VLCD Day #29 (+0.1) & Day #30: -0.6 (AKA: Almost Back in Black)

So moving day is done, unpacking/organizing month has begun and while I'm starting to lose focus on my diet I am still on track with my eating after my delicious cheat day on Thursday. I was up 0.1lbs yesterday but this morning was down 0.6lbs. Tomorrow I should be back to where I was Thursday morning and the losing can continue!

I have been eating a bit less than normal these days simply because I have been too busy but that also means I haven't been drinking enough water. Last night I drank two big glasses of water before bed and didn't even have to get up at all last night so I'm thinking that means I really needed it. I'm trying harder today but still doesn't seem good enough. I'll drink way more into this evening. I did have tomatoes and an apple today so hopefully the water from those will help me.

Anyway, hopefully I can get back on track here. Only two weeks left until I am onto Phase 3 so that should be interesting. I can't wait to eat something beside chicken, beef, tomatoes, apples and cucumbers. Strawberries are such a waste though because they go bad almost instantly. Damn strawberries. Anyone know any good ways to make strawberries stay ripe longer?

VLCD Day #28: +0.7 (AKA: Revenge of the Cheat Day)

Last night was still worth it. I thought I would have gained a pound or two but instead it was a measly 0.7lbs! I can handle that. Hopefully I can regain my losses over the next couple of days and get back on track.

I decided to try an apple day today except all I had  was 3 apples and a few pickles. I am moving tomorrow so I've been insanely busy packing stuff up and taking over loads to the new apartment. Thank goodness my friend is here to help me! We are busy busy but no worries, we took extra time out of our day to go for a mani/pedi. I know there's not supposed to be any massage during the the HCG diet but c'mon, mani/pedis HAVE to have massages and damn were these people good! Again, worth it. First time in almost a month that I've fully enjoyed a meal and fully relaxed with a pampering mani/pedi.

Anyhow, lets see if the indulgences catch up to me in the AM. Also, because I'm moving we may not have internet for a couple of days. Will blog when I get a  chance!

VLCD Day #27: -0.4lbs (AKA: Cheat Day! Woohoo!)

So today was my cheat day! My friend's birthday party was held at Earl's instead of korean bbq and the entire day I just drank tea and had some dehydrated apples so by the time dinner came I was ready for some eats!

I started off my naughty dinner with chili chicken and crispy won tons that I shared with a friend. Luckily we ate it pretty early because by the time we finished it I was pretty full. I drank a ton of unsweetened iced tea and water and then for dinner had the cajun chicken with fingerling potatoes and a side salad. Delicious. I also shared dessert (campfire s'mores) and it was all so yummy!

After that night of decadence I am definitely ready to get back to the proper diet. I hadn't seen most of these friends since the first day of the VLCD and they all said they can see a difference. They said I look much smaller in general. My waist is smaller, my shoulders and arms are smaller. They said in general I just look like all of me has shrunk some. I was thrilled to hear someone notice a difference! Although I will definitely be paying for dinner last night tomorrow morning. Hopefully the food will be kind... either way, tomorrow is a mini-steak day!

VLCD Day #26: - 2.3lbs (AKA: Stall is OVER!)

Woohoo! 2.3lbs down today! That's HUGE! That's the most I've been down since my very first VLCD! I'm thrilled! I'm now down 22lbs in just 26 days. Looks like it might be catching up so, with any luck, I might just be able to say down 40 in 40. Although I might be dreaming it would be awesome!

Today was pretty generic, nothing too exciting, although I did forget to take my shot in the morning so I did it when I got home instead. I'm trying to drink more water so I downed two glasses when I got home and I'll down two more before bed to hopefully make up the difference. Again my sleep will be disrupted every couple of hours but no biggie.

Can't wait to see the scale tomorrow to confirm that the stall is done for!

VLCD Day #25: -0lbs (AKA: Dammit, What Happened to my Progress?)

I was really really good yesterday! WTF?! I avoided pickles AND balsamic!! I skipped both of my melba toasts and one protein. There is no reason I shouldn't be down. I am kind of disappointed that there was no change but I suppose it's better than a gain. I'm still at 20lbs and still proud of myself but you get such high expectations from this diet!

I'm just going to keep going and if I have two days of stall then I will implement a steak day again which will hopefully kick it back into gear. I think the stall may be caused by my lack of water. Still not drinking the two litres I should be, I'm trying harder today but it's pretty tough because I'm simply not thirsty!

Ah well, I'll down a bunch tonight before and after dinner. Means I'll sleep badly but maybe I'll at least keep losing the weight.

VLCD Day #24: -0.6lbs (AKA: Lost 20lbs in 24 Days!)

Yahoo!! I hit my original goal of 20lbs!!! Let's hope the losses keep coming and I can hit my adjusted goals of 25 and 30lbs! Then I will be at the halfway mark of my entire weight loss goal. So thrilled!

Today I was extra super duper good and, while I was hoping for a bigger loss, I am not disappointed. Any loss is a good loss especially if it's over half a lb!

My blogs may be getting shorter and shorter since there's not always that many interesting things to write. Wish me luck for tomorrow though!

VLCD Day #23: -1.8lbs (AKA: Woohoo Steak Day #2 Wins!)

Yay! Back on track! Only 0.6lbs away from my original goal of 20lbs. I am thrilled! The steak day was a success again and I couldn't be happier.

Today was pretty good too. Went to the beach this afternoon and sweated like crazy but just chilled and read my book. We always get lots of attention for the dogs so it's a pretty fun little excursion each time we go. I had my mini-burger and Nick had two delicious looking giant hot dogs. I was a little jealous but still satisfied. I'm trying to binge on water although it always messes with my sleep because I'm up about 4 or 5 times a night. So annoying.

