I text my SIL this afternoon to let her know I'm still going strong on HCG. 10.2 lbs lost since weigh-in Tuesday -- that was only 4 days ago! It's all so mind-boggling and hasn't quite set in . . . but that's for another post.

Anywho, she asked me what I eat and I figured I'll let all you know. But since all I hear are crickets on this site these days (my own fault, I know), I'll let them know instead.

The brand of HCG I'm using is Healthy HCG. The ABSOLUTE only reason I'm using a product from the internet is because I know others who have used the brand and have been very successful on the diet with no health problems or negative side effects. Otherwise I wouldn't touch the stuff with a ten foot pole and would still be 10 lbs heavier.

Every day I'm allowed 2 servings from each category:
~3.5 oz. of protein (I've mostly been eating chicken breast, but yesterday I had some beef fajitas and today I had low-fat cottage cheese!)
~Veggies (I stick with fresh spinach, tomatoes, romaine lettuce & cucumber. There are more options but this is all I've had so far.)
~Fruit (only apples, oranges, strawberries, & 1/2 grapefruit)
~Starches (1 Melba Toast; I have 1 serving of Melba Snacks since I couldn't find the full-size Melba Toast at the store)

The only stipulation is you cannot eat 2 from the same category at one meal. So that means lettuce with no tomatoes; cooked cabbage with no onions for flavor; cucumbers with no hummus to dip it in. Ok, so chickpeas aren't a veggie, but we're still not allowed to eat them!

I'm learning some tricks, tho. For example, sometimes I'll eat half a serving of fruit and then save the other half for a snack later. I don't know if it's completely legal, but it's what my friend's do. And yes, if they jumped off a bridge I would too!

I'll leave you with a snapshot of my dinner from the other day:

That's 3.5 oz of cooked chicken breast cut up and seasoned with a bit of cumin, cinnamon, salt & pepper. Boiled in about half an inch of water, of course, since no oils are allowed. I had to have it with a cup of strawberries since I reached my limit of veggies by eating tomatoes for breakfast and spinach for lunch. I ended up eating all the chicken first, then squeezed some lemon juice and sprinkled some pepper over the strawberries. Sounds odd, but it's oh so yummy! Even better if you use lime juice instead! I washed it all down with an ice cold glass of water with a squeeze of lemon.

I'm sure I was still hungry after I ate it all . . .

Apple Time!

I <3 Apple Time.

So sweet and crunchy.

When someone's eating watermelon I just close my eyes, inhale the sweet scent, bite my apple's flesh and pretend it's watermelon.

It almost works.

When I'm eating the apple without the scent of watermelon in the air, I enjoy apple time even more.

But I'm still hungry . . .

HCGee, I'm hungry!

Ok, so obviously I didn't keep up with the whole diet and exercise thing. Life got in the way. My grandma passed away and then my uncle's cancer started rapidly progressing shortly thereafter. We lost him just a week before Christmas. After the dust from all that settled, the reality of being unemployed for over a year hit me. Thankfully, the Lord opened a door at a school for a long-term subbing position and that has led to full-time employment for next year! PTL!

Anywho, back to the hungry part.

Basically, I stopped trying. I stopped logging my calories. I stopped exercising. I stopped weighing-in. I stopped caring.

And then before I knew it my clothes stopped. They stopped being comfortable. They stopped hiding my rolls. They stopped fitting.

Something had to be done.

I was sick of trying the same old. I start off motivated and then lose steam after a few weeks and months of seeing no change. I could never lose more than 20 lbs; if that!

Some co-workers started a new diet and were disappearing before my eyes. I asked them for their secret. Simple: HCG. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. (Don't ask me how to pronounce that, and please click the link for a definition; I'm too famished to type it all out here!)

I thought they were crazy -- drops that curbed hunger so much they only needed to eat 500 calories per day?! Say WHAT?! I could never be that disciplined. Or crazy.

Well, turns out I am that crazy.

However, it has yet to be determined whether I am that disciplined.

I've survived four official days so far: two days "loading" on fattening foods while starting the drops, and two days on the 500 calorie diet.

I gained 1 lb. during the loading days.  I lost 4.4 lbs. after one day on the strict diet! I couldn't believe it, so I had to weigh myself three times -- each time it was the same!

