Day 57

   Well Holiday Lights officially opened last night at 4pm. We made it...and I'm so freaking tired!!!
   Today I weigh 166 lbs.

Day 54

   Not feeling so good right now. I had a 24 oz. Pike Place with Half & Half and 2 Splendas from Starbucks around 6:30 this morning. I should have stopped there, but decided I wanted more; so I asked Russ to bring me another at 9:30am (not telling him I'd already had one!!!). Same drink, but not enough cream; so I added some of that powdered crap. That was probably part of my mistake. That and too much caffeine. I only drank half and then started to feel sick in my tummy. Now it's about 12:15 and I feel awful. I just want to lay down. I'm tired, but wired!!! Bleh. :^/
   Today I weigh 166 lbs.

Day 50

The Steak Day paid off. Thank goodness. Today I weigh 166.2 lbs.

Day 49

   Thanksgiving was yesterday. The best part about the food was that I only had one helping of the things I put on my plate and I was trying to make the portions small. Even so, I was stuffed when I was done. I had things that I wasn't supposed to. Of course, who can't during this feast??? As a result, and as punishment for my badness, I gained weight! Yep...2 lbs!!!
   Now, according to the diet protocol, if you gain 2 lbs. or more over what you weighed on the LAST day of the FIRST PHASE, then you are to have a Steak Day, that same day. You are to drink ONLY liquids all day until dinner. At that time you are to have a large steak and one apple or tomato.
   Technically, on the last day of the first phase I weighed 167.2 lbs. Today I weigh 167.8 lbs. HOWEVER...I was down to 165.8 lbs. on the, I think, third day after first phase was over. So...if I go by that weight, then I'm exactly 2 lbs. gained. I liked being at 165.8 lbs. and so have chosen to do the Steak Day today. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
   Again...I weigh 167.8 lbs. today.

Day 47

   Doing fairly well on the next phase of diet. I have had fast food, though it's not on the list. It can't always be helped...especially when you are on the go and don't have time to cook. Hense the moniker "fast food"!!! Luckily, I have not gained any weight, nor have I lost any. 
   Not doing very well in my head though. I have a lot on my plate for the upcoming event at work and my co-worker has been sick (as has her little boy). And that is stressful since I don't know when to count on her being here to help me. I'm afraid I have not been very pleasant to be around and sadly, there are people in my life who are paying for it. Not cool for them and shitty of me. Perhaps writing it down will help me be better about not being a bitch to them.
   Today I weigh 165.8 lbs.

Day 45

   So far doing well on the weight levelization. (Is that even a word? Well, if not, it is now.) I'm happy with how things are going. As of this weekend I have LOST...3.2% body fat...19.8 lbs...and a total of 9.5 inches!!! The best part of all this??? I'm back in my size 8 pants!!! I feel good and healthy. (I do have some muscle soreness today, but I think it's because my bed sucks.)
   Life is good today - I weigh 165.8 lbs. and I'm working my way to A Skinnier Julee!

   Oh...btw...that picture of me in the left column? Yes...the one under "What a Rush!" - I was wearing my size 8 pants in that picture. Woot!

Day 41

   This is Day 1 of the 3 days without taking hCG, but still consuming 500 calories per day.
   And actually today I'm doing an Apple Day because it's my 3rd day at 167.2 lbs. It definitely PAYS to follow the diet as indicated. If you don't...you get plateaus left and right. And that's true for me. Every single time I've gone over, or slipped even a bit, I plateaued.
  I feel good today. And I still weigh...as said...167.2 lbs.

Day 39

Thought I'd post some things I noticed while being on hCG for weight loss. And they aren't meant to be taken as gospel. Some of these things could just be coincidence.

·My skin seems clearer. I haven't had a breakout in weeks. None of the super big eruptions. At all.
·My fingernails are stronger. Although they may actually be more brittle because a few times I've hit them head-on and "snap!"
·In addition to losing weight, I've also lost inches and it seems like all of it is overall, not just in spots (except my boobs - and that's a plus!).
·I feel great. Healthy overall.

My overall weight loss since Day One is 18.4 lbs. Today I weigh 167.2 lbs. YES!

Day 38

   Almost at Day 40!!! Can't wait to enter new phase. I'm really happy with what I've accomplished so far, but I'm ready to move forward and see what happens next. I get to stop the drops! That'll be a little weird after doing it for 40 straight days.
   On Day 44 I get to add other fruits and veggies back into my diet. PLUS...MILK and other dairy! I've really missed milk. I still won't be able to eat starches or carbs like bread and pastries. But if I watch the scale as in indicated the protocol, I should be just fine!
   My cousin, Casey, spent the night Saturday. We sewed most of that day and into the night and most of Sunday. It was fun! But sadly, we went to Chevy's for dinner on Saturday night. I ate two steak tacos (but with NO guacamole!) and refried beans (no rice!). Still though...yesterday morning my weight had increased 1.2 lbs. Today my weight is the same as yesterday.
   Today I weigh 169 lbs.

