Simeons Protocol -- P3/P4 Week of 8/29/11

[LilacBruze]

Hi everyone! I'm back from Vegas a little bit poorer, a lot happier (hubby and I had a GREAT time) and weighed in this morning at .6 lb over LDW. I honestly don't know how it's possible. I ate SO darn much! Granted it was mostly P3 food but I DID allow myself a few treats like a 1/4 belgian waffle with SF syrup with one of my breakfasts and raspberry sorbet for dessert one night. Turned out that I had nothing to worry about, plenty of food I could eat while behaving myself.

Here are a few pics from our vow renewal ceremony. It was a lot of fun.

[dbunny]

LB~Looks like fun...congrats! Way to stay stable!

[paulabob]

Great pics and great jobs staying stable!

Up .6 this morning but still in window. Ended up at 2400 calories (that's a lot when I've been averaging 1400-1600). Think I'm lucky I'm only up .6.

Have a Blessed Sunday!

[Cruzcrzy]

Great pictures and WTG with being stable. That is IMPRESSIVE!!!

I am UP 2.4 this morning. I am still in my window, but, barely. This is the closest I've ever come. We had company, and I had alcohol for the first time, gin and diet tonic. My eating was clean. Quite honestly, I am shocked I gained THIS much. I hope it's just bloat. I AM glad this occured before our cruise in Nov. because now I will not be drinking, FOR SURE. It's not worth it. Before weighing I was considering taking the day off from walking, but, I feel I have no choice, but, to exercise today.

[Millenia98]

Wow!!!!! You guys look amazing! Congrats on the ceremony. So, you made my heart skip a beat. I'm not sure whether you like Cuban girls, but do you care for a girlfriend on the side? Because you are HOT as all get out!!! Good Lord, woman. You look so gorgeous and skinny and fit. Looks like so much fun LB

[Millenia98]

Hi all,

So I did a mock hamburger day (CD due to Friday night's outting) yesterday and only lost 1lb. Bummer!

So what do I do now? I was stable at 174 all week and now even with the CD, I'm still over LDW by 1.2. I know it's within my window, but what should I do to get back to LDW like I was all week?

Thank you!

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by Millenia98

So what do I do now? I was stable at 174 all week and now even with the CD, I'm still over LDW by 1.2. I know it's within my window, but what should I do to get back to LDW like I was all week?

Traditional advice is if the CD didn't get you back, to eat a normal P3 day around BMR, then follow with another, different CD.

I've had to do it, and it does work!

Ooops, I just read that you are within your window. Hmm...that means you are stable. So do what you want and share the results with us!

[LilacBruze]

Awwww... thanks!! And in answer to your question... yes again!

I felt truly beautiful and even "Elvis" made a comment about how much I glowed.

In the interest of full disclosure as far as staying stable, I DO want to mention that I did not have a drop of alcohol for my entire vacation. I'm pretty sure that had a lot to do with my not gaining. I drank lots of water to stay hydrated, and we walked A LOT. A LOT for this sloth whose idea of exercise is loading the dishwasher!

We gambled pretty heavily for 4 days and managed to come back with half of the money we brought just for gambling, so all in all it was not as bad as I thought it would be. My husband turned $1 into $53 one time and $20 into $98 another. His luck was definitely better than mine most times, although I too had moments where I doubled my money or better. I just lacked the common sense to cash out like he did!

We brought some gift certificates for a few restaurants and even won a buffet for one of our meals.

I also brought back the mother of all souvenirs - we found my anniversary ring at a pawn shop! We had already purchased an anniversary ring for me for the vow renewal, but while I liked it okay, I certainly did not love it. We found a gorgeous iolite, pink sapphire, and diamond band that I LOVED and managed to haggle the pawn shop owner down from $1100 to $500, which was a great deal considering the price of gold these days and how heavy the ring is. So now I wear my wedding band on my right hand, since it no longer fits my left ring finger, and I have this ring to wear as my wedding band. Did I mention that I looooooove it?

Weighed in at 1 lb over LDW, but I also feel that I'm retaining some water since my ankles are puffy. I plan on eating GY all day because I really, really missed it!!

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by LilacBruze

I have this ring to wear as my wedding band. Did I mention that I looooooove it?

Pic? Please?

[catkin]

Originally Posted by miamiloca

Then i went to Cheesecake Factory with a client Thursday evening and had grilled artichoke, split a bbq ranch salad, and split a take-home slice of "low carb" cheesecake with hubby. Oh and the new "skinnylicious" Sangria. I only went up by 1.2 which i know is sodium. I always retain from restaurant food.

For sure! I went to a prime rib buffet last night and had cheesecake for dessert. Even though everything I ate was LC (except the cheesecake), I know I'll be way up from the sodium. Not sure if I'll even weight today!

