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R5P2C3 Starting Weight 160.4
Yesterday – 152.2
Today – 150.8
1.4 lb LOSS Overnight
2.2 lb UNDER LIW of Round Five Cycle 2 (153.0)
9.6 Lost Since Start of R5C3 (VLCD) 07/14/08
100.0 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

What more can be said – look at that number, that represents the amount of pounds that have been lost by me! This momentous occasion happened this morning – I couldn’t believe it when I stepped on the scale and I saw this:

It was only 13 months ago (almost to the day as I started on this journey on June 26, 2007) that this number was a full 100 lbs higher. And in 13 months, look at what I accomplished with the HCG Protocol. Unreal.

It sure made me pay for it. On my last cycle, ending June 29th, I had a stall for the last few days and was stuck at 153. Since Monday of this week I was at 152.2 – stuck at that weight all week, never thinking that I would drop the last 1.4 lbs in one night.

I hung true to the protocol, even took measurements yesterday to see if I was indeed still losing (yes, even I get nervous still!) and indeed I was so I relaxed, and then was blessed with a nice drop to give me my long awaited 100 lbs.

It feels good, I have to tell you. Really good. It was a long time coming and its here.

I would like to thank the academy – wait, strike that, I would like to thank all of you out there reading this, whether this is your first visit to my words, or you’re a long time friend – without each and every one of you I could not have made it this far. Each one of you has touched my life on this journey in one way or another and words just cannot possibly convey the thanks that you all deserve.

I have so much to say, but as you can imagine, I am at a loss to put this into words at this precise moment. I will however reserve the right to expand on this feeling over the next few days.

So I leave you with my sassy self!

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R5P2C3 Starting Weight 160.4
Yesterday - 155.0
Today - 153.6
1.4 lb LOSS Overnight
0.6 lb OVER LIW of Round Five Cycle 2 (153.0)
6.8 Lost Since Start of R5C3 (VLCD) 07/14/08
97.2 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

2.8 NEEDED TO LOSE TO REACH 100 POUNDS

6.8 loss so far - .6 more to LIW of Cycle 2 - 2.8 lbs more till I reach 100 lbs lost!

Loving life right about now. These numbers are too unreal - dare I say it? It is topping MY FOURTH ROUND - I am quite frankly AMAZED - no joke. 6.8 lbs in 3 completed days. I am gonna get into the 140’s before the week is up if I keep this up!

But seriously, I haven’t really wrapped my head around being in the 150’s and now already I am gonna have to deal with the 140’s??? What is up with that?

WOW

I had a really rough day yesterday (just really weak), and now today my back is hurting - I have come to the conclusion that something is going on with my body, it’s shifting or something - funky things are happening. I have not been this weight since the early 80’s - and something weird is happening to my muscles in my back.

During the first round, I lost an incredible amount of inches from my thighs and they were in a constant state of aching while on protocol. This time, I think I am dealing with back fat or something cause since Tuesday morning, some strangeness is happening back there - and now I am in bed, this is the 2nd day. UGH

Oh well, interesting to see what the future holds for me. Pictures should be interesting this round that is for sure.

I am short on time, so this is my update for today!!!

Let me go back to answering my commenters from yesterday:

Trudi - thanks for the wonderful words!  We have all been given a great gift, it’s up to us to use it wisely, give of it freely.  Thanks for being a part of my journey!  BTW - YOUR PICS ARE AWESOME!

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R5P2C3 Starting Weight 160.4
Yesterday - 160.4
Today - 156.8
3.6 lb LOSS Overnight
03.8 lb OVER LIW of Round Five Cycle 2 (153.0)
03.6 Lost Since Start of R5C3 (VLCD) 07/14/08
94.0 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

6.0 NEEDED TO LOSE TO REACH 100 POUNDS

As you can see, I am starting with my countdown to the 100 lbs lost mark again! 6 lbs away as of today! Quite a nice loss if I do say so myself for and overnight drop eh?

I posted this over at the My HCG Journey Community Forums this morning, just thought I would do the same thing here:

The convention was fun - it was fun watching people try to figure out who I was. There was one person in particular that saw me about 3 different times and I could tell she just couldn’t place me and then you should have seen her face when she figured it out! It was priceless.

On this past Sunday, at the inlaws, when we went to our Bible Study, a long time family friend was watching my daughter and I approached the building and you could see the look of confusion in his face, and he just saw me 20 lbs ago! I was like PAPA JACK! It’s ME! He is on protocol too so he knows to expect changes! LOL

I am just going to say this - with nothing else - Dr Phil said it best when he said “The best revenge is LOOKING GOOD” - and people, that is so TRUE! I saw some people that have not been that kind to me over the years and they had to swallow their pride when they saw me. I am not one to gloat, but peeps, I had to - it felt SO GOOD to be THINNER than them.

At times, very seldom, but it does happen, this protocol is a curse. You look at people differently, you start wondering if you should say something to these that are morbidly obese about this miracle you have found. It saddened me to see so very many people in this category, but I was actually scared to say something. Some of them are full of diabetes, and some are walking with walkers or canes, or worse yet, they are so big they have to be in motorized wheelchairs.