Day 36

   Ooo...I guess I didn't lose as much as I thought this morning. I'm only down another .4 lbs! Oh well, better than nothing lost.
   I was so good last night! Russ came over for dinner. I made him the same thing I was having (chicken breast and broccoli), plus he had Tater Tots with catsup. He also had a beer and pretzels. Later, I asked if he wanted to make cookies using the remainder of the peanut butter cookie dough (one of those tubs purchased for a kid's school fundraiser) that was still in the fridge. I wasn't sure if it was still good, but it was. So, he did. And soon the aroma of fresh-baked cookies was meandering through the condo. Oh...I wanted one of those cookies so badly! But, I didn't do it.
   Today I weigh 167.8 lbs.

Day 35

   I had brussels sprouts with with my chicken breast last night. Whoda thought that those little babies would be so high in freaking calories???!!! Not I. I never even looked them up before I ate them. So last night, thinking I was doing really good on calorie intake, I had 13 of them, steamed with nothing on them. Well 104 calories later, I was over my intake by 90 calories!!! Dammit. I won't be doing that again.
   Live and learn. I guess as long as I have no INCREASE in weight, NO loss is better than nothing. (Did that sentence make sense? Feels grammatically incorrect. LOL!)
   Today I weigh 168.2 lbs. AGAIN.

Day 34

   Well, just a few more days and I reach Day 40. I'm looking forward to moving on to the next phase of this diet, and mostly looking forward to adding dairy back in! I really miss milk! I know I have not lost as much as was possible, but I am still happy with the results so far. It's really been quite a journey. It's been tough, but I managed pretty well. Once again, I'm proud of me!
   Today I weigh 168.2 lbs.

Day 32-33

   Grr to another plateau!!! I know it's all about STAYING below 500 calories, but sometimes it's really TOUGH. And when you go over, you pay the piper by NOT losing. I am SO paying the piper. I guess I shouldn't complain too much and be happy that I'm not GAINING weight!!! That'd be so much worse.
   Today I weigh 170 lbs. AGAIN.

Day 22-31

   Oops! My daily posting has gone off even longer this time! Oh well. So be it.
   To date, I've lost a total of 15.6 lbs. It feels good to weigh less. It also feels good to have lost inches as well as pounds AND a pant size, too! Yeah!
   A word about plateaus: try not to do it. Every time I plateau it's because I have added something to my diet that I shouldn't have. For instance, I had a piece of birthday cake on Connie's birthday. The next day, I weighed the same as the day before. Not only because I ate something that wasn't on my diet, but also because I went over calories for the day. As was said in my hCG blog...it's not worth it. For every plateau end up on, it takes 1-3 days to get back to the weight loss. If you are paying to lose weight, make it worth your while and DON'T cheat on the food.
   Today I weigh 170 lbs. and I'm proud of...ME! I'm working my way to A Skinnier Julee!

Day 20-21

   Yesterday I weighed the same as the day before. A mini plateau? I guess. From what I can see logging my food intake, every time I go OVER 500 calories, I either plateau or gain a bit of weight. I'm being more watchful now. As a result, today I've lost 2 pounds. And the best part? I lost a pant size finally!!! Can't remember if I mentioned before...I've also lost inches!!!
   I hate some of the meals I've made. When I was in Utah for the U2 concert, Russ was nice enough to make a day trip to Dad's. (Russ is my sweetie!). Karen gave me a bunch of food she wasn't going to eat. I didn't care for the Beef Tips. It was semi-Oriental in flavor and wasn't bad overall, I guess I just didn't pick the right veggies to go with them. Also, some of the food was REALLY spicy. I mean whoever put these packets together overdid it on the cayenne and paprika!
   Today I am missing bread and cheese. I could really go for a slice of extra sourdough French bread with a piece of sharp Cheddar and a Golden Delicious apple. And a beer. I saw that Mark had a Harp in his fridge the other day. I so wanted to drink it. But I didn't. I was a good girl!
   Today I weigh 173 lbs.

Days 11-19

   Wow. I hadn't realized how many days I'd skipped in my blog! I've been a busy girl! So let's see if I can catch myself up...
   I worked my butt off the 19th-21st since I was going to be off the next four days. But, according to My Food Diary, I'd eaten OVER my 500 calories. And that was part of my 5 day plateau at 179.6 lbs. I was 224 calories over on the 19th, 121 over on the 20th and 100 over on the 21st. ("Grr" to myself!!!) Happily, on the 21st I discovered I'd lost 1.2 lbs. And it kept going down until the 24th when it went back up to 175.6 lbs. Ack! 
   I knew I wasn't going to have computer access to track my food intake from the 22nd-25th because Russ and I were going to Las Vegas to see U2 (who, btw, is the MOST awesome band!!!), but I made sure I took my scale. I have no idea how many calories I consumed from the 22nd-25th.
   On the 25th I was up to 176.2 lbs. and then plateaued for the 26th-27th at 176.8 lbs. Oh...my...gawd! So...I needed to take action and fast. I made sure my calories were not over 500 yesterday. In fact, they were only 464. Today I've already laid out my menu for the day. Total calories for today will only be 493. Happily, I appear to be back on track. If I'm paying good money for this diet solution, I want my money's worth, dammit!
   Today I weighed in at 175 lbs.! YESSSS!!!

