~~ Rogue/Alternative HCG/hHCG plans for week of 8.26.12~~

[minimonkey]

Oh, and I laughed about your credit offer, Cheryl -- I had been getting those "bottom of the barrel" credit card offers lately, and thinking the same thing as you were -- why would anyone trust me with any amount of credit right now??? Then-- after my bankruptcy filing -- I got an offer for an auto loan specifically stating it was good *despite my current bankruptcy status!*

Good Lord.

I suppose I will actually be glad for some of this once I'm in a place to start re-establishing my credit, but right now, the whole thing just made me laugh.

I don't think I ever want to have a credit card again -- and I am going to make absolutely sure that I can afford to make payments (easily) on any loans I do take out -- if I finance a car, etc.

My student loan payments will be with me for a long, long time...so I will have enough to manage with those alone.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy your merchandise

I didn't realize you were filing Chapter 7 as well -- we can be bankruptcy buddies, I guess....

[CherylB]

OMG! I went to click spell check and clicked on refresh instead and my entire post is forever gone. I wrote so much detail! FUDGE!!!!!!

They should find a way to have our posts saved into a "draft" folder the way that emails are saved periodically as you are writing them. I don't feel like writing all that over again. Damn it!

[minimonkey]

I really hate it when that happens! It is lost post day here on this thread....

[CherylB]

Okay. I'll try to recap what I wrote. Storm is half-way through. No tornado. Dog secure and calm. I called the lady upstairs (the one whom I've had no interaction with since before they went away on their cruise) and told her that if the storm worsens she is welcome to come down here (access to the basement only through my apartment.) She was polite but I'm guessing we'll never be friends.

I was also saying about the chapter 7. It will be one big SWOOSH to clear away all the loose-ends from the foreclosure and whatever else is left hanging.

I never want another credit card cause I know where that leads, but I will someday (no doubt) need to buy another car. I've had mine for 12 years and it's 14 years old. I love it and will keep it going for as long as I can, but I won't trust buying a $1K car and hope for the best, so I'll need someone to give me a loan. Hopefully that is a few years down the road.

Here's what I bought through Ginnys (never heard of them before but got a catalog out of the blue.) I got an electric knife sharpener (sharpens even serrated knives) and that will liven-up the knife set I bought that ended up being rather cheesy. I bought a seal-a-meal and a 2-pack of bags for it (will save me money in wasted food.) Then I bought a 20-piece set of kitchen towels and cloths for doing dishes. (Will save on the semi-disposable dish cloths and paper towels that I use like they're nothing. Lastly, I bought a set of three suction cup thingies that you can use to apply a seal to leftovers on your plate, a bowl, a pan or a pot, etc. That will save me money on plastic wrap and foil!

I was standing at the sink a while ago, transplanting my Christmas Cactus. I had gone out to the shed and got the new pot, washed it out, filled it with fresh potting soil, moistened it and mixed it all up, then went about repotting the plant. At some point I started to feel weak. Not like yesterday morning, but noticeably weak. So I remained standing and took my BP. 110/82, HR 132! Just doing something non-strenuous at the sink.

I take a beta blocker once a day but it was originally ordered to be taken twice daily. I thought once a day was enough but apparently it isn't. So I took another Metoprolol and I will start taking one every 12 hours. I'll have the Dr change the script back to twice daily and that will be that.

I just brought in some cut flowers and put them in two different vases. One for the kitchen bay window, one for the bedroom.

I'm going to post this now before I hit the wrong button again.

[CherylB]

Helllllllooooooowwwwww out there! Anybody home?

[minimonkey]

Oh, wow, Cheryl -- that heart business doesn't sound good! Definitely keep up on the beta blockers!

I have a great electric knife sharpener that does, indeed, work on serrated knives... I love it. (Chef's Choice is the brand I have.) Sounds like you made some pragmatic choices in the merchandise department.

I could really tell this evening that I am losing inches in my legs ... hurray!!!!! Also some leg cramps tonight, probably meaning that the edema is finally, finally leaving.

Fat fast went fine today-- one meal, probably a bit over the calorie limit, but that has worked fine for me before and I hope it will again.

Once my student loan check gets here, I am going to treat myself to a couple of pairs of big, flowy, boho/hippie pants that will fit me now and also at goal ... I'm browsing ebay for them now that I have reached a stopping point with work for the day. That'll be a nice stop-gap measure so that I have some clothes I love that I can also wear now, while on the way back down to goal.

