so...how much weight DID you lose? and other questions about hcg

here's the skinny (ha!  see what i did there?) on my hcg diet results

honestly, i wanted to wait a bit, because technically i'm still losing weight.  at a much, much slower rate.  but it means that the diet -- cleanse and metabolism reset -- did exactly what i wanted it to do :-)

total pounds lost: 25 (ish)
total inches lost: 32.5
jean/dress sizes down: 3 or 4 depending on the clothing item

i'm now comfortably wearing about 1/3 of my professional wardrobe.  which is great -- i don't have to go shopping for new cute clothes because i already own them!  i AM planning to go get a few new items to wear on the honeymoon.  because, i need an excuse to go to anthropologie and spend a few bucks.  :-)

i've chosen to keep some of the habits of the diet -- low sugar, low carb.  now...i do enjoy my pasta.  but not every day.  i eat bun-less burgers or sandwiches, choose a wrap over bread, and space out the meals that are higher carb/starch so that i'm not eating pasta and potatoes back to back for example.

i'm happier with lean proteins, and i actually enjoy chicken.  for the first time ever!

and i don't deprive myself.  after all, pumpkin delights are back!

but the number is still going down, slowly and surely.

i recognize the girl in the mirror again.

and i feel good about where i am.

is my body perfect? nah.
am i in a size 4 again? not yet
but am i feeling better than i've felt in years?
you bet.


at first i thought my perspective on food had completely changed
but then i realized that i never had a skewed perception of *food*

my perception of ME
my treatment of myself
that's what was skewed
(and screwed up, truly)

and now that i'm healing
now that i'm recognizing myself again
the healthy food choices
that i've known and wanted all along
are falling into place

hcg gave me the kick-start
the push
the feeling of success through hard work
that i needed to get motivated

i'm not where i absolutely want to be
but i'm on the way
and i feel great
and i'm HAPPY

:-)

hcg week three wrap-up

sunday
- breakfast: 'sweet tea'
- lunch: chicken 'stir fried' with cabbage
- snack: orange & melba toast
- dinner: tomato and ground beef soup, garlic melba
- snack: strawberries, vanilla creme stevia, sparkling water (YUM)

monday
- lunch: cottage cheese and strawberries
- dinner: beef kabobs and onion petals

honestly?  i don't remember after that.  i DO know that i totally cheated while we were in indiana and there was a fantastic german buffet spread.  but at the end of the week, even WITH that cheat, i'm down a total of 13.1 pounds and 19.5 inches.

(and 2.5 jeans sizes, if anyone is counting besides me)

what i'm loving wednesday (8.3.11)

i'm loving that i realized today that there is more behind me than ahead of me on this diet, and that i'm not craving all the "bad" food at all.  i mean, i'll be running to chick-fila at some point immediately after finishing, but i really appreciate the true lifestyle changes that i can foresee from this.  and isn't that the whole point of a "diet" anyway?

i'm loving that anthony and i haven't butted heads on pretty much anything in picking out furnishings, decor, etc for our upcoming new place.  now, a lot of that is letting us each have our own domain (me: kitchen, him: entertainment room), but quite a bit of it is back and forth discussion and reaching a mutual decision.  currently we're playing elimination games for bedside tables, bookshelves, etc.

i'm loving that i have some exciting news to share of God's amazing provision and faithfulness...but i'm hating that i can't share it quite yet.  soon, though.  very soon.

i'm loving random and wonderful moments stolen away with friends.  it seems like we're all so stinkin busy these days, and it's really nice to be able to connect even if it's only for 20 minutes.  and face to face trumps all!

i'm loving pinterest.  i have become addicted in a very few short days.  i have to admit that a lot of it probably stems from my upcoming wedding and new dwelling place, but i can see this being something i'll enjoy for quite awhile!

i'm loving thundershowers that appear in the midst of this summer crazy heat.  i'm wishing for more frequent thundershowers...my poor tomatoes.

i'm loving new piano students...new jobs...

i'm loving the fact that a few short weeks from now i'll be moving to a new location soon to be joined by my HUSBAND.  i'm not loving the packing, etc, that will have to occur in the next few short weeks.

hcg week 2 wrap-up

sunday
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: corned beef leftovers with pickles
- snack: strawberries
- dinner: beef tips (not great...) and a couple of tomatoes.

