~P3-P4-Simeons-protocol-week-7/23~

[MagieDen]

to you Shelby, you have done fantastic and are such a big help to us here on the HCG Diet Forum!

[julieboolie]

Shelby!! Love your testimony!! I, for one, have benefitted greatly from your sharing and experience!!! You're an inspiration to all of us!!! Thank you for caring and sharing!! rock on skinny minnie!!!

I ended up doing lunch at Chilli's w/ a friend today. I don't like Chili's. I thougth I was making good choices - chicken enchilada soup and chicken fajitas (w/o the tortilla strips or tortillas). I was pretty hungry when I got home . According to their website and my ******, I'm at about 1700 cals for the day (2 servings of Voskos this morning, and some tuna salad when I got home). Sigh. Looks like I'll be pushing the calories a bit today. I'm at LDW +0.2 so I'm not sweating it. But I regret agreeing to meet my friend there. Next time I'll just get a salad or something safe and lower cal.

[Bitsky]

Way to go Shelby!!! That is something to be proud of and feel good about not to mention how good you probably feel IN your body right now!!

[Reddy]

Yes Cocoa we are!!! I am pretty comfortable my current weight bc I've been so heavy for so long. I gained 50lbs in my pregnancy and when I gave birth last August I was around 225! For the first 4 -5 months post partum I was pushing 200 (about 196) and it was really rough. Then for the next few moths despite hard dieting and exercise I was stuck in the low 180s.

Thanks to HCG I'm finally at a comfortable weight and feel like myself again. My ideal weight would be 145 (that would make me Skinny) so I'm most likely going to do another round in the fall but I'm so happy to finally not be so chunky!

[cocoapeanut]

Sounds like me kinda -- I was 220 at my heaviest but I didn't require a pregnancy to get there! I then dieted and hardcore exercised my way down to 175, where I stayed for the next TWO YEARS despite my efforts. Gained a bit back out of frustration but got down to the low 160's in my first round of hCG! Like you, I'm also hoping to get down to 145..hehe. Crossing my fingers that it happens this next round!

[minimonkey]

Shelby! That is AWESOME, girl! You are my hero, too, and I totally agree about what an amazing blessing you are to us all

Nicole -- sorry to hear about the jump up .. on 900 calories? Really? That just seems so wrong to me! I hope it goes back down for you, and was just a blip on the radar... I know that initial jump up is almost guaranteed, no matter how careful we are about easing into p3, but I feel your frustration!

[LaraSuzz]

Nice job Shelby, I'm glad you're here too, so nice to have a great suport system. You've done well!

[Nicole T]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

Shelby! That is AWESOME, girl! You are my hero, too, and I totally agree about what an amazing blessing you are to us all

Nicole -- sorry to hear about the jump up .. on 900 calories? Really? That just seems so wrong to me! I hope it goes back down for you, and was just a blip on the radar... I know that initial jump up is almost guaranteed, no matter how careful we are about easing into p3, but I feel your frustration!

Well, I ate a bit more yesterday and stayed 171.1 today. Mini--I was reading some of your other posts and I am totally one of those people who gains in P3 no matter how much I follow protocol and no matter how many steak days I do! I've tried eating to my BMI, eating to hunger etc... and either way my body usually puts me right around 170. This round was a bit different because I stopped at 169.6 instead of where I usually stop 163-165 so we'll see what happens since I'm already at 171.

[julieboolie]

Nicole-well, it seems like your body is nice and stable around 171. Maybe it's the happy place your body likes to be. Are you happy there? It's nice to be able to eat and stay in a good weight range. Give it some more time and see if you don't drop back down a bit more.

I am happy to report that I didn't gain any weight over night!!!?? Really? I ate out yesterday and went way over on the calories (2100!!) Even had some choc covered almonds!! (decided since I'll prob. have to do a CD I might as well enjoy it a bit!) But miraculously I'm the same weight. I may not be back down to 145, my all time low, but I am right by my last dose weight (LDW+0.2), which is amazing!! I'm truly pleased and beginning to think that the metabollic reset I did throughout April, May and June may have actually worked!! Or, that the hcg really does reset your hypothalmus, or that God is just being exceedingly good to me!! I'll go w/ option #3 and give Him the glory for it!!

