HCG diet SUPPORT thread - Page 4

[mary3mama]

Down another 1.4 lbs.

Total loss on protocol: 10.4 lbs (after 6 days on VLCD)

[SuburbanHippie]

Down 1lb today! I'm glad the exercise didn't make me stall.

[mary3mama]

Awesome Sub!

[BabyPie]

The kale chips sound great. Besides kale, beet greens and chard, what other leafy vegetables are ok?

I am down 7 pounds in 8 days

[clovergirl]

Originally Posted by BabyPie

The kale chips sound great. Besides kale, beet greens and chard, what other leafy vegetables are ok?

I don't have it in front of me, but I think salad greens and spinach were on the original list too.

Is anyone eating tomatoes? I went to the farmer's market today and the cherry tomoatoes looked too good to pass up. I think I am just going to eat them plain tomorrow at dinner.

[greenmom4]

I've had tomatoes. I've made burgers and used tomato slices as buns. And the tomatoes in my garden are about to explode, so I'm glad I can eat those.

[mary3mama]

Originally Posted by clovergirl

I don't have it in front of me, but I think salad greens and spinach were on the original list too.

Is anyone eating tomatoes? I went to the farmer's market today and the cherry tomoatoes looked too good to pass up. I think I am just going to eat them plain tomorrow at dinner.

Yep, salad greens and spinach are both on the list.

I have tomatoes nearly everyday. I LOVE tomatoes, always have.

Made garlic lemon chicken for lunch today. It was fantastic. I didn't follow a recipe, just threw a few things together. Put 100g of chicken breast in a pan added enough water to almost cover it, put in 4 cloves of sliced garlic, slices of half a lemon, cooked on high heat until the chicken seemed cooked, then let it simmer for about 20 minutes on low. By the time I got to it the lemon juices had reduced down to a lemon sauce. I drizzled the resulting sauce over the chicken and the cucumber slices. YUM!

[MoOnFiReGlOw]

I'm so glad you guys started a SUPPORT thread! Just wanted to you guys on!!

I was planning on starting the protocol next week but decided to put it off until my classes start in a month. I don't want to have to get used to a new schedule and a new way of eating!

I have been trying to 'healthy up' my diet though to prep for it! I haven't had the AWESOME weight loss you guys are having, but I'm down 12lbs since last month

You guys are doing wonderful! Thanks for the cookbook link too

[SuburbanHippie]

I'm on day 11 of my menstrual cycle and here is my period again! Thanks, hcg. I suppose I would rather have it every 11 days and be thin than the opposite. lol. It's going to irritate DH more than it's going to bother me.

[mary3mama]

Originally Posted by SuburbanHippie

I'm on day 11 of my menstrual cycle and here is my period again! Thanks, hcg. I suppose I would rather have it every 11 days and be thin than the opposite. lol. It's going to irritate DH more than it's going to bother me.

I wonder if you hormones are just rebalancing themselves? I've only been on the protocol for a week and it's not time for my period yet. Not sure what to expect...or when really.

[mary3mama]

Originally Posted by MoOnFiReGlOw

I'm so glad you guys started a SUPPORT thread! Just wanted to you guys on!!

I was planning on starting the protocol next week but decided to put it off until my classes start in a month. I don't want to have to get used to a new schedule and a new way of eating!

I have been trying to 'healthy up' my diet though to prep for it! I haven't had the AWESOME weight loss you guys are having, but I'm down 12lbs since last month

You guys are doing wonderful! Thanks for the cookbook link too

Awesome on the 12lbs Moon!!

Before I started on the protocol I shed about 15 lbs, but they were HARD. There seemed to be very little connection between effort and result. And then just before I started on the protocol I seemed to have hit a setpoint that my body didn't want to let go of.

The only thing I'd say is don't wait! Losing the weight feels so good that I'd start now.

[mary3mama]

My first week on the HCG diet/protocol report.

I've shed 11.6 lbs

I'm now more than 24 lbs lighter than I was at the beginning of June. And it feels great!

I know that it is normal for the weightloss to start to slow down by this point in the protocol, and I am prepared for that. But getting more than 11 lbs off in the beginning not only feels great, it is very inspiring and motivating.

[SuburbanHippie]

I'm down another # today. -9.8 on VLCD6!

HELLO 170s!!!! I hope I can coast through them to see the 160s! I haven't seen those since before I had my youngest DS (who is 3).

I dehydrated some apples last night (with lemon juice) and am dying to have a few for my fruit for the day. I know it's stupid because they won't have any of the water in them to fill me up. I have them just sitting in front of me while I type. They smell really good.

[greenmom4]

I was wondering about dehydrating apples, but decided against it because I figured the fiber was important?

I'm officially down a size. Cool. Not bad for 10 days!

[mary3mama]

Originally Posted by SuburbanHippie

I'm down another # today. -9.8 on VLCD6!

Originally Posted by greenmom4

I'm officially down a size. Cool. Not bad for 10 days!

