This and That

I am coming to the end of the HCG diet phase 2.  For the last three weeks I have been able to keep off all of the weight that I lost.  I have been having a love affair with cashews that may have become a real problem for me, but as long as I'm not gaining the weight back I guess it's okay.  Even though I long to eat carbs I am a bit nervous about bringing them back into my diet.  I sent Mom a link a couple of weeks ago, and she found a link to the following blog on that site - http://cleochatra.blogspot.com/.  I love this blog!  The author has all kinds of recipes that are both low carb AND gluten free!  I made the oopsie rolls today and I enjoyed a tuna melt on one for lunch.  It's not bread, but for those of us who can't eat bread it is an acceptable alternative.  I've wanted to make the ultimate cheesecake.  I got Xyletol and Erythretol at the local health food store,  but I was unable to find ThickenThin.  Now that I can eat carbs again I may make this next week using plain old corn starch.  I figure that using the no-carb sweeteners it will still be fairly low carb with the corn starch.  I am also planning to make the cauliflower pizza crust tomorrow.  Those of you who can eat real pizza crust will not understand the quest for an acceptable alternative.  You just don't know how lucky you are until you can't eat any of the foods you love any more!

On the bright side I have been on a MAJOR shopping spree this week.  Last fall I'd finally given up on ever losing weight again, so I sent almost all of my "skinny" clothes to the DI.  As a result I have had to replace my entire wardrobe.  I now own three stunningly beautiful dresses, a great leather jacket, a swim suit, 3 pair of capris, 1 pair of shorts, 7 t-shirts, and 5 blouses.  Since I am out of money I really need to stop, but it's hard to stop once you've started and you actually feel good about the way you look.  I want to shop, and I want to buy everything I see!  Angela, I know you want pictures, but I really can't help you.  For one thing, I can't take pictures of myself (trust me, I've tried).  Second, I accidentally threw away the power cord for my camera thinking that it went to my old cell phone, and the battery is dead.  Third, I cannot get anything to upload from or download to my new cell phone.  I am having real technical difficulties here!

Update for Those On HCG

I've been on maintainance for a week now, and I thought that I would share some info for the others who are on it too.

First, there is a great recipe calculator at http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp.  You type in the list of ingredients and then it will calculate the nutritional information, calories, and fat based on the number of servings.

Second, I've found some good low-carb recipes at http://www.dlife.com/.  It is a diabetic web site and they list their recipes as very low carb, low carb, or carb safe.  I have made a couple of the very low carb recipes for this phase of the diet.

Third, I've found that, for me at least, staying within the 1500 calorie limit hasn't been as important as just eating very low carbs.  For the first few days I obsessed over my portions and worked hard to stay under 1500 calories and I gained back a pound and a half, which they say is normal.  On day 5 I was really hungry and I binged a little on oranges and cashews and I actually lost the pound and a half that I had gained.  I've continued to eat fruit whenever I feel like it, and more cashews than I probably should, and I am down another pound this morning.  I don't know if you would all have the same experience, but it's working for me so far.

End of Week 6

So the bad part of having 2 blogs is that, on occasion, I publish a post to the wrong blog.  That happened to me on Sunday and I just realized that I've had my diet saga on the Child Care blog for the last 2 days.  How embarrassing!

I have completed week six and I made it down 35 pounds.  In the last 2 days I have gained 1.5 back, but they say that it is normal to gain back about 2 pounds, so I guess so far so good.  I am keeping my calorie intake at about 1500 per day and by eating small meals several times per day I feel like I am eating all the time.

I have also started to try to jog a little bit over the last couple of days.  When we are out on the trail I am jogging on the level and down-hill portions of the trail. My muscles are definitely complaining about it, but I'm hoping that the increased activity will also help me keep the weight off.

HCG Final Stretch

I'm down 4.5 pounds this week for a total of 29.5 in 5 weeks.  I have one week left and I am really hoping for at least 5 pounds this week. 

I have no pants that fit so I went out shopping today.  I only bought one pair of capris, but I also got 7 shirts, 1 dress, 1 pair of shoes and 2 pair of sunglasses.  Since I'm still hoping to lose a few pounds this week I didn't want to commit to too many pair of pants in case I'm able to fit into a smaller size.  I figure the shirts and the dress will just look better with additional weight loss.  I also got a pair of knee-high black boots for church, but when I tried them on with my black skirt I didn't like them, so I will be taking them back.

I wish that I'd lost more weight, but I can't wait to be done.  I am dreaming of being able to eat breakfast again.  Only 8 more days...

HCG Diet Week 4

Four weeks of hell down, two more to go.  This week has been really hard for me.  I lost 5 pounds this week but it was a real struggle.  Today is the first day all week that I've actually felt good and I'm not starving all of the time.  I even went to Michelle's baby shower and sat there for an hour and a half around chicken salad croissants, fruit pizzas, pasta salads, cakes, and candies without being hungry.  (Even if I weren't on a diet everything but the candies were full of gluten so I couldn't have had anything anyway!) 

I'm sure I've been an absolute beast to be around all week long.  Sorry to everyone who's had to deal with me!  I'll try to be more pleasant going forward, but I'm not promising anything. 

My grand total is now 25 pounds.  I know that's really good for 4 weeks, but I was hoping it would come off faster and I've been discouraged because at this rate I am going to fall short of my goal.  Hopefully I'll be able to lose at least 10 pounds in the next 15 days.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

HCG Week 3

I am at the half-way point with three weeks down and three weeks to go.  This week has been a long slow struggle and I only lost 1 pound from Sunday to Thursday.  I was getting really discouraged but I have lost another three pounds in the last two days so I am going to stick with it.  I have officially lost 20.4 pounds, 4 inches off my waist and 5 inches off my hips.  Hopefully my rate of weight loss picks back up and I can make it to my goal of losing another 20 pounds in the next 3 weeks.

A Great Compliment

While out hiking yesterday I ran into a woman that I used to see almost every day during the summer, but I probably haven't  seen her for 6 months.  As we approached her she called out, "Holy Cow!  I recognized your dog coming down the trail but I didn't recognize you.  You've lost a ton of weight!"  That made me feel so good.