"So Far" shots.

Ok, so I felt grotesque posting my "before" pictures when I did before. I feel a little more grotesque posting them now than I did before...it is like a repeat offense. I am doing this for Melanie to see what the progress has been. These pictures were taken with different cameras, so the lighting is different, the pictures are different sizes. I did my best to match the size of my head, for a good, accurate comparison. Enjoy...or at least try not to like I am.

Ok, I know I am not good at this!

So, I finished my Round 2. I ended the round at 227.6 and was ok with that. It is possible that my body hit an immunity to HCG at some point. I thought my ending weight was 227.6, but I have had a VERY hard time. My weight has been sitting around 231-232 since the first couple of days after starting Maintenance. I even did a steak day (supposed to help you lose a few lbs to keep within 2 lbs of your last HCG weight) The protocol said that for those that hit immunity, any weight lost will be gained back, because it was not abnormal fat. I can't help but wonder if that is what is happening to me.

Anyway, to start this at 294 and be at 232 is still an accomplishment. It may not be as far as I wanted to be at this point, but I will take it. It may mean that I have to do an extra round to get where I want to be, but I will deal with that when the time comes. For now, I am tracking my calories and just bought a cheap elliptical to get started on. Hopefully with calorie tracking and exercise, I can get some good habits formed and it won't be difficult to maintain my losses.

These are my measurements when I started at 294:

NECK:	16.5"
R ARM:	16.5"
L ARM:	17"
UPPER CHEST:	44.5"
CHEST:	50.5"
MIDRIFF:	47"
WAIST:	51"
HIPS:	56.5"
R THIGH:	31"
L THIGH:	30.5"
R KNEE:	22"
L KNEE:	22.5"
R CALF:	18.5"
L CALF:	18"
POUCH:	12"
ROLL ABOVE WAIST:	51.5"

These are my measurements now:

After Round2
Weight232
Neck 15	-1.5
Rarm 14.5	-2
L arm 15	-2
Upper 41	-3.5
Chest 40	-10.5
Midriff 39	-8
Waist 43.5	-7.5
Hips 50	-6.5
Rthigh26.5	-4.5
L thigh 26	-4.5
R calf 17	-1.5
L calf 17	-1
Pouch 9	-3

There are some measurements that I forgot to take. The column next to the measurements is how much I have lost from the beginning in those areas. That is 56 inches lost overall. If I were to measure the spots I skipped, I am sure I would be around 60. It works out to be about an inch lost for a pound lost. Somewhere around there. Someday I will get around to taking pictures. I just cant remember to don the sports bra and shorts to take them. As soon as I remember I will post befores and nows.

Ok, so I never got around to posting pics and measurements. I completely forgot about this blog, to be honest.

I am starting Round 2 early. Holiday food is evil and my self control is not retrained yet. Part of the problem is that I knew I would be starting the diet again, so I was not as careful as I thought I would be. I did ok with not gaining (eating anything I wanted), until after Thanksgiving. I have gained 4 lbs. I am starting Round 2 at 258.7 lbs.

Wish me luck!

Done with Round 1

I have been really bad about posting. I am going to post my measurements and photos sometime this week...hopefully. I have lost 41.6 lbs. It is certainly noticeable, although I have not shrunk several sizes...just 1. I feel great, encouraged. I am not excited to do the 500 calories again, but I am excited to start Round 2 in January and hopefully lose another 40 lbs.

Jason is done also and doesn't have more to lose. He lost 38.5 lbs and looks great. So skinny. He wants to do some toning now and is excited to start.

More to come later.

After week 2

I am surviving...AND, I am down 21 lbs. Yay! I can't wait for it to start working on my lower half! I forgot to do measurements this morning, so we will do them tomorrow.

Hunger is to a minimum. I only get hungry about 1/2 hr before meals, or if I am not drinking enough water. Easy fix, right?!