[clovergirl]

OK, so what do you all do when it takes all your strength not to eat something that's off limits? I seem to have hit a wall this evening. This is day 3 of VLCD. I was fine with lunch, afternoon snack, but then at dinner it took all of my strength not to reach out and eat an olive that was on the table (it was build your own taco night for everyone else). An olive almost reduced me to tears. That's not cool.

In other news, I am making strawberry lemonade-esqe slushie later tonight and am really looking forward to it! It's HOT here today.

[greenmom4]

Day 3 is about when I started to have some slip-ups. Even though I'm not hungry all this off-limits food just kills me. Like, the kids had grilled cheese today. Oh. My. Goodness. Grilled cheese is one of my favorite things in the world. The night I met my husband I had grilled cheese

Anyway, once you see the terrifying effects of cheating, it makes it not as difficult to stick to the plan. I kind of figured that even with my "cheat" I was still under 1000 calories - how bad could it be? Um, 3+ lbs overnight bad. And everything you read is right - it takes 3 days to bounce back. It's really discouraging to mess up progress like that.

I just keep thinking of how good everything is going to taste when I get to Ph 3 (in about, oh, a month from now. Hello, September!!).

[Panserbjorne]

yes, cheating is very, very bad. lol. one reason you gain so much while loading is because of the HCG. It increases exponentially the amount you'd put on. It's the same on protocol....there's a protocol for a reason. IF you deviate, you gain *even if you are at 850 calories which is still technically starvation* you will gain. The doc knew what he was doing.

I think it's the numbers moving so fast on the scale that keeps most in line. You don't want to sacrifice those 1+ pound losses you wake up to each morning for the first two weeks.

As with anything else, focus on what you *can* have! (Clover, that shake sounds AWESOME!) And know that it's finite. You can do it in just 25 days if you choose....and you've already knocked a few off.

You can support yourself in other ways as well. Just be prepared for lots of feelings to come up as you're releasing. It's truly amazing how we retrace. I don't think most notice it because it happens slowly on any other plan. 5 pounds in a month is different than 5 pounds in 3 days. Since you are losing big amounts...some to the tune of 25 pounds in 25 days it's right there in your face. And if you can't use food as comfort you're going to have to find a different way to respond. That isn't always easy at first since it's often unfamiliar territory.

[mary3mama]

Originally Posted by clovergirl

OK, so what do you all do when it takes all your strength not to eat something that's off limits?

I drink lots of water or tea. I know the craving will pass if I just acknowledge it and let it go.

I made these really awesome muffins for the family today. They are whole grain (white whole wheat and rolled oats) with coconut oil and butterscotch chips. They smelled sooooo good.

Everytime I passed the counter I got a whiff and had to remind myself that I couldn't have even one little bit. And I drank more water.

Generally I have no problem with it. I am truly quite full with the food I am having in conjunction with the homeopathic hcg.

If I am truly tempted (like I was today) I tell myself that it is like an allergy. I am on this protocol to lose weight, yes, but also to find out what it is that doesn't like my body or vice versa. It is an elimination diet of sorts after all.

Later, after I've gotten to a healthy weight, I can explore those things again, one at a time, to find out what doesn't work for me. That is what works for me.

Originally Posted by greenmom4

Anyway, once you see the terrifying effects of cheating, it makes it not as difficult to stick to the plan. I kind of figured that even with my "cheat" I was still under 1000 calories - how bad could it be? Um, 3+ lbs overnight bad. And everything you read is right - it takes 3 days to bounce back. It's really discouraging to mess up progress like that.

That's the other thing that keeps me on the 'straight and narrow.' I DON'T want to see a gain. I've dropped 11.6 lbs so far in 1 week on the VLCD. Obviously it works. So I have to trust that the other part is true as well, that even a tiny bit of food will cause a gain and that's not what I'm doing all this work for.

Originally Posted by Panserbjørne

You can support yourself in other ways as well. Just be prepared for lots of feelings to come up as you're releasing. It's truly amazing how we retrace. I don't think most notice it because it happens slowly on any other plan. 5 pounds in a month is different than 5 pounds in 3 days. Since you are losing big amounts...some to the tune of 25 pounds in 25 days it's right there in your face. And if you can't use food as comfort you're going to have to find a different way to respond. That isn't always easy at first since it's often unfamiliar territory.

Absolutely. Of course homeopathy can be that way too, can't it? Giving us a chance to work through that which didn't get taken care of fully before. It is one of the things I find most wondrous about homeopathy.

[greenmom4]

This may sound kooky, but one other thing that has been helping me push through this, I think, are doing visualizations at night.

I don't know if you're familiar with the Jon Gabriel Method but he has an amazing story. His whole thing is that people who are perpetually fat (and he was 300+ pounds at one point) have their "fat switch" turned on and have to work to turn it off. He actually advocates not dieting at all, but slowly *adding* good foods (if you eat junk) and doing the visualizations minimizes cravings for junk. His book is a great read, and I've been listening to his evening visualizations before bed every night. The visualization mp3 is a free download when you get the book (which I think is about $10 or so)...

Anyway, I do believe that there is a mental component to being heavy (at least for me) and I think this technique is working well for me in tandem with the hcg protocol.