R1P2D22- Gotta get out of this funk!

Ever since New Orleans I have felt like a huge failure and i've been unable to get out of this rut.  Today I went to the store and totally stocked up once again on the best stuff for the diet.  I feel so out of sorts that I don't even know what to do anymore.  I'm sticking with it but it seems like every weekend since I started I have fallen the wagon in one way or another.

I'm going to extend the diet to make it a 40 day diet instead of the 26 day kit.  I need to and after that i'm going to go for Round 2 when I don't have so many temptations each dang weekend!!!!  I know i can do it, but lately i have had something literally every weekend that has thrown me off my course.

I haven't even done my measurements in a while because I haven't lost much weight at all.  Technically i've only lost 10 lbs this diet, because i've gained, lost, gained, lost, etc.  10 is better than none, but I need the big numbers!!!!

R1P2D22 - too much physical activity?

So I stepped on the scale yesterday AM and I lost another pound. Sweet! Down to 202.2. I went about my day but man, it was a busy one! Went grocery shopping, did laundry, prepared my meals for the week, bathed the boys, did some gardening, cleaned up my bedroom. Well, I don't think my body liked the increased physical activity. I stepped on the scale this AM and GAINED .8. :( That just really upsets me because I follow protocol EVERY DAY.

For lunch I had shrimp and cucumbers, apple & breadstick for a snack, then dinner was steak (same steak I had been eating all last week) and peppers (again, been eating them all week) and an orange as a night snack. How would that make me gain 0.8 pounds? Ugh. So, I can only think that it was the increased physical activity and maybe I didn't drink enough water to go along with it?

I did buy a new multi-vitamin (no, I haven't been taking one every day as I should have) and took that for the first time yesterday. That wouldn't be it though right? I didn't take it today in fear that it is that. If I lose on the scale tomorrow morning, I will take it again tomorrow and see what happens next.

R1P2D20 - measurements update

So I am still not feeling 100% but I am getting there! I stepped on the scale this AM to a great number. 203.2! I somehow lost 1.8 pounds! Woot! The past two days I have been trying to not eat the same protein 2 days in a row, maybe that is the trick! Here are my measurements:

Arm: 14.25 (loss of .25)
Neck: 14.5 (loss of .25)
Chest: 35.25 (loss of .5)
Waist: 35 (loss of .25)
Hips: 43.25 (loss of .25)
Thigh: 26 (loss of .75)
Calf: 16.25 (loss of .25)

Not too shabby right? 3.75 inches again!

R1P2D18 - sick :(

Man, today is the 2nd day I have been home from work sick. Ugh. I am starting to feel a bit more human though so I am going to try to go to work tomorrow. We will see how it goes. I slept straight through lunch today so I wasn't sure what to do at that point. I ate an apple when I got up (around 4) and then I ate dinner as usual but I had David make my hamburger 4 ounces instead of 3.5 and had tomatoes as my veggie side. I am going to eat my other fruit later this evening as usual. We will see what the scale says tomorrow I guess. I stepped on this morning and was down just 0.4 from yesterday. I can't lie, I am disappointed. I am now on day 18 and I have lost 14.4 pounds. Yes, I know that is good but that is not as good as others on this diet. What am I doing wrong? There are SO many different variables you could play with you know? I will just be glad I am still just losing, even just a little, and not stalling like I have read some folks do. I need to order my next supply of hCG also since I am going to make this into a 40 day cycle.

R1P2D17- No Change

My trip to New Orleans really threw me off.  I stayed super strict yesterday and didn't have any change in the scale.  I was soooo close to seeing the 100's that I could "taste" it!  Now i'm back up to 214.  Yep, that dang weekend made me gain 7 lbs!  so crazy!

I've been SO tired and weak feeling today.  i don't know if it's because i'm detoxing again or if i'm still recovering from New Orleans!  It could be a combination of both.

Today I had a pretty good lunch.  Celery sticks and BBQ chicken.  I used Walden Farms BBQ sauce to marinate some chicken breasts and then stuck it on the skillet til it was done.  It was really decent.  I forgot my fruit today, but AM going to have my smoothie tonight.  that's the highlight of my meals!

For dinner we are having beef tacos again.  I think i even convinced my husband to have lettuce wraps!  We will see how many he needs to eat to fill up!

Can't wait for tomorrow.  i'm hoping for a big loss of at least over a pound.  i've been stepping on the scale throughout the day (a little obsessed) and it's been at 214 all day. Usually when that happens it's a couple pounds lighter the next morning!

