Day 21 (-.4)

I had my mid-way appointment yesterday and according to the doctor’s scale I’ve lost 20 pounds. That’s because I kept my boots on when I first weighed in though. 🙂

Yesterday I was thinking about the ability to stick to something and how we use food as a reward so often that we think of a strict eating plan as being deprivation. If chocolate cake will make me sick to my stomach am I really being deprived if I don’t eat it? Why do we think we need so much more than what we actually need to survive? 

Weight = 200.6

Day 14 (-2)

I was a little surprised to see 203 on the scale this morning. I drank A LOT of water yesterday, altogether over 4 liters if you include the two cups of coffee and a cup of tea. I really credit the keeping of this blog with keeping me on track. It is a way of feeling accountable without getting a lot of attention – ironic since the blog is public. I think I feel more accountable to myself though, and that is the big difference.

I have been excessively absent-minded lately. I’m not sure if it is from the low calories or the thinking about losing weight that is affecting my brain. I need some strategies to keep me a little more on top of things.

Weight = 203

Winning! (-1.2)

I overdid it a little yesterday, eating about 1,000 calories instead of 500. We had a very paleo Thanksgiving but I consumed a good bit of mashed sweet potatoes with coconut milk. It was a low cal treat but not on the approved foods list. I also ate a lot of turkey and it isn’t on the list either. The good things though were that it was a super healthy meal with no dessert, I drank tons of water with lemon, and I had a cup of tea meant to clear constipation so I easily moved everything out in the morning (sorry, TMI) without feeling sick or bloated. 

I am just eating according to plan today, with today marking one full week on VLCD. From a start of 215 I am down 8.6 pounds. Not too shabby! And still on track for 205 on Monday. 

Weight = 206.4

Day Eight (-.8)

I feel a little frustrated that I was only down .8 this morning even though it’s irrational. I like seeing nice whole numbers on the scale. I lost two pounds yesterday. .8 in a day is still amazing. I know I’m not really expecting 40 pounds in 40 days but something in my brain must really be hanging onto that idea of losing a pound a day. While dwelling on it and packing up my lunch I saw the healthy Thanksgiving food and immediately felt hungry. My solution? I drank a large glass of water with lemon juice and immediately felt satiated. Also, now that I see it in the post title I like the symmetry of day eight and -.8. 🙂

So now I am shaking that off and working on my goal-setting. My first mini-goal, to weigh 205, should be coming up soon; I am hoping that is the number I see on the scale on Monday morning. I’m also hoping that number means size 14 pants will fit me. From there I calculated 10% losses for each upcoming goal and then I realized they would probably correlate with pants size. I think I weighed around 135-145 in high school and about 155 in college. I know I was 165 when we got married. I was reading something the other day about people starting to look thinner and then they lost focus because they already looked and felt better. I’m not sure how to fight that feeling because I have definitely had that issue before. I think I will just keep journaling in here to work through it and have a record of it to look back on later.

Mini-goal 1: 205    Size goal – 14

Mini-goal 2 – 185    Size goal – 12

Mini goal 3 – 167    Size goal – 10

Goal weight – 150    Size goal – 8

Weight = 209.2

Day Seven (-2)

Yesterday was a great day but it took a lot of will power. It was tough to make it through the smell of pancakes (and turning them down!) for an hour or so yesterday. And then, though I don’t even really like it, I had the desire to stuff my face with macaroni and cheese when I made it for dinner for the boys. mindovermattermindovermattermindovermatter

I got to eat Brussels sprouts yesterday though and I looooooove them so much. I discovered that they are really sweet and tasty with just lemon juice and salt. I usually do coconut oil and salt so it’s not too terribly different. I miss eating a huge variety of vegetables though.

Weight = 210

that’s down five from where I started last Wednesday morning and down 11.2 from the loading days!

