Thread: Phase 2: My Journey R1 - daily struggles, successes

when you eat your cabbage soup is it in place of your veggie or meal or is it an extra snack? How do you make it? Sounds like something that I could use to help take the "edge" off in between meals? Sometimes I'm hungry for something inbetween my meals

First, let me speak about how we started this diet. We heard about it from someone, spoke with several people who knew someone, who knew someone. "Okay, let's try it."

We purchased a book on Amazon. Don't recall the title but it might have been the official one. It was just horribly written. At least from the standpoint of a "book."

We went to our local health food store and bought the drops. Along with it came a set of stapled instructions. The instructions were precisely clear. However, looking back on it, I do not believe it was the "pure protocol."

If there was anything in those instructions about "not mixing vegetables" we missed it. We began our diet.

From day one I decided that measuring everything was just not going to work for me/us. It was just going to be too restrictive. Besides, who says a guy that is 282 pounds will do well on the protocol at 500 calories but not at (say) 600 or even 700? Frankly, I felt it was much more important to watch WHAT we ate rather than whether or not I ate an extra POUND of celery.

Now, I know this may sound sacrilegious but, frankly it was (for me) the only way I could realistically expect to make this diet work.

So, here are the rules we live by:
1. We STRICTLY adhere to the list of acceptable foods.
2. We measure all of our protein portions STRICTLY. IMHO, that is where the rubber meats the road. (Pun intended.)
3. We do not exceed the 2 fruits per day.
4. Occasionally we have one of the Melba toast varieties, but never more than 60 calories worth.
5. We take 10 drops 3 times per day just before meals.

Here are the breaks from protocol that we take:
1. Anything on the menu is available at any time.
2. Celery, vegetable soup, and radishes are simply not counted.
3. I substitute 3 small apples for the 2 large ones. This gives me 3 fruit snacks.
4. V-8 is part of my meal plan. I go through about one qt. per week.

Our day looks like this:

• breakfast: 1 fruit
• snack: ususally a couple of sticks of celery and/or radishes.
• lunch: stir fry with some protein mixed in.
• snack: soup (for me)
• snack: 2nd fruit
• dinner: any of several protein + veggie meals.
• snack: 3rd fruit
• snack: soup
• snack: celery, radishes.

Some notes:
Beth is much stricter than I am. In fact, she almost does not snack at all. (The woman has real strong will power.) Personally, I think she makes it harder on herself than she needs to but, she makes it work.

About twice a week we have fillet mignon. LOL - Dang, but 3.5 oz. is a small portion. You could put it between two of those Melba toasts and call it a sandwich. Seriously. But we just savor every bite.

About twice a week we have hamburger patties - "Beth Burgers," as they are known around here. She packs them with onions and garlic. And burns the outside so that they have a little crispiness to them. Have you noticed how important the TEXTURE of our food has become?

Usually those dinner meals are accompanied by a side of "sauteed" onions. LOL - Sauteed. Yeah, right. Actually, for the first couple of weeks we used a slight amount of PAM until we found that it was definitely off the menu. Now we use a little broth.

About once per week I splurge on my favorite food: CRAB! Depending upon where you go on the web, you will find that one pound of Snow Crab is between 180 calories to 220 calories. So, I get myself a pound of crab once a week. Best $10 I ever spent.

Another snack I have occasionally is my version of a non-alcoholic bull shot. Beef bouillon, some V8 juice and a couple of celery sticks. That is like a snack that is almost a meal.

Almost every day, if I am hungry between meals, I will have a bowl of vegetable soup. Usually the soup is cold. It is mostly cabbage, onions and celery, with a little bit of stewed tomatoes. Beth cooks it in the crock pot. She starts with beef froth and some chicken "runs through the pot." That is, she puts a couple of chicken breasts in the pot to cook for 4.5 hrs. then removes the chicken to eat the next day.

Beth eats a lot of chicken. LOL - When she mixes it with a stir fry, she calls it "chicken slop." She always portions that chicken to precisely 3.5 oz.

The other day I was having soup and found a piece of chicken about the size of a pencil eraser. LOL - I thought I had hit the jackpot.


So, as you can see, what we are doing is not strict protocol as some would think it MUST be. What we follow, we have chosen to follow strictly. Most important, it is working and we are rarely hungry. Occasionally unsatisfied, but rarely are we truly hungry. And when we are, we eat!


Be encouraged, my friends. This is a life-changing diet and these are POTENTIALLY life-changing times for us all. WE CAN DO THIS!


