WilsonBlack's Phase 3 thread

[FlirtyFlo]

Jeff... a very sincere and interesting musing... well said
One of my favorite comments is... slowly slowly catch a monkey...
Be kinder to yourself... you are pro active...you are exercising... you are getting results and you and your wife are on board

When I was first introduced to hcg , i was at 240 pounds and at 5’5” i was disgusted with myself for getting to that point.. regardless if my cancer, chemo and all that went with it.... i was not losing weight fir anyone else but for me and my health
Slowly but surely I just stuck to my guns and even though I did gain part of it back.... i am positive that I have learnt some major lessons about myself and from all of you... you are setting some new habits in place... you look better today than you did yesterday... you are on the right path... one day at a time... impatience belongs to diets... mindfulness is key with HCG... hcg brings wisdom about ourselves... i rambled ... hope I make sense

[wilsonblack]

I completely agree. Too many people take this protocol on for the wrong reasons. They love the idea of the results. But have no clue towards the long game. I believe in past rounds I have been guilty of that. Corner has been turned on this one. But still miles to go. My road to betterment doesn't have a finish line.

[Dubbles]

Another big jump on Wednesday back to 220.8. Played tennis the night before. Pushed really hard and was beat up. Also very hungry when I got home and snacked a bit too much. Had a couple fat bombs and that wasn't enough. So went back to the fridge and what did I find? Yeah, leftover scallops in mornay sauce. It was awesome. Like leftovers from a very fancy and expensive restaurant. Okay so that is two days with weights over 220 after both playing tennis and eating scallops. Hmm. Maybe there is something to this whole scallop thing after all. I have eaten scallops 3 times in the last 2 rounds. All 3 times, big jumps on the scale. But your mileage may vary.

Yesterday: Had my normal lunch for this week of hamburger patty with mushrooms, onions and swiss after 2 fried eggs for breakfast. Wife and I went to our favorite crawfish place for dinner. Wife wanted an order of french fries so they brought out this giant basket of them. I had a couple. Not much. Majority of the basket remained intact when we left. A couple draft Michelob ultras enjoyed with the meal. Got home and sat on the back patio with a couple more glasses of wine. Went to bed expecting to be greeted with a weight around the same or worse. Wake up this morning to 216.8 on the scale.

So what is the real weight? it certainly isn't 220.8. I see those two days as outliers. The real weight is still 218. But as we all know, your weight is more of an average. It is always +/- a pound or two around a mean number. I believe that my number is still around 218 which happens to be my LDW. Amazing how that works.

Tennis tonight. It is a challenge planning pre-tennis meals. It is about a 45 minute drive from the office to the courts and it isn't exactly a part of town with great food choices. There is a really good taqueria near the facility. Since I am in P4 a couple corn tortillas would be a great test. Might eat there.

p.s. Wife and I discussed protocol plans over dinner last night. It looks like we are all set on our next round happening in 3 weeks or so. She wants to lose more weight. I am in a good place but if I am being perfectly honest with myself losing another 10lbs would put me in a perfect spot. My wife is skilled with the sewing machine so can take in some of my pants if needed so the only purchase would be a couple new belts. I am travelling for business the week after next and at soonest, we will begin loading Saturday May 1 and begin VLCD on Monday May 3 for a lightning round which will end with LDD being Sunday the 16th or Monday the 17th. I will start a new thread for this entire round from loading through phase 3.

Today's deep thoughts: Okay, I am that guy. I have seen many more like me. You lose a bunch of weight. And now your body image is of a thin person. You buy clothes which are more form fitting and treat yourself. But you are still not thin. That is okay because at worst, you are way thinner and have made tremendous progress. And progress deserves some appreciation and perhaps a bit of celebration. It is important to stop and smell the roses, as they say. But you still need to be realistic as to what your body truly is. Your body is as it would be as if you met somebody for the first time. How would they describe you physically? "hey I met Jeff for the first time. You know? Kind of a big guy?" That is who you truly are. Everybody who knows you thinks of you currently measured against the same you they knew previous to the weight loss. They see improvement. And that is great. Just don't get cocky. And I am not saying this because we need to continually beat ourselves up no matter where we are. That is unhealthy in many ways. We merely need to maintain a realistic view to help us moving forward with proper choices and habits. We are like sharks where water must be constantly moving over their gills for them to stay alive. We cannot sit still or we die. We must always move in a direction. The choice is ours. Forward or backwards. But we must move. In sales a good sales manager will tell a star salesperson to "stay uncomfortable" after a good year. Tomorrow starts at zero. Joe Montana was the greatest quarterback the NFL has ever seen and he was always scared he was about to lose his job. That concludes today's ramble.

WB, wow this post kinda hit in the head, a bit. I'm afraid I may be that girl that is thinking she's lost weight, don't want to get too skinny, blah blah blah--and might be fooling myself. Maybe I do truly need to lose more than I'm thinking. Maybe I do need another good 40 day round after this. You made me stop and think, we are never done--you may have said that on another posting. And that's the truth. This gave me a lot to think about!

[wilsonblack]

I think we just need to find that balance. And I am mostly talking about myself when I say this. The more I look at myself the more I honestly believe I have more work to do. But at this point I am playing with the house money. I am doing well and am on the right path. Journey > destination. The quickest way for me to lose the path is to get overconfident. But there is a fine line between checking yourself and self loathing which is unhealthy.

[Dubbles]

Yes, I agree. This is truly a journey and not a destination. One of my favorite sayings. Thanks for your insights/musings, they are thought-provoking. Have a great weekend.