I love big, flowy clothes, and I will love them at goal, too. Right now, many of my favorite clothes don't fit me, so this will be a nice self-esteem booster. I won't be able to spend much on anything non-necessary, but I think I can manage that.

[CherylB]

The one I ordered is a Smith's knife sharpener. I hope I like it the way you like yours! Knife sets are so friggin expensive if you buy a quality one. Somehow, I think they are gouging the customers a little?

Yea!! to losing inches and edema!! Speaking of "pragmatic choices", sounds like you'll be buying some very sensible pants. Student loans. Doesn't it feel almost like "free money" when it lands in your hands? UGH!

I'm down a tad today and that is fine with me. It's GLORIOUS outside! The storm system cleared-out all the humidity and instability and left THIS in its wake. OMG! If I could only bottle it up and save it for the times that are not so lovely! At 11:30 this morning when I opened the windows and blinds, it was 68 degrees, sunny and AWESOME!

My sister picked the perfect day to have her birthday pizza party. Hence, I must go and sit around the table with pizza-eating, antipasto-eating and beer-swilling family. Only half swill beer, but that will inevitably be on the table, too. (A pitcher of it.) I know people say to be strong, it is empowering, etc, but that's not how I'm built. If I'm strong in a situation like that, I cheat later on when I'm alone. Just hard-wired that way. It all boils down to: I hate feeling set-apart or different among other people. I don't want attention to be called to me because I packed my own food to eat in a restaurant.

So, I'm taking my pellets as per usual but I'm going to just eat the one meal at the party. I will fast before and after and then be back on plan tomorrow. I will eat sparingly and slowly at the restaurant.

I slept good last night! Went to sleep at a decent hour and it felt natural. I hope it happens again tonight. Day #2 of taking the beta blocker twice a day. Keep on pumping, my dear, sweet heart! I can't live without you!

Have a super day, ladies. Looking forward to seeing LOTS of posts when I sign back on later today. (Hint hint.)

[minimonkey]

LOL, about *gouging* the knife customers....


I got on the scale --- and I am down! Not super fast losses, for hcg, but really ...
5 lbs in 13 days is a totally acceptable rate of loss, and I'll definitely take that!, especially since I am not starving or weak or any of the other unpleasant things that often come along with a round for me. Plus, I had a moderate refeed day, and one honest-to-goodness refeed day in there ... so that's particularly encouraging.

If I can keep up steady losses, I am happy to keep doing it just as I am.

I'm *very* jiggly right now, and I hope that means a nice inch loss is on its way.

Bring on fat fast day #2 -- I'm ready!

[CherylB]

!! That little pun slipped right past me! I usually see them as I'm writing them down. Good catch, Mini!

on the loss of 5 lbs!! You're doing so well. I'm glad you aren't hungry or weak, either. You know what jiggly means! Someone quoted something you said about being jiggly and they put it into their siggy. Forget who that was but someone who has disappeared off the face of the earth.

I was really getting hungry so I ate an orange. I don't think it's wise to enter into the pizza party ready to gnaw-off my left arm. That will take the edge off, plus I'll have my second dose of pellets around 3. I'll be good to go after that.

Check back later! Blessings to all.

[CherylB]

Back from the pizza party at 6:30. I did exactly as I planned to do!! I ate two slices of pizza, slowly and with great joy, using fork and knife, I had two mugs of beer and a very small plate of antipasto. It was all that I needed and it was the right decision for me.

Now I'm home with my trusty dog and we will finish out the night as we do any other one. Tomorrow I begin fresh and see where the refeed-meal lead me. I am unafraid.

[TerriMM]

Nice job Cheryl [pat on the back]. You might even see an up day whoosh!

Congrads on the 5# Mini. That is totally awesome with the way you're working it and I'll bet you'll be a lot safer from the metabolism melt down.

Me I'm up .70 after my 2.30 whooshie yesterday. Looking at my journals it's very typical about this time to have a bump up. And I am at the top of my average for weight lose. So I'm good overall.

[verbqueen]

I'm back--just took Dave to the airport and was grateful that the highways were relatively empty (they usually are on Sunday night.) I deserved that after Friday.

I did not exactly follow my plan over the weekend as far as food choices go, as it involved several group social events and I hate making a big deal about my diet, but I kept the calories as low as possible and feel pretty good about how I did. Now I have an uneventful week ahead during which I can keep it squeaky clean.

I'm popped and off to bed. See you guys tomorrow.

