HCG diet SUPPORT thread - Page 87

[middlemamma]

Thanks Maia. I appreciate the encouragement. I so far have had nothing today except 2 cups of chicken broth for a total of 20 calories and 1 gram of fat and 2 carbs. I just feel so frustrated.

I don't do dairy at all not even my 2 tblspoons worth on P2. I rarely ever do the melba or breadstick. I always can drink more water, I never make it to the gallon figure, ever. Even on a good day. My BEST is 48 ounces. Ever. In my whole life.

I will report in the morning how I am. Not sure if I will eat a couple apples and make an apple day happen or if I will eat. It's 4:44 here...I usually go to bed around 1 AM. So that leaves me 8 ish more hours to maintain.

Report in the morning...stand by. :)

Oh yeah....HUGS girl! those gains may be the need to evacuate? what do ya think? I'm rooting for you!

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by middlemamma Thanks Maia. I appreciate the encouragement. I so far have had nothing today except 2 cups of chicken broth for a total of 20 calories and 1 gram of fat and 2 carbs. I just feel so frustrated.

I don't do dairy at all not even my 2 tblspoons worth on P2. I rarely ever do the melba or breadstick. I always can drink more water, I never make it to the gallon figure, ever. Even on a good day. My BEST is 48 ounces. Ever. In my whole life.

I will report in the morning how I am. Not sure if I will eat a couple apples and make an apple day happen or if I will eat. It's 4:44 here...I usually go to bed around 1 AM. So that leaves me 8 ish more hours to maintain.

Report in the morning...stand by. :)

Oh yeah....HUGS girl! those gains may be the need to evacuate? what do ya think? I'm rooting for you!

I did. In a big way, today

Don't just eat broth. That's not protocol and it's probably going to backfire! Here is what I do with the water. I put a big gallon container on the counter, all filled up the night before. In the morning, I take a HUGE slug-- 12 gulps or so, or as many as I can choke down. Every time I pass the jug, I do the same. Every time I crave, I do it. Every time I'm hungry and it's not time to eat yet. Every time I think of it. Many days I got it all down before 3pm! Not often, but there were times. Because, and this is my philosophy about water whether on protocol or not: I figure if I'm going to tip it to my lips at all, I might as well slug down as many gulps as I can. Water's always a good thing.

Don't give up. This'll happen. And it's better than the alternative, huh?

[middlemamma]

Ok lost .2. 176.6 this morning. I had 2 servings of protein today, 1 veggie and nothing else so far, not feeling hungry.

I guess we will see what tomorrow brings. Yesterday I ended up eating 2 apples so it was an apple day. Tomorrow is day 22 of VLCD. 8 more days to go.

[middlemamma]

Same again today... 176.6. What gives? This is INSANE!  I have 8 days left. I am doing everything I can to convince myself not to quit.

I had chicken and celery today and I am going to have an apple and some smooth move tea tonight. Very frustrated.

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by middlemamma 

Same again today... 176.6. What gives? This is INSANE!  I have 8 days left. I am doing everything I can to convince myself not to quit.

I had chicken and celery today and I am going to have an apple and some smooth move tea tonight. Very frustrated.

Me, too. Hang in there. I held steady this morning at 143.8. That is 0.2 below <2lb above LDW>. I do NOT want to do a steak day. I'm sure I will have to at some point.

It is one week since I transitioned to P3. I don't know whether to be happy or worried! I am still under 2lb above LDW, yet, I have gained incrementally every day since, except for today when I maintained.

How are you feeling? What day are you on today? Why don't you have a protein instead of the apple, tonight, and see what happens? Smooth move...ye Gods, I have NOT needed that in the last couple days! I spent half of yesterday and all of the prior evening with a very upset stomach. I think meatballs and tomato sauce do NOT agree with me. Ow.

[middlemamma]

I am really depressed (something I struggle with not due to the diet) which is making me feel hungrier than usual and fighting the cravings is harder. I still have not caved though.

Today I weighed 175.2 and it seems TOM is ending so I think that must have been what it was, cause suddenly 1.4 comes off!