I SURE HOPE SOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!


xoxo- Nicki

R1P2D16 - bad day then a pretty good day

So I stayed on strict protocol on Sunday. Strict. I stepped on the scale Mon AM and I GAINED 0.2 pounds. How in the heck does that happen?!? Ugh. So, I am hoping it's just because it was my last day of TOM. I did good again yesterday and stepped on this morning to a 0.8 loss. I will take it! :)

So, I am now at 206.6. I am almost there....I can *almost* see the scale say a weight in the one hundreds! I can't even believe it! :)

I made this skillet steak with homemade onion soup mix in the crockpot on Sunday and that has been delicious for lunches. For dinners, I have been doing tilapia, seasoned a bit with pepper, oregano, and garlic powder in a foil pouch, 400 degrees for 10 mins (max). I also season some asparagus with salt, pepper, garlic powder and put it in a foil pouch at 400 degrees for 15 mins. Quick, easy, and no mess clean up! :)

Say HECK no to eggs!

Holy COW.... what is up with eggs and me on this diet?! 

Since I was away this weekend I didn't have a chance to go grocery shopping and cook/prep my meals.  I got home from work today and was soooo hungry so went for some eggs.  you're allowed to substitute a meat on this diet with 1 egg and 3 egg whites.  I scrambled those up, added a little pepper and enjoyed!  they tasted great and satisfied me until..........

HOLY HEARTBURN/INDEGESTION/UPSET TUMMY!!!!! 

I am JUST now starting to feel OK.  Normal would not cut it.  Just OK.

NOT doing that again!

Weekend Update with Nicki

BAD NEWS BEARS.  That's really the only way to sum it up.  i went to New Orleans for a bachelorette party.  Friday I did pretty well, but the rest of the weekend was full of sweets, saltiness, alcohol, and soda.  Let me tell you that I did enjoy it, but man did I pay for it.  Stepped on the scale (new scale, finally) this morning and gained 7 pounds this weekend.  It took me a week to get rid of those lbs and a couple day to put them on again.  I knew it would happen, so i'm not shocked, just ready to get rid of these!!!!  I've been following strict protocol today so I'm hoping for a big loss tomorrow.

Didn't take measurements this weekend because i was away and forgot my tape measure!

R1P2D14 - over the hump hopefully!

So yesterday AM I weighed in and I had lost .2 pounds. Down to 208.2. Love that my scale at least showed a loss! This AM I stepped on and I am at 207.2. Woot woot!

Here are my weekly measurements as well as how much I have lost since last week. Looks like another 3.75 inches gone!

Upper Arm: 14.5 (no change since last week)
Neck: 14.75 (no chance since last week)
Chest: 35.75 (I apparently didn't post this last time - I do this measurement under my bust)
Waist: 35.25 (down 1.5 inches since last week!)
Hips: 43.5 (down 1.25 inches since last week!)
Thighs: 26.75 (down 1 inch since last week!)
Calf: 16.5 (stayed the same)

I think I am over the hump - TOM is on the last day so my body is getting back to normal! :)

R1P2D12 - today was a hard day

I lost another 0.6! Love my new scale and that it does weight in 0.2 increments. :) Anyway, it's that TOM and I think that is why I have been having a hard time lately. Today was especially bad. I was hungry ALL day. I wanted to eat everything. I didn't though! I went to my team's outing and picnic and did not cheat once. Now, for dinner, I did have a bit more chicken than 'protocol' but I knew it was better to do that than to make a really bad decision. I also had to take some excedrin migraine because I had a pretty bad headache as well. My lunch protein was eggs so I am thinking the scale is not going to be too kind to me tomorrow. Last time I ate eggs I only lost .5 pounds so we will see what tomorrow morning brings.

I hope tomorrow is an easier day for me. It's the weekend and there are tons more temptations at home so it scares me. I need to make my grocery list and get to the store first thing tomorrow am!

R1P2D11 Sabrina update - new scale!

So I got a new scale and it arrived last night! I was excited to see how it worked and if it was more accurate, etc. So, stepped on my old scale and my new scale many times and they appear to be 1 pound apart. The good news for me is that the new scale is one pound lower than the old scale! I stepped on both scales this morning again multiple times and they are still one pount apart so I feel good going with that.

So, what does that mean in terms of my weigh-ins every day? It means it looks like I lost 1.5 pounds at this morning's weigh-in but I really only lost .5 pounds. The new scale says 209 so that is what I am going with now. I will subtract a pound off of my final HCG weigh-in to account for the scale difference that I am adjusting for right now. I hope that makes sense. At least it does to me and Nicki. :)

I started TOM last night so I expect my weight loss to be slow over the next few days. My work has a 'spring fling' tomorrow so we are hanging out at a park and doing activities, etc. Of course, there will be a catered lunch as well. LOL. I am bringing my lunch of hard boiled eggs (3 without yolks of course!), cucumbers, and an apple. I am bringing an extra bag of celery in case I feel like I need something more to eat with all of the other temptations around.

