Breaking Plateaus

Well, 23 days into a 40 day round and I've been on a plateau for a week and a half.  I've lost 7 pounds overall, but the scale is now stubbornly refusing to budge.  What to do, what to do?

1. I am going to add exercise back in, slowly and gently.  I haven't been going to the gym because of mental and emotional overload, I'd prefer to work out outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine.  So, now that the warm weather seems to be coming to stay, I plan to do interval walking/running for 30 minutes every evening before bed.

2. A more fun way to spike the metabolism is the cheat day.  On HCG, we take our "cheats" at the beginning in the three load days.  I have heard doctors and health professionals say that one "cheat" day a week helps boost the metabolism and break a plateau.  I believe I can hold out and have a Saturday cheat day this week and see if that works.  (And by "cheat," it will be a full-on eat-till-I-want-to-puke load day.)  That's if I don't break the plateau before then.  Sometimes, too, we just can't take dieting anymore.  I'm hoping the "re-load" will help. 

3.  Add breakfast.  Something as simple as a protein shake in the morning may help.  A scoop of vanilla protein, a double handful of frozen strawberries, and water, and whirl in the blender.  The nice thing is that it almost feels like a cheat in and of itself.  Another good breakfast if you're in a hurry would be simply to hard-boil some eggs the night before and eat them in the morning. What you want in the morning is protein - it keeps the hungries away.

I can see some differences, however - jeans fitting a bit looser, tummy feeling a bit more toned - but not the differences I had expected this far into the round.  Evidently I'm not doing what I need to do  So....hopefully these tweaks will help me stay on protocol, and break the plateau.  I'll keep ya posted!

Dealing with Cravings

I thought the first three days would be the hardest, but I would kill someone for a piece of cake.  Or a box of Nilla wafers.  I hope this eases up!

We had a Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts last night, and some sick person brought a chocolate cake.  With chocolate icing.  I adore chocolate.  My ex came since our Jared was receiving awards (the religious square knot and his 5th Arrow Point on the Wolf Trail) and kept offering that cake to me.

Or a hamburger.  With french fries. And fry sauce.  Or onion rings. 

Oh, well, I will hold strong.  I'm drinking lots and lots of water, some with Crystal Light, so I don't feel hungry.  I'm really not hungry, I just want to eat.  Since I can recognize the difference, I can tap on it and hold strong through it.  Sometimes it's just a matter of staying busy.  Sometimes it's a matter of just looking at the photo I have of when I was thin, and knowing that I just have 35 more days to go, and then I'll be at my goal weight. 

The thing to remember is that this is all worth it....

So: Lots of water, green tea, coffee, diet soda (or whatever other liquids work for you), and hold out just a little longer.  Reach out for support.  Hang in there.  Sometimes just getting busy for 15 minutes at a time will help.  EFT helps.

Stats: Weight this morning, 165.4, down 4.6 pounds in 4 days from start weight of 170.0.  Consistent loss of a pound a day.  GOAL: 135.

Day 3 VLCD

I weighed in this morning at 166.4.  That is down 3.6 pounds from my start weight of 170.  I'm pretty hopeful now that a 40 day round will see me to my goal weight of 135.  I am already seeing my tummy start to "deflate." It's exciting to see the changes so quickly!

One of the things I noticed before, is that if I allow myself a cheat -- even one -- it opens everything up and I might as well hang up the round.  I have to be really, super careful.  I'm like that in a lot of ways in my life - if I leave my savings account alone, I'm fine, but once I dip into it, it's open season.  If I allow myself a day to sleep in, pretty soon I'm sleeping in all the time.  It's like, once I cross that boundary, it becomes very difficult to re-establish that boundary.

Results from Day 1, how Day 2 is going

I began loading at a weight of 170.0.  After load, my weight was 172.4.  This morning, my weight was 167.4!  That's down 5 pounds from yesterdays, weight, and 2.6 pounds from my start weight. 

THIS is why I love this diet plan so much.  The hunger isn't too bad, and the results are outstanding - and immediate!

I'm preparing my lunch right now.  Salad with Waldon Farms dressing, grilled chicken, apple dusted with a bit of cinnamon.  Dinner will be the same, but with asparagus instead of salad.

Incidentally, for the "You'll gain it back" crowd, I began this in 2010 at a high weight of 189.  I have kept most of the weight off for 2 years.   Once this weight comes off it is staying off for good.  Part of the program is to weigh daily, so you can adjust your food intake, which I did.  Most of the time when the weight is re-gained, it is because the habit of weighing in is lost.  You can't manage what you don't measure!

Tips and tricks:
Weigh every day, whether you're on protocol or not. Then you can adjust your regimen if the weight begins to creep back on.

Waldon Farms dressing has no carbs, no fat, no sugar, no gluten, no calories.  If you can't stand to skip dressing, try it and see if it stalls you.

If you don't like/can't find Waldon Farms, try putting your salad dressing on the side.  Dip the fork into it before taking a bite of salad, you get just a bit of the salad dressing taste without the calories.

Have a mint if you are craving foods.  Even water tastes nasty after a mint.

