HCG Alternative Plans - Week of August 1st!

[rnalcorn]

Hey ladies... im new here ... well kinda hehe i have been lurking for awhile
I just finished my first round this year. (long story i lost a good amount last year) I just finished RN school and will be taking boards in 11 days!!! as soon as i finish this accomplishment i will be on the weight lossing train again and im ready to get these school lbs OFF for good!!!!
So just marking my spot and saying you ladies are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by rnalcorn

Hey ladies... im new here ... well kinda hehe i have been lurking for awhile
I just finished my first round this year. (long story i lost a good amount last year) I just finished RN school and will be taking boards in 11 days!!! as soon as i finish this accomplishment i will be on the weight lossing train again and im ready to get these school lbs OFF for good!!!!
So just marking my spot and saying you ladies are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

[Lbibclc]

Gosh Cheryl I hope your eye gets better. I had an allergic reaction once when a strong windstorm came through and tossed things around. My eye swelled OPEN. It was so weird. It took steroid eye drops to get it better. Try some visine but on the eyelids not just in the eye. (works on zits too)

[Lbibclc]

Back up 0.4 today. I think my body is trying to stabilize at this weight. I'm pretty sure it's water retention in my muscles from the exercise as I'm sore today. But I really don't want to stabilize here eating 500-600 cals a day!! I'd like to drop a few more lbs, then stabilize lower!! I welcome a stall, just not at my maintenance weight from last round!

Oh well, my body has a mind of it's own apparently and even if the scale is higher than I'd like it to be, I still feel way better than I did when I started a few weeks ago and am "back" where I was at the end of last round (more or less). I am fitting my "goal" clothes nicely and feel strong and leaner, which is more important than a scale number.

I just debate extending it another week to see if the scale will budge, or moving on to P3. I dont' want to do damage to my metabolism by staying on the low calories too long w/ no benefit coming from it. My body is quite an efficient storage machine to begin with, I fear I am now teaching it to store and maintain on 500cals a day!! That'd really leave me in a mess for stabilization!!

Ah, the mind of julie. Trying not to overthink it, but debating nonetheless!

Julie, we are having the same kind of round, up, down and sideways. What to do, what to do. I too think my body wants to stabilize but I don't want it too. I still have so much tummy fat and a hangover.

148, 147.8,147.2,147.2,146,146.8,146,145.6,146.8,145.6. What kind of progress is this, lol. This looks more like P3 to me. I have relaxed the exercise for now to walking for 30 minutes at a 5% incline at 3.5mph. I don't break a sweat.

So I'm with you on what to do next. Today I have tried a higher protein day, meat, small plain salad, meat, meat and mustard, and an apple. I might try an apple day or a refeed. We are having a party for my youngest who graduates from college Sunday. May have to splurge.

[minimonkey]

I am GRUMPY tonight -- I wonder if it is because I am hungry (I am, a bit), or feeling deprived, or if I am just PMSing and needing to face some genuine life stressors (which seems likely.) Maybe a little bit of all of the above.

I am going to go hit the gym and lift some weight -- that'll at least relieve some tension and release some endorphins.

BTW.. it feels so NICE to be able to say "hit the gym" and really mean it, referring to our own home set up

[minimonkey]

Madeline -- that is a picture from earlier in the year, when I was a bit lighter than I am now -- I embarked on an experiment to build muscle, and am now losing the bit of fat I lost along with that... kinda a long story I am carrying more fat at the moment, but also a great deal more muscle than in that photo.

I am now aiming for 110 as a goal, since anything lower would be totally ridiculous with my musculature.

Always an experiment in progress....

I used the Yavonae drops for most of my rounds, and then switched over to the Intermountain pellets... both worked just fine for me, but I find the pellets a bit more convenient.

Welcome to the thread!

[julieboolie]

Mini-hopefully you're peeing away lbs and lbs!! Good for you getting in a workout to get through the stress. Hope the hunger goes quickly for you. That's been my saving grace this round, very little hunger, but very little loss too!!

Liz-it's so frustrating, isn't it? I totally agree that it seems like P3 weighins!! I would be very willing to go another week if I knew there would be a real loss from it. I do have to say, I'll likely try to extend it past Sunday, if I am down a bit. If I'm still 153ish I will just move on to P3 for a while. I may consider it an interruption if I stabilize there easily while doing P3, then try another week or 2 and drop those last few lbs. We'll see. That's my preliminary plan. We'll see what the scale brings tomorrow. I don't feel like it'll be down tomorrow, but we'll see. When is day 21 for you?