My friends/coworkers are so happy for me and very supportive. Sadly, school is over in a few short days and my daily support system will disappear. I know I can still call, text and email, but it's not the same. So, as added accountability it's my intention to regularly post here again. I probably won't post my daily weigh-ins and food log everyday, but I'll do my best. I'll probably talk about all the foods I miss as well. And talk about how hungry I am.

Call me crazy, but you know what they say about desperate times -- it calls for desperate dieting!

I don't know what day this is . . .

But this is my food log for Monday, October 4:

Breakfast:  1 oz almonds, 1/2 c grapes
Lunch:  Fajita Taco Salad from Ninfa's, tortilla chips & salsa
Snack:  Banana
Dinner:  Ground turkey cooked w/ cabbage in a little pan gravy (just ww flour & chicken stock), cooked broccoli topped w/ cheddar, pinto beans
Snack:  1/2 c cookies & cream Blue Bell ice cream (yeah, yeah, i know, i know! )

Exercise:
Strength training exercises and stretching (I did my cardio yest)

Drank 9 glasses of water.

I had a loss in my weigh-in today!  Only 8 oz, but still! 

Last week was the first time I had a gain (it was only 4 oz, thankfully), so I'm glad to have gone back down this week!  And this month was the first time I had losses in ALL my measurements!  Overall, it's not loads, but I'm feeling my clothes fitting looser.  Wahoo!

Sorry to let my logging fall by the wayside!

UGH! 

I got behind logging and one day slipped into another and then another and then a week and then a month.  Yikes!

But I didn't want to let anymore time pass before getting back on track w/ the food logging/tracking!  So, better late than never!

Don't worry, I won't back log three and a half week's worth of meals!  I'll just start from today.

Day 53
Breakfast:  Oatmeal sweetened w/ agave nectar and cooked w/ apples & cinnamon
Snack:  Orange
Lunch:  1 whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter & banana
Snack:  1/2 cup cottage cheese w/ pineapple; an apple
Dinner:  Pepperoni & mushroom Pizza Hut pizza (yeah, all that healthy food seemed too good to be true!  Lol), salad w/ spinach, carrots, celery, tomatoes & italian dressing
Snack:  Orange

Exercise:
40 mins walking during which I did the Couch to 5K Week 1, Day 2 training program (that lasts abt 30 mins)
A few strength training exercises from SparkPeople

Drank 9 glasses of water.


My eating hasn't be atrocious, but it hasn't been as good as it should be.  Life got a bit stressful and I was definitely comfort eating.  Plus I get tired of constantly cooking the same things because they're easy go-to meals.  I need to make a conscious effort to finding new quick and easy meals.

Also, I've consistently lost weight each week since starting back in August.  This week was the first week I've had a slight gain of 4 ounces.  Next week I might still have a gain since I started running two days ago and I already feel my muscles tightening up (everywhere I read says there's usually some weight gain after starting the C25K training due to building muscle).  But I'm not too discouraged because I feel a difference in my clothes and there's even some difference in my measurements.  I'll share specifics on Monday after weighing in on OWOA.

Anywho, I'll also soon share more specifics about the C25K program and SparkPeople.  And hopefully my food log will look a little lighter tomorrow!  Stupid pizza!

Day 31

Still can't believe I've been at this for a whole month!

Breakfast:  Oatmeal cooked w/ water, sweetened w/ agave nectar and topped w/ a teaspoon of light brown sugar (I just couldn't resist that indulgence!)
Snack:  Whole wheat toast w/ pb & banana
Lunch:  Leftover whole wheat lassagna & Green Bean, Tomato & Feta Salad Oreganato from Kalyn's Kitchen (YUM!)
Dinner:  Taco Salad w/ romaine, ground turkey taco meat, tomatoes, guacamole, cheddar cheese & a small amount of Italian dressing ((I didn't have salsa since my blender died :o( )); 1/2 c Mexican rice

Exercise:  3 mile walk. 
I felt so good during the walk I just kept going and going.  Then when I got home I thought I was going to die!  My head was banging and my muscles were aching.  Altho it wasn't 100 degrees it was still over 90 and fairly humid (not as bad as last few weeks/months).  I suppose I'm used to keeping cool in the pool and am not used to working so hard in the hot sun!

Drank 10-11 glasses of water (can't remember exactly).


