VQ's Big hcg Adventure!

[CherylB]

You can always buy boobs! That's what I always like to say. I have a neck thing going on. The turkey wobble? I hope that tightens up over time. If not, I'm going to be using a hair clip on the back of my neck to take up the slack.

[bacon bit]

Cheryl Omg Hahahaha!

[verbqueen]

Not much action today--down .2, to 160.6. I'll take it--at the very least, it means my 160 "held."

Crazy busy day, so probably won't get back till later tonight or tomorrow.

Bad news for my beloved Oklahoma State Cowboys--our second fatal plane crash for our basketball program in ten years. Our well-loved women's basketball coach and three others died in a small plane crash late last night. So sad for the girls and for our school.

Gonna be hard to be "up" for the big Iowa State football game tonight, but they'd want us to soldier on and cheer loudly.

[CherylB]

That's such terrible news about the plane crash. May they all find comfort and peace. (You, too.)

See you again when you have time to post. Pray for those who died and for those who loved them. I know you will.

[verbqueen]

Good morning, world. Down to a shocking 158.8 this morning. I can't decide when I should stop--go for another pound or two, or make today my last dosing day?

I'll ponder it...

Have a great Saturday!

[CherylB]

I just got back home from riding and OH BOY do I have stiff hips. I just took 800 mg of Advil and I'm in my PJ's, relaxing. It was embarrassing when I went to mount the horse because I got my left foot in the stirrup and then couldn't swing my right leg over without some help! I asked the girl to give my leg a little push and then I was in the saddle.

I would have expected them to give me a horse that size back before I lost all this weight. This horse could have handled me back around 234 lbs! This was over-kill to be sure. He was a big boy. But even if they had given me a smaller horse, I lack flexibility; especially in my hips. I've always had very tight tendons. I could never even approach anything that looked like a split when I was a teenager.

So, after that, my hips began to loosen up some and I felt like all would be fine. There were four others that were supposed to be riding during that hour and I was the only one who showed. So it was just me and Lori. The temps were in the mid 40's but there was a definite "breeze" which made it feel more like upper 30's. I was fine except for my cheeks during the ride.

The stable itself is very nice and the people are very nice but I'm less than thrilled for a couple of reasons. First, where they take you for a trail ride needs to be gotten to by walking the horses along two roads first. There are two road crossings and then you hang a left to get into the "park" which really wasn't scenic at all.

So, after you get off the large rut that you walk the horses in along the roads, you then take a very rocky (large rocks) wide path (full of ruts from water run-off) up a hill and then it levels out and becomes more sandy. I attempted to get my horse (Merc, named after some guy) to ride beside Lori because with the wind it was difficult to have a conversation. He was more comfortable in the fall-back position with his head practically joined to Lori's horse's buttocks.

So, we got to a certain place and she turned the horses back around and we did the entire thing again. It would have been much nicer if it was a loop trail so that you see different things the entire ride. And it would be great if we rode up into the woods that adjoins their property so there were no roads to cross and ride beside.

Other than that, it was great! It was a good first-ride to break me in after 17 long years of not riding. They have the trail riding, lessons, they board horses and they even offer a "leasing" program. I was asking about that. I was given the phone number to a woman who could fill me in on the details. Basically, you are paying for riding lessons, but you also get to come and ride your leased horse once (or whatever you are paying for in your plan) another time during the week. You get to brush it, saddle it and everything!

Only problem with that is you have to then ride him in the ring outside. I guess once the trainer sees what you are capable of doing, they "loosen the reigns" on you. It is fun to walk a horse, but sometimes you just have to break into a trot or cantor. It takes no skin to sit and steer a horse left and right and get them to stop. And you gain no experience that way either.

But for now, until B&R stables open back up in May, I will ride at Lee's. I'm going to see what it costs for the leasing deal. That would be very cool and it would be something I've never experienced (saddling, etc.)

I will post a couple pics now but they are nothing great.

(I copied and pasted this from my journal. The pics didn't translate so I'll have to post them later. Also, I will get caught up on the new posts here as soon as I post this on all my subscribed threads. BBL)

[CherylB]

Originally Posted by verbqueen

Good morning, world. Down to a shocking 158.8 this morning. I can't decide when I should stop--go for another pound or two, or make today my last dosing day?

