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LIW - 163.0 lbs (05.28.08)
Today’s Weight - 164.0 lbs
1.0 OVER LIW

Still within the limits - just where I want to be. As you can well imagine, I have been very busy as of late. Add to everything else that is on my plate, this is the last week of school for my kids. So end of year activities are pretty much filling up my time.

Dinner was totally scrumptious last night. We had “Tuna Carpaccio” - one of my husband’s most delicious meals, and I have to say it was divine. He makes it with Sashimi grade tuna with avocado, mango, papaya and green onion, with his own special sauce. We ate late, so that is why I have a feeling the weight is a bit up today. And of course it has soy sauce, and the sodium was sky high so a .6 gain is A-OK.

Thank you all for the continuing well wishes and the understanding in my absence. I go back on P2 on Monday so you know my mind will be much clearer and I will be able to pick up where I left off on my “SuperFoods” discussion. My next discussion will center around “Pumpkin” - so plan on that on Monday.

Deviations

Deviations seem to be a topic of conversation these days over on the My HCG Journey Community Forums - there seems to be a lot of this going on within the first round of the protocol. It saddens me that this is happening, but I can’t help but wonder if the vets (such as myself) are partly to blame. People that are new to the protocol could very well come to my blog and see that yes, I do indeed eat broccoli, I do have cottage cheese, I have used Parmesean Cheese sprinkled on my salad, but what they do NOT understand is that I have been on this for almost a year. I have figured out what works and what doesn’t for MY body. These people are assuming that just because it works for me, that it will work for them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Way back last year, at the end of September there was a big blowout over at the YahooGroups (both the HCG2 and the HCGDieters) about someone new coming on board and letting everyone know one that they had just discovered a miracle, they could eat “NOODLES” on protocol and still lose weight. Most of my long time readers will remember this, we all called it “NOODLEGATE” - we laugh about it now, but the points made during that time were very pertinent. I went nosing around to some of my old posts and I found one in particular that I wanted to share with you today. Keep in mind I wrote this on September 24, 2007 - but the feelings and sentiment that I shared in this post are things that I still feel today. I have grown alot in this protocol since this time, but I totally BELIEVE in what I wrote, even today. Keep in mind that I wrote this while on my 2nd Round (I have removed any names that I didn’t get permission to reprint):

****,

Where as I totally agree with *****’s post on the other board for precisely the reasons you brought out in your last paragraph, I totally agree with you also.

Some weeks ago I was talking to JPS about some things and the remark I made to her was on the same grounds as your remark. I told her that the yahoo group is basically a research study in what works and what doesn’t. I told her that with the wide diversity of people that there is on the board we are creating our own research study results.

But with like every research study results, in order for something to work for the masses, you have to bring things down to the lowest common denominator. So with the testing grounds that Dr S had in his time, he had to figure out what was going to work for every single person across the board. He had to bring his diet into a field where if anyone one did it, they were going to have similar results. He couldn’t possibly come up with a diet that would change from female to male, from age 45 to 25, from really obese to only needing to lose 15 pounds.

So my thoughts are this, and they always have been this:

You WILL have success on this protocol if you follow Dr S by the book. But you COULD also have success if you deviate for what is good for YOUR body. What is good for MY body is not what will work for YOUR body. I do believe in something NHW once told my sister in that “you will lose weight on this with whatever you eat as long as it totals 500 calories or less - you may not lose as fast as you would if you followed the menu, but you will lose faster than with any other diet” - and for some, quite frankly, this is all it is, a “diet”. To me, it’s something FAR different. But you know what? NHW has been around for 17+ years and it has worked all that time with them.

Because all of this ‘case’ studies we are doing with ourselves is in the infancy stages, we really don’t know what the final results will be. I have faith in knowing that because of the way I felt in phase 3, I feel my hypothalamus has been reset. Will these people who are deviating radically who get into phase 3 feel the same way? We don’t know because they are not there yet. I totally disagree with doing something this far from the protocol in your first round. Do the program the way it works, then make your changes if you have subsequent rounds to go.

