Thread: new guy here - starting over on a new journey

252.8 this morning. Back on track. Cut out the gum and took laxatives yesterday. They worked. Not sure how much benefit I got from eliminating gum. I will take it. I did not take measurements but I can already tell that I am getting smaller. Pants are looser, less fat in my midsection, hips and face.

Today begins my first weekend on vlcd. I really struggled with this in past rounds. Was always crazy hungry on weekends. I really believe that it will go much better this time. One caveat. I am playing a singles tennis match this afternoon. It is pretty strenuous. I will ce carrying 14 less pounds on the court than I did last Sunday so that will be significant in terms of movement and quickness. But I am sure stamina will be an issue. I will play it by ear and retire if I need to. I will pop a few extra shrimp for extra protein beforehand and will eat an extra ounce of steak tonight for dinner.

252.2 this morning. A low loss but it is a loss and I am practically 10 pounds down in 1 week.

Why a low loss? I played a singles match of tennis yesterday. Played 3 sets. Very strenuous. To compensate I had extra protein before and after. I also was dealing with serious mental carb withdrawals last night. I was seriously jonesing for a big bowl of cereal. And I don't eat cereal. Not since I was a kid. Even though I was well hydrated I still felt dehydrated late in the night. To stave off the carb jones I had a handful of strawberries before I went to bed. A bit of a cheat but with playing tennis I felt my body needed something.

About the tennis. If anybody is reading this or has a question about strenuous exercise and this protocol, Here is my take:

I was really nervous about how my body would respond. Would I go light headed? Would I pass out? Would I have to cry uncle 30 minutes in? Driving to the court I could feel just how little fuel I had in the tank. Even though I am overweight, I am in good shape and can run a while. My opponents always comment on how well I move for a big guy. That doesn't stop them from hitting constant drop shots to get me moving forward.

Really surprising results from the match. No problem with stamina. Yes I was tired and the lack of calories made a negative impact, but I was able to move and stayed in rallies. But from a mental concentration and motor skill point of view, my game really suffered. I was having huge troubles with my shots. I was missing shots I normally do not miss. Having trouble with my serve. That was most likely a result of depleted energy.

I got absolutely blown out in the first set 1-6 by a guy I usually beat. I fought back and won the next 2 sets to win the match but from a tennis point of view it was ugly. It really wore me out and I didn't feel too well afterwards into last night.

Safe to say that will probably be my last singles match on phase 2. I will probably hit around with some of my friends for a light workout and keep my strokes sharp.

So my advice on exercise and workouts on P2? You simply cannot do the things you were doing before you started the protocol. You do not need to work out anyway. But if you insist just take it easy.

That is it for today. Have a busy day planned. Going to the office, then the grocery store. Some meal prep for the week and will clean and organize the kitchen. Sitting around on weekends is not good for me on the protocol. Need to keep moving

Thanks Leez.

251.2 this morning. 10.8 pounds lost first week. Starting to feel more hungry though. Especially at night. Wondering if I should up my dose a bit. I am taking Triumph drops.

thanks. I am going to stay with what I am doing and monitor. Slight hunger cravings later in the evening. Seems more mental.

Down to 249.8 so losses are steady now. 14 or 15 more days of vlcd.

lost .6lbs each of the last two days. Underwhelming as far as weight loss has gone this week. A little frustrated with that. Down a total of 13.4lbs for phase 2, 10 days. That is more than a pound per day on average, but hope to see the losses step up a bit for the rest of the way.

thanks Grammy. To be clear, what I meant is to step up from the most recent pace, not the overall pace. I do admit that my expectations could be getting a little high. You are right the losses so far are good. Even if I continue on with .6lbs lost on average the rest of the way, my total weight lost would be about 22.5lbs. If somebody came to me last month and offered a path to losing 23lbs in less than a month with not losing lean muscle, I would have to jump all over it. That 23lbs is going to make a difference on the tennis court.

Here is another question: Once I stabilize in phase 3 is it okay to lose weight in phase 4? By then, I will be playing tennis about 4-5 days per week. I will be eating clean as well, so my plans are too shoot for 2lbs per week on a long term program.