I'll ponder it...

Have a great Saturday!

AWESOME! This is exciting, girlfriend! Can't wait to see where you choose to call "home."

[CherylB]

Here are the best of the pics. The one of my face was a self portrait. It was pretty dang cold and very sunny.

[verbqueen]

What a totally cool thing for you to do! I LOVE the pictures! So, so cool! I'm really impressed, because horses terrify the crap out of me. They're so gigantic and unpredictable!

[CherylB]

Thanks, Jessica. I'm so glad I went. I've wanted to for forever. Now I can check it off my "bucket list" and keep on going if I want to. I'm planning to go at least once each month until Spring. The weather will dictate how much I go.

... and singing in front of an audience would "terrify the crap" out of me! We all have our neurosis! (Correction: Neuroses, plural.)

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by verbqueen

Good morning, world. Down to a shocking 158.8 this morning. I can't decide when I should stop--go for another pound or two, or make today my last dosing day?

I'll ponder it...

Have a great Saturday!

Way to go Jess! I'm doing the same thing. I was down 1.9 myself. If it wasn't for Thanksgiving next week I think I'd stop. But I've totally convinced myself I'm going to enjoy the holiday with a couple of starchy treats (hopefully without going overboard) and then move on to P3 clean as a whistle for three weeks.

[verbqueen]

Weird--I'm right back up much of the 1.8 I was down yesterday--back to 160.2.

Not worried--I know that weight is "there" because I saw it yesterday and I couldn't possibly have packed on a pound and a half of body fat overnight, so it's being masked by water.

Terri, I'm kinda with you--I want to eat potatoes on Thanksgiving. I can pass up pie and rolls, but my heart is set on some mashed potatoes with gravy.

Anyway, at least till I get back to yesterday's low, I'm going to keep going.

I've got another music-filled day--kid choir singing this morning, Messiah rehearsal this afternoon. Gotta run. Happy Sunday, friends.

[CherylB]

Have a fun day today, Jessica! Happy Sunday! Our bodies always seem to do a little "freak out" at a certain weight. It's like they've been snoozing and then suddenly they wake up and say, "Wait a minute! Where are you taking me??" Then they come back around and relax, letting go of the water they grabbed onto in desperation.

[Debbi]

Thanks so much Verbqueen for the help - I finally figured out it was the way I was saving the photo - instead of jpg I was saving as a compressed file which is why it wouldn't work. I posted my pics in my journal and on the before/after thread in the Main Lobby. Now I just need a current picture, probably will take it at Thanksgiving.

Thanks so much for the help!!

[TerriMM]

I don't know what it is girl, maybe mashed potato dreams I was up 1.1 today as well. I hear ya though, I saw it with my own eyes yesterday, three times

[CherylB]

That's hysterical, Terri! Jessica, how are you doing today? Looking forward to your news for Monday!

[verbqueen]

Mysteriously up even a smidge more, to 160.4. No clue why. But decided I want to see that "5" in my number before I stop dosing, so I'll soldier on. If I'm not in P3 by Thanksgiving, so be it. (Actually, we aren't having the big turkey feast until Friday, because Dave and Ian don't get in until late in the day on Thursday. So I have an extra day.)

I did have a rather significant visit from that fairy whose name can't be mentioned in polite company this morning, so maybe that will help. It had been something like 5 days!

Anyway, I'm not worried. I'll get there. Who can gain wait for more than two days in a row on 500 calories? It defies the laws of physics! Or the laws of SOMETHING.

[CherylB]

Message received, zero distortion.

That's great that you have a bonus day before Thanksgiving! You'll be in the 50's again by then. I have faith in you.

[TerriMM]

I would appreciate it if you would get back to Saturday's weight please as my body has decided to mimic yours. I'm up .40 today my self

Have a great day and drink up, I am

[verbqueen]

Hmmm....I suspect a conspiracy! They must be secretly scheming against us when we're not looking!

[bacon bit]

Jessica, yesterday late in the day and I was up something like 2-3 pounds. Fortunately my problem is a monthly one. I didn't realize it at the time, though...never fun right when you've reached a new decade to do that decade dance. Boo. Hiss.

