DUH! DUH! DUH!

I just realized when I was emailing Tammy my LIW to post on the website that my TOM is approaching.... ooooooooohhhhhh DUH!!! Ya think that might account for feeling bloated and 3lbs.... DUH!!! Still sticking to the protien day today!

Feel Super Bloated

Okay - my weight was back down 1 lb this morning - I'm 3 lbs within my LIW. But I just feel super bloated. My hands are really tight - joints stiff and overall feel stiff and puffy.

So, I am going to try a protein day as prescribed in the Dr. S protocol to see if it is the edema. I let you know tomorrow how things go. I started the day with an egg breakfast. Plan on a large steak for lunch then the cheese for dinner. Hopefully, that will take off the 2 lbs and then maybe another steak day tomorrow.

QUIT SMOKING - Went Up 4 lbs...

Yes, I went up 4 lbs from my LIW already - here's why - I QUIT SMOKING... I'm just about over the "3-day" craving hump" but I am anxious - my nerves are on edge etc. Probably not the smartest thing to do when coming off of VLCD - which I didn't do well with stopping smoking at the same time thus the 4 lb gain. So, I guess I need to do a steak day but I have no idea what I am supposed to do - so need to read up later today. I've cut up my apple - I know that is on there and I am grabbing some cut-up beef in the fridge - I remember reading of people breaking the steak up into two servings throughout the day. So, I figured I'd have half the steak & apple at lunch and the other halves at dinner. Let you know how things go!

Super Size Me

Have any of you ever watched this movie - if not it's worth it CLICK HERE it's really interesting. I don't ever want fast food again! My kids are studying this in school for science right now. I'm feeling all alone out here - anyone reading???

Ready for Break & Past Relationship

I'm ready for some variety in my diet - I'm pleased that I've lost almost 20 lbs this round. Yeah it could have been more if I'd gotten my act together sooner - but better than last round where I didn't have it together at all and only maintained. However, I've only got about 40 lbs left to go - hoping to tackle that in the next round - but I have planned for 2 more rounds just in case I reach my goal and decided I still need to lose some more. Know what I mean? I haven't been this thin in years and love the protocol even though at times it is boring as all get out... I'm almost there peeps! And I cannot wait to get below 200 lbs. It's been 10 years since I've been below the 200's - and my kids are so proud of me - that's the best!

I'm also finding I appreciate life and myself more. I have this guy so shows up in my life every once and awhile. He shows up just long enough to turn my life upside down. He called this weekend and literally I just told him that he's not happy with his life and that is why he calls me. I told him to come to church - that he needs Jesus - not me. Don't get me wrong - I wasn't rude. But I did come to the realization that I'd rather be 90 with a billion cats than be with a man like that. I am worth so much more - and before it would have just tore me up - because I was so (for lack of a better word) desperate to have someone in my life. I know that there are a lot of good men - good Christian men out there. I see them in my church and the married ones love and would do anything for their wives. This fellow has no job, "his girlfriend told him they were threw this weekend", and three kids. Yeah - winner - NOT! Again, don't get me wrong - everyone goes through hard times but this fellow it's been the same story over and over throughout the years. I dated him when I was in my early 20's so you can see this has been a pattern for almost 20 years. COME ON! Get it together fellow you're almost 40 and still mooching off women. He never got that far into my life - only enough to suck my emotions dry a few times throughout the years because I wanted to believe he had changed because at one point I did love him.

As you can see this diet has not only changed my body - but has contributed to giving me the confidence to say NO! No more! I don't want YOU! I'm worth more than you have to offer!

Down a little

I'm getting close to wrapping up this round of shots - and I lost .2 this morning. Wish it were more but I will take it! 4 more shots and I'm at the end of this round.

REAL SMART! - DUH!!!

Well - I knew I ran out of the house this morning forgetting something... Uh-Duh your food!!! So, I had to grab some non-protocol food at the grocery on my way to work. Mozzarella balls, tomatoes and an apple. Well, see what tomorrow brings for the scale since I was so smart this morning :(

Frustrated

I'm not sure how much I actually weigh - my scale has been moved so many times in my bathroom - ARRRRRRGGGG!!! So, I got out a level and am putting it on the scale before I weigh. But now I have the level and can go from there. :P~~~

Anyway I did have a good time at the fair yesterday - went with adults - that was different. My kids didn't want to go.