[lemonmama]

Hi Roguers. I thought this might be a good place to post a question for you. I hope you don't mind, because I sure could use some advice! I lost 35 pounds in the spring of 2011 on homeopathic HCG. I felt great and stabilized beautifully! Then, I got lazy over the holidays and the beginning of 2012 and have regained half of that. I've tried to restart a few times, but always talk myself into quitting for one reason or another--usually, I say I can lose doing something else, but then I don't follow through.

I actually loaded again last weekend and planned to start VLCD on Tuesday, but I only made it to Wednesday...felt cranky, hungry and had a big work project that needed my complete focus and energy, so I quit...again!

However, now I am so regretting that decision. I am determined 100% to stick with this. I have so many cute fall clothes that I cannot wear right now, and I can't afford to get new clothes, so something must be done quickly!

Since I just stopped drops and VLCDs on Wednesday, do you think I could restart drops and VLCD tomorrow without loading again? I really want to avoid doing that if at all possible. I'm think since I loaded so recently I should be okay to restart the drops and VLCD fresh tomorrow. What do you think?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions you can offer!

[CherylB]

I'm not sure about that. It took 2 days and the hhcg was out of your system. Since you were having such a hard time sticking with it even after loading, maybe picking up without at least one loading day would lead you into more trouble. You really weren't in the swing of things before you stopped. I would just think of it as an aborted attempt and start fresh. If you're in a hurry to get the weight off, try doing just one load day.

I can tell you from experience that I had many a failed attempt doing hhcg after my first long successful one. I kept trying to get whatever it was that I had "back" and it would always end in failure. But this time, I was once again ready and it feels just like my first round. If this isn't "taking" for you, it might just not be your time.

How is the food hitting you? Are you satisfied with the things you get to eat on your P2 or do you eat because you have to? Do you follow your own rogue plan or are you following something like the Omaha Weight Loss plan? I personally love the OWL plan. I used to even eat the popcorn but this round I've skipped the grains entirely. I find that the popcorn can be taken to extremes because it tastes so good (when "doctored up" with the butter spray and popcorn flavoring powders.)

I think since you felt "cranky and hungry" on the one and only (or two) VLCD's after loading, I'd definitely do one good loading day. If you still find you are hungry, I'd suspect the pellets or drops are no longer working.

[TerriMM]

Two of my best rounds, including this one, I have loaded low carb and actually lost weight during load. You might try that to get your HCG humming before you hit P2. And losing during loading is a great motivator.

Great Luck!

[minimonkey]

Just a quick late night check in ... made it through the fat fast day just fine Feeling pretty good this round, and hoping for a friendly scale tomorrow.

I may or may not do one more fat fast day ... if I get a nice drop tomorrow, I probably will.. if not, it is back to my regular rogue p2 plan. I have a long day and a late night tomorrow, so it should be pretty easy to keep on target. I rather like these 1-meal days -- eat, get it done, and get on with life. That also gives the wonderful IF-ing benefits, which I do find appealing.

Wishing you all good weigh ins (or lack of weighings, or whatever you are doing) tomorrow!

[pendragginp]

I'm still at the same weight ending week 2 tomorrow, which is ten lbs down from starting weight; we'll see if week three starts the scale moving again. I swear, it really does seem as though it's Pounds week one and Inches week 2 - what will week 3 bring?

I call Good Job Cheryl on keeping it low-key at your pizza party! I know exactly what you mean about depriving yourself at a party like that and then feeling so crabby about it that you go home and inhale the refrigerator.

And mini, good hanging in there! Did you get your new clothes yet?

Good Monday to all of us!

[pendragginp]

Okay, I posted the above and went back to bed for an hour, and then just because checked the scale again when I got back up and I was suddenly down .8. Go figure!

Maybe week 3 started early.

[sparkysarah]

Hi everyone, I'm on day 5 VLCD and I'm definitely rogue. I'm eating around 800ish calories a day. On Saturday I way overdid it and ate 1200 cals.

I'm going to a weight loss clinic and doing the injections. I'm eating 2 fruits, 2 proteins and 4 ish veggies a day. And usually I throw in a string cheese towards end of the day.

Maybe when I get further in the plan I can follow it more closely but for now it seems to be working. I'm avoiding sugar like the plague.

I only loaded 1 day because I was ready to start.

