VLCD Day #4

Current Weight: 164.4 lbs. (-0.0)

Dose: 150 i.u.

Breakfast: Yerba Mate & Rooibos Tea

Lunch: none

Snack: none

Dinner: Double ground beef with onions

Snack: Apple

Today I woke up with a slight gain early on in the day.  When I weighed a little later, it was down around yesterday's weight so that is what I'm recording because I can't get discouraged by a gain in the first week!  I know it is because I am retaining water from my sunburn but still, psychologically it is killing me!  I didn't really plan on doing a mini steak day today it just sort of happened that way.  We have to be to church by 1:00 pm so I didn't really have time to cook a whole lunch.  I was alright with it though, I wasn't that hungry at church.  When I got home though, I cooked my lean ground beef really fast because I was pretty hungry by that point.  It was about 4:45 when I finally sat down to eat.  I'll be happy in P3 when I can have an egg with the lean ground beef because that was my favorite go to breakfast last round.

I am trying really hard not to get discouraged about the scale this morning.  I keep thinking that I can do this diet but my brain keeps psyching me out!  I can't believe I am in week 1 of VLCD and I am already looking at P3 foods!  I think it's because I had the realization the other day that I have to give up junk food and that is really difficult for me.  I think all the comfort foods and stress eating is what gets me to this point so I am not surprised that I am having a hard time saying goodbye.  I just keep thinking back to how happy I was after the last round and how many compliments I got and how much energy I had.  Hopefully I can keep that in the back of my mind when those junk food thoughts creep in to my mind.

I keep hoping and praying that I'll go to sleep and wake up to a tan in place of this sunburn.  My left shoulder is really sore! I hope that it is mostly gone tomorrow.  The burning sensation is out of most of my body except my shoulders so I am hoping that by tomorrow, it will mostly be gone.  I learned my lesson about sunscreen, that's for sure!!

VLCD Day #3

Current Weight: 164.4 (-1.7)

Dose: 150 iu (SQ)

Breakfast: None

Lunch: Ground Beef (97% Lean) & Onions 

Snack: Apple

Dinner: Chicken & Romain Lettuce (Little mustard)

Snack: 1/2 Grapefruit w/ Truvia

Another good day! I got really sunburned yesterday so I was really worried the scale wouldn't show a loss.  I was pleasantly surprised! I am hoping that I'll continue to see losses for the rest of the week.  My goal is to get into the 150s by the end of 7 days vlcd.  I don't know if it's possible but I guess we'll find out soon! 

As far as hunger goes, it is pretty non-existent.  I am really loving my dose and brand of HCG.  It is working very well for me.  I continue to be surprised that I am eating so little and feeling so great with hunger only just before meal times.  It makes me think that I can actually do this the full 40 days!

We went swimming with the kids today again. (I know, I'm crazy!)  I made sure to put sunscreen on this time and we went later in the day so the sun wasn't as brutal.  We had so much fun and I was swimming and playing with the kids and it felt so good.  I haven't felt tired today and have had extra energy to get things done.   I hope this feeling continues tomorrow! 

VLCD Day #2

Current Weight: 166.1 (-1.8)

Dose: 150 iu (SQ)

Breakfast: None

Lunch: Shrimp and Cabbage curry

Snack: Grapefruit

Dinner: Scallops and Tomatoes with ACV and S&P

Snack: Apple

I cannot believe how I am not hungry.  It is blowing my mind that I am only eating around 450 calories (I cannot seem to get the other calories in without the milk and melba).  I was very tired today but I think that is because I had a big day.  We went to the pool for a couple hours.  It was fun BUT I got sunburned! Really bad actually!  I am sure it is going to affect the scale tomorrow and that makes me sad.  I have considered not weighing in tomorrow but I know that I couldn't go the whole day without weighing in.  If my sunburn is feeling better by the morning, I might do a detox bath in the morning before weigh in so that I can relieve my body of some of the water weight.  If not tomorrow morning, I will probably do a detox bath tomorrow night.

I was excited but also a little disappointed with the weigh in this morning.  Only because my last VLCD 2 was TWICE the weight.  I didn't know what was happening until I realized that TOM is in town so maybe that is why I am retaining water?  

Well, I am exhausted and ready to go to bed!  Keep your fingers crossed that my weigh-in tomorrow won't be too terrible!

