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

[minimonkey]

HUGS, Disney! That sounds just miserable, really

[manders]

Went a little nuts today. I made a no-bake chocolate raspberry cake that I figured I would nibble on to help my PMS cravings this week. Ate the whole thing. Dang.

[minimonkey]

um..... recipe please? That cake sounds divine! And, if it makes you feel any better, PMS does that to me, too, with the chocolate cravings and the desire to eat mountains of food

[manders]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

um..... recipe please? That cake sounds divine! And, if it makes you feel any better, PMS does that to me, too, with the chocolate cravings and the desire to eat mountains of food

Should I link the recipe or just list it here?

[paulabob]

List it here if it's offsite since we can't post those links (assuming no copyright issues)

I'm sure we'd all LOVE the recipe. I've been in heaven lately with raspberry season going strong!

[manders]

Okay!

4 scoops Elite Dymatize Whey Protein Vanilla
4 packets splenda
2 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 package sugar-free raspberry jello mix

Mix protein powder, cocoa, baking powder, splenda and vanilla in a microwave safe bowl, add 3/4 cup water and mix to make a batter. Microwave that for about 1 min 30 seconds. It will expand a lot so watch it.

Then take it out and break it up. In a separate bowl, mix 3/4 cup hot water with the jello mix and add it to the crumbled cake, mixing that well. Pour the batter into a baking dish or bowl and set it in the fridge overnight.

It's obviously not really p2 safe but it's better than eating a regular cake LOL I did it with chocolate protein powder so I used half the cocoa and I still found it SO chocolatey it was almost bitter.

It's DELICIOUS. I got the recipe off of a website called Sin or Slim. After about 4-5 spoonfuls, I had to stop. I have about a quarter of the cake left lol

[verbqueen]

Howdy gang, just checking in here. I'm doing fine with the eating--around 800 calories a day, more protein than is protocol, and a can of coke zero here and there (I know, I know, but I love the stuff.) I keep forgetting to weigh before I've had a boatload of coffee in the morning, so I don't even know exactly where I started. Doesn't matter, though--I'm going to try to do a good, long round for much of July and August, though I will have to take an interruption for a week of visiting my mom.

For those of you struggling with skin issues, I want to offer you a ray of hope! I've always had very oily skin, even in my forties and fifties, and still have occasional acne flare-ups. (That isn't the ray of hope part, haha.) But what I don't have is wrinkles. My doctor told me at an exam a couple of weeks ago that I look "42, 43, tops." (I'm 55.) He was exaggerating, perhaps, but I'm telling you, oily women really do get the last laugh when it comes to wrinkles and aging! So take heart and learn to love those oil glands! You'll be happy when you hit your 50s!

[CherylB]

Ok. I haven't read the last posts so forgive me for no personals. It's 11:40 pm and I just want to add my little blurb. I did the elmer's glue pore thing and it did nothing. It comes out of the bottle white, turns clear after you spread it, dries quickly, then peals off like a bad sun burn, but nary a single pore was cleaned.

I have been doing a pedicure, manicure, brow-pluck, etc all evening long. I tried the round brush and the curling iron and neither of them is going to do the trick. The barrel on the iron is too fat. Yeesh!

So then I used my Mint Julep mask to try and do something constructive with my skin and then applied my lotion afterward. I'm feeling old, damn it! OLD! I feel like when I put all this effort and time into trying to look good, all I see in the mirror is an old version of myself. When can I ever forget how I used to look and just be happy with what I see in the mirror???????????????????????????????????????????? ???????

I'm heading off to sleep now, God willing. I hope all of you are well tonight. Will catch up on the latest posts now.

[manders]

Originally Posted by CherylB

Ok. I haven't read the last posts so forgive me for no personals. It's 11:40 pm and I just want to add my little blurb. I did the elmer's glue pore thing and it did nothing. It comes out of the bottle white, turns clear after you spread it, dries quickly, then peals off like a bad sun burn, but nary a single pore was cleaned.

I have been doing a pedicure, manicure, brow-pluck, etc all evening long. I tried the round brush and the curling iron and neither of them is going to do the trick. The barrel on the iron is too fat. Yeesh!