I'm nervous that it's practically midnight and I'm still awake.  I need to get up at 5:30 and will be working until 7:30 p.m.  It's gonna be a LONG day!  I'm also a bit nervous -- it's my first day subbing.  Thankfully it's for a friend's class at a school I tutored in last semester.  They have a full-time kinder position open, so please pray the day goes well and they see that I'm a good teacher and would want me to work for them!  Lol!  Thanks!

Day 30

Holy moley, that's basically a month!  How does time fly so quickly???

Breakfast:  Whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter and banana
Lunch:  Leftover eggplant parm & whole wheat angel hair
Dinner:  Whole wheat lassagna & salad w/ romaine, tomatoes, green onions & avocado, dressed w/ Kraft Tuscan Italian Dressing

No exercise

Drank 11 glasses of water

Today I was down 1 lb from last week.  That HAS to be all the water I've been drinking 'cause Lord knows I went way off plan multiple times last week!  Plus I didn't exercise as hard as the previous weeks.  So it'll be interesting to see what happens at weigh in next week...

Labor Day Weekend: Days 27-29

Saturday, Day 27
Breakfast:  Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancakes, scrambled eggs, Hillshire Farms smoked turkey sausage
Snack:  Kiwi
Lunch:  Guacamole, Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips, pear
Dinner:  2 Turkey hot dogs on whole wheat buns, chili, cheese, onions, potato chips
Snack:  Cuppa & Black Bean Brownies

Exercise:
1 hr swimming w/ the kiddos

Drank at least 8 glasses of water


Sunday, Day 28
Breakfast:  Jennie-O turkey breakfast sausage links, toast
Lunch:  Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread w/ mustard; a pear
Snack:  Banana
Dinner:  Ground beef & lentil tacos on whole wheat tortilla with salsa, cheese & sour cream; Mexican rice
Snack:  1 Black Bean Brownie

No exercise

Drank 10 glasses of water


Monday, Day 29
Breakfast:  Cheese toast
Lunch:  Cheese Enchiladas w/ rice & beans; tortilla chips & salsa; guacamole; menudo (Can you tell what we ate for Labor Day lunch?  So bad but so yummy!!!)
Snack:  Small Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzard (Can ya guess where where we stopped for our pit stop??)
Snack:  Pear, kiwi
Dinner:  Oatmeal cooked w/ water and sweetened w/ agave
Snack:  1/2 cup grape tomatoes (I needed to get my 5th serving of veggies in.  Lol!)

Exercise: 
SparkPeople 10 min cardio boot camp workout, Day 1
SparkPeople strength training exercises

Drank 12 glasses/3 liters of water

I didn't weigh-in this morning since I was in Waco.  You'd think since I had an extra day before I weighed in I would be extra good so I'd have a big loss.  Nope.  I stuffed my face with Mexican food instead.  And stopped for an oreo blizzard when I started getting sleepy on the road.  But I did forgo the hot dogs my dad made for dinner (I've had WWAAYYYY too many lately!) and opted for oatmeal instead. 
To be honest, I didn't intend to do any exercise tonight, but then I started watching the new Bravo show Thintervention with Jackie Warner and it motivated me to get off my butt and at least do some strength training exercises.  From there I went ahead and did 10 min of cardio while I watched the rest of the show.  I know 10 min isn't much, but it's better than the zero min I had originally planned on doing! 
Hopefully I can get back on track this week since the kiddos are gone.  It's a short week and I have a subbing assignment set up for Thrus & Fri, so that will help get me out of the house and keep from snacking!  Plus help my overall mental well-being.

YIKES!

Sorry I got so far behind with logging my food!  I went to Waco on Tuesday to pick up my nephews and niece and brought them back to Houston (the same afternoon!).  So I've had a taste of what it's like looking after 3 kids from morning to evening, all the while having to plan their meals, entertainment, settle disputes, etc.  Whew!  You mothers are amazing! 

Without further adieu, here is the good, the bad and the ugly of my eating this week:

Tuesday, Day 23
Breakfast:  Leftover lassagna & handful of carrots (odd choice, I know, but I wanted something filling so I wouldn't be tempted w/ fast food while spending 6 hrs in the car.  Did it work?  Keep reading...)
Lunch:  McDonalds McDouble (yeah, didn't help so much, but at least I didn't have fries!), Diet Coke, almonds
Snack:  Yum-Yum Mix (a trail mix my nephews, niece, and SIL put together.  It has peanuts, raisins, craisins & semi-sweet chocolate chips)
Dinner:  Sandwich & about 10 McD's fries (when we stopped for a restroom break I got some fries for the kids and took a few from each packet), 1/2 sugar cookie
Snack:  Watermelon

No exercise.

