Day 12: Better

Finally felt like I was getting back to normal today. Hunger pangs subsided. I was still a bit tired, so I had an easy night at home.

I discovered my love for garlic salt. Drowned my shrimp in it before putting them in my George Foreman. They were SO good. And I'm still having a love affair with my seasoned chicken. So moist, tender, juicy. And flavored just right for me.

I think one of the keys to doing this successfully is identifying foods you aren't going to get sick of and repeating them, over and over. It's not a hard diet, but it will challenge you. We're so used to being able to go out and grab whatever we want to eat (even those of us with some diet restrictions), and now it's like, "Oh, that's what I brought for lunch...okay." Hard to go out and change your mind.

Today was a low weight loss day which was sort of a bummer, but given that I weighed like 2 pounds more when I got home than I did when I woke up, I'll take ANY loss. I hope to get back on track soon.

I'm also pretty excited about the team potluck tomorrow and my coworker's delicious balls! (Meatballs of course...)

Today's Weight: 215.8

Day 11: SO DAMN HUNGRY

No idea what was going on, but DAMN I was hungry today. So much crazy hunger. I ate. A lot. All within what I was allowed, but holy junk.

In good news, my taco seasoning was delicious on my chicken. The chicken I had was killing me. I just couldn't eat it anymore. Since there's no taco seasoning I can eat (all has starch and/or sugar), I bought all the herbs and spices and made my own. I was SHOCKED to find that I'd done it right AND that it didn't taste like utter crap! Even used it on my shrimp tonight. I am SO relieved to have my chicken work for me. I have a ton of it left and haven't had enough good experiences with ground beef on my own to make that a good substitute for chicken.

I spent a good portion of the day looking at food porn. By that, I mean I looked at allrecipes.com and found recipes for things I want to make once I've moved onto other phases of the diet. Baked potato soup, chicken tortilla soup, chicken and dumplings, meatballs, BLT bacon bowls, YUM. I'm not going to do that today lest I make myself crazy with hunger for things I can't have.

I was pretty wiped out for some reason so it was an early night for me.

Today's Weight: 216.8

Day 10: Bleh

My weight loss wasn't as exciting this morning as it has been other mornings. I hear that's the case when a lady's least favorite visitor is in town, but I hope it picks back up soon.

I was up too late reading an Amish romance novel last night (you'd be surprised how good they are) and I didn't get enough sleep. I'm totally wiped out now, ready to go to bed, and it's just after 7pm. I can't say enough how crucial sleep is on this diet. I don't drink coffee or tea, so I have no caffeine pick-me-up. I know it's artificial and probably bad for you, but there are days when I miss it.

I got so desperate for a new way to make chicken that I actually went out and bought the spices to make my own taco seasoning. I forgot the onion powder, but I have to say, the chicken came out damn well. I'm actually excited for my chicken lunch tomorrow! Too bad I can't have it with rice... Or in a flour tortilla... With cheese...

We're doing a potluck at work on Thursday and one of the guys on my team who's also on the diet is going to make meatballs!! He uses the melba toast and spices and onion to make them. It had occurred to me that I could those for some kind of breading or something, but I had no idea how on earth to do it. He's also made his own sort of ketchup/cocktail sauce thing. It was surprisingly good. He'll bring that to the potluck as well as a BBQ sauce he's working on. Should be delish!

Anyway, I'm wiped. Until tomorrow.

Today's Weight: 218.7

Day 9: Resisting Temptation

I baked. All day today. I made three batches of cupcakes, two pans of brownies, and 5 batches of cookies. Not once did I succumb to temptation. Not even a little. I didn't have any of the cake batter (which I LOVE) nor did I sample the frosting when I iced the cupcakes. I didn't even lick it off my fingers (though I almost slipped...twice). I desperately wanted to taste the cookie dough to make sure it was right (had a brain fart and couldn't remember how much flour I'd added...), but I didn't. So, good luck to the people who eat those cookies tomorrow!

Honestly, the struggle was made easier by the fact that I've felt like shit all day. I'm not sure what's going on, but I don't think I'll be having any more hamburgers while I'm on this diet. I have never particularly loved making hamburgers at home. Perhaps it's the "hamburger seasoning" that they add at McDonald's or just the fact that I can usually throw some ketchup on it, but I really only like burgers when a restaurant has made them. Or really, anyone but me. I haven't enjoyed the burgers I've had this weekend. I'm going to be happy to go back to the chicken (never thought I'd say that).

Anyway, things are still going along well though I am (still) looking forward to eggs, cheese, salad, etc.

Today's Weight: 218.9 (1.3 pound drop, 13 pounds total)

P.S. I REALLY can't wait for the day I can have a cupcake!

P.P.S. Tomorrow I'll use less parentheses. (Maybe...)

More unflattering comparisons...

Something seemed off about that last picture I took, so I took another...

That seems a little better...

Unflattering Picture - Round 2

Comparison photos!

 

And...I don't see much of a difference...

Day 8: One week down!

So, I've made it through a week of the HCG diet. Of course, it's only been 5 days of the low calorie diet, but I think this is an accomplishment. If you'll remember, the two days of fat-loading almost killed me.

I went to watch my Gators get destroyed at a bar called Spitfire in Seattle, and the call to fries and a Coke was strong. I resisted, and pretty easily. Tomorrow is going to be a lot harder in terms of challenges. I'm going to be baking up a storm and I love cookie dough. But I shall be strong.

A few observations:

1. This is the longest I've gone without a soda since I started drinking soda regularly.

2. This is the most consecutive number of days I've had healthy meals.

3. May be the longest I've gone without fast food in a while.

I am VERY excited about moving into the maintenance phase, I'm looking forward to some chicken & apple sausage, some eggs, some cheese. You get what I'm saying. I'm excited about having more food.

Anyway, on to the numbers!

Measurements

                                    September 24, 2011          October 1, 2011         Change
Upper Arms                          16.5"                                   16"                       .5"
Upper Thighs                        29"                                   28.25"                   .75"
Hips                                       44.5"                                  44.5"                      0
Waist                                      42"                                    39.5"                     2.5"


Today's Weight: 220.2 (down 11.7 pounds!)

Going forward into this week, I don't plan on making a lot of changes to what I'm doing. I had a hamburger today, because I couldn't deal with more chicken. Fro some reason, I'm not sick of the shrimp yet.

Here's to another week of success!!