So... I've decided to cheat. I have decided that on Thursday when I go for dinner for my friend's birthday I am going to do a steak day cheat kind of thing. I'm not going to eat anything until dinner and then I'm going to cheat by having some Korean BBQ, only meat and veggies though, and then the next day will be a proper mini-steak day. Hopefully this will counteract the bad cheating I'll be doing. Wish me luck! Until then though, I'm going extra hardcore on the diet and will be trying to lose as much as possible as to not upset my goals too much.

VLCD Day #21: -1lbs & VLCD Day #22: 0lbs (AKA: Back on Track? ... Or Not.)

So I didn't get a chance to write my blog for day 21 or 22 but here they are!

I've been really down lately about not losing much over the last 7 days but we've also been crazy busy packing for our move next week so I haven't had to dwell much. I had a little tiny cheat when I took one bite of Nick's butter chicken which may have led to the day of no change (worth it!)

On Day 22 TOM will be gone so I decided to kick it off with another steak day which will hopefully get my losing back in gear. -20lbs here we come! I've been around the -17lb mark for just over a week which is a huge difference compared to the 7 and 8 lbs a week I was losing before but let's hope the stall is over and we can get back on our way for the rest of the 43 days. (20 days and counting...)

This steak day was a little difficult because I actually felt hungry AFTER I ate. I didn't get hungry all day until about 5pm so I made my steak. I was hungry again by about 6pm so I ate my apple and for the rest of the night my tummy was grumbling. That was a new sensation for me since I've been on the diet so I just drank more water and tea and went on with my night. We rented movies so at least I had a good distraction. Also, most of our food is packed up so I can't get to any of the good stuff anyway!!

I do seriously want some popcorn though. Blockbuster just wreaked of popcorn and I was dying but somehow managed to survive and say no. The cravings are getting worse simply because it's been so long since I've had anything different but they are still manageable. When I do have a cheat I feel insanely guilty and the food is never as good as I thought it was going to be. Even the butter chicken, which was delicious, still wasn't as mouth watering as I remember it. It was kind of disappointing! But, since I wasn't really losing anyway it was a nice treat.

Since I'm almost at 20lbs already I've decided to adjust my goal to 30lbs! If I lose 30lbs I will be the lowest weight I have been since college which will be a nice change. I am hoping to lose around 60 or 70lbs in total so making the halfway point in my first round would be incredible. I will start my second round 6 weeks after my 3rd week of no sugar and no carbs. I'm already looking forward to reaching my goal weight! It is within my grasp...

VLCD Day #20 +0.9lbs (Ugh.)

So a day of absolutely zero cheating and I am +0.9lbs. Such bullshit! So irritating. If I was going to put on a pound I would at least hope to eat something bad! This is incredibly frustrating so tomorrow I'm going to do another steak day. Screw you TOM!

It is insanely difficult to stay on a diet like this if you're gaining weight regardless of whether you cheat or not. It's pretty much complete bullshit and I'm totally pissed that I'm gaining that amount after a completely clean day. It is so messed up. I even skipped my fruit and Melba for dinner last night!! WTF?! It is very hard to convince myself not to cheat when I'm not losing weight. Half of me is saying "What's the point? Have some ice cream!" and the other half is telling me it will pass.

Today I didn't feel hungry so that's good but also I know I didn't get enough water. I'm trying to make up for it tonight by drinking as much as I can but so far it's still not enough. I am now halfway through the HCG injection phase of my diet. In a day and a half I will be exactly half way through the diet. Now is when it starts feeling like torture! My friend is having her birthday party next Thursday and we're going to a Korean BBQ place (my fav!) but I won't be able to have anything there which completely blows. Next time I do this diet it will be in November where nothing good ever happens so by the time xmas comes I'll be able to enjoy myself.

VLCD Day #19: -0.2lbs (AKA: Dammit. You Win... I'll Wait Out The Storm.)

So the steak day worked for that day but definitely did not kick the stall out. Looks like it really wants me to stay around this certain weight mark so I'm just going to let it happen. I'm going to have my food and drink my water and do my walk and just assume that I'm not going to lose much tomorrow or even possibly gain. I've also decided to start with my HCG shots again and just carry on like nothing is happening.

I was super hungry today and I think it's because I didn't take the shot for two days in a row even though they recommend not taking them when TOM is around. I'm glad I started them up again though or I'm sure it would become torturous after the third day. I am now counting down the days when I get to eat normal food again. What is ridiculous is that I'm not even half way there yet! Scary times.

VLCD Day #18: -1.1lbs (AKA: Steak Day was a Success!)

Well, it worked! I was down 1.1lbs today all thanks to that lovely steak day! If only I could get away with that everyday. I can't wait until TOM leaves so I can try a steak day without the stall happening at the same time. Maybe I'll hit 2lbs?

I had more balsamic vinegar today. I figure that if I'm going to be stalled by TOM I may as well enjoy it! It is cruel and unusual punishment to keep a girl from her chocolate so balsamic is the best I can do. At least it's sweet and feels a little like cheating.

I've found that I'm much better at drinking my allotment of water when I am at home or on a day off, I do not drink enough when I'm out! I can only handle things with a straw so I'm just going to get two venti iced green teas tomorrow from Starbucks and make sure those get drank. It also might be because drinking that much makes me have to pee every 30 seconds.

Ah well, lets hope the stall ends soon and I can go back to partying like a rockstar! Uh.. I mean... losing tons of weight by injecting myself with fertility drugs. That sounds better, right? Right??

VLCD Day #17: +0.1lbs (AKA: Steak Daaaaay!!!)

