Thread: MissM's second time around

congrats!! 23lbs is a very successful round. Sounds like the inches part went great as well.

Last day of VLCD before P3 begins tomorrow. Still no period (it was due Monday). Weight (pre-BM) steady at 130.

As I mentioned in Yvonne's thread, I'm curious about how starting my period might affect the scale. I generally have at least a 2-3 pound drop when it arrives. But I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? There may be a stress benefit to having a slightly elevated LIW if that's what it turns out to be. I won't be mad about hovering a few pounds below LIW is what I mean. But the only way to find out is to just keep on keeping on and see where the chips fall.

Coconut chips. At least for the next month or so. LOL.

I'll be out and about today and grateful for the distraction. The past couple days of VLCD without HCG have been challenging in terms of hunger and cravings. I am SO READY for P3. I've got my arms wide open over here for fatty meats and hearty greens and my BFF cauliflower.

In fact, I must admit that I started cooking and preparing yesterday. I've seen others comment how nice it is to begin P3 on a weekend, and since I'm actually beginning it on a teaching day, it made sense to me to do some food prep so I can enjoy the transition with as little stress as possible. I also received my Imperfect Foods shipment yesterday that included the andouille sausage and chicken thighs I needed for my keto jambalaya (cauli rice instead of the grain) and I'd picked up some okra and peppers on Monday in anticipation of trying out the recipe. So, I made it--as well as a balsamic pot roast in the Instant Pot using xantham gum as a thickener for the gravy. It looks and smells marvelous. Frozen cauli ready for mashing when the time comes to round out the pot roast meal.

It's fun to realize that I can use my love and passion for food and cooking without actually eating anything, LOL. I've observed this in foodie friends of mine (who also happen to appear to be naturally thin). We can love and create and, from time to time, sample, without overdoing it--and find the balance through fasting (even if just between meals) and exercise.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm letting go of the magical thinking that all of a sudden my personality is going to change and I'm going to be a different kind of person with food. I can still feel what I feel--and celebrate it--while also changing my behaviors--yet also continue to use certain tools and measures to manage my weight and health without it necessary being disordered. I mean, isn't that what it is to live in a body? To make choices and enjoy and correct as needed, moment to moment and day to day.

I love to cook. I don't want to not love cooking because in the past it's meant having too much food around that I then overeat. It can mean different things now. Like freezing extra portions immediately or sharing what I make immediately.

This is what my next P3, starting tomorrow, is going to focus on: staying curious about my relationship with food and practicing mindfulness. Every. Single. Day. Setting myself up for best being able to read hunger and satiety cues with disciplined behaviors such as eating meals while sitting down, undistracted (no reading or watching tv). When I'm eating, my focus will be eating. I still have work to do on fully understanding the point at which the food in my belly is physiologically the right amount for my body.

And that's the line that needs to be drawn in my desires around food. Am I eating because I love it and am enjoying it, or am I eating because my body needs nourishment? And at what point is there a separation between the two? At what point has my need for food been satisfied but I continue eating for some other reason--either because it tastes so good or out of habit from finishing what's on my plate just because it's there or because I'm celebrating or because it's what I previously deemed the right food (because of calories, macros, etc.) and I don't think it'll do any harm.

If I'm no longer hungry, then eating it will do harm. Period.

Yikes. Didn't mean to wander into that territory this morning. But I think it's good to think about these things.

More later on the two books I read yesterday: HCG 2.0 on wilsonblack's rec (and out of curiosity) and Keto for Life by Mark Sisson. I enjoyed and have mixed feelings about both and am still sorting through my thoughts. Will share later.

Happy Hump Day, friends!

You are such a sweetheart, Dubbles. Thank you, friend!

So, my thoughts about HCG 2.0:

I'm way too lazy and not a data queen in any way to even do the calculations necessary to figure out the recommended increased protein and protein sources for this plan. And even though I know folks do well with losses and perhaps increased enjoyment of this adapted protocol--and more power to them!--I question the author's theory that getting into a ketogenic state is the central cause of weight loss in HCG. Though I agree with him about intermittent fasting and how to best make use of it--increasing the length of fasting windows only as needed as weight loss begins to slow in P2. That's what worked for me, anyway. I've also read (HCG Chica experimented with this, I believe) that folks who eliminate the main carbs from OP, namely fruit and the grissini, which is what this plan calls for, can have a more challenging time stabilizing and keeping the weight off long term.

Of course, there remains only anecdotal data about HCG from Simeons' decades of working with it, and there are still no clinical trials or updated scientific data for how and why HCG and the original protocol works. I agree with the Weight Loss Apocalypse author who calls for the research Simeons hoped someone more resourced than himself would eventually pick up and do--as he as much says in Pounds and Inches. Her hypothesis about how HCG may affect leptin is incredibly compelling, IMHO.

As for my self reflections inspired by Keto for Life:

I'm quite keto curious and I would describe my general WOE when I'm living my best post-HCG life as paleo-ketoish that includes starchy carbs as a treat rather than a matter of course and eschews excessive sweetness, whether in terms of fresh or dried fruits or other paleo sweeteners like date sugar and maple syrup, etc. My body will likely always skew toward insulin resistance and pre-diabetes, though I believe whole heartedly that lifestyle and mindset changes are more powerful than genetic predisposition. And yet, I also know that I have a fat tooth as much as a sweet tooth and that overly focusing on macros and ketones and the like can be as crazy making as any other diet for me.

So, I think what's been key for me has been healing long-term metabolic derangement over years of practicing real nourishment through whole foods and informed supplementation that's contributed to healing my thyroid and gut. That, combined with mindful eating and cognitive behavior techniques to address learned bad habits, including emotional eating (which I define as using food for any reason other than nourishment and satisfying genuine physiological hunger). Lower carb eating does seem to work best for me, as sugar and grains and even sweeter fruits (especially dried fruits) can seriously instigate cravings and lead to overeating. As isolated, once-in-a-while treats, it's OK to indulge. But having some damage-control brakes in the form of tried-and-true tools is crucial for keeping me from stepping onto a runaway train as far as diving down a rabbit hole (how about them mixed metaphors?!?) with less-than-healthy foods is concerned.

Those tools for me include Whole30-style template eating (veggies plus meat plus healthy fat) for satisfying meals that eliminate the need for snacking and intermittent fasting as needed. But what's equally important is finding a balance and not being overly intense or restrictive about anything, including the number on the scale or carbs or even working out. Seeking balance in all things is what I imagine real health looks like, and even though it may shift and change from moment to moment, it's what I'm after.

ps--I'm in no way suggesting any of this in a prescriptive way for anyone else. It's simply what I've discovered--through experimentation--works for me.