P3! And...a long-awaited update...

Okay, so I stopped writing in here for a few reasons:

1) Didn't want to spend the entire time whining about being stalled :D

2) I got VERY busy. VERY.

So...sorry about that!! I'm back, and here's my update.

To break the stall, I did a few things:

1) Waited it out

2) Removed all the fruit and starches and replaced with extra protein

3) Ate an additional 100-200 calories daily

Will this work for everyone? Probably not, but it did for me! After about two weeks or so after my TOM, I was rewarded with a four pound drop! That's twenty-four pounds lost in total (including the load days weight).

My current weight is 126. Six pounds is certainly not enough to do another round of hcg, nor do I feel the need. I plan to burn it off with P90X! I'm just crazy like that. ^_^

I'm currently on day 4 of P3, and finding it a bit harder than P2. P2 is more regimented, you know what to eat and how much of it to eat. Not so much with P3, and EVERYONE is different so it's hard to say how your body will react to what and how much. I'm trying to do my best to just eat clean, avoid carbs and sugars when I can, and only get them through my daily fruit intake in my breakfast smoothie but it's nerve wracking! :O

I'm up about two pounds or so, and in spite of the fact that I HAVE dropped additional inches and it's likely to be water retention, I'm doing a protein day today anyway. Better safe than sorry! A protein day for me when I eat nothing but low or no carb sources of veggie protein. Given I'm doing P90X (yes I'm crazy!) this isn't necessarily a bad thing for a day! Also making sure to drink lots of water and green tea.

So that's it from me! Yes, all you naysayers--I managed to be vegan AND lose the weight on hcg, and watch me keep it off. You go on and gnash your teeth, I'll be here in my size two jeans. *mwah*

Also, one quick note...I really do love P90X. Tony Horton has a really great sense of humor and he cracks me up. I love him! Smile when you do those workouts and it hurts less. :D

HCG Day 20, 21, and 22

Wow, what a busy week! Sorry for the delays in writing.

I'm currently stalled on my weight loss so I'm just hanging in there, getting in as much water as I can and taking my protein in the form of powder with soups. It's so cold out (brr!) that I really don't mind the hot meals.

Last night I made my tomato and basil soup in advance, brought in my protein powder to work, heated up the soup in the microwave then added the powder. Delicious! I should do that more often. ^_^ I had it with a handful of strawberries and a breadstick.

I'm wearing more jeans than I could before. I'm not quite to wearing EVERYTHING I own yet, but I have an "almost" pile. I definitely look different, especially from the side. My profile is so much leaner, clothes that were previously tight on me are now very loose and I have two pairs of jeans I can take off without unbuttoning. :D

Tonight is Indian style soup with tomatoes and the protein powder. Not sure what my fruit will be just yet, but thinking a grapefruit would be lovely.

Current weight: 130
Goal weight: 120

HCG Day 19

Another pound bites the dust! :D

Just 10 more to go...

Breakfast: detox tea with stevia

Lunch: meatless soy crumbles, cucumber and dill salad, 1 handful strawberries, 1 breadstick

Snack: Melba toast

Dinner: tomato and basil soup (with a liiiittle too much red pepper, oh dear) with protein powder, 1/2 grapefruit

Current weight: 130
Goal weight: 120

HCG Day 17 & 18

Did an apple day yesterday as I had some bloating going on--which I should've recognized as a symptom of mild dehydration but didn't, and found myself paying the price for not having had enough water the day prior. Got VERY sick, went away with fluids and lots of rest. But I persevered! I'm now down another pound and feeling much better.

Please please please learn from me: you need a LOT of water on this diet, and I naturally need a lot of water to begin with. I'm okay now, didn't need a hospital trip or anything. But you need fluids, lots of them, especially if you go for long walks like I did yesterday and out dancing like I did the night before.

Breakfast: detox tea with stevia

Lunch: 1 serving steamed tofu with onion, garlic, and ginger with Bragg's liquid aminos, cucumber and dill salad, 1 handful strawberries.

Snack: 1 Grissini breadstick

Dinner: tomato basil & protein soup, 1/2 grapefruit, lemonade made with stevia and juice of one lemon.

Snack: 1 melba toast

Current weight: 131
Goal weight: 120

HCG Day 16

Down a whole pound! YES!

I even tried on some jeans I haven't been able to wear in years. They fit.

