HCG Rouges and Alternatives- week of 1/9

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by agentventi

Does anyone know if the "reset" comes from a strick P3 or the 23 days of HCG with VLCD? I am just lost.

To be honest, I think it's entirely related to the P3 period, and nothing to do with the # of days on P2. Just my opinion. Lyle McDonald also advocates dieting breaks to help raise your metabolism after low calorie dieting trashes it. I actually don't think it has anything to do with going starch free/sugar free. HOWEVER, going that way vastly simplifies maintenance since you don't have water weight fluctuations from carbs. Those are just my thoughts, so take my free advice for what it's worth (zilch!).

Totally have Sailing in my head now Nicole.

[Gremom]

Originally Posted by agentventi

melanie- I am in Michigan and I was HOPING to get all that snow...we have nothing Try to have fun with it My daughter is 5 as well

Gremom-how did you stop the HCG? How many days in were you? I am toying with stopping but afraid that my metabolism won't reset or i will just gain a ton of weight if I jump right into P3 without doing 23 days.

Does anyone know if the "reset" comes from a strick P3 or the 23 days of HCG with VLCD? I am just lost.

Congrats to all those losing I am staying the same. Kind of expected with the 800 calorie protocol.

Mini-I also have my Psychology degree

Oh, I was in the loading phase. I had only taken 2 doses yesterday, so it wasn't really in my system very long. But when I did my last 2 rounds, I had to stop early because of the ill side affects I have with it. I just stopped and went right into p3. I was VERY rogue. Pretty much did LC (with lower cals) instead of anything near protocol. I am sure someone with more experience can help you.

I can say that over the holidays, I was terrible with my eating and I stayed within my ldw window. The weight loss from my hcg round stuck.

Hoped this helped a bit.

[Trishagrrl]

I got my woooosh today! 2.5 pound loss I'm on VLCD11 and I'm down 5.5. I'm very happy with that average

Glad it's Friday and everyone in my house seems to be healthy today. I didn't get the flu and neither did one of my babies (which seems really strange). Hoping it stays away!

Gremom- good luck with going LC. If I could lose doing LC, that's totally what I'd be doing too! My mom did a round of hhcg with me a couple of years ago and she lost great, but she couldn't stand the side effects so I can't talk her into doing it again.

woop... was going to do more personals, but kids need me. Later peeps!

[errihu]

Originally Posted by Trishagrrl

I got my woooosh today! 2.5 pound loss I'm on VLCD11 and I'm down 5.5. I'm very happy with that average

Glad it's Friday and everyone in my house seems to be healthy today. I didn't get the flu and neither did one of my babies (which seems really strange). Hoping it stays away!

Grats on the whoosh and glad you didn't get sick. Being sick sucks, and wow, those whooshes totally rock!

[Sasseaux]

Still no loss. I think its my pellets - they must have gone bad. I didn't think it was the pellets because I haven't felt all that hungry, but I ordered drops from Netrition today. They should be here in about 4 days and I will switch over.

Keep going everybody. I know this works - I just need to figure out what is going wrong.

[Sasseaux]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Getting jiggly IS progress... but man, it's brutal!

I'm putting that in my signature!! LOL!!

[nola baxter]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Wow -- I just read this post on another board, and it makes total sense:

I noticed the squishy fat phenomenon as I lost weight too -- at first, the fat was pretty solid and then it would get really loose and jiggly (and gross) but then it would disappear. The reason for this -- at least what I was told -- is that before you lose weight, the fat is marbled IN your muscles as well as surrouding them (and this is very unhealthy, I've been told). That's why it's so solid and attached -- the fat in the muscle anchors all the surrounding fat to the muscle. The first fat you lose is from inside the muscle, so the muscle and fat are no longer attached and the fat gets all wobbly and jiggly without the muscle anchor. After you lose the intramuscular fat, you finally you lose the fat that was surrounding the muscle (and you can see your lovely muscles )....


That would totally explain why I can pull the apron of fat away from my abdominal wall! My ab muscles are definitely a lot flatter than they used to be, so that really makes a ton of sense.

Okay, that's it -- after reading a million and one posts about jiggly fat meaning losses are coming, I am not quitting. Not quitting. Today was a mini-refeed, and I am back on the program tomorrow.

Cool, thanks for posting this! It is interesting..
I am still trying to figure it out in my head actually.
So if you dont get the squishy fat stage, does that mean that you still have fat marbled in the muscle??
Or that the fat is already gone from the muscle??
Am I a bit dense here?


