End of Cycle Two

We made it!  We survived another cycle of the hCG diet, and again it was well worth our efforts.

This picture was taken on the morning of March 20th, our first day off the 500-calories-per-day part of the diet.  I still have 30-40 lbs I'd like to lose, but it sure beats how I looked in those first couple of "before" pictures over there in the left sidebar!  My net loss since the first cycle is only 18.4 lbs, but I think it still made a nice difference.  Above, 179 lbs on March 20th; below, 197 lbs on December 20th.

In all, I lost exactly 27.0 lbs during this second cycle.  If you subtract the 4.6 lbs I gained on the two days of gorging, I still lost 22.4 lbs.  If you also subtract the 4 lbs I gained during maintenance after my first cycle of hCG (exactly as much as I was allowed to gain), then that leaves my net loss of 18.4 lbs in 7 weeks.  I can live with that!

My total weight loss for the last 6 months is 64.3 lbs!  I consider that a milestone because in the past the most weight I ever managed to lose (on the Atkins diet in 2003) was 63 lbs.  Of course, I still have to lose 10 more pounds before I weigh the same as I did in the summer of 2003, but hey, at least I'm on my way!

Today I also measured myself for the first time since I began dieting last year.  I've lost 36 inches altogether!  Of course, I measured every conceivable body part!  I've lost 5 inches from my bust; 4.5 inches from my midriff; 10 inches from my waist; 8.5 inches from my hips; 4 inches from my thighs; half an inch from my ankles (I've always had skinny ankles); 2 inches from my upper arms; a quarter-inch from my wrists; and 1.5 inches from my neck.  No wonder my dress size has shrunk from 22/24 to 12!

This is my weight graph from this cycle.  It's not quite as steep as the graph from my first hCG cycle, but despite my frustration at how much slower the weight came off this time, this visual makes it clear that the losses were steady and more than adequate.  I hope I can be more patient next time!

This shot of Sarah was also taken on Saturday morning (March 20th).  She's not feeling like she made much progress, but I think these two photos show that this cycle truly did make a difference for her.  I can really see the change in her slimmer legs, waist, and shoulders.  She lost exactly 24.0 lbs this cycle, with a net loss of 15.6 lbs.

Below, Sarah on December 20th, at the end of her first hCG cycle and 33.6 lbs lighter.  Above, Sarah at the end of the second cycle and a total of 49.2 lbs lighter!!  She almost hit the 50-lb-loss mark.  That's okay, next time she'll surpass it!

As for Jacob, we took "before" photos but forgot to do his "after" shots.  As soon as we remedy that situation, I will post his before-and-after here on this blog.

By far, Jacob lost the most of the three of us, even though he stopped the diet 3 days earlier than Sarah and I.  At the end of his cycle he'd lost 33.8 lbs, and he looks great!

We are now halfway through our first week of maintenance, and I won't lie, it has been a nightmare!  Next week I'll do an update on what went wrong and the steps we are taking to remedy the problem.  Until then, please keep sending good thoughts our way!

HCG #2: Week Six

We are winding down to the final days of this hCG cycle.  I can almost taste the variety of good foods we'll get to eat next weekend!

It is exactly 6 weeks today (42 days) since we began the 500-calorie diet, and technically we should be done now.  However, Sarah and I decided to give ourselves five extra days to try and shed an extra pound or two.  We will stop the hCG drops after Tuesday (47 days on the hormone), and have our last day of the diet on Friday (48 days on 500 daily calories).

The day after that will be the first day of Spring Break.  The perfect time to start on maintenance!

Since my last post 6 days ago, I've lost another 2.6 lbs.  Still not as much as I'd like, but I'm very happy for a couple of reasons. 

First of all, I realized this week that I've now lost slightly more than a quarter of my former self (and I hope I never find it)!  That is an accomplishment! 

Secondly, as of today my Body Mass Index (BMI) finally dropped below 30.0.  That means I'm no longer "obese" according to the charts; now I am simply "overweight."  I can live with that while I maintain my new weight for the next 8 weeks.  (The length of maintenance increases between subsequent cycles of hCG).

My total weight loss is now 63.5 lbs.  Not bad, not bad at all! 

Sarah struggled again, but she lost 1.6 lbs this week, for a total of 46.6 lbs lost.  We're hoping she can get another pound or two off before we end the cycle this week.

Jacob had originally decided to end this cycle today.  He took the last of his drops on Thursday, planning to finish the diet today and start maintenance tomorrow.  Then on Friday morning, he found he'd lost 1.6 lbs.  This was big, because it finally put him below 200 lbs!  That was his main goal, and there it was staring him in the face from the scale: 199.8 lbs!   

I asked him if he was sure he wanted to stop now.  Odds were, his weight would bounce back up to 201 or 202 during maintenance if he stopped there.  He confessed that his main reason for wanting to quit now was his desire to eat the "good salsa" he'd bought for his SADD Club meeting coming up on Thursday.  He was tired of denying himself while everyone around him enjoyed the food. 

 

So we counted off the days and figured that he could stop the hCG drops today and finish the diet on Wednesday, just in time to enjoy the salsa (but no chips--remember, no grains, starches, or sugars during the first 3 weeks of maintenance).  He'll finish up just 2 days before Sarah and I do. 

