~~ Rogue HCG/hHCG plans for week of June 25, 2012 ~~

[EmBee]

Okay obvious newbie here...what is JUDDD?

[catjrow3]

Originally Posted by EmBee

Okay obvious newbie here...what is JUDDD?

Johnsons Up Day Down Day Diet. You eat like 500 calories one day DD (down day) and the next UP day, you eat to maintenance calories (1800-2200)... then next day, DD again, and alternate!

[mermaid]

Checking in with a pretty blah report. One pound down, just hanging in there. TOM on the way.

I'm trying to be blaise about this because normally I get all obsessed and weird about dieting, and then the stress gets to me. So, just hoo ti do ti do this time.

KUTGW everyone!

[EmBee]

thanks Cathy!!!

I also am curious...Rogue friends has anyone used either the raspberry ketones OR Rhodiola in conjunction with the hHCG?

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

My legs ARE huge -- I am up several pants sizes from my lowest -- most of it is in the legs now -- the stomach has gone down a bit. Some of the water is in my muscles I think, but a lot of it is under the skin very clearly.

Cheryl -- heart rate is fine -- haven't checked bp. Breathing is fine -- I did a cardio workout a couple days ago with no issues. Yes to lower back pain, but it is a dull ache, very much like I get with PMS. It isn't severe, but it is constant, and has been going on for a few days now. Urine isn't dark or smelly (I've had a kidney infection before -- I know what that urine is like!) No UTI symptoms at all. Urine seems fine, what little there is of it -- there just isn't much urine being produced.

I did have one bout of weakness and fatigue (and the world's most sub-par workout!) but that could have been from trying to use worked muscles too soon and genuine tiredness from the insomnia-- I get that sometimes anyhow, which is one of the residual Lyme things that never fully went away. I am sleeping a lot better now, anyhow.

I'm still pushing the fluid (with lemon and acv added) -- upped my potassium dosage, and also temporarily upped the cal/mag/zinc supplement that I take. I also resorted to an OTC diuretic today-- we'll see if that helps at all.

TOM is still threatening to appear, but that is going nowhere fast.

Sorry to be so me-centric in these posts -- I'm not usually this self absorbed, at least I hope not!

I wouldn't add more Potassium to your daily diet in the form of pills. If it is a renal issue, your kidneys are already having trouble doing what they are supposed to do and if you get really overloaded with potassium, then they will also keep holding on to sodium (and fluid) to try to keep a balance in your body. It's called the potassium/sodium pump, if memory serves.

Did you palpate over your kidneys in your back? Sometimes when there is a problem, you'll only feel a dull ache in that area until you physically gently palpate. I had a gallbladder problem and I only felt pain in my chest until the Intern palpated over the area and I instantly felt pain.

You're not being "me-centric." We're all about ourselves when we are in the midst of a health crisis and trying to figure it out. Carrie's right about buying some urine testing sticks for protein. Not sure how many types they have but test your urine for everything under the sun. It couldn't hurt.

Originally Posted by dazygyrl

mini...i really think you should get this checked out soon. for some reason what you describe sounds like what i experienced when i had severe pre-eclampisa with my first baby. clearly that is not the case here, but with that the body loses it's ability to control fluid balances. protein plays a vital role in that. i was spilling massive amounts of protein in my urine. my body wasn't utilizing it properly and so all the my fluid was going into my tissue instead of being used in the cells...protein is a major player in this. is there any way you can check your urine for protein...you can buy sticks at the pharmacy much like keto-sticks but for checking for protein instead? or have just a blood test to check kidney function? if you're spilling protein, that could point to a kidney issue.

That must have been a horrible experience, Carrie. I've heard about that condition but never personally experienced it. I never worked in Mother/Baby so it was only in textbooks that I learned about it.

Originally Posted by mermaid

Checking in with a pretty blah report. One pound down, just hanging in there. TOM on the way.

I'm trying to be blaise about this because normally I get all obsessed and weird about dieting, and then the stress gets to me. So, just hoo ti do ti do this time.

KUTGW everyone!

Sorry you are blah today. Yippee about that 1 lb!!! It will lead the way for more friends.

I decided (and was going to keep it completely to myself until I spilled the beans on my journal thread) to do a short round of new pellets this month. After the 4th of July (which was celebrated on the 7th in my old neck of the woods) and wedding, I have no more hurdles to jump over until my birthday. Perfect opportunity.