Nicki is in New Orleans this weekend for a bachelorette party so it's just me this weekend. I know she is nervous about going and gaining a bunch of weight this weekend but she brought some great healthy snacks and she will get right back on track when she returns!

Nicki's Measurements

R1P1D1

Waist: 41.5"

Bust: 43"

Hips: 46"

Neck: 16"

Left thigh: 24"

Right thigh: 24"

Left arm: 14"

Right arm: 14"

R1P2D7

Waist: 39.5" down 2 inches

Bust: No change

Hips: 45" down 1 inch

Neck: 15.5" down 1 inch

Left thigh: No change

Right thigh: No change

Left arm: 13.25" down 3/4 inch

Right arm: 13.25 " down 3/4 inch



R1P2D10- Down 11 pounds!

So i've been struggling with the fact that my scale is inaccurate!  I've decided to use the scale at my office... reason being--- it's used to measure packages!  I stepped on it this morning and was down to 208.5! let me say that I was so excited to see that! (reminder, I was 209 when I got pregnant!) 

I have been trying to follow strict protocol to lose the pound I gained from my stupid cheat.  I think it's working.  I'm going to have to remember that on Monday because this weekend i'm going to New Orleans to celebrate my very good friends Bachelorette Party.  I went to the store and stocked up on snacks like apples, celery, oranges, and some organic crackers.  I know that it's not going to be possible to eat prepared meals while i'm there and to stay away from alcohol.  For some people not drinking would be easy, but for me it is a temptation that I am going to give in to.  Especially for this occasion.  SO, i'm accepting the fact that i'm going to gain a few pounds this weekend, but i'm also OK knowing that once I come back I will be on the wagon following strict protocol. 

I also tried Sabrina's Orange Smoothie tonight.  It was delish! 

For dinner I had asparagus sauteed with some garlic and water.  I sprinkled a dash of Mrs. Dash's original seasoning on them, too.  it was good!  With that I had a piece of my Mustard Chicken from earlier in the week.  It wasn't bad.  My husband had the same thing but also enjoyed the leftover steak from a couple days ago and had a salad.  I ended up eating two slices of tomato with dinner so i'll be anxious to see if that totally screwed me up like it did for Sabrina.

I bought frozen strawberries this week and at night i've been eating my second fruit as a smoothie.  I've been putting my tablespoon of milk, some stevia lemon, ice, water, and one packet of Stevia sweetener.  It's so good.  The best before bed treat I could ask for!

I'm SO proud of Sabrina and her lack of cheats!  She's doing so great.  I'm so glad that we're on this journey together.  It has helped me more than I could imagine.  We've been sharing recipes, updating each other every morning and discussing concerns together, celebrating losses, and overall motivating each other to the end!

i've also noticed that i feel a lot better these days.  I have more evergy, am happier, and find that I never feel icky like I did before.  Also, i've been able to enjoy my baby so much more.... just the extra energy and overall healthiness has made the biggest difference!!!  Side note:  my 10 month old tried lasagna with meat sauce for the first time tonight (Gerber baby food) and he hated it.  hahahaha

Cheers to tomorrow!

xoxo- Nicki

R1P2D10 - down another pound!

So I stepped on the scale this AM and I am down another pound! I have to keep reminding myself that losing a pound in one day is awesome and I should be very happy. I am currently at 210.5 so I have lost 10.5 pounds since I started. I did an experiment yesterday and did not eat tomatoes. I also ate both fruit servings and 1 melba toast. I read somewhere that certain veggies can make some not lose as much so I thought I would try to cut tomatoes out since I know I had them on the day that I only lost .5.

I am going to not eat tomatoes again today to see if that 1 pound loss continues. If it does, I will assume that confirms my thinking and I will stay away from tomatoes. It makes me pretty sad if that is the case but this is only temporary!

I also tried the Walden Farms BBQ sauce with my grilled chicken yesterday. It wasn't bad....it wasn't great either. It was just something to lightly dip my chicken in as I ate it so I won't complain too much!

I get my new scale today - can't wait to set it up tonight and see what it says tomorrow AM!!

I am SO proud of myself!!

So, today was a true test of my willpower. We have a new person on our team so we went out for a welcome lunch....at J. Alexander. So, I ate my lunch before we left and then just hung out with them and drank water at the restaurant. It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be!

