Thread: VLCD#1 May 5th, anyone else

Hey all,

Weighed in at 168 today.

I feel better than yesterday, thankfully. I still have a hard time sleeping and wake up often with a sore neck. Can't find a comfortable position. But once I got up at stretched today I felt better. Its just that overall soreness I still have left. But that's such a big improvement since Wednesdays Injections. I'm so glad I found that doc. It will take a couple of weeks to get back to normal anyway. I just can't get confident and get careless. MRI went well. I have to see the doctor next week and well go over,it. Im not overly worried, but I am curious as I've never had one done.

I went to trader joes and got all my veggies, fruit, fish and chicken. I have enough 3.5 oz bags of chicken and sirloin in the freezer for 2 weeks. Yay! I also mixed my hcg vial. Could only fit 3 mL in the 2000 IU vial, so I'll be injecting. 23 units instead of 30. I use 1/2 ml syringes, so 23 is really easy to measure anyway. I'll probably Have to lower my dose anyway, like last round, but I'll start at 150 just to be safe.

I got some chocolate almonds and coconut milk ice cream for loading tomorrow, and 2 4-packs of avocados! I'll also eat all the walnuts, macadamias, and pecans I have left (a lot lol)

Faithful, are you ready?? Yay!! First injection in less than 12 hours!

@4mh- congrats on the new car and breaking the stall! Have you done JR shakes yet? I saw some grape tomatoes today at got some. I figured I've never tried them and they work so well for you. Let's see!

@crystal- Thinking about my bmi when I was 217 a few months ago makes me shudder. So scary. Sp glad were not there anymore. And never will be again after finding hcg!

Hey again......... Yeah, I wasn't going to stop by, but I just had to check everyone out and say how great it is to be with a group of women who are working on tough stuff and sharing success and trials together. Got a present for you............. another recipe! MyDH does NOT like catfish, but that was what was on sale to day and I got some small filets. Figured I'd marinate them to mask the taste he doesn't like. I guess I went a little rogue, but it was so delicious that we were making ourselves slow down, because after all...... it's still 3.5 ounces.
OK, here it is......... drum roll..........
Marinate the catfish in Walton Farm's BBQ Sauce!!!!!!!
I dried the filets, and put them weighed and slathered in the sauce, on wax paper for an hour.
In the meantime I cut up cherry tomatoes, splashed a bit of cider vinegar over them and covered them liberally with dried Italian Seasoning.
It waited an hour also.
Then I put a tiny 1/2 tsp of coconut oil in the non-stick skillet and heated it medium high.
Dropped those babies in there and waited until a little bit of crust formed, apparently from the WFBBQ sauce. Flipped them once, fried separately of course.
It was heaven. Didn't taste like catfish at all. Tomatoes were good too. Then one perfect apple for desert.

So, I went off protocol and there in might be my problem, but I took the risk. 40 days is a long time!
Have any of you used coconut oil in P2? Come on, spill it, I won't tell Dr. Simeon. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'm still dizzy, though. Off to bed.

G'nite!

Lilly, Happy 31st Birthday!

Good Morning All!
4MyHealth- Thank you for the book recommendation. I do need to read to update my imformation and to stay motivated. I can get stuck in my own head too easily. Congratulations on your losses. I just can't imagine loosing from a 16 to a squeezable 4 in such a short time. No wonder you weren't recognized! Isn't it great? I too met someone I hadn't seen in a few years yesterday at the health food store. She has been thinking of doing HCG and commented on what a great advertisment we were for the success of it. I thought, hummmm, there is a lesson here. I have regained lots of weight since my lowest, but she saw how much success I have made. A good thing to focus on when we get discouraged. I just have to look at the before pictures and say "Never again!" How was the paddle boat ride? I am too weak and dizzy right now to do something like that! I have a great P3 muffin recipe that can also be a meal replacement. Remind me later if I forget. Love the nut flours!

