My Rogue Experiment This Round
 

Hi all--just wanted to share my experiences with this round in case anyone is wondering about going rogue vs following strict protocol. And this is in no way me saying that everyone should be rogue--just me sharing my experience.

Background- I did my first round a year and half ago and was very strict protocol and got to goal (165lbs) doing a 63 day round with 1 interruption for a week at day 23 when I went on vacation.

Over the past year, I have done 3 short 23 day rounds to maintain and/or lose 5-10 lb gains so they didn't get out of control. I have a very hard time stabilizing unless I eat pretty strict Paleo (no grains, sugar or dairy). The times I have done another round have been after I dabbled in the above no-no's for my body (who apparently LOVES fat and protein!)

After a long hiatus from Paleo and eating pretty much whatever I wanted, I went back up to 185 lbs. I decided to do a quick round right before Christmas but I did NOT want to be as miserable as I had been the last 2 rounds I did (one I ended at day 15 because I was SO miserable, hungry and bit**y to be around).

I made the decision to still stick to 500-600 calories at the most but to be pretty rogue with my choices. Here are the ways I am rogue:

• low fat half and half in my coffee (2-3 T a day)
• mix all kinds of low carb veggies including zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts
• eat all kinds of very low fat meats like lean pork, ground turkey and fat free turkey hot dogs
• have 1 piece of sugar free dark chocolate a day (Hershey's SF dark chocolate miniatures)
• have air popped popcorn about 3-4 times a week (120 calories)
• have probably 1 rice cake a day (butter or cheese flavored)
• kosher dill pickles
• Weight Watchers Sante Fe Chicken Smart One when I'm in a hurry (140 calories)
• low fat Kraft Paremesan cheese sprinkled on things
• fat free sour cream
• fat free Kraft cheese slices (who knew they actually melt now?)
  * one cup of Egg Beaters with veggies and fat free cheese for a meal (makes a HUGE omelet!)
  * use Pam cooking spray in my pans and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray on my veggies
  * using all my normal beauty products for the first time--the other rounds I always switched to HCG approved brands
  

All this to say that I am losing better and faster this round than any other round I have done. I am only weighing once a week because I found the small fluctuations and stalls to REALLY bring me down and affect my whole day. It has been SO much better not obsessing over it every day and I still get to see the same end result on Saturday morning :)

I didn't load this time and I started out at 185 and now am down 8.8 lbs after 12 days (the last few rounds I was at 7 lbs or less at this point).

So I just wanted to share in case anyone was wondering if being rogue hurts your losses. It definitely hasn't hurt mine and I am SO much happier this round and it feels totally do-able as compared to my other rounds where I was hating life!

Awesome! :D

I lose better now after going rogue too. I drink diet sodas, eat many more vegetables and types of meat like you do, have the 80 calorie Fit N Light greek yogurts, occasionally eat 1 T of peanut butter mixed with 2 T PB2 and mix it in greek yogurt or spread it on apple slices. I do not eat oranges or anything with flour, corn, potatoes or rice though and very tiny amounts of sugar in my yogurt and the occasional condiment. I limit myself to 40 net carbs and a little over 600 calories per day.

I'm back from my two-week planned interruption. I gained a ton because I went on a cruise and the food was so delicious and plentiful. I've got to get back on protocol now but the two-weeks of gluttony gave me a 20 lb gain!! I think I gained so much because I went from VLCD to eating just about whatever and whenever, so I never had a chance to stabilize my losses.

Oh well, I'm going to be rogue because I want to have half and half in my coffee. I like the idea of eating other low fat and low carb foods and just keeping the calories to 600. I might do that if I get bored with the original protocol. For now I'm only planning on going rogue just with the coffee.

I did a 10 day eat whatever interruption over Thanksgiving, gained 16 lbs, and lost 10 of it in back in 5 VLCDs. It'll come off quickly if you get right back to it. *HUGS*

Oh boy...I'm going on a cruise in Feb and now I'm scared! LOL I went on one a few years ago but I had done Weight Watchers up to the cruise and just tried to eat low fat. I think I put on 8 lbs but it came back off relatively quickly once I got home. At least I know I always have HCG in my back pocket if I need it once I get home. Nothing a 23 day round won't get rid of if it's too bad LOL

Nicole, your rogueness is very similar to what I do. I use up to 5 T. HnH in my morning coffee. Eat up to 8 oz. lean meats (any kind as long as it's lean), eat any LC vegies, mixed if I want, and don't really count those cals. super closely. Sometimes I have cottage cheese or eggs instead of meat. I have a package of shiritaki noodles every day. I use condiments within reason...mustard, nf salad dressing etc.

I won't be starting until Jan. 3rd, but that is my plan. I am also planning a 2 day interruption 16 days into the round (a big protocol no-no) but we'll see how that goes. I'm going to try to do this round until goal (or about 30 lbs. lost) with interruptions as needed. Of course, that's easy to say as I sit here with a well stuffed tummy!