So as you can see, I went up 0.1lbs this morning which I'm assuming is due to TOM. So, I decided to go on a mini-steak day to try and counteract the stall. A mini-steak day is where you don't eat anything all day except for a 100g steak and one apple for dinner. I also didn't take my HCG shot today because apparently you're not supposed to when TOM is around. Hopefully this will help with my weightloss tomorrow and get me back on track. If not, I will just suck it up and let TOM do his worst.

I thought I would be hungry today since I haven't eaten anything and haven't had the shot but I barely noticed. I cooked up a bunch more chicken, beef burgers and steak but that's when I got hungry... so I ate my steak and now everything is A-Okay! I'll have my apple before bed because it takes away the heartburn from my coffee.

Lets hope this works and I lose some more tomorrow. This stall is getting on my nerves. Wish me luck!

VLCD Day #16: -0.1 (AKA: Is That... Is That a Stall I see Ahead?)

Well, the loss is a little disappointing today. I'm not even entirely sure how accurate it is because I slept in til 10am where normally I would weight in between 6:30 and 7:30am. Ah well, a loss is a loss is a loss. Right? I heard so many bad things about what can happen when TOM comes to visit and apparently he is trying hard to make me fat. Won't be suprised if I gain over the next couple of days either because I drank at least 3 litres of water yesterday and barely lost anything, although I also had balsamic vinegar yesterday... so maybe it was that. Who knows, but today I skipped the Balsamic and had some pickles for lunch. Just going to test 'em out again, I just love pickles so much.

Nick says he can see that my waist has gotten smaller and now that he says it I can see it too. It looks like both sides are dipping in more than they usually do so either my waist has gotten smaller or my hips and boobs have gotten bigger. Who knows?

A friend of mine told me that The Doctor's did a show on HCG recently as did Dr. Oz and one of the negatives each show pointed out was the cost. They both quoted between $700 - $1000 per month (!!!!!) for the diet which is completely insane! I would just like to point out that my entire cost was about $200 which got me the book, the HCG, the materials (needles, alcohol pads, sterile water etc.) the cleanse beforehand and 1 on 1 24/7 advice from my HCG consultant. When I start round 2 it will only cost me $80 for the HCG and whatever the materials cost. I would never pay that much for a diet, it's completely bonkers. Those people who are paying that are paying for a doctor to inject them every single morning and I think they sell HCG specific food etc. etc. Total scams, anyway.

Also, I would like to point out that on both shows the Homeopathic HCG was torn down a peg because everyone seemed to agree that there was barely any HCG in it and therefore it was completely useless as a weightloss aid. I am on the injectible form and I am buying it from a respectable pharmaceutical company in the states.

Anyway, just wanted to clear that up incase anyone was thinking I was spending ridonkulous amounts of money on this though at the same time... $22 per pound for half a month isn't too bad. I wonder what it will work out to at the end of my 43 days if I was paying $700.

VLCD Day #15: -0.8 (AKA: 15 Days Down, 25 to Go...)

I've lost just over 16lbs and I haven't really been able to notice yet. My clothes fit a bit better but nothing spectacular. I googled why I wouldn't have noticed the difference and the site I read said that when you lose the first bit of weight it is taken incrementally from the entire body so it's difficult to notice. They also said that after the first 15 or 20lbs it will start focusing on smaller areas, like your stomach or your legs and will be noticed easier. I'm looking forward to that portion of the loss!

I am also looking forward to getting through Phase 3, making my way through the 6 weeks of non-dieting and then starting a second round to lose the remaining weight I will have. I am pretty happy with this diet so far and am excited to get down to a normal weight and start living a cleaner, healthier life. This diet has helped me realize that I eat when I'm bored, I eat without thinking, I eat because something tastes good but never simply because I'm hungry. Kind of a crazy revelation for me! This has helped me get a major grip on my cravings and helping me realize how many times a day I think "Oh, one little burger won't hurt. One little candy won't hurt. One extra sandwich won't hurt..." because when you add all of those "one littles" it really starts to affect you.

I haven't felt much hunger over the last few days. If I get hungry I just eat something. I don't feel like I have to eat all of my meal calories in one sitting so I'll just nibble here and there. It's pretty great! I have been getting wicked heartburn almost every night so I leave my apple to the end which takes it away pretty efficiently. I've also been drinking more and more water. I get thirsty very easily now if I don't have water within a half hour or so.

I'm trying to drink 3 litres of water each day. So far I'm at 2 litres today but I'll make sure to finish the 3rd tonight. I also made some chicken burgers for dinner today, not too shabby! I love the burger style because it feels like cheating and no matter how long they're in the fridge they won't dry out whereas the steak and chicken non-grounded does.

I'm having balsamic vinegar today as a test. If I still lose tomorrow then I'll know that balsamic is okay for me which will be soooo awesome for my salads. Wish me luck!

VLCD Day #14: -1.6 lbs (AKA: Lost 15 Pounds in Two Weeks!!)

Wow. 15lbs in only two weeks! That's just incredible, isn't it? I've decided to buy myself my new purse at my next big goal of 20lbs (my original goal for the entire 40 days) but this time I bought myself a fancy new BBQ. It folds down like a suitcase and you can roll it around! It will be perfect for camping. I love it already. *sigh*

I am so curious to know what I will have lost by August 13 if my losses are going this well. I'm half expecting a stall to happen any day now as it seems to happen to most of the people on HCG. I've so far only had random days as stalls but nothing major yet. Unfortunately, TOM (time of month) is coming to visit this week and apparently that can cause a stall or even weight gain for the days that he is around. Most of it is supposed to be water retention but who knows. Not looking forward to it, anyway. This must be why men do better on the HCG diet!

