Loading Days

When you follow the HCG protocol, the first 2 - 3 days are spent doing something totally counter-intuitive. They are loading days.

The first 3 days of taking HCG, you load up on fats. Lots of fats. Literally - you gorge until you're sick, and then you gorge some more.

It seems bizarre to start a diet by gorging on high fat, high calorie foods, but there is a method to the madness. You are going to be eating NO fat at all for the rest of the round. You'll be living on lean meats, veggies, and small amounts of fruit and breads. And I do mean small.

Loading does 2 things. One is that it signals the body that it is OK to release bodyfat, as you're providing all the fat it can use. It prevents the body from going into starvation mode while the HCG is building up. Another is it curbs hunger, which will be vital the first few days of the protocol. If you don't load properly, you're going to have a terrible time with the round. (Ask me how I know. :/ )

You want as much good fat as you can possibly eat. Avocados, full-fat dairy, olive oil, butter, high fat nuts… I always took the opportunity to work through my fast food addiction by eating out as much as I could and eating things that would totally gross me out normally. I'd eat Wendy's and McDonald's till I thought I was going to be sick, and then go eat ice cream, and put sour cream on everything.

If you load properly, you'll REALLY look forward to the first day of the very low calorie diet (VLCD). It'll be a relief NOT to be eating.

I will be loading the weekend of July 4 to begin VLCD July 5.  Anyone want to join me?

Doing better

I weighed in this morning at 159.0, which means I lost .8 pounds since yesterday.  Sugar seems to be the culprit.  Well, carbs in general.  I have to be very careful with carbs.

It seems that french fries, bread, pasta, and sweets have found a home on my body.  Right on my midsection.  Ice cream doesn't seem to bother me, but perhaps that's because it's mostly fat, and less carbs.

I'm tickled that the out-of-control spiral seems to be stopping.

How to begin with HCG

The first thing to do is to get your supply in.  I can't help with ordering or mixing information - I thought it was too difficult, so I opted for the homeopathic route.  You can purchase HHCG from me for $40 per bottle.  One dose in the morning, one at night.

The next thing is to get your mind straight.  WHY do you want to lose weight?  Just for looks?  For your health?  Are you prepared to spend three weeks on a very strict protocol with no cheating?  (I'll discuss cheating later.)  I've tried to do rounds under great emotional pressure.  It does not work.  I do too much emotional eating!  That's not to say that crises won't happen while you're on protocol, but I think spending some time preparing yourself mentally and emotionally is beneficial.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say it is vital.

Read Pounds and Inches.  And then read it again.  And print off the page with the list of allowed foods.  Pounds and Inches is your guide to your journey.  It's your textbook, your roadmap.  If you ask me questions, I'll refer to it.  (I love answering questions.  It makes me feel important, LOL)

As you read P&I, keep in mind that it was written in the 50s.  Some of the information in it may be dated (it is no longer necessary to avoid personal grooming products or makeup, for instance).

Look for HCG friendly recipes.  Some that claim to be HCG friendly are not.  But you'll want to be able to shake things up a bit from time to time.

Ask questions!  I'm offering support through this blog for anyone on any fitness and nutrition program, especially HCG.  Comment, and ask, and get the answers you need for success!

Still gaining...(Emotional Eating)

And I'm not happy about it, either.  Not. Happy.

It's emotional eating.  I know exactly what it is.  It's anger washed down with Little Debbie Swiss Rolls and Bavarian Cream Eclairs.  Frustration garnished with Big Macs and french fries.

Emotional eating. 

When I'm on protocol, I become very, very aware of how much I stuff emotion with food.  One of my friends has pointed out to me that I do stuff my emotions.  It wasn't till I got in a fight with my (now ex) husband one night, and found myself at the Wal Mart check out ("Just give me the eclairs and no one gets hurt!") shoveling down those frozen treats and not tasting them that I really got it.

Some people suffer from depression due to anger turned inward.

Me?  It's obesity. 

M&Ms as medication.  Ice cream as antidepressant. 

Recognizing it is the first step.  The second step is holding yourself accountable.  That's what I'm hoping to do here.  It's going to be a personal and emotional challenge to continue to post my weight every day, along with both my triumphs and my defeats. 

Let's get through this together!

It's 'DIE' with a T on the end!

I never go on diets.  Really.  Hard to believe if you are aware that I've been using the HCG protocol to lose fat quickly, but it's true. 

I want to change my lifestyle. 

The term "diet" to me means some sort of harmful fad - the Cabbage Soup Diet, the Dolly Parton Diet, the Atkins Diet, the Diet Du Jour.

So what makes the difference for me?

The HCG protocol is done in short "rounds".  21 days is the minimum round. 40 days is the max. It is followed by another 21 days of stabilizing, and 21 days of maintenence.  Ideally (and I recommend) you use this time to shake the McDonald's and sugar addictions.  For 21 - 40 days you release weight, and then you replenish your body. 

The protocol is also supplemented with a hormone shown to be efficacious in helping the body release fat.  Ihad previously noticed that I lost a lot of weight immediately after a miscarriage - 60 pounds in a summer.  The grief from the miscarriage killed my appetite, I avoided McD's (fast food is one of my weaknesses), I walked around the block at lunchtime.  I'd been doing those things for a long time and didn't lose - when my body was flooded with HCG I did.