So then I used my Mint Julep mask to try and do something constructive with my skin and then applied my lotion afterward. I'm feeling old, damn it! OLD! I feel like when I put all this effort and time into trying to look good, all I see in the mirror is an old version of myself. When can I ever forget how I used to look and just be happy with what I see in the mirror???????????????????????????????????????????? ???????

I'm heading off to sleep now, God willing. I hope all of you are well tonight. Will catch up on the latest posts now.

I always have a good giggle when people do the glue thing.

The best way to remove blackheads and cleanse clogged pores is to steam your face and then extract each one. There's no way you could do them all in one night unless you had like 20 blackheads. Most people have way more. There's a thin, invisible layer of skin cells over all your clogged pores that you have to soften PRIOR to extractions. Nothing will ever come out if you don't get rid of that layer. Then you'll just be squeezing and poking and prodding and end up with a breakout instead of clean pores.

You won't ever get perfect skin overnight. The two best things you can put on "mature" skin are Vitamin A and Vitamin C.

Sorry, I'm totally rambling, but this is my area of expertise. =)

[minimonkey]

Manders and Lynne -- you two have no idea how much I love having aestheticians on this thread!!!!!! It's heaven! Ramble away, please!! So, how does one go about extracting a blackhead properly?

I've learned a lot about skin through reading a skincare board, and a lot of trial and error -- but I am far from an expert on any of it.

Verb -- I have to agree with your doc about the age thing -- you look REALLY young for your age! I am often told I look quite young for my age as well -- so if the oil helps with that, I guess it is some comfort.

I think the sulfur mask helped calm my skin down a bit -- and then (trying out another suggestion I read online) I dried out the two remaining weepy places with Aveeno calamine lotion -- that actually did seem to help -- it stopped the weeping, but didn't make the spots overly dry or crusty -- I've been using warm water with sea salt, which also dries and heals them pretty well, but it does make the skin a bit too dry overall. The calamine didn't do that. Colloidal oatmeal is pretty miraculous stuff, so I am not surprised that is helping.

Looks like my glabella wrinkle is coming back, so I think its temporary disappearance was simply skin inflammation -- too bad I'll keep working on it with the skin needling though, and see what that does. One of the worst parts of having a break out is that I can't dermaroll for a long time ... sigh. (Yes, I sterilize the heck out of everything when I do this! No worries there!)

I am feeling crazy fat right now, but I know that most of it is water retention. I am way PMSing, and my inflammation levels are just high, in general -- I know my hormones are wacky in general, and also that the exercise is kicking off an inflammatory response.

I also know, however, that I am eating a lot -- p3 legal, all, but still a lot of food -- probably well above what I need for maintenance under normal circumstances. I am going to trust that this is what I need to do --

I am following the advice of a number of folks on this one -- refeeding in the service of metabolic restoration after prolonged calorie restriction, blah blah blah. Essentially, nourishing my body regularly and well until the hormonal cascade calms down and my hunger regulates itself and the inflammation subsides.

I think that is starting to happen -- I still feel like I am a lot hungrier than I 'should' be, but so be it -- I'm eating when I feel physically hungry.

I'm trying not to freak out and run back to caloric restriction of some kind -- it's harder than it sounds! I am so used to jumping back on p2 when trouble strikes -- and I think that is the last thing I want to do right now. I think I need to trust my body, and let it go through the process that it needs in order to heal --

All this dieting has really messed with my head, ladies -- I don't know what to believe anymore.

I do know, however, that I am going to be busting booty in the gym while I do all this eating, and build me some major muscle mass! THAT, my body does easily and well -- and even if I have to engage in a major leaning out/cutting endeavour later in the summer, if I come out a buff little hunk o' woman, I will consider it well worth it

[minimonkey]

Sorry for the huge, long posts! I am going through a bunch of emotional stuff around all these physical challenges right now, and you ladies are the ones with whom I feel comfortable sharing all that is going on internally.

It's funny -- some of you I have known (online) for quite some time now, and a couple of you I just met -- and still, I feel safer talking about all this here than I do anywhere else -- thank goodness for this forum!