Then, later this afternoon we had a co-worker's 10 year anniversary party and there were TWO different kinds of cake there. Not only that but I was even cutting and serving one them!

I didn't cheat at all! I didn't even lick the icing off of my fingers when I was done! LOL.

Go me! :)

Frustrated!!!

So I followed protocol yesterday and I only lost .5 pounds on the scale this AM. :( Very frustrating. I am going to start walking 20 minutes a day and see if that helps.

Here is what I ate below - see anything weird? The recipes for what I ate are a few posts below this one.

For breakfast I just had a cup of coffee with vanilla creme liquid stevia drops (as usual)
For lunch I had the mexican chicken soup
For afternoon snack I had an apple and a handful of grape tomatoes
For dinner I had beef taco salad

I mean, I don't see anything 'bad' about that do you? I only ate one serving of melba toast and one serving of fruit. Maybe not enough calories? Eh. I don't know. Here is hoping that the scale is nicer to me tomorrow AM!

Also, I ordered a new scale and am super excited about it. My current one is great in terms of storing my last few weigh ins, showing how much I have lost or gained since the last weigh in, etc but it only is accurate to .5. I have found with this diet that I need one accurate to 0.2 so I can see those subtle differences. So, it will be here tomorrow and I can't wait! I just hope the two scales aren't too different so I can switch over smoothly!

Sabrina measurements update

So I took my measurements on R1P1D1 and then again a week later at R1P2D6. For those that do measurements, you obviously know it's not an exact science. It's never a guarantee that you choose the exact same spot on your thigh to measure, etc. :)

Here they are!

Waist: 37.75 down to 36.75
Hips: 45.5 down to 44.75
Neck: 15.25 down to 14.75
Thigh: 27.5 - stayed same at 27.5
Calf: 16.5 - stayed same at 16.5
Upper arm: 15.25 down to 14.5

Not bad right? I wish my legs would've changed but overall am happy with losing 4 inches and 7.5 pounds in a week! :)

R1P2D8 - great food and down another pound!

So I stepped on the scale today and I am down another pound. I will take it! :) That means a total of 9 pounds lost since I started this diet.

My lunch today was great, it was a mexican chicken soup from this site:
http://hcgrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/09/mexican-chicken-soup.html
Here is the recipe:
Mexican
Chicken Soup
100g cooked chicken, shredded into bite-sized pieces
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 t cumin
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t cayenne (use less if you don't want it as spicy)
diced tomato
2-3 c homemade chicken broth
1/4 c fresh chopped cilantro (optional)

Preheat pot over medium-high heat.
Add garlic, and cook for 3-5 minutes. (Heat until you see little bubbles
around the garlic.)
Use a bit of your broth to keep garlic from sticking to the pot, if
necessary.
Add tomatoes, chicken broth, and onion powder, cumin, chili powder, cayenne.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer, and add chicken.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir in cilantro, and simmer for 5 minutes more.


Now, I made 3 servings of this at once. I just used a can of diced tomatoes (no salt added) and I skipped the cilantro because I don't like it. I feel like I made my chicken broth a bit strong (I also made 3 servings of that and used the chicken in this recipe!) so I did 4 cups of broth and 2.5 cups of water for my 3 servings. It feels like your eating a lot which is great on this diet! LOL.

For dinner, I made beef tacos. I weighed out as many 100 gram portions I could from a package of lean ground beef (93%) and I got 4 servings. From there, I did this:


Beef Taco Salad:
Ingredients
400 grams lean Ground beef
1 tablespoon finely minced onion
2 cloves crushed and minced garlic
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
Dash of dried oregano
1 t red pepper flakes (if you like a bit more of a kick)
1 t ground cumin
2 T Chili powder to taste
Salt and black pepper to taste
2-3 cups chopped up romaine lettuce

Directions
Brown ground beef.
Add onion, garlic, and spices and a little water and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes. I let the mixture sit a few minutes and added a bit more water until it was a little moist because I made it on Sunday to serve on Monday.
Mix with 2-3 cups chopped lettuce (I used 2 handfuls, about 3 cups) and broken up
melba toast as my 'tortilla chips'.

R1P2D8- Dinner was FAB!

So today has been an awesome day!  I've felt amazing, stuck to protocol for the most part (i did try Walden Farms Honey Mustard dressing on my spinach leaves during lunch) and i'm ready to face the scale tomorrow.

With my stupid cheat on Saturday, i've put on about a pound.  I'm hoping that with the abundance of water that i've been drinking, the strict calorie count, and the pure fact that I just 'feel' lighter will give me a LOSS tomorrow.  i'm sitting pretty at 212 but have been down to 211 in the past couple of days so I know it's possible to lose more!

