Week 7 is starting today...and a Phase 3 Break...

Day 43: Weight 190.2. That brings my total to just about 27 pounds in 6 weeks. That is WONDERFUL!! Not to mention I'm almost in the 180's! Man that feels good. Yesterday I ate strawberries, salad and chicken breast with my BBQ sauce for lunch. For dinner I ate tilapia (fish stick style) dipped in dijon horseradish and broccoli.

Now I am a little sad as I am going to have to take a break. I have been researching it and have come to the conclusion I am going to do something called "cycling". I am basically going to move onto Phase 3, but not stay there the entire 3-6 weeks like you are supposed to. The thing is, you don't lose more weight you just stay the same. I was really wanting to go down. The reason I have to cycle is that I quit taking the shots, and moved on to hhCG drops. I did great with them, but then ordered some crappy ones off eBay- which I am returning for a full refund. I have been so hungry, which is a clear sign the drops are NOT working. So I ordered some REAL hcg off the internet, and have to wait for it to come in to start over. I will be mixing it for sublingual use. Here's hoping for the best...

Day 44: Weight 190.0. Well, thank goodness it's down! I'm not sure what's wrong with me, but I did not eat a single thing that was on protocol yesterday. For lunch I had some chicken chili I had made the day before, and had full intentions of eating that. But my twins were sick, and I was sure it was strep throat so off to urgent care we went (since it was Saturday). Well, it wasn't strep, it was just "a virus", of course. So on the way home the kids wanted McDonald's "cheeseburbers", so we stopped. I was going to get the grilled chicken patty and a side salad, but noticed they had a 50 piece chicken nugget meal. It was way cheaper than getting both of the girls their 6 piece nuggets, so I figured what the hell, I'll just eat a few of those. Well, I ate probably 6 or 7, some of their fries, and one of those Mac Snack wraps I've been wanting to try. Well SHIT!!! And then, pretty much the rest of the day I was soooo sick. I should have known better- even pre-diet McD's usually made me ill. But this was the sickest I've ever been. No, I did not throw up, but I wish I would have!! Let's just say I had to stay close to the bathroom all day... Then for dinner I was still sick feeling and did not want to eat any meat. Yuck! So I ate two slices of raisin toast. It was so good, and seemed to help calm my stomach down. So like I said, I am so lucky I was down .2 lbs today!

Also, for those of you who read the above post, I am still undecided but think I am not going to take that break. I think I'm going to go to the clinic tomorrow and get some more drops. I was thinking I might be able to lose 10 more pounds by the time my real hCG comes in. But then again, maybe my losses would resume to a pound a day if I took a break and started over. I am so on the fence, not quite sure what to do...

Day 45: Weight 190.0. Well, it's the same again. I deserve it with my big cheat. Yesterday I really didn't eat too much. I had an apple, chicken breast with bbq sauce for lunch. Then for dinner I had more chicken breast and salsa on it. Pretty boring day, really!

Day 46: Weight 194.4. Ouch! That hurt. I really thought about NOT posting it, but the whole purpose of this blog is to help myself and hopefully inspire others. I hope you have been inspired to never cheat!! I think my huge gain is a combination of several factors. Stress!! I can't remember having this much stress in my life EVER! TOM is coming back for a visit,
I did cheat 2 days ago and I am sick. I have been taking so much OTC crap it could be that. I have looked at all the labels and think it is all okay, but still. For lunch yesterday I had chicken chili and an avocado (forgot about that, could be it!) for lunch. I counted the tom as my veggie and the avocado as my fruit. Then for dinner I just had some chicken. No veggie, no fruit. Today I am trying something called an "egg day". We'll see if it helps bring me down tomorrow.

Phase 3 "BREAK" Day 1: Weight 193.4. Well, I am down a pound. I ate a total of 8 hard boiled eggs and 2 cheesesticks yesterday. That's all I ate all day long. I was really hoping for a bigger pay-off. I made my PM eggs into deviled eggs. I put dill relish and some walden farms ranch dressing with the yolks. Then I drizzled hot sauce all over them. Yummers!! Today I did a protein only day, and I really hope I lose another pound. I didn't do great with the water, so we'll see. Actually, the egg day was a little easier...

Phase 3 "BREAK" Day 2: Weight 190.4. Wow!! I lost 3 lbs!! I guess there's something to this low-carbing, huh?! I ate so much, I was sure I'd gain!

For breakfast I enjoyed CREAMER in my coffee, first time in over a month. Hope that doesn't come back to bite me...I also stopped at McDonald's and got 2 breakfast burritos, and just ate the filling out of the tortillas. I drank an Atkin's mocha shake mid-morning, it was actually really tasty! Then for lunch we had a meeting at work. There were sandwiches with croissants and King's Hawaiian rolls (Mmmmm!!), and someone brought homebaked brownies (damn them!) But all I ate was 4 slices of the ham, 3 of the provolone cheese and my water. I was so proud of myself. Then for dinner I ate an 8 oz. Filet Mignon, a cheesestick and some of the taco de asada meat my dh was eating (along w/ a teensy bit of avocado). I was so stuffed. It kinda felt like when I loaded, minus all the REALLY yummy stuff, haha!

Phase 3 "BREAK" Day 3: Weight 190.4. Stayed the same...since that is the point of Phase 3 I am glad. I am hoping to lose a little, but I guess as long as I don't gain I will be satisfied. Speaking of satisfied, boy am I eating a lot of food. Well, compared to Phase 3 anyway. Yesterday I had an Atkins shake for breakfast, and a couple of cheesesticks for a snack. For lunch I ate a TON of shrimp- it was fried in oil- and three more slices of the leftover ham and provolone cheese. For dinner I had a BLT Chicken Salad from Wendy's with real Ranch dressing. Mmmmm. Now that was good! :)

Phase 3 "Break" Day 4: Weight 189.6. Yay!!