I do need to learn more patience. LOL

So 7 days to go and I am at 175.2. I would be happy if I lost 1-2 more pounds and could stabilize between 170 and 175 during phase 3 and 4. I plan to do another round in January with my MIL, that should hopefully get me in that 160 range I will be perfect at. Then I can work on exercising and getting into shape not just less weight. I want to run again.

Maia I am rooting for you in P3, I know you really struggle with it. I hope you don't have to do steak day!

I do great in P3 and could eat like that forever, with the occasional bread indulgence. :) I am looking forward to mug bread. The sweet tooth has been aching for me for days and days.

I hope your tummy is feeling better! Hang in there!

PS...it is so nice to know you are here on the other side of this screen to talk to...thanks for being there.

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by middlemamma I plan to do another round in January with my MIL, that should hopefully get me in that 160 range I will be perfect at.

PS...it is so nice to know you are here on the other side of this screen to talk to...thanks for being there.

Thanks for being there for me, too

Steak day today, after all. I jumped TWO POUNDS overnight! The only thing I did different was have half a cup of full-fat plain yogurt with cacao nibs. I used to eat that with impunity on P3 the other times. Gah.

So I am up 4lb from LDW Hopefully, a steak day and Very Low Carb will bring it back down! I tend to sort-of-stabilize 5lb or so above LDW, but before, I tended to just go hog-wild the first days of P3 and just eat anything I wasn't able to on P2. I have been pretty careful this time! Ugh. I am trying to be patient. I know I have two more weeks to stabilize.

[middlemamma]

Hang in there and don't be too hard on yourself. I imagine if you stabilize 5 lb up from LDW and stay there that's good! Better than 3 rounds ago eh?

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by middlemamma 

Hang in there and don't be too hard on yourself. I imagine if you stabilize 5 lb up from LDW and stay there that's good! Better than 3 rounds ago eh?

Yes, I would probably be fine with that...but I want some wiggle room, too, AND, I would really like to actually stabilize instead of f***ing it up again this time!

I was down 1.4 today from yesterday's gain. Which is still 0.6 up from +2 over LDW. Still. As long as I can stay in the mid 140s. I have two more weeks of solid, vigilant P3 to go. And I'm just fine with that. I don't plan on a P4, really...just basically P3 forever

[middlemamma]

I am sitting at 173.2 with 5 more days of P2 to go. 3 more days of drops 2 without. :) Super excited to see what LDW will be!

My ideal goal weight is 160.... SO CLOSE!!!

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by middlemamma 

I am sitting at 173.2 with 5 more days of P2 to go. 3 more days of drops 2 without. :) Super excited to see what LDW will be!

My ideal goal weight is 160.... SO CLOSE!!!

I wonder what happened to everybody else??

I was up a-freaking-gain today! 1.6lbs to 146.2, UGH UGH UGH. I am so upset. Maybe this is the "wildly swinging" of P3, who knows...so, not a steak day but a protein day. I have had some homemade jerky, and a bone-in chicken breast. It's 2pm. I will probably have a steak, or more chicken.

[middlemamma]

Damn! I wish we could figure it out!

Why does this happen to you!!!

I guess we will see if I have a 2nd good P3 or if my first one was just a fluke.

I don't know where everyone else went, but I do know it makes me damn proud that I have hung in (almost) 2 rounds without cheating once! and am still here to tell about it!!! IT IS AWESOME!

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by middlemamma I don't know where everyone else went, but I do know it makes me damn proud that I have hung in (almost) 2 rounds without cheating once! and am still here to tell about it!!! IT IS AWESOME!

Well, this is what I have to hold onto, as well. I am not cheating; I am doing everything right, and I have to say I am damn sick of only meat and cream...yesterday I had 1 bone-in baked chicken breast, one leg, and 3/4 of a 0.84lb steak. And cream. And what I got for my effort was a 0.2 gain. Until I had massive...um, bathroom issues for a good while, and then that only brought me down 0.2 again. GRRR.