I also use all my regular beauty products including my minty fresh toothpaste (don't chew gum though)!!

Best to you!!

Honestly, this round has been almost painless with the rogueness! I feel like I could easily keep going if I needed to and I can tell you that I DID NOT feel like that in my last two rounds where I wasn't rogue! LOL

Nicole--started my VLCD#1 yesterday. Saw a 3 lb drop on the scale. Now if I can get back to LDW of my last round this week it would be awesome!!! Probably will take me all 21 days for that to happen though LOL. I didn't find any reduced fat half and half, so I bought the fat free and am mixing that with my heavy whipping cream for use in my coffee. So I figure that works out to be reduced fat LOL.

I am so glad you are doing well this round. Keep it up!!!!

Good luck Dawn!! The half and half sounds like a great idea! I have only found the low fat at one store around here and it is often sold out so I have to stalk them as soon as they get a new shipment in LOL

So are you worried about being VLC for xmas? My big dilemma is that we do an annual Christmas luncheon at a famous Spanish restaurant in Baltimore with my parents and a few close friends every year right before Christmas. This year it falls on the 21st (not only the "end of the world" but also my first day on P3! LOL). I know I can eat legal P3 but part of the fun of our luncheon is that we get a little tipsy and exchange gag gifts. I'm thinking I'll eat totally legal P3 and have a few glasses of white wine and then do a fat fast the next two days to correct whatever damage I do with the wine--if any. Not an ideal way to start P3 but we only do this once a year and have been doing it for 20 years now so I'm not willing to give up the fun (and yeah, I know I could have fun without the wine but it's definitely more fun with it LOL)

Our Christmas is very untraditional LOL. My DH is Japanese and we go to his aunt's house, also Japanese. She has lost her husband 2 years ago, so we just go with what we want to do. This year it is steak for dinner!!! As soon as I heard that, I knew I could DO P2 at this time. I was worried about the whole Christmas thing until I knew we were doing steaks. She knows that my kids love to eat steak and she wants them to eat. So it will be just a normal day for me. So far I see no issues with me doing P2 at this time. I want it done before my son's birthday on Jan 19. This ensures that I will be well into P3 when it rolls around.

Yes, definitely not the best timing for P3 LOL. I have done that--finished P2 and the very first P3 meal be at a restaurant. It is hard!!! I was unable to get the gain off. I just hopped back on P2. Good thing I was able to! You have a much better plan in place than I did. I never think of those things when in P3. Good thing you know what to do. I am sure you will be fine.

I did my weekly weigh-in yesterday and was a little sad to see I had only lost 2lbs in a week. But I looked back at my last round I had done and I was only 1lb behind where I was on the same day in that round. BUT...when I woke up this morning, I "felt" thinner so I broke my rule and got on the scale and was down another 1.4 lbs! Guess we know our bodies huh?

So I have now officially lost more this round than I did last round And that was with eating out last night at Ruby Tuesdays (I took my own fat free ranch dressing and ordered a kids grilled chicken breast to put on my salad). I also ate about 3 cups of skinny popcorn from The Fresh Market before dinner because we were out Christmas shopping and I was starving!

I still can't believe I can eat the way I have been (last night I had creamed cauliflower with my turkey chili over it and this morning I had a HUGE egg beaters omelet with sauteed veggies and a slice of Kraft fat free cheese) and still lose. This changes so much for me because now I won't dread it if I have to do another round after my cruise in Feb!

I hope everyone else is doing well!

That is interesting. I finished my hcg about a year ago. Lost 70 some pounds. managed to keep from gaining until about 4 months ago. Got kind of crazy with life events and gained about 24 pounds. so now it is back on hcg. And I was really wondering about breaking protocal. I was spot on the last time. But was really wondering about maybe eating different vegetables. not to go so much rogue but just some different vegetables. I mean really. I can live on the chicken and fish but the vegetables are just so strict. I might try some different ones.

how did you make the creamed cauliflower and what are the kind of different veggies do you eat....i am doing a short interruption for Christmas day and the 26th, hoping to get right back on, and was thinking going a little rogue for the rest of my round, i am thinking of doing a 40 day round, so changing things up a little might make things a little easier with more of a variety...

thanks

I eat pretty much all low carb veggies that you would eat on Atkins or any other low-carb diet.

