R2 VLCD Day #24: -1.3lbs (AKA: 54lbs Lost Since 1 Year Ago... Whoa!)

So last year at this time I was well over 200lbs. My highest recorded weight, that I recall, was 216lbs. That is one of the first time I've ever actually admitted that weight. Wow. 216... I weighed more than my 50" TV; more than four toddlers in a doggy pile... with a labradoodle... that is more Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton and Angelina Jolie COMBINED!! At 5'1 that is scarily over weight. That's like... pre-diabetic weight. I should have been practicing how to cruise around in a motorized cart due to the future loss of my foot and practicing asking people to tie my shoes since it would have been too much of a work-out to bend down, never mind trying to see them! This is a picture of me on my birthday in 2010, a year ago this past Sunday:

Whoooooooa booty. I look like a Freddy Krueger sausage! (that's like Betty Crocker but in an uglier sweater... yes it was a costume, I am not THAT much of a fashion reject) But jeez I look big. I went to Ireland about a month before this picture and in aaaaall of my Ireland pictures I look just as huge. I barely look at any of the pictures that have me in them soley because I can't stand how I look in them. So sad. The best trip of my life and I am ashamed of how I look. I refuse to feel that way about my wedding pictures.

Now, this picture was taken BEFORE this round, I've lost an additional 17lbs since this picture but it does give a pretty damn good idea of how different I look.... I think?

I'm much less Rolly Poly and much more Arrooooooogah! I've got shapely legs instead of tree trunks and a roll-less waist (while standing, at least!) and I'm so much more comfortable in clothes. I can sit without feeling uncomfortable and even my sleep has gotten better! Not so much fat on my face choking me at night. Even my little sausage fingers are looking much more svelte... that is, if fingers can look svelte.

Either way, I am on track and on my weigh way... to my goal weight of 140lbs. That will be a total loss of 76lbs from my very highest weight on record. Lets just hope I can keep it up but man... I really have no intentions of ever going back and after I reach my goal, I will never even look back.

PS: I would just like to mention that before posting this I read my blog out loud to my fiancee, Nick, who is sitting beside me. I read the part about tying my shoes and he said "You weren't that big!" I showed him the picture commenting on how I looked like the dress was painted on and he says "No way, you look beautiful." Now, ladies, is that a keeper, or what?!

R2 VLCD Day #7: -3lbs (AKA: Lost 10lbs in 7 days? Uh yea, I Think I Can Handle That!)

Woop woop! I am incredible! HCG is incredibleist! 11lbs in 7 days. So far I am kicking the crap out of my last round and honestly, I will be thrilled if I lost 20lbs this round but absolutely epically ecstatic if I lose another 30lbs and so far it is going hella well! I didn't blog all weekend because I had an event on Friday night that I was working. My friend (let's call her... Stiff.) and I were working all day from 12pm to 10pm and didn't get back to my place til close to midnight. Nevermind the fact that at this event we were surrounded by delicious food. Two cheese tables, one focused on goat cheese (my fav) and many different fruit platters. Yet somehow I avoided all of it. Sheer willpower kept me from devouring all of the food in sight but I figured the loss would be so much better because I had been working for so long, standing and lifting heaving things etc.

The only problem is that we went to bed around midnight and woke up at 6am so Stiff could catch the ferry back nice and early. This means that a) I only got 6 hours of sleep and b) I had to weigh myself 1.5hrs earlier than normal. Unfortunately, these things led to me gaining 2lbs!! I almost had a heart attack! But at least now I know just how incredibly important sleep is for weight loss. Lucky for me, today I lost 3lbs which makes up the difference from yesterday and additional loss for today. I need to be extra careful to have a nice long sleep every night and to weigh myself at the exact same time every day. So important.

Anyway, starting week 2 tomorrow, let's hope for just as good a loss!

R2 VLCD Day #1 (AKA: How Do I Do This Again?)

So woke up this morning expecting the worst from my scale and lo and behold, I was down almost a  full pound from yesterday! WTF body? Yesterday was another loading day although I took it much easier than I did on Saturday. Who the hell knows but either way I am feeling much better not to be up so high when I start my VLCD.