Some people have lost an entire 40 - 50lbs on their first round so maybe I'll be one of those lucky ones regardless of this? I don't want to get my hopes up though because I am very proud of the 15 that I've lost already. It's so insane to think that this has happened, I've always figured the only way I would ever lose it was through diet and exercise. No quick fixes. Still curious if this diet is going to come back and bite me in the ass, as they say, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is. But who knows? They ALSO say "don't look a gift horse in the mouth"

VLCD Day #13: +0.3lbs (AKA: Sniffle Sniffle Coff Coff...)

Well as you can see I went up by 0.3lbs. Boo-urns. I'm coming down with a bit of a cold so I may be retaining water. I woke up pretty stuffed up and my weight fluctuated about 1.5lbs within a few minutes but I chose the higher weight that it showed because I just wasn't sure. Rather be slightly disappointed today than severely disappointed tomorrow.

Just in case of my cold, I drank an insane amount of water today. A couple of litres of water about 4 cups of tea and a coffee, I'll also have a bunch of water before bed. I also skipped my protein for lunch but had my veggies and apple. For dinner I made my mini-burger which was delicious, as per usual. I got some wicked heartburn so I had my apple to send it back to the depths of hell. Hopefully, it stays away.

I am 13 days in to this diet and it feels like I just started. It is moving very quickly and I'm getting used to the food. I enjoy not having to think about it and if I do feel hungry I know exactly what I can grab. I am getting much better at saying "No" to myself which will be a great skill to finally have when I move on to my non-diet life. Still can't wait to eat something substantial again. First thing I'm going to have is bacon and eggs. Crispy almost burnt bacon and delicious fried eggs, no yolk. Then I'll follow it up with Ants on a Log: Crunchy celery smothered in creamy peanut butter with big fat raisons on it. *grumble grumble* There goes my tummy!

Til tomorrow! BTW, if anyone has questions about what I eat or how I do anything please let me know. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

VLCD Day #12: -1.2 (AKA: So Close I Can Taste It...)

Down another 1.2lbs today! Only 0.9lbs away from my next goal of 15lbs. I wore my belt today and had to take it in two extra notches then I had when I bought it. Love to see those little things! Really wish I had taken measurements though before starting. Then I'd have a better idea of where I'm losing it all. I'll definitely take them before my second round though a couple of months from now.

Today was pretty normal except I didn't drink nearly as much as I should have. I had a couple glasses of tea, a 500ml bottle of water and three glasses before I sat down to write this. Really should be drinking much more than that but I was on the road all day today heading to Whistler and back. I did go for a short walk though and did 10mins of cardio on my elliptical. Hopefully that will help for tomorrow.

Today marks exactly one month until the end of the VLCD. It will be over on August 13 and then I will be starting Phase 3: No carb, No sugar. I am so excited for that portion and I've been looking at all of the things I'll be able to eat! Although I am SHOCKED at how many things have sugar in it!! Did you know that flavoured deli meat chicken has powdered sugar as it's like.. third ingredient? Powdered fucking sugar. WTF? It was mediterranean flavour for goodness sakes! Just toss some greek spices on it and you're good to go! But no, apparently there was a need for powdered sugar. Go figure.

Either way, lots of other good stuff that I definitely cannot have now. I love chips and popcorn which are both no nos but apparently pork rinds are okay. Who woulda thunk it? Plain and BBQ flavour is what the book says. I'll be doing all of my shopping at Whole Foods so I'll have a better choice of healthy crap.

Can't wait to taste the glory of peanut butter again... or basically any flavour besides mustard and apple cider vinegar.

VLCD Day #11: -1.8lbs (AKA: Only 2.1lbs Way From My New Purse!)

So apparently that little kernel of perfection didn't affect me much! Part of me still thinks "What if I didn't have it? Would I have hit 2lbs down?" but I won't over think it. I didn't cheat at all today! I had and earlier morning than usual and was very good all day, despite the many distractions such as free cookies and a stop at Tim Horton's for coffee. I was very good. I added a teensy bit of cream to my coffee because there was no fat free milk but I didn't drink much of it so I think I'll survive.

I am up much too late tonight so I'm off to bed but can't wait to see my weight in the morning. I am slowly drifting into uncharted territory with my weight. Haven't been this low in at least 3 years, possibly more! Hope it keeps going down.

I tried on an old pair of jeans that definitely didn't fit me a few weeks ago but this time I could even button them up! The muffin top stopped me from wearing them for more than the few seconds it took to do my touchdown dance but at least I'm on my way.

Not sure if anyone's noticed but I update my little weight calendar over on the left each morning. If you're hoping for a sneak peek before I blog each evening then please feel free to check in each morning to do the math yourself.

Wish me luck! Everything is becoming more tempting each day... not as tempting as losing the pounds though.

VLCD Day #10: -1.0lbs (AKA: Cheater!!)

Woohoo! Down another pound today. I am well on my way to my goal of 20lbs! Over half way there and only a quarter of the way through the diet. Things are getting kinda boring now though and the cravings are getting harder to avoid.

I may have possibly kind of a little bit cheated today... I had... oh gosh this is so hard to admit... I just couldn't avoid it... I just wanted something different... I had... here goes...one kernel of caramel corn. OH THE SHAME!! Forgive me HCG Gods! FORGIVE MEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeee... dramatic enough for you? I'm sure I'll pay for it tomorrow. I had one perfect little kernel of Orville's caramel popcorn... it was so crunchy and delicious. I wish I'd savoured it more but I'm glad I refrained from having more than one piece. That's pretty huge for me. Normally I would just pretend it wasn't happening while eating handful after handful. That definitely is the only cheat I had today so I'm skipping one Melba toast and one apple to make up for the sugar and carb.