Will do 21 VLCD's and then have two VLCD's off pellets just before my birthday weekend. I think I'm going to have my party here at my house. That way we can have a backyard bbq and have a fire in the fire pit and the rest of the clan can see my new duplex. Perfect opportunity and I'll just have everyone bring something to eat. Just like a regular family picnic at the State Park we like to go to. Complete with picnic tables and such.

It's my 50th so I hope people won't think I'm fishing for gifts! I just want a big "here's my new comfy, inviting home" party and it happens to fall on my birthday time frame.

So I loaded yesterday and was thinking of loading today but slept so late that it just occurred to me that it would make a good VLCD instead. I was up early. I do remember that but the rest of the night was a blur. I recall having trouble falling to sleep, and recall taking my meds and pellets when the alarms went off. After that I slept again and woke at 1:30 in the afternoon! Now it's 2:30 and it's almost time to head to the farm for barn duty.

I am drinking my first iced coffee (home made) without cream. Not bad! Happy that I will be able to adjust to the P2 that's underway. I didn't weigh today but know what I was yesterday. I don't think I'll weigh a lot in the first week. I know how far I've gone off the straight and narrow path and I don't expect to be back in the 170's for a long time to come.

I have high-hopes that I can lose close to 18 lbs this month, considering much of what I packed back on me has to be water. If I can hit that goal, I'll be around 175 when I reached the end of the round. I will likely then take my birthday party off (completely off, like a refeed), then do a few more weeks (perhaps) of pellets. If I'm in the groove, maybe I can do most of August and get myself set-up securely for a wonderful Fall and Holiday season of learning to maintain what I've lost.

That is where my problem lies and I know it. I don't have a clue how to keep it off. And I'm going to learn it once and for all, even if I have to get my jaw wired shut. Or wear one of those cage masks that Anthony Hopkins wore on Silence of the Lambs.

Have an awesome day and week, ladies. Looks like we'll be soldiering on with this thread for another week.

[minimonkey]

Cheryl -- You make me laugh, in such a wonderful way! (I totally just pictured you with a Hannibal Lecter mask, and nearly spit out my coffee!) I hope this round is excellent for you!

Please come post over on the other thread, even if you are doing another round... I love having you post there.

I'm fighting the temptation to do another round, too -- but I am pretty sure that isn't the answer for me. I think my poor body is kicking up a fit largely due to the prolonged caloric restriction already -- hence the initial crazy hunger, and the water retention, and so forth.

I'm hanging in there with Atkins for now -- my hunger is continuing to drop off steadily. That's encouraging to me -- something must be balancing itself out. I think the hunger was a physical response to my body being starved -- and now that that is normalizing, perhaps the rest of the picture will normalize too.

Cheryl -- there's no tenderness that I could find when poking around -- just a generalized ache. I do think TOM is finally starting, so maybe that will take care of this mess.

[minimonkey]

Thanks for the recommendation on the potassium -- I did a lot of reading about potassium/sodium balance -- I know there's an important balance there. My guess was towards the low potassium end of things, particularly since the bananas helped a lot before -- so I ran with that guess. There are so many things involved in water balance in the body -- several hormones, minerals, protein, and on and on!

It does appear that TOM is finally starting for real, so maybe that will fix a lot of the problem in itself.

I am also peeing more last night and today -- still not as much as I think would be ideal, but certainly more than I was -- so something is going in the right direction. I took an OTC water pill yesterday -- that, and the extra minerals -- seem to be helping.

Hoping by next week I'll be back to normal.

[EmBee]

So now thanks to my over exuberance to "show Off" how well I am doing in the fitness realm...too many squats and Jumping has called me to re-injure a place in my backside (UG) (technically it was a fracture in the sacral joint) ...so I guess workouts will be restricted to water again. The last time I had this injury it took a year to heal up...sigh. I will have to tighten up on the eating for sure!

[EmBee]

Oh and what is the longest anyone has been on a stall around here???

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by EmBee

Oh and what is the longest anyone has been on a stall around here???

Most of my stalls were around 5 days. Some shorter some longer, but each round would have at least one long stall. Think it's pretty normal.