I know I for one am not as completely anal this round as I was last round. My husband brought home a new beer a few days ago and was shocked when I told him I wanted a taste. Just a tiny sip - it didn’t hurt me. Last round I would NEVER have eaten beef twice in one day…this round? I don’t care. If it stalls me, I know what I did and will back up and try again. I can do these things because I know what to expect.

Ok…now I have written a novel. I hope I don’t get flamed. I am still a “purist” - but I am also, if you got 100 pounds or more to lose, you gotta make this protocol your own. Just my thoughts, and I am sticking to it.

Biz

So there you have it. Even 8 months later, I feel the same way. Don’t mess up your first round, do it BY THE BOOK - that first round teaches you SO VERY MUCH it’s not even funny. It teaches you your attachment to foods, it teaches you how your emotions are tied up in your eating. It teaches you how to be content with little. It teaches you how to appreciate MIXING VEGGIES! Ok, I had to throw that one in.

When you get to be in Round 5 like me, then you can experiment with different things, see how they work for you. But let the process work like it should. You will be happy you did.

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R5P2 Starting Weight 176.8
Yesterday - 165.2
Today - 165.4
0.2 lb GAIN Overnight
3.4 lb Over LIW of Round Four (162.0)
11.4 Lost Since Start of R5C1 (VLCD) 05/06/08
85.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Ok, this is getting simply ridiculous! ROFL - In all my rounds I have never done this two steps forward, one step back thing. But I had to experience it sometime, I guess. I wonder if I am more issues this time with TOM because I am at a lower weight? I have to remember what Dr S says:

any gain of more than 100 grams is invariably the result of some transgression or mistake

So since .2 lbs is only around 90 grams, there is nothing for me to worry about. So again, another chalk one up to TOM and be on with my day!

I didn’t eat anything yesterday off protocol. I had a smoothie for lunch of cottage cheese, grapefruit, cocoa, and spinach. And then for dinner I had P2 spaghetti sauce with green beans. Oh well. I am still on target.

Phase Two Deviation Recovery

Ok, it happens - at least at one point in a round, something will happen and we either eat too much food, have a protein craving, we are stuck out unprepared, but we eat something we don’t mean to and the next morning we are faced with a gain. There are tricks that might help when such occurrences happen.

Please keep in mind before I offer these suggestions, that this does NOT give you the license to deviate. I am only trying to provide some guidance if the situation was truly unplanned or unexpected. And yes, these things DO happen. Life happens. And these suggestions will help you get past these places and move on. Please remember that Dr Simeons says the following (under “Duration of Treatment“):

It seems that even in the mildest cases of obesity the diencephalon requires about three weeks rest from the maximal exertion to which it has been previously subjected in order to regain fully its normal fat-banking capacity.

That being said, and I am NO doctor or research scientist, but I do have a feeling that Dr Simeons saying you need at least 21 days of rest for your diencephelon in order for the course to be effective means just that. It needs to rest for 21 days. So keep that in mind if you suffer a deviation. It just MIGHT be harder for you to stabilize in Phase 3 should you deviate in Phase 2, unless, after the deviation, you give your diencephelon an additional 21 days to rest. Make sense? I’m just sayin …

Ok, so you find yourself in this predicament, and you are 1 - 2 lbs heavier the next morning, what to do? The point is to fix this issue as soon as it happens, don’t give up, get right back on that band wagon and start again. Here are TWO suggestions for deviation recovery:

1) Modified P2 Steak Day - Easy enough. You save all of your allowed protein for a supper meal - 7 oz of whatever protein you choose. What works best is the beef, but there are people out there with an aversion to beef, so pick your protein. 7 ounces tops raw, and then with an apple or tomato. Nothing to eat during the day, only waters, teas or coffee (without cream). This will produce a lost sometimes of the whole gain, or very close to it. In my research, will not be followed by a bounce back.