So, I've had my coffee and cream and will just eat clean P3 today. We'll keep taking it 1 day at a time, and trying to eat to hunger. I was abnormally hungry yesterday. Sigh. Hope today is more balanced. But, whatever is going on, I am thrilled!!

[Nicole T]

Originally Posted by julieboolie

Nicole-well, it seems like your body is nice and stable around 171. Maybe it's the happy place your body likes to be. Are you happy there? It's nice to be able to eat and stay in a good weight range. Give it some more time and see if you don't drop back down a bit more.

I am happy to report that I didn't gain any weight over night!!!?? Really? I ate out yesterday and went way over on the calories (2100!!) Even had some choc covered almonds!! (decided since I'll prob. have to do a CD I might as well enjoy it a bit!) But miraculously I'm the same weight. I may not be back down to 145, my all time low, but I am right by my last dose weight (LDW+0.2), which is amazing!! I'm truly pleased and beginning to think that the metabollic reset I did throughout April, May and June may have actually worked!! Or, that the hcg really does reset your hypothalmus, or that God is just being exceedingly good to me!! I'll go w/ option #3 and give Him the glory for it!!

So, I've had my coffee and cream and will just eat clean P3 today. We'll keep taking it 1 day at a time, and trying to eat to hunger. I was abnormally hungry yesterday. Sigh. Hope today is more balanced. But, whatever is going on, I am thrilled!!

Not sure if you have a Fresh Market grocery store near you but I get their sugar free chocolate covered almonds and they are really yummy! They also have some covered in sugar free chocolate and dusted with espresso powder

[cocoapeanut]

Originally Posted by Nicole T

Not sure if you have a Fresh Market grocery store near you but I get their sugar free chocolate covered almonds and they are really yummy! They also have some covered in sugar free chocolate and dusted with espresso powder

Yummm!

Julie -- Yay for being the same weight! The body is funny - sometimes you're sure you're gonna lose and you don't budge, and other times you swear you'll gain and you didn't! I've given up on making sense of it. It just does what it does!

Well I'm eating a little more regularly (and more, in general) today since I just got off of a two-day fat fast. Dropped another 1.8 lbs from yesterday, so I've lost 4 lbs in 2 days, putting me at 166. Not bad, 4ish lbs to go! I'd consider keeping that CD in my repertoire. Probably gonna do a chicken thigh day tomorrow to see if I can knock off another pound or two before my parents come for the weekend.

Today so far I've had:

B - 2 eggs w/ touch of hwc scrambled in butter, apple w/ almond butter
S - SBUX grande iced americano w/ SF cinnamon dolce syrup + splash of hwc AND one Reese's PB cup (hey, a girl's gotta live! hehe)
L - homemade salad w/ baby green mix, zucchini, mushrooms, chicken breast, figs, and greek olive dressing AND the insides of a 6-inch turkey breast + avocado sub (my boss invited me out to lunch so I had to accept since I'm new, but I don't eat bread! good thing I got to eat it at my desk )

Dunno my dinner plan because sometimes I get home and am not all that hungry. If I do eat it will likely be greek yogurt or a basic smoothie made from coconut kefir and frozen berries

to you all! Have a MARVELOUS day!

[LaraSuzz]

I can't believe that I'm doing a steak day today, lol. I want to go to bed right now so that I can wake up and eat bacon haha.

[Reddy]

Originally Posted by Nicole T

Not sure if you have a Fresh Market grocery store near you but I get their sugar free chocolate covered almonds and they are really yummy! They also have some covered in sugar free chocolate and dusted with espresso powder

OMG! There's one right by my house. I'm 100% going to get these. Are they totally P3 friendly or do you need to have them in moderation? (I assume moderation since it's nuts!)

[Reddy]

Julie that is awesome that you didn't gain!!!

[Nicole T]

Originally Posted by Reddy

OMG! There's one right by my house. I'm 100% going to get these. Are they totally P3 friendly or do you need to have them in moderation? (I assume moderation since it's nuts!)