[CherylB]

Got a new horse at the therapy center! He's been there since Friday and nobody sent out an email letting the rest of us know. I pulled into the parking lot for my usual barn duty shift and saw this black and white horse in the paddock.

He's 13 years old and has foundered but is doing better. He's currently on quarantine which is what they do for new horses to protect the horses we've already got. I don't think it lasts long, though. His name is Cowboy and he's a lover! Very sweet and friendly.

He was FILTHY too. I groomed him and he has that deep, ground-in dirt. Like an area rug that needs to be taken outside and shaken? Yeah. That bad. He's a little thin and his hooves have some cracking in the "toe" region but I was told that is partly from foundering. Is that true?

He has to wear a feed basket on his face when he grazes in areas with longish grass, to keep him from eating too fast. (Excuse my ignorance here. I'm just repeating what I've been told by another young girl who is also just learning as we go.)

He's part Quarter Horse and part Tennessee Walking Horse but I would have just thought he was a Paint. He is a gorgeous animal and he's being "free leased" to us. If he works out, that is. Hopefully he will. He looks so amiable.

I worked my tail off there today. I cleaned all the paddocks and picked through four of the stalls (well 6 of them, now that I'm thinking of it.) I then helped the two dudes that were unloading more bales of hay from the fields. I offered to count bales as they were being taken off the truck but then I saw how one guy had to keep hopping up into the trailer to throw off more bales, then haul them each over to the guy in the loft. I felt guilty so I said I'd do the hay-unloading and keep the count.

It wasn't long and I was WASTED! I had to keep from losing the little clipboard and pen. There was no place to really put them and it was a hassle. So considering how tired I was getting, I just went back to counting. I went inside to bring the guys out some cold water to drink and then we were taking a break. After that, it was 6 pm and time to do other things. I told them, "I hate to 'bale' on you, but I need to do the usual stuff." They were so nice.

I am just dragging my @$$ right now. I came home and took out the trash and recyclables cause the pick-up is happening tomorrow, then I watered all the parched plants outside. It was all I could do to get out of my dirty, sweaty clothes and get cleaned up.

Tomorrow I go out there and do it all again. I can't wait for summer to be over

[EmBee]

Wow mine is a few weeks...but the inches keep coming off so I am not overly stressed. I have done two apple days and a fat fast. I was told with Homeo HCG you can't get immune to it, but now I am wondering

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Cheryl -- You make me laugh, in such a wonderful way! (I totally just pictured you with a Hannibal Lecter mask, and nearly spit out my coffee!) I hope this round is excellent for you!

Please come post over on the other thread, even if you are doing another round... I love having you post there.

I'm fighting the temptation to do another round, too -- but I am pretty sure that isn't the answer for me. I think my poor body is kicking up a fit largely due to the prolonged caloric restriction already -- hence the initial crazy hunger, and the water retention, and so forth.

I'm hanging in there with Atkins for now -- my hunger is continuing to drop off steadily. That's encouraging to me -- something must be balancing itself out. I think the hunger was a physical response to my body being starved -- and now that that is normalizing, perhaps the rest of the picture will normalize too.

Cheryl -- there's no tenderness that I could find when poking around -- just a generalized ache. I do think TOM is finally starting, so maybe that will take care of this mess.

I'm glad you find me amusing. I aim to entertain. But to be honest, that Hannibal Lechter mask would need to be even more impervious. If a straw would fit through the bars, I'd still find a way to cheat.

The last thing you need right now is a drastic change in your diet. Let your body find some equalibrium. I'm glad that you say you're voiding more. Hope it's not just due to the OTC diuretic you took yesterday. Glad also that you are researching fluid and electrolytes. It's tricky business.

Originally Posted by EmBee

So now thanks to my over exuberance to "show Off" how well I am doing in the fitness realm...too many squats and Jumping has called me to re-injure a place in my backside (UG) (technically it was a fracture in the sacral joint) ...so I guess workouts will be restricted to water again. The last time I had this injury it took a year to heal up...sigh. I will have to tighten up on the eating for sure!

Bummer! Sorry that happened. I'm the same way. All or nothing! I hope this won't be another long-term injury, Embee.

I just posted something I posted on my equine thread. I just don't have the energy to retype it all. (Mini, that's why I basically won't be posting much over on the other thread.) I'm SOOOOO tired now.