I'm starting to wonder if I have enough drops to get me through until the end.  We are only on day 8 of 26 and I have half a bottle left... wonder if Sabrina is in the same boat.  The good news is that i've read that you can call HcgDiet.com and tell them you're almost out and they send more.... i may just have to do that!

Dinner tonight was from Sabrina--- Her steak recipe below!  We had to substitute the Balsamic with Red Wine Vinegar, but it was delish!  Jeff (hubby) enjoyed it as well.  He loooooves vinegar (who knew) and thought it was amazing!  I think that 3 minutes was a biiiiit too long, so next time I will stick with 2 minutes on Broil.

Lunch today was awesome, too.  Like I said, today has been a great day!  For lunch I had a Mustard Chicken dish.  I found the recipe on another HCG user's blog, but I kind of remember seeing it in our guide book, or at least something similar!  The recipe is below.

Have a great night and cheers to shedding pounds!

xoxo- Nicki

Lemon Mustard Broiled Chicken

-100g chicken
- juice of 1/2 lemon
-  1 T spicy mustard
- 1/2 t black pepper
- 1/2 t oregano
- 1/4 t cayenne pepper (I substituted cayenne pepper with Frank's Hot Sauce and it was awesome!)


1. Preheat broiler.
2. Broil 1 side of chicken 5-10 mins until slightly browned.
3. In small bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
4. Spoon mixture onto chicken. Flip over and coat other side.
5. Broil uncooked side 5-10 mins or until no longer pink.


NOTE: This chicken stays really moist and juicy and full of flavor. Enjoy!

Orange Dreamcicle smoothie!

It's really hard for me to go from dinner until bedtime so I save my 2nd fruit for an evening snack. I made an orange dreamcicle smoothie and it was yummy!

Here is the recipe:
1 orange, peeled and sectioned
10 drops of vanilla creme stevia
1 Tbsp skim milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)
1/2 cup water
1-1.5 cups of ice

Put all in a blender, blend and serve! I start with 1 cup of ice and add more as I need it.

Just a quick update

R1P2D7 and I lost just .5 again. Ugh. So, strict protocol for me today! I hope I see it on the scale tomorrow. Also, I decided to do my total weight loss from when I started HCG, R1P1D1, instead of the first day of vlcd (very low calorie day). Many do it from when they started P2 but I gained 2.5 pounds during the 2 loading days and well, I need to account for that because I would not of gained that weight had I not done HCG. So, I started at 221 and this AM I was at 213. 8 pounds down!

Today was my cooking day for the week. I don't enjoy it very much but it makes the rest of the week SO much easier!

I took my measurements today but like Nicki, never posted my starting measurements so I will do a separate post for that as well!

R1P2D7- Mad at myself

So yesterday I cheated.... BAD. I had pizza.  Deli pizza from Kroger AND a diet Pepsi.  Let me tell you that no matter how delicious it was when I ate it, I immediately regretted it!  Well, due to my horrible cheat, the scale showed it this morning.  I gained 1/2 a pound.  Booo. 

Today I weighed in at 211.5.  I am still proud that I lost 8 lbs since we started (starting weight 219.5) but I would love to be ahead of where I am.  Of course, only I can control that number and last night didn't help.

I will admit that I was really nervous about the weekend and last week I was feeling pretty terrible.  Thursday and Friday I know my body was going through the awful detox and I just NEEDED something and for me, that was pizza.  But dang i'm mad at myself!

Today I have been doing well.  Had a leftover piece of grilled chicken from last week and celery for lunch.  Thanks to Sabrina, i've been enjoying those strawberry smoothie/slushies as well!  I love that recipe.  It is such a nice change than an apple :) 

I did my measurements yesterday and was excited.... I forgot to post my starting measurements so i'll do a new post with updated measurements.

Happy Sunday!

xoxo- Nicki

R1P2D6 update & food talk

So I lost .5 pounds this morning. EH. I lost 2 yesterday though so I am still very pleased. Through 5 full days, I have lost a total of 10 pounds!! I am doing my measurements tomorrow and will post that then as well. I forgot to do it today!