  

Day Ten

So I weigh the same today as I did yesterday. Argh! It's okay...I can handle it, but I'm 179.6 lbs. again. And that's 4 days in a row.

Day Eight

   Looks like no Renaissance Faire today (so no more visits for this season...sadly), but I guess that's a good thing regarding my diet. It's really hard to pass up the yummy wheat bread and cheese with a nice, cold Harp! Not to mention wanting to eat the other yummy food they have there. I could go alone since it appears nobody else can (or wants?) to go...but I dunno if I can do it alone.

   And even though a warm day means losing a pound or so while sweating in a tightly cinched bodice, I guess I'm better off staying home and trying to get some work done on my Jacquard painting for school...and other school projects I need to work on.

   I weigh 179.6 lbs. again today. I'm at a small plateau again.

Day Seven

   Success! Another 1.4 lbs. off my bod! Wasn't sure how that would work out last night since I had a glass of champagne at 9:30pm. Around 10pm I was craving Wheat Thins. But I was good! I drank water instead and within 10-15 minutes the craving was gone.

   Today I weigh 179.6 lbs.

A Blog Name Explanation

   What are those numbers in my blog name, you ask? Well, the first number is my starting weight, the second one is my current weight and the last one is my goal weight.

   Simple enough? :^)

Day Six

   I've hit a plateau! :^O But it could be that last night after school I had a taco at Picante and I shouldn't have. Sadly, their tacos are super yummy. The good part about my slip is that I only had one when I could have had three!!!

   Today I weighed in at 181 lbs...AGAIN. But I'm not letting that get me down...I can do this!

Day Five

   As of this morning I have lost 4.6 lbs. I feel pretty good. No weird side effects. Not overly sleepy or anything like that. (Though the first two days I was sleepy, but that may have just been because Christine and I were TRYING to sell stuff at a craft fair and it SUCKED cuz we didn't sell one single damn thing, plus it was tiring sitting there all day.) I was expecting them to taste bitter; so it was a pleasant surprise when they weren't and THAT in itself is a blessing because who wants to taste bitterness 6 times a day??? That alone could make someone quit the diet. I'm not killing myself trying to follow this thing to the letter though. Screw the no lotions, no make-up thing! What the hell? I made some of my meals ahead and that's really helpful (thanks Sheri!). Makes it less of a pain to get ready to eat. Especially when you're alone --- which is MUCH easier than having someone there munching on peanut brittle or Monkey Chip cookies (YUM!!! I'll tell you about these later.) in front of you --- not flaunting it, but you can still see them being eaten. I did slip a little yesterday though. I had a corn tortilla with a bit of margarine at 9:30pm. I wanted to have two, but put one back. Then I drank a half bottle of water and I was fine. My slip was partly boredom, partly craving.
    BTW...Monkey Chip cookies are Chocolate Chip Banana cookies. The banana is NOT a real banana...it's banana PUDDING!!! Not sure how it was incorporated into the recipe, but we had them at the craft fair and they were DAMN GOOD!
   I weigh 181 lbs. today.

Day Three

   I did fairly well on the protocol today. I may have had a bit more food than I should have, but feel pretty good about what I've eaten. I did eat a couple scraps off Russ' plate, but only because it was filet mignon.

   I weighed 184 lbs. this morning.

Day Two

   I missed last night's last round of drops because what I ate for dinner was making my stomach queasy. Too much Frank's Hot Sauce I guess.

   I took most of my drops today. Will probably miss the last one tonight as I'm super tired and it's already 9pm and I just took the 5th round at 8:30. There's no way I'm staying up till 11:30 to take more. I'm sure it'll be fine.

   Sadly, I didn't get to do the food shopping I was hoping to do today; so I'm not sure how I'm going to do tomorrow. I need to get the food list and see if I have anything in this house that will work for the day. Either way, I'm excited to do this! With Becky's success, I'm sure I can do it, too, and once again, I'm looking forward to A Skinnier Julee!

   My weight today was still 185.6 lbs.

Day One

   I started the drops today. 6 under the tongue at 6:30am. It says 6 drops 6 times a day; so I guess I'll be doing this every 3 hours. The drops didn't taste bad. That was a good thing because I was worried they'd be bitter.

   I am logging body changes in weight and measurements and food intake on My Food Diary. My weight today is 185.6 lbs.

Day Zero

   I just got home and found I have received my HCG drops! Excellent! I get to start tomorrow. I won't be doing Phase 1 as I had NO IDEA there was even a Phase 1. But that's fine. And it's perfect because tomorrow and Sunday I will be at a craft fair and eating will be horrendous! Tonight I'm going to the Docent Dinner and I expect that will be quite filling as well. I can't wait to see some weight loss. I feel like absolute CRAP and can't wait to feel skinnier and better.

   Later tonight I need to go pick up the scale from Mark. Off I go! I'm looking forward to A Skinnier Julee!