I did realize I've only been on P3 for 9 days, so one can hope. I know my body wants me to be 180-something again and I AM NOT GOING TO LET IT. I have come so far. I've lost 40-odd pounds over the last year, and it would be more, if I hadn't effed up those other P3s. I'm very happy in the 140s, and I will be lots happier back in the 120s one day, but I do NOT want to be more. I'm staying low on the meat today because it's Friday, and tomorrow I'm making a chicken soup in the crock pot for when my friend and her dd come over to go Trunk Or Treating with us. They will have pasta in their soup, and homemade bread on the side. I will just have soup.

Today is eggs and tuna and salmon

[kerpav]

Hi guys,

Been away a while--sorry, Maiasaura that you are having the same issues over and over again with P3. Sad to say, pretty much the same story for me. I've been back and forth with this for the last year, just like you. It worked...for a while. And then it didn't. It really didn't. I kept gaining in P3, no matter what I tried.

I don't want to knock this diet too hard because I know how committed you all are....BUT I have to say that for me it turned unhealthy. The yo yo thing. The constant having to go back to P2 because P3 ultimately failed me. I didn't fail IT, and neither did you Maiasaura--it failed YOU.

I also started to really think about the effects of such high fats from meats, cream, etc. on my heart. It also became an obsession, the constant weighing, the anxiety about sticking to the plan in social situation...So I just decided to take a step back and tell myself that there are other choices out there. This is not the only way.

I did learn a lot from the process, so it wasn't all bad. But for me, it's time to move on.

Just wanted to share that. Good luck to all of you, stay healthy, and keep it real. You are all beautiful. No matter what.

Peace~

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by kerpav Maiasaura that you are having the same issues over and over again with P3. Sad to say, pretty much the same story for me. I've been back and forth with this for the last year, just like you. It worked...for a while. And then it didn't. It really didn't. I kept gaining in P3, no matter what I tried.

I don't want to knock this diet too hard because I know how committed you all are....BUT I have to say that for me it turned unhealthy. The yo yo thing. The constant having to go back to P2 because P3 ultimately failed me. I didn't fail IT, and neither did you Maiasaura--it failed YOU.

Well, I'm not giving up just yet. I failed the diet, the last 3 times. I screwed up, and I know how, and when, and just exactly what I did to do that. So I'm not giving up yet.

Yesterday I was back down to 146.0 and then today I was up to 147.2-- I did read recently that P3 is for re-setting the hypothalamus and that P4 is for stabilization/maintenance, and that's the first time I saw that info! I do kind of expect my weight to swing while in P3...though I hope it doesn't keep going up. I know my body is fighting me to get back to the high numbers. I won't let it.

AND, I don't have an issue with high fats or saturated fats. I believe Gary Taubes. He just makes the most sense, IMO. Also my Anatomy and Physiology teachers (I've taken it 3x, at varying times) all said the same things: Carbs are death. Well, they cause fatness, anyway.

I hope hope hope you're wrong! I am not planning to go back into P2 again until at least the Spring. Unless I get >15lbs over LDW, then I will take a look at doing it some more.

[middlemamma]

Last 2 days of P2 R2!!!! WHooohooo I did it!!!! I am so excited. :) I am 171.2 today. Can't wait for P3. Stabilization here I come! Never thought I would be this thin again. One more round in January then an exercise regimen to get in shape!

[middlemamma]

a week into P3...doing ok. starting to stabilize about a pound up from LDW. Had a rough few days of up and down and a small bout with touch of food poisoning. Hope everyone is doing well...Maia how are you hanging in there?

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by middlemamma 

a week into P3...doing ok. starting to stabilize about a pound up from LDW. Had a rough few days of up and down and a small bout with touch of food poisoning. Hope everyone is doing well...Maia how are you hanging in there?