What do you do? It’s a quandary I tell you.

Anyhoo - when I was in Cali in mid Feb and mid Mar my niece (also did protocol) had given me a plethora of clothes, but in particular, 3 Ann Taylor dresses. While I was in Cali, I couldn’t get them ZIPPED, no how no way. They were all size 12 Petite. Gorgeous dresses, all black and white.

Each week on protocol I would take them out and try them on. About 2 weeks before the convention, I pulled them out like I usually did, and all of a sudden they FIT! Now I was worried if I might get too SMALL for them! And that actually DID happen! They were all a little too big around the top area, but I wore them ANYWAY!

Here it is - I am standing with JPS - but she doesn’t like anyone seeing her face so I blocked that out.

So what do you think? HA! I felt SO GOOD!

How is that for an update?

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R5P2C2 Starting Weight 169.4
Yesterday - 159.2
Today - 158.4
0.8 lb LOSS Overnight
4.6 lb UNDER LIW of Round Five Cycle 1 (163.0)
11.0 Lost Since Start of R5C2 (VLCD) 06/09/08
92.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

7.6 NEEDED TO LOSE TO REACH 100 POUNDS

OH OH OH - Ok, seriously, I cannot believe I have been able to maintain a 1.38 lb average loss this late in the game. I honestly don’t know how it’s happening, but I will take it, no problem! I have 12 more injections left (after today) and in those 12 injections, I need to lose 7.6 lbs to reach my 100 pounds - if it takes me until the 29th (LIW DATE) that is AOK with me, but officially my year anniversary is up on the 26th. But you know what? If I can complete this round at 100 pounds lost, I swear to Pete, I will completely FLIP OUT.

My head is SO in the ZONE - seriously - it feels like the very first round, when everything was new and exciting. I get butterflies to think how close I am to 100 pounds. I am trying hard to live in the moment right now, taking it day by day. But really, if you would have asked me a week ago if this was gonna be possible I would have shrugged my shoulders - and say, I don’t think so.

In 12 injections, that means I have to lose at least an average of .6 a day - very doable even for me. I have never gone under .65 per day average in any of my rounds, so this is VERY VERY doable, but again, I am really working on living in the NOW and taking this one day at a time.

If I keep these kinds of losses up, I am gonna keep doing the numbers cause they are OH SO EXCITING!

• Round 1 (8 completed days) - 4.55% of body weight lost
• Round 2 (8 completed days) - 4.57% of body weight lost
• Round 3 (8 completed days) - 5.80% of body weight lost
• Round 4 (8 completed days) - 6.94% of body weight lost
• Round 5 (Cycle 1) (8 completed days) - 6.00% of body weight lost
• Round 5 (Cycle 2) (8 completed days) - 6.49% of body weight lost

WOW! My round 4 really kicked some major butt, how the heck did that happen??? I am close, but it looks like it’s running away from me again! OMG - I crack myself up!

Updates:

My Son’s Stats:

• Starting Weight - 190.4 (after load)
• Yesterday’s Weight - 179.8
• Today’s Weight - 178.8 - 1.0 Loss - Total of 11.6 pounds lost!
• 8 completed days percentage Body Weight Lost - 6.49%

JPS’ Stats (I should be able to keep up to date with JPS now, so the numbers will be current):

• Starting Weight - 136.0 (after load, which is only like .8 over her LIW of Cycle 1)
• Yesterday’s Weight - 129.0
• Today’s Weight - 129.2 - 0.2 Gain - Total of 6.8 pounds lost!
• 8 completed days percentage Body Weight Lost - 5.00%

My menu yesterday:

• 2 Hard Boiled Eggs
• Strawberries and Grapefruit for Snack
• Pork Chop and Sliced Tomatoes for Dinner
• 2 Liters of water
• 2 Liters of Iced Tea (sweetened with Sweet and Low)

Superfoods - Walnuts

MMMM, Walnuts! During Phase 3 - these are a daily snack food for me. I buy them by the pounds (unsalted) and I will have usually about 2 ounces in a day. Sure they are loaded with calories, but they are loaded with all sorts of other good stuff as well!

Way back when, in May, I had a Superfoods discussion about Salmon - and we chatted about Omega 3’s - well, this is the number one reason Walnuts are on the list of SUPERFOODS - and in actuality, it’s the ONLY NUT that has Omega 3’s in the HUGE quantity that it has. Let’s refresh our memory on how important Omega 3’s are to our health:

Omega 3 Fatty Acids are very important for our “heart” health. It seems to not allow the gathering of cells in arteries that could cause blockage. Omega 3’s are something that our bodies cannot produce on it’s own, so we need to get these things from our food sources.

Walnuts’ concentration of omega-3s (a quarter-cup provides 90.8% of the daily value for these essential fats) has many potential health benefits:

• Cardiovascular protection
• Better cognitive function
• Anti-inflammatory benefits helