Health and Happiness: My Journey

Hello All! Well, today is R2 VLCD 20, and I have 4 more days left on VLCD, 6 left until P3! With that in mind, I've been giving a lot of thought to what I did right/wrong last round, and what I'm going to do differently this round with that knowledge.

First, here are the 2 main things that I did wrong during my first P3:

#1. CHEAT! I am completely convinced that this was my biggest error in my first P3. Cheating in P2 is bad enough (and I did this alot in my first round!), but in P3, cheating can really mess up your stabilization for the long run. I had to do a lot more CDs than I would have thanks to cheating, and even extended my P3 a week in order to stabilize better!

#2. GO LOW CARB I'm talking about less than 15 carbs per day. I was so desperate to "maintain" that I only ate protein when I wasn't cheating or doing a correction day. This depleted my glycogen stores, which in turn made P4 much harder. Not only that, but I wasn't getting very important nutrients! Dr. Simeon's never says not to eat carbs, only to avoid STARCHES and SUGARS.

My 2nd mistake also carried into my P4. At first, I began increasing starches, and was actually doing very well. I could have Ezekial bread, gluten free granola, sweet potatoes, and more while maintaining my weight. However, I really had to add them extremely slow because my too-low-carb P3 had left my body unaccustomed to any carbohydrate. Unfortunately, instead of continuing to up my carb count, I lowered my count to 10 or less net carbs per day to try to lose my last 15 pounds. THIS was my BIGGEST MISTAKE.

After realizing that I was depriving my body of essential nutrients and was on the verge of some sort of "low carb" eating disorder (though I was eating plenty of calories), I began to reevaluate how I ate, and started to eat more well rounded. I maintained my weight for about a year eating 30-45 net carbs per day, exercising, and weighing daily as per protocol.

Although I was maintaining my weight, I still wanted to lose those last 15 pounds, as well as repair my metabolism after my low carb roller coaster. I decided to return to HCG with a few goals in mind:

#1.Achieve a BMI of 21
- Losing my last 15 pounds would bring me to this very healthy BMI.

#2. Add more variety to my diet
-After botching my first stabilization, the level of low carb I was forced to eat at eliminated a lot of healthy foods from my diet. I knew that I wanted to be able to eat healthy carbs like bananas, apples, and carrots on a daily basis without going over a carb count and gaining.

#3. Repair my metabolism and establish a WOE I could be happy with for life
- Although I was able to maintain for a year, my yo-yo eating at the end of my first round damaged my metabolism, which had already been damaged by years of up-and-down calorie intake due to the recurrent gastric distress caused by my undiagnosed gluten intolerance. I wanted to be able to eat clean, whole foods, without counting carbs daily. I wanted to be able to endulge on the rare occasion and not gain 5 pounds overnight. I knew that I could be happy eating clean and natural 99% of the time for the rest of my life. I wanted to be free of my slavery to food. I didn't want to have to worry and plan every single thing that went into my mouth forever.

I knew that my final round of HCG could do that for me.

Today, on VLCD 20, I am 2.6 pounds away from my goal, and crossing my fingers that I can make it in 4 days! But more importantly, I am doing everything right this time, and I've felt fantastic. I have followed protocol to a "T." I loaded properly this time, with focus on mostly fats rather than sugary starches (though I did have a treat or two just for grins). I haven't cheated a single time during P2, and really haven't had the desire. I am so proud of myself for staying strong and sticking to what I've set out to do. Unlike cutting out fruit like I did in my first P2 in hopes of speeding losses after cheating, I've kept in at least one apple a day, and my average carb count has been around 50, which is far more than I've had for the past year.

Now that I've done P2 the right way, I know that I can do the same for P3 and beyond. Here's my plan for R2P3:

PHASE 3 PLAN:

GOAL: Maintain LDW range without reducing carb count from P2 in order to prevent glycogen depletion.
PLAN OF ACTION: Keep in a daily apple, eat lots of vegetables, eat good fats and protein, keep up fluid intake!



FOOD LIST: “Tricky” Foods
(Listed in order to be tested)

Eggs: Not a major concern because I ate them in P2.
Cheese: Did well with it in R1 – something I’m not willing to cut out of my life!
Greek Yogurt: The probiotics are great for digestion!
Almonds: Will try as almond butter first because I want it in my Greek Yogurt!
Coconut Flour: I love this for baking, so I want to make sure it’s good ASAP!
Wine: Just a bit to start. I’m sure I won’t need much after a month away! :)

FOOD LIST: Safe Foods
(Not too worried about these!)

Cocoa “Crack”: Everyone needs some chocolate!
Cauliflower
Asparagus
Zucchini
Peppers
Onions
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Green Beans
Sunflower Seeds
Beef: Finally!
Bacon: Yes!

With this plan, I believe I am going to enable my body to learn how to properly metabolize food again, and start my journey into a life less dictated by what I eat...in other words, a Healthy Life.