HCG Day 24

It turns out that I am getting immune to the HCG, so I will have to cut this round short.  I will spend the next three days on the 500 calorie diet, then the three weeks of limited eating.  During the first 20 days, I lost 21 pounds, so I am currently 195 pounds.  My doctor said I could start another round in about six weeks, but that probably won't happen - I will probably start again at the new year; January 2nd or so.
I will have more time to train for the Color Run, and I hope that perhaps I can make it under 190 pounds by then.
I believe the 20 day rounds won't be as difficult...

HCG Day Twelve...

Today is actually day two of being under 200 pounds; yesterday I was 199.6, today I was 199.2.  The weight loss is starting to slow, but that's okay; I have lost seventeen pounds in twelve days.  Yes, some was weight gained from my period, but it's still pretty good.  The next goal I have is to be under 190, and I don't know whether or not I will get there.  Any weight under 190 changes my designation from "obese" to "overweight", so it is pretty important.  I also want to be as light as possible to do the Color Run, which is 15 December.
Emotionally, my depression is absolutely crazy, and the changes in the people around me make me angry and sad; why wasn't the real me good enough?  Why do I have to be physically attractive to even consider having my emotional needs met?  Not having a counselor is also wearing on me; having no one to bounce all of these feelings off of.
The diet is still difficult, especially when I have to put out cheese cubes for the little girl I watch (and want the cheese really badly).  I was having trouble with physical hunger at first, but now it is the emotional/mental hunger again; in fact, when I eat my two "meals", I get full half way through them, and have to stretch out eating them so I can get it all down.
Hanging on by the fingernails...

HCG Round Five Begins

This is day three of round five... and this is the first time that I have been heavier than when I ended the time before.  I ended at 207, and I started this round at 216.  Depressing, but I will deal with it.  I have been as heavy as 226 and as light as 199.2 (for two seconds).
This is the last day of "eat fatty stuff", and I have just shopped for my food.  The only thing missing is my mustard... I am so addicted to the stuff, and you can only find it in one place -- this special shop in Belleair.
Physically, I have trained myself up to running over four miles (I ran 4.5 a couple of times), my time consistent at about 15-16 minutes (have run just under 14 minutes a few times).  I have broken in the Vibram Fivefingers shoes, and run exclusively in them.
I need to be diligent; my going under 200 pounds is now a maybe instead of a definite... and then I will have to hit the ground running to train for the Color Run on December 15th... my first 5K.  I have considered hiring a trainer... maybe...

Catching Up Since Round Four Ended

It has been a busy time for me.  Round four ended last Saturday (May 19th).
Weight wise, it has been a rough road; I lost twenty-one pounds to make 207.2 (I believe) on that day, and on that day I got my period and lost three pounds in two days.  Whatever.  Currently I am about 205 pounds and holding.
Physically, I can run a 5K!  It only took me about a week to do that.  I bought myself some barefoot running shoes, Vibram Fivefingers, and I ran two miles on them once; I like them, but I will take the advice of an article I read and swap them with regular running shoes so I don't injure myself.
Food-wise, I am struggling some.  I want food for sure.  It has also gotten blistering hot in Florida (about 98 degrees) so I am very dehydrated.
Need a nap....

HCG Round Four Day Thirty-One?

My mind is a terrible thing.  I can't remember stuff, so if I forget something for you, remind me a lot.  I finally lost another pound, so hopefully that continues.  That is twenty pounds down this round, one hundred twenty-five total.  I will probably not make my goal of one-hundred-and-something, but not a surprise... :P
This is my one stress-free week, so I am trying to sleep a lot (since I am usually sleep deprived).  I still walk 2 - 2 1/2 miles a day, 4 1/2 - 5 on Wednesdays and a 5k on Saturdays; I want to run though.

HCG Round Four Day Twenty-Six (I Think)...

I have trouble figuring out what day is what when I do this diet... how many shots I have left is the only way... I have four left in the fridge and ten more after that... so I have seventeen days before I can eat relatively normal again.  Whew!  So much mental energy just for that.  Well, today is my last college final, so my mental energy has had to be concentrated.
The diet is going okay... I am somewhat hungry though.  I walk 2 - 2 1/2 miles a day, and have gone (this round) from 228 pounds to 209 so far.  I am very weak, and my eyes are dry, but still pushing on...
Emotionally I am very unstable; it is a combination of not seeing a counselor and having people treat me differently because I am somebody all of a sudden.  I will soon only see a "1" in front of my weight, and that seems to give me a status of some sort.  I don't understand...
Oh, and a Happy Birthday to my husband...