[Marocka]

Originally Posted by LilacBruze

Hi everyone! I'm back from Vegas a little bit poorer, a lot happier (hubby and I had a GREAT time) and weighed in this morning at .6 lb over LDW. I honestly don't know how it's possible. I ate SO darn much! Granted it was mostly P3 food but I DID allow myself a few treats like a 1/4 belgian waffle with SF syrup with one of my breakfasts and raspberry sorbet for dessert one night. Turned out that I had nothing to worry about, plenty of food I could eat while behaving myself.

Here are a few pics from our vow renewal ceremony. It was a lot of fun.

you look fantastic!!!

[LilacBruze]

Originally Posted by paulabob

Pic? Please?

Well, here is the pic I took from my camera phone when I was texting my mother-in-law asking for her opinion. This pic does not capture the way the ring BLINGS in the sun, lol!! It really sparkles!

[LilacBruze]

A little story behind the whole Elvis thing...

We originally wanted to elope to Vegas and be married by an Elvis impersonator. But my in-laws really wanted a more traditional wedding for "their baby boy" so they asked us to please have a wedding locally. We ended up having a wonderful private ceremony in their gorgeous backyard with about 25 close friends and family. It was nice and all, but I've always sort of harbored a "well, we did it YOUR way but not OUR way" feeling towards the whole thing. So, for our ten year anniversary, Mr LB and I decided to have the wedding we were deprived of, lol! And for the past few months, my in-laws have been jokingly threatening to crash it, saying they were going to fly to Vegas and surprise us. I jokingly threatened to dis-own them if they did!

[Millenia98]

The ring is beautiful! God you guys look so bad ass, in love and beautiful. I can't take it

[verbqueen]

Wow--what wonderful pictures! And just imagine--to go on a wonderful vacation, eat delicious food and not gain. Life is SO good...

I dubiously weighed in about 3 hours earlier than usual today, as I must do every Sunday morning, and was DOWN from yesterday's post-CD weight. So maybe, had I been able to weigh in at my regular time, I'd have finally dipped below LDW? I'll never know, I guess...

But I'm pretty happy, all the same!

[LilacBruze]

I just weighed after Bernice and a few tinkles am down BELOW LDW... 196.4!! HOW on earth does that happen??

Okay so... back to thread-related matters!!

I need some advice on where to go from here. On one hand, I have completed 30 days of P3 and have stabilized. P4 is not so much an option for me since due to the diabetes I will need to remain low-carb. Starches and sugars are not things I want to explore much of. Truth is, after 6 months of not having them, I have gotten used to low-carb eating and would like to remain low-carb as my WOE.

So, my question is... when can I start another round? Originally, Mr LB and I were planning on doing 23 days at the beginning of October, so he (moreso than I) can be in P4 in time for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving food and I are not the best of friends so personally it doesn't hold much incentive for me.

I would like to do a 40 day round and I am good with starting before he does, since he can only commit to 23 days. My goal is to reach 170. I don't want to de-rail all my hard work and want to do it right. Your thoughts?

[shelbyla]

Originally Posted by Cruzcrzy

I am UP 2.4 this morning. I am still in my window, but, barely. This is the closest I've ever come. We had company, and I had alcohol for the first time, gin and diet tonic. My eating was clean. Quite honestly, I am shocked I gained THIS much. I hope it's just bloat. I AM glad this occured before our cruise in Nov. because now I will not be drinking, FOR SURE. It's not worth it. Before weighing I was considering taking the day off from walking, but, I feel I have no choice, but, to exercise today.

Marie, I have this problem with alcohol too but I've found that some alcohols trigger it more than others. Red wine weirdly makes me retain more than white. Gin more than vodka. I almost always am up a little. So you might experiment a little before the cruise to see if there is something you CAN drink . Another thing is I've found that if I eat ANY carbs (I'm in P4) with the alcohol the weight gain is magnified. It helps if I am strict low carb when I indulge. It's particularly annoying, especially when you have been so good but it is water weight and will go away.

Originally Posted by LilacBruze

Well, here is the pic I took from my camera phone when I was texting my mother-in-law asking for her opinion. This pic does not capture the way the ring BLINGS in the sun, lol!! It really sparkles!

Gorgeous! And you two look so happy it makes me want to cry! Congrats to you and best wishes for the next 10 happy years. Also BIG congrats on coming back under LDW (thank you Bernice! ). Vacations can be really tough but you rocked it!

Originally Posted by LilacBruze

I need some advice on where to go from here. On one hand, I have completed 30 days of P3 and have stabilized. P4 is not so much an option for me since due to the diabetes I will need to remain low-carb. Starches and sugars are not things I want to explore much of. Truth is, after 6 months of not having them, I have gotten used to low-carb eating and would like to remain low-carb as my WOE.