Water, water, water!  Dr Simeon recommends a high fluid intake.  Pure water is best, but Crystal Lite, or lemon in your water, green tea, herbal teas, or black coffee will do as well.  I drink Diet Coke throughout, with lots of water, and that helps with the hunger.  The carbonation helps me feel fuller as well.

The first 3 days are the hardest.  HCG doesn't do much for hunger for me, it helps release the fat in the body.  The first 3 days, the stomach is getting accustomed to the reduced food intake.  After that, you'll be used to it and it will become easier.  My first round, I almost didn't want to quit because I was used to it!

If you're going to an event, plan in advance (if you can) how you will handle food.  For example, my son's Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts is tomorrow.  I'd forgotten it when I began the protocol.  We're having tacos.  So I will enjoy the seasoned ground beef with lots of shredded lettuce.  Voila!  Taco salad!

So far, so good!

Today was the first day of the very low calorie diet after 2 days of loading.  There is an evil, evil cupcake sitting on my kitchen counter absolutely calling me to eat it.  However, I am holding strong, reminding myself why I'm doing this, and eating an apple dusted with cinnamon.  Yum!  I'm looking forward to weighing myself tomorrow to see what the first day brings!

I did gain 2 pounds during loading.  However, that is perfectly normal on the HCG diet.  I'm a little hungry today, but then again I only ate 1 meal instead of the 2 I am allowed - I wasn't hungry at dinnertime!  Lunch was a chicken breast grilled on my George Foreman grill.  I bought it because it's too cold to use the outdoor grill.  And romaine lettuce, an apple, and the croutons from a Caesar Salad kit.  It's a very filling lunch, and then at dinnertime I just wasn't hungry. 

A cheat that I use to get some dressing taste (no dressings allowed except for balsamic vinegar), is to put the dressing in a cup on the side, dip my fork into it, then spear the lettuce.  I get just a hint of dressing as opposed to a salad swimming in it, still get the taste, and don't stall my diet. 

The absolute wonderful thing about this program is that it works, it works very quickly, and that I am able to easily keep the weight off once it's gone.  Even the "approved" weight loss protocols don't do that.  When I work out and eat well, I can only maintain.  HCG is the only thing that has worked for me for weight loss.

I'm still nursing that sore shoulder - the pain isn't as bad, but my arm still goes to sleep at inopportune times, like when my kids are leaning against me and want affection.  It's irritating as can be. 

Struggling

"You've got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it. It's called perseverance." ~ Lee Iaccoca

I have been struggling with my weight since November, when I was at my lowest weight in years.  It's been going the wrong way on the scale, creeping back up to my high weight.  This is just no ok.  What am I doing wrong?

For one thing, I've been underestimating the amount of food I eat.  Today, I signed up with FitDay.com to start a food diary. I'm good at journaling anything, so hopefully (!) I will start to see where I should be adjusting my diet so my weight comes back down.

My intention is to go with a high fat, high protein, low carb diet.  Lots of natural fats (lard, butter, whole milk, olive oil, coconut oil, etc), not Frankenfats (margarine, shortening, etc), and delicious meats.  All the green veggies I can hold.  And gallons of water.

Given that you can't manage what you don't measure, I decided it was time to start measuring, instead of guessing (and forgetting about the bag of chips I absent-mindedly scarfed down while reading, etc).  I'm also going to include more walking in my plan - when switching tasks, taking a few minutes to walk around the block.  The idea is just to get moving, instead of sitting still for so long.

I am committed to this weight loss. My goal weight is 135, and I plan to get there by the end of the summer.  :)  I can do this! You can, too!

Nobody's Perfeckt.

Not even me.  Today has been  a struggle for me.  I've been dealing with some emotional baggage - almost always emotional eating or boredom is what derails my dieting.

It's so easy to think, "Well, I had that piece of cake today, I guess I'll eat everything in sight and go on a huge binge!"

Self-forgiveness works better.  OK, so you went off the diet at 8:15.  Go right back on it at 8:25!  It's ok.  Forgive yourself and move on.  There's nothing magical, it was just one little cheat, don't do it again, and keep moving forward.  Don't get discouraged.  It's just one occurrence.  It's only going to hurt your diet if you don't get right back on the diet and keep going. 

Onwards!  And let the scale move downwards!

How to Deal With A Cheat Day

OK, so you've stuck to your protocol.  The weight has been shifting, coming off, you're so excited!  And then, something derails your plan.  (Like, oh, your son's birthday and your adult daughter's overenthusiastic purchase of a huge chocolate cake.) 

Dang it, now what do you do?

Well, the first thing you do is forgive yourself.  You're human!  It's ok, life moves on, keep moving forward, tomorrow is another day. 

And then - you have an apple day.  6 apples over the course of the day, with water only to drink.  For some reason, this will help you overcome your cheat.  And if you do what I do, and buy big apples, you'll end up eating plenty! 

You can also have an apple day when you've stuck to protocol and the weight just isn't coming off.  It jump-starts things again.

And then, keep moving forward.  A cheat day is a cheat day.  It's not the end of the world.  It's not an excuse to wolf down the rest of that chocolate cake.  Pick up right where you left off, and you'll be able to keep releasing weight with grace and ease.