VLCD Day #1

Current Weight: 167.9 (-0.5)

Dose: 150 iu (SQ)

Breakfast: Rooibos Chai Tea w/ Stevia drops

Lunch: Baked Flounder & Steamed Spinach with ACV and S&P

Snack: Apple

Dinner: Chili

Snack: ~7 Strawberries w/ Truvia

Today went very well.  My hunger was very manageable.  I am fighting the psychological hunger though.  It always feels as though I know I am full but I don't feel satiated without bread or sweets.  I made some neighbors dinner, a frozen lasagna, and it smelled very good.  I accidentally (habit) licked my fingers then spit out the taste!  Those little habits are hard to break!

Overall, it was a very successful day!  Looking forward to tomorrow's weigh in!

After 2 babies and almost 4 years, I'm back!!

Here I am again!  The last few years have been very eventful for our family and now I am back and ready to get rid of this baby weight once and for all.  Since my last round, I have had 2, count 'em, 2 babies!! And no, they are not twins, I just got a little surprise when my daughter was only about 7 months old.  My two littlest are only 16 months apart and I will say that having babies so close together without losing weight in between makes for a long journey for me this time around.  I really didn't want to do more than one round but I am going to do one long round and one shorter, stabilizing round once I hit my goal weight.

I will be posting every day like I did in my first 2 rounds.  I will post in the evenings with my morning weight, dose amount, and daily menu.  If you are on VLCD, beware because I will be posting my Load Day meals so I have it for those that are interested.  Tracking my progress through this method has been incredibly helpful to me.  It helps me stay accountable and helps me reflect on my day.  I encourage you all to keep some sort of journal as it has been invaluable to me!

Well, here goes nothing! I am not looking forward to loading like I did in previous rounds.  I hate seeing that scale go in the wrong direction, even if it is only temporary.

I'll be back around tomorrow!

-Katie

Phase 3 - Week #1 (R2)

P3 Week 1 Weigh Ins:

Day 1: 122.40

Day 2: 125.00

Day 3: 125.00

Day 4: 125.80 (cheated - DH b-day)

Day 5: 129.60 (steak day)

Day 6: 126.40 (detox bath)

Day 7: 124.00

I am going to try and keep better track of my menus from here on out but here is the last few days from this week:

P3 Week 2 Menus:

Day 5:

Breakfast and Lunch: Water

Dinner: 1.05 lb. ribeye steak

Day 6:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, protein shake

Lunch: Barbecue Pork loin and steamed spinach with butter and ACV

Snack: protein shake

Dinner: 2 eggs, 5 oz. ground beef with onions

Dessert: Mug cake with sugar free chocolate chips melted on top, sugar free ice cream

Snack: Diet Dr. Pepper

Day 7:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, protein shake

Snack: 1/3 apple

Snack: Diet Dr. Pepper

Lunch: Chicken Mango Salad with Ranch from Costa Vida (no rice/beans/tortilla)

Dinner: Protein Shake (huge) with Fage and fruit, Cinnamon Flax Bread with butter

Snack: Diet Dr. Pepper (BAD habit is forming!)

Overall, I am doing well. This week was kind of an off week because I had a big event on Saturday then I had Adam's (DH) b-day on Monday and DS's b-day on Wednesday. I was BAD on DH's b-day and ate lots of carbs, which DEFINITELY showed on my weight. Luckily, steak days work wonders for me and I don't really mind them. HOWEVER... I am going to try and avoid them from here on out because the whole point of this round is to stabilize at or below LIW. Currently, I am 1 lb. below my LIW and I am PRAYING I stay within range for tomorrow's weigh in. I am a little nervous about the salad today but I felt I did really well considering the tortilla, rice and beans were on the bottom of my salad and I didn't eat them. I just have to remember P3 won't last forever.

One thing though, I feel I might be a little less sensitive this round. I chewed SF gum all through P2 and I'm hoping that is helping with any sensitivities to sugar alcohols that I may have had last round. That means that I can enjoy my SF gum and diet soda once in a while. Not to mention desserts with sweeteners! :) That Cinnamon Flax Bread is the best. I am planning on trying some flax pancakes with SF (vermont brand) syrup tomorrow but I am also running 4.5 miles so I might see some scale fluctuation in the next couple days.

Well, sorry to post this novel after being MIA for the past couple weeks! Hope you all have a great night and a good weigh in tomorrow!