Theyre pretty rich so I probably only eat 3-4 a day. I don't usually have any issues eating almonds, cashews, pecans or walnuts in P3.

[Reddy]

I'm totally getting some. Are Pistacios ok in P3?

Also I just pinned that Cauliflower pizza you posted... looked like Hawaiin style? Drooling.

[julieboolie]

Lara-boo!! I totally get that feeling. That's how I usually feel on P2 or CD's. Can't wait for the morning so I get another shot at eating!! Hope it's successful for you!!

Nicole-I don't have one of those near here. Our Sprouts has sf choc covered almonds, but they're not very good. The regular ones are good. Dark choc and dusted w. expresso powder (mocha ones) They have 13 carbs per serving (8-9). Not too bad. We'll see if they hurt me as I had a few today .

I've had another odd eating day. All at home so should be safe, but not sure how I've done. Not too hungry. Had pork for dinner, and chicken salad for lunch. Voskos for bfast. And I had a few mocha almonds too. I even had an apple!! Just a random odd assortment of foods. Toying w. some NSA froyo for dessert. We'll see. Cals around 1700 so far. Maybe just a little bit... Not actually hungry though, trying to fill up w. fluids.
Each day is exciting. Like experimenting each day. A bit trepidatious, but fun. Wearing a pair of size 9 designer skinny flare jeans. According to dh I'm looking fine !

[minimonkey]

Dude, Julie, ROCK those jeans! I bet you look fierce in them!

Nicole -- I hope you stabilize like a rock this time! If you are following my crazy journey, you'll know that I am breaking all the rules and then some this time, seeing as how the rules have failed me up until now... maybe I'll find some answers with all my experimenting.

I do know that I am not going to rely on the p3 rules to keep me at goal this time, though, since that has failed me so badly time and time again. This time, it is a slow and steady calorie increase, and continuing to eat exactly the same foods I am eating while on my rogue p2.... we'll see how that goes, lol!

[LaraSuzz]

I'm down 3 lbs from my steak day, which makes me feel very good. Now I'm 4lbs from liw.. i'm just more comfortable with that than 7 lbs from liw. You think that you have it under control and then all of the sudden you dont and its hard to get back to where you were then you start giving up a little and the weight creeps up... and pretty soon youre at your last round spot... no more merry go round, I mean business.
I need to lose the maximum lbs this time to put me in happy land. Even when the pounds slow down I will not give up. If I have to stop weighing the last few days so be it. That usually gets me in the end.
Today I will do one hour meal, I think its a better plan to lock in my losses. Friday night I will make Snickerdoodles yum.

ok time to get to work, have a good day all
~Lara

[julieboolie]

Lara-that's a great loss from your steak day!! Hope it locks in!! You're doing great and I love your attitude. You'll do wonderfully this next round and you'll be at goal in no time!!

Mini-thanks!! I did look pretty cute . I hope you do well this "round" or current experiment. You are learning so much about your body and what works for YOU!! That's what I've learned in the past 9 years of my weight loss journey. What works for one, doesn't work for all!! You're doing great!! Strong, in control and making progress!!

I'm up 0.2 today despite having NSA gelato last night?!! I'm NOT complaining!! LDW+0.4. I'm loving this round (so far, not getting cocky or over confident). I'm happy w. what I'm eating. Most days coming in around 1800cals which is about "right". I'm indulging in a bit of SF whipped cream or the occasional choc almond (not recommended, but works for me so far). I need to keep tight reigns on this though. As Lara mentioned, you go along just fine, then trip and stumble and whammo!! You're up 6lbs and out of control. I want to keep it all under control. My in-laws come Friday for a 1-2 week stay (FIL is only staying a week-yeah!). So, we'll be eating out more and what I eat will be scrutinized (MIL is overweight and always tries to emulate what I eat). Anyway, not gonna' sweat it. Going to keep doing what's working and trust The Lord to guide me. He's blessing this so far, and I will keep plugging away!!

[Reddy]

Lara Thats awesome! A great boost in the right direction.

Julie you're doing great! .2 is no biggie!

