie diet and to release fat from my stingy cells, then COOL!

[Cruzcrzy]

I am going to look into ordering the brand pellets you use. All I need to do is google it, correct? I did have hunger with the others, although plenty people have great success. I had a good loss with them. I still have plenty, but, it's possible they are contaminated, and I would like a fresh bottle. Have to run. Time to get dinner going. Have a nice evening.

[CherylB]

I think it's okay to say the brand I use. It's been said before. I use Vox. I've never had hunger problems. I'm not saying that I never feel a hunger pang but it's never an issue.

You have a nice dinner and evening too, Marie. I'll be back on tomorrow sometime. Going to try to get to sleep early tonight.

Hi to all you lurkers! I know you're out there!

[martiangurll]

Hi Cheryl, I continue to lurk but wanted to say thank you for the inspiration and good job on fitting into size 10 (instead of 12) and starting some exercise.

[CherylB]

I knew at least one of you would come out of hiding if I called you out! You're welcome... Night, ladies!

[myrna]

I'm very interested to see how your new plan works out. I've wondered about the hhcg as an appetite suppressant on a more "regular" (albeit low fat) diet, myself.

[Nicole T]

Hi Cheryl--I just wanted to ask you about the VOX pellets. Right now I am using drops but thinking of switching and I saw that you are very happy with your VOX pellets. I also saw that they have them on Amazon for $15! Just wanted to check with you to see if you are still happy with them before I try them. Thanks!

[PaleoPrincess]

What does VLCD stand for?

[Cruzcrzy]

Originally Posted by PaleoPrincess

What does VLCD stand for?

It stands for Very Low Calorie Day (since P2 is 500 calories). It took me awhile to figure all the "language" out too, LOL.

Cheryl, I've been gone all day and am tired, so will talk to you tomorrow. I know you have a full day too. My stats are to the left for today .

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by Nicole T

Hi Cheryl--I just wanted to ask you about the VOX pellets. Right now I am using drops but thinking of switching and I saw that you are very happy with your VOX pellets. I also saw that they have them on Amazon for $15! Just wanted to check with you to see if you are still happy with them before I try them. Thanks!

YES! I have no complaints at all about my pellets. I happened to luck out the first go-round and so I bought four more bottles after finding that the first bottle was working so well for me. That's a good price! I hope you have a good experience with them, too.

[CherylB]

I was super busy, too. I was at my sister's from 0900 to 1700, then it took about an hour to drive home (a little less than that.) I got home, fed the dog and tended to the parakeets and then turned on the computer. Had no internet signal at the Modem for 2 hours, then as I was on the phone with ATT (always a pleasure,) it came back on. So, it must have been a local outage. THEN, for 20 minutes I tried to go to my websites and each page took ages to load and then wouldn't load fully. (Reinforced my idea of the outage being local, cause then tons of us were all trying to go online at the same time.)

Anyway, here I am! I will be busy tomorrow too, but not like today. I will be meeting my sis and "the kid" (great nephew I babysat for) at 1pm at a local lake to go swimming. It will be my first time exposing my body to the sun since last August! I will be slathering myself with lots of sunscreen and using my beach shelter umbrella. I also will go into the water often, to cool down.

I will be doing my first kettlebell workout tomorrow morning. I want to feel good about having done it and be basking in the sun with the knowledge that I earned that beach time! I don't have a lot of expectations for the first workout, cause it is so different from anything I've ever done before, but I know I will get the hang of it. I will take pics and a video of my body so I have a good idea of how my body changes with the exercise. (I saw a great video someone posted on Youtube about their body pre and post hcg and working out. It was amazing!)

That's all the news here! I'll check back tomorrow. Have an excellent night and great day tomorrow!

[CherylB]

Wow! What a full day I had, and I was still able to sleep late like I like to do. I got up and did my kettlebell instructional dvd, then I threw on my bathing suit and shorts and packed a little cooler. Off to the lake to meet my sis and our great nephew. They got there even before I did but I was there almost 4 hours! I'm going to be toasty, for sure.

I went down the waterslide twice (not meant for adults), but it was fun. Needs to be in deeper water, though. The first time I hit my heals on the ground, the second time I grounded out with my butt! (I found three tiny little pebbles under my bathing suit a while later! Must have been my left cheek that hit the ground.)

Then I laid in the sun on my belly to try to get some color on my backside. Twice my sister and I swam out to the dock (not the right word) and she dove in three times! She did great and I was so proud of her! I couldn't get up the nerve to do it and went down the ladder when we decided to swim back to shore.

The second time I went out there with her, I knew I was going off the dang thing, one way or the other. I stood on the edge but I have such a fear about this that I couldn't get up the courage or the strength in my legs to jump up high enough to be sure to clear the platform. So I had her push me off on a count of three! Twice I went off and twice I got a nose-full of water. Next time I'm going to jump off without being pushed and will try to even dive. I'll get less water up the nose that way, and it will be quite the proud moment.

Then, we walked into the wooded area to where the kid playground is and we ended up swinging on the swings! I forgot that that was exercise, too! After that we did a short hike up into the woods and tried to find a way down to the dam, but the path deadended before it got there. Not sure why.