So, some of my recipes were OK last week and some were EH. The chili was pretty good, especially after I added half a bag of miracle noodles to it. :) The chicken with lemon and spinach was OK but I liked the 'breaded' chicken and I used spicy brown mustard as the binding agent. I ate eggs yesterday with spinach and tomatoes and that was good! I tried to make shrimp with liquid aminos and cabbage and that was barely edible. The meatballs were good though - I will probably put those back in the rotation after this next week. I made them with 1/4 cup of sugar free pasta sauce and a half package of miracle noodles:

Meatballs:
100g lean ground hamburger (at least 93%)
1 melba toast(ground into powder)
1 T milk
parsley
onion powder
basil
oregano
garlic powder
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 425.
In bowl, combine all ingredients.
Form into 1" meatballs (makes about 6-7).
Place in glass baking dish or non-stick baking sheet and cook 10 minutes turning halfway through cooking time.

If you want to brown them more after cooking, you can broil them for 1-2 mins each side.These also can be frozen in small freezer bags and then warmed up before serving.

So, I am looking forward to a new week and I just finished my meal plan. I made a steak meal tonight with broccoli as my side. Technically the broccoli is off protocol but many have been able to eat it with success. I hope I am one of them!

Here is the recipe for the steak:
Balsamic Mustard Crusted Steak
3.5 ounces sirloin (trim the fat) - I used skillet steak, just any that is pretty thin
1 t. mustard powder
2 t. balsamic
1/4 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves (minced)
Mix all seasoning in a mixing bowl.
Line a broiler pan with foil and place steak on top.
Coat evenly with mustard mixture and let stand 10 minutes.
Broil (I used the HI setting) steak to desired doneness.
2-3 minutes per side was all it took for mine.

Delicious and SO quick! It was the first meal I made for the whole family (I served a side of rice for the boys) and they liked it as well.

Strawberry Lemonade Slushie - yum!

So I got my regular Stevia drops today (SweetLeaf) from Amazon so I wanted to try a sweet recipe this evening.

I made a strawberry lemonade smoothie/slushie and man, it was great! Exactly what I needed today for sure.

Here is the recipe - try it out!
6 frozen strawberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup ice
8 drops of liquid stevia
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp lemon juice

Blend a lot and add more ice or water as you see it shaping up! It is more of a slushie texture (you have to use a spoon at the end) but let me tell you, it's good!

R1P2D4- Finally Lunch Time!

OK- So last night I decided that I was going to try the 'sugar free' pasta sauce on my 3 (juuuuust over 100grams) meatballs.  With this I had broccoli.  I don't think that this combination was exactly on protocol, but I still had a loss. Yesterday I also didn't drink my whole gallon of water; only had 2.5 liters.  Uggh, it's so hard!

This morning I popped out of bed hoping to see a 3 or 4 lost on the scale.  Nope.  down 2.  I, like Sabrina, was a little disappointed this morning but my husband made a great point and told me not to get GREEDY!  He is so right.  It's so hard to read other success stories of people who lose 5 or 6 lbs a DAY!  I know that if I wasn't sticking to this HCG diet, using the drops, taking the vitamins, that I would NOT be losing anywhere close to this in a week. 

So on day 4 after the loading days I am down 6.5 lbs.  I cannot describe how good it feels to know that I am actually doing it.  While I understand the importance of being healthy, it's been a LONG time since i've actually had a glimpse in what it feels like.  And I like it!

So now i'm sitting here, googling a park close by that I can take my 10 month old to.  It's a beautiful day but a little chilly (58 degrees here in GA) so we may not be out long.  I am going back to work full time in about a month so i'm trying to spend as much time with this little dude as I can.  I sure am going to miss him!!! 

Lunch today is pretty good.  I made a salad.  I used Popeye's spinach leaves in the fresh produce section (Sabrina recommended this brand and i LOVE it) a small Roma tomato, and for my protein I cut up a chicken sausage patty that I made last weekend.  Yesterday I went to the store and got ingredients to make HCG approved salad dressings.  Today I am trying the Italian Vinaigrette.  It's by far not the same as the real deal, but it is surprisingly good!

Here's the recipe for salad dressing:

Italian Vinaigrette Dressing/Marinade
1 cup chicken broth (organic low sodium)
4 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup water (optional, but I used it)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder

Simmer together on stove for 5 minutes, remove, chill and enjoy!

**you may want to alter some of the seasons if you aren't a big onion or garlic person**

R1P2D4 - AM weigh in and coffee talk

So I weighed in this morning and I am down another 1.5 pounds, to 216. Sweet! I have to be honest though, I had lost 3 pounds each day the past two days so I was a little disappointed in 'just' 1.5. I know the first few days you lose more per day than you will on the rest of the program but I assume that lasted longer than just the first 2 days. I hope to see a better loss tomorrow AM for sure or at least the same.

