Day 20

I am almost half-way through this phase of the protocol. When I weighed in this morning, I was down 17.3 pounds in all!! I can actually see it in different areas but since my clothes have a lot of "wiggle" room, I am not down a size. That frustrates me so much ~ you know, when you see "I lost 10 pounds and 2 dress sizes!" commercials. I think when you get to the "Big Girl" clothes you have about 35 pounds between sizes. I know I have a pair of jeans I call the 75 pound pants ~ I can wear them for +/- 75 pounds, seriously!
Not sure if I wrote about Fry's trying to sabatoge me the other day. As I walked in the door, there was Starbucks and the big bakery cookies set out. Then, there were different fruits for sampling (none that I could have!), cheese dip and crackers, chocolate covered mini-donuts, and then, my biggest weakness, BROWNIES!!! I passed them all by. It was pretty easy until I came to the brownies. I realized that I haven't lost my taste for them at all. Other than that, I haven't really had any cravings. I am able to take my own food and eat with other people and do OK. Not that I wouldn't love to have a little spanish rice or queso now and then :-)
Anyhow, 22 more days of the HcG drops, then I get to go on maintenance. I am really hoping for at least 15 more pounds ~ who am I kidding, I'd actually like about 50 more pounds but I am trying to be realistic here.

Praying for Bennett

I am a blog-stalker . . . I do not remember when I came upon this blog, but Adrienne and her husband, Jim, have such a great story of Faith. They are now the parents of 4 little ones, all aged 4 and under. They have had such a long road to parenthood with many, many miscarriages, 2 international adoptions, 3 (?) failed domestic adoptions (after they met the baby), 1 domestic adoption and, finally, a pregnancy! However, their newest baby, Bennett, was born at just 26 weeks, 5 days. Right now, he is doing as well as can be expected. I have added his button to the side of my blog.
In following Adriennes' journey, I am blown-away by the level of faith she has displayed. Where most of us (at least myself) would have totally lost it, she has shown such grace throughout her entire journey and God's love has really shone through her.
So if you will, say a prayer for the precious baby and his family.

Mid-Summer Update

I cannot believe it is already July 5!! I go back to work 3 weeks from today :-( The good thing is that I get paid extra for those first 4 days, since they are not contract days. :-)
So, this post is gonna be a mind dump!

• I am now down 15.1 pounds!!!! It had slowed down there for a bit and I had to try really hard not to get discouraged. But I stuck in there and am really please with the results I am seeing. I can notice a change in my upper back, boobs, and lower belly! Today is the beginning of Day 17, which includes the 2 "loading"days and this is the 15th day of VLC eating.
• Summer school is done!! We actually were done last Wednesday. That was an experience that I don't want to re-live. The mornings weren't too bad ~ I was a floater so I filled in for an hour each in a 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade class. But the afternoons lasted f.o.r.e.v.e.r!! The kicker was the lady who, in all seriousness, was having us repeat after her: "a noun is a person, place, or thing. You may want to write that down for future reference"! Huge waste of time.
• I don't understand men!!!! "They" say that women are complicated, but, in this case, it's not me!! Once again, I am trying to use my patience. :-)
• Hard to believe that I am coming up on a year in my house. Still love, love, love it!!
• The lia sophia business is not doing so well right now. I haven't entered a show in 2 months. I am having a boutique and an open house this month, so hopefully things will turn around.

I guess that's about it. I hope everyone is having a great (and not-too-hot) summer!

Day 12

When I weighed this morning, I was down another .8 for a total of 12.9 pounds. I am starting to see a change in my stomach, the upper part, and my sides. Whoo-Hoo!!!

I saw a girl at school yesterday with some recipes, and being the nosy person that I am, I was reading them. I realized that they were recipes to be used on the HcG program. I asked her for copies and then she gave me a website to go to where there were more recipes. So, last night I was a cooking fool!!

I made:

• Orange "Julius" - This one was soooo good and felt like a treat. All you do is put an orange (peeled and separated into sections) and a handful of ice into a blender. I used my Magic Bullet :-) Whir it up and, I promise, it will turn into a light orange, foamy concoction. I added vanilla creme Stevia but I think you could also add some vanilla extract and sugar/Splenda/Equal, etc. You can drink it right then or put it into the freezer. Then it freezes into a blend between and orange ice and orange sherbet. I was so happy with it and the only calories in it come from the orange. I'm going to try it with different fruits, when I am allowed to reintroduce them to my eating plan.
• Chili - This recipe was very easy and you let it simmer forever. It is ground beef, cut up tomatoes (which I don't eat but someone gave me a case of beautiful ones), garlic, onion, chili powder, and a few other spices. I decided to put half of the tomatoes into the blender first since I'm not a huge fan of chunks. This simmered on my stove all evening and my house smelled A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!! It is sooo delicious and tastes so much fresher than what I made with a seasoning mix. Have to get used to no beans, but I'll adjust.
• Ketchup - I found a recipe to make sugar free ketchup. That was fun! I didn't get the seasonings exactly right (there were no exact measurements) but it is really close! I'm going to work on adjusting the recipe and use it for . . .
• Mini Meatloaves - I haven't made these yet, but the girl who gave me the recipes said they are delicious (and she isn't on the program, her husband is). I have the meat to make them and then I can stick some into the freezer.
• Chicken Lettuce Wraps - I bought some stuff called Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids, which is kind of like a natural alternative to soy sauce. I minced up some chicken, added some Amino Acids, and then quickly stir-fried it. Wrapped up in lettuce, it was awesome!

Now, I am going to go use the rest of the tomatoes in my kitchen to make "legal" marinara sauce. It will be my first time peeling tomatoes but I'm thinking it will turn out wonderfully!

Hope you all (you know, the two people that read this blog) have a great day!

Still dropping

Well, it looks like I'm losing between half a pound and a little over a pound everyday. I am down 12.1 pounds as of this morning. And, although I would like a little more variety, I am doing just fine with the food and portions. Amazingly, it seems like a lot! I guess after the sheer volume of junk I'd been jamming down my throat in the past couple of months my boday has plenty of "reserves" to live off from.

Broke the 10 Pound Mark!!!

Yay!!! I am down 10.6 pounds as of this morning. I can not believe it :-) I think I can see it in my ankles, of all places. I'd really like to see it in my stomach!!

Went to a family birthday and just took my own dinner, so it was fine. Having people over tonight so it's another test.

I have been a little hungrier the past two days. I think it may be due to the fact that I am home so a little "boredom" has made me think I'm hungrier.

Hoping for an awesome second week!

Day 7

Yuck! I am down .5 lbs this morning. Very disappointing and I am trying to figure out why. Here's what I've come up with so far . . .

• I went out to meet a friend yesterday and drank a large peach iced tea. It wasn't sweetened but maybe the fruit essence/flavoring made a difference.
• Since I was out, I had my lunch about an hour and a half later than normal. Therefore, I also ate my dinner and fruit later than usual. Maybe this threw everything off.
• I put some new seasoning on my chicken last night. I used a little too much and it was REALLY salty!

Whatever, I am moving on today. I'll try and keep my meals spaced like they normally are and hold off on too much salt.

We have a birthday party tonight at Peter Piper Pizza. I really don't like Peter Piper, but being around food is definitely a temptation! I'll be taking my water :-)

Happy Saturday!!