HCG Rouges and Alternatives- week of 1/9

[catjrow3]

Morning girls,
Sounds like a decent start on here today. I was down 0.6 this morning not much to be sure, since it was only VLCD2... and I thought it would be more like 2 or 3 lbs, but I will have to take it and keep on truckin. Still 3.4 up from loading... (sigh)...

I only use stevia in my coffee and feel lucky I dont have the dilemia some do of to use creamer or not to use creamer. i used to use equal in my coffee only, and everyone convinced me of its "crapness" so I switched sweetners, but otherwise, I drink it black!!

KUTGW ladies.

[cared7]

Originally Posted by Sasseaux

Hi gals - this seems to be a happening thread with lots of positive energy. I hope to saok up some of that and not bring a downer to it. I'm struggling a bit with a stall of over a week, but its TOM, hormones, stress and lack of Bernice - the quadruple whammy. I only have a few more days till I end this round. I did lose the Christmas and load gain. I'm doing an apple day today. When I go into P3 this time I am going to seriously start exercising again. Sometimes I lose patience and want it all gone today. It took a few years to get where I am/was so it will take a few more months to get where I want.

Take a look at my photo album with the before and two durings. I could use some positive feedback and comments.

Thanks for helping out the needy, whiney baby.

You look AWESOME, Sasseaux!!! Your waist is so defined and you have such a great shape (can you tell I'm envious)?? Beautiful face, too, in ALL the pics!
Keep up your hard work, it WILL pay off in the end!

[paulabob]

I'm so far behind but a quick welcome to Sue and any new ones on the thread! Have to leave in 10 minutes so no personals...

Back to 127.8, Sunday's weight. So my one day inadvertent load weight is off. Today's a normal P3 day for me, then resuming P2 bandwagon Thur/Fri. Have a great day ladies!

[star a.d.]

good morning, everyone!

I feel kind of bad that I rarely do personals, but I am definitely here cheering you all on and supporting you.

down to 215 this morning, which is AMAZING, considering I'm fighting something off, and also did a pretty hardcore yoga class last night and am sore today! just an excuse for an extended, overly-heated bath, I guess, right?

[tay65]

Wow, some nice losses today! I'm down .6 today so still on track. I changed my stats to show my start over. I'm real motivated now and ready to move on down the scale!
Everyone be big losers today! LOL

[DisneyPrincess]

I'm going to be taking a break from the boards for a while. I need some time to de-stress and think about goals and how I want to approach this year so it is better than last.

I'll check in periodically and am wishing everyone the best of luck.

[HexaTheAmazon]

Originally Posted by Sasseaux

Hi gals - this seems to be a happening thread with lots of positive energy. I hope to saok up some of that and not bring a downer to it. I'm struggling a bit with a stall of over a week, but its TOM, hormones, stress and lack of Bernice - the quadruple whammy. I only have a few more days till I end this round. I did lose the Christmas and load gain. I'm doing an apple day today. When I go into P3 this time I am going to seriously start exercising again. Sometimes I lose patience and want it all gone today. It took a few years to get where I am/was so it will take a few more months to get where I want.

Take a look at my photo album with the before and two durings. I could use some positive feedback and comments.

Thanks for helping out the needy, whiney baby.

Your before and after pictures look awesome You should be proud. Great job.

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by DisneyPrincess

I'm going to be taking a break from the boards for a while. I need some time to de-stress and think about goals and how I want to approach this year so it is better than last.

I'll check in periodically and am wishing everyone the best of luck.

Boy do you sound like me! I'm sorry you are feeling how I was feeling but please don't hesitate to lean on us. We are always here. I will be praying for you, Jackie. If you'd like to keep in touch via email, PM me. It's not good to lose all contact with your support group and I appreciated those who were emailing me through my period of withdrawal.

Originally Posted by Gremom

Poor DH is having a rough go of it lately. He gets up at 3am everyday to work 2 jobs so that I can stay home with our kids. He has done this for 4 years and it is starting to take it's toll. Mentally and physically. He just has to work the part time job for one more year and then we will be completely be debt free (except for the house)!! So we are working toward this goal. I just hate to see him struggle. He is weighing heavily on my mind tonight. If you are one who prays, can you please add him to your prayers. We would really appreciate it.

Very sorry this is a tough time for you both but happy that you'll be debt-free next year! That is an awesome motivator and I hope it gives DH just the right amount of "umph" to get er done. Hang in there! I'll say a prayer for sure.

Originally Posted by Gremom

Forgot to mention that I got an hour long workout in today!! About 50 minutes of step aerobics and 10 minutes of ab work. OUCH!! My abs needed it!

Really looking forward to another round. Want to get into the 130s!

WTG! Hope your next round takes you to your goal.