2) Modified P2 Egg Day - Now this can be handled two ways, one you can use real eggs. The other you can use Egg Beaters - your choice. If you use real eggs, your choices are very limited as real eggs add up very fast. The trick is to maintain the 500 cals on an “egg day”. Since one egg as a whole equals around 75 cals, you can have 6 whole eggs in a day. If you choose to use Egg Beaters with yolk, you can get up to 12.5 servings (since one serving is 40 cals).

Keep in mind, with my research, the P2 Steak Day seems to have more success than a P2 Egg Day, so the choice is yours. In any case, here is help for you to recover from a Phase Two deviation!

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R5P2 Starting Weight 176.8
Yesterday - 168.0
Today - 168.4
0.4 lb GAIN Overnight
6.4 lb Over LIW of Round Four (162.0)
8.4 Lost Since Start of R5C1 (VLCD) 05/06/08
82.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Oops, it’s in the wrong direction - but as my title shows, Aunt Flo came a calling during the night and I woke up with a small gain. So that must be it, it couldn’t have been what I ate yesterday could it?

Ok, EweWho is gonna crack up at me, cause I told her last night, shhhhh, don’t tell anyone, but I deviated at a get together yesterday. And she says, Biz, I wont have to tell on you, you will tell on yourself. How much she knows me!

We had a function to go to after our services yesterday, it was something we were invited to last minute and my family wanted to go, so we went. When I got there, there was a SPREAD that you wouldn’t believe, and all things SOUTHERN. OMG - what was I gonna do? We were invited on Saturday to this function, so I had enough to plan, so I said to myself, I will take a nice large veggie tray, make a dip that was relatively P2 legal and I would have fun with that.

Yesterday morning, I should have just stayed in bed. In retrospect, it was Aunt Flo taking over the day, but yesterday morning I didn’t know that. I went to the store to buy the various veggies, and the power went out in the store while I was there, sign number ONE I should have stayed in bed. Sign number TWO was when I got home and tried to make TWO different veggie dips to take to this thing, and both of them turned out like super ICK. And I consider myself a pretty darn good cook, yet things were NOT coming together. So after our services, we stopped at a store to go ahead and buy a premade dip and take that.

As you can imagine, I was already with “ATTITUDE” when we got there, so when I saw all that NUMMY food, I was like, OMG - I am SO in trouble. Funny how when Aunt Flo is in the house, all will power is thrown on the window. Again, if I would have KNOWN that Aunt Flo was the culprit, I could have been better prepared MENTALLY. As it stands, I started wrestling with my thoughts. Hmm, look at this great week I just had, I can afford to eat some of this and some of that with no issues. Let me tell you the menu:

• Collards
• Cornbread (one of my weaknesses)
• Beans and Rice (another one of my weaknesses)
• Lasagna
• Waldorf Salad (no nuts, and with sweetener instead of sugar)
• Regular Salad
• Broccoli Chicken Salad (with bacon bits, craisons, sunflower kernels and a dressing)
• Fried Chicken
• Rotisserie Chicken
• Boiled Cabbage
• HOME MADE DESSERTS!

So what did I deviate with? When JPS heard what I ate, she was like, that wasn’t a deviation! LOL - but to me it was. I had like THREE servings of the Waldorf Salad (it had mayo, raisins, cabbage, apples, and sweetener), a few bites of the rotisserie chicken, some boiled cabbage (didn’t eat the ham in it, but could taste the salt) and a BITE of Beans and Rice - literally, just a BITE. But I left EVERYTHING else ALONE. So all in all, I did really well. The Waldorf Salad was SO good I didn’t feel deprived in anyway.

All in all, I probably didn’t have MORE than 500 calories yesterday anyway, because after this function I didn’t eat anything else, just drank my water.