[wilsonblack]

Our bodies are complex machines and at certain times, it is fun to drop the hammer and test their capabilities. Of sorts at least.

Interesting weekend. Really started on Friday. Got my second Pfizer vac shot midday Friday. Had my last burger patty with shrooms and onions for lunch. Heavy. Took the afternoon off to do a little shopping, get a haircut and rest a bit. Was tired after the shot, while I doubt it was related. The night before I played tennis, stayed up late afterwards so sleep wasn't what I needed. Wife and I went to our favorite neighborhood wine bar/bistro for dinner. Couple glasses of wine and a sensible meal. Decided to hit the grocery store after dinner so I would not have to go on Saturday. Back home and off to bed I go.

Saturday started with 3 hours of tennis. We decided (read me, since I lead the group) to pick things up several notches. We ran some very physically challenging drills. Luckily I was not feeling any strong after effects from the vaccination so was able to power through. Very proud of the fact that I can hang with and even outlast players up to 25 years younger than me. Had a date afternoon planned with my wife. Headed home for a quick shower. Went out and grabbed lunch. Originally planned on hitting one of our favorite Greek joints but ended up at Gus' fried chicken. A hot chicken place that is quite possibly the best fried chicken anywhere (in my opinion). Split a 2 wing plate (+ drumstick a la carte) with 2 sides, baked beans and cole slaw. Added a small order of collard greens. 2 Michelob Ultras. Headed out for an afternoon of shopping and hanging out. Got home and cooked up some fish and sweet potato fries. Was also planning an overnight brisket for Sunday dinner and weekday lunches. Some friends of my wife showed up around dinner time and invited us out with them. There is a brewery in the northern suburbs of Houston that has a live country band on weekends. Really nice place with indoor/outdoor seating. After about 3 beers was not feeling the country music so we headed to another spot in Old Town Spring with a really good rock band and closed that place down. Back home. Put the brisket on the smoker and off to bed for a really subpar night of sleep.

Sunday morning, up with the sun. Not rested at all. Fix a quick breakfast of eggs and sausage, check on the brisket, get dressed and head off to play tennis again. Pretty hungover, not rested but playing tennis anyway. Really not in a good mood and not exactly enjoying being on court so cut that off earlier than usual. Not hungry so skipped lunch. Thankfully brisket was finished at midday so wrapped, placed in my holding cooler to rest for the afternoon. Cleaned up the patio, showered up and hit the bed for the rest of the day. Ate very little of the brisket for dinner. Pretty big caeser salad though. Slept very well though.

This morning, scale is at 218.0. That is the way this has been going for me. I have not been making the very best choices, especially in terms of alcohol intake. But I really have been paying attention to how much I eat and have really been listening to my body so the reasonable amount of calories has carried me. Moving forward in permanent phase 4 even when eating foods that would give me trouble (see Gus' fried chicken) I can still maintain as long as I keep serving sizes in check.

I think that is it for thread for me. I am at a place where I can close the book on this round. I will stay in this mode for the next week. On the scale every day up to this upcoming Sunday. Hitting the road on a business trip. Leaving Sunday returning Friday. will not step on the scale the entire week. As long as I keep my eating in check it will not be an issue. Once I return my wife and I will jump into loading for our experimental 2 week round. Having an early mothers day dinner on our second load day. Veal osso bucco with the moms. All of that will be on a new thread so see you there.

[Dubbles]

Thanks for this update WB (Jeff). I know once people get thru p3 and into P4 their lives get busier, and the accountability lies in their own hands, between them and the scale. But it is so nice to hear once in a while how everyone (P3ers and P4ers) are doing. Missing MissM--maybe she will check in this week. You seem to be doing awesome in maintenance. I am surprised you were able to hit the tennis courts right after your vaccinne shot. After my 2nd shot, my arm hurt for 2 days, I mean really sore. But I have gotten the same reaction from a tetanus shot in the past.

You know the longer the maintenance phase, they say the better reset for your body. So you seem to be doing it all correctly, and it has resulted in more mindful eating and portions, but not total deprivation in your life. That is really the success of this program. For me, I found it extremely encouraging to read about the chicken without huge gain, because that is how life goes. We go out with family and friends and who wants to always eat a plain piece of protein and dressingless salad? Not me. None of us are going to deny ourselves carbs our entire lives. At least I would not want to. we want to enjoy life and friends, celebrations-but with some sense of control and restraint. Not total abstinence. P2 is about abstinence, but once past p2, if we continue to follow the guidelines for the most part, and I believe-continue to weigh in (for point of reference for ourselves) we can live, eat normally, socialize on the fly and celebrate life. Normally (eating wise) is not how the majority of us in USA eat. Normal eating in USA is often overeating with huge double or triple portions! And "normal" eating did not get me to where I needed to lose 35 lbs.

Sounds like you got this, but it is a life in progress as I think you said before, either you or Miss M. Enjoy and hope to hear how the experimental 2 week round of p2 goes. Have a great week! Good job!

[FlirtyFlo]

Mindfulness is key!! This loading weekend has just shown me again that it is easy to drop the ball... but then again that is not how I would usually eat on a weekend at home, but If not loading I would not have eaten half as much as I did.... and not to mention the bad things!!

[Dubbles]

Mindfulness is key!! This loading weekend has just shown me again that it is easy to drop the ball... but then again that is not how I would usually eat on a weekend at home, but If not loading I would not have eaten half as much as I did.... and not to mention the bad things!!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend and load, Yvonne. You deserve it!

[mrsstrong]

Sounds great, Jeff! Hope it’s a good trip. Looks like you have a great handle on things!