Confession time - I did cheat - it was the first time I could have roasted corn in 3 years - so I had a cob and a few other items that I either split or had a smaller portion. So, again not sure what I weigh but the measurements will speak for themselves tomorrow night.

Have a great day!

Shopping...

Nope didn't spend any money - I went shopping in my own closet! HOW EXCITING! I couldn't believe it I was able to fit several items with ease! Some are still a little tight and will have to wait but I am so close to those too. I have several sizes hanging in my closet that I have bought at a second hand store which sells items that have only 90% wear left in them. So, I have some very nice items awaiting me :D I am getting rid of two very large bags of clothes that do not fit anymore YIPPIE... See I go through this ritual - when the items are too big they go out of the house immediately. That way I have no excuse to move back into them otherwise it's too easy. If I start moving the other direction then I have to buy new clothes and I don't want to have to do that again!!!

Oh - and I am very excited I have more people asking about the protocol!!! And if they take it up they too can be free from fat forever!!!

Gearing Up to Enter Phase 3/4

What I'll be doing for phase 3/4 was recommended by a fellow HCG'er - Helen and that is the Atkins style diet. I will do Atkins Phase 1&2 during my 3 first weeks of stabilization. Then I'll move gradually into the Atkins Phase 3 for my second 3 weeks of stabilization. I'm providing links below and you can open them in PDF format to either save or print. I was talking to my trainer this morning and telling him that I cannot wait to eat carrots, rice and mashed potatoes. Quite honestly - the sugar thing isn't even on my mind - I'm wanting healthy - whole - real food! It's crazy, thought at the end of this I would really want everything creamy, chocolatey ewwy - gooey goodness - BUT HONEST - It sounds gross, it smells gross and I don't want it! Well, maybe some pumpkin pie - I may have to wait til after Thanksgiving to start my next phase - NAH!!! I'll just make some pumpkin pie myself when I get to Phase 4 :D I think I am going to order a baking with Stevia book - I really don't want to reintroduce one of the 5 white deaths back into my diet. And I may try this one PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE

CLICK HERE - Link to the Atkins Phase 1
CLICK HERE - Link to the Atkins Phase 2
CLICK HERE - Link to the Atkins Phase 3

Okay now that I've wasted away half the day - I'm signing off... Let me know if any of you try the Atkins for Phase 3/4 of Dr. S Protocol. I'd be interested in hearing your results :D

Feel Great

I feel so great this morning - I'm also back down - YIPPIE 209lbs... I cannot wait until I hit 100 lbs lost it will be a celebration for me and it's only 10 lbs away!!! THANK YOU DD.CA!!! I am trying to not focus on the scale because with working out and the loss in inches I really need to focus on how my body is reshaping. I am very excited! I'm so close :D My last shot is on Wednesday - I am hoping to get the 10 lbs but not counting on it - it's a nice thought though!

Blessings ~ T

Coffee? Antibiotic? OR????

So I went up 1.2 lbs today, not sure if it was because I was able to eat, or the really strong antibiotic I was put on yesterday or if it's coffee - because I was not able to have coffee for two days with the food poisoning. So the question is up in the air... We'll see how things go today...

Great News!

I've made it past another milestone - I'm down to 208.2 this morning - almost out of the 200's YES!!! I am so excited - Onderland here I come!!!!

As Expected Big Loss

I'm down to 210 this morning -3.2lbs. Not hard when you got the flu or food poisoning still not sure what I have.

Tomorrow's Weight

Well tomorrow's weight should be GREAT! I either have the flu of food poisoning - not hard to lose when you can't keep anything down. Please pray for my family - we keep getting hit with either colds, flu's or whatever... We're taking tinctures and immunity building stuff so - I believe we are being attacked in the spiritual sense - some of you will think I'm a kook but - those of you out there that are Christians and believers know what I am talking about. Please diligently pray for my families healing.

20 Year Reunion

I was pretty good except for the beers - yes and that's plural. I had a great time and got to see a lot of people I had not seen in the full 20 years. Everyone was very nice - some people heavier, some people thinner, some still married to their high school sweethearts and others divorced several times. All-in-all it was a good time :D I wish the picture below was better but I didn't think to have it done before the end of the evening and when it was still light out.