My great nephew wanted to get on my shoulders so we tried that a couple of times and we finally worked it out. The first time he actually got on my shoulders, I couldn't see a thing because my bangs were completely covering my eyes! So, the second time I told him to wipe the hair out of my eyes and we got better with each time. He was in the water almost the entire time we were there! I was in the water alot, too.

Now, I am thoroughly wasted and I'm sure that we'll go back again sometime next week. I want to go there often and work through these life-long fears. I'm almost out of the 40's and I'm still so petrified of some things. I'm tired of fear getting in my way! Enough already!

I'm going to copy and paste this post onto several other threads I am active on, so I don't have to restate all this again and again. I hope it works!

[Cruzcrzy]

Wow, what a WONDERFUL full day you had . What a glorious day!!
Kuddos to you doing your kettle ball yesterday before leaving

I am up early because I have an 8:20 physical appt. I am up a pound because I started my cycle yesterday.

Well, guess what, I've decided to do another round of P2, most likely OWL style. I am not quite sure when. To be honest, I am afraid to combine the HCG with a higher calorie diet. For me, that would include alot of fat(mainly from salad dressings), so I am going to give the OWL a try, and see how it goes. I definitely will be watching your progress. Depending on how your round goes I may change my mind. My goal is 145. My TOPS goal is 155 which I am going to keep in place, but, my goal is 145. I see the surgeon for my consult on Aug. 2, and I will be curious to see what he says about my weight. I am most likely going to have some cosmetic surgery (lipo/tummy tuck). It is something I've ALWAYS wanted. I still have alot of fat in that area, and I don't even think more weight loss will help. In my younger years(and not so younger years!) I was always asked "when I was due". I also have a muffin top and my c-section certainly didn't help any. I am hoping to have the money saved by November to do it.

I hope you are not too tired today. Yesterday sounds like it was worth it, but, I know the recovery may be a bit rough. It would be for me. TTYL.

[CherylB]

If you can afford the surgery and you've wanted it for so long, go for it! I hope it gives you the results you want so much. My sister had a full-body lift done a few years back. I wouldn't advise that procedure though! Way too many cuts for one to have to deal with at one time.

You're doing great, Marie. I wish you luck with your next round, no matter how you decide to do it.

I'm doing great so far on this plan! I'm back down to my ticker weight after going up to 168.8 while still doing my rogue plan (the "less rogue" one that I did before I started increasing calories and activity.)

I'm definitely at a set-point that I had forgotten about, because it was so many years ago that I was at this point and on the way back down. (Last time was 1998!) But I'm been in this weight range since June 29 (!!!) and I'm going to blast right through this any day now. (I had to look back in my food journal to see when I got into the 160's. Holy #%*!)

No wonder I took a chance on a different Hcg approach! I'm really glad I did, too. I won't have to end this phase and rest/maintain for two more phases. I can just keep right on going! It might come off a bit more slowly this way, but I don't lose time and I don't have to go without food that I'm craving.

I am stiff, sore and have a sunburned upper back and tops of my shoulders, but otherwise I feel great today. I won't be doing anything at all today, so I can recover. What a fabulous day outside, too! It's a waste to spend it indoors but I just don't have it in me to do anything. It's cool and breezy! Like in the 70's! The perfect day, in my book.

I have been eating about 1000-1100 cals each day. I'm eating fruit but not things like bananas and pineapple (high glycemic index stuff.) I'm eating LF yogurts (whatever is on sale; not greek) and LF cottage cheese with walnuts and nonsweetened coconut (what I'd been eating all along this round.) I ate grilled swordfish steak the other day with lemon, but it was almost 0% added fat. I also had a salad that day with diet dressing (bleck.) Last night I even rolled the dice and had a serving of mini shredded wheat with FF half and half. I added a small handful of raspberries and used Ez Sweetz, and added a bit of water to the half and half. I also eat sugar-free chocolate popsicles! Two of them are only 80 calories and they make such a great snack! I was also drinking a couple of O'Douls some days but they are too high in carbs. Going to stop buying those.

I'm really suffering! Later on today, I will probably make a cheeseburger. I have ground beef that needs to be cooked and, although I'm keeping things low fat, I want cheese on it. So, that's for dinner!

[Cruzcrzy]

Hi Cheryl,

I started typing a reply and I lost it. I'm glad I was not too far into it, lol. My dh got me a new laptop a few nights ago, and I am still learning my way around it. I didn't need or want one, but, he got a good deal, so I am okay with the purchase, lol. It was sweet of him. We don't typically purchase expensive gifts like this for one another. I think since I got him the Nook for Father's Day he has been wanting to do something for me. My favorite reality show is on now Big Brother and I check boards constantly, lol. Enough of that. I didn't even have any of that in the first post, lol.

Yeah for being back down to your ticker weight. It's great being in the 160's isn't it? How is your sunburn doing? That is great that yesterday did not wear you out.

I had my annual physical today and all is well. I still need to do some blood
work. They did a bone density test and already called back with the results(good). He was pleased with my weight loss, but, he never really focused on me being overweight(which was nice). I talked mainly to the nurse about it. I've been on generic Wellburtin XL for years to help with my fatigue, but, I asked him to change it to generic Prozac. I think it is time for a change since I don't think the Wellbutrin is making a difference like it use to.

I am up a pound, but, I know it is due to TOM which I was not expecting, lol. He is not a welcome visitor

I wish I had more exciting news, lol.