So what does that mean for me today? I am gonna do a modified “egg day” - I bought some Egg Beaters (I know, I know, gross out) and I will have 500 calories worth of this today. I am bound and determined to reach my goal of 16.8 pounds this cycle, so I will do whatever it takes. Now that I know Aunt Flo is in town, I can work my mind correctly.

Just because I gained, does not mean I wont post my percentages. They still make me feel better. So, what are those percentages?

• Round 1 (4 completed days) - 3.35% of body weight lost
• Round 2 (4 completed days) - 3.54% of body weight lost
• Round 3 (4 completed days) - 4.97% of body weight lost
• Round 4 (4 completed days) - 5.64% of body weight lost
• Round 5 (4 completed days) - 4.75% of body weight lost

Ok, so, I am not doing so good this round as my 3rd and 4th round, but I can STILL turn it around!!! At least it’s better than my 1st and 2nd round! ROFL - oh how we justify things when Aunt Flo is in the midst. I will probably feel differently tomorrow. We shall see.

So anyway, that is my day for today. I am on day 7, 6 days complete, 8.4 lbs lost. Still, that ain’t so bad. Have a good one people!

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R5P2 Starting Weight 176.8
Yesterday - 169.0
Today - 168.0
1.0 lb LOSS Overnight
6.0 lb Over LIW of Round Four (162.0)
8.8 Lost Since Start of R5C1 (VLCD) 05/06/08
82.8 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Lookie there, another one pounder! WOW - what can I say? I must be doing something right eh? This makes 8.8 lbs in 5 completed days, a loss average of 1.76 lbs a day. What are my percentages?

• Round 1 (4 completed days) - 3.35% of body weight lost
• Round 2 (4 completed days) - 3.54% of body weight lost
• Round 3 (4 completed days) - 4.24% of body weight lost
• Round 4 (4 completed days) - 5.53% of body weight lost
• Round 5 (4 completed days) - 4.98% of body weight lost

WOW - my 4th round really rawked didn’t it? OMG! Look at those numbers!!! I am still doing well, very close to my previous round numbers, and definitely on track to reach my goal for this cycle. WOO HOO FOR ME.

I touched on this a bit yesterday, but I want to reiterate it for clarification. This is my 5th and final round. I have, in my OH SO HUMBLE opinion, earned the right to fiddle with the protocol per the needs of my body. I have found so far this round that I only eat when hungry (if you can call it hunger) and if I desire something that might not be under protocol standards, I eat it. But, in so doing, I keep the following in mind at all times:

• I must stay under 500 calories
• I must get an average of 50 grams of protein per day
• I must keep things natural, no processed garbage (remember Noodlegate and my Flat Bread Fiasco?)

That being said, my menu yesterday consisted of:

• Small piece of chicken (under the 3.5 oz)
• Small piece of ground beef patty (under the 3.5 oz)
• Cottage Cheese and Blueberries
• A Fruit Cup (no sugar added, my family went to Chick-Fil-A yesterday and I wanted to have something)
• Mixed Spring Greens with Balsamic and an ounce of Feta

I was THRILLED with what I ate, I stayed under my 500 calories, I ate natural, I met my goal of at least 50 grams of protein AND I lost a pound. So I would say my choices are good. Again, after being on the protocol for 21 solid weeks, I have figured out what works and what doesn’t work with my body, and I am choosing to do what works. I really hope that people that are reading this, especially any new ones to the protocol will not look at me and say, OMG, look at what BIZ is doing, I can do the same. I will tell you right here and NOW I would NOT be here today if I didn’t do my first three rounds BY THE BOOK - and when YOU can say that, then you can be in my shoes. Hmph!

Ok…anyhoo…I learned something interesting, and quite frankly, pretty scary yesterday:

What Is The Deal With Plastic?

JPS and I were out yesterday morning and someone we know came up to JPS and told her that she should be careful of the plastic bottle she is drinking out of as there was a report that was released recently about some chemical being leached into our water by our choice of plastic bottles. Ok, you know as soon as I heard that I said I was gonna have to do some research on this.

