My alternating re-feed experiment

[nola baxter]

Hi Terri

It is great you can fit into your skinny jeans!

And good to play around to find a plan/regime that really suits you on all levels.

Sometimes the scale doesnt always show what is really happening with the body- and going by how your clothes fit, or how your body is changing is a better measure.

I used to do all-fruit days a lot in my past-
where I just ate unlimited fresh raw fruit-
and this always made me drop weight-
except if I added any other food to the mix- then it never worked..
So I think interrupting an apple day might have the same effect.

I have been continuing my 5500/1500cal two day cycle.
For the first week my weight appeared fairly stable , but this second week, I can see my body is dropping a small amount of fat. Which tells me my metabolic rate is up-regulating!
I will keep doing it a bit longer to see what happens, and to see more clearly if that is the case or not- but so far it looks good, and I am feeling pretty damn happy about it all!
If you can down-regulate metabolic rate, then I am sure you can up-regulate it too!

[Bierarsch]

Originally Posted by TerriMM

Hi Maggie,
I was wondering about you, good to hear from you. How's it going? Did you decide to stick with protocol? Do you do the injections yourself or do you go to a doctor?

Our goals are still very close. I may have to shelve the 125 for a short round 2, but I desperately want to see the 120s before I finish this round. And I'm also okay to stabilize at 130, as that will be a 10# drop from the first of the year. It doesn't seem like that much when you see what others have done, but when you get down so close to goal, I think you have to keep it in perspective. I have 6 days left until I plan to transition to P3, but I may extend a couple days because TOM may make me wait to see the 120s, so we should be see that about the same time too.

Sounds like you’re doing great!! Keep up the great work!!

I think you will get to 125 before me! You are SO CLOSE I bet you can taste it!

I am sticking to the protocol right now. My hubby decided to transition to P3, and his P3D1 starts on Friday. The lowest I ever got was in R3 and I got to 132.1 before I had blood sugar drops that made me almost pass out, and I was so strictly protocol for the first 3 rounds that I didn't dare cheat to help my blood sugar, so I transitioned to P3 and then couldn't stabilize. Now it's a different story, and I am "going rogue" every weekend! :blush: I plan to stick to protocol as closely as possible now that I broke that stall until A) My sister-in-law gets back from Rome on Sunday (she is already begging for Mexican food) and/or B) I stall again and/or C) I have blood sugar issues.

I buy my hcg online, mix it, and inject it myself. I have noticed that now that I've broken this stall, that my injections are getting harder and harder to do (painful) because there is finally less fat on my stomach. I am really having to pinch my skin to inject without it hurting and so that I don't have difficulty getting the needle to actually go in. Are you on injections? Do you do them yourself? If so, have you noticed this problem?

KUTGW!

[dazygyrl]

hi, terri! hope you have had a great day today!

was today and up or down (calorie) day?

i was down 0.6 of my "hormonal gain" yesterday, but as the day has gone on my tummy (read ovary area) feels more bloated and have had a lot more ovulation pain today. so wonder how that will affect the scale tomorrow. i love knowing what my body is doing, but it can get really tender sometimes!!

i had a larger portion of 96/4 ground beef today for lunch, 6.5oz, as a burger. it was very yummy! and filling!

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by nola baxter

Hi Terri

It is great you can fit into your skinny jeans!

And good to play around to find a plan/regime that really suits you on all levels.

Sometimes the scale doesnt always show what is really happening with the body- and going by how your clothes fit, or how your body is changing is a better measure.

I used to do all-fruit days a lot in my past-
where I just ate unlimited fresh raw fruit-
and this always made me drop weight-
except if I added any other food to the mix- then it never worked..
So I think interrupting an apple day might have the same effect.

I have been continuing my 5500/1500cal two day cycle.
For the first week my weight appeared fairly stable , but this second week, I can see my body is dropping a small amount of fat. Which tells me my metabolic rate is up-regulating!
I will keep doing it a bit longer to see what happens, and to see more clearly if that is the case or not- but so far it looks good, and I am feeling pretty damn happy about it all!
If you can down-regulate metabolic rate, then I am sure you can up-regulate it too!