After the initial loading gain of 2.5, then the cummulative loss of 7.5, I have a total loss so far of 5 pounds since we started HCG on Saturday. I will take it! :)

I am here at the office drinking my morning coffee, black, with 4 drops of vanilla creme stevia in it. These SweetLeaf stevia drops are amazing! I am a bit hungry as well but that is pretty typical for me at this time. The hunger actually goes away a bit and then comes roaring back at 12 just in time for lunch. Lunch today is chicken and spinach sauteed in a bit of lemon juice with garlic, salt, and pepper served on a bed of spinach. It's OK. Nothing to write home about. :) Tonight I am going to have asparagus and shrimp I think though I am not sure how I am going to prepare the shrimp yet. We will see!

Hungry!

So, R1P2D3 and man, I was hungry today! I will be honest, I thought about cheating a handful of times today. But, I didn't! I know that food won't taste as good as skinny will feel right? I just need to keep remembering that.

One key to success on this diet is to BE PREPARED! You have to have your meals ready (or have the stuff on hand to get them really quickly). This past Sunday, I prepared 12 meals that day so I could just 'grab and go'. I lead a busy life, I don't have time to cook often so this was very important to me. I will continue to do this at least partially every weekend.

This first week, I told my husband to make all of the dinners for him and our son so I could focus on getting in my rhythm on this diet. Starting this next week, I am going to be cooking for all of us. I honestly don't think it will be that hard. Actually, it will probably be a bit easier so I don't have to watch them eating a bunch of stuff that I can't eat! I will make what I have to eat and then give them a starch (rice, sweet potato, etc) to go along with it. We will see how it goes! I will post on Sunday with what I am making/preparing that day for the next week!

Sabrina 'Before' pictures taken 4/11 on R1P2D3, 217.5 pounds

Ugh, here they are. I HATE doing this but it needs to happen. This has to change and it will!

Nicki- R1P2D3

So this morning I stepped on the scale and BAM! Was down to 215! that was 3 lbs overnight

When I got pregnant with my 10 month old, I weighed in at 209 (unfortunately) and was very overweight then. In fact, i wasn't planning on getting pregnant until I was "in shape".... well, God had other plans!  I gained about 35 lbs in my pregnancy and on my due date I was 242.  I can't even BELIEVE that I was that HUGE!  I know, I know, I was pregnant, not fat.... But the fact of the matter is that I was FAT before I got pregnant!

I grew up always eating semi healthy, playing sports, and being fit.  Once I got married in 2009, that ALL went out the window.  Actually it started a lot sooner than that.  I played college soccer in 2001 and then transferred to an SEC school in 2002 (Roll Tide)  When I enrolled at the University of Alabama, I weighed 145.  I was too thin, though.  I had battled with an eating disorder that not many people knew of, took diet pills daily, and ran until I puked.  Once I got comfortable at UA, I realized that it was OK to put on a few pounds and I didn't have to exercise anymore if I didn't want to.  Well, I graduated in 2005 at a whopping 170.  It was pretty perfect for me.  Although I was always bigger than my friends and have always been "big boned" I still had confidence and thought I looked good.

I got married in 2009 and gained another 30 ish pounds.  Love and Marriage.  AKA Food and Beer.  AKA Comfort.  Yep, I completely embodied the stereotype of "getting comfortable in marriage"  My poor husband.  I have completely let myself go and I don't want to do that anymore!  I think it's important to try and maintain some level of "put together" for your spouse.  I'm sure he's tired of seeing me in baggy t-shirts and sweat pants by now.  Hence, another reason to do the HCG diet! Put some spice back into our life! The last thing on my mind is putting on something "sexy" and strutting around for my husband... He is so wonderful and still thinks I'm sexy (so he says) but I don't feel sexy at ALL. 

So here I go--- about to eat my lunch that will consist of Cucumber, leftover Tilapia from last night, and peach green tea.

xoxo- Nicki

Sabrina - my beginnings....

Hello everyone! Sabrina here. I am so excited to be doing this weight loss journey with Nicki and I think it's a great idea for us to blog about it so others can read what we are going through. I am going to post my 'before' pictures tonight. I am NOT looking forward to taking those pics. However, I have to remember that I am already on my way to my 'after' pictures!

I have 2 boys, one is 4 and the other is 5 months. I had actually lost 60 pounds in 2010 and then got pregnant and gained it all back. I am doing the HCG diet to get a jump start on losing that 60 pounds again! My starting weight on Saturday, April 7th is 221.

So, the first two days are loading days. Those were fun days! LOL. It just happened to also be Easter weekend so that worked out well. I did end up gaining 2.5 pounds that weekend.

