Thread: Back with another round

The reason I wanted to talk about the short round first is because there are some similarities. Here are the numbers so far:

Saturday: 215.7 (-.5lb loss)
Sunday: 214.0 (-1.7lb loss)
Monday: 213.9 (-0.1lb loss)

Effectively I am exactly where I was at the same point in my short round. As far as measurements go, I am at the same place as well, if not a hair better (36.5,33,21). I am really happy where I am right now. I look thin, my clothes confirm that. The scale is in a good place. Sub 215 suits me well.

So my mindset at this point isn't so concerned about losing more weight as I am confident I will hit goal. Instead, I am focused on a solid exit which will give me the best chance to create a realistic set point. First off, hitting 210 for a second time will help. It will not be so new to my body. Secondly and way more importantly I will be hitting 210 on the heels of a 30+ day round. So I feel I am ahead of the curve and am well positioned for success on this round. But I still am grappling on what the best day will be to pull the plug.

I was thinking on it last night and this morning. I really see myself hitting 210 by the end of the week. So my thoughts were to possibly pull the plug Saturday or Sunday morning. My preferred date was Saturday as my LDD with Monday evening being my first P3 meal. I was shocked to see the similarities between today and last round. Uncanny to be honest.

This is why keeping meticulous stats is helpful if you are doing multiple rounds. Past data is really helpful and helps guide future decisions. It reminds me of a great saying "those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it". I could have mangled the exact wording on the quote but you should get my drift here.

So armed with that knowledge and data, I am fairly set on making next Tuesday my LDD. Maybe Monday. The variable is physical hunger or mental frame of mind. But since I have come this far I might want to suck it up and make it to 40 days, which would be Wednesday. So there are a lot of things at play here right now that would not be present in a normal (for me at least ) round of 23 days. I want this round to be different than the rest. This is a bit of an experiment to me. I see this round as a culmination of what I have learned from previous rounds. All of this knowledge is condensed into this round. I don't want to leave anything on the table.

But I will still play it by ear. If I mentally cannot continue, I will pull the plug Saturday. I do have some family issues right now which could really throw a wrench into the works. My father in law passed Saturday. On top of the normal grieving process there is a somewhat messy estate situation that needs a great deal of attention. My wife is executor of this estate and needs to be on her game.

Speaking of my wife: She is at 157 this morning. Her goal was 159. She is very happy. She is making Wednesday her LDD. She would love to hit 155. Needless to say my wife and I will exit protocol at different times. This is a first as we normally act in unison in terms of entry and exit dates. But I don't see any of this as an issue, and nor does her.

Food and exercise last couple of days: I went heavier on protein this weekend. A little extra beef jerky during the day Saturday and Sunday. I had a grainfed 85% beef patty with sauerkraut and spicy mustard for lunch Saturday and a reverse seared pork loin chop for dinner Saturday. Had part of a NY strip for lunch yesterday and a repeat of Saturday's lunch for dinner. So it is safe to say I went rogue in terms of calories and saturated fat. But weekends are tough and this helps get through it easier. Weather was very wet so no tennis. I started my weight lifting regime yesterday. I will do this about 3 days per week or so. It really feels good to do this and I wished I never stopped now. It is not too heavy of a program. Light weight dumbell bicep curls. Tricep presses. Planking and dumbell presses for my chest and midsection. And a very demanding ab circuit. I am starting slow on this and will work up to a more challenging workout. I was spent after the workout. Not from lack of calories, but from it being a long time from doing this workout.

Moving forward my plan is to be seafood heavy on Monday-Friday. I boiled up a bunch of gulf shrimp and with individual meal portions vacuum sealed and frozen. Thaws quickly for a meal. Salmon for dinner tonight. Tennis tomorrow and Wednesday so possibly a repeat of burger patty/sauerkraut/mustard for dinner. My hopes are that I will easily get to 210 by Saturday. I will do a repeat of this weekend by going a little heavier on protein and up the fat content a bit. I will not focus on losing more weight next weekend but to keep weight a bit stable shooting for slight losses or even accepting a tiny gain. Then next week will be back on seafood the last couple of days before hitting my LDD.