Speaking of, today was day 1! I am not nearly as prepared as I was last time as I have not cooked any of my meat before starting, most of that has to do with the fact that my damn food scale is not working. I bought another one today but forgot to buy batteries. Fortunately I had some frozen burger patties that were left over from my previous round. Lucky me! Except I didn't have any protein for lunch. Boo-urns.

Today was a little weird, hunger didn't hit me until I got home around 5pm. Then I was ravenous until I shoved some food down my gullet. Can't wait to see the scale tomorrow though. Oooooh that's the best damn part!

Can't wait to let you know what the damage is!

R2 Loading Day #2 (AKA: Gained 5lbs Yesterday. That Seems Reasonable... or NOT)

So I finished off my first loading day yesterday with dinner at Hidden Lounge. That included scallop Mac n Cheese, pulled pork and blue cheese mini pizzas, bacon wrapped sirloin and many other delectable dishes. We then went to the movies, although we missed the movie and instead played video games at the arcade for an hour, but I did get to enjoy a bag of popcorn! I used to be able to put away a medium sized popcorn within two hours at the movies, now, as soon as I have a single handful my craving is over. So weird. It would be the first time ever that I tossed half a bag of popcorn simply because I was done. Go me, I guess!

Anyhow, after eating my weight in junk food I put on an extreme amount apparently. My scale read 5lbs over what it did yesterday! On my previous round during the loading days I only put on 3lbs across both days. This seems weird to me. I wonder if I screwed my metabolism by not having my weight settle properly during the maintenance phase. This round I am going to work extra hard to avoid carbs and sugar during Phase 3.

I am still enjoying my loading day today but I am craving much less. All I've eaten today is a caprese salad, bacon and some nuts, some brie and crackers, teriyaki chicken, two pieces of yam tempura and some gomaee. In reality that is not that much, especially on a loading day! I am still full from yesterday, I think.

I am kind of nervous to start my VLCD tomorrow. I want to lose another 30lbs so badly but again am scared to eat the wrong thing or forget a rule or cheat. I have officially booked my trip to Vegas in December and would love to look hot in the city of sin! I doubt I'll have any issues with hunger though, my stomach has learned not to complain because it must know that I always get what I need!

Anyhow, wish me luck.

Day #40: -1lbs (AKA: Last Day of Shots... 3 Days Left...)

Wow, that was a very tough 40 days!! The first 25 days were the easiest, the last 15 were super tough. I have had non-stop cravings and a lot more cheats than I should have been having. A little lick of peanut butter here, a tiny nibble of potatoes there. Bad bad girl. But, I have still lost a substantial amount of weight and will get refocused for my second round in a couple of months! I am pretty proud of my losses and can really see the difference now with my clothing.

When we moved I had to go through all of my clothing and have found a ton of old stuff. I am actually too small for some of the clothes that I was wearing last summer! They hang off of me! I also have bras that fit me so much better now than they used to and my dresses look a lot better on me. It doesn't seem to have made enough difference for people to comment on it yet but the next round will fix that.

So, today is my last shot. I will be on the VLCD for today and the next three days and then I move on the Phase 3: stabilization. I will be working to keep my weigh within 2lbs of my final weight. This is to reset my body to think that my new weight is healthy rather than my old weight 30lbs ago. It will be tough but I'm welcome for new foods. Man I want to eat a big fat steak with a big mixed salad and some peanut butter, dammit! Too bad I still can't have carbs. Peanut Butter toast will still have to wait...

VLCD Day #31: -0.8 (AKA: Almost There...)

Down almost a full pound today! I hope that keeps coming. I've been fighting a cold the last few days so I'm scared that another stall is coming but since I've got just under two weeks to go I'm setting my goal for 25lbs and just working hard to hit that number. I've already done the math and should be starting my secnod round at the end of September but I'm going to be timing it that my loading days will be during the last couple of days of TOM so I will not risk running into another major stall in the dead middle of my P2.

I've really got to get back on track. I've gotten very lazy about timing my shot, drinking my water and measuring all of my foods. I even had some NeoCitrin the other night (which has a lot of sugar) and snuck in some of my favorite steak spice. Bad girl. I'm going to start really focusing on everything and hopefully I can get back to losing a lb per day like I did for the first two weeks before TOM.

Wish me luck, friends. I'll need it!

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 #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 #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 #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!!