I'm so happy I'm crying. ^_^;;

Breakfast: Detox tea with vanilla stevia

Lunch: 1 serving lite silken tofu with 1 serving with kale, steamed with ginger, garlic, onion, and Bragg's liquid aminos, 1 handful of strawberries with chocolate stevia

Snack: breadstick

Dinner: soup made with water, basil, onion, garlic, oregano and a dash of paprika with the protein powder, asparagus cooked in red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, and basil, 1 orange.

Snack: 1 melba toast

Current weight: 132

Goal weight: 120

HCG Day 15

Down another .5 pound! I can't wait until my TOM is over, lalala...

Oh I know. I'm being impatient. Where else can I lose half a pound a day and I'm COMPLAINING! I will hush, and continue my good work.

Breakfast: detox tea with stevia

Lunch: 1 Boca burger with spicy brown mustard, cucumber and dill salad, 1 handful of strawberries, one melba toast.

Dinner: I went Indian this time! Red curry, cumin, corriander, ginger, garlic, and onion with tomatoes, cooked as a soup with the Garden of Life protein added after. Yum. 1/2 grapefruit, homemade lemonade with stevia, 1 breadstick.

Going out dancing tonight! Yay.

Current weight: 133
Goal weight: 120

HCG Day 14

The weight loss has definitely slowed down, but I'm not officially over with that whole female monthly thing yet, either. Hoping once I am there'll be a nice drop!

I am drinking a ton of water, but with allergy season upon us I need to drink even more. That might also help! ^_^

Breakfast: detox tea with stevia

Lunch: 1 serving meatless crumbles, cucumber and dill salad, 1 handful strawberries, melba toast

Dinner: the usual tomato and basil, but I added some oregano and red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick! 1/2 grapefruit, lemonade with juice from one lemon, lemon stevia, and reg stevia. And oh, a breadstick.

Current weight: 133.5
Goal weight: 120

HCG Day 12 & 13

Still fighting through the plateau. I hear this is common for women during TOM. But I'm impatient, so I went for another apple day yesterday.

And eureka! Another pound gone. :D

Breakfast: detox tea with stevia

Lunch: 1 Gardein chik'n scallopini, diced cucumbers with dill, garlic, and onion powder, a handful of strawberries.

Snack: 1 breadstick

Dinner: tomato and basil soup with Garden of Life protein, 1/2 grapefruit, 1 breadstick.

Current weight: 134
Goal weight: 120

HCG day 11

Stalled again. :( Given it's that TOM, I shouldn't be surprised. Also I don't think I drank enough water today, and well...things just aren't moving as they should. So I'm going to drink far more water today, take in as much in the way of liquid as possible, and eat vegetables like cucumbers.

I've also decided that when I'm done with the HCG diet, I'd like to experiment with raw veganism. I'd probably never be fully raw but I think it'd be healthier for me. Plus I have a juicer. ^_^

I'm already down 15 pounds. I can do this!

Breakfast: Smooth Move tea with vanilla stevia

Lunch: 1 apple and celery in a juicer with ginger and Garden of Life raw protein

Snack: 1 melba toast

Dinner: 1 orange, 1 bag of spinach, 1 lemon in a juicer with ginger and Garden of Life raw protein

Snack: 1 breadstick

Next time I leave out the lemon. It's just that the one orange and the spinach didn't yield enough juice! So I added stevia and chugged. Live and learn...

Current weight: 135
Goal weight: 120

HCG Day 10

Down another pound and a half, and all of 15 more to go! :D

Breakfast: detox tea with vanilla stevia

Snack: 1 Grissini breadstick

Lunch: tomato and basil soup with natural vegan protein powder, but no broth this time--made my own! Brought strawberries over to a BBQ event for my fruit.

Dinner: 1 veg burger, and grilled asparagus with red wine vinegar, garlic, onion, and oregano. Best ever!
Dessert was my baked apple with cinnamon and stevia.

I succeeded in going to a BBQ event and STAYED ON TRACK! :D

Current Weight: 135
Goal Weight: 120

THIS IS NOT AN ANOREXIA BLOG!

I am painfully aware that I must be a responsible individual, and hence am including this warning/advice for those reading this blog and wondering how to get the results I am getting.

I don't want people trying this VLCD (very low calorie diet) without doing it on the HCG program, either taking the injection or the drops, homeopathic or not. IT WILL NOT WORK. You will put your body into starvation mode, your health will suffer, and any attempt to eat more will cause the weight to gain back and then some.

