Desperately Seeking the Last 15

[TerriMM]

I reached my high weight of 180# about 15 years ago (I’m 5’1”) Since then I’ve been dieting off & on, losing a chunk, regaining a little, until I’m now within 15# of goal. I’m living with and happy with the health benefits of the low carb lifestyle. But, I have stopped losing and not ready to settle with where I’m at. I’ve read “Pounds and Inches”, spent hours reading your extremely helpful posts, ordered my pellets and I plan to start loading Wednesday or Thursday (depending on delivery of my pellets). I hope to reach my goal by my birthday, June 11th.

The Plan:
HCG – Intermountain Pellets 3, 3x per day.
Loading – 2 days with HCG, load up on healthy fats, fruits, milk and a few carbby treats to capacity.
P2 – 21 days with HCG, 500 calories on protocol as much as possible, 2 days without HCG, 500 calories.
P3 – 21 days, no sugar or starch, Atkins On Going Weight Loss Phase as template.
P4 – 21 days, Atkins Lifetime Maintenance as template.

A few Questions:
1. Since I’m within 15# of goal, should I do a skip day?
2. Since I’m doing Pellets do I need to do only 2 days off HCG before eating normally or should I go 3 days?
3. Do I skip dosing during TOM?
4. Since Bernice has never been my BFF, I’m concerned about stopping my multi fiber supplements. Pounds and Inches says not to worry, what’s the opinion here?

The Invitation:
Please join me on my adventure! I would love to share in your success and program & share mine with you. I would appreciate any insight anyone is obliged to offer, especially if there is anything I should be aware of in my particular situation.

May success grace us all!

[CMac]

I would be leary about going all carb free on any phase because the second you re introduce those carbs you are gonna store fat like mad.

[shelbyla]

A few Questions:
1. Since I’m within 15# of goal, should I do a skip day? Since you are doing homeopathic, you do not skip days.
2. Since I’m doing Pellets do I need to do only 2 days off HCG before eating normally or should I go 3 days? Yes, 2 days or 48 hours off at the end of P2
3. Do I skip dosing during TOM? No
4. Since Bernice has never been my BFF, I’m concerned about stopping my multi fiber supplements. Pounds and Inches says not to worry, what’s the opinion here? I would check calories/carbs and factor them in if they have any. Also, some report that fiber makes them retain water (and weight) so just be advised.

[TerriMM]

Shelby, You're awsome thanks! You've already helped me along with many of your posts on other threads. Good luck on your "15"!!

[dazygyrl]

hi, there! your story is very much like mine. i WANT to get rid of the last 15-25 lbs. i LOVE lc, but it seems i do better at maintaining with LC than i do losing. :/

i am also using the intermountain pellets. i haven't decided for sure on a start date. soon, though!

just wanted to say 'hi'! will be joining you soon!

[TerriMM]

Hi Carrie, Welcome! I agree completely about maintaining but not losing. I intend to return to LC as a lifestyle after this. I'll let you know when I receive my shipment and my start date.

Have you used the pellets before? What's your typical dose?

[dazygyrl]

i have never done hcg before. virgin territory for me. i normally stay as far away from strict plans as possible, but something about hcg intrigued me to try it.

i think i'm going to start next monday....start pellets on mon and load days on mon and tues. i plan on staying on p2 till my bottle is empty. it's a 40 day supply.

[C'Marie]

Hi Terri! Hi Carrie!

Terri - what Cmac said - if you can incorporate the breadsticks into your protocol while on P2, do it. Everyone is different. You may or may not gain on P4 with re-introducing some starches - and some of us have found that we seem to be less or more carb sensitive after doing hcg. Some folks theorize that if you use the breadsticks you are training the body to accept a little bit of starch for P4. If you're gluten intolerant, then of course no.

Shelby already answered no skip days and fiber questions. Eat a ton of veggies and drink LOTSA water and hopefully you won't need to add additional fiber.

Carrie, WELCOME!!!

[TerriMM]

CMac & Marie, Thanks for the insight. I thought protocol was to avoid all sugar and starch on P3 for three weeks. But I very much like the idea of being able to train my body to be a little more accepting. Maybe I'll just work on no additional, but keep the breadsticks. I do plan on eating low GI fruit, nuts and other carbs (hopefully) on P3.
I'm really excited about getting started! I hope my pellets arrive today.

[Lbibclc]

Loading should be all about the fat not carbs. Eat a cheesecake! I do peanut butter bacon sausage avocados eggs. I did do chips for a treat..