Blessed Jewlery

Well - I have some great news! I'm going to have to stop wearing my mother's ring - as it is about to fall off my finger. And very soon I will need to take another link out of my watch. It's the little things that make this all worth it! Here's another NON-SCALE way of seeing that I am still losing - I can place my fingers all the way around my wrist and touch comfortably on my none predominant hand - at the beginning of this there was no way that was happening!

I tried broiled grapefruit with cinnamon and stevia - OMG it made the grapefruit actually tasty. I'm not much of a fan of grapefruit but my body seems to like it better than apples. So, guess I'll be a broilin' those puppies. I think I got the idea off of one of the yahoo forums but I've read so much information lately I cannot be sure.

I'm trying an alternative to the Candida-G. It's by THORNE Research and has 1.5 billion of those bad boys to fight of the bad bacteria in our systems it's called lactobacillus sporogenes. It does not contain the aloe leaf that Candida-G does but it is also 1/2 to a 1/3 of the cost of Candida-G. I'm sure it's a great product but I'm on a budget still. It can be purchase either directly from the manufacturer or Amazon carries it too. I picked mine up locally for $16. Also, you only need to take 1 per day ~ and the research that I did was that the lactobacillus sporogenes has a higher sustainability in the system and can get to the GI tract and intestines where it needs to do it's job.

My daughter has been sick and I also read on one of the sites that the lactobacillus sporogenes and be dissolved in water and sprayed in the throat - I had her gargle and swallow. I'm going to have her do this again tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the big 20 year reunion - I'll have pictures for you all on Sunday :D

The end of TOM is NEAR AND FOR GOOD!!!

Hallelujah - it's almost done. I also, scheduled my surgery for Oct 10 and praying that it will solve the problems with the severe intermitent abdominal pain throughout the month.

I discovered something today and oh - yummy... I ABSOLUTELY LOVE GINGER... I pre-diced some in my food processor and carried it to work for some hot ginger tea (earlier in the week when I was still not feeling quite right much better but still wanting some comfort) and I nibbled on the chunks as I get to the bottom. It's really good with stevia and some lemon too. Anyway I forgot I had some club soda in the fidge at work. So, I had Ginger Soda today and what a treat to get those little hot nibbles of ginger up the straw. I didn't have stevia with me today but you could certainly add that too.

TATA for now...

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

Is there no end to TOM - go away - this has been a really long one even for me! So, I'm still doing injections but am wondering if I should have stopped for this one... Maybe by the time I start again I'll not have this issue any longer - I'm planning an outpatient ablation procedure (2 days recovery) to see if it will rid me of the ongoing pain. Wish they'd just take it out - I've got two beautiful children and their almost grown - I don't want anymore. But all the tests they've run so far have come back "NORMAL"! They could do further testing a MRI but that's very expensive...

With all that said - I still haven't been able to get a NON-TOM weight in over a week. UHHHHHGGGHHHHHHHH... I'm about ready to end shots - but I've also realized I didn't mix mine wrong but to make it last the full 40 days and a DUH moment almost all the way through - are you ready? I wasn't accounting for the skipped days... DUH! DUH! DUH! My trying to be frugal and not bust open another vial has probably cost me some weight loss - chalk it up to another lesson learned - YA'LL TAKIN' NOTES??? Don't do my stupid human trick!!!

Anyway - my shots are almost done for this round! And I shall move into P3 and hope and pray I have as much success as Lori! She's done fabulous!!! Think I need to get some of that candida stuff she keeps talking about - don't remember the name but it's all over her blog.

That's all folks - I'll write more later - maybe TOM will leave tomorrow or at least before the reunion would be a blessing!

TOM CAN END ANY DAY

I was in such pain today I wanted to die - I almost couldn't drive home thought I was going to have to go to the ER... It was terrible - I got home and took 4 motrin and 2 magnesium caps. It's subsided some but it's still there. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

20 Year Next Weekend

So, yesterday I went shopping for my 20 year reunion. I'm both excited and apprehensive! People you haven't seen in 20 years. Although I'm only about 20 lbs heavier than when I was in High School and think I look better than I did then... So, I went shopping yesterday and found this sheik outfit - I'm going all black not to look skinnier but because it's a classic look. Our reunion isn't formal so I went with a pant outfit. My daughter helped me shop. I also bought a new workout outfit - the pants are a medium and the jacket was a small! I couldn't believe it!

I'll take pictures next Saturday before I go - it should be a lot of fun though...

Can I just say how sick of TOM I am - tired of the cramping and cannot get a true weight on the scale. Hoping TOM will leave here in the next couple days - ARRRRGGGGG!!!