Mindset: personal family stuff aside, I am doing very well. I am very happy where I am. No real cravings. I could have gone for a glass of wine yesterday but the pull wasn't strong at all. A fat bomb would be welcome right now. Since I allowed a little more fat in my weekend diet, I have no urges in that direction. From where I stand this Monday, Phase 3 can certainly wait. But I can certainly feel much different come Saturday.

And on I go to attack the week.

Very sorry for the long posts.

Instead of "pulling the plug" before 23 injection days, protocol is to continue the diet and injections, but raise calories. See this link:
P4 Reshaping Round (if needed) from my book The HCG Diet Book of Secrets
I realize you are past the 23 injections, this is for future reference if you hit your goal weight early

That makes sense, and thanks. I am very well versed on this protocol and have ready pounds and inches and HCG 2.0 several times, but the "reshaping round" thing is not in my memory. I have seemed to have stumbled on that very thing on my own through trial and error. The slightly extra protein and calories seems to be beneficial. Thanks for sharing.

One thing I noticed last spring on my phase 3 thread is that my inches continued to go down during that process. It was an extremely successful phase 3 and was really interesting to see the inches continue to go down with the increased calories, fat and red wine. I look to repeat that Phase 3 experience on this round and will create a separate thread most likely.

But, to be honest, I am happy with my shape. I do not have pockets of abnormal fat as described in your link. My main issue right now is that my arms, abs, shoulders etc need to be built up and toned through weightlifting. The fat is mostly gone but the muscle needs to be increased. I am already in great shape from tennis but some improvement in strength training is my main missing piece. In physical terms, that was my resolution for 2022.

Update: Yesterday at 213.3. This morning at 213.7.

Food wise, true to protocol. If anything, maybe just under on calories. But physically, and active day. Played tennis last night for 2.5 hours. I brought my dumbells and yoga mat to the office and put in a weight workout before leaving for tennis.

When I got home, I was really feeling heavy. I could tell my body was holding on to a lot of water and my mid section looked like it. One of the cool things about this protocol is how you can really be in tune with your body. I fully expected a slight bump up on the scale this morning and there it was. Not sweating this at all. I expect a solid drop tomorrow or Friday. I am playing tennis again tonight. For some reason, losses after consecutive nights of tennis can be fairly decent. Either way, I am in a really good spot now. I am not totally sure I will hit 209 but at this point, I am not worried about the number. I know I will be somewhere around 210 and should remain there on protocol for a couple days before transitioning out next week so I think everything is just great.

Mentally, feeling really good. I am so used to this protocol that it just seems natural to be on it. It is never easy but weekdays are far simpler than weekends as I am very busy. No strong physical hunger at this point. I imagine this weekend is going to be tough but that goes with the territory.

Today would have been the earliest I would have quit this round. IT would have been the 10th day after the PI. But I am nowhere near ready to end things. I am really feeling committed to next Tuesday or even Wednesday. There is something about hitting 40 days that is pulling me.

My wife actually stopped taking doses day before yesterday. She is dealing with the loss of her dad and is stick handling all of his financial affairs and his estate and has been too distracted. She is in a really great place as she is 2 pounds below goal. She is wearing a pair of jeans today that she could not fit into at the beginning of this round so all good there.

thanks Dubbles and great to hear from you. Hope you are well.

Yes it really seems that many people are dealing with a lot of personal loss right now. Really sad times across the board.

I totally agree on the reshaping in P3. I lost a couple inches in my P3 earlier this year. My theory is that the increased calories help spur metabolism or something like that. I have noticed in latter parts of this and past rounds that days I go heavier on protein, particularly beef end up with solid losses. But mainly if they are one off situations. Continued days of the same leads to a levelling off. Always searching and learning.

Back to 213.3 yesterday. Had a great breakthrough this morning down to 211.6. Happy to see some solid movements.

Funeral service today for my FIL. Great to see some old good friends and family. Stayed on protocol but mentally and physically exhausted.

Looks like Tuesday is LDD. Have a birthday dinner to go to Tuesday night. Certainly will have a glass of wine or two and will stay as on protocol with food as I can do. Either way no sense in recording what the scale says on Wednesday morning so Tuesday and 39 days it is

210.6 this morning which matches my last round’s LDW. Still looking at Tuesday as my last dose day for this round. It feels like I have been on protocol forever.

WB, yes the rounds always seem to last forever! But you made it and can now look forward to P3.