So, my question is... when can I start another round? Originally, Mr LB and I were planning on doing 23 days at the beginning of October, so he (moreso than I) can be in P4 in time for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving food and I are not the best of friends so personally it doesn't hold much incentive for me.

I would like to do a 40 day round and I am good with starting before he does, since he can only commit to 23 days. My goal is to reach 170. I don't want to de-rail all my hard work and want to do it right. Your thoughts?

My thought FWIW is to continue with whatever is working for you now until your 6 week break is up. 3 weeks for P3 and 3 for P4. By my count you only have about 12 days left? That way you are giving yourself the prescribed break but still not "officially" doing P4. I think it's particularly important to get the full rest break in since your first round was so long. Another thought--you don't HAVE to add starches back but you might experiment with things like garbanzo beans or hummus or something like that, just to see if your body will accept them.

[Millenia98]

I would do the 23day right along with him! But, if you absolutely must, go ahead and do the 40 day and start before him. For motivation and team work, I would just start right along side him. You can have yummy loading nights out and complain about the same things at the same time, etc.

[Cruzcrzy]

Shelby,

thanks for your input and encouragement. I really appreciate it. I think I may have discovered another factor of the gain. My gin is with lime which is probably another word for sugar. It did not even occur to me. It is what it is. It's all a process! I walked my 3 miles. I am noticing some reshaping that i think is happening due to my exercise. It did not happen in my last round. I did not exercise in P3/P4 last round. I've heard you need cardio to burn the belly fat, and that is where I am losing, for sure. Thanks again!

[shelbyla]

I am up a little over a pound this morning but I am blaming this on myself and the wings that I ate last night. VERY salty but so yummy! I hadn't had them since January so I wanted to see what kind of impact they had on my weight. I also had way too many sugar-free goodies yesterday and while they ARE low-carb they are definitely NOT low calorie! Oh yeah, and then there were the cashews... :blush: Frankly, I think I'll take my 1.3 pounds up and 0.2 over LDW and be thankful! Pool party today and the debut of the new bikini. At least Labor Day is low-carb friendly! And I am taking the berry swirl low carb cheesecake so at least I can indulge a little. (As if last night wasn't enough???)

Happy Labor Day to all!

[julieboolie]

Morning guys!!

LB-you look beautiful!! And I love your ring too!! What a great time!! Celebrate!!

Verb-good job being down. You're doing great!!

Shelby-bikini? You go girl!! All that hard work will be well worth it!! Enjoy yourself!!

Cruz-not sure about the lime. I thought that actually meant real lime? I'm pro-vodka when I indulge. It leaves the least impact. Enjoy the experiement.

Millenia-bummer on the hamburger day. Wonder why it doesn't work as well as a steak day? The content isn't that different. Not sure what to tell you about getting back to LDW. I'd like to just stay in my window at this point!!

Well, I am up 2.4lbs overnight. This is my 3rd week of P4 and any time I eat something that isn't homemade and totally LC I gain. I haven't seen bernice in ages and am sore from my lifting yesterday, so I'm not gonna' freak out. I'm having steak for dinner, so I will try not to eat until then, but will likely have a smalle burger for lunch. We'll see.

I seem to gain and lose the same 2.4 lbs every few days. Since I am not planning to do another round and am moving on to a weight training program and trying an "alternate day diet" (zigzag, calorie cycling) I am not going to do any true hcg CD's. I will be doing "down days" which basically are the same thing, every other day. We'll see that yields. I'll be back by to visit and check up with you guys.

[heatherwagnon]

Hi all I was a poster back in the p2 phase (back in Dec/Jan) and been in p4 for what seems like forever and reading y'alls weekly posts keeps me grounded June 9 I had a brain aneurysm and ever since then I've been trying to get back down to my normal weight...currently 6 lbs over LDW...sucks, I'm like Julie and I keep losing and gaining the same 3 or so pounds! Driving me nuts, cause I had no problem staying at my weight before my "accident". Now I can't get there to save my life
So my normal CD day which I lose 2 or so lbs every time is steak day, but I'm starting to hate steak now, and will not eat it on a "normal" day lol
We went out for our anniversary last night and it seems like I can't eat anything that's not homemade anymore, ribs and wine and calamari :blush: got me a 1.8 gain, bleh
So today I'm doing a GY CD day, this is my first one so I'm wondering what y'all put in yours? I don't like it plain lol I tried before I added splenda and strawberries and then had a little more with 100% whey protein powder, but I need some more ideas in order to get myself to eat this whole container in one day Any ideas?!
Also wondering if a GY day works would a 4% cottage cheese day work? GY is ok (I know y'all love it, I'm a texture person so it's a little overwhelming for me lol) I love cottage cheese though so wondering what it would do, though 6 lbs over makes me not want to experiement right now lol!
Anyways thanks for being my support system, though I'm a silent partner lol

Heather

[shelbyla]

Hi Heather. If you like cottage cheese with salt and pepper, I've found that the GY is pretty good that way too. I enjoy seasoned salt and pepper but that's just me. I like it with lots of sweetener and blueberries or raspberries too. A little vanilla and or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice is also a nice addition along with the berries.