Today is my last VLCD and it's p3 tomorrow

I'm down 1.2 from LIW which is great bc it gives me a bit of wiggle room! I wish I could weight tomorrow morning to see my final weight for this phase but I'll be out of town! Well see where this weekend leaves me on Monday!

[Nicole T]

Morning ladies! Sounds like you all are doing well I was 171.1 again today. That's pretty good considering I ate a decent amount yesterday (I'm not tracking calories...just can't bring myself to do it) but I did go out last night and have crap dip with celery last night and 8 HUGE buffalo wings with lots of yummy blue cheese dressing. I'm also hooked on eating a handful of walnuts with some Nevada Mana sugar free chocolate chips (no sugar alcohols!)--such a yummy treat!

[dbunny]

Coming into P3 on Saturday! I am so ready for it.

Cocoapeanut and Reddy~ I am 5'10" too! My goal weight is somewhere in the low 160's, high 150's. Hoping to make this round stick like super glue, then do one more round to get to goal.

[TiffanyM]

Morning Ladies! Y'all are all doing so good! last night I got a lil crazy and acted like it was a loading day. But, I'm still below the LDW so it's all good.

I'm ready to start this next round. Soooo ready! I know somewhere around here is a loading plan from Dawnyama. I'm going to go find it now.

[misslatte]

Hello my friends!

At the top of my window today, but in it! (I think I'm actually going to make it +/- 3.. not sure yet.) I'm finally at a point where I'm 'okay'. I definitely have things I want to work on and firm up still. As soon as I've stabilized a bit more I'm going to start going to the gym again, slowly with cardio and weights. Today is P3D12, my average weight this round has been 157.2 (.2 out of window). I drove up to Wyoming to pick up my beef order (yay beef) last Friday so that caused a bit of a bump. Okay, a big bump--I was at LDW+6 when I weighed in on Sunday. Spent a couple days knocking it out, I'm thinking the gain was from toooo much sodium and/or possibly TOM? I had some Clemmy's with almond butter that might have made my tummy aggro, either that or Chipotle (*2) - usually these things don't turn me into a bloaty 'tender-to-the-touch' mess but this time it did. Either way, I did what I had to do, couple correction and clean days and I'm back in window. BAM!

Breakfast today was super yummy! I baked a pound of bacon last night and the house smelled wonderful! I even tried to make a couple of those bacon 'roses' that I saw Vanessa post about on Healthy Living How To. Brekkie was scrambled eggs with cheese, chicken, zucchini and tomatoes with a side of BACON and a breve latte! Lunch and dinner will be spinach salads with protein, probably tuna with lunch and steak with dinner. Our snowboarding group has happy hour tonight but I'll most likely pass on drinks. I was craving wine like CRAZY last night but refrained because I want to stablize a bit more before I add more things (mainly wine) in. There is a Groupon for 50% off at my favorite wine shop/bar so I'm definitely going to spend my "adult beverage" budget this month on one of those! Oh wait, I don't have an "adult beverage" budget.. hrm.. Okay I'll create one, per Julie. $15 will get me $30 worth! It's an actual winery so the stuff they have is made in-house and doesn't have all of the nasty sulfites in it that can cause wine headaches.

Nicole - thanks for the heads up about the almonds - I'll have to look for them!

Julie - love seeing your happy self in here! I still haven't tried any NSA froyo/gelato!! There are little places popping up everywhere up here, I definitely have to stop in some day soon.

Lara - nice job on the steak day! Have any bacon for brekkie?

Mini - hey lady!

dbunny, Reddy, Cocoa and Shelby - YAY tall girls!

Reddy - YAY P3 tomorrow!

Bitsky -

Tiffany - Is this the thread you were talking about? Dawn's Loading menu Gosh I really like loading.. lol. I guess I CAN have some of those foods now but just in moderation.

Oh, P.S... I can finally walk around the office (we're on the second floor) and NOT feel like an elephant aka making the floor shake when I walk by!!! Yay NSV!