R2 Results - Pounds

Starting Weight (Load Day 1): 131.80

Load Day 2: 135.00 (+3.2)

VLCD 1: 134.80 (-0.2)

VLCD 2: 131.80 (-3.0)

VLCD 3: 130.00 (-1.8)

VLCD 4: 127.80 (-2.2)

VLCD 5: 127.80 (-0.0)

VLCD 6: 127.60 (-0.2)

VLCD 7: 126.40 (-1.2)

VLCD 8: 128.20 (+1.8)

VLCD 9: 133.20 (+5.0)

VLCD 10: 129.00 (-4.2)

VLCD 11: 127.00 (-2.0)

VLCD 12: 126.80 (-0.2)

VLCD 13: 124.60 (-2.2)

VLCD 14: 125.20 (+0.6)

VLCD 15: 124.40 (-0.8)

VLCD 16: 124.40 (-0.0)

VLCD 17: 127.80 (+3.4)

VLCD 18: 126.60 (-1.2)

LIW: 125.00 (-1.6)

No HCG 1: 125.00 (-0.0)

No HCG 2: 124.4 (-0.6)

P3 Day 1: 122.4 (-2.0)

Total R2 Losses from Day 1 to LIW: 6.8 lbs. (great for only 2.5 weeks VLCD with weekly cheats!)

Training for 10K

Well, its official, I am going to start running. I did a 5K on Saturday and LOVED it! I love how I felt after the race and can't wait to do it again. I did it with no training at all and still enjoyed myself and best of all, I ran the entire time!

So, I am going to follow the last 5 weeks of Hal Higdon's 10-K Training and see how I do. I am just aiming to finish the race and I think it will be a fun race. My sister and friend both run and they love it. I have had a hard time getting into it but I think I am finally starting to see the appeal!

I'll try and keep you posted on my workouts. Have a good night!

R2 - VLCD Day #18

Current Weight: 126.6 lbs. (+1.4)

Dose: 155 iu - TOM

Breakfast: 1 whole egg, 1 egg white

Snack: Apple

Lunch: Eggdrop soup

Snack: 1/2 Apple

Dinner: Lean ground beef and small tomato with ACV, S&P and Basil

I had an eventful weekend! I knew I'd be up because of my carb day on Saturday. If this week is anything like last week though, I will hit my goal very soon! Last week, I lost 9.4 (and gained 5.6) so my net loss was 3.8, which I am very happy about, especially since week 1, I only lost 3.6! If I have similar losses, I could hit 120 within a week. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that TOM doesn't derail my losses in any way.

So I have been working out a lot lately. I do Zumba at least once a week, usually twice and then this past saturday, I ran my first 5K race! It was really nice and I felt SO good after! It made me want to run more. I actually went again this morning and did another 3 miles or so. Then, because I had planned to all week, I went to Zumba tonight. Needless to say, my legs are KILLING ME! But I did a detox bath and that is helping a lot. I just hope I can walk tomorrow.

I think tomorrow I am going to take a break then maybe run again Wednesday morning. I am hoping to do a 10K in November. I ran this 5k with absolutely no training and it wasn't bad at all.. I ran the whole time! So I think I am able to do the 10K in 33 days...

Well, I hope you all have had success on the scales over the weekend and I'm crossing my fingers for a big loss tomorrow. I am really hoping that all this working out isn't going to stop my scales. Oh well though, I feel GREAT and that is what counts..

R2 - VLCD Day #14

Current Weight: 125.2 lbs. (+0.6)

Dose: 155 iu

Lunch: Eggdrop soup

Snack: 1/2 Apple

Dinner: 1/2 Apple, P2 Chili

Snack: 1/2 an apple

I figured I'd be up today because of my monster loss yesterday (2.2 lbs). I'm fine with it! These nights though (tuesday and thursday) are rough because I eat dinner at 5:00 and get home around 10:00 and I'm really hungry. I know my dose is good because I'm not hungry at all during the day but when I stay up too late, I get super hungry.

I am having some serious cravings though. DH brought home a HUGE 2 foot long sandwich AND made cookies. Are you kidding me?!! Its a rough night but I am still staying strong!

I'm going to have a bath again tonight I think. I've just been feeling like I'm retaining water and TOM will be here in less than a week. Hope it goes well!

R2 - VLCD Day #13

Current Weight: 124.6 lbs. (-2.2 lbs)

Dose: 155 iu

Snack: 1/2 Apple

Lunch: French Onion Soup and 1/2 an Apple

Snack: 1/2 Apple

Dinner: 7 oz. steak and steamed spinach

Snack: 1/2 an apple

Well well well.. I don't know where this loss came from but I WILL TAKE IT! :) I was so excited to get on the scale this morning and see this!! I was hoping to just see a 125.8 at least and I completely bipassed the 125's and went straight into 124. I couldn't believe my eyes.