Actually, I even forgot to take my shot today! I ended up taking it at 4pm when I got home from work. Some of the versions of the diet say to skip one day a week so I'm not too upset by it, I'm more shocked that I could forget! I didn't even eat today until about 12:10pm although I did have a blended ice cap and a delicious iced green tea with Stevia. I even picked up some more flavoured Stevia! This time I got Chocolate Raspberry (they didn't have plain chocolate) tomorrow my coffee will be like a mocha!

I've also been checking out what I can eat on the next phase, even though it's still a month away, but you get to eat some pretty yummy stuff! I'm sure everything will seem like a treat to me when I can eat anything except these very few things I've been eating so far. Still pretty much enjoying the diet although sometimes I consider just ordering a pizza and saying to hell with it! But then I wake up and I'm a pound lighter and my determination is renewed. It's all good.

Till tomorrow! We can find out what damage that little corn did...

VLCD Day #9: -1.1 (AKA: 10lbs lost in 9 days!! Woohoo!)

10 lbs gone!!! 10lbs have left my body in only 9 days! I can't see the change yet but hopefully it will start being noticeable soon, I can't wait for some of my determination to make a difference! I am so thrilled that I got back on track.

Yesterday there were absolutely no cheats and I drank lots and lots of tea. I think that really helps. I had another dirty dream last night... I ate a mini-cupcake that my friend Andrea made. She makes the best cupcakes in the world and I dreamed I had a chocolate one with pink icing... it was amazing... in my dream. I'm starting to enjoy the weird food dreams because then it feels like I'm not depriving myself. Somewhere in my mind I have eaten a cupcake, a sandwich and some chips. Yummmm. Andrea, please make me a batch of mini-chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing for when this is all over and I can eat some sugar and starch... should be about two months from now. Dammit.

It's kind of daunting sometimes when I think about how much longer I have to do this. I have my 4yr anniversary with Nick coming up on August 3 and I realized that we won't be able to celebrate with a nice dinner like we usually do and it's still almost a whole month away! Nevermind the fact that I will still be on the VLCD for another 10 days after the anniversary. It seems like I've been doing this forever when really I'm not even a quarter of the way through. Scary, eh? Fortunately, the eating choices are so easy at least I don't have to think too much about the food I'm eating it's just making sure I don't eat the food I'm not supposed to.

We went to look at furniture the other day and they had cookies and iced tea out for everyone, I went to reach for one and then realized what I was doing. It was like my hand had a mind of it's own! The first thing I always think when something like that happens is "One won't hurt!" but then I remember the HCG and I stop myself. I think this diet will be good for my willpower. Saying "one won't hurt" about every little thing I come across will eventually hurt big time. This should condition me to be able to say no to myself and control my portions better. Even if this diet is completely insane it should teach me some excellent life lessons down the road.

I had pickles again today but I didn't have my fruit and drank four cups of tea, so far. I am hoping that will flush out the sodium. I also learned what my slow down may have been from! Apparently, sunburns make you retain water!! I had no idea! I chose a small amount of sunblock and ended up getting a slight burn, looks like it wouldn't have matter if I used the block or not. C'est la vie, right? I'll be avoiding the sun for the most part from now on. Feels good to know what the issue was though, I was getting worried that it wasn't working on me anymore.

Let's hope I make it to 15lbs soon, I'd love to be able to say 15lbs lost in 15 days! Even better if I could say 40lbs lost in 40 days so here's hoping! I'll be happy with 15 or 20 though and I'll do the HCG diet again if I come out of this healthy and happy. So far so good.

Can't wait for the weigh in tomorrow!!

VLCD Day #8: -0.6 (AKA: Back in Action?)

So today I dropped the 1/2 lb I put on yesterday and added a little tiny 0.1lb to my loss. Now at 9.1lbs lost all together! Let's hope tomorrow is a nice drop and we keep moving forward. If I don't lose tomorrow I will definitely do the apple day. An apple day, for those who don't know, is a day where you eat nothing but 6 apples throughout the day. Fortunately, I like apples so it shouldn't be too difficult.

Today wasn't too bad, I felt a little hungry around 11:30am so I had my apple and mini-burger with mustard and then munched on a couple of cucumbers throughout the day. Dinner was pretty lame with some grilled chicken and a Melba toast. Although I have convinced Starbucks to make me a new yummy drink... it's called the Blended Iced Americano. I order it just so I can see the weird looks the cashier gives me and the confusion it causes to the baristas. Very entertaining but also a yummy drink. It's basically a frapuccino but without the sugar or milk. Or it's basically an Iced American but they stick it in the blender for a few minutes. It's just blended ice and coffee except it goes all weird without the milk I guess? It ends up looking like a giant frap but with lots of foam and the coffee all sinks to the bottom but it is super good with a good dose of Vanilla Stevia! It helps with my frap and slurpee cravings.

I've drank a lot of water today as well but forgot my fiber this morning. Let's hope it all works out tomorrow though. I'm trying to convince Nick to film me getting the HCG ready and injecting it but he seems very freaked out by the idea... I think I'll have to wait for someone else to help me out haha Stephanie, I'm lookin at you!

VLCD Day #7: +0.5lbs (AKA: Blame it on the Sa-aa-a-a-a-a-alt.)

BOO-F*CKING-URNS! I woke up this morning ready to hit the 10lb mark and instead I was +0.5!! I am assuming it was from the pickles. It is not technically allowed but I figured because it was a cucumber and had no sugar in the ingredients I'd be good but I'm guessing it is from the salt in it. I'm sure I'm retaining salt and that's why I didn't lose anything and instead put some back on! Today I will avoid all salts and just drink ridonkulous amounts of water starting with my fiber supplement and two glasses of tea.