I'm also eating 1-2 low carb pitas per day (with 1 svg shredded mozarella toasted in oven with oregano and garlic salt). I'm using "Joesph's flax, oat bran & whole wheat pita" (60 cals each, 8 carbs/4 fiber/4 net carbs)...it is really helping me stay on plan b/c i feel like I'm eating pizza lol. I bought them at Publix grocery store.

and I was so happy to see a rogue plan cuz I'm no good at following diets exactly ROFL

[dazygyrl]

hey, ladies! sorry to crash your hhcg thread...but cheryl mentioned wanting to see our cruise pics, so thought i would try and give you a link to see them. let me know if it works.

great job, ladies on all your losses, too!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3&l=efffce1b4b

[CherylB]

Plum, that's typical as far as the sleep goes. I don't get it but I can count on being a lb or so lower if I get some more sleep. No clue how that works, but if it's that easily fixed, then I'll gladly go back to sleep! Sorry week 2 was a very slow week for you on the scale. I am also beginning week 3, so may we each (all) have wonderful weeks on the scale!

Sarah! Sounds like you have a plan that works great for you! YEA! That's 50% of the picture. Sounds like you have the right attitude as well, so you're 100% in this to win this!

Dazy! Welcome back!! I'm going to check those pics right now. Thanks so much for the link!! I'll go read what you wrote on the No S thread later on cause I want to hear all the details.

I didn't weigh today. I did perfectly at the pizza place, then came home and later I was hungry. I remembered I still had a chicken breast in that marinade so I grilled it and ate the whole boneless-skinless breast. I was happy that I didn't use any dipping sauce. Then as the night wore on, I ate a few more things. It was 1 or 2 in the morning and I was just eating out of boredom, I guess. Anyway, that's why I didn't bother to weigh today. Yesterday turned into a true "refeed day" after all.

[dazygyrl]

i haven't written anything yet on that thread... just ask away if you have any questions. it was a great trip. i don't think the kids were prepared for how much down time there is on a ship. so there was some boredom and the stress that goes with that...but overall, it was a great trip and we feel so blessed to have gone on it!

[CherylB]

WONDERFUL PICS!!! Really stirred up my wanderlust. What an amazing time you must have had. I can see how tiring it all was, too. Alaska is so far away.

[pendragginp]

Oh Dazy those pics are amazing! I had to skim them now because I'm on my way to work but I'm so glad you posted that here.

Cheryl, yes abt the sleep thing; my problem is that if I wake up I generally can't get back to sleep, and I've been waking up after only six hours or so. I've tried staying in bed anyway hoping just that would do the scale magic but it doesn't seem to - you actually have to sleep. Can't fool it!

[minimonkey]

Dazy! Nice to see you! I will check out the pics when I have a moment -- very glad your trip went well

Sparky -- welcome! Your plan sounds quite a bit like mine -- I'm aiming for 800 calories or thereabouts, and I go over some days. Glad you are joining us

Cheryl -- sorry about the unplanned refeed, but I honestly don't think refeeds are a bad thing here and there. If I start feeling dragged out, I will do another one myself. Give it a day or two and you'll be right back in the swing of p2 again.

I'm down another .4 today, so I really can't complain one bit -- and the losses are starting to show on my body now, which is excellent.

Plum, I also tend to get that "pounds OR inches" thing -- the scale seems to drop, and then the inches catch up, or the other way round, but I often don't see them at the same time.

Sleep is also DEFINITELY a big factor... I have had that "go back to bed, lose a pound" thing happen before, which is just so strange, but hey, sleeping off the lbs is a great way to lose, yes?

I'm back to a more normal p2 today -- I'm sure I'll do more fat fast days at a later point, but for now, it's back to regular p2 -- though I am sticking to the one-meal-per-day thing for a bit ... it works out well when I am on the run all day, and I seem to get the best losses that way, based on prior rounds (and other times I've done that, too, before hcg.)

I rather like IFing --- so I may make that my maintenance plan -- We'll see when I get there. I'm not sure, yet, if I am going to do one long round to goal, or if I am going to take a maintenance break in another few lbs -- I guess that will depend on how I am feeling, how fast the losses happen, and so forth.

I do NOT want another repeat of the big-rebound-gain, though, so if I start feeling regularly hungry and dragged out, I'll take a break and maintain for a bit before resuming the round. This entire round is rogue as can be, so I am not the least bit concerned with following any rules at all, lol!

Wishing you all a gloriously good day

[CherylB]

Oops. I see you posted before me. I had my thread open for a while and hadn't updated the page. Were the "pets at sea" stuffed animals? I couldn't quite see that. It must have been fun seeing the Orca's! The glacier was amazing too. All I could think of was how cold that water must have been!

I loved the little towns you took pictures of when you were ashore. Alaska is an amazing place. I wish I could go there someday. I'd even be happy to finally see the Pacific North West.