Cheryl-hope your eye is doing better. What's getting to your? Something in your bed?

Mousie!! Good to see you!!

jules-yeah!! Great job!!

rnalcorn!

Well, stuck to plan today, again, came in around 600cals. Not that it'll matter on the scale tomorrow. Sigh. I am cutting my workouts down to 2/week and see if that helps. I am pretty sore today, upper body at least, and suspect that'll interfere w/ the scale.

Have a great night. I'm enjoying watching the Phillies! my Phils!

[minimonkey]

Okay -- biceps, triceps, and abs worked in a slow and heavy fashion. I actually feel a lot better after the workout -- more energy, and less hunger. My strength was a tad lower than usual, but that is probably lack of sleep as much as anything.

I really am showing more definition day by day, which means there has to be a fat loss happening, even before starting this p2. (Kinda makes me wonder if the p2 is even worth it, but I will ride it out).

I'll get a p2 starting weight tomorrow out of curiosity, but as long as I can see results in my body, I really don't care too much what the scale has to say.

[jules57]

Malcom - Welcome! I remember all the munching I did when I was in college....somehow it helped my brain stay in the game of studying but boy it certainly did not help with my weight.

Julie - I can understand the frustration when you are trying to do everything right and still not seeing the losses you want.

Cheryl - How is the eye today?

Update: Down another 1# today but still up from the last P2 attempt. So far this round I am total loss of 4.8#. Not too bad for R1.5P2VLCD5.

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by jules57

Update: Down another 1# today but still up from the last P2 attempt. So far this round I am total loss of 4.8#. Not too bad for R1.5P2VLCD5.

Great results!

Julie, Liz, Mini Sounds like lots of thinking to do about your plans... Hope the losses pick up. I am certainly familiar with the baby slow losses.

I kept it under 1400 calories yesterday (P3) and stayed the same. That's good...do want it to drop so I'm going to avoid any P3 pizza this weekend. It will just have to wait until I'm at LDW.

Waving Hello to everyone not time for long personals this morning!

[BlueMonday]

Was not able to get on the boards yesterday -- just so busy!

Weight is still stalled, but I am hopeful that things will break. It is just so typical of my body to lose 4-5 then stall (hold on to water), then eventually release it. I know that if I a staying at around 50 cal that there is simply no way to not be losing something.

Haven't weighed in yet today. I am working from home today and I am going to go the gym around lunch time. Will check back in later today.

Happy Friday everyone!!

[julieboolie]

Quick pop-in.Have to work today - boo!

Still the same, 154 today. You have got to be kidding me!! How will I ever transition to P3 if I am maintaining so beautifully on 600cals/day!!

I am on the verge of giving up. P3 should start Monday for me. I'd extend if I was losing but another week stall on this low calories can't bring anything good to my body I'm sure.

I do notice less muffin top though, so that's something . Goal jeans are still a bit tight in the thighs, but I think that's from lifting more weights.

I'll BBL...

[Lbibclc]

Up today .4. Nuff said for this morning.

[mousie tartufo]

Hey laydeeez. Checking in today, down 2#. If that was other than water weight, I'd be thrilled. As it is, I'm glad it's gone, but I'm not doing a happy dance over water

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be at last round's LDW, and then I can enter fresh territory. Going to be highly annoying though, since I have houseguests arriving tomorrow, and they'll be eating normally, and I get to listen to them squawk about how I'm not eating enough. *sigh* My getting healthy is more important than placating them, so if they have issues, it's all on them.

Hang tough ladies, and knock it off! The fat, I mean!

[paulabob]

Hugs to the stallers...I know it's frustrating!

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by rnalcorn

Hey ladies... im new here ... well kinda hehe i have been lurking for awhile
I just finished my first round this year. (long story i lost a good amount last year) I just finished RN school and will be taking boards in 11 days!!! as soon as i finish this accomplishment i will be on the weight lossing train again and im ready to get these school lbs OFF for good!!!!
So just marking my spot and saying you ladies are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

rnalcorn! WTG on weight loss and finishing nursing school! I took the boards back in 1994. Our group was the last to take the paper and pencil tests. I hear the computer testing can be over in just a few hours. Our testing lasted 2 8-hr days! Do you have a job yet? I worked as a new grad RN before I got my license. If you are working, how do you like it so far?