I had an insane dream last  night. Seems that instead of having sex dreams I am having food dreams. I dreamt that I was at a party and started eating a sandwich and chips. Halfway through the sandwich I remembered I was on the diet and told my friend as much. He told me to stop eating then and I said I would in a few bites and started running around the room grabbing as much food as I could and stuffing it in my mouth. I woke up, feeling insanely guilty, just before I had a bite of ice cream and chocolate cake. When I woke up I was dog tired and still thought that I'd broken my diet for a few minutes! I think the dream happened because I felt so annoyed by not losing weight this morning (I woke up at 5am to weight myself then went back to bed). I was going to be so happy being able to say "Lost 10lbs in the first week!". Ah well, c'est la vie. Back on track!

I went for a decent walk today and drank lots of water. Let's hope it's been enough. If not I will do an apple day tomorrow. I'm going out dancing with some friends tonight so that should be good times. Been a long time since I've been to a club haha I'm sure I'll be ready for bed by 9pm.

For dinner I had a strawberry and shrimp spinach salad. I used a bit of balsamic vinegar... I hope that's not a cheat? I skipped my Melba's today just in case. Wish me luck that tomorrow is a drop instead of a gain!

VLCD Day #6: -1.9lbs (AKA: 9lbs and 6 days down, 37 days and 11lbs left!)

Woohoo!! Down 1.9lbs today!! I am officially down 9lbs in only 6 days. Very impressive. If I keep going at this rate I won't have to worry about hitting my goal of 20lbs. I might even go well past that number with any luck!

Today I felt really hungry from like 10:30am until 1pm and the food didnt help much. This morning I didn't have my fiber or my tea, like a bad girl, and I bailed hard core in the shower. Our shower curtain is too long for our tub and I slipped on it today and landed hard on my chest. But don't worry, Nick cut it extra short as soon as he got home today! What a good man. I'm assuming the combination of those three things caused my tummy to go haywire. I felt awful all morning it was very unpleasant, it felt like I was dying of starvation or had a really awful tummy ache.

I had some coffee and ate my lunch and started feeling better around 1pm. I was very tempted to grab a big 'ol Subway sandwich but I resisted the temptation! Hopefully it all pays off by tomorrow (here comes -10 lbs! Please please please!). My cravings aren't as strong as they were the other night although I did have to smell some peanut butter today to calm myself down, it does not smell nearly as good as you would think it does... honey smells really yummy though. I kind of miss the feeling of being properly full and anytime I see someone on TV eating I start salivating for the texture of their food. I was watching Franklin & Bash today and someone was eating a hot pretzel (which I don't even like) and I was ready to strangle them through the tv just so I could taste the bread with the salt all over it. In fact... they were eating mustard with the pretzel.. maybe that's where that came from. Either way, I'm still feeling good, no big blasts of adrenaline or lethargic feelings, no pain etc etc. so I'm still very happy with the diet.

Dinner was pretty good; I had a mini burger with mustard, melba with mustard... cucumbers & pickles with mustard. Yea, I was having a mustard kind of day. I think I was just craving another flavour and I've always loved mustard so it all works out. French's Yellow Mustard on mini cucumbers, not too shabby! I've drank a lot of water today though. About 4 or 5 bottles, a coffee and a glass of tea. I just downed another bottle of water while sitting here typing. Hopefully the water will flush my body out some more so I can get rid of all of the toxins and salt etc. I never thought I could drink  that much and always had a hard time drinking "8 glasses a day" but so far I've had almost 12 glasses (assuming a glass is 250mls), nevermind the water in my cucumbers, mustard and tomatoes! Feels nice to be hydrated.

If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to comment on any of my blogs. T

thanks!

VLCD Day #5: -0.2 lbs (AKA: Damn You Peri Peri Sauce! Please Be Kind, Sunblock...)

Soooo only 0.2lbs down today to make it an even 7lbs lost in 5 days. I blame the Peri Peri sauce that I put on my shrimp last night. Boo-urns.

I decided to be extra super duper careful today and drank lots and lots of water, had some fiber this morning and went for a nice walk. Only problem? It's pure sunshine and about 23 degrees outside. And I'm irish. I burn almost instantly! I know I shouldn't be using Sun Block because of the diet but I couldn't resist putting some on before I went in the sun. I put it on my nose and cheeks, the places that burn the easiest, and only used about 1/2 tablespoon but who knows how it will hurt me tomorrow. I'll probably have a sun burn though! The lobster colour will go well with my tong hands.

Today, when I got home, I started having wicked cravings. I want cheese so bad. I want peanut butter too. I want pizza with butter chicken on it topped with some fried chicken. Mmmmmmmm... but I have resisted. I made some shrimp again but this time with a tiny bit of lemon juice, pepper and fresh garlic. I am also having asparagus with salt and pepper. For lunch I had a mini burger patty with mustard, a pint of tomatoes and 6 strawberries. Hopefully this will help with the cravings, I'm also going to have some tea and more water until I feel full. God I want a peanut butter sandwich...

VLCD Day #4: -1.8lbs (AKA: Hunger? Huuuunger? Where aaaare you?)

Woohoo! Another 1.8 lbs down!! This is the best diet ever! The hunger is completely gone now. I didn't feel hungry at all today!! Hell, I didn't even finish my orange for lunch. It's 7:45pm and my yummy looking dinner is sitting beside me as I write this and I'm not even tempted. This is a very bizaar feeling. To think about what I've eaten all day and then realize I'm not hungry and I'm not craving anything. So weird! The way my cravings have been working is if I see something in front of me that I like I will think about having it and then remember the diet and walk away. Fortunately, none of it is impulse grabs like a bowl of candy or anything, I actually would have to prepare it, like chocolate milk. I just feel so guilty when I think about eating anything that isn't allowed. My brain says "Oh come on, just one bite won't hurt!" and then everything in me tells it to shut up and that I will ruin everything.