[RileyWorm]

Mini glad things are better for you - I was getting worried! I am STILL retaining so much water as well, though not as much as you were....and also resisting starting another round..I KNOW I can get this down..it HAS to be from the weights because I am doing nothing different.I didn't get a chance to get an OTC diuretic but may - doing a yogurt day tomorrow because those always flush water. I have some incredible motivation - I bought a new dress for a wedding in September and boy is it curve-hugging! I love it! But gotta stay slim because it shows every.single.thing. lol.

Cheryl I think I read you are giving HCG another go - hugs and luck to you!!!
Embee, my first round I stalled for two weeks! It was awful but so glad I stuck it out.

[EmBee]

Cheryl I think I read you are giving HCG another go - hugs and luck to you!!!
Embee, my first round I stalled for two weeks! It was awful but so glad I stuck it out.[/QUOTE]

Thanks I'll stick it out

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by EmBee

Wow mine is a few weeks...but the inches keep coming off so I am not overly stressed. I have done two apple days and a fat fast. I was told with Homeo HCG you can't get immune to it, but now I am wondering

What day are you on? You know, like R1P2VLCD80. That's a long time to be stalled. I'm in need of details.

[CherylB]

Thanks, Erin. I'm doing it rogue, as always. I need all the luck in the world.

[EmBee]

Lets see ...I am like on day 55 ( I stopped keeping track) ..Phase 2. I was told that with hHCG I should stay on it till I reached my goal. Since it was homeopathic I should not do rounds... but I honestly am feeling a tad frustrated. I have low thyroid / low testosterone...LOW everything, but I am getting hormones for that... I lost like 30 pounds in the first 35-40 days, but now...sigh

[EmBee]

VLCD...with a little coconut oil / I started to lose a little when I added the coconut oil
but not even close to what I was

[EmBee]

But I do lose inches each week...WEIRD huh?

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by EmBee

Lets see ...I am like on day 55 ( I stopped keeping track) ..Phase 2. I was told that with hHCG I should stay on it till I reached my goal. Since it was homeopathic I should not do rounds... but I honestly am feeling a tad frustrated. I have low thyroid / low testosterone...LOW everything, but I am getting hormones for that... I lost like 30 pounds in the first 35-40 days, but now...sigh

No! You CAN stay on it until goal, but since you are clearly feeling depeleted and your losses have slowed to a crawl, for Pete's sake, call it a round! I'm serious. Decide when to stop the hhcg and go for two days without hhcg and still eating as if you were taking it still. Then slowly start to increase your calories and call it the first day of your P3 (which is just Atkins Induction.)

You deserve to call round! You have a long way to go to reach goal. Reward yourself and give your body a chance to regroup. You can and likely will still loses inches in P3, but the goal is to keep from losing any more weight during P3. Okay? Go eat something that's loaded with fat and know that it's all a part of the plan! (I mean, after you've got all the hhcg out of your system which takes two full days.)

[EmBee]

Originally Posted by CherylB

No! You CAN stay on it until goal, but since you are clearly feeling depeleted and your losses have slowed to a crawl, for Pete's sake, call it a round! I'm serious. Decide when to stop the hhcg and go for two days without hhcg and still eating as if you were taking it still. Then slowly start to increase your calories and call it the first day of your P3 (which is just Atkins Induction.)

You deserve to call round! You have a long way to go to reach goal. Reward yourself and give your body a chance to regroup. You can and likely will still loses inches in P3, but the goal is to keep from losing any more weight during P3. Okay? Go eat something that's loaded with fat and know that it's all a part of the plan! (I mean, after you've got all the hhcg out of your system which takes two full days.)

Thanks! I will probably do that...It is just that I want to get to goal ..FAST hahahaha. I think that is why I ended up with the behind injury again, pushing myself with the workouts. I had visions of the fat melting away with the HCG plan and it really did at first, then it slowwwwwed when I was strict on protocol. Which sent me searching for something to kick start it . Basically I need to stay at the same weight for 23 days for P3?

[CherylB]

Yes; within a 2 lb window, up or down from your last dose weight (LDW.) You don't necessarily need to do a full 3 weeks on P3 and since you know you have many miles to cover before you reach goal, you can just "cycle." That means you do P2 for however many days (21 VLCD's minimum) and then do P3 for a few weeks. Cycling means you go right back into another P2 on the hhcg, without doing a P4.