Thanks for the feed back on the fruit day. I'm dealing with my typical monthly fluctuation (fully expected) and I was trying to decide if a steak day or trying another fruit day (once I get past the unstable period) would be better. It's good to know I still have the option either way.

It sounds like taking your own advice is making some great progress for you! That's great. I really believe your theory of "up-regulating" your metabolism is valid. I still feel like I'm in the toddler stage of refining a real plan for me going forward, but I do feel like I moving in the right direction. I'm going to spend some time this weekend formulating an exercise program to assist in this effort. I'm going to start slow (10-20 minutes of strength or Pilates + some cardio mixed in on more of a social level) so I don't over do and have to skip, but focus on consistency.

Good luck on your coming week!

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by Bierarsch

I think you will get to 125 before me! You are SO CLOSE I bet you can taste it!

I am sticking to the protocol right now. My hubby decided to transition to P3, and his P3D1 starts on Friday. The lowest I ever got was in R3 and I got to 132.1 before I had blood sugar drops that made me almost pass out, and I was so strictly protocol for the first 3 rounds that I didn't dare cheat to help my blood sugar, so I transitioned to P3 and then couldn't stabilize. Now it's a different story, and I am "going rogue" every weekend! :blush: I plan to stick to protocol as closely as possible now that I broke that stall until A) My sister-in-law gets back from Rome on Sunday (she is already begging for Mexican food) and/or B) I stall again and/or C) I have blood sugar issues.

I buy my hcg online, mix it, and inject it myself. I have noticed that now that I've broken this stall, that my injections are getting harder and harder to do (painful) because there is finally less fat on my stomach. I am really having to pinch my skin to inject without it hurting and so that I don't have difficulty getting the needle to actually go in. Are you on injections? Do you do them yourself? If so, have you noticed this problem?

KUTGW!

Good Morning Maggie,

Boy those last few pounds are torture aren't they! I'm dealing with my monthly fluctuation at the moment and can hardly wait for that to be over some I can start moving is a positive direction.

I'm doing pellets from Intermountain and have been real happy with them. Very convenient and no pain. It's funny the inconveniences we go through from getting too skinny. That's some struggle I can do with a lot more of. Yesterday I pulled on my freshly laundered shorts and was a little concerned that they seems a little snug until I realized I pulled them on fully zipped.

I'm going to work on my plan this weekend for both refining my alternating days and incorporating some exercise on a consistent basis.

Good luck with the sister-in-law meal. My go to for Mexican is Carnitas & salad, hold the tortillas but let the sour cream and guacamole slide on It's yummy and satisfying, but fairly low carb.

Have a great weekend!

[Bierarsch]

Originally Posted by TerriMM

Good Morning Maggie,

Boy those last few pounds are torture aren't they! I'm dealing with my monthly fluctuation at the moment and can hardly wait for that to be over some I can start moving is a positive direction.

I'm doing pellets from Intermountain and have been real happy with them. Very convenient and no pain. It's funny the inconveniences we go through from getting too skinny. That's some struggle I can do with a lot more of. Yesterday I pulled on my freshly laundered shorts and was a little concerned that they seems a little snug until I realized I pulled them on fully zipped.

I'm going to work on my plan this weekend for both refining my alternating days and incorporating some exercise on a consistent basis.

Good luck with the sister-in-law meal. My go to for Mexican is Carnitas & salad, hold the tortillas but let the sour cream and guacamole slide on It's yummy and satisfying, but fairly low carb.

Have a great weekend!

I am 134.6 today! I am catching up, but PMS/TOM is going to rear it's ugly head soon. I have thought about switching to pellets because DH just ordered some to use for his next and final round, but I have never used them before and am scared to switch from one to the other and having to find my sweetspot so close to goal. I can always ask DH to give me the shots in my tushie if it gets too painful....

at the shorts zipped up. That is something that I would do.

I think I might sneak out of the mexican food meal as DH just started P3. She asked for a steakhouse or mexican food, and I can get a really good salad at the steakhouse, and DH can get a nice ribeye.