Faithful- I did a little snooping about parm cheese. I used it at times in P4 to counter a high carb intake. It is so high in protien, but the sodium is through the roof! (3,592 mg) in 8 ounces. Still, it tastes soooooo good. But I will have to learn to moderate. Definitely I have to drink LOTS of water for it not to mess up my blood pressure. It's now in the freezer, making it hard to get to for any potential binge. But hey, I don't binge anymore, right? I hope you can ID the lymph node issue soon. What are the no-carb guidelines you are following? Dr. Simeon's or Atkins? I am wondering what the strict no-carb guideline is when fruit and veggies are both taken, just no sugar or starch.

Crystal- What can I say, girl? You have us all concerned. What does a black out mean to you? Do you actually pass out? You must guard your health. I know you said you will do protocol today but don't look for losses tomorrow. You have messed up your metabolism probably and it will take a few days to get back on track. Your brain needs carbs! That's why your mood is lifted. Really do stay on protocol for a while. There is probably some inflammation caused by the extremely low caloric intake. I would anticipate a moderate rise and then a settling out if not a loss. Still this can be life threatening. Very bad for your heart. Grammy cautions us not to fall pray to anorexia. It is a potential if we don't keep a balanced view of things. You don't have to be skinny to have it, it is a state of mind that leads to the deathly weight loss and cardiac death! I also saw the Oz show about gastric bypass surgery. I am somewhat skeptical of Dr. Oz. I gorged on his show for a while until I noticed it becoming very commercialized. The surgeon to surgeon talk promoting bariatric surgery was a money maker for surgeons. It is very expensive and after the initial recovery they are outa there! I would view their show with a skeptical eye. I know people have died or almost died from that surgery and others, a good percentage gain it back! My motto is that this diet is better than bariatric surgery! Your BMI is great, isn't it? On a more cheerful note...... HOW GREAT THAT YOU AND THE FAMILY GET TO GO HOME TO MONTANA!! I hope you enjoy just thinking about it and that it is amazing when you do get back in the bosom of the family.

Lilly- Happy Birthday! What a great day to start loading. I'm so glad you are feeling better. I need to know more about that coconut milk ice cream! What is the brand name? Is it Leptin friendly? So you used CO in P2? Can you tell me more about that? It made a huge diffrence in frying the fish last night. I only used such a tiny amount and would like to continue.

Cpow- How great to see the scales move, huh? I did and extended round last time and just when I was ready to give up the losses began again. I say keep it up as long as it works. That is the feel good part of HCG! It is so encouraging to hear about others who have succeeded in getting to Onederland. I think I will get fireworks for that occasion... just for me! Seriously.

Kundalini- Life without carbs is a frequent topic. Why do some do well and others not? I know Grammy is on the Leptin Reset but others have done well after going off HCG. I wonder if it has to do with the length of time on HCG? I'm willing to battle it out later. If giving up carbs is what is needed, then I will have not choice. We will see. I'm not getting my pants in a bunch right now. Who posted about ketones and carbs? I'm interested in looking at that myself.

Curvygirl- I think we are on the same wave length about the clutter and stuff. Now if I can just make an attempt. I'm thinking it means just one day at a time. But hey that's life, huh? I like Cpow's scripture verse. “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin..” Zechariah 4:10 That's my verse for the day.

AFM- I am down 7.8 lbs in five days. I will fix my signiture on Tuesday, but from here it is looking good. Last night I sat down with graph paper and started to chart my weekly losses over the past year. I didn't get it all finished but found it insightful that the gains I made came at specific times of stress, planned time off protocol or vacations. But, over all, the trend was dramaticlly down. Why is it so hard to keep the big picture in mind? When I was charting a period of a stall I realized that it always ended and even the times when I gained, it didn't make as much of a difference in the big picture as I had thought at the time. When I began HCG I kept telling myself two things. It's a marathon, not a sprint. and It's better than bariatric surgery! Somewhere along the way I lost my footing but this chart made me see that it really wasn't as bad as I believed. I'm going to put it on the refrigerator, I think........even if it is two full sheets of graph paper! Happy weekend everyone.