HCG Round Four Day Thirteen

Whew! The extra time off was correct; this round is as fierce as the first one. I am not quite as weak as a kitten, but that is because I keep B12 manufacturers in business. I started this round at 228.2, I think, and now I am 219.6... I had to use a calculator to do the math :D... that is 8.6 pounds down, just over 113 pounds total.
The weakness is there, but my eyes are drying out again and the constipation is back too. I feel fortunate that the side effects are not too much that I couldn't do the diet, that they can be somewhat neutralized.
As for hunger, I am mentally starving! I think that it is because of the immense pressure I am under at the moment.... last two weeks of college classes, last three weeks of my son's school, changes at church; the list goes on, but the result is that I want food. I have actually reached out for food I cannot have and then checked myself. My only "cheat" was that I accidentally licked barbeque sauce off my finger when I was at lunch with my husband (he had the boneless wings, I had the 3.5oz. of steak and broccoli like I was supposed to). So I definitely thank God and repeat my mantra a lot... "I can do anything for forty days".

HCG Round Four Day One

This day could not have started worse; my nightmares are tamer, and that's saying something. During the last two days, I have gained three pounds and this morning, on my last run, I was five minutes behind my usual time! Can anxiety, stress and depression really cripple someone this badly this fast? Cheese Whiz! I have been very anxious about this round, which confuses me... I have done this three times before!
Well, so my official starting weight (cringe) is 228.2. This is the gorge period, but I am afraid of that too. I changed my chicken nuggets into a double burger at Burger King. My goal is now a maybe, that I will be one-hundred-and-something at the end of this round, but you know, I have always set a goal that was just out of reach... what's with that anyway?

HCG Round Four is Coming....

I took a major break, but round four of HCG will be within the week. I read what I have and realized that I have never really talked about how much thought goes into this for me. Yes, anyone who knows me knows that I am CDO (OCD put in order) and that I over-think and make lists for everything; this diet is no exception.
I actually plan what I am going to eat over the three-day binge period; this time, I will do McDonalds as usual (with my crappy eating coach, Luke), a KFC bowl, a breakfast sandwich at Chick-Fil-A, a quiche from the cafe down the road, a blizzard and Charlie & Millie's Pizza.
The diet itself (the next forty days) is pretty set in stone, since I am a picky eater, lettuce (baby greens), Wasa bread, chicken or turkey and a strawberry sorbet with the four strawberries I am allowed, and once or twice I will have half a steak and a serving of broccoli at Applebees. I drink Powerade Zero and tons of herbal tea.
When I get off the diet, I will most likely have a list of things that I ran across during the forty days that I wanted to eat but could not; I have them mentally filed as well. If it is not sugar or carbs, I can add a few to the next two weeks. What I crave the most during this two week modified diet is cheese (perfect food).
After the two week modified diet, I can (technically) eat what I want to. This is the time that my weight greatly fluctuates, and I have to take a week or two to finally figure the food thing out. After that, eating is not so much of a big deal until I have to prepare for the next round (and hopefully round five will be the last one).

The End Of HCG Round Three

Whew! Well I didn't reach my goal (100 pounds lost), but I did reach ninety-eight! Hopefully I can get those two pounds during this hiatus.
Speaking of that, I believe that I am going to add two weeks, so I will be waiting nine weeks to start round four.
So my weight is now 235 and measurements are chest 34.5, waist 39, hips 53.5. Not too bad... still have eighty-three pounds to go...

HCG Round Three... Day Thirty-Seven

Whew! I have been having a hard time with the diet this time, and I have a theory or two about that.
I have only lost twenty pounds this time so far, which translates to ninety-five pounds lost in total. I know I shouldn't worry about it considering that the weight is going downward, but I have lost very little in about two weeks.
I wonder, first off, if I am not developing an immunity to the HCG; that perhaps I need to take a longer hiatus before starting round four...
I also wonder if I have just been "deprived" for too long and my body and mind are torturing themselves....
Or is it some combination of the two concepts; I think perhaps this is the right one... so I have been doing some computations as to possibly lengthen the time between rounds. I know it is risky to be off the diet for a prolonged period of time at this stage, but I think the rest will jump start things.
I have had a few problems this time too; the weakness is back - I take A LOT of B-12, the eyes are dry but not as bad this time, I have burning pain in the chest muscles and I need to chew. The chewing started when I had to take cough drops (sugar free of course) for the two bouts of flu I had at the beginning of this round. I have not been able to get away from it, which may be the cause of my feelings of hunger (mental hunger).
On a good note, I have lost ninety-five pounds, I can wear a size 20, XL and in some cases a L, people have noticed that I have lost some poundage at this point.