Cut up the cauliflower and then steam the heck out of it (I usually use my steamer tray that sits in the bottom of my pot and steam it covered for about 15 minutes. Drain out water and put in a bowl and I add a splash of low fat half and half or you can use chicken broth. Don't use a lot though because the cauli is already pretty "wet". Probably 2-3 Tablespoons. I also add a few good shakes of Molly McButter. Salt and pepper and that's it :)

thanks, i love cauliflower, i am making this tomorrow....i was thinking that mushrooms are LC, so that would go good with some strips of steak and a little onion, yum.....i am getting quite tired of chicken, hamburger and fish, i did have shrimp a couple times, but not a big fan.....i started to mix some veggies today, and enjoyable.....

please share any other rogue recipes you might have

thanks

how much cauliflower do you use for a serving...

Mashed...probably 3/4-1 cup

had th mashed cauli for lunch today, with my groundbeef and a little onion browned and put on top of the cauli, what a treat.....i hope this does not affect my losses, i lose slow anyway, butfor me to stay on this till the middle of january or so, i will have to go this route...i will not weigh in until sunday, i am going to take a short interruption for 2 days for christmas ......i made some p2 chili up for the weekend, so might make the chicken and have over the mash cauli for my other meal...that should be good also, better than a salad....something hot is better this time of year.....

Sunny---that sounds so yummy!!!! I might even make it for Christmas. That IS going to make it tolerable to finish out a round, no matter how short or long one is going to be on P2. I have done umpteen # of rounds now and chicken and cabbage is getting pretty dry and boring by now. I wish I knew how it effected you on the scale the very next day though. That way I can see if I want to try it, but sometimes not knowing is best!

Dawn i almost jumped on the scale this morning, but didn't, will tomorrow---i agree with you about the cabbage and chicken---most of the foods are getting boring with me also..... the p2 chili is ok yet, but the cauli and hamburger was so good, i put just enough onion in for some flavor--- i am going to do it with chicken today....maybe the p2 chili would be good over the cauli----sounds good to me----i am taking a little interruption for christmas, so hope i can be somewhat good, and not go hog wild, i will have undone everything i have achieved----

Yes, the chili IS great over the cauli...I did it a lot in the past month and it always felt like a decadent dinner :)

good to know-----while being a little rougish do you ever eat the same veggie in the same day.....

Yep--I'm probably more than "a little roguish"! Lol Basically I eat all low carb veggies, mix them, sometimes eat the same one twice in a day, eat fat free and just stay between 500-600 calories. The egg beaters omelet with fat free cheese and sautéed veggies was a lifesaver this time around! As I said earlier, I lost more this round being totally rogue than any of my other protocol rounds!

Weighed in this morning with a 1.2 loss......i'll take it, that makes a total of 10# for this round, have about 10 more to go....i am going to stay a little rougish, it makes it a little more tolerable....today and tomorrow with no hcg--we are having a brunch on Christmas, so lots of eggs and meats, hope to stay away from the desserts and breads....

for lunch today i am going to do the p2 chili over the cauli, i don't want to get burned out on the cauli either, so i am going to get a few groceries tomorrow morning, so will pick up more LC veggies and think up some more hot dishes and soups...

have a great day.....

That is wonderful news!!! Thanks for reporting in.

Merry Christmas to you.

Good day all! I decided to "weigh in" my opinion here. I just came back from a cruise. I was terrified to step on the scale because I knew what I had consumed during those 11 days! I was positive I had gained at least 10lbs. I waited 2 days and took the plunge and either my brand new scale is broken and stuck reading 196.6 or I really didn't gain anything on the cruise. So now you may ask, what did I do?

I ate bacon for breakfast every morning. I loaded up with 8-10 pieces. I also had a couple fried eggs with it. This helped me to feel no hunger all day. I skipped lunch most days and indulged in a huge supper with wine and cheesecake every evening. I still don't believe it!

I started loading for my second round today. I'm loving reading this rogue thread. I'll see how things go and just might add some rogueishness to my second round. I plan for it to be a little shorter because of another upcoming vacation. I'd like to be at least in P4 for that one so I'll end this round January 31.

That's awesome Shrinking!! I'm going on a 7 day cruise in a little over a month and I'm scared to death! LOL I've been on a few before and so I know what to expect...except this Princess cruise has fresh-made pizza to order right next to the pool every day! Pizza is the one food I would choose if I could never have anything else! It would also be my last meal if I ever had to choose! LOL

Have any of your tried doing HCG with a protein drink? I have one that is less than a gram of fat and less than a gram of sugar and only 90 calories..Just thinking of trying HCG again to go with it.

So as promised (to myself) I will be starting my round on Jan. 3rd. BUT my rogueness has changed:lol:I got enticed by the potato hack thread (JUDDD) and thought hey, maybe I could incorporate that into my first 3 VLCDs. 20 oz. of plain potato (425 cals) and whatever FF broth I need to make it work up to 500 cals. Then I will switch back to my usual rogue plan!

I start drops tomorrow, I've pretty much been loading for weeks now :hyst: so won't be doing much different in that regards.

See ya'll soon!

J4, I'm very interested in learning how your potato hack goes