Ok, so Tuesday wasn't that great.  Stupid McDonald's and salt cravings!  One good thing is I did get 10 glasses of water down my pipe!  And had to make pit stops during each trip!


Wednesday, Day 24
Breakfast:  Whole wheat pita w/ WW cream cheese
Lunch:  Salad w/ romaine, tomatoes, carrots, chickpeas & feta; dressed w/ red wine vinegar & olive oil
Snack:  Banana
Snack:  Stacy's pita chips & hummus 
Dinner:  Turkey hot dogs on whole wheat buns w/ lentil chili, onions, relish & cheese; serving of Lay's classic potato chips (I had another moment of weakness RE salt)
Snack:  Cuppa & toast w/ peanut butter & cherry jam

Exercise:  35 min in the pool, but was hard to get consistent laps in while dodging 3 little monkeys jumping in the pool, but I did my best!

Met my water goal of 12 glasses!


Thursday, Day 25
Breakfast:  Oatmeal (sweetened w/ Splenda & a light sprinkle of light brown sugar.  Mmmm...)
Lunch:  Pho (Vietnamese rice noodle soup w/ thinly sliced round beef.  I took the kids 'cause they love learning about and trying foods from other cultures.  For an hour I forgot I was on a diet!  Lol!  But when I got home I was shocked to discover Pho doesn't have loads of calories!  Still, I would prob only eat it ever once and awhile 'cause it can be pricey!), fresh shrimp spring roll, fried egg roll
Snack:  Pear & Kiwi
Dinner:  Turkey chili, brown rice & helote (corn on the cob w/ Mexican style dip/sauce I mentioned a few wks ago - mayo, chili powder & hot sauce)
Snack:  Pita chips & mozzarella
Late Snack:  1/2 cup serving frosted mini shredded wheat w/ milk (I had a craving and it wouldn't go away!)

No exercise.

Drank 12 glasses of water!


Friday, Day 25
Breakfast:  Frosted mini shredded wheat w/ milk
Lunch:  Whole wheat pita w/ hummus, cucumbers, romaine; cherry tomatoes on the side; 10 M&M's
Snack:  Pear
Snack:  Stacy's Pita Chips & guacamole (my nephew made it and he was very excited about it!  It was yummy, too!)
Dinner:  Turkey Meatloaf, broccoli, sweet potato mash
Snack:  Watermelon
Snack:  Saltines & cheese (again w/ the salt cravings!)

No exercise

Drank 11-12 glasses of water (I lost track . . . but anything over 10 is considered goal met in my opinion!)


With the exception of Tuesday's McDonald's I managed to keep on track w/ my calories.  Again, I'm prob eating more carbs than I should and I obviously had major salt cravings this week.  Altho I haven't exercised as much as the previous weeks, I am moving around loads having to keep up w/ the kiddos.  And I'm thinking the drinking-3-liters-of-water-each-day-to-burn-75-to-100-calories thing might actually be working b/c to my shock and amazement, despite the daily indulgences and lack of movement, I'm a few ounces less than I was on Monday!  However, we'll see for sure on the official weigh in this coming Monday . . .

Do you know why drinking 3 liters of water a day helps people lose weight?

I know.

It's 'cause your stomach is so darn full of water there's no room for food!

On to week 4: Day 22

Breakfast:  Whole wheat pita & WW cream cheese
Lunch:  Banana & strawberry muffin, grapes (I was late to work so didn't have much time to grab some grub!)
Dinner:  Stuffed bell pepper, sweet potato mash (the pepper was DELISH!  I'll have to share the recipe later...)
Snack:  Pear
Snack:  Cuppa & whole wheat toast w/ pb & cherry jam

Exercise:
20 min walk (I went abt a mile.  The temp was actually in the 80s!  Altho extremely humid it was nice to get out and walk.  I would've gone farther but I started getting a blister on the back of my foot and didn't want to make it worse.  Guess I need to put more Vaseline further down on my foot next time!)
Strength training exercises from SparkPeople

I drank about 11 glasses of water today and 10 yesterday.  Still a bit shy of the 3 liters, but that's REALLY good for me!

Oh, and I was down 1.8 from my weigh-in last week!  I wonder if that means the water thing is working . . .