And on the subject of fat marbling in the muscles- I remember talk about spin classes and similar making marbled fat legs and looked it up
There was heaps of info and discussion so I have just put these 2 excerpts;


"Endurance training has another ugly side – although fat oxidation increases in trained athletes, with conditioning, more and more of this fat comes from muscle triglyceride (23) – meaning less and less comes from adipose tissue. It seems the body learns to store muscle triglyceride where it’s being used (24), so it’s available for energy more quickly that it would be from adipose tissue – a phenomenon Charles Poliquin so eloquently describes as “Kobe beef thighs and butt, all plump and marbled with fat inside”.


1) "... Yes spinning is very tiring, is it productive? NO."

2) "... Why is spinning so useless if I am getting a great
workout from it? Because the high velocities fatigue a
particular point in the neuro-muscular junction which is
responsible for the rapid firing rate of the motor units,
you perceive great fatigue even though little work has
been done. When you think about it, you could reproduced
the same type of fatigue in your triceps if I asked you to
hold a pair of fly swatters and swat an imaginary 100 flys
in 30 seconds."

3) "... In spinning exercise, the body adapts by storing both
intra-muscular and subcutaneous fat in the thigh and hip
areas to provide a more readily available source of fuel
for the aerobic recovery periods. The body figures out, if
I store fat there it reduces the time to get to the muscles
to provide the energy source. Result: Kobe beef thighs and
butt, all plump and marbled with fat inside."
(Excerpts authored by Charles Poliquin.)

Of course there is lots of debate around it, and people affirming or discounting it.
But it is interesting to consider.


and something else I read but have not had time to research yet;

Butter makes you lean. Seriously. I learned this from my guru Charles Poliquin, and now that I’ve tested it out several times I can say it is absolutely fantastic for fat loss. It’s the short-chain fatty acid buteryic acid which helps you to burn stored body fat. Oh – and it tastes YUMMY. I’m talking only quality butter of course – no salt added, and it must be organic. Raw is even better. Every time I cook with the stuff or add it to my dinner I wake up with leaner abs than ever. For real.

I do believe from my readings though that ;
medium chain fatty acids are the best for fat loss (coconut fat)
short chain are the next best (butter, a lot of meat fats)
and long chain are the worst (polysunsaturated fats)

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by nola baxter

Butter makes you lean. Seriously. I learned this from my guru Charles Poliquin, and now that I’ve tested it out several times I can say it is absolutely fantastic for fat loss. It’s the short-chain fatty acid buteryic acid which helps you to burn stored body fat. Oh – and it tastes YUMMY. I’m talking only quality butter of course – no salt added, and it must be organic. Raw is even better. Every time I cook with the stuff or add it to my dinner I wake up with leaner abs than ever. For real.

I second that (tho I can't see my abs lol)...butter is *so* healthy. Vitamins A, D, & K plus CLA. Besides coconut oil, it is my number 2 fat I use. I even use small bits during protocol...amazing how tasty even 1/2 a teaspoon is during low calorie (mixed with salt & lemon, great for fish). Kerrygold is a great pastured butter if you can afford it.

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by nola baxter

lol! I have to say that that cracked me up
do you check all the posts for typos- or just notice them automatically?

I must confess, that despite an English degree, I dont really worry too much about typo's!

It's innate, I'm afraid. I notice everything. Even when I write my own posts, I spell-check them (usually) then post them and reread them and edit when I find errors. It's just how I'm "driven." I notice things like when people don't bother putting periods in their sentences and when a paragraph runs on in one huge chunk. I'm a paragraph junkie.

PS: I make lots of errors so that's why I check and double-check my own posts. My fingers don't always go in the order that they should on the keyboard, and I'm a terrible speller when it comes to things like deciding if a word has two consonants or one. I usually choose the wrong one.

Originally Posted by nola baxter

Exactly!
I have pondered these things too!

The struggle, and waging war against our bodies;
self hatred when we dont achieve a physical standard, or manage to beat our bodies into the appropriate shape,
or stick to the diet we want;
or we stick to the diet and it still doesnt create the effect we want!

....and the huge amount of
time and energy, (physical and psychic), that it swallows up.

Sometimes I just dont want to do it, and thats why I often go into an allowing mode,
allow myself to eat and try and follow my body's instinct/wisdom.