So that is exactly what I did. Last night I was chatting with Miss Scarlett and EweWho (from the My HCG Journey Community Forums) and I asked them if they knew of this crazy thing I had heard, and both of them quite frankly said yes! So they started dishing me out some information about this, and I felt compelled to let you know what we found.

First of all, I didn’t even KNOW that different plastic had different grades, and that each piece of plastic has a number listed on the bottom of it - this number signifies what kind of plastic it is. What is interesting is that we found that it seems to just be related to plastics that touch foods or drinks. Anyhow, this number is found in a triangle and it will be anything from “1″ to “7″. I found a most interesting article about the different grades of plastic, something you should ALL be aware of:

What Do Recycling Symbols on Plastics Mean?

Ok, so now you know what the different plastics are, now what does it mean for us? From what I can gather, the most dangerous are the plastics that are marked “7″ - but bottles marked with “1″, “3″, and “6″ are not too good either. I read an article that said we should focus in on using products with the numbers, “2″, “4″ and “5″ - evidently the “7″ bottles can leach a chemical known as “Bisphenol A” which can pose some serious health risks, including breast and uterine cancer, decreased testosterone levels in men, and has been linked to Type II Diabetes. Ok, this is not for me. You make your own decision.

Here is a very good article about this subject - again, form your own opinion:

Which plastic water bottles don’t leach chemicals?

Ok peeps, time for me to get my day started. Hmmm, ever notice the relationship to my long winded posts and my Phase 2 journey? My mind seems to work much better on Phase 2 then anytime else. You think there is a relation? HA!

R5P2 Starting Weight 176.8
Yesterday - 170.0
Today - 169.0
1.0 lb LOSS Overnight
7.0 lb Over LIW of Round Four (162.0)
7.8 Lost Since Start of R5C1 (VLCD) 05/06/08
81.8 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Oh yes, that is what I am talking about, 7.8 pounds in 4 completed days. WOO HOO for me!

Here are my body weight loss percentages, in case you are keeping track:

• Round 1 (4 completed days) - 2.95% of body weight lost
• Round 2 (4 completed days) - 3.17% of body weight lost
• Round 3 (4 completed days) - 3.62% of body weight lost
• Round 4 (4 completed days) - 4.66% of body weight lost
• Round 5 (4 completed days) - 4.41% of body weight lost

Ok, so I am just a bit BELOW what I was for the same amount of time for my 4th round, but still better than each previous round, so that makes me feel REALLY good!

I haven’t been posting my menus, again, I am just getting used to this whole new blog and how it works. This is what I ate yesterday:

Blueberries and Cottage Cheese
Chicken and Broccoli
Catfish Creole

I know it seems as if I had way too much food yesterday. The blueberries and cottage cheese was just a snack, and I stayed under the 500 calories for the day - since this is my last round, I am really concentrating on not freaking about my menu. I am gonna stick with 500 calories or below, but not gonna worry about how I get there. If I want more cottage cheese, then I will have more cottage cheese. If I want more raw, then I will have more raw. I do have every intention of staying withing the parameters of the 500 cals tho, and I will not do processed food, nope, not gonna do that. I had done that on round four with disastrous results.

JPS is doing just fine. She is down to 141 as of today - she started at 145.6 - her LIW was 138, so she didn’t start so far back as I did! LOL - I don’t think ANYONE has! OMG! I crack myself up.

Somethings I am doing research on for upcoming posts:

• Superfoods (I have not forgotten)
• Plastic Water Bottle Safety (OMG, found something out about this today!)
• Magnesium and Vitamin to help with “Going Issues”

Thanks all for putting up with me as I get back into the swing of things with the blog. We had a ton of excitement over the last couple of weeks, and quite frankly, my head wasn’t in the game. Amazing that being on the protocol for a few days and all of a sudden my mind gets clear again. Whoda thunk?

Take care, and have a wonderful day!