monday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and salsa
- dinner: tuna "salad" with celery

tuesday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and cucumber
- dinner: italian "soup"

wednesday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: buffalo grilled chicken over a bed of cabbage
- snack: strawberries
- dinner: beef kabobs with onion petals

thursday
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: corned beef leftover and tomato
- dinner: tuna and pickles (it was a late night)

friday
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and tomato
- snack: orange
- dinner: "stif-fried" chicken with amino acids, splash of hcg safe chicken broth, hcg safe chili paste, cooked with sliced onions

saturday
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: corned beef and cabbage leftovers
- snack: orange
- dinner: buffalo chicken tenders with sliced onions cooked together
- drink: sliced strawberries, vanilla creme stevia, sparkling water

as of sunday morning, 9.8 pounds total loss and 12.5 inches lost

not half bad ;-)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

hcg week one wrap-up

just so i can keep track...sorry to bore you all with the details!

also, i apologize for putting word verification back on my comments BUT when you have over 300 spam comments in the space of a week, it's time to pull a little more security.

day 1 (sunday)
- lunch: chicken with chipotle chili pepper seasoning, 1 cucumber seasoned lightly with salt and pepper
- snack: orange and grissini
- dinner: steak with amino acid, raw cabbage leaves, melba toast
- snack/fun drink: "mojito" made with strawberries, mint leaves, stevia and sparkling water (yummy!)

day 2 (monday)
- breakfast: coffee with english toffee stevia
- lunch: chicken with german mustard and seasonings, cucumber with salt and pepper
- 'fun' drink of the day: coffee, ice, 1 tbsp milk and english toffee stevia mixed in blender
- snack: apple, grissini breadstick
- dinner: lean ground beef, seasoned with cayenne pepper, garlic, etc, salsa poured over (yummy!)
- snack: 4 strawberries

day 3 (tuesday)
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: greek burger, grilled onions, melba toast

- snack: strawberries, stevia and 1 tablespoon milk
- dinner: 'steak' seasoned with amino acids, onion powder and ginger.  cabbage sauteed in apple cider vinegar, amino acids, garlic, celery seed, onion powder, cayenne pepper, ginger, etc... (i was determined to make a cabbage as close to kimchee as i could!)
- snack: orange

day 4 (wednesday)
- breakfast: coffee and stevia
- lunch: fat-free cottage cheese, melba toast, cucumber and orange
- dinner: 'soup' made with italian-seasoned ground beef and diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano as well as other italian seasonings. garlic melba toast.  it was FABULOUS and i couldn't eat it all!  definitely remember this one.
- fun drink: 'cappacino' made with ice cubes, coffee, english toffee stevia and 1 tbsp milk in the blender
- snack: strawberries

day 5 (thursday)
- breakfast: coffee with stevia
- lunch: chicken with mustard and spices (eh, it wasn't fantastic), cucumber, 1/2 an apple baked with cinnamon and stevia
- dinner: the rest of last night's soup with garlic melba toast
- fun drink: fake mojito

day 6 (friday)
- breakfast: coffee and stevia (2 cups)
` lunch: burger with tony's seasoning and fresh minced, tomato
- dinner: corned beef and cabbage at my favorite pub.  this was my first attempt at eating out, and it was...kind of successful?  the beef was fine, but the cabbage was definitely cooked in oil and butter -- and i could TASTE it.  it was odd.  i ended up transferring it from the bowl to my plate and shaking off most of the sauce, so it wasn't bad at all once i did that.  oh, and i had a small shot of whiskey.  yummy.  but no more alcohol during this phase -- my head was liiiiight!)
* i skipped both fruit servings and one serving of bread to make up for the extra calories.  hopefully that wasn't a bad thing!*

day 7 (saturday)
- breakfast: coffee, cinnamon and stevia
- lunch: cottage cheese and 2 tomatoes (one from MY garden!!!)
- snack: orange.  and i had starbucks! iced coffee and i added cinnamon and a tbsp of nonfat milk as well as a packet of stevia
- dinner: burger and grilled onion at the in-laws...another (kind of) successful attempt at eating somewhere else but my house or bringing my own food.  unfortunately, i didn't get to weigh my meat before it was cooked (which is a big no-no) but we tried to figure out how much to take off and i figure it's close enough.  and i only sort of coveted the cheese and onion rings on the table...


as of this morning i am down 6.1 pounds and 6 inches.  for a week...not too bad?  and i haven't been (too) bored with my food and choices...

best of all?  i feel GREAT.  seriously.  i have more energy (on WAY less calories, thank you drops) and i just feel...good.  the 'cleanse' bit is definitely working, and i'm considering extending it another week and just dealing with a bit of a gain/stall when we go to indiana and i have to eat cake at our shower...