Originally Posted by Lbibclc

Gosh Cheryl I hope your eye gets better. I had an allergic reaction once when a strong windstorm came through and tossed things around. My eye swelled OPEN. It was so weird. It took steroid eye drops to get it better. Try some visine but on the eyelids not just in the eye. (works on zits too)

Thanks, Liz. How do you keep the visine on your lids and under your eyes? Doesn't it just roll off? I might try that in a while. Bad again today. I think it may have been some cut flowers I had in the house. They were way past their time and I threw them away this morning. It's just odd that they didn't bother me in the daytime but each morning I'd wake with swollen, itchy eyes. Oh, well. I feel drugged (took more benadryl) so I may read and nap soon. I'm sorry about your stall/slow losses.

Originally Posted by julieboolie

Cheryl-hope your eye is doing better. What's getting to your? Something in your bed?

Well, stuck to plan today, again, came in around 600cals. Not that it'll matter on the scale tomorrow. Sigh. I am cutting my workouts down to 2/week and see if that helps. I am pretty sore today, upper body at least, and suspect that'll interfere w/ the scale.

Have a great night. I'm enjoying watching the Phillies! my Phils!

Hang in there, Julie. Isn't it so strange how even hcg doesn't work well in subsequent rounds? I don't get it. I don't know about my eyes. I even switched pillows last night but didn't help. I hope it settles down now that I got rid of the old flowers.

Originally Posted by jules57

Malcom - Welcome! I remember all the munching I did when I was in college....somehow it helped my brain stay in the game of studying but boy it certainly did not help with my weight.

Julie - I can understand the frustration when you are trying to do everything right and still not seeing the losses you want.

Cheryl - How is the eye today?

Update: Down another 1# today but still up from the last P2 attempt. So far this round I am total loss of 4.8#. Not too bad for R1.5P2VLCD5.

I gained weight in my last semester of nursing school. I had a lot of crap going on in my life. Had a sister die and broke up with a boyfriend that I was really into. (He reminded me of Don Johnson.) He kind of just faded away from me after his mother passed away. I also was preparing to leave TX after graduation. So food and drink were right up there with cramming and getting through my clinicals.

WTG on being down a lb!

Originally Posted by julieboolie

Quick pop-in.Have to work today - boo!

Still the same, 154 today. You have got to be kidding me!! How will I ever transition to P3 if I am maintaining so beautifully on 600cals/day!!

I am on the verge of giving up. P3 should start Monday for me. I'd extend if I was losing but another week stall on this low calories can't bring anything good to my body I'm sure.

I do notice less muffin top though, so that's something . Goal jeans are still a bit tight in the thighs, but I think that's from lifting more weights.

I'll BBL...

I'm sorry, Julie. If you can't take off the last lbs with hcg, you can get rid of the last of them eating sensibly and keeping calories under your BMR. I am enjoying the foods I'm eating. It's slow but it's for life.

Originally Posted by mousie tartufo

Hey laydeeez. Checking in today, down 2#. If that was other than water weight, I'd be thrilled. As it is, I'm glad it's gone, but I'm not doing a happy dance over water

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be at last round's LDW, and then I can enter fresh territory. Going to be highly annoying though, since I have houseguests arriving tomorrow, and they'll be eating normally, and I get to listen to them squawk about how I'm not eating enough. *sigh* My getting healthy is more important than placating them, so if they have issues, it's all on them.

Hang tough ladies, and knock it off! The fat, I mean!

Hi, Mousie! I don't think I gave you a proper welcome yesterday, so back! Who cares if it's water or not? It's weight that you don't have to carry around with you anymore. Go ahead and dance! Best of luck and strength to you while you are entertaining.

Hi to everyone else! Mini, I hope your headache subsided and didn't turn into one of your bad ones. Hugs all around to those I didn't quote or mention!

My eyes were so puffy and itchy this morning that I popped 2 Benadryl right away and tried putting a ziplock bag of frozen peas on them but the cold was way too intense. I put them right back in the freezer. I can actually see the bags without looking into a mirror! It's like a shadow that I can see extending out below my eyes. (Sort of how you can see your lashes when they have mascara on.) I hope it was just the old flowers I had in the house. Tomorrow will tell me if it was or wasn't.