I weighed myself the morning of P2D1 and I was at 223.5. Ouch. I was nervous stepping on the scale the morning of P2D2 but I was so very excited to see that I was down to 220.5. I lost 3 pounds the first day! So, net loss of .5 from when I started. I stepped on the scale this morning and lost another 3 pounds!! Woot woot! It is so rewarding to see the scale show these awesome immediate results for sure. So, my net loss going into P2D3 is 3.5 pounds. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Before Pictures- Starting weight- 219.5 lbs (4-7-12)

As much as i do NOT want these pictures anywhere on the internet, here goes..... This is my before pictures.  29 years old, 5'8.5, and OBESE. Yes, obese... Doctor's don't lie ;)  219.5 lbs starting weight.  My goal.... Somewhere around 160 ish!

So... here goes nothing......

April 10, 2012-R1P2D2

OK- Nicki again... Just got done with supper.  Oh man was it interesting to say the least!  My  protein was great, I bought fresh Tilapia from Kroger, but my veggie.... EWWW!

The Tilapia went over well with my husband, he even went back for seconds! Here's the recipe:

Baked Tilapia
3.5 oz of Tilapia
lemon juice
cajun seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Crushed melba toast
Onion powder
garlic powder

Soak the fish in the fresh lemon juice. Mix all of the dry ingredients together.  cover the fish in all of the spices and crushed Melba toast
Bake for 20 minutes at 350!  Bam!  that's it!!!

So my veggie... this is another story.  I decided to sautee some spinach in garlic cloves and lemon juice.  All I can say is HOLY LEMON JUICE!  waaaaaayyyy too much, couldn't even finish the spinach.  couldn't even finish it holding my nose!  I even gave a small piece to my 10 month old and he hated it! (he eats everrrrrything)  So, lesson learned.  NO LEMON JUICE ON SPINACH!

Still on my 2nd Liter of water for the day.  Chasing around a 10 month old, getting the housework done, and trying not to pass out from my body detoxing is tough.  I can't even remember to drink water! 

here's to finishing another 2 liters before bed!

Cheers!

xoxo Nicki

OUR FIRST POST!

Welcome to our blog!  After lot's of research and looking for places to help us, we decided to create a blog to track our weight loss progress, vent, and help other people get motivated!  Sabrina and I decided to try the an HCG diet from www.hcgdiet.com.  The way this diet works is you take drops of HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin- a hormone produced in pregnancy) 3 times a day and it has been proven to result in crazy weight loss!   The first two days are called Loading Days.  During this time you literally eat anything and everything under the sun.  My loading days consisted of Bojangle's breakfast, Sonic cheeseburgers, Cheeto puffs, Nutty Butter Chex mix, grape soda, gosh... you name it! After the loading days you start a very restricted diet of 500 calories.  You follow a strict protocol of allowed fruits, veggies, and proteins.  You can see the diet here:

Drink lots of water (at least 2 liters)
First 2 days on the drops eat LOTS of high calorie, high fat food!
Take HCG drops for 23 days, then no drops for the last three days, but continue to diet until all HCG is flushed from your system until you reach day 26.

Break:
Tea or coffee in any quantity without sugar. Only one tablespoonful of milk is allowed in 24 hours. Saccharin or Stevia may be used.

Lunch:
1.100-125 grams of meat for example: BEEF, CHICKEN BREAST, TURKEY, FRESH WHITE FISH, LOBSTER, CRAB, OR SHRIMP**.
2. VEGETABLE: choose one of the following- spinach, asparagus, cabbage, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions (all kinds), chicory, beet-greens, red radishes, cucumbers or chard.
3. One breadstick (grissino) or one Melba toast.
4. An APPLE or a handful (6-9) of STRAWBERRIES or one-half GRAPEFRUIT, ORANGE * (you may have your fruit with your breakfast or as a snack) you get 2 a day and can eat them when you want to.

Dinner :
The same choices as lunch.
Tea, Coffee, plain water or mineral water are the allowed and they may be taken in any quantity and at all times. The juice of one lemon daily is allowed for all purposes. Salt (minimal), pepper, vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweet basil, parsley, thyme, marjoram, etc., may be used for seasoning. But NO OIL, BUTTER or DRESSING.

As you can see it's pretty strict and it's very important to follow the protocol!

The way the diet is discussed is based on Rounds, Phases, and Days.

Round 1 or R1 is the first time you do the diet
Phase 1 or P1 is the Loading Days
Phase 2 or P2 are the 500 calorie days
Phase 3 or P3 are the days following 500 calories or Maintenance phase.

So, right now Sabrina and I are on R1P2D2!  Cheers!!!!

xoxo Nicki