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Oh, and can I just say that I am darn glad I'll be hitting goal in the winter??? It is probably going to be months before this saggy baggy skin starts to look the slightest bit acceptable for baring in public! This summer, I really want to feel comfortable in shorts and a tank top.

If I am reeeally feeling wild, I will find an occasion to actually wear the bikini that I bought last year. I don't remember the last time I wore a bikini in public... it has been a looooong time.

You will be smoking! (Literally! In fact, you can work on quitting after you reach your weight loss and reshaping goals. Talk about healthy!!)

Originally Posted by Sasseaux

Hi gals - this seems to be a happening thread with lots of positive energy. I hope to saok up some of that and not bring a downer to it. I'm struggling a bit with a stall of over a week, but its TOM, hormones, stress and lack of Bernice - the quadruple whammy. I only have a few more days till I end this round. I did lose the Christmas and load gain. I'm doing an apple day today. When I go into P3 this time I am going to seriously start exercising again. Sometimes I lose patience and want it all gone today. It took a few years to get where I am/was so it will take a few more months to get where I want.

Take a look at my photo album with the before and two durings. I could use some positive feedback and comments.

Thanks for helping out the needy, whiney baby.

Very nice pics! You're looking pretty awesome in your latest one. And you are a knock-out in your Avi. KUTGW! Rome wasn't built in a day.

Originally Posted by Trishagrrl

Thank you Cheryl! Yes, I am very blessed, but despite that this week is always hard. Lots of memories come up. Some good and some bad. My husband died in a car accident (200 car pile up) while I was on the phone with him. Our son was just 7 months old. It was a hard time, as is any time you lose someone close to you. God has blessed me with another wonderful man I'm married two and 3 more beautiful boys and that is what I need to focus on.

Dryer is fixed and I got one load done last night.

My 3 year old is all better. It was a short-lived little stomach virus it appears. Glad it went away quickly!

How awful! What can a person say to that? My husband had many (many) health problems. I was in denial in regard to his life-expectancy. I'm so glad you are in such a great place in your life now. God bless all of you.

Originally Posted by lunagirl704

I'm at a stall, down 1lb in 9 days lol, so I hear you!

Mini- I love percolated coffee! My parents made it when I was growing up and I started drinking coffee at a young age too, lol- maybe that's why we are 5'0?! I used to smoke too

Time for an Apple Day, woman! Or maybe one of Mini's Fat Fast days. I love perc coffee + also am an ex-ex-smoker (went about a decade then started smoking again. Finally kicked it about 11 years ago. Was much harder!) That's funny about the "stunted growth". I never drank coffee until I was 28.

Originally Posted by catjrow3

Morning girls,
Sounds like a decent start on here today. I was down 0.6 this morning not much to be sure, since it was only VLCD2... and I thought it would be more like 2 or 3 lbs, but I will have to take it and keep on truckin. Still 3.4 up from loading... (sigh)...

I only use stevia in my coffee and feel lucky I dont have the dilemia some do of to use creamer or not to use creamer. i used to use equal in my coffee only, and everyone convinced me of its "crapness" so I switched sweetners, but otherwise, I drink it black!!

KUTGW ladies.

That's very disappointing, knowing your potential for water gains and losses. It's all just a great, big test. Pass it!!

[CherylB]

I posted that entire thing w/ one hand! Holding an ice cube to a hive.

[star a.d.]

hey you adorable little 5'0 ladies...I started drinking (AND LOVING) coffee when I was about 5 (used to steal it from my mom, hahaha) and I'm 5'7".

then again, maybe I'd be 5'11" if I'd started later. HAHAHA!

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by star a.d.

hey you adorable little 5'0 ladies...I started drinking (AND LOVING) coffee when I was about 5 (used to steal it from my mom, hahaha) and I'm 5'7".

then again, maybe I'd be 5'11" if I'd started later. HAHAHA!

(FLASHBACK) I did the same thing w/ my mom only it was her evening beer! After a hard day of waitressing at Friendly's, she'd enjoy a few while we scratched her back for a quarter. I got wise to the fact that there was always alittle left in the can after she filled her glass. When she'd get up for a bathroom run, I drank some of her beer, then topped it off from the can. She never caught on. I was about 12.

[star a.d.]

Originally Posted by CherylB

(FLASHBACK) I did the same thing w/ my mom only it was her evening beer! After a hard day of waitressing at Friendly's, she'd enjoy a few while we scratched her back for a quarter. I got wise to the fact that there was always alittle left in the can after she filled her glass. When she'd get up for a bathroom run, I drank some of her beer, then topped it off from the can. She never caught on. I was about 12.

heehee, sneaky!

[baabng4ever]

Yikes! I have missed pages and pages. I have an extraordinarily busy week. (We are buying a house) and we have been looking all week at properties.