For breakfast I had a 3 egg omelet with lots of ham and cheese in it. It was so good. I think I'm going to make this a regular breakfast. Since I leave at 6:30 am, I am going to make it the night before and then re-heat it when I get to work, hopefully it will still taste delicious. For lunch I had 2 cheesesticks, an Atkins shake and a "MUG CAKE". I got the recipe off the forum. OMG!!!! It was so good! I was really glad I had it, because I went to my daughters' Valentine's Day parties and was not even tempted a little by all that junk. Not a single bite. The pizza was from CiCi's, and it didn't look very good, so that saved me. If it had been from Domino's, I would have definately cheated. For dinner (BTW, I was soooo stuffed by now), I just ate a chicken breast in my special BBQ sauce. I hope I got in enough protein...

Phase 3 "Break" Day 5: Weight 189.6. I'm still in the 180's! I can't believe it!!

Yesterday was a busy day. I got up really early to go help my Girl Scout service unit sort cookies. My teenage sons and I spent three hours doing heavy duty lifting and carrying. Then I had to run out to do booth sales at the mall and Wal-Mart. For breakfast I just ate a cheesestick and my coffee. For lunch we were so hungry, we just stopped at Hardee's and I got a mushroom n swiss thickburger, but did not eat the bun. Then for dinner, at the mall I had subway. I got a roast beef foot long, with provolone, chipotle sauce and a few veggies. Again, I did not eat the bread. I REALLY wanted to though...I love bread.

Phase 3 "Break" Day 6: Weight 192.0. Well, it was too good to last, ahem. I started off really good and made my omelet. Then it was off to sell more of those damn cookies. On my way home my dh called and asked if I'd bring something home for lunch, so I got some cashew chicken. I wasn't really hungry, so I figured I'd just eat a little chicken with the breading removed. WRONG!! I ate breading and all, and a little rice. I didn't overeat or anything like usual. But THEN, I decided since I already cheated, I would have some Girl Scout cookies. And of course I ate too many :( They were good, but then I felt ill the rest of the night. Just a bloated, yucky type of ill...I didn't even eat anything for dinner. I think my gain could be from not getting enough protein and water also. Well, I guess it's a "Steak Day" for me today. I think I'll make it a "Steak & Shake Day", lol! I plan to have a protein shake if I get hungry before my steak dinner is allowed...

Phase 3 "Break" Day 7: Weight 194.6. Well, I am up 4.6 over LIW, definately doing a steak day today...but let me say, it WAS worth it!!! I also know it is a lot of water weight, because of all the carbs I ate yesterday...

The steak day didn't quite work out as I had hoped. I was craving these stupid Girl Scout cookies, so I made another mug cake (P3 legal). It worked, it really satisfied me. It's kind of a cross between a cake and a brownie. I really had to mess with the amount of sweetener to get it just right, but when I did it was so good. Whew, over that hurdle. Then, since I spent the entire weekend selling GS cookies, my dh wanted to take me out for a belated Valentine's Day dinner. So as I was getting ready, I thought we would go to a Mexican restaurant, or a chain restaurant where I could get fajitas. With no tortilla, rice or beans, I would be able to stick to P3 with no worries. BUT...dh had other ideas. He wanted Olive Garden. Mmmmmm. I haven't been there is forever!!! So I had to make a choice; convince him to go somewhere else...or go completely off-protocol. Looking at my weight gain, you can probably guess which I chose, lol!! But like I said, it was DEFINATELY worth it!! So I am confident a steak day today will get me back where I need to be (which is less than 192). I will eat nothing all day, drink lots of coffee, tea and WATER!!! Then for dinner I will eat a big steak and an apple. Wish me luck!!!

Phase 3 "Break" Day 8: Weight 191.6. Whoo-hoo!! The steak day worked! I am down 3 pounds...it wasn't all that bad either. I had a busy day, so didn't have time to notice if I was even hungry or not. I drank lots of water and yerba mate tea. I did have cream in my coffee for breakfast, however. Then for dinner, I ate a 10 oz New York strip. It was so good! I baked my apple with cinnamon and splenda. It was okay, but I didn't use a fuji apple and it wasn't as good as usual. I hope this weight stays off!

Phase 3 "Break" Day 9: Weight 190.0. I am back at my LIW! I can't wait to get my hCG and start actually going down again. It is STILL in US Customs. Yesterday I made a big omelet for breakfast again, and had SF creamer in my coffee. For lunch I had chicken chili (no beans, of course) and a mug cake. For dinner, I ate 6 chicken mcnuggets and 2 McDoubles with mac sauce on them- sans bread. Around bedtime, I was afraid I didn't get enough protein so I had a protein shake. I guess it helped!! I got up this morning and made some low-carb pancakes with SF syrup...they were pretty good!!

Phase 3 "Break" Day 10: Weight 190.6. It's up a little, but I must say I am stabilizing well!! I ate those pancakes for breakfast. For lunch I went to Chili's and had the fajitas (no tortilla) and must say they were so good!! I had the chicken and steak combo, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and pico de gallo. I also ate one of dh's southwestern eggrolls. For dinner I had a mug cake and rotisserie chicken. Mmmmm! I really hope my hCG leaves NY today- I really want to get to 160!!