Btw, my absolute favorite is the roasted chicken cd. I do it with 6-8 roasted chicken thighs, if you are looking for another alternative. Someone (maybe paulabob?) does it with chicken wings. I'm gonna have to try that one myself one of these days... And dangit, I think I still owe a couple of people a spicy wing recipe. Whoever it was, speak up and I PROMISE to get on it tomorrow! :blush:

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by heatherwagnon

Hi all I was a poster back in the p2 phase (back in Dec/Jan) and been in p4 for what seems like forever and reading y'alls weekly posts keeps me grounded June 9 I had a brain aneurysm and ever since then I've been trying to get back down to my normal weight...currently 6 lbs over LDW...

I remember you, welcome back! So sorry to hear about your health problems, but wanted to say Congrats on staying stable for so long. I'm sure you can get back down - just take care of that health too! If you do try a cottage cheese CD, tell us the results!

Originally Posted by LilacBruze

Well, here is the pic I took from my camera phone when I was texting my mother-in-law asking for her opinion. This pic does not capture the way the ring BLINGS in the sun, lol!! It really sparkles!

Totally Gorgeous! Love the colors and sparkle!

Originally Posted by shelbyla

Someone (maybe paulabob?) does it with chicken wings.

Guilty! It's really good. And when they're homemade, you can control the sodium. I've also done roasted drumsticks as a CD too, and enjoy it as well.

[heatherwagnon]

I like my cottage cheese au natural but hubby just got back from the store with chicken thighs so i'm going to try that CD next, thanks for the idea Shelby!
Thanks Paula, I've been around "feeding" off y'all just not posting but thanks for welcoming me back! I hope to get back down, this is driving me crazy

Also wanted to throw out there that Safeway now has Greek Gods traditional full fat yogurt, I know I have had a hard time finding full fat, so thought ya'll might want to know that

[C'Marie]

I'm still up at my brother's and I haven't weighed since the day I left. I am getting up so early and eating salted products although almost all LC. Playing with my niece while my brother and his dear wife are away for a few days. Doing schoolwork and trying not to worry about some recent events. I haven't gone to my hip therapy for almost 2 weeks because of work and school. Ugh.


LB, you look fabulous in your pictures and I do love that ring !!! All the rest of you, good job maintaining and keeping up with your posting. I hope I haven't let anyone down by not being on here hardly at all. (((HUGS)))

[shelbyla]

Sweetie (C'M) giant hugs for YOU...somehow you seem like you need it...

And a little fun one at the end just because...

[Cruzcrzy]

C'Marie, what a sweet blessing you are to your family(and us).

Thankfully, I am back down today(stats to the left). I didn't have dinner last evening. I am up early because I am hungry and having problems with TOM. Just finished 2 pieces of bacon and one fried egg and it's not even 6am.

[KelliC]

LB you look amazing (and so does that ring) It's beautiful--sounds like you guys had a blast--so glad for you!

Marie I'm sure it'll come out all right since you've been mostly LC. Sometimes it's a good thing to "check out" of some activities for a while to focus on others, but I know it's frustrating when you have a goal you're trying to reach

Hope everyone is having a great day- as is my weird fashion (which I'm sure has to stop soon) when tom was over I'm down one more pound to 138.6. I'm not complaining AT ALL, I just would like to know WHY?? Had nachoes and plastic cheese at the movies last night (a decent size serving) but skipped dinner to make up it and am steady at 138.6 again this morning. DD called me from the Cheesecake Factory in Anaheim last night and I begged her to send me some over the phone, sadly science hasn't developed that technology yet Oh Well.

[Agee]

Hola everyone, subbing because as of this morning I'm in P3! Woo hoo!
I dropped 12.4 lbs in this short round, 7.6 of it was "new" weight from where I stabilized my 1st round in March, which I'm very pleased with. I'm going to do P3 until mid-October, with a few event-related P4 eatings after the 1st 3 weeks, then back to another round. I am a true believer. I haven't weighed this weight since I was married, 14 years ago! And once I start my next round I'll be headed into weights I haven't seen since my early 20s!
My goal is 145 by the end of November, which will be my 43rd birthday! Or maybe I should go for 143, in honor of my age.
Everyone is doing so wonderfully!
A