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by dazygyrl

hi, terri! hope you have had a great day today!

was today and up or down (calorie) day?

i was down 0.6 of my "hormonal gain" yesterday, but as the day has gone on my tummy (read ovary area) feels more bloated and have had a lot more ovulation pain today. so wonder how that will affect the scale tomorrow. i love knowing what my body is doing, but it can get really tender sometimes!!

i had a larger portion of 96/4 ground beef today for lunch, 6.5oz, as a burger. it was very yummy! and filling!

Hey Carrie! Happy Friday!! I'm doing my hormonal up swing at the moment, probably start heading back down this weekend. It sure helps having gone throught this already. We know what to expect and (at least I try) don't get so wigged out about it. It is interesting how much more in tune with my body I'm getting.

Yesterday was an up cal day about 1250. Food wise I was real happy with my choices, lean protein veggies and fruit. I had a bread stick for breakfast and decided that would be my last grain/starch moving forward up or down days. I did slip in a glass of wine, that used to give me what I called a "wine cheat" with drop the next day, hoping to counter act the hormonal thing but wasn't so lucky this time. Today will probably be more of an up day since my honey is bar-b-quing steaks and I'll probably have another glass of wine or two, but the rest of the day and dinner will be lean and mean to hopefully compensate.

Hope you have a great and sucessfully weekend!!

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by Bierarsch

I am 134.6 today! I am catching up, but PMS/TOM is going to rear it's ugly head soon. I have thought about switching to pellets because DH just ordered some to use for his next and final round, but I have never used them before and am scared to switch from one to the other and having to find my sweetspot so close to goal. I can always ask DH to give me the shots in my tushie if it gets too painful....

at the shorts zipped up. That is something that I would do.

I think I might sneak out of the mexican food meal as DH just started P3. She asked for a steakhouse or mexican food, and I can get a really good salad at the steakhouse, and DH can get a nice ribeye.

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!

I hear what you're saying! If something is working don't change it now

You can always try your husband's pellets if it starts getting too hard. My bottle came with plenty.

I agree, the Steakhouse is a lot safer. You won't have to avoid the chips and salsa Won't she be impressed when she sees how skinny you guys have gotten!!! Have a great time!

[nola baxter]

Hi Terri

Thats pretty funny about the shorts! A very good sign though.

Yeah, I am pretty happy with my experimentation at the moment- I always like to challenge the boundaries- and its especially good when it seems to be yeilding positive results.

I have been reading over that long thread again that you bumped- with all of the early roguers and Deb-
I like it because the rogueing is more rogue,
and they ask the kind of questions that I want to know;
like what is the hcg really doing for you,
does the low calorie dogma hold water,
do all the rules and regulations of Simeons have validity or not,
can you use the hcg on whatever diet format you want and still get the benefits from it ?
etc. etc..

good luck with your exercise; short and intense is better than long and slow- in my book anyway..

Nola

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by nola baxter

Hi Terri

Thats pretty funny about the shorts! A very good sign though.

Yeah, I am pretty happy with my experimentation at the moment- I always like to challenge the boundaries- and its especially good when it seems to be yeilding positive results.

I have been reading over that long thread again that you bumped- with all of the early roguers and Deb-
I like it because the rogueing is more rogue,
and they ask the kind of questions that I want to know;
like what is the hcg really doing for you,
does the low calorie dogma hold water,
do all the rules and regulations of Simeons have validity or not,
can you use the hcg on whatever diet format you want and still get the benefits from it ?
etc. etc..

good luck with your exercise; short and intense is better than long and slow- in my book anyway..

Nola

I was just reading the questions you asked and the answers from Deb myself. That's exactly what I was wondering about continuing the HCG into P3. I'm also realizing that in my plan, the strictest part I need to focus on at the moment is changing it up everyday rather then going for a few days either way. I think by body is going to respond better to that too.

I really like the short multi exercise routines I'm learning. They seem to be very effective and it's much harder for me to use the lack of time excuse.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. It's really helping me stay motivated and excited.

Have a great weekend!

[nola baxter]

Hi terri

Definitely for me, going up one day and down the next was the best sequence (sometimes I do something different , but not too much).
I tried two or three low days with one high day- and this was no good- over time I got too hungry and depleted, and my metabolic rate started to downgrade; ie, I stopped losing weight in the same way, and when I got super hungry and ate a bit more, I gained!
With the day up/day down sequence, this did not happen, and I kept losing weight over a long period of time with no downgrading of metabolic rate; and felt better with it- and it was sustainable.