Please believe and listen to me! I'm not a stranger to fitness or nutrition. I work out heavily (P90X grad!), I know what works and what doesn't. When I was inactive and ate less than 1,000 calories a day I weighed more than when I was working out and eating 1400-1600 calories per day.

Also, I don't recommend this diet for anyone only looking to lose 5-10 pounds. This is a good diet if you have 20 or more to lose, HAVE tried conventional methods and know in your gut that something just isn't right and you need a detox. This may look like a quick fix, but not if you intend to go back to eating fast food, fried food, and very little in the way of fruits and vegetables.

I have had people laugh at me being vegan, having some not-strictly-protocol foods and claim that this diet won't work for me and I'll gain it all back--and why don't I just eat meat like a normal person. o_O Yes, I'm sure if I went to couch-and-eating like many people of this culture it wouldn't. I'm not sedentary. I work out 6-7 days a week doing HIIT training, regular cardio (running, elliptical, etc), strength training, and yoga. I also know how to acclimate one's diet carefully once you're at your goal weight so you don't gain it back and you're sure that your metabolic rate can handle it. And the only way to do that? Exercise.

So, in short...I won't be sitting on my butt eating bon-bons after this diet. ^_^ I'm sure for a lot of you that would be your dream! But it's an unrealistic dream. Even if you try this diet, please please please...eat a clean diet and start exercising. And if you don't believe me nor know where to begin, please watch this movie: http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com

Thank you for listening. ^_^ If I sounded harsh, I'm sorry. This is me being fiercely compassionate! I'm only deathly afraid that desperate teens and other well-intentioned but uninformed souls will stumble into here and think that starving themselves is the answer to a perfect body. It isn't. Please, take good care of your body. You only get one per lifetime....

HCG day 8 and 9

I stalled yesterday, no weight loss. So I decided to go for an apple day! I eat 6 large apples from lunch to lunch of the next day. So rather than write up yesterday as a boring post of "here's all the times I ate baked apples with cinammon and stevia", I'd combine the day's posts.

The stall could've been something I ate, but I'm more inclined to say that since I started this when I did and I'm due in a few days, it's undoubtedly water retention. I will keep a close eye on my meals, however.

Today's lunch consists of two apples cooked in the microwave with cinnamon and stevia. Now, I'm sure some of you are reading this and thinking, "Why not eat them raw??" Well, the answer is two-fold: 1) they taste better cooked and 2) I have a raw fruit allergy. So this works for me, and I think the cinnamon is a good spice to have to aid digestion anyhow, so no worries there!

And...it worked! Happy to say that I've down another 2.5 pounds today! :D

Breakfast: water

Lunch: those two delicious apples with cinnamon and stevia

Dinner: The remaining meatless crumbles with the tomato-basil salad, tossed into a wok and cooked with a bit of extra spices, a melba toast crumbled on top, 1/2 grapefruit.

Snack: chai with vanilla stevia and 1 TBL unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Current weight: 136.5
Goal weight: 120

HCG day 7!

Down another pound! woooo And new numbers! I love it when I see the new numbers. ^_^ That's 6 total since the third day. :D

Breakfast: detox tea with stevia

Lunch: meatless crumbles with the tomato and basil salad, 1 handful strawberries

Snack: 2 grissini breadsticks

Dinner: I tried a different soup this time: "no-chicken" broth, some onion powder, onion flakes, rosemary, garlic, basil with the protein powder. Delicious! :D Also had baked kale with garlic and Bragg's Liquid Aminos, 1 apple baked in microwave with vanilla flavored stevia and cinnamon, and lemonade made from the juice of one lemon, lemon stevia, and water.

Current Weight: 139
Goal Weight: 120

Finding time for mindfulness

I live a really busy life and have found it sometimes hard to maintain that very special mindset, especially with a busy career.  Some people take walks during lunch, others keep reminders by them on their desks, others are lucky to live lives where their jobs are more in keeping with their spiritual lifestyle.

Maybe it's the constant "always on the computer" thing, which encourages multitasking. And reminds you of either work or socializing--neither of which are conducive to actually being chill and observing the rest of the world around you, or allowing  yourself time to introspect.