Hi there! My LDW range is 140-144, with LDW being 142. I am at 147.8 today. I was up as high as 149.4 two days ago, then for no apparent reason, dropped to 147.2 yesterday, and today I'm slightly up again. Right now I'm alright with it, as I'm staying in the 140s, but I would really love, one of these days, to stabilize at LDW....sigh. I'm hanging in there, though. I think my body is just so freaking sensitive to foods that even on past P3s I ate with impunity. I may only be able to eat meat, fish, eggs, and cream, and a small amt. of veggies for like....ever. Gah. I hope not. But it may be. I am able to eat about 1/4c of blueberries, now-- yay! Or maybe 1/3 of an apple. In a day.

I think I'm coming down with a cold I need to get it over with by 11/20 at the latest! I'm going to MA to see my love on the 23rd. I do NOT want to be sick. I just started pounding the C today, and echinacea the other day.

[middlemamma]

Originally Posted by Maiasaura 

Hi there! My LDW range is 140-144, with LDW being 142. I am at 147.8 today. I was up as high as 149.4 two days ago, then for no apparent reason, dropped to 147.2 yesterday, and today I'm slightly up again. Right now I'm alright with it, as I'm staying in the 140s, but I would really love, one of these days, to stabilize at LDW....sigh. I'm hanging in there, though. I think my body is just so freaking sensitive to foods that even on past P3s I ate with impunity. I may only be able to eat meat, fish, eggs, and cream, and a small amt. of veggies for like....ever. Gah. I hope not. But it may be. I am able to eat about 1/4c of blueberries, now-- yay! Or maybe 1/3 of an apple. In a day.

I think I'm coming down with a cold I need to get it over with by 11/20 at the latest! I'm going to MA to see my love on the 23rd. I do NOT want to be sick. I just started pounding the C today, and echinacea the other day.

You have plenty of time to get well. Grab up some airborne. I know its a mainstream remedy but I have been very satisfied with it for our family. I hope you get well quickly.
Today was my 3rd straight day at 172 ish...so this is good for me. I think I am stabilizing. I was 171.6 on my LDW, so I am right around there, today I was 172.2, yesterday 172.4 and the day before 172.4. So holding steady!

I do think I will also eventually have to live a very low carb existence. But I want to be able to enjoy things like Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. My birthday is December 8th and I am already drooling over having a piece of cake. :) I know I can do this and it is part of a whole life change. You can't eat like I did before and have no consequences. SO I am just taking it one day at a time. After my last round in January I have every intention of exercising to get in shape and stay there...so hopefully 2012 will be the year I conquer all this yo yo dieting and losing weight but never being HEALTHY.

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by middlemamma You have plenty of time to get well. Grab up some airborne. I know its a mainstream remedy but I have been very satisfied with it for our family. I hope you get well quickly.

Today was my 3rd straight day at 172 ish...so this is good for me. I think I am stabilizing. I was 171.6 on my LDW, so I am right around there, today I was 172.2, yesterday 172.4 and the day before 172.4. So holding steady!

I do think I will also eventually have to live a very low carb existence. But I want to be able to enjoy things like Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. My birthday is December 8th and I am already drooling over having a piece of cake. :) I know I can do this and it is part of a whole life change. You can't eat like I did before and have no consequences. SO I am just taking it one day at a time. After my last round in January I have every intention of exercising to get in shape and stay there...so hopefully 2012 will be the year I conquer all this yo yo dieting and losing weight but never being HEALTHY.

Well go you, you stabilized person, you! I was down 0.2 today to 147.6, but I'm still 3-1/2lb above my top limit for LDW range. It's a dance, for sure. I know that the more I do this, the more sensitive my body gets, even to things I ate on the last P3 It's really disheartening and annoying, but whatever...I'd rather be in the 140s than the 180s even if my diet has to be limited to keep myself there.

I no longer desire to eat traditional holiday foods. I never thought I'd hear myself say that, but I don't care. Chocolate, now that is a very probable issue if it's around and free for the taking (like at my mom's...sigh...), but other things? Pie? Cake? Nope. Don't care. Potatoes...those, I sigh wistfully at sometimes, but I can deal. Pasta, don't much care. Bread...that comes and goes, but mostly it's a craving that passes if I ride it out. I have 17 years of alk recovery to thank for that ability