[minimonkey]

Manders, Lynne, and anyone else -- do you guys believe in the skin purging theory -- that when you start using a new acne product, your skin purges out toxins and causes a break out?

Likewise for systemic cleansing -- that breakouts can come from internal cleansing? (I know a cleanse is a guaranteed break out for me, but I am not sure why)

I've been reading the back and forth on this, and would love to know what you folks think....

[minimonkey]

Yet another post from me, lol!

I am reading the BFFM plan, and it totally contradicts everything that the JUDDD and IF folks espouse, and most of what Atkins has to say, too --- this is just too funny!

I'm giving up trying to find a "plan" for now - the more I read, the more confused I become. I have no idea whom to believe!

For now, I am just embracing the low-carb life. I am aiming for a max of 40 net carbs a day, and eating to satisfy hunger. At the moment, I am hungry a lot of the time, so I will be eating fairly frequently. If my hunger decreases, my food intake will decrease as well. I think I have no choice but to run on intuition, listen to my body, and work from there.

As far as exercise goes, I am going for the bulk -- I'm aiming for as much muscle as I can pack on this little body during this period of eating generously. I'll do a cut later in the summer, at which point I'll need to figure out how to go about that. I suspect that I'll do some version of Atkins induction days combined with an IF/Juddd plan -- but right now, I am not worrying about that. I am going to focus on eating when hungry, eating frequently to get the hormonal balance back in order, and building muscle.

Thanks for letting me ramble on and on and on ... I just needed to work some of this out in my own head!

[paulabob]

Well, I kept it under 1000 calories but was still up a bit. Probably TOM or 2 day effect. This was a 32 day cycle so it's hitting me pretty hard (normally 24-26 days). Even my face is swollen today.

Mini, I'm also not at a finding a plan point. Right now, just keeping calories lower Monday-Friday, higher on weekends, and crossing my fingers for a downward spiral. 2 pounds a month would be great. Keep in mind I did "refeed" myself for 3 months hoping to fix my metabolism. Unfortunately I just kept adding too many calories and not offsetting it when I should have.

The problem with a wonky metabolism is that it's fixed for awhile, then you diet and lose another 5 pounds and it's "broken" again... Or at least that's my theory from how my body treats me.

At some point I may be ready for an hcg round...September? That will be more than a year since my last real 23 day round I think. LOL, you can see that I dread it!

[dazygyrl]

morning...vlcd3 here....and my weigh in day. i am 1.2 below last friday's weigh in. that makes me happy. now to keeeeeepppp gooooiiiinnggggggg!!!

[catjrow3]

Nice job Carrie!

[dazygyrl]

thanks, cathy. since i only have 2 vlcd's in the bag weighing today, that tells me i either didn't gain a ton loading or i dropped a ton of water in those 2 vlcd's.

[catjrow3]

Thats even better! Next week will hopefully be great then

[goddesslynne]

So many posts to catch up with!! LOVE the activity!!

Mini, I definitely believe that the skin can purge, for many reasons. However, you have to carefully evaluate when you start a new regimen, because one woman's purging is another woman's sensitivity or allergy. You've done enough cleanses and "extreme" skincare, that I'm sure you can tell the difference. As for the tar-stuff, check out Raya for a low-cost option. We haven't carried it in the shop for a while, but I'm inspired to get some for my clients.

I *thought* I was going to load yesterday and today, but after reading the real dose site pretty much backwards and forwards, I think I'm going to try a low-cal, moderate fat regimen for a few weeks and see what I can do. I've ordered 90 days of the stuff (yes, that right, MORE stuff on my cc) and I'm going to log carefully and stay at 1200 cals with enough fat, including CO. I will continue to be grain-free/low carb. I hope to have my supplements early next week, since I just ordered maybe they will ship today!!

I thought TOM was going to visit during my little vacay, but it turned out to be a tiny, few hours of the lightest spotting...I'm not even sure what that was!! TMI alert:

It was a teeny bit of very dark brown, muccossy (sp?) spotting, followed by a one-time incident of bright red spotting. I used my menstrual cup, but when I went to empty it, it was empty!! This was all following over 3 weeks of PMS and breast tenderness.

So, I am now starting my 6th month with no TOM!!