I am trying to find ways to incorporate mindfulness every day. I meditate before I go to bed. I have regular rituals I do weekly, monthly--or as occasion calls for it.

But it's not easy! I'm looking for more ways. Perhaps in looking I will become more mindful without the effort of doing so. ^_^

HCG day 6

Down another .5 pounds! :D I NEVER lose weight the week before my TOM. Ever! *does a little dance*

Breakfast: detox yogi tea with stevia

Lunch: 1 Gardein chik'n scallopini, 1/4 cucumber with dill, garlic, and onion powder, 1 handful of strawberries

Snack: the two grissini breadsticks.

Dinner: tomato and basil soup with Garden of Life protein powder, 1/2 grapefruit, lemonade made with juice from one lemon/water/lemon stevia.

I could eat this soup every day. IT'S THAT GOOD. ^_^

Current weight: 140
Goal weight: 120

HCG Day 5...

Down only about .5 pound this time. Going to go for the smoothie and apple-protein option today! I am undoubtedly experiencing probs from creeping up on that TOM in a few days *coughs*, but better safe than sorry.

Breakfast: Tulsi red chai masala tea with a packet of vanilla stevia

Lunch: 1 protein smoothie made with Sunwarrior vanilla protein and a handful of strawberries, cucumber and dill salad, 1 melba toast.

Snack: detox tea with stevia

Dinner: tomato and basil soup with Garden of Life protein powder added, 1 apple with cinnamon and stevia and vanilla stevia

After the disaster of the smoothie for lunch (I couldn't even finish it), the soup I created was an absolute genius! Here's the recipe:

3 roma tomatoes (105 calories)
vegetable stock, no salt added (25 calories)
fresh basil
garlic powder
a pinch of onion flakes
grated black pepper

The protein added to it after cooking was 80 calories, so on the whole was a nice 210 calorie soup! I'd eat it even off the diet, it was THAT good. I think it's the only way for me to choke down the powder, which you not only can't even taste in there but adds a creaminess to the soup which was awesome. Five stars!

My only concern is that it would mean constantly eating tomatoes as my vegetable. I'd have to break it up with cucumbers and lettuce from time to time, and then how do I do the soup?

Current weight: 140.5
Goal weight: 120

Why this journey?

I am no stranger to weight loss. Once upon a time I lost 100 lbs. I was not heavy my whole life; a combination of  the aftereffects of serious illness, food intolerance, and college eating skills made me gain seventy-five of those pounds. I spent the entire year after college losing the weight by eating right, watching portions, and learning how to eat.

That sounds strange, doesn't it? Learning how to eat. Shouldn't that be intuitive? ^_~ It isn't though! We live in a culture that eats all kinds of junk and calls it food, we're so detached from what we put in our bodies that people laugh at the idea of not eating dead animal flesh and yet go out and campaign against animal cruelty. There's no logic in that, same as there's no logic in eating stuff that has ingredients you can't pronounce, a ton of sugar and corn syrup, and don't get me started on fried food!

Keeping the weight off was easy...until the following happened:

1) I went inactive. I stopped working out, and hence shut down the lovely high metabolism I had worked so hard to gain.

2) A great deal of personal stress and trauma. I am still clearing out the toxic waste put into my system from so many months of going back and forth between healing and sliding backwards. I am now on a pathway to healing! And I am determined not to let the past win over me.

3) I stopped being as careful as I had been before as to what I put into my body.

It all adds up! And it's never fun. So now I'm seeking to reverse my personal trend, and let me tell you...it is EMPOWERING. I'm not doing this to be a supermodel, date hot guys, or impress my family and friends--I'm doing it for me. And frankly that's the best person to do it for!

Say it with me, loud and clear: you can do anything you want as long as you put your mind to it!

HCG Day 4! :D

In a fantastic mood this morning! The sun is out finally (boo hiss Irene) and it's gorgeous outside!

Also...down four pounds! It took me three months to lose eight! That was with healthy diet and exercise. I knew I desperately needed a detox. I'm so glad I went on this diet! I have been going up and down 15-20 every year, always around the winter time...it's the same deal, over and over again...I go inactive from working out due to crazy holiday season, I get sick, and bam...before I know it, it's the perfect storm. No more!!