Anyway, just a drive-by. I lost 1.2# yesterday, but did not eat so hot yesterday being out all day. I did not weigh today. I will weigh tomorrow, though.

Ok, I am at Starbucks between appointments and wanted to drop in.

Hope everyone is doing great. I will catch up (hopefully, so many posts!) later!

[minimonkey]

Wow, Ladies -- lots to catch up on this morning!

Luna -- we actually have one of the new percolators now... it makes really good coffee! You and Star, both... too funny about us being baby coffee junkies! I have genuinely wondered if I ended up a bit shorter than necessary due to that... but I come from a line of pretty short women, so I doubt I cheated myself more than an inch or two.

[minimonkey]

Sasseaux--Your pictures are very inspirational! Glad you are posting here now too -- and don't worry, we all get whiny from time to time. We're a solid group, and often very positive, but also very honest -- meaning we share the bad along with the good. Welcome!

Disney -- good luck with thin inspection and your very hectic day. Glad your plan is working so far.... I totally understand the need to take a break, but please check in when you can... we would miss you very much if you left altogether! Hugs!

[minimonkey]

Cathy and Cheryl -- so glad you ladies are feeling more back-on-track. I hate to see people struggle!

I am not going to catch up on all these personals if I post all morning, so I will just say congrats to everyone on the good losses! Hugs to the stallers (this is coming from Mini, the QUEEN of stalls!) and good work, everyone!

[minimonkey]

Speaking of stalls, I hope mine is breaking... I am at least staying closer to the low end of the three pound range -- and I do see inch loss to be sure.

I'm staying more or less with the same plan for the next few days, though I did add in minimal fat, because it keeps me sane... but still shooting for about 800 cals, max... hoping that gets the scale actually dropping.

I may shake things up with a couple of protein only days in there -- and eventually will definitely go back to the fat fast, which does tend to do wonders for me unless I over-use it.

I'm feeling terrific after yesterday's workout -- barely sore at all!

[Gremom]

Quick post from me...busy day here with errands, chores and such.

Jackie, know that we are here for you, but do what you think is best for you. We'll miss ya!

Looks like everyone is doing pretty well! KUTGW y'all!

Got in a good 45 minutes on the elliptical today. Was down .5 today, but TOM isn't in full swing yet, so I don't see that sticking. My workouts are helping me deal with no scale movement.

Hope you all have a great day!

[minimonkey]

BUT... it is time now to wage an all out WAR on jiggly skin and cellulite! OMG... my poor saggy body!

SO -- I am pulling out all the guns I have on this front ... I dermarolled my belly last night, and then put MSM cream on it. I used the wellbox on my butt, and will be dermarolling it and my thighs today! I am going to do the wellbox religiously from here on out. I will also be dry brushing my skin..

(For those who don't know, you can google both of these gadgets... but a wellbox is a home endermologie machine, and a dermaroller is a microneedle device that is essentially a rototiller for the skin... both stimulate collagen production and help with skin tightenting) There's a fair amount of info on the net about dry brushing as well.

I'm amping up the collagen-boosting supplements, using MSM cream (until I run out) etc.

[minimonkey]

Gremom -- I hear you about the workouts! Honestly, the working out is changing your fat to muscle ratio, and is better than strict pound loss in the long run. WHOOOHOO for you keeping to them!!!

That is my mantra these days too -- I need to continue to lose fat, but I need to get the muscle tone back too -- plus, I feel a gazillion times better when I am working out.

[minimonkey]

I've been reading a few good articles about weight and loose skin -- and there is a school of thought that most so-called loose skin is actually a thin layer of body fat that is clinging to the inside of the skin.... skin itself is VERY thin, but a think layer of subcutaneous fat often clings to the skin, and weighs it down and makes it very prone to sagging.

In my case, this is what is going on. The skin on my arms is very taut, though it once sagged a lot at a higher weight... and in the areas where it is still loose at all, it is just skin, like on the back of one's hand... seriously, that thin.

On my belly, there is a loose layer of flab -- it's a fairly thin layer, but I can grab a handful of squishy belly, and it pulls away from the hard abdominal wall underneath it. THAT is what I need to lose. I actually have pretty killer ab muscles, but that mush of stuff is obscuring them.

Tightening up the skin itself will definitely help -- but losing that last few pounds of fat will help a great deal more!!!

On the legs, building some additional muscle tone will help pull everything upward... but I think there's a fair bit of fat that still needs to go there, too.

I actually am beginning to think that 95 is a reasonable goal for me, unless I get some major fat and inch loss with this next 5 lbs. I'm judging this based on my areas of flab, and the muscle that lies beneath. If I get to 95 and feel scrappy, I can always add mass by building muscle. At least now, with the workouts, I shouldn't lose the existing muscle that I have -- just fat. I'll re-think this after a few more pounds gone if need be, but for now, that's the goal I think.