At the same time, I exercise hard, and want to achieve a certain something with my body ;
can I achieve this only by warring against my body?
Or can it be achieved by working with my body,
and from an inside out perspective;
ie, not from external strictures, force of will and controlled diet, calories etc,
but from the internal guidance, physical, emotional, inner, etc..
??

I love all this soul searching! Sometimes we really need to stop and take a deep look at what we are doing and WHY! (I'm a huge "why" person. Why is what drives me a lot in life.)

Originally Posted by nola baxter

I see those same things in my sister- the drive to extremes..
and at times it has been quite damaging to her.
She doesnt rest in her achievements either- but always drives for something more.

It seems really good,
this lesson you are learning about accepting criticism and failure- and not taking it so harshly or personally.

I can well identify..
Even though I dont have the same drive to achieve as an overall concept ;
when I dont achieve in my personal arena of choice, I do feel devastated at times,
and that it is a "huge and all-encompassing " failure on my part..
Emotionally I find it hard to come to terms with, the feeling is one of worthlessness!

Food for thought..

Another great line. We strive so much that we don't know how to rest in our achievements. These are all very good things to ponder today. Let's all ponder!

(Just working my way through the posts and commenting as I go. I slept late today so I won't get through many of them and definitely won't be done until tonight.)

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by Gremom

Super quick post before I head to bed.

So, I said I was gonna do another round, but I am done with HCG. I don't like the way it makes me feel and it is not something I am commited to. So back to reg LC for me. Don't know if I will get 20lbs off by April 20th, but if I can get 10lbs off, I will be happy.

Threw out my pills and I am done. But, I am not leaving you all. You are the best support I have right now with my weight loss and I can't leave that.

Cheryl, I would love the recipe if you want to pm me or post in your thread. Let me know. I love soup and it sounds delish!

Goodnight y'all!

I'm glad you aren't going away! I will post the recipe on my journal thread later today or tomorrow. If you want to add a good thread to your list of subscribed haunts, and since you are going to do LC, may I recommend another one I am a regular on? ~Atkins '72 for the month of January, 2012~

We are a good group of eggs over there, too.

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Wow -- I just read this post on another board, and it makes total sense:

I noticed the squishy fat phenomenon as I lost weight too -- at first, the fat was pretty solid and then it would get really loose and jiggly (and gross) but then it would disappear. The reason for this -- at least what I was told -- is that before you lose weight, the fat is marbled IN your muscles as well as surrouding them (and this is very unhealthy, I've been told). That's why it's so solid and attached -- the fat in the muscle anchors all the surrounding fat to the muscle. The first fat you lose is from inside the muscle, so the muscle and fat are no longer attached and the fat gets all wobbly and jiggly without the muscle anchor. After you lose the intramuscular fat, you finally you lose the fat that was surrounding the muscle (and you can see your lovely muscles )....

That would totally explain why I can pull the apron of fat away from my abdominal wall! My ab muscles are definitely a lot flatter than they used to be, so that really makes a ton of sense.

Okay, that's it -- after reading a million and one posts about jiggly fat meaning losses are coming, I am not quitting. Not quitting. Today was a mini-refeed, and I am back on the program tomorrow.

Makes sense! I love things that make sense.

Originally Posted by minimonkey

C'Marie -- the fat on my belly is the most pronounced in terms of appearing as if it is not attached to anything underneath, but my thighs and my very stubborn calves are getting jiggly as heck, too.

Wow.. that definitely appears to be a good thing (I have now read two million posts attesting to this, and several articles, lol!) -- but it looks terrible at the moment! Makes me really wonder how much more I need to lose!?! I had a lot more bodyfat than I realized I did... eeek. I would be delighted, though, if the calves would thin out -- they have been a bane to me as long as I can remember.

Assuming I go forward and lose all this jiggly stuff, I better build some good muscle to compensate for losing , or I am going to end up at 90 lbs or less... crazy. Who knew I had that much fat shoved away in my relatively little body??!!

Well, forward I go... and I am not going to stress the scale stall anymore, because apparently that is part and parcel of the jigglifying process.... the scale stalls, the fat breaks down, eventually it gets flushed out, and the scale drops. Getting jiggly IS progress... but man, it's brutal! Thank goodness for clothing!!!

You must be a fast reader! Hey! Don't forget the vow you made not to go below a LDW of 93.

I have to run. "Equine Care" time.

[minimonkey]

Venti -- the way I understand it, the reset is from both the minimum of 23 days on a round, and a proper p3/cautious p4 -- that's how I understand the protocol.