Breakfast: Earl Grey tea with stevia

Lunch: 1 handful strawberries, 1 serving meatless crumbles, tomato & basil mixture with crumbled melba toast

Snack: Detox tea with stevia, Zevia ginger ale

Dinner: 1 Gardein chick'n scallopini baked in Bragg's animos, roasted kale with garlic, Bragg's aminos, and sea salt, 1/2 grapefruit.

Current weight: 141
Goal weight: 120

HCG day 3

Did some Qi Gong and Tai Chi last night, perfect end to the day!

Breakfast: detox tea with vanilla stevia

Lunch: 1 serving meatless crumbles with the tomato & basil mixture, 1/2 grapefruit.

Snack: 1 Grissini breadstick

Dinner: Vega protein mixed with one apple put into the microwave with cinnamon and nutmeg, and some cucumber dill salad, 1 melba toast.

Snack: yogi tea with 1 tbl of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and stevia

I've finally lost the weight I had gained during the load days! I was afraid to step on the scale until I could tell from looking at my body that it was back to normal. :-/ Now to lose the rest. Side note: if I wanted further proof that eating junk food was bad for me, my complexion going to hell in two days plus all the bloating definitely proved it!!

Current weight: 145
Goal weight: 120

HCG day 2

Breakfast: detox tea with stevia

Lunch: 1 Gardein chik'n scallopini and baked kale with Braggs Liquid aminos with garlic powder, half of one grapefruit.

Dinner: 1 packet chocolate Sun Warrior protein with a handful of strawberries and water for my smoothie, and the lovely tomato and basil salad with the crumbled melba toast on top.

People are right about this diet--so far am NOT starving! I plan to do some Qi Gong tonight to mellow out my chi. ^_^

HCG day 1 - it begins!!

First of all my poor stomach is still in recovery from the past two days. Last night my stomach swelled up to pregnancy standards, took some meds and plenty of water and it's nearly back to its usual flat state. YES, I have a flat stomach, my abs are probably one of my best features.

Breakfast: detox yogi tea with stevia

Lunch: Sunwarrior natural flavored protein in water with chocolate stevia, a tomato and fresh basil salad with onion and garlic powder and a piece of crumbled melba toast with some freshly ground black pepper, and a handful of strawberries.

Dinner: cucumber salad with dill, onion power, and garlic powder, and the handful of strawberries went into the blender with vanilla stevia and Garden of Life protein powder, plus one Grissini breadstick.

I need to find new things to do with the protein powder and figure out how much stevia to use, or I will go nuts. I wound up chugging this mixture, and the strawberries were the only thing that saved it. I could use some good vegan P2 protein advice here....

HCG Vegan Protocol - Load day #1

So I've decided to give the HCG diet a try. I've done VLCD in the distant past, the key was how you transitioned afterward. You could NOT imagine yourself sedentary towards the end, you have to work out and gradually up the calories. Since I've already been consistently active for the past four months I don't think I'll have a problem with that!

My goal is to ditch 25 pounds. Wish me luck!!

Yesterday's load day:

Breakfast: PB&J, with LOTS of PB.

Snack: a cinnamon and raisin scone, a large soy Earl Grey latte.

Lunch: falafel and hummus rollup with fries

Snack: two chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered almonds from Taza

Dinner: Two slices of vegan pizza with jalapenos, tomatoes, garlic, and moz Daiya cheese, cheesy breadsticks with Daiya cheese. Mmm mmm, Daiya cheese!

At first this seemed like fun--yay all of my favorite vegan junk food! Didn't I mention the other day that we're not starving?? But wow, I never want to look at all of this stuff ever again. I think load days were invented so you load up so much on this stuff that not touching it for a month sounds positively exquisite.

Today is load day #2, my breakfast is cookies. Like I'm a little kid or something. *facepalm*

I'm soooo fullllll.... O_O;

Skinny, sickly vegans?

The urge to laugh hysterically overwhelms me when I hear from people who claim that all vegans are skinny, emaciated, sickly looking. I mean, do these vegans look sickly to you:




Brendan Brazier - www.brendanbrazier.com/


 Robert Cheeke - www.robertcheeke.com/

 
Giacomo Marchese - http://veganproteins.com/vegan-brothers-in-iron/giacomo-marchese.html
(and he's a RAW vegan! WOW)

Then there's Scott Jurek, the ultramarathoner. Wonderful article on him here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/sports/13runner.html

Anyhow, as you can see...we're not starving. ^_^ In fact, another blog post on that in a bit! I can't wait.