[TerriMM]

Oh Yeah, I'm so going for the peanut butter. After eating low carb for so long high fat seems like no big deal. Cheesecake is a great idea. I see why people say they can't possibly eat any more! Thanks for the suggestions Liz!

[Bierarsch]

Originally Posted by TerriMM

CMac & Marie, Thanks for the insight. I thought protocol was to avoid all sugar and starch on P3 for three weeks. But I very much like the idea of being able to train my body to be a little more accepting. Maybe I'll just work on no additional, but keep the breadsticks. I do plan on eating low GI fruit, nuts and other carbs (hopefully) on P3.
I'm really excited about getting started! I hope my pellets arrive today.

The melba toast and grissini bread sticks are for P2. You would not eat those in P3. The low GI fruits, nuts, and veggies are great for P3. I think it's a 50/50 split on people who do or don't eat the melba toast or grissini. I think I am going to test a theory in my next round, and eat the melba toast for the first time ever during P2, and see if my body is more forgiving when I introduce carbs in P4. The first three rounds I didn't eat the melba toast or grissini in P2, and I ended up not stabilizing once I got to P4.

Welcome and good luck!

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by Bierarsch

The melba toast and grissini bread sticks are for P2. You would not eat those in P3. The low GI fruits, nuts, and veggies are great for P3. I think it's a 50/50 split on people who do or don't eat the melba toast or grissini. I think I am going to test a theory in my next round, and eat the melba toast for the first time ever during P2, and see if my body is more forgiving when I introduce carbs in P4. The first three rounds I didn't eat the melba toast or grissini in P2, and I ended up not stabilizing once I got to P4.

Welcome and good luck!

That's the way I read it. It's interesting and a little intimidating that different things work for different people. It seems almost like R1 is many times a practice round.

[TerriMM]

Hurray!!!!!!! My pellets came today. I start loading tomorrow.

[C'Marie]

Originally Posted by C'Marie

Hi Terri! Hi Carrie!

Terri - what Cmac said - if you can incorporate the breadsticks into your protocol while on P2, do it. Everyone is different. You may or may not gain on P4 with re-introducing some starches - and some of us have found that we seem to be less or more carb sensitive after doing hcg. Some folks theorize that if you use the breadsticks you are training the body to accept a little bit of starch for P4. If you're gluten intolerant, then of course no.

Shelby already answered no skip days and fiber questions. Eat a ton of veggies and drink LOTSA water and hopefully you won't need to add additional fiber.

Carrie, WELCOME!!!

Terri - on P2 you have the grissinis ... on P3 NO SUGAR NO STARCH which means no grissinis - I think you may help your body accept a little starch in P4 by eating them in P2. But no matter what, no starch/sugar in P3. Sorry it wasn't clear.

[C'Marie]

Originally Posted by TerriMM

Hurray!!!!!!! My pellets came today. I start loading tomorrow.

Yay! Let the fat eating begin! eat some cream cheese and olives for me!

[TerriMM]

Well I finished my 2 days of loading. I have to say, it was not as easy or pleasant as I had imagined. I can’t remember how long it has been since I’ve been that full, particularly for that long of a time. But I feel well prepared and fueled to start the diet. I’m trying to say this as calmly as possible, “In my quest to rid myself of the last 15#, I just intentionally gained 6.3#”. I know a lot is water, since I drank 2+ liters a day and haven’t really gone much and my feet look like little sausages. I know this was the plan, but I feel a little like I just jumped off a cliff!

I will say that I was worried my strawberries and grissini for breakfast (basically all carbs) would make me ravenous this morning, but so far no problem.

One other thing I was wondering about and I haven’t noticed anyone else mentioning. Has anyone else noticed that the pellets are all different sizes? Has anyone noticed a difference because of it?

Well Carrie, you ready to jump? Anyone else?

Here’s to a successful weekend!

[dazygyrl]

Well Carrie, you ready to jump? Anyone else?

YES!! monday is loading day 1. i must say, after not having "real" carbs for over 3 years, i kinda sorta looking forward to some on those loading days. isn't that terrible?? i know that i need to focus on fat and protein and i will. but will have some carbs too. monday night i am going to make a big batch of alfredo and chicken. my alfredo is made with a block of cream cheese, 2 sticks of butter, heavy cream, and parmesean. that fatty enough?? lol!! i'm gonna eat A LOT of it and then follow it down with a dessert of fresh WHIPPED CREAM MOUSSE!!! haven't planned tuesday out yet.