Jacob is glad he waited.  He lost 4.2 lbs this week, for a total of 33.8 lbs in 6 weeks!  As of this morning my 6-foot son was down from 231 lbs to 197.6 lbs.  I'm so proud of him!  Now he should be able to maintain his weight at under 200 lbs, as long as he follows Dr. Simeons's guidelines.  Keep in mind that for 6 weeks Jacob is to neither gain nor lose more than 2 pounds.

And so here we go into the final stretch.  Wish us luck!

I dreamed up another new recipe this week, which we found surprisingly tasty:

Herbed Beef and Tomato Soup

300 grams 93% lean ground beef

1 can petite-diced tomatoes

1 can beef broth

1 can water

2 pinches each: thyme

                             tarragon

                        basil

Brown the meat, then combine all ingredients in a saucepan.  Simmer 20 minutes.  Serves 3.

I rarely cook with herbs unless I'm following a recipe someone else developed.  I don't really know what herbs are supposed to go with what foods.  For this soup, I let my nose be my guide.  I chose the three herbs that most pleased my sense of smell, and wow, we all loved the flavor of this soup!

Another new idea I had was to dress up my shrimp.  I've really missed cocktail sauce, and plain shrimp was getting boring.  Then I noticed that a teaspoon of this Louisiana hot pepper sauce has no calories.  I mixed 1 teaspoon of the sauce with a teaspoon of water and used it to dip my shrimp in.  Mmmm!  I'm not a big fan of super hot sauces, but served this way it gave the shrimp a nice kick and only lightly singed my lips! 

And no, you don't have to count the hot sauce as your dinner vegetable!

HCG #2: Week Five

Here we are at the end of our 5th week of the hCG diet.  We have just one week left, although Sarah and I are planning to continue for an additional 5 days, finishing up just in time to enjoy Spring Break.  Anything to try and get off a few last pesky pounds!

Jacob says he'll quit next weekend, at the end of the 40 days.  We'll see whether or not he changes his mind by then.

This week definitely went better for me.  Nothing exciting, but better. 

I hope this means my plateau has ended and I can lose consistently for the next 8 to 11 days.  Remember that you continue the 500-calorie diet for 3 days after completing the hCG drops.  Apparently most people stop losing weight after they stop taking the drops, despite the low-cal diet.  (Although that wasn't true for me last time; I went on to lose 2.2 lbs more during those final 3 days.)

I'm pleased to report that I've lost 3.2 lbs this week, for a total loss of 61 lbs!  And feeling pretty darn good about it!

I did a few things differently this week, but I have no way of knowing whether that contributed to having a better loss this week. 

First, I quit eating a daily apple.  I still eat an orange as a midmorning snack, but I've switched to strawberries for my evening snack.  Much lower in calories, plus I'm burnt out on apples, which have never been a favorite. 



Since strawberries are still ridiculously expensive (out of season), I buy frozen whole strawberries with no sugar added.  I split a 16-oz bag into 3 servings, then sprinkle on some Splenda and heat it in the microwave.  Mmmmm...

Second, on most days I cut out one or both servings of Melba toast.  It pretty much tastes like cardboard to me anyway.  (Now, if I could smear on some garlic butter or spinach dip...)  However, on particularly long days I still eat both servings.

Finally, I was browsing some hCG websites and found one that claimed their clients seemed to fare better if they split their dose of hCG into 6 doses: 6 drops under the tongue 6 times per day.  I believe they said that equated to 1.2 cc (or mL) of hCG per day, which is the amount I was taking with my thrice a day doses.  It made sense to me that it might help to keep the hormone in your system more often throughout the day, so I've been trying it for the past 10 days or so.

Since I did not approach these changes in anything remotely resembling a scientific method, I can't say for sure whether any or all of them made a difference, or whether my plateau simply came to an end.  However, I mention them as possible things to try if any of you hCG dieters get stuck and want some ideas to possibly get the weight loss moving again.

I might add that I cheated last week for the very first time.  Could that have helped?  I don't know, but sometimes I wonder if I have to convince my body or mind that it's not being deprived before it will let go of the fat.  It wasn't a huge cheat, but I did "lick" the bowl (scraping it clean with a spoon) after making chocolate pudding mixed with crumbled Oreos and Cool Whip for a children's activity.  I did it twice, and I still lost weight on both mornings after!  So, who knows?

Sarah and Jacob had a tougher time this week.  Jacob only lost 0.2 lb for a total loss of 29.2 lbs.  Of course, he's lost so much weight so quickly, I think his body is just taking a breather to adjust to the new weight.  I told him it's probably a good thing at this point.

Last week we were so hopeful that Sarah's plateau had ended, but apparently not.  Sarah didn't lose at all this week, but she is totally maintaining her 45 lb. loss.  I think I'll suggest she try the 6 drops 6 times daily and see if it really does make a difference.  Please think good thoughts for her!  I know she's very frustrated.

We didn't come up with any new recipes to share this week.  We're getting so close to the end of this cycle that, when we think about food, our minds begin drifting toward visions of the lovely variety of flavors we'll be allowed to enjoy during maintenance!

This cycle has been much tougher than the first one Sarah and I did.  Even so, when I think of how much better I feel about myself and the fun of trying on new clothes that both fit and look nice, I must say it has been TOTALLY worth the effort!