I don't know exactly what the culprit was but I did do a detox bath last night. I'm sure that had something to do with it but I also ate dinner at 5:00 instead the usual 7 or later. Maybe that helped as well? I did that again tonight so I am hoping that I at least maintain this loss for tomorrow.

Hoping you all had a successful day as well! Goodnight!

R2 - VLCD Day #12

Current Weight: 126.8 lbs. (-0.2 lbs)

Dose: 155 iu

Snack: 1/2 Apple

Lunch: Curry Shrimp and Cabbage and 1/2 apple

Snack: 1/2 Apple

Dinner: Lean ground beef and French Onion Soup

Snack: 1/2 an apple

So my steak day did NOTHING for me today! I woke up with a .2 lb. loss. PATHETIC! I couldn't believe it but oh well. I had a really really tough time today. I was feeling like I wanted to snack all day. I ate WAY too much gum... like.. seriously I felt like I was trying to quit smoking, I kept going for the gum all day.

Because of that fact (and the onion soup) I did a detox bath tonight. I am hoping and praying I see some movement on the scale tomorrow. How can I be eating so little and not be losing?! I know, the classic stall answer but when your in it, it doesn't make you feel better to know "its normal". Okay, enough venting. I know stalls are normal, I just felt like complaining. Here's why:

So, I came home from my new night class and had been looking forward to my detox bath all night. I got home and looked in my bathroom and oops, no Epsom Salt. After a little debate in my head, I decided to run out and go get some. I asked DH if he wanted anything from the store and then my sister and brother in law overheard. My BIL jokingly asked for a Big Mac and DH said that sounds good and my sister said she'd have some too.. Oh and fries... lol. So after grabbing my epsom salt, I head on over and get their stuff then suffered 7 minutes of pure torture as the delicious scent of warm salty starchy crispy McDonald's fries wafted right at me. They were calling my name! But... I did not succumb! I am really proud of myself that not one of those fries made it into my mouth... All joking aside, even though it was tough, I don't mind hooking up my family - :) In fact, I think I like to live vicariously through them... my kids eat more cookies when I'm on this diet than they should!

Well, enough blabbering! Hope your day went well and the scales were in your favor! Good luck tomorrow! :)

R2 - VLCD Day #11

Current Weight: 127.0 lbs. (-2.0 lbs)

Dose: 155 iu.

Lunch: 1 egg white and 1 whole egg

Dinner: Steak and HUGE apple

Snack: teeny tiny bite of a chocolate peanut butter chip cookie...

Doing another steak day today to get off the final .6 from before the refeed. Hopefully I lose a little more than that though. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the cookie bite didn't sabotage me though!

I ate the protein earlier in the day because for some reason I was hungry. I might need to adjust my dose a teeny bit if I am feeling hunger. I don't know though, I know these steak days are not technically protocol.

I am PRAYING that I see a "125" on the scale tomorrow, even if it is 125.8. That will be Virgin Territory for this diet and really, I haven't seen that number since high school or early college days! Pretty exciting stuff!

After today, I am going to go back on the regular diet and pray that I continue to lose good numbers this week because on Friday, I plan on doing another refeed day if my losses for the week are substantial.

Hoping you all have an excellent night! Keep your fingers crossed regarding the scale tomorrow!

R2 - VLCD Day #10

Current Weight: 129.0 lbs. (-4.2 lbs.)

Dose: 155 iu

Lunch: Lean ground beef with mustard and tomatoes with ACV, S&P and basil

Dinner: Baked tilapia and tomatoes with ACV, S&P and basil (ran out of all other veggies

So my steak day was a complete success! More than half of my refeed weight is gone and I am nearly back on track! I am going to do a normal day today along with a detox bath to get rid of some more water weight.

I am thinking that if I would have done the carb refeed the right way, I would have had a success in just one day. I am thinking I probably should have only gained 3 lbs. on the refeed (max) and then that weight would have been off pretty much today! Next time though, I don't think I'll weigh the day after the refeed because I get super depressed when I gain. (Even if its inevitable!) So if I do it again, I will just skip the weigh in the next day and make that a steak day. *ps, I seriously love steak days and don't mind them at ALL!

Well, even though I still regret HOW I did the carb refeed, I don't think it was the worst experiment in the world so thats good.

Have a good night!

R2 - VLCD Day #9

Current Weight: 133.2 lbs. (+5.0 lbs.)

Dose: 155 iu

Dinner: 7.5 oz. steak & Large Apple

So let me explain about the insane gain. I decided (on a whim) to try a "carb refeed" day. Now, I had been researching this for my whole first week and kind of fell into it when I came home and DH had ordered pizza (something I have a SERIOUS problem with). I "fell off the wagon" and decided to turn it into a carb refeed.