[C'Marie]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Venti -- the way I understand it, the reset is from both the minimum of 23 days on a round, and a proper p3/cautious p4 -- that's how I understand the protocol.

I agree.... because unless you hit the "reset" button during the P2 by resting the hypothalmus, it is definitely not as effective.

[minimonkey]

Well, ladies -- I decided to brave the scale post-mini-refeed, and boy am I glad I did! I am down 1.8 lbs, back to my low for this round!

My body clearly appreciated the extra fat and calories....!!

It's fat and protein from here on out for me, baby! I may throw in the very occasional low fat day to spice things up, but no more of that as a diet plan.

Don't know if this loss will stick, but I sure hope it does!!!

[minimonkey]

Trisha -- whoohoo for your whoosh! You are getting great results so far!!

Nola -- I don't know the answer about the squishy fat -- you seems pretty darn lean to me, so I doubt there is much marbling of any kind on you!


-- I do, however, know that I appear to have a WHOLE lot more fat on my body than I realized. Now that it is all squishy, it is clear to me what is muscle, and what isn't -- and that is both a good, and a bad, thing...

I don't doubt that I once had very fatty muscles, particularly in my legs... they were always very blocky and short -- and that has really changed with the Bar Method, and with this last year of dieting. The aren't joking when they promise "long, lean muscles" -- it does work!

I did a ton of furious cardio when I was younger -- that might well have caused fat storage in the muscle.

Now, my muscles really are longer and leaner and less blocky -- and what remains as fat seems to be mostly subcutaneous (there is probably still some intramuscular fat on the legs, but a whole lot less of it) --- that means I need to lose that squishy fat, but it also means that my muscular legs aren't nearly as innately big as I thought they were.

Cheryl -- I do remember my promise, and I will stick to it... meaning I better get this jiggly butt of mine in the gym and start building some muscle to compensate for all this fat I want to lose!!!!!

[minimonkey]

Thanks for putting up with my major posting frenzy yesterday, ladies -- I go through these periods of intense questioning, and I just need to bounce them off someone.

It's thesis work for me today and a workout-- and back to the hhcg and the fat fast! I'll throw in high protein days in between. But low fat is not my friend, and those days will be thrown in once in a while for variety, but not as a regular plan.

Have a great barn day Cheryl!

[minimonkey]

Cheryl, just saw your siggy line -- right on with the 8 lb loss on Atkins!!!!

I say keep that up -- if LC works, why do anything else? Ok, that's my bias, because I love eating that way -- but stick with what is getting results, right????

[minimonkey]

BTW -- I am about 2 lbs from totally virgin fat territory for my adult life...I think the lowest I have gotten to post high school is about 102-103...

I can't wait to see what I will look like without all this jiggly goosh...

I do think I am going to shoot for the 95 lb goal, but I am leaving the goal signature as is for now.... maybe that last 4.4 lbs will work miracles, for all I know.

Plus, I want to do a happy goal dance twice... lol!

[minimonkey]

Sasseaux -- your signature quote from me totally made my day, and also completely cracks me up!

It's the truth, though, and we need to remember it

[minimonkey]

WHOOOHOO! I just got news that I did get appointed another class to teach this semester, and it is a class I love teaching -- Abnormal Psychology!

I am going to be busy as heck, but I am just so thrilled to be teaching this class again!

I really would love nothing better than to get my old job back on the other end of this grad program.... I'd also like to teach in art, but I love my former job, and I miss it terribly. I just wrote a little email to the department chair telling her exactly that!

[nola baxter]

Originally Posted by paulabob

I second that (tho I can't see my abs lol)...butter is *so* healthy. Vitamins A, D, & K plus CLA. Besides coconut oil, it is my number 2 fat I use. I even use small bits during protocol...amazing how tasty even 1/2 a teaspoon is during low calorie (mixed with salt & lemon, great for fish). Kerrygold is a great pastured butter if you can afford it.

Here in NZ all our butter is pastured!
We are the land of dairy- milk , cheese , butter, cream, and cows..lol
And the cows are pastured as a matter of course.

I love butter too- and its true just a small amount makes a big difference in flavour/taste. 1 tsp on a plate of vegetables is the difference between night and day for me.

[nola baxter]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Well, ladies -- I decided to brave the scale post-mini-refeed, and boy am I glad I did! I am down 1.8 lbs, back to my low for this round!