Good Morning Everyone

I was down .7 today - I'll take it. After losing so much ground this past week, I'm thankful for the loss!

@Moon - congrats on your losses in the first 5 days - awesome! So cute that you put your chart on graph paper - I take the easy way out and use Excel. I am the one with the lymph node issues and I think it was Faithful that recommended the book - I get confused keeping up with everyone as well We have a friend who got gastric bypass about 5 years ago. He's still as big today as he was before the surgery - so sad! Today or tomorrow we may go on our paddle boat ride. Not sure which day though.

@Lilly - hope you have a fabulous weekend with your girlfriends! Eat, drink, and be merry - that's what birthdays and loading are all about! I didn't try the JR but last night I tried the MRM that I have leftover from P3/P4. It's sweetened with stevia as well. I lost today which is a good thing so I plan on using it whenever the desire strikes. Remember that Hemp Protein (aka dirt) that I used occasionally last round in P2? I compared the nutritional info yesterday and found that that crap has 4g fat, 12 carbs, and 12 sugars (naturally occurring - I can't recall). It's amazing I didn't gain though!! I like the taste of the MRM but it doesn't 'froth' up - it's the consistency of water. Does JR get frothy? I've only used it with milk and yogurt in the past.

Where o where is Faithful? Come on girl, check in and tell us all about what you've gorged on so far

@Crystal - how are you feeling today now that you've fueled your body? My daily menu, besides yesterday with the protein shake, consists of a protein (chicken, tilapia, or eggs - 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites) for lunch with a salad (lettuce only) or cherry tomatoes, an apple for an afternoon snack, and chicken or steak for dinner with a salad or cherry tomatoes. I don't eat any carbs in the form of melbas or grissini, but that's just me. I'm afraid I'd want to eat the whole box - LOL. Read the advice from Moon today - she knows her stuff! Hope eating again helps with the blackouts as well! Keep us posted.

Hello Curvy!

Good morning ladies!

Well after eating all but 1 fruit yesterday I was down 1.1lb which breaks my stall, although I have to wonder if it wasn't a scale issue because it was giving weights as low at 155.5, which I know I am not to that point. So I took the mid of the road number. I feel pretty much the same today, no noticeable difference expect I am pmsing, and stay clear! lol! Seriously....

Moon- I know I am a far cry from anorexia, I would eat my heart out on p3 & p4, I have a thing for food and clearly it likes me too. I don't feel as if I am starving myself, if you are not hungry you can omit anything your choose and my thought, if I am not hungry and I eat less it's more fat that my body will be using. I also was on this stall for (5 or 6 days don't remember and my chart isn't in front of me) so it could have been time for it to just break idk! My blackouts are when go from sitting to standing about 20 seconds after I stand I see black and get super dizzy and flushed in my face and tingly in my arms and hands and it lasts for about 20 seconds. They used to be every time I stood, but now it's not as often. How was the scale this am after the coconut oil? I too have been wondering about coconut oil. Some do great on it and others don't. I am seriously craving coco crack and have thought of trying it but it's so far off protocol I am scared to try!!

Lilly!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you have a safe, crazy, fun, amazing and delicious birthday loaded with amazing people and memories!

4mh- Seems funny a size 4/6 is normal doesn't it?! Weird question, but do you feel thin? I thought for sure being in the 150's would make me feel thin but I have only lost 1 full pant size, I just don't see how that's possible when I have lost 45+ pounds and all my weight is carried in front.

Faithful- Have a wonderful day loading!!! I know your going to eat your heart out, I am jealous!

Good Morning everyone else, can't wait to see how your day went yesterday and what your weekend plans are!

I am going to eat everything again and see what happens. I was also reading that tomatoes can cause stalls too, and I had them everyday but yesterday so maybe that was part of it? Nice thing is I know I can eat a grissini and not gain 2lbs!