Round II

So, I went ahead and started the 500 calorie diet again. I "gorged" and did the drops for two days. This time, I had no headache or severe lethargy on day 1 of the diet. I think proper gorging contributed to this.

I've only been on the diet for three days. The first day, I lost three pounds. The second day, I lost another 1.5 pounds. This is the third day and I had no change from yesterday. : ( But, I am not completely discouraged. I figure if I can lose 3-4 pounds a week, I'll be happy.

This time I'm more hung up on HOW MANY DAYS I need to do the DIET. The informatoin reads, "26 days of treatment with 23 days of drops." Well, if you count the first two days I did drops and gorged, then I really have 24 days on the diet (2 days of gorging & drops + 21 days of drops & diet + 3 days of diet but no drops = 26 days of treatment, 23 days of drops.)

So. . .

Do they mean:

23 days on the drops - First 3 days are gorging (I only do two because I want to start losing right away), followed by 20 days of diet & drops, finishing up with 3 days of diet & no drops.

OR

26 days of treatment - First 3 days are gorging, followed by 23 days on diet & drops, with an additional 3 days on diet with no drops.

I guess my final question is: Is it 23 days on the diet (3 of those being without drops) or 26 days on the diet (3 of those being without drops)?

If you've done your 500-calorie days, you know that those three days MATTER!

When Can I Start Again?

What happens if I DON'T wait six weeks to restart the drops? I'd like to restart them on Saturday, May 15th - which will only be two weeks off of the drops. Not-Mom-Jerry, could you please order me more? I don't need the B-12.

Time for the next step...

I have moved onto the next phase of the program and although it is nice to have more options as to what to eat, the best part is being able to eat when you are hungry. The truth is, I have not been eating much more than what I was eating on the 500 calorie portion of the diet.

A few things that I have noticed are... My stomach has shrunk! I eat a fourth of what I use to eat. The urge to snack has gone away. I never want to just sit and eat a bag of chips anymore. THAT was definitely just a habit. I have no sugar cravings at all! After a month of no sweeteners (I haven't even used Stevia) my urges for something sweet have just disappeared. I still feel great! And... I am still loosing weight! Lost 2 more pounds yesterday - I am actually UNDER my goal.

I hope all of you are having success with whatever phase you are on... Don't be strangers, I want to continue to hear how you are doing. Much love!

Maintenance update...

Long time no blog ~ Dave and I are doing very well on the maintenance phase of our diet, enjoying our breakfasts, cheeses, green olives and the occasional macadamia nut :)

We are also continuing to lose pounds, although slower than before, which should be encouraging for those just starting the phase, or getting close to it! I think the key to that is continuing on a healthy path.. we are still watching portions, reading labels, getting plenty of veggies and as much of the few fruits we can eat as possible.. found out we don't really like papaya :( Still drinking lots of water & tea, and getting plenty of physical activity!

Hope everyone else is doing well, and still experiencing the high that comes from making such a positive change!!

The countdown begins...

Drops until Sunday, 500 calories without the drops through Tuesday and then Wednesday - BACON and CHEESE! I'm just shy of the 11 lb. mark and I have to say that there is a very noticeable difference in how I look and how my clothes fit. I am however not swimsuit ready. Why can't the drops burn fat AND firm you up at the same time? Can someone look into that for me? ;) I'm a little nervous about going off the diet - I am scared that I will binge eat all the things I have missed. Good thing everyone around me is just going off the diet also and wont allow me to - right?! I am hoping to lose another 4 lbs before the whole thing is over and I am considering giving it one more shot when I get back from Hawaii. Anyone else thinking about it?

Next Phase Begins Wednesday!

Well, I am excited to have survived the three most difficult weeks, but disappointed that I didn't lose more weight and inches - particularly since I didn't cheat at all!

ANYWAY. . . Do I understand correctly that we are no longer allowed our Saltines, Melba Rounds, or Grissini for the next three weeks? Oh, carbs, how I miss thee. . .

Maybe starting a piece of cheese here and a macadamia nut there (I was heartbroken to discover I still can't have even a cashew!) will satisfy me and I won't dream of Grissini. . .

I worked out today and plan to give P90X a shot to see if I can bully off these last few pounds without another round of HCG. But, I'll do the HCG again if I must!

Where have all the bloggers gone...

Saturday morning stats: Dave down 30 1/2 lbs, Lori down 15 lbs - Dave down 5 1/2" in the belly, Lori down 3 1/4" in the waist & hips. Many more inches lost, but those are our biggest numbers, and fortunately where we wanted/needed to lose the most!

We enjoyed our first morning of the maintenance phase, had a nice omelet, a little 2% milk in our coffee with some english toffee flavored stevia, and actually neither of us could eat our entire omelets, so Bandit enjoyed the remnants! We decided that going forward, we will continue to have black coffee on the weekdays, saving milk for a weekend treat. We may or may not go back to flavored coffee cream after this phase..

How is everyone else doing?? I've had verbal updates from Sis & Mom, Jerry~ how 'bout some recipe ideas for the maintenance phase? And where oh where has my Em-me-leee gone?