Energy is doing better. Sometimes I still get a little light-headed (you know, the whole blood-sugar thing), it's the same as when I am pregnant. If I take breaks, I can get quite a bit done. Yesterday I cleaned all 3 bathrooms, cleaned and folded and put away 5 loads of laundry cleaned and vacuumed all the bedrooms, living & family & dining rooms. I didn't get the kitchen done, but I will get to it today. So anyway, the energy is way more significant than it was 2 weeks ago.

I will post measurements later.

After week 1

I lost 16 lbs and 13.75 inches. I have noticed that my wedding ring fits and goes on and off better. My sister mentioned that I looked thinner in my face, but I don't notice yet. There is a part on my stomach that looks different and that part measures 1/2 inch smaller, so I guess there is progress I can see. YAY!!

I am losing!!

On Friday we started our drops and my beginning weight was 292.0 . Friday and Saturday were gorge days. This is what we ate:

Breakfast:
Jimmy Deans breakfast bowl with bacon, eggs, potatoes and cheese. I also had 10 mini pancakes covered in syrup and washed it down with chocolate milk.

Morning Snack:
I had a Hostess cupcake, but I really wasn't hungry after that breakfast.

Lunch:
Arctic Circle Ranch burger combo with fries and plenty of fry sauce and a snickers shake.

Afternoon snack:
Another hostess cupcake. I was going to try to eat Ice cream with it, but I couldn't even think about it.

Dinner:
I was so grossed out by the time dinner rolled around that it was hard to think what we would eat for dinner. I had Panda Express 3 entree plate with orange chicken, mandarin chicken and fried rice. I also had a chicken egg roll and 3 creme cheese wontons.

We skipped night snack, because we were so stinking full. I told Jason that I think the reason they tell you to gorge is so that you are completely turned off by food. That is what we were.


Saturday

Breakfast:
I made Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Canadian Bacon and mini pancakes (I only ate 6 this time). This was to use up the last of these things in our house.

Morning Snack:
I had another Cupcake...gotta get through them, right?!

Lunch:
Taco Times Beef Chimichanga plate with rice, beans, sour cream and chips. I also had a cherry empanada, that I couldn't finish.

Afternoon snack:
Finished the Cherry Empanada

Dinner:
Our friend had a birthday luau for their cute little 1 yr old. I filled my plate with meat, rice, macaroni salad and pinapple. I also had a piece of cake.

I skipped night snack cause I couldn't imagine eating anything else.


During the course of these gorge days, I gained 2 lbs. So I was 294 Saturday morning and the same on Sunday morning.

Sunday (yesterday) was our first 500 calorie day.

Breakfast was 1/2 a ruby red grapefruit. I drank a lot of water and then we went to church. I wasn't hungry all through church, but I was really busy. By the time lunch came, I was starting to get hungry. We ate 100 grams of chicken with cajun spice, 1/2 a cucumber and a piece of Melba toast. It tasted really good. About an hour after lunch, I started getting really hungry. It felt like I was fasting. I had the same headache I do every Fast Sunday and I was pretty cranky. I tried to drink more water and just bide my time. We ate dinner about 5:30. It tasted SOOOOO good, cause we were hungry! We had 100 grams lean steak (peppered) and a sliced tomato (also peppered) and a Melba toast. It tasted great and I felt satisfied when I was done. Later on (about 8 pm) we had a handful of strawberries for our 2nd fruit of the day. They were nice and ripe and sweet. I was ok after that, for the rest of the night.

I woke up this morning, emptied my bladder and weighed myself. The same way I do it every morning. I LOST 4 LBS YESTERDAY. I am now at a 290.0. I weighed myself about 15 minutes later to check. Yay!! I am not hungry this morning, so I am drinking water to try and push my grapefruit later in the morning. I am hoping to be able to make it past the bad times I had yesterday a little better.

I was reading in my book and it said that most people experience hunger the first couple of days and then it goes away. I am hoping it does. I have one friend (out of the 6 friends that have done this) that said she was hungry the whole time. That scared me, but at the same time, I am striving to do this to the letter, so there are no mistakes.

YAY!! 4lbs!!