What I really need to do is appreciate my own area and learn what there is to love about New England. I've never been north of Portsmouth New Hampshire and I hear so many people say how amazingly beautiful it is the farther north you go in New England. I just always wanted to go West!

[CherylB]

Nope! Can't fool our bodies, Plum.

Mini, glad the scale is still being nice to you. I thought you weren't going to do fat fasts on P2 anymore. I'm afraid you are going to have the same trouble keeping it off again if you do the same type of plan that you did before. Why not try to just stick to your P2 and not "monkey" with it.

Wow, girls! Feels like Fall today for sure! There's almost a wind-chill factor at work. I have the windows open and the breeze is strong enough that I need to pull up the opened blinds or it sucks them against the window and messes with the slats. I will be closing most of them tonight before I go to bed, but this is going to make for a very pleasant and interesting barn day!

The horses are very alert on windy days and with the change of season, this should really make them frisky. But (alas) it is a program day. Therapy lessons going on so I will just do my best to steer clear of all the lesson stuff. I will groom the horses in their duplexes (the ones that haven't been used for lessons today) and I will just do my best to find a way to enjoy my time there.

[dazygyrl]

Originally Posted by CherylB

Oops. I see you posted before me. I had my thread open for a while and hadn't updated the page. Were the "pets at sea" stuffed animals? I couldn't quite see that. It must have been fun seeing the Orca's! The glacier was amazing too. All I could think of was how cold that water must have been!

I loved the little towns you took pictures of when you were ashore. Alaska is an amazing place. I wish I could go there someday. I'd even be happy to finally see the Pacific North West.

What I really need to do is appreciate my own area and learn what there is to love about New England. I've never been north of Portsmouth New Hampshire and I hear so many people say how amazingly beautiful it is the farther north you go in New England. I just always wanted to go West!

yep, the pets as sea was like build a bear. they had fin with them. the orcas were cool, were not in a show off-y mood, but was still cool to see them. juneau and skagway were very cool. i liked skagway a bit better...it was a very small town which i love! course our town is only a population of 600-800!! lol... victoria was very beautiful and busy too. we went to maine for our honeymoon...i loved that area! we flew into boston, but ended up leaving there as fast as we could...too busy!! so we rented a car and road-tripped up the coast of maine...i loved it!!

[CherylB]

I'm so thrilled that you had such a good time on your trip. And that you took all those pics, cause I remember you said you were bad about taking them. I agree about Boston and all other cities. They drive me quickly out of my mind. Driving in congested areas is enough to give me a stroke! Give me the country!!!

So are you back to No-S'ing or will you be diving into another hhcg round? I thought I could never get my sea-legs back under me long enough to do another round, but here I am and it's all going great! Going to do 60 days and hopefully not run out of my pellets. I have only a rough idea of how many I have. They are all over a year and a half old. Still good, though!

[atlflier]

Hello ladies,

If I may, I'd like to join this thread as I'm on my first day of loading with Rx. This will be my second round--rogue all the way--as opposed to my first, also Rx, which was P-to-the-T. I was able to lose 25 lbs in 42-days, without hunger, but was drop-dead lethargic throughout despite being on a doctor supervised program. Needless to say, the hair loss afterwards wasn't fun for me either.

This time I'm planning on a regimen, fingers crossed, of anywhere between 800-1200 gluten-free (I love it, it hates me) calories, with maybe a day or two per week in the 500 range. I'm looking over the other-OWL diet (not Atkins) right now online, so I think I'll ramp up my intake from protein and low-carb veggies and fruits. Plus I'll increase my vitamins and supplements too (particularly Biotin and the other B-complex ones along with Zinc and Iron) to try and forestall another "mane" issue.

Somehow this off-the-well-worn-path approach of "letting my body first and the scale second" be my guide in terms of how I feel resonates with me when using Hcg. Frankly, I'd be much happier losing a tad slower than I did before as opposed to feeling bone weary with dry, brittle/shedding hair.

My goal is to do two rounds total to get me back into the 130's and then hop onto Atkins to drop down closer to, if not spot on, the desired 118 lbs weight I would like to see again. (It's been close to 8 long years since I've worn a size 4/6, ouch!)

Anyway, I've been lurking for a few days reading your posts and am thrilled to see your results thus far (I know my own mileage may vary). Hopefully others just starting their round will jump on this thread too since most of you are already half way to the end of P2. It would be nice to have company on the ride from start to finish. If not, I'll just salivate over your P3 posts.

Off to read some more. Have a great day everyone!