[CherylB]

I LOVE that "decade dance"! I dance it so seldom, though.

[verbqueen]

159.8 this morning! Still not back to Saturday morning, but back in the elusive desired decade. So today will be my last dosing day. I will eat VLC tomorrow and Thursday, then I will eat Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. I may call that an interruption and do a few more dosing days afterward, to solidly put myself in the 150s. We shall see. But I am going to eat my Thanksgiving dinner with a clear conscience. One meal on a day of celebration is not an unreasonable thing to want, right?

In other news--I still have some burned brown flecks on my hands and arms, but they are still rubbing, flaking and peeling off, and I am pleased with the results. I definitely will get more IPL, when I can find a good deal for it! I've started closely watching those coupon mailers and looking closely at Groupon every day.

Friday of next week is my vein doctor appointment to see about my varicose veins, and I'm excited to get this process started. These veins have been plaguing me for years, and it's about time I dealt with them.

Finally, on the loose skin front: it improves from week to week. I believe it's as Deb said--your skin will take the amount of time it takes to get smaller, regardless of how fast the weight comes off. You can either lose it fast and wait for your skin to catch up, or you can lose it slowly and your skin will still need the same amount of time. I'd rather wait for my skin while weighing less!

I took a three week round of CLA/GLA, and I will start another one next week. I've been steadily taking MSM for quite some time now and will continue. Whether these actually do anything or not--who knows? But they couldn't hurt.

I'm headed out to pick up a few final Thanksgiving dinner items (though we won't be having ours until Friday.) Wishing anyone who's out there a happy day!

[verbqueen]

Originally Posted by bacon bit

Jessica, yesterday late in the day and I was up something like 2-3 pounds. Fortunately my problem is a monthly one. I didn't realize it at the time, though...never fun right when you've reached a new decade to do that decade dance. Boo. Hiss.

Heidi--look at you in the 140s, girl!

And I gotta say--don't miss having a monthly weight problem ONE LITTLE (bacon) BIT!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your babies!

[verbqueen]

P.S. One of my stops today is to get a couple of new bras! My DD bras with the molded foam cups are still standing proud and tall, but if you peek inside, they're not fully occupied! Hahaha! Kinda hollow in there...

I think I'll be back to 36D. I wore 36C forever, but I think time and gravity have probably seen to it that a C cup is not in my future...

OK, I'm out!

[CherylB]

You are in good spirits today! Me too. I agree that you should enjoy your turkey day meal. Life is for the living. I like that you are open to the idea of a few more dosing days after Thanksgiving.

The skin thing is something I won't find out about for a while yet. I really hope tightening does occur to a major degree.

Glad to hear about the spots still coming off! Hope the vein appointment goes great, too. You're going to look so much younger, Jessica! Watch out, world! Verbqueen is coming through!

[rice paddie]

Have fun with the bra shopping. I've never had much luck with those molded cup bras....I must just have odd shaped boobs because they never quite look right in those molded cup bras...ever....go figure...

[pooticus]

Happy Thanksgiving Jess! So happy you are back in the 150s today!!!!

[rice paddie]

Hey - if I don't get a chance to get back on these boards before tomorrow, have yourself a great Thanksgiving!

[verbqueen]

Thanks, Pooti and Rice. I'm wishing both of you a very pleasant holiday--all about family, rather than all about food, right?!

I didn't get to the bra shopping yesterday, but luck is with me. Today I got a coupon from Soma for buy one get one 50% off starting TODAY. Guess it was meant to be. So I'm shortly on my way to the Soma store (which, alas, is a half hour drive from here...)

I did find a formal top to wear with the one remaining long black skirt I have that still fits, sorta, for the Messiah on Sunday. I'm singing a solo--He Shall Feed His Flock--and the attire is concert black. Since I have to stand up there all alone, I want clothes that fit.

I'm definitely in a stall, here--down .2 to 159.6 today. I've said it before, but how can you NOT lose on 500 calories a day? I've only lost 1.4 pounds for the entire second week of this round. I'm not dosing today or tomorrow, and taking an interruption on Friday when we have our family Thanksgiving. Then I'll see what I want to do after that.

Have a great "Thanksgiving Eve," friends!