Well, as it turns out, I did the refeed incorrectly. I pretty much ate whatever I wanted. I shouldn't have eaten fats as freely as I did. It was basically just a gigantic cheat day. I paid for it too. Look at that insane weight gain!

So I did a steak day today and I'm hoping it really helps get me back down. I'm thinking most of this is water weight anyway. I'll keep you posted on how I feel about the refeed. It is supposed to restart your metabolism and help you lose faster so if it does that this week, I may try a more structured refeed on friday (less fat).

Hope you all have an excellent day!

R2 - VLCD Day #8

Current Weight: 128.2 lbs. (+1.8 lbs.)

Dose: none

Breakfast: 2 eggo waffles and SF syrup

Snack: Pumpkin bagel with almond cream cheese & an all fruit smoothie from Jamba

Lunch: Olive Garden - Braised Beef Tortelloni, breadsticks and salad

Snack: Crackers

Dinner: Steak, lobster, bread, tomato mozzerella salad

Dessert: Ice cream and candy.. too much candy

Snack: Toast with honey

Okay, so you probably know (if you read consistantly) that this post is me looking back a couple days ago to my major cheat/"refeed" day. To be honest, it is hard to write this post but I figure, if it can help someone else, I'd better do it.

I had been investigating a carb refeed and decided to go for it when I fell off the wagon and ate pizza. I should have structure it better because I think the concept behind it makes sense. Oh well, if I get all the weight off and continue to lose well this week, I might MIGHT try a REAL structured refeed this coming friday.

Well, I will keep you posted!

R2 - VLCD Day #7

Current Weight: 126.4 lbs. (-1.2 lbs.)

Dose: 155 iu

Lunch: Chicken Curry and Cabbage

Snack: Apple

Dinner: Pizza, breadsticks, soda

Dessert: Anything I could get my hands on pretty much

Came home and DH had ordered pizza... What the FRENCH, TOAST?! Frustrating... I have the hardest time saying no to pizza and I was feeling a little hungry so I indulged a little too much.

After the pizza, I made myself "feel better" by telling myself I was going to have a carb refeed for the next day. So I pretty much gave myself permission to eat whatever I wanted. Not the best idea.

While I think the principle behind refeeds is a good one, I didn't follow the rules and I'm going to pay for it!

R2 - VLCD Day #6

Current Weight: 127.6 lbs. (-0.2 lbs.)

Dose: 155 iu

Snack: 1 stick of sugar free gum

Dinner: ~8 oz. lean steak & 1 large apple

So I was glad I got on the scale and didn't see an increase today. I was very relieved! But I also didn't lose a lot either. That makes it a 3 day stall. I did a mini steak day (I like them better than apple days) and it went really well. I am really like my dose this round because I really didn't have any hunger. There might have been a couple times a felt a little something but it went away really fast and water helped a TON!

I am hoping this helps bring me down a little. My first round, I always lost well with mini steak days (always over a pound) so I'm really hoping for the same results tomorrow!

Have a good night!

R2 - VLCD Day #5

Current Weight: 127.8 lbs. (-0.0 lbs.)

Dose: 155 iu

Lunch: Grilled Chicken and Baked Onion

Snack: Apple

Snack: 1 tiny strawberry

Dinner: Steak (too big), an apple and steamed Spinach with ACV - might be paying for this tomorrow!

Didn't have any movement on the scale tonight. It was to be expected though. After my giganto loss yesterday and working out last night, I figured I'd be up. Luckily I wasn't but I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. I have a bad feeling that I'm going to be up tomorrow.. :( Not happy.

Have a good night!

R2 - VLCD Day #4

Current Weight: 127.8 lbs. (-2.2 lbs.)

Dose: 155 iu

Snack/Breakfast: Apple

Lunch: Curry Shrimp and cabbage "stir fry" (cabbage in a frying pan with a little broth and braggs, onion powder, and garlic powder)

Snack: Apple and 1 whole hardboiled egg and 1 hardboiled egg white

Dinner: Tilapia and steamed spinach

Good day! I can't believe that monster loss this morning! A-Mazing! :) I also worked out today so I am going to do another detox bath tonight. I am hoping to at least stay this weight through tomorrow because I know exercise can often make me gain.

Zumba was so fun and its great to be doing it regularly! I hope to do it at least 3 times a week but I don't know if the ol' schedule will let me do that!

Have a good night!