My body clearly appreciated the extra fat and calories....!!

It's fat and protein from here on out for me, baby! I may throw in the very occasional low fat day to spice things up, but no more of that as a diet plan.

Don't know if this loss will stick, but I sure hope it does!!!

Oh yay!!
very cool..

[nola baxter]

Originally Posted by CherylB

It's innate, I'm afraid. I notice everything. Even when I write my own posts, I spell-check them (usually) then post them and reread them and edit when I find errors. It's just how I'm "driven." I notice things like when people don't bother putting periods in their sentences and when a paragraph runs on in one huge chunk. I'm a paragraph junkie.

lol..
I will have to improve the grammar of my posts in that case
In case Cheryl picks up on me

[nola baxter]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Trisha -- whoohoo for your whoosh! You are getting great results so far!!

Nola -- I don't know the answer about the squishy fat -- you seems pretty darn lean to me, so I doubt there is much marbling of any kind on you!


-- I do, however, know that I appear to have a WHOLE lot more fat on my body than I realized. Now that it is all squishy, it is clear to me what is muscle, and what isn't -- and that is both a good, and a bad, thing...

I don't doubt that I once had very fatty muscles, particularly in my legs... they were always very blocky and short -- and that has really changed with the Bar Method, and with this last year of dieting. The aren't joking when they promise "long, lean muscles" -- it does work!

I did a ton of furious cardio when I was younger -- that might well have caused fat storage in the muscle.

Now, my muscles really are longer and leaner and less blocky -- and what remains as fat seems to be mostly subcutaneous (there is probably still some intramuscular fat on the legs, but a whole lot less of it) --- that means I need to lose that squishy fat, but it also means that my muscular legs aren't nearly as innately big as I thought they were.

Cheryl -- I do remember my promise, and I will stick to it... meaning I better get this jiggly butt of mine in the gym and start building some muscle to compensate for all this fat I want to lose!!!!!

I dunno
I may have squishy fat hiding away in my muscles somewhere too!
But I have never really noticed the squishy fat phenomenon in all my weight loss journeys.

The last time I got supra lean, I just very gradually got a little bit smaller, then suddenly, over the space of 1-4 days , I significantly and noticeably dropped size in the lower body?! It was bizarre in a way.
But it was not preceded by a squishy fat stage.

I have also done a ton of cardio in my life- so who knows what hiding away inside of those muscles

When I abandoned weight training in the lower body and just did Callan and HITT, my leg muscles went all flat/unnoticeable , but not more defined.
I didnt think it was a better look.

T-tapp also promises long lean muscles, and muscle density over bulk;
and better definition;
and I did that hard out for a while-
but I didnt notice any particular results or
improvements from it.

Anyway..just meandering in my thoughts a bit here as I am pondering on the phenomen of fat marbling inside the muscle;
and how it might apply to my body;
and it there is some way it might be a key to a better body?!
(harder muscles, better definition, loss of cellulite/saddlebags, etc. etc.)

[nola baxter]

I am just trying to make Mini feel better by posting a lot

[minimonkey]

Originally Posted by nola baxter

I am just trying to make Mini feel better by posting a lot

Nola, you rock!

[minimonkey]

I didn't love that flat, Callanetics muscle look either, Nola -- but the Bar Method, especially the later workouts, do create nice, sculpted and defined muscles without much bulk. Add some weight days to the mix, and it is a pretty dynamite combo, at least for me.

Who knows about the marbled fat ... I was pretty shocked at how much of my remaining body composition seems to be fat, though...

[CherylB]

Holy Toledo! I just now got through all the posts and ate breakfast. (It's 7:45pm.) I wanted to multiquote more but had to cut it down. I am thrilled for those of you who lost big today! Happy for the smaller losses, and just generally all-around excited to be here with y'all again. I'm sorry but I had to just skim through some of the larger posts because if I didn't, I'd never have gotten done. Barn days are challenging and I had a bad night's sleep again. I took more sleeping meds at 0400 (cause I'd rather sleep late than be up from that early and have to face a long day) and then I woke at around 1pm. Didn't leave much time for food or LCF.

Originally Posted by mdolph

Ugh, was just defeated buy a 3 1/2 foot snowdrift. We don't have a snowshovel, the dog at it, lol, and the snowblower is huge and scary. I'm stuck at home with one kid who insists on changing her clothes every 5 minutes and they are all itchy and another who keeps begging me to go outside, I get him dressed and two minutes later he's wanting to come back in. It's really blowing like crazy out there! If I get deperate enough I'll go and get our truck that doesn't have heat but it 4 wheel drive and go somewhere, but to be honest the thought of laying around the house sounds a-ok right now!