SKINNY JEANS - PICTURES

Still a bit of butt pucker going on but (no pun intended) I'm continuing to shrink so - that won't be there much longer...

Feeling better but now TOM

Well now I have TOM visiting - I'm going to inject through and I'm up 1 lb today. I'm attributing that to TOM. So, I have great news - I fit into what I call my "skinny" jeans. They are a very snug 14 from Old Navy. I love these jeans - I am considering taking a photo even before the end of this round. But I'm still feeling a bit under the weather. Much better than the last several days but still not quite right! I was shocked I was able to fit into them since I've am not down to where I was last year when I bought them. However, it has to be all the inches lost. THANK YOU Drugdelivery.ca and THANK YOU Dr. Simeon! I cannot believe this diet - I'm still in awe! And so, so very grateful!

THINKING - ACCEPTANCE - RANDOM THOUGHTS ~ It's the Cold :D

I've been so very hard on myself - so what if the weight isn't coming off as quickly as my "I want it now" self can be. I've lost 11 lbs this round including the weight added during the load days- almost forgot to do my measurements today - the Holiday weekend threw me off.

43.75" - YEAH - BABY!!!

I went back and looked at my photos from 5 years ago - and WOW! I need to really pat myself on the back and quit torturing myself. Isn't it crazy what we put ourselves through - so what - I will probably never be a size 2 - who cares! Only if I were trying to be a super model - but I'm too short anyway! HAHAHAHA!!! So, where will I end up? Oh, maybe a size 8... I'm a 14/16 now depending on the cut of clothes... But what is this really about? Size, weight, fat or WHAT? Can anyone really define what it means? For me it will mean freedom from fat - a lifelong plague of self imprisonment! Freedom from the daily self torture and self loathing! Freedom from the years of lost time of not living life because I was too scared of being laughed at - ridiculed and mocked! I'm finding that the closer I get to 40 I just really don't care what other people think! I know I keep saying that but it's really true - it's what I think about me that matters!

Today, my daughter looked at the amount of pounds I'd lost and she lite up like a light bulb and told me how proud of ME she was! Those are the moments that matter - those are the precious gems I want to hold in my pouch of remembrances. Not the fights or angry words - but that she was proud of me - it meant more to me than anything I could even explain! It was like the genuine words I'd always wanted to hear from my mother or father but those words came from my own child. And that's the person I care what they think! So, I guess that as I near 40 the people who really matter in my life are those that I take to heart what they have to say.

A few weeks ago there was a comment posted to my blog - I deleted it and didn't even allow it to be posted - it may not have been intended to be mean spirited, however, someone with less resolve than myself could have crumbled and just given up. I only share that so that other's reading would post only those words of encouragement to my fellow HCGer's to build up those on this site that are publicly doing this challenge, we are putting our hearts and our lives out there to encourage others to show that HCG is a great program and it works! But, we are people who have feelings and most have struggled with weight issues their entire lives if not a better part of it. So please be kind with your comments - it may tear someone up terribly and they'll quit altogether. Off my soapbox!

Me - I'm a keepin' a pluggin' on! Onward and downward!

Many blessings to you all!

A Little Late - But As Promised

I promised to post the pictures of how I feel I look - this is what I'll be working on with my counselor - to view what I really want to look like in my mind rather than this... This was me close to or at my heaviest of 298.6 lbs end of August 2003. Gotta love the puckered butt shot :D

August 2003

May 2008

Still Feel Pooey!

This cold thing really sucks - and I'm having to take some medicine which I'm stable at 215.2 for a couple days now so I'll just keep pumping the fluids and my immune soup. Hopefully tomorrow we'll see a new number not seen before with the HCG. Here's a reminder - last summer I got down to 210ish - can't remember exactly I'd have to get out my WW book to see. But other than the stupid cold I'm feeling better healthwise overall. So, I'm off for now - TTYL

SICK

I've been fighting a stupid - nasty cold the last several days... Woke up the other day with my ear and nose plugged - GROSS!!! Anyway - I made my immune soup - only thing in it not friendly is the carrots but it's disbursed throughout so I'm not even worrying about it... Worrying about getting back to being healthy. Not too hard to stick to plan when you don't want to eat because everything tastes like wet kleenex and really just not hungry!

Anyway - that's my update for the day :( sneeze - bless me!