[julieboolie]

Amy-woohoo for being back in window!! THat's quite an accomplishment!! Be proud girlie!! I'm all about the Groupon, enjoy that wine. I baked some bacon today too, and yes!! The house smells amazing!! Love having already cooked bacon on hand for bfasts. I had 2 slices . Quality control, making sure it's good for my fam . Love P3!! And can't belive that geloat didn't bite me. I'm really pushing it this first week of P3!! I don't usually hit the challenging foods this early.

Originally Posted by Reddy

Lara Thats awesome! A great boost in the right direction.

Julie you're doing great! .2 is no biggie!

Today is my last VLCD and it's p3 tomorrow

I'm down 1.2 from LIW which is great bc it gives me a bit of wiggle room! I wish I could weight tomorrow morning to see my final weight for this phase but I'll be out of town! Well see where this weekend leaves me on Monday!

Love wiggle room!! I was 2lbs under LDW and it's served me well!! Hope you enjoy your P3!! I know I am .

Originally Posted by Nicole T

Morning ladies! Sounds like you all are doing well I was 171.1 again today. That's pretty good considering I ate a decent amount yesterday (I'm not tracking calories...just can't bring myself to do it) but I did go out last night and have crap dip with celery last night and 8 HUGE buffalo wings with lots of yummy blue cheese dressing. I'm also hooked on eating a handful of walnuts with some Nevada Mana sugar free chocolate chips (no sugar alcohols!)--such a yummy treat!

That sure sounds stable to me!! I'll need to look fro those choc chips. I don't have much luck w that type of treat. Although 85% dark Lindt hasn't hurt me yet this round. I'm aware that I'm pushing it though. I love that it's working so far though!!

Dbunny-almost there! you're doing great and so strong to extend!! WTG!! You'll have a great P3!!

Did I mention I LOVE P3? I've avoided the gym though. It was my downfall last round. I gained 3lbs and couldn't get it back off the whole round. Mentally it hurt me. I worekd out t/o this P2, a bit, to maintain my muscles . Truthfully, I'm a bit scared to really life heavy at this point. I am happy w. how well I'm stabilizing for now. I may do some light lifting. We'll see.

I also just got an ice cream maker and will be dabbling in a few recipes. Suggestions welcome!!

[LaraSuzz]

No bacon for me this am Mislatte! I'm waiting for dinner instead.

Sounds like a good job you have there Julie on the quality contol lol

I totally know how you feel on the mini load days Tiffany!! That's why it was so hard to do a steak day yesterday!!!

Am I the only one out of the window? haha not for long!!!!!by next week I will be in size 12 land maybe....

ps a baked potato sounds really good... for loading =)

[TiffanyM]

Julie, here's a couple.

The Best Ice Cream Ever

Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream

[TiffanyM]

Size 12?? Lara that's awesome! I can't wait to be in a size 12. Maybe this time.. I have a pair of 14 levis that I can get into and zipped up, but it ain't pretty OR comfortable!

I am going to try and do pilates throughout this whole round. That and my normal walking.

I need an exercise buddy! Anyone want to join me on that?

And yes, a baked potato sounds delicious!!!

[Bitsky]

Morning everyone,
I strolled into P4 this week, I've stabilized well since the start of P3 and I think I know what I need to avoid and what I can play with etc. Can I trust my body is set at what it needs to be at now?
I have this worry that I'll just be chugging along as I've been doing, enjoying my coffee with cream, whip cream on berries, butter on things and using coconut oil, ya know keeping up the good fat intake...then WHAMMO I'm going to start gaining like crazy because I'm eating high fat things. If I ate this stuff before I did HCG I would be gaining lbs like crazy!
I guess I'm STILL having a hard time believing I can maintian my new body while eating high fat. I'm seeing the miracle daily after I do my morning weigh in but for some reason I keep waiting for this awesomeness to end. I'm happy sticking with my P3 foods, I have a sugar or a starch every now and then but I'm not too concerned with adding them back into my diet. I just want to make sure that I am not going to wake up one morning and all of a sudden be back to gaining weight every time I even look at an iced capp made with cream. Will my 'new metabolism' stay with me now as long as I don't start eating starches and sugars in high quantities again??