So this is my body-
and I am sure some people can tolerate more down days and longer times of eating less,
but it is not good for me.
I have worked out my metabolism is quite sensitive, and quickly downgrades if I am not careful.
And my body as a whole is not tolerant of calorie cuts- so I am better to go for a slower approach with a minimal calorie cut.

On the upside, I wonder if having a metabolism that is sensitive and can quickly downgrade, might mean that it can be sensitive the other way and quickly upgrade too! lol..
there has got to be some advantage in it..

Minimonkey says that she found taking the hhcg while in P3 (or on a higher calorie intake) helped her build muscle/strength quickly..

Have a good weekend too!
Nola

[dazygyrl]

how ya doing, sweet lady? haven't heard from you in a couple days. ((hug)) hope you're doing great!

[TerriMM]

Hey Carrie, Happy Sunday!
I'm doing well the loses have resumed. I'm at 131. Just .5 away from my all time low before my birthday and then it on to virgin territory again.

How you doing?

[dazygyrl]

Doing good. My anniversary interrupt meal yielded me a 2.4 loss over the last two days since that meal. Pretty stoked abut that. I am in a decade of weight I haven't seen since I got pg with ds#3 over 9 years ago!!

Congrats on seeing the scale moving down again!

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by dazygyrl

Doing good. My anniversary interrupt meal yielded me a 2.4 loss over the last two days since that meal. Pretty stoked abut that. I am in a decade of weight I haven't seen since I got pg with ds#3 over 9 years ago!!

Congrats on seeing the scale moving down again!

That's awesome!

Sounds like an up day worked out for you too. So what's your plan for P2 to P3? I'm extending another week to make sure I'm in the 120s. Too close now not to go for it.

[dazygyrl]

well, it depends on what day you ask me that or even what time of the day you ask me. LOL! i'm so indecisive. i'm day 33 today, and it would be silly to stop now before 40. BUT, i will still have a LOT of pellets left, so have contemplated going til they are gone, but judging from how full the bottle will still be (just under half) at 40 days, i bet i could go another 15-20! so i'm just gonna say 40 for sure at this point and see where i am weight wise in a week.

so i wonder what it would do to my losses if i did a p3 "refeed" every so many days with seeing how my anniversary meal went (and that meal was complete with yummy honey wheat bread and a sliver of cheesecake ). sooooo...dunno really what to think there....keep an eye on the scale and decide based on that?

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by dazygyrl

well, it depends on what day you ask me that or even what time of the day you ask me. LOL! i'm so indecisive. i'm day 33 today, and it would be silly to stop now before 40. BUT, i will still have a LOT of pellets left, so have contemplated going til they are gone, but judging from how full the bottle will still be (just under half) at 40 days, i bet i could go another 15-20! so i'm just gonna say 40 for sure at this point and see where i am weight wise in a week.

so i wonder what it would do to my losses if i did a p3 "refeed" every so many days with seeing how my anniversary meal went (and that meal was complete with yummy honey wheat bread and a sliver of cheesecake ). sooooo...dunno really what to think there....keep an eye on the scale and decide based on that?

That's kind of what I find works best with my up days. They seem to be more successful if I stick with P3 foods rather than all out "whatever foods". At that point I have several days’ recovery.

With that in mind, I decided to allow myself the breadsticks on my down days. It's just too hard to stick around 500 without them, for me. On my base days (new term, new strategy) 700-800 and up days 1200-1700, I'm trying to stick to P3.

As far as when I plan to transition, I'm kind of playing it on a week to week basis. I really want to see the next decade before I actually "try" to stop losing. Plus this cycling plan is keeping things interesting.

[dazygyrl]

do you do every other day...700-800...1200-1700...or do you do more LC days than higher cal days?

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by dazygyrl

do you do every other day...700-800...1200-1700...or do you do more LC days than higher cal days?