Dave & Beth
PS: I'll write my daily report later. Another good day in the books.

Today was just a great day. I find I am actually eating a little bit less. Sugar was 122 and my 5-day moving average is 115. Great news. And, remember, I am off all diabetic medication. Oh, and I also stopped taking Prilosec a couple of days ago.

That leaves with, let me see... ZERO medications!

Beth had a good day as well. She is still 1 lb back at -21.5 but just doing great.

We live in a two-story house. For years Beth has talked about how "our last house" needs to be a single story because going up and down the stairs is tough on her knees. There are times I have seen her take the stairs one step with both feet. Today she commented about how easily she is finding the stairs and that she no longer is doing the two-feet-on-each-step thing. Yeah, Beth!

A friend of ours who is on the HCG diet as well (who I think I wrote about a few days back) goes to dinner every Thursday with her husband at Legends Sports Bar. On Thursdays they have a $6 burger meal plus any drink. So, she goes and keeps her husband company while he eats. We decided to go with them so that our friend would have some moral support. So, the three of us sat there with water or tea and talked about HCG and this forum. While her husband was interested in the diet talk, I think it must have worn on him after awhile. He was a good sport, though.

On the way home we stopped for my favorite meal: crab! The good news is that the snow crab dropped to $7.95 per lb. from $9.99. The bad news is that the crabs were smaller. I bought 2.2 lbs (for two meals). Dinner was a lb. of crab and I bet there was about 60% of the crab meat that I got with the big honkin' crab guys I got the last time. Probably a little more in line with the calories I should be consuming, though.

Since we ate so late (7:45pm) I am betting I will not lose tomorrow. (Boy, would I like to be wrong on this!!!)

Beth is planning the demise of this round at the end of 40 days. I really want to go on to 34 lbs, whichever comes last. My estimate is that we're actually losing at the rate of about .6 pounds per day. I think we'll need a couple more days.

Actually, she's got it all planned to the day: when this round will end, when the re-feeding will be over (Dec. 5), and when we will start round 2. (Jan 6). That way we will be completely finished with R2 in time for vacation in March. Guess we'll do it her way.


Until tomorrow - stay strong and encouraged! We can do this!

Dave & Beth

PS: Freedom, Thank you for the encouragement. You ARE doing it, aren't you?

Another good day in the books. Another day with a 1lb weight loss (almost 1.5) and another non-diabetic day. That's 13-of-the-last-14!

Beth's weight loss has slowed a little - she is at 22.0. Let me share our prayer over breakfast this morning:

Beth: "Lord, please let me lose more weight than HIM today."

Me: (In my most saint-like voice) "Lord, please let her lose more weight than me but let me be close behind."

Beth: "Lord, try to help me be sweeter because right now I want to throw him under a bus."

This went on for another 2-3 minutes, but you get the idea. It was a funny exchange. Okay, you had to be there.


Today was a tough day, diet-wise. We went to a movie - The Real Steel. I would highly recommend it for a family movie. Little bit of language, but very light. Heart warming and fun action movie. Little boys will love it.

Where I was going with this (before I interrupted myself) was that the familiar triggers went off. Walked into the theater and the smell of... dare I say it in this company? I'll just hint at it. Orville Reddenbacker made millions from it. Anyway, the smell of buttered Reddenbacker was in the air.

Then we went to Scheels to get some slippers for Beth and all I could think of was that Friday usually included lunch out somewhere, and dinner as well. For the first time since we've been on this diet, I think if Beth had said, "Let's just go have a Chinese buffet somewhere," I might not have resisted. Fortunately, she didn't bring it up and either did I.

By the time we got home I was starving. I had 1lb of crab, a small helping of stir-fry (great with the Bragg's Aminos), and some Melba Toast Bruschetta. (Think about it - salsa and Melba toast = bruschetta.)

I am back to normal now, but this could have been a disastrous day. What if I had been in a "stall" period? Might I have been the one to suggest lunch?

So, while the restaurants of Reno watch their quarterly profits go down the tubes this month because of the lack of "Dave Dollars," we trudge onward. Still encouraged!


Dave & Beth

First, the best news. I am clearly off the meds and still putting up sugar numbers that my doctor would call "pre-diabetic." My 5-day moving average is currently 109, well below diabetic level of 126.