Anyway, back to weight release - I'm not going to use my pellets at this time. My current weight is 166 and that's where I'm going to start this "round" if I can call it that.

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by manders

The best way to remove blackheads and cleanse clogged pores is to steam your face and then extract each one. There's no way you could do them all in one night unless you had like 20 blackheads. Most people have way more. There's a thin, invisible layer of skin cells over all your clogged pores that you have to soften PRIOR to extractions. Nothing will ever come out if you don't get rid of that layer. Then you'll just be squeezing and poking and prodding and end up with a breakout instead of clean pores.

How do we extract at home? Does that require a machine? I confess, I've had the same blackheads on my nose for 30 years now...

[catjrow3]

Let me know Lynne how it goes for you. I got my pills the next day (but I am in Colorado and they shipped from Colorado too) so hopefully you will get them quickly. Hope they work well, the science makes sense, but then again, most all of what I read about this or that makes sense to me! LOL Except HCG maybe...

[EmBee]

Okay so as of today 42 day of VLCD....29 pounds and 32.5 inches! Woo HOO...even though I only lost 1.6 pounds ...I lost over 3 inches combined .

Congrats to Dazygyrl! Good Job!...(btw Prov.29:11 is one of my Favs)

MiniMonkey: I love the OT conversations !!!!! I have heard the same thing about changing skin care and toxins.

Its going to be over 100 degrees in my neck of the woods...eeek, thank goodness for my AC walking track at the Y

[EmBee]

Playing with my new Ice cream maker and making sf/ coconut milk ice cream...Vanilla was the first batch and it was delicious! Maybe Choc / Peanut Butter today

[dazygyrl]

thanks, embee...congrats on your losses, too!

[EmBee]

Okay beautiful people...I have a question and cannot find an answer so I am hoping one of you knows ...Does caffeine effect hHCG in a negative way???? I so want a cup of my Organo Gold Coffee and have heard that you cannot have caffeine

[Crazy PreK Teacher]

Originally Posted by EmBee

Okay beautiful people...I have a question and cannot find an answer so I am hoping one of you knows ...Does caffeine effect hHCG in a negative way???? I so want a cup of my Organo Gold Coffee and have heard that you cannot have caffeine

I thought I read somewhere that Dr. S recommends eliminating coffee (caffeine) because he felt that it can lead to cravings in some people, but not mandatory...but I cannot find it...so perhaps it was from another source. I do not drink coffee, but I do drink iced tea...I have done well...-30 in first round & -19.6 this round so far.

This is from the Pounds & Inches Manuscript:

"Tea, coffee, plain water, or mineral water are the only drinks allowed, but they may be taken in any quantity and at
all times."

HTH

[verbqueen]

Good morning, fellow rogues (still morning here in CA, at least!) I awoke today feeling absolutely fantastic! In past rounds, I usually feel very good while doing the hcg plan--sleep hard, awake refreshed, mood very upbeat and stable. But since I started on Tuesday, I had three days of feeling grouchy and out of sorts, head-achy, and generally resentful.

Today, I've suddenly hit my stride and feel ready to take on the world!

Or then again, maybe that's just the coffee talking.

(P.S. This is VLCD 4 for me, and I still haven't remembered to weigh right when I get up, so I don't know exactly where I started or where I am today. However, I was weighed at the doctor's office a couple of weeks ago, so I have a pretty good sense of my starting zone. Still, this round for me is not about pounds and ounces, it is about regaining a sense of control over my eating behaviors and appetite!)

[catjrow3]

I drank lots of coffee on P2 on my rounds.... It was a great appetite suppressant for me!

Hey Jessica!! Nice to see you again! Brave girl doing HCG again, but you dont need it girl!!

[verbqueen]

Hey, Cat! Hope you aren't burning up there in CO. My friends in Woodland Park were evacuated from their home and are staying at a hotel in Denver right now. Having been evacuated by a wildfire a few years ago, I really feel for them. So freaking terrifying.

And yeah, I keep creeping back up into the 160s again, and I am determined to make the 150s my new home, so we'll see if another round will help me get there and stay there.

[EmBee]

YAY thanks everybody...(runs to the cupboard and grabs the coffee..lol)