I think your stall is telling you that your body needs to regenerate, shift and adjust. You've lost a sizable chunk of weight in your P2, so go ahead and plan this next phase out on the calendar. Maybe 2-3 weeks on P3 would be just right. Then cycle back to P2 unless you have a special occasion or something where you'd like to be able to gently dabble in carbs (during a P4.)

[plarsen]

I don't know if my initial post made it or not, but I am a horse person as well. I did one 40 day round of strict protocol, lost 27 lbs, which was a dream for three years of trying many different routines and diets. I maintained for a month, now picked up the hcg again, but lost too much muscle at the end of my run, and now keeping to 1200-1500 cal a day, high protein, vegs, little dairy and fat (greek yogurt in my shakes) and exercise.

I was dragging butt during the last weeks on hcg before and really didnt feel strong enough to ride. I care for 10 horses, a house and when its not summer I teach public school art full time. I now need to get my rear in gear for fair and ride my green horse 5/6 days a week if I want to show her well (and show off my 30lb loss!)

I got flack from my Physical fitness expert son, for the low cals during my diet to begin with , now I am working hard to put that muscle back in place. I am 58 so it is not too easy! My goal is 127- so at 134 not too far away, but my weight is in my stomach, lower belly mostly, so it really throws my pant size off. I read in GH where all these women lost weight and were weighing 155- and wearing the same size as I do, I am just thicker through the midsection and would like to shape that with the hcg's help. I know some women battle the thigh and butt area the same way, but have little tiny waists. I think we are all beautiful, heavy, thick or thin, we are just striving to please ourselves and doing the best we can with what God gave us.

I am about being healthy first, so I dont get that 'fat fasting' It sounds great, but I dont think it can be too good for your heart long term--just my opinion, I think different things work for different people! Love having another horse person on the thread!!

[EmBee]

Originally Posted by CherylB

Yes; within a 2 lb window, up or down from your last dose weight (LDW.) You don't necessarily need to do a full 3 weeks on P3 and since you know you have many miles to cover before you reach goal, you can just "cycle." That means you do P2 for however many days (21 VLCD's minimum) and then do P3 for a few weeks. Cycling means you go right back into another P2 on the hhcg, without doing a P4.

I think your stall is telling you that your body needs to regenerate, shift and adjust. You've lost a sizable chunk of weight in your P2, so go ahead and plan this next phase out on the calendar. Maybe 2-3 weeks on P3 would be just right. Then cycle back to P2 unless you have a special occasion or something where you'd like to be able to gently dabble in carbs (during a P4.)

Thank you so much for your advice It really helps when someone has been there... I know I drive the coach at the Dr. Office up a wall

[EmBee]

Originally Posted by CherylB

Yes; within a 2 lb window, up or down from your last dose weight (LDW.) You don't necessarily need to do a full 3 weeks on P3 and since you know you have many miles to cover before you reach goal, you can just "cycle." That means you do P2 for however many days (21 VLCD's minimum) and then do P3 for a few weeks. Cycling means you go right back into another P2 on the hhcg, without doing a P4.

I think your stall is telling you that your body needs to regenerate, shift and adjust. You've lost a sizable chunk of weight in your P2, so go ahead and plan this next phase out on the calendar. Maybe 2-3 weeks on P3 would be just right. Then cycle back to P2 unless you have a special occasion or something where you'd like to be able to gently dabble in carbs (during a P4.)

Thank you!!! I have tried to talk to the "coach" at the doctors office, but she keeps saying an apple day (which I did).... It helps to talk to someone who has been there.

[EmBee]

Hahahaha sorry for the double post, computer glitched this morning

[dazygyrl]

hello...just checking in...going good. feeling great and totally motivated. i may have an off plan meal tomorrow night then right back at it. ds2 is at leadership camp and tomorrow is parents night where show off their stuff. dh and i are going with another couple. something LC, i hope...buffalo wild wings?

not sure if i mentioned it, but noah is having his post-treatment scans tomorrow. chest CT and MRI of his prostate. then meeting with his dr to go over everything.

[catjrow3]

Wishing happy, happy positive thoughts Carrie for Noah's visit tomorrow with the drs and his scans. All will be well!!

[dazygyrl]

thanks, cathy! yes, all will be well!!