Paula, yes there's that button but that means I gotta go advanced and all. I'm lazy, lol!

Ok, time for cup of coffee number 4 for me and breakfast number 2 for the kids. I really could have used going into work today.

Oh, you are freaking me out with all this talk of snow! It's coming our way so we'll eventually have to deal with it too. Your dog ate your shovel? I hate when that happens! (My dog eats paper and has just recently eaten a very precious old letter I had laying around. That'll teach me.) I hope you stayed at home, safe and warm. That's so funny how the kids are so restless. I can see you running around trying to meet their every need and whim. I'll post the recipe on my journal tomorrow. I'd love to hear how the pumpkin sausage and kale soup differs from the soup I made.

Originally Posted by agentventi

melanie- I am in Michigan and I was HOPING to get all that snow...we have nothing Try to have fun with it My daughter is 5 as well

Does anyone know if the "reset" comes from a strick P3 or the 23 days of HCG with VLCD? I am just lost.

Congrats to all those losing I am staying the same. Kind of expected with the 800 calorie protocol.

Mini-I also have my Psychology degree

Please, Lord! Send her the snow! Divert the storm away from us! Pretty please? To answer your reset question, I'd have to say I really don't know. I think if you ask a purest you'll get one answer and if you ask a rogue you'll get another. It's tough! Some things we just have to try and see how it goes. Sorry I can't be of more help to you. Congrats on the Psych degree! Hope your stall breaks soon.

Originally Posted by nola baxter

and something else I read but have not had time to research yet;

Butter makes you lean. Seriously. I learned this from my guru Charles Poliquin, and now that I’ve tested it out several times I can say it is absolutely fantastic for fat loss. It’s the short-chain fatty acid buteryic acid which helps you to burn stored body fat. Oh – and it tastes YUMMY. I’m talking only quality butter of course – no salt added, and it must be organic. Raw is even better. Every time I cook with the stuff or add it to my dinner I wake up with leaner abs than ever. For real.

I do believe from my readings though that ;
medium chain fatty acids are the best for fat loss (coconut fat)
short chain are the next best (butter, a lot of meat fats)
and long chain are the worst (polysunsaturated fats)

You just made my day, and it was already going pretty darn good! Now I just have to figure out what "quality butter" is and learn which is pastured and which is not. I had been buying unsalted butter but decided to go back to salted cause I add salt to everything and I ended up adding even more salt when using the unsalted butter.

Originally Posted by paulabob

I second that (tho I can't see my abs lol)...butter is *so* healthy. Vitamins A, D, & K plus CLA. Besides coconut oil, it is my number 2 fat I use. I even use small bits during protocol...amazing how tasty even 1/2 a teaspoon is during low calorie (mixed with salt & lemon, great for fish). Kerrygold is a great pastured butter if you can afford it.

I wish I had the guts to do that during P2. Fish is putrid without some sort of oil I only ate it once on my first round and then just "gave it up" after that.

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Cheryl, just saw your siggy line -- right on with the 8 lb loss on Atkins!!!!

I say keep that up -- if LC works, why do anything else? Ok, that's my bias, because I love eating that way -- but stick with what is getting results, right????

Thanks, Hon! I'm pretty happy. I know how Atkins goes, though. You get a few good weeks and then WHAMMO. Stall-city. But I don't care at this point. If it's not a diet (which it shouldn't be) then it's a lifestyle and it will come off in time. I may get impatient after a while and when I'm burned out on high fat foods (if that ever happens!) I'll give HCG another go, just to get to goal a little faster. I have lots of pellets so "no worries."

Originally Posted by minimonkey

BTW -- I am about 2 lbs from totally virgin fat territory for my adult life...I think the lowest I have gotten to post high school is about 102-103...

I can't wait to see what I will look like without all this jiggly goosh...

I do think I am going to shoot for the 95 lb goal, but I am leaving the goal signature as is for now.... maybe that last 4.4 lbs will work miracles, for all I know.

Plus, I want to do a happy goal dance twice... lol!

That's so exciting! We'll throw you a cyber party when it happens, okay?

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Sasseaux -- your signature quote from me totally made my day, and also completely cracks me up!