[TerriMM]

I know what you mean Carrie, that's exactly the way I felt and how I went about it. My must have was a blueberry donut and anything chocolate. It was surprising how I felt after the indulgences. Sort of like "I know why I don't do this anymore". I also focused on Nuts, Avocado, Cheese and lots of Whip Cream. Good luck and enjoy!!

[dazygyrl]

we have donuts every sunday at church. you betcha i'm snatchin' up some of those for mon and tues! LOL! the sour cream fried ones that look like krispykreme ones. monday lunch, i'm thinking a mini pizza from the gas station down the street, almonds, whip cream. that's all i have thought of right now. carbs never made me feel bad, i just quit eating them for the health aspect. so, not really expecting much in the way of feeling crappy.

[TerriMM]

Hi Carrie,
Just wanted to wish you good luck. Hope you got your hands on some of those donuts. I had to duck out prior to the coffee & cookies to preserve my sanity. Not doing too bad with hunger or cravings as long as it's not in my face. If I ever load again, I think I'll steer away from quite so many carbs (up 6.3 was a little discouraging). I lost 2.1 D1 and 1.4 D2, don't think I could of done that with LC under the same circumstances. Hope to be down to starting weight by Tuesday-Wednesday. At least back into the 140s would really help! One thing that really helped me was going over the recipes and having some different and high flavor meals to start with. Didn't seem like such a sacrifice. Have an avoca:do for me!

[dazygyrl]

hey, terri!! thank you for the note. i DID get some donuts. heehee...

i'm definitely going to focus on fat and protein. but thought i'd sneak a few ultra forbiddens in there too.

glad to hear you are doing well. i have been reading too many posts here and on another board about people having dosage issues and resultant hunger issues. kinda sorta has me a bit anxious about that. i am starting with dosage recs on the bottle and go from there.

[Zbunny]

Originally Posted by 3bees~1flower

hey, terri!! thank you for the note. i DID get some donuts. heehee...

i'm definitely going to focus on fat and protein. but thought i'd sneak a few ultra forbiddens in there too.

glad to hear you are doing well. i have been reading too many posts here and on another board about people having dosage issues and resultant hunger issues. kinda sorta has me a bit anxious about that. i am starting with dosage recs on the bottle and go from there.

Good idea -- that's exactly what you should do. You're more likely to see posts from people who have issues than you are those who have none (b/c if you don't have issues you don't need advice, right?), so don't let that color your view of how difficult or easy this is. A lot of folks transition very smoothly onto P2. I personally struggled with dosing and hunger the first week, and had to fiddle around a bit with some great advice, but I have it sorted out now so all is well! Everyone is different, so just follow the plan and only tweak if absolutely necessary. You'll do great!

[TerriMM]

I started with the dose recommendations and it's been fine for me. I agree with ZBunny, you hear more about people with issues then people without. Great Luck!!

[dazygyrl]

thank you, ladies!

[dazygyrl]

yeah, that donut tasted really good this morning. about to take my first dose!

i can't remember, what method/brand are you using terri?

[TerriMM]

Intermountain Pellets 3-3x per day. I usually take them first thing in the morning (about 5:30 am) about 1:00 pm and between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm. Down another pound today. Makes 4.5 since Friday. It would sound a little better to me if that didn't mean I was still 1.8 above Wednesday. But I hope to be over that by this Wednesday. Then it's all downhill!

[dazygyrl]

i so hope that dosage works for me. i'm sorta of afraid of having to tweak if need be. just hoping the 3x3 works beautifully!

congrats on the -1! i bet you'll be down that 1.8 in no time!

lots of fat so far today! about to make a ribeye steak with butter! had a protein smoothie with a cup and a half o HWC, 2 servings of protein powder along with a few frozen strawberries. will have another similar later on. plus my doughnut early this morning.

[TerriMM]

Sounds like you're on the right track!

We have a lot in common as far as LC back ground and where we are in the weight loss journey. Although every body is different, I'll bet the dose is a real good start for you.

It sounds real complicated and technical reading all the posts and discussions, but I'm finding it pretty easy and text book now that I'm doing it.

[dazygyrl]

thanks, terri for your post. i wish there a *few* more threads about successes.....maybe there are and i just haven't found them. but the majority ones i have read are about dosing issues.

didn't get my steak made soon enough so will have it later. i take my afternoon dose at 2 and it's almost 1.30 and i hadn't cooked it yet! what time frame do you take your pills in relation to eating/drinking? i have read nothing for 30 min before/after taking and i have read 10 min....other places 15 min before and after! o.O