One thing I especially like is that I don't feel like I'm on a diet. I'm not hungry, I'm enjoying the meals, it's insanely simple and there's not a lot to remember because I premade everything! It's brilliant. Today I picked up some extra lean ground beef and made some burgers and I also seperated my shrimp into 100g. Roughly 10 shrimp = 100g which is pretty impressive! More than enough.

Speaking of food, I thought I would show you all my deeeelicious dinner tonight! I had BBQ shrimp (put some peri peri sauce on it, it has no sugar or fat or carbs etc. so I'm hoping it's HCG safe!), asparagus with garlic, salt and lemon juice, strawberries and my little bitty Melba toast. Looks good, don't it? Tastes even better! I don't feel like I'm missing out at all. Did I mention how much I love this diet?

Yesterday I bought myself a present to celebrate my first 5lbs. It is a necklace made by a local designer that says:

 "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail"

I love that question. What would try to do if you knew you wouldn't fail? Would you apply for a better job? Would you go back to school? Would you run a marathon? I felt like this question represented my weight loss very well. I think that the idea of failing has stopped me for a long time. I was afraid of telling people I was trying to lose weight in fear that I would give up, like I often did. I would attempt to change my lifestyle so I could live healthier and longer as well as look better. Hell, I'm attempting to do that right now and there is no reason I should fail!

 I'll get myself something else when I hit 15lbs which should be any day now at this rate. I'm thinking it will be a nice leather purse or something.

Anyhow, I'm off to take the dogs for a walk. Wish me luck for tomorrow morning! I love waking up and hitting the scale. Best part of my day to see the number go down.

VLCD Day #3: -1.4 lbs (AKA: 5 lbs lost in two days!! Best Diet EVER)

As you may have noticed in the title, I lost 1.4lbs today! That makes my entire weightloss at 5lbs in only two days!! Loving it! I took the dogs to the dog park today and walked all the way around, seems like my energy is back up and back to normal.

Last night Nick and I decided to go to the movies to see Transformers 3 (very good, BTW!). This seemed like an intensely bad idea because the only reason I go to the movies is for the popcorn. That big bag of warm, buttery and extra salty pieces of heaven. Popcorn is my #1 guilty pleasure. Whether it's microwaved, stove top, fireside or especially movie theatre popcorn. I love it on the stove with olive oil and steak spice or at the theatre with layered butter and extra salt... drool. Just the smell alone drives me crazy and last night was a true test of my willpower. Suprisingly, I was barely tempted at all. The smell was incredible but I didn't actually want to put it in my mouth, I was just enjoying the scent. I didn't even want to touch the bag in fear of, again, letting my skin touch the butter. Thank goodness Nick isn't a snack person like I am. He isn't interested in any of that crap so fortunately he did not provide any extra temptation. I brought along my strawberries left over from dinner and ate those slowly, it helped the craving because it gave my hands something to do.

The hunger has definitely died down and drinking tea has been wonderful. I got a small pang of hunger at around 10:30am but after a coffee it quickly disappeared. I had my lunch at around 11:30am and didn't even finish it! I finished it a couple of hours later but not because I was hungry, simply because I knew I should eat it. I also took some fiber this morning that was left over from my cleanse. I'm hoping this increases my weight loss for tomorrow and keeps me losing at least 1lbs per day if possible. I am hoping to lose about 20lbs on this diet but will be happy with 15 as well, I'm working hard to exceed my expectations though!

It's now 5pm and I'm not even hungry! I will wait a little longer to eat until I'm a bit closer to bed time or at least until I feel hungry. I'm pretty impressed with the diet and how it feels so far. Seems to be working pretty well and it should only get better!

As some of you may have noticed, I have added a "Follow by Email" option on the right. This gives you the option to get an email every time I add a new blog! Also, please feel free to comment on any of the blogs you see, you do not need to get a google email to do so.

Thanks for your support

VLCD Day #2: -3.6lbs (AKA: HOLY SH!T! This insane diet actually works!!)

8:30am: Hello, yes it is 8:30am so clearly I am not blogging about how my second day went yet but I just want to update you on my weight this morning. Since yesterday morning I have dropped 3.6lbs!!!!!! Isn't that insane?? I put on about 2lbs during the loading phase which made up for the weight I lost on the cleanse so loading really just brought me back to my starting point before the cleanse. This 3.6lbs is an actual difference!!! So fucking sweet. I'm in heaven... Iiiiii'm in heaven.

I totally thought I screwed myself yesterday because I had my fiance's pickle slices while we were on the ferry which are technically cucumber but with more spices, right? But then I googled pickling processes and apparently some of them add sugar! I thought I would gain weight this morning. So far so good! I'll assume that White Spot doesn't use sugar.

Already a little hungry though... I'll let you know how day 2 goes tonight.
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5:17pm: So I just finished my dinner of steak, cucumber and Melba toast. Yum yum! I really love the chicken I've had for lunch, the steak is a little chewy unfortunately. The hunger has decreased considerably since yesterday. I was hungry this morning but my apple took care of that around 10:30am, I slowly ate bits of my lunch throughout the next couple of hours and then just finished dinner now. Coffee and tea definitely help with the hunger pangs.

I've noticed that I have very little true cravings so far. I will drive by something or see an ad for a place I like and briefly consider stopping to have a bite and then I remember and it goes away completely. So far so good but it's only my second day of avoidance. Weight loss is a huge motivator so lets hope the cravings stay away and the fat melts away. I think tomorrow when I'm working will be the hardest.