It's the truth, though, and we need to remember it

I thought that was so funny, too. It is a good line! Jessica quoted Laylabean about her line about "the world seems full of promise when I'm having coffee." (Paraphrased.)

Originally Posted by minimonkey

WHOOOHOO! I just got news that I did get appointed another class to teach this semester, and it is a class I love teaching -- Abnormal Psychology!

I am going to be busy as heck, but I am just so thrilled to be teaching this class again!

I really would love nothing better than to get my old job back on the other end of this grad program.... I'd also like to teach in art, but I love my former job, and I miss it terribly. I just wrote a little email to the department chair telling her exactly that!

FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! You deserve it!

Originally Posted by nola baxter

lol..
I will have to improve the grammar of my posts in that case
In case Cheryl picks up on me

NO! I don't look at it like that. I'm just aware of things and normally just let them slide. But I remember one time someone who was in a hurry and typing at her desk at work (forget who it was) wrote an entire paragraph without a single period! I had to comment on that one, but only in a LMAO kind of way. I remember Mini said that I often say what she is thinking but doesn't say. So, call me a blurter!

[star a.d.]

I've lost 1 lb from my 1.5 lb gain from Carb Experiment. carbage is garbage! hehehe! anyway, today I'm having a high protein, 500 calorie day. I made a very lean roast and it's serving me well today.

things are chugging along, save for the sore throat I've had on and off all week is really taking hold, and I'm getting stuffy. arrrrgh! this I DO NOT need.

high fives to the losers, hugs for the stallers, and fist bumps for the maintainers.

[CherylB]

Okay. Now about my day. (And just for you, Melanie, I clicked "go advanced" before I even started this post. It's not hard! Just an easy little habit to get into. Take that from one of the laziest people on the planet!)

I already talked about sleeping and not sleeping, eating and not eating, so I'll get right down to the weather and barn report.

Holy %@#!&^*$ was it cold outside today! I have to find a way to protect my skin when I'm working out in this kind of weather. It was supposed to be in the 40's today but windy. It was no where near that. My car thermometer said 27 so with the wind chill it had to be below zero. The wind must have been 20mph with gusts up to over 30.

Thankfully, the day was SO rotten that they didn't turn the horses out into the paddocks and the areas that needed raking and picking up after were fewer. But I WILL be going shopping this weekend and buying more things to keep my exposed cheeks and nose warm. I will look like a freak or a skier or a bank robber, but I WILL be comfortable.

It was so miserable out today that even the equine manager was outside helping out. I had never been there when she was working outside. It was so funny because as we passed each other, she looked at me and said, "This Sucks!" All I could do was laugh because YES IT DID suck. But we were there and we were doing what needed to be done.

I definitely feel like I'm in my element when I'm there. I'm learning fast and my attention to detail is really paying off there. I find things that haven't been done that need to be done and I do them. It feels good to not have to be supervised! I'm growing and it feels wonderful. I even lead two horses into the barn together today (while attended by Kelsey, in case something went awry) and the horses were on high-alert with all the wind and their eagerness to get inside. I ended up grooming the two of them (love the barn! Much warmer in there when you close the doors.)

I even got a really cool "bunny fix." I was looking into their cages and I went to open up one of the doors and this single bunny (not sure why he's kept alone when the other two bunnies have each other) came eagerly up to greet me. I pet him for a few minutes and thought of how my sister Donna would have loved the experience. She used to have a pet bunny.

The wind is taking down tree limbs and knocking out power in various places in CT. I hope we keep ours! I'm so glad to be home and to have eaten a nice bowl of my sausage soup (was thinking how thankful I was to have made it yesterday so I had something to just nuke today.) Tomorrow I'll made something else so I have more than just soup for leftovers. I'm leaning toward a pork shoulder roast in the oven.

I'm going to "chill" now. Love you all and will post recipes tomorrow on my journal thread.

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by star a.d.

I've lost 1 lb from my 1.5 lb gain from Carb Experiment. carbage is garbage! hehehe! anyway, today I'm having a high protein, 500 calorie day. I made a very lean roast and it's serving me well today.

things are chugging along, save for the sore throat I've had on and off all week is really taking hold, and I'm getting stuffy. arrrrgh! this I DO NOT need.

high fives to the losers, hugs for the stallers, and fist bumps for the maintainers.

Another good line to quote! Who's grabbing this one? Sorry for your sore throat! Hope it heals quickly. (Love the "fist bumps".)