When I first heard about HCG, I thought, "I can do anything for 21 days!"

If you follow the protocol exactly, you'll release the weight quickly.  I believe it is vital to follow up with good health, fitness, and nutrition habits. 

This isn't a "quick fix" or a "magic bullet."  It's simple, but not easy.  But in conjunction with all the other things I'm sure you've been doing to lose weight, it can certainly seem like the answer to a prayer.

Not doing so well this weekend....

I fell off the wagon a little this weekend - weighed in this morning at 159.0 pounds!  I've got to get my head straight or I'm going to have an awful time getting this weight off.

I am convinced that a lot of weight gain is emotional.  It's so easy to do a lot of emotional eating when you're not really hungry, and that's where I've been the past week or so.  Time to straighten myself out!

Water! Do you drink enough?

Most people don't.  In fact, water is one of the most important nutrients we can consume!  It's so easy for me to drink copious amounts of Diet Coke and forget all about water.

Our bodies are about 70% water.  We can survive for quite some time without food, but only a day or so without water.  Water lubricates our joints, keeps our skin soft and youthful, and carries waste products out of our bodies.  Like, you know, extra fat.

Some people dislike drinking water because they don't want the "water weight."  If you haven't been drinking enough water, some annoying side effects will develop, like the need to pee every few minutes and some water retention or bloat.  The great thing, though, is that as your body realizes it's finally getting - and staying - hydrated, those side effects go away.

If you like coffee, tea, or sodas, water becomes more important. Caffeine is a diuretic, so the water you lose to drinking caffeinated drinks must be replaced.  If you enjoy alcoholic beverages, you can avoid a hangover by drinking plenty of water with them (as well as after your binge).

So sip on water throughout the day.  If you really hate your water plain, float some lemon slices in it.

Your body will thank you.

Accountability and Weight Loss

My first round on HCG, I did lose an average of a pound a day.  My boyfriend, Tim Boone, was a huge support at that time.  He'd ask me what I was permitted on the protocol and took me to restaurants that would cater to my needs.  He travels a lot for work, so I'd text him every morning with my loss of the day. 

Accountability is important for any venture.  If I don't show up for boot camp, Mat texts me to let me know that he noticed, and he checks with me to see if I've done my cardio. 

That's really part of the reason for this blog.  I need to hold myself accountable - to the entire Internet, if need be! - so that this next round will be as successful as the first one was. 

I actually *want* to run!

This is exciting to me!

I've hated running since I hit puberty.  Loved it as a kid - I remember running all over the playground in elementary school, enjoying my body.

Then puberty hit.  Running started to hurt.  (No sports bras in the early 80s.  No good ones for women who need them in the 21st century, for that matter.)  And it became a job.

You know, once something becomes an obligation, the fun runs right out of it.

Well, since I've been working out regularly, Mat makes us do some running.  Not a lot.  Not distance.  But some.

I started doing wind sprints with my kids.  I run as hard as I can from my driveway to the next one, and then walk to the next one, then run, etc.

You know what?

It's fun!

It feels good to use my body again!

It feels good to outrun my kids - regularly!  Except Jared.  He's 7.  He cheats by running back and forth in front of me so I can't pass him. We end up laughing so hard, that's a workout all by itself.

Trouble stabilizing

I came off my last round about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and I'm having trouble stabilizing my weight.  I think a lot of it is due to extra stress plus failure to work out, plus emotional eating.  I'm doing a steak day today, but I also desperately want sweets.  Even straight sugar would fix the craving.  I keep telling myself that all I have to do is get to bedtime.  

I've gained back about 5 pounds since ending my round, which is disappointing.  I plan to begin loading for a new round on the 4th of July, This past shot I cheated all the time - a Pop Tart here, a cookie there - and I'm finding that it does make things much harder to stabilize now.  Hopefully holding myself accountable will help.

Where I Started in My Weightloss Journey

I started working with EXL Fitness back in August of 2009.  At that time, I was pushing 200 pounds. Not quite there, but close enough to make me nervous.  My size 14 clothes were getting to small.  I didn't have the idea that I was grossly overweight - but I also knew my health was on the line.

That first boot camp work out kicked butt - mostly mine.  I worked with Pam Gover, and was startled to see how weak I had become over the 8 years of my now-ended marriage.

When I was single, I worked out all the time, sometimes twice a day, every day, and was very active and athletic.  With 2 kids born during my 30s, I didn't have the stamina to do what I had done in my 20s.  I was unhappy in my marriage, and ended up sleeping all the time, dragging around the house, and choking down my misery with Bavarian creme eclairs.

After working out a couple of months, I was getting stronger, but I didn't feel like I was losing pounds like I wanted to.  So on October 24, I began using a homeopathic HCG.

When I started the drops, I was 190 pounds, size 14, and had a waist measurement of 34" (and that was with my gut sucked in as hard as I could manage).  I remember being just devestated when I took my measurements because when I was younger, my CHEST measured 34", not my waist!  I knew I had a tummy, but I kept excusing myself saying it was from having kids (I have 5, 4 by c-section).

As of today, my waist measures 28", and I am 155.  I'm so excited about my success (yes, I still have 20 - 30 pounds to go) that I want to share it with you....what I did, what I'm doing, and how you can achieve the same thing. 

It's entirely doable.  It isn't an easy fix.  But if I can do it, you can too.