Good Morning Carrie
I haven't really been that strict, just playing it by ear with how I feel and what the day holds. My main emphasis has been to not remain the same anything for more then two days. This is my history last week. Keep in mind I was also dealing with my TOM fluctuations at this time.
Calories Day Date Weight
803 34 6/20/11 133.8
486 35 6/21/11 134.1
823 36 6/22/11 131.4
1023 37 6/23/11 132.6
1108 38 6/24/11 133
842 39 6/25/11 131.8
1375 40 6/26/11 131
41 6/27/11 130.8
And yes Maggie, I can almost taste it now!

[dazygyrl]

thank you for sharing your chart, terri. very helpful.

hmmm, since it's the start of a new week, maybe i'll give another up day a try but mindful to keep it p3 stuffs.

[TerriMM]

Good Luck! I'll be routing for ya!

[dazygyrl]

ok, so kinda made today my first UP day...but only with p2 foods. i am pretty consistently at 500-515 cal per day. today i was *daring* and did 734 calories!! even though i had set out to do this whole thing at 700 cal/day, i have never done it yet in 34 days.

not sure yet what i'll do tomorrow.

oh and FYI....next time, NOT SO MUCH CAYENNE PEPPER IN THE CABBAGE/CHICKEN SOUP PLEASE!! whew!! nose is running....

[TerriMM]

I did the same thing with my first Chili. Made it with Rotel and Cayenne. Added a large can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes just to make it edible (barely). I've also had some not so great run in's with salt

We'll girl you kept saying you were rouge, and now I've got to believe it.

Hope it works out for you Keep me posted.

[dazygyrl]

my "up" day didn't do anything for the scale...(+0.2). but don't know if that was from the higher calories or weighing a little earlier than i normally do, or just because. not worried. doing 500 cal today and maybe 800-850 calories tomorrow.....we'll see.

how did the scale treat you this morning?

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by dazygyrl

my "up" day didn't do anything for the scale...(+0.2). but don't know if that was from the higher calories or weighing a little earlier than i normally do, or just because. not worried. doing 500 cal today and maybe 800-850 calories tomorrow.....we'll see.

how did the scale treat you this morning?

I was exactly the same today. Planned on doing 500, but only made it down to 750. I have real trouble getting all the way down to 500 if I have beef and my HWC doesn't help either. I also stated working out and walking at work. So I was a bit sore this morning and figured my body was hoarding the water. I'm going to try a flush it today. Do another 750 day or below and then a 1200ish day tomorrow.

[TerriMM]

Good Morning,
Well how's the experimenting going?

Talk about fighting a set point. Monday 130.8 "Woo hoo", Tuesday 130.8 "Oh well", Today 130.7 "Really?". #1 I'm not up, #2 I'm not the same, so I'm not complaining, but..........

Also I've been working out and walking consistently since Sunday, again but.......... I'm ready to see some atta girls from the scale. Not to mention so close to the decade breaking point is making me just a teensy bit impatient.

I'm going for an up day today in the 1200 ish range to see if I can shake things up a bit. Did a 698 day yesterday.

[dazygyrl]

well, down 0.6 today after 2 days of being up 0.2 each day....the 0.6 puts me at 0.2 lower than my lowest. yesterday was 564 cal. i don't why i am so nervous about doing p3 higher fat foods....i just need to try it. i was going to do 800-850 cal today, but don't know if it will be all p2 foods or a little p3 thrown in there too. so far today it's just been p2 food.

that's my story for today.

so hoping you see your "atta girl" on the scale tomorrow after your 1200 cal day.

[dazygyrl]

850 cal today! didn't do any p3 foods, though.

proly a 500 cal day tomorrow.

how was your day, missy?

[TerriMM]

1250, killer bacon, cheese & veggie frittata. I'm a little skeerd. Basically ate P3 without "trying" to up my calories. I'm getting pretty anxious to go P3, but if I can make this work and get a little closer to the 125 goal I may give it a little longer. My DH is starting to press me to get off the HCG, no reason to worry, just does. Got a love him for caring We'll have to see what the scale says before I start making too many plans.

Good luck tomorrow!!

[dazygyrl]

well, scale said up 0.4. <shrugs> not sure what to think. i pretty much didn't sleep from 3-6 last night...don't know if that had anything to do with it. try to stick closer to 500 cal today.

hope your yummy frittata wasn't too detrimental