Day 118

133.5 lbs. Man, what a weekend! Eating, drinking, sunning and funning. It has been nearly 4 months since I began the hCG diet and I've been able to maintain my weight pretty easily. Phase 4 is really a piece of cake. When you take what you learn and actually apply it, the difficulty of getting back into the same old trap becomes more and more remote. Steak days can fix anything. Who can't stay committed for one day? If we can't, then we are truly weak and destined to fail. I really believe I am past all of my former thinking about food. Just about any slip up can be fixed in one or two days of eating properly. I'm enjoying life again. 

However, my blood pressure is still on the rather borderline high side. This really was to be expected....by me, at least. The book indicated that it might go down because of the weight loss, but that it might also return to previous levels. I've never felt like I might explode. Nonetheless, I need to keep a close check on this item. 

As I go past the six week mark since my last injection, I'm eagerly anticipating round two. Haven't really decided when it will start, but it may be as soon as this weekend. I'd like to be in phase 4 by the middle of August since we will be going to Montana for about ten days. To be on a diet at that time would certainly not be optimal!

I'd like to shed the last 15 lbs. This round I think it might be important to get more exercise. I don't want to look as though I've lost weight quickly and my skin is just hanging. That is the way I feel right now. Even though I can fit into a size 4 at 132 lbs. or so, I don't think of myself as thin. I still have a somewhat fat, flabby and poochy self image. Exercise is on the menu with this next round. I hope I can stick to it since it is so hot here in the southeast! 

Looking forward to gorge days!!!!

Day 86

135 lbs. I had too much yesterday!! Today I'm trying to be good. It's not likely that I've succeeded. Tomorrow I have to go out to dinner.We'll see how the week goes. I won't allow this to spin out of control. I did so well last week.

Day 80

132.5 lbs. This past week I've only fluctuated 1-1.5 pounds up or down from my LIW of 132. I'm managing to keep things stable. And, I'm eating pretty much what I want. If I splurge one day, I back off the next. It's really not hard. I've even had a few beers here and there.

The only thing worth reporting is that I'm maintaining my weight on phase 4 with little to no effort. I know that carbs and sugars are pitfalls. I must avoid them, but I can also skirt around the fringes and not have devastating things happen to me.

I am looking forward to taking off the last 10-15 pounds in June. I think only then will I really believe that I've succeeded. Once that goal is obtained, then the challenge is to keep the weight off for a year or more. I've learned a lot and now know what combinations work for my body.

Day 72

130 lbs. Awesome! Staying away from the Blooming Onion last night was a good choice. The dessert had no effect and was totally worth it. I'm liking all this.

Since my weight is pretty much stabilizing and I'm learning how to maintain or fix my problem days, I will likely start posting less frequently. Unless something dramatic happens, I'm thinking of posting on a weekly basis from here on out until I start round 2 of the hCG Diet again in June. A pound or two back and forth is really quite boring. What is important is that I continue to weigh myself every day and correct mistakes when they happen. Moral of that is: always have steak on hand! It's amazing how a steak day can fix everything. Carbs really are diet killers, but in moderation they can be sublime. According to the back of the Triscuit box, for someone on a 2000 calories per day diet (which I'm not), the amount of carbs recommended are 300g. Six Triscuit crackers have 20g so that leaves a pretty big spread to get to 300g. This amount can vary of course, and can be tweaked to find one's optimal level. It's part science and part common sense.

This whole path along my journey has been quit remarkable. Never have I been on a diet that on the surface sounds like you're starving, but is really giving you all the nutrition your body needs. I especially liked the fact that the weight came off so quickly because that was the encouraging part and it increased my determination to get through the program, once, twice or however many times it takes to rid myself of the excess weight.

People should be encouraged by the rapid weight loss and find support in those of us who have struggled day to day and not cheated. Cheating, I could see from the reports of others, was a pitfall I wasn't going to step into. You do have to have a certain amount of commitment and willpower.

My relationship with food has changed. I now know what the better foods to eat are and WHY. I never knew the why before. I've always liked the foods that were on the diet, so that really wasn't a challenge for me. The "load days" were a treat because you were able to, and were strictly encouraged to, eat as much as you could handle. I look forward to those days again! But, in the meantime I will strive to maintain my weight, eat and drink what I want and have the tools available to correct mistakes. Keeping that in mind, there should not come another time where I pack on 30-40 extra pounds. I've been battling my yo-yo weight since high school and I'm ready to stop the cycle. My overall health and well being depends on this becoming my new lifestyle. I have a child who needs me to be there for her as she navigates her life. Fortunately, she is thin and won't likely have any weight problems.

See you next weekend....

Day 71 ~ Phase 4

130 lbs. Well, I made it. And, tonight I will test it with a vengeance. I went out to dinner again at Outback Steak House...different city. This time I avoided the Blooming Onion that showed up at my table 2 minutes after I arrived. I did have one piece of bread with butter and I indulged in splitting a brownie/ice cream sundae thingie.  There was also the split bottle of wine that was shared. We'll see how all this plays out tomorrow when I hit the scales. It could be said that I didn't hold back. I already have steak on hand in case it's a STEAK DAY!

Day 70

131.5 lbs. Easy come, easy go. I think it might have been the 2 butterfly pork chops last night...or the corn. It's still under the LIW (last injection weight) of 132, so I'm happy.

Tomorrow starts phase 4 ~ adding in carbs and sugars. I will need to research this stage on the yahoo groups so see how people survive. I can see how one could easily snowball and fall to the bottom of the hill. It really doesn't take much in the way of carbs to derail me. I can only imagine the same would be true for sugars. Just a little bit scared. Looking forward to pizza, but not sure one piece would be satisfying. I see steak days in my future....

Day 69

129.5 lbs. Wow, I wasn't even trying to lose yesterday! I just wasn't hungry. I admit there was a time when I wanted to snack and I grabbed those peanuts. But, I was satisfied (convinced that I wasn't going back to old ways) with the one oz. instead of a cup and a half.

The other day when I gave blood my blood pressure was 130/90. This morning is was 135/75. I'd say this diet is agreeing with me. It was a frightful day (I think it was load day 1) when my blood pressure shot up to 192/88 and I had to sign a release for the Life Line people to let me leave their premises. I was a walking time bomb. I didn't feel like I was ready to explode, but I definitely didn't feel great. Living in fear like that is not my idea of optimum health, especially if you have someone who depends on you. I had to do something quick. It's great waking up in a much better place now. 
 
I'm really going to have to get some new pants. Everything is falling off of me.