I made Nick dinner tonight, he had grilled burgers and potatoes. Nice and smokey off of the BBQ with lots of salt and butter and while, yes, I wanted one; it was very easy to avoid. I was more concerned about not letting my skin touch any of the food in case it sucked up any of the grease and fats. I was using tongs in place of my hands, channelling Edward Scissor Hands except instead of cutting hair and creating topiary; I was making a cheese burger. Whatever, it was still art. Folly Tong Hands, that's my name!

I found some Vanilla Creme stevia at the grocery store last week so I've been getting my iced americanos and instead of getting two pumps of sugar free vanilla, I just add a couple drops of the stevia and it's good to go! Very delicious. I don't even need to add any extra sugar since the stevia adds the vanilla and the sweetness. Highly recommended. I think I'll pick up the chocolate raspberry flavour next time so it will be like having a mocha.

So far this is probably the easiest diet I've ever been on. The meals are crazy easy to make and the shot each morning really puts me in that "this is serious" mind set. I find that when I am on a less restrictive diet I take many more risks and am constantly saying to myself "Oh, one little fry won't make a difference!" but because of the HCG and the injections I am insanely paranoid about what goes in my body. For years I would just mindlessly eat whatever was in front of me or whatever I wanted. This diet is causing me to be very deliberate when I eat or when I touch things. Everything is deliberate. I read the ingredients and nutritional info on everything and am so careful of even what I'm using as soap or face wash or what spices I'm using. It's totally new for me so hopefully this will help me when I move on to Phase 3 and eventually Phase 4 to be more aware of what I'm putting in my body and how it changes me or makes me feel.

I'm enjoying the diet so far and I am slightly enjoying denying myself of the yummy things in a masochistic kind of way. Let's see how long that lasts, eh?

VLCD Day #1 (AKA: So Hungry... Soooooo Hungry!)

Today is my first VLCD day. I woke up and drank a bottle of water and we got all of our camp gear into the car. My tummy was growling like a mad dog around 10:30am so I started eating my apple... Which promptly got dropped on the ground. A quick trip to the market awarded me another apple.

At about 12p I devoured the rest if my meal and a ton more water. The chicken was delicious and the cucumber was very crunchy. I actually kind of like the Melba toast! Not as dry and gross as I had expected.

I am still very hungry and have had a wicked headache since about 9am but it could be the lack of sleep as well as the lack of food. Grumble grumble grumble. I've also been peeing like a racehorse all day! Had an iced coffee but that wasn't very good without a pump of sugar free vanilla and milk. On the ferry I had an iced tea sweetened with Stevia and that was delicious. I also would randomly sniff my fiancee's food which was kind of satisfying. Almost as if I was eating it! Okay... Maybe not but, dammit, that's what I'm telling myself!!

Dinner came quickly and I had my little steak & Melba toast, radishes and an orange. It was okay but I still have cravings. I keep reminding myself I'm on a diet. I've already thought about cooking chicken skewers for dinner tomorrow, having some melba toast and cheese and making a PB sandwich. This is going to be harder than I thought!

Wish me luck...

Loading Day 1 & 2 (AKA: Injection Day!!)

Lesson #1: Just because you CAN eat a donut at 7am doesn't mean you SHOULD.

Lesson #2: Carbs and Sugar are not the same thing as Fat.

Lesson #3: $3 for a full breakfast does not = quality meal


As you may have guessed, I decided to start my day off with a donut. A Boston cream donut to be exact. Bad plan. After years of attempting a healthy breakfast, shocking my system with pure sugar at 7am will cause said body to rebel and feel like shit until mass amounts of vegetables and water are consumed. Go figure. Also, following that donut with a greasy spoon breakfast of hashbrowns, fried eggs and bacon is an equally bad idea. Needless to say, my loading day did not turn out as epic as I had pictured.

I didn't even finish the whole donut, I actually had a second donut that I ended up tossing out! When I got to breakfast I felt so gross that I could barely eat. It was pretty disappointing.

I headed over to my appointment at Inner Garden after my "meal" to get my first injection. It was a really simple process to mix the water and HCG. I was really impressed at the simplicity of the whole thing. I injected myself (with a little push and encouragement from Susan) and it seriously didn't hurt! Like, at all! It was a teeny little pinch and then nothing. Very cool. The needle is maybe half an inch long, like the length of a finger nail. It is for diabetics I guess.

After the debacle of this morning have only had a few bad things, after the morning I've been off all day. I missed lunch and ate some crackers and chips while driving like a maniac to catch the ferry. Once we got to the terminal I had a salad and a  hot dog. So lame!

After the ferry we had to wait for another friend so we went for dinner where, like an idiot, I had a caesar salad wrap and a side salad. We got to the campsite around 9:30pm and I munched on Swedish berries and chips but still wasn't feeling it.

The next morning was much better. I love cooking while camping! I made bacon and eggs and my friends made beans and sausages. Then I ate cheddar hot dogs, s'mores, s'moreos (my creation of an Oreo with a piece of chocolate and a marshmallow in it), chips, avocado, steak, potatoes, fiesta salad, chocolate bars, more hot dogs, more s'mores, lots of m&ms, lots of different chips... Etc. Etc. Etc.

Needless to say, I went to bed with a tummy ache. Totally worth it. I put on almost 3 lbs in that one day.

I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes etc. I'm typing this on my iPhone  while waiting for the ferry. Half of this was written on the way here and half on the way back. We didn't sleep very well last night because two 17 yr olds were having exceptionally loud sex in the campsite next to us from the hours of 2am til 4:30am. They were so loud that we could hear every word they said... or moaned. The boy's name was either "Brody" or "Daddy"...she said them both equally as often. Brutal.