So now I'm drugged and need to rest. I plan to read a book and maybe drift off to sleep for a while. Weight still the same today, but with all the allergic reactions, I know I'm holding onto water right now. This too shall pass!

[ellenalesa]

Please pray for my best friend's son, Ryan. He was in a single-car accident Sunday and has not yet woken up. Today he did squeeze my hand on command, so that's promising. We are praying for a complete recovery.

I blew my diet...I was very stressed and there's lots of crappy food in hospitals that provide a quick fix. When I realized what I was doing, I stopped hcg (after yesterday morning's dose). Ate crap today, will be back on track tomorrow when I am back home.

Do I stay off hhcg until tomorrow? Treat yesterday and today as a loading/refeed period?

Should i take hcg tonite, even if not eating properly?

And I know that my eating crap doesn't help Ryan, it was just a way to deal with my stress. Obviously I need to learn more effective coping skills....in the meantime, please help.

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by ellenalesa

Please pray for my best friend's son, Ryan. He was in a single-car accident Sunday and has not yet woken up. Today he did squeeze my hand on command, so that's promising. We are praying for a complete recovery.

Should i take hcg tonite, even if not eating properly?.

When I took weekends off I would begin redosing on Sunday night, then restart VLCD mondays.

So sorry to hear about Ryan.

[minimonkey]

Ellenalesa-- I will pray for Ryan, too! What a sad situation!

[minimonkey]

In diet news, I got a starting weight: 120.4.

120 is a big setpoint for me (my body loves it-- stayed there for years on its own!) sooo.. I need to bust through that. ( I weighed 120 in junior high school, btw -- before gaining up to 130 and then staring a crazy cycle of dieting that led to an eating disorder in high school.... so this setpoint is OLD.)

Upshot is, no damage done from the load... now its time to bust it on down to 110.

I think that's my goal -- I was pretty skinny at 105 in Feb, even before putting on a lot of muscle... so I don't think I need to go that low again. If I get to 110 and still want to lose, I'll reassess -- but I think I will be pretty lean at 110. I don't want to lose this cool, new muscle I am building

Got in a good night's sleep, and feeling better on that front. I am going to try to get in a workout today -- probably an isometrics one, since I haven't done that in a while, and I miss it.

Arms feel pretty good today, but my abs are sore.

So far so good on hunger -- nothing intolerable at all.

Keep fighing the good fight ladies... we can do this!!!!!

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by ellenalesa

Please pray for my best friend's son, Ryan. He was in a single-car accident Sunday and has not yet woken up. Today he did squeeze my hand on command, so that's promising. We are praying for a complete recovery.

I blew my diet...I was very stressed and there's lots of crappy food in hospitals that provide a quick fix. When I realized what I was doing, I stopped hcg (after yesterday morning's dose). Ate crap today, will be back on track tomorrow when I am back home.

Do I stay off hhcg until tomorrow? Treat yesterday and today as a loading/refeed period?

Should i take hcg tonite, even if not eating properly?

And I know that my eating crap doesn't help Ryan, it was just a way to deal with my stress. Obviously I need to learn more effective coping skills....in the meantime, please help.

I'm so sorry, Ellen. I will pray for all of you. The hand squeeze is a very good sign. He has swelling in his brain. When the swelling diminishes, you will see how much damage was done.

As far as dieting goes at times like these, it's small potatoes. Just treat it like an interruption and pick up where left off.

[rnalcorn]

Cheryl
Yes its been a LONG 5 years to finally be able to have two letters behind my name. I have been working in an ER for the past year and i really like it, but have taken a job as a Case Manager for a Home Health/Hospice. I really like how rewarding Hospice is and its something that i have always been interested in. Plus living on a ranch it gives me more time to help my husband bc i make my own schedule which is nice.
Yes im SO so SO ready to get this test over with. I am going back to school though Aug 20th. I may have lost my mind, but i have decided to go for NP school
So as soon as boards are out of the way im back on the hcg

[CherylB]

Wow! I hope it works out for you. I actually was a Case Manager in home health hospice as my last job. It was demanding, but all nursing jobs are. I hope it's a good fit for you.

[julieboolie]

Hi guys!! Had to work today so I wasnt' able to post as often.

Ellen- sorry to hear about your friend. I will certainly pray for him, God can do amazing things! Don't worry about the diet - you'll sort it out.

Mini-good starting point, even w/ a nice load! I think you'll do well!!

