Wow.  Just realized I haven't been doing this.  So, okay, here is a brief update.  This has been the easiest way I've come across to lose weight!  I have been on this diet 66 days now and have lost 33.4 pounds!  That's pretty good in my opinion.  It is easy to do, easy to follow.  And if I can do it, someone that never eats salad or fruits, anyone can do it.  At my last appointment my doctor was pleased with my progress, and I told him with the holidays coming I was thinking I would have a cheat day on Thanksgiving.  He told me that was perfectly fine, a decision for me to make, just to remember it would slow things down for a few days, but I could be back on track quickly.  So on Thanksgiving we are going out to lunch at Cracker Barrel.  I LOVE their chicken & dumplings, so have to decide if I want that or a traditional meal.

Day Nine

Here it is day nine.  I broke the first 10 pound barrier this morning!  Today's weight is down 11.2!  I can't believe how simple this program is.  I was so afraid at first, wondering if I could actually do it.  But I can, I am, and it works!

Day 5

Finally got yesterday's blog to post. Now I sit here smelling my cauliflower in the steamer. I've found once it's steamed, if I put it through a processor and make it the texture of mashed potatoes and add LOTS of pepper, then it's doable. I've already been through one head of cauliflower. It will be my staple out of the veggie category. Anyway, was down another pound this morning, so a total of 9 pounds so far. Can't wait each morning to get on the scale. So far the overnight loss each day is a little less, but I knew the first few days would likely be the highest losses. So we will just see how it goes.

Managed to get my bloodwork done today as well as get my next B vitamin shot. Weight was down a total of 8 pounds as of today.

A New Start......Again

Once again, here I sit looking at how long it's been since I blogged. TOO LONG! Last blog I thought I was in the game, but I wasn't. Seems no matter how hard I try, I haven't been able to truly get myself there. So what makes me think this time is different? Well, I'm doing something that I know is controversial, so I'm not telling my social circle about it right now. It was hard enough having to explain this to my family. Some of them were more difficult than others, but I know it's because they love me and are concerned for my well being. I'm doing a doctor supervised version of the HCG diet. Main words there being "doctor supervised". I did share with someone else that started the HCG diet and found out the food part of her version was different. Also, she was doing the shots to the stomach...yowzers! I'm lucky enough to have the tablets that dissolve under the tongue.

Key points about this diet.........

First, anyone who knows me knows I do NOT eat fruit...at all! Well, I believe in this plan so strongly I have actually managed to eat some strawberries (not too well, though) and some tangerines (much easier). So if nothing else is gained, there's that.

Second, no cardio workouts are allowed during this phase of the diet. This is good for me because I was in a real catch 22 situation. I would try to run, but was concerned for what I was feeling in my knees. But I knew part of that is because I had put back half the weight I lost a few years back and that if I lost that weight my knees probably wouldn't hurt. But was I going to do damage in the meantime? On this program, I am expected to lose weight before I start doing the cardio. (I can still do toning exercises.) I know this was one of the contentions for some of the people I told, but there is reasoning behind it. It's all part of the plan.

Third, on this plan you are expected to lose weight quickly, then go into transition, then into maintenance. While I have the "long term" plan, I also have a short term plan of wanting to be able to wear a sexy costume for the upcoming Halloween party. Having the shorter goal will help me stay on track for the first part of the program.

Now for the number part of things. Three years ago I had lost 38 pounds by cutting carbs and taking up running. Most of you know I took a bad fall and messed up my ankle pretty bad, and that began my downfall. Ever since then I keep trying to get back on track and just have not found the way to do it. Well, when I got on the scale two weeks ago and had hit the half way mark of gaining back what I had lost, that about killed me. That's when I decided to go for professional help. So my official weigh-in number at the dr office for the start of this is 204 pounds. I will use his scale as my official numbers. However, I will use my home scale to follow my daily/weekly progress. I am currently on my third day of this plan and have lost 5.4 pounds. The average loss in the first week can be as much as 10 pounds, with 12-20 expected in the first month. Now in all fairness, those are probably the pounds I put on during the two days before I started the plan. During those two days I ate all my favorites (as suggested by the doctor). So I am looking forward to what happens from today forward. I CAN and WILL do this!!!

Okay, second post in one day. Only because of a shocker to myself. I have come to love spinach dip (as mentioned in my earlier blog today). I made a comment to Steve about how I need to find my own recipe so I can control how healthy it is. Well, a few moments ago Steve came in with some of my soy and flax seed chips and a green dip. He asked me to try it. I know him well enough to know he had not made a spinach dip (he does not like spinach), so I was sure it must be broccoli. Now, I tried many years ago to teach myself to like broccoli. I was chopping it up into food I ate, gradually adding more. But one day I added too much and it turned my stomach. I have never been able to think of broccoli in a good way since. BUT....this was actually not bad. I had several chips of it. I don't think I could eat lots of it, but that is a good thing. A healthy snack that I am not inclined to eat a lot of. But seriously....broccoli? Amazing. One more step in the right direction.

August of 2010 was my last post? Really? Hmm. Well, let's see if I can get back to it.

Got my frame of mind back to the idea of getting healthier and losing weight. Never have sincerely got myself back to that for more than a couple days at a time in the last couple years. So...let's see if I can put together more than a couple days.

This time around, not strictly doing the carb thing as before. Just trying to make sure each food decision is a smarter one. Not depriving myself, just looking for the smartest version. Been one week now of making that my new thought process and I'm down 5.6 pounds. Now mind you, it's the same 5.6 pounds I've lost time and time again, so nothing to impress anyone. But it's the jumpstart I needed to get it going.

Smarter choices. Like last week when I had a craving for my spinich dip. I left work, went to Trader Joe's and found the dip I wanted. Then I stood there saying to myself......."Okay, Lauri, you know to enjoy this you need chips, so what are you going to do about it?" So what I did was to bypass the chips that I would have normally grabbed, and instead found some soy and flax seed chips. They were perfect with the dip, and the scale was down the next morning. My other huge discovery thanks to a friend....Ezekiel bread.

Okay, enough for now, it's time for work. Hopefully it won't be another year before I am back here. One foot in front of the other, one day at a time. Hopefully, here I go again!