Second, more good news. After a blank day yesterday morning, today I awakened to a full pound lost. This seems to be my pattern over the last few days:

Code:

Day	 Date	          DOW Wgt         Loss 	 Day 	 
 1  	 9/22/2011	  Thu	 282.0 	 -   	  	 -   
 2 	  9/23/2011	  Fri	 278.5 	 3.5 	   3.5 	 
 3 	  9/24/2011	  Sat	 276.0 	 6.0 	   2.5 	 
 4 	  9/25/2011	  Sun	 274.0 	 8.0 	   2.0 	 
 5 	  9/26/2011	  Mon	 273.0 	 9.0      1.0 	 
 6 	  9/27/2011	  Tue	 272.5 	 9.5 	   0.5 	 
 7 	  9/28/2011	  Wed	 271.0 	 11.0 	   1.5 	 
 8 	  9/29/2011	  Thu	 271.0 	 11.0 	     -   	 
 9 	  9/30/2011	  Fri	 270.0 	 12.0 	   1.0 	 
 10	  10/1/2011	  Sat	 268.0 	 14.0 	   2.0 	 
 11 	10/2/2011	  Sun	 268.0 	 14.5 	   0.5 	 
 12 	10/3/2011	  Mon	 267.0 	 15.0 	   0.5 	 
 13 	10/4/2011	  Tue	 266.5 	 15.5 	   0.5 	 
 14 	10/5/2011	  Wed	 265.5 	 16.5 	   1.0 	 
 15 	10/6/2011	  Thu	 265.0 	 17.0 	   0.5 	 
 16 	10/7/2011	  Fri	 265.0 	 17.0 	   -   	 
 17 	10/8/2011	  Sat	 264.0 	 18.0 	   1.0 	 
 18 	10/9/2011	  Sun	 263.0 	 19.0 	   1.0 	 
 19 	10/10/2011	Mon	 263.0 	 19.0 	   -   	 
 20 	10/11/2011	Tue	 260.0 	 22.0 	   3.0 	 
 21 	10/12/2011	Wed	 260.0 	 22.0 	   -   	 
 22 	10/13/2011	Thu	 259.5 	 22.5 	   0.5 	 
 23 	10/14/2011	Fri	 258.5 	 23.5 	   1.0 	 
 24 	10/15/2011	Sat	 258.5 	 23.5 	   -   	 
 25   10/16/2011	Sun	 257.5 	 24.5 	   1.0

Note that in this table I "started" after the load days. Thus day 1 is really day 3 of the protocol.

It appears to me that there is a "life cycle" to this diet. In its "youth" (i.e. the first 10 days or so) we lose huge. Beth and I both had lost 11 pounds as of day 9. The pattern in the last 10 days has been, blank day, then a couple of loss days.

I mentioned two days ago that I have been struggling. It is true. When I struggle, I look to please my pleasure center - perhaps "appease" is a better word. I do that with a pound of crab - about 220 calories. However, a single, pleasurable food just goes so far until it, too, becomes commonplace and loses its effectiveness as an escape from the boredom of the diet.

Beth is another story. She is stalled. She has had 4 blanks in a row. I think it is because she is eating too little. Oh, she is getting her calories. LOL - I would not want to be the guy who stood between either of us and that last piece of chicken that represents "our fair share." But she is not eating all of her snacks. She just toughs it out and I think she is over-starving herself, shutting down the mechanism that is working so well for me.

Beth does not like a lot of things - she will eat apples, but prefers the tart ones. She does not eat the soup or the celery and radishes that I am using as a filler. She also does not like fish or seafood. In that I have a huge advantage because I can "cheat" on the "poundage" without going too far over calories. ("Poundage" is a small joke of course. Very small.)


I have suggested to Beth that she up her calories a little today - try to break the starvation mode a little. Maybe have a little extra something - staying at maybe 700 calories, then saddle back up tomorrow with the regular schedule. She's got to get a day of weight loss on the books in a hurry or she will be done.

Beth likes to say that you can do anything for 30-60 days. Seriously, a reasonably sane and determined person can withstand a lot of "without" for a period of time providing there is some reward!

If she does not get back on track with some weight loss in the next couple of days, we will likely end phase 2 earlier than we expected and head into phase 3. Hey, we've already had a really good run. This has been the most effective diet we have ever been on. Personally, I'd like to get the entire 34 pounds but I cannot see her enduring torture when we can exit early and see it as a big victory.

So, prayers are in order for Beth to lose a pound tomorrow.

Be encouraged! On this end we are fighting to stay in the game for a few more days!


Dave & Beth