I may have to break into my emergency stash of hhcg to finish this job, unless things get rolling pretty fast over here... but it looks like Netrition is still selling it, so I suspect I can buy more when funds allow. I think I'd like to do that if I need to break into the back stash that I have.

[agentventi]

Hi all, don't have a whole lot of time before I have to pick my daughter up from school but I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for all the support.
I am feeling a little better today and have decided to finish out the 23 day round at 7-800 calories. I am also starting my workout program again too. Aiming for tomorrow but we will see how that goes. This morning I shut my alarm off so it was a mad dash to get my daughter to school by 8:10 when we woke up at 7:40 haha. I will be taking the dreaded before pictures tomorrow too in all my flabby glory.

LOL about the coffee, I didn't really start drinking coffee until I met my husband 10 years ago so I was destined to be a shorty!

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by agentventi

This morning I shut my alarm off so it was a mad dash to get my daughter to school by 8:10 when we woke up at 7:40 haha.

OMG same problem ... forgot to set the alarm. DH wakes me up at 7:25, we're out the door by 7:35...then find the car is iced over, and there is so much fog inside (rained yesterday) that it took over five minutes to get the car going. I'm really proud the 12 & 15 yo got ready so quickly. DS normally takes a full hour. I dropped off the 2nd kid by 7:50 so neither was late, but normally they are early birds and at school at 7:30.

[Sasseaux]

Many thanks to Carrie, Hexa, Cheryl and Mini for the feedback. I know you other gals are supporting me and each other, too. We will make it.

I had a salad at lunch with some organic chicken on it, so got some protein in me. I think I get a little crazy when I don't get enough protein. I didn't follow through on the apple day. Ima get some more apples at the store and do it tomorrow. I have a date tonite. I will probably be a very cheap date and just eat a tiny salad. Then we're going to the movies. I think I need the night out. May help the mood.

[errihu]

oh man, the leftover reheated fish stew might not have been a good idea, no matter how tasty it was. I've been running to the bathroom ever since. I'm a little worried - I don't think that food had been in me long enough for me to absorb much of it.

[minimonkey]

Venti -- good for you getting back to the exercise! You are braver than I am, taking before pics. I won't go near a camera baring my flab at the moment... just ain't gonna do it... and I know I will probably regret that later.

Suffice it to say I am one flappy gal at the moment! Thank goodness for workouts, vitamins, and skin care!

Sass -- yes, we are all here to support each other, and we're actually very good at doing that. We are a truly wonderful group here, and I am blessed to be a part of this

[minimonkey]

Errihu -- OH DEAR! Hope you feel better very soon! Drink lots of water.

[minimonkey]

Welcome Carrie -- hope you keep posting here. I notice you are ANOTHER fabulous five footer! Lots of us here

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by Sasseaux

Many thanks to Carrie, Hexa, Cheryl and Mini for the feedback. I know you other gals are supporting me and each other, too. We will make it.

I had a salad at lunch with some organic chicken on it, so got some protein in me. I think I get a little crazy when I don't get enough protein. I didn't follow through on the apple day. Ima get some more apples at the store and do it tomorrow. I have a date tonite. I will probably be a very cheap date and just eat a tiny salad. Then we're going to the movies. I think I need the night out. May help the mood.

Have fun on your date!

Originally Posted by errihu

oh man, the leftover reheated fish stew might not have been a good idea, no matter how tasty it was. I've been running to the bathroom ever since. I'm a little worried - I don't think that food had been in me long enough for me to absorb much of it.

I hope it "passes quickly." Seriously though, I hope you feel back to normal soon.

[Violet_Dream]

Wow! I hit a wrong key on my laptop and my post disappeared. R3VLCD46 and I'm down a pound! 100% protocol baby! Works for me every time. Closing in on 80 pounds gone fast (am currently at 74.5 pounds gone). Am almost back in the 140's and want to see if I get into 6's by then. My size 8's fit very comfortable now, but being so tall...I can drop two sizes in only a 15-pound drop.

Back to work tomorrow......but am always grateful to have a job.

My husband, son and I are plannnig a trip to Vegas in June (for my sister-in-law's 50th birthday). When I lived in L.A., I've driven there too many times to count and had a blast each time. I should hear from the two interviews I had (either way) by early next week, but just to have my bases covered - I'm requesting the time off in my current department.

Congratulations to everyone and BIGto those that are struggling. I've been there and done that and refuse to follow a plan that makes me miserable which is why I'm looking forward to hanging in for another 11.8 pounds and then I get to follow Atkins Maintenance. I've also lost and re-gained weight (a few times) and refuse to live that way anymore.

Have a nice evening everyone.