I'm wondering if the hcg being hormonally related is affected by my general hormone/thyroid imbalance and maybe it simply isn't working for me anymore? Like immunity? Im having a hard time coming up with any other plausible explanation. I guess 155 is a set point, but I got down to 150 last round and maintained btw 150-153 for a month or so ok. Wish my body wanted 150 as a set point! LOL!

Not sweating it. Today's my last dosing day, so I guess this morning's weight will be my LDW. I need to get over the # on the scale. I'm actually pleased w/ my size and shape right now and hope to stick to it. When I start eating more again I hope my body won't blow up! My tummy is so much flatter now, but I wonder if it's just empty!

Gonna' go make dinner for the fam and eat my little hamburger. I've got p2 chili and soups to eat all weekend. I'm not gonna' worry about the salt at this point. At least it was a way to get rid of my vacation and loading weight.

Hope you all have a good, strong, losing weekend!!

[Lbibclc]

Originally Posted by ellenalesa

Please pray for my best friend's son, Ryan. He was in a single-car accident Sunday and has not yet woken up. Today he did squeeze my hand on command, so that's promising. We are praying for a complete recovery.

I blew my diet...I was very stressed and there's lots of crappy food in hospitals that provide a quick fix. When I realized what I was doing, I stopped hcg (after yesterday morning's dose). Ate crap today, will be back on track tomorrow when I am back home.

Do I stay off hhcg until tomorrow? Treat yesterday and today as a loading/refeed period?

Should i take hcg tonite, even if not eating properly?

And I know that my eating crap doesn't help Ryan, it was just a way to deal with my stress. Obviously I need to learn more effective coping skills....in the meantime, please help.

Keeping him in my thoughts and prayers. Working in a hospital I understand about the food. I have to stay away from the cafeteria.

[Lbibclc]

Well, I think I am done. I haven't dosed since yesterday. I'm going to move to P3 and just see what happens. I need to listen to my body and stop for now. I need to give myself a long break (for me) before I do another round. I think I will head toward my primal diet and use some calorie cycling for control and recovery.

I don't know if I should really call this a round since it went so poorly.

[CherylB]

Liz, if you did it, it's a round. Claim it! You earned it, I'm sure. Good luck on the Primal Diet. Is that the Dukan one you mentioned? I still haven't looked that one up.

Julie, I'd go by tomorrow's weight if you dosed three times today. Maybe it'll be a skosh smaller!

[Lbibclc]

Dukan is a french Dr. The new princess was supposed to have done this diet. It is a protein based, low fat, lower carb diet. Induction is several days of mostly protein, the weight loss phase of protein/veggie alternating with mostly protein, then using a protein day once a week to maintain or correct gains. That's what sounds like a correction day. I don't know the specific as I am waiting to get the book from the library.

Primal is based on clean foods (the less processed the better), little dairy or grain. Mostly lean protein(non-grain fed), lots of veggies, good fats, some fruit. It's a good plan for me as I'm allergic to dairy and intolerant of gluten. Mark's daily apple is a good website for information. It is really supposed to be more of a lifestyle than a diet.

[minimonkey]

Liz, Julie, and everyone else who had a sub-par round --- hugs and hang in there!!! I know the feeling -- I am not counting my experimental rounds as real rounds at all -- just experimental phases along the way.

Man, the exhaustion of the semester caught up with me today -- I not only slept in, but took a big nap later on, too -- I expected an end-of-semester crash, so can't say I am much surprised. I definitely needed the extra sleep.

I'll get a workout in this evening (when my roommate gets home from a social engagement), and am going to do some housework in the mean time.

Today is going to end up being closer to the 1000 cals end of the spectrum. That's fine... it's all clean, p2 food -- and that has worked well enough for me before.

I think I am easing into pms, too -- just feeling crampy and a bit cross, and my lower back aches (not in an injured way -- just a pms way.) So I will take the scale with a grain of salt in light of that, too.

If I can manage it (and that is a big IF) --I would like to zigzag between 500 and 1000 cals this p2. I figure this has to yield some loss, since it is so much lower than what I've been eating, and I won't be scaling back the workouts all that much.

[CherylB]

Well, there's no shortage of diets or life-style eating plans, are there! I used to do Atkins '72 and that was also a life-style approach. But it is something that tends to really throw you off when you deviate for even a day. To me, that can't be a life-style. My life-style plan needs to be more flexible and forgiving than that. Cause I ain't perfect!