Day four (-.4)

Today is my first day with the diet and being around home all day, though I did dash in for blood work and go to the grocery store. I’ve been a little hungry but at least the food was fresh and delicious. I had: two honey crisp apples, yummy chicken, Brussels sprouts with garlic and lemon juice, and several dill pickle spears. Pickles were buy one get one free so I grabbed eight jars; we have already finished off one.

Weight: 214.6 but for some reason it keeps popping into my head as 146.6 – wishful thinking?

Dealing with my inner voice

• Take out a piece of paper and make 3 columns
• Detail in the first column all of the terrible things and scenarios that, if you did the thing you are considering (a new job, project, ending a relationship, starting a diet), could happen.
• In the 2nd column list all of the things that you can do to minimize the likelihood of the things in column 1 from happening.
• In the 3rd column list all the line by line actions you can take to get you back to where you were, to re-achieve all things you need to do to get you back to the status quo. For example it could be getting back into the industry you may leave in order to start your own business.
• Look at the 3 lists and the # of items in those lists. Calculate the impact of the decision on a scale of 0-10. From there the answer should be clear.

Keep my eyes on the prize!

1. people notice – be gracious in accepting compliments – if the weight stays off then it will just become the normal me
2. people ask questions – explain paleo diet and tell them I am going to the gym – refer them to a personal trainer
3. I want other food – do the mental “click” and get rid of the pop-up thoughts – keep recording food and healthy options in a blog
4. spend money on clothes – uh, I have clothes in other sizes in my closet – I can spend $1,000 on clothes when I reach 150
5. I am hungry – drink more water – Metamucil

Goal-setting

This round of HCG is set to last 40 days. The “lose 40 pounds in 40 days” is a bit of a stretch but my goal  is to go from a starting weight of 215 to 185 by Christmas.

1) eat only according to plan

2) no more than 2 cups of coffee per day

3) 1 gallon of plain water per day

4) 30 minutes of walking or gentle yoga each day – there are a lot of yoga classes available now on Hulu

Why am I doing this?

1) energy and quality of life – I feel tired too much

2) I was on WW for 4 months and lost only 4 pounds

3) this diet is gluten-free and I know I feel much better without gluten

4) this diet is basically a paleo diet and I know I feel better without grains

5) my blood test this summer showed I was pre-diabetic

6) I want to look better in clothes – I’d love to be in size 12 pants (in 16 now) by Christmas

Eventually I’d like to get down to 145. My plan is to meet my initial goal of 185 and, after being in phase 3 for a few weeks, do another round of HCG to get to 165. From there I would like to follow a strict paleo diet (again with lots of vegetables) and go to CrossFit classes at the gym.

Mini-goal 1: 205 (met 11/26/12)   Size goal – 14 (met 12/7/12)

Mini-goal 2 – 185    Size goal – 12

Mini goal 3 – 167    Size goal – 10

Goal weight – 150    Size goal – 8

Live weight loss graph

Day 3

Today is the first day of shots and very low calorie diet (VLCD). I just ate an apple and an ounce of chicken breast, about 3 hours after getting up. Honestly, I am a little hungry. I’ve had a cup of coffee and 33+ ounces of water. My guess is that by the time I get home I’ll need to consume a little more fiber.

I gained more than enough weight on my loading days and still feel kind of sick from my huge meals yesterday. I am used to the majority of my food being vegetables so eating burgers, fries, meatballs, etc. was literally hard to stomach.

Weight today: 221.7

Days 1 & 2

I went back on the HCG diet because my weight just does not budge. I’ve been eating mostly vegetables for months now and have lost four pounds. It’s just gotten too demoralizing.

Day One I ate: McGriddle meal, lots of noodle and cheese casseroles, cake, burger and fries from Wendys, a Frosty

Day Two: McGriddle meal, PopTarts, Subway meatball sub, chocolate cake, 1/2 pound bacon burger & fries, peanut butter shake.

Gaining four pounds in 2 days is really tough. I am not used to all this nasty junk food and can’t wait for tomorrow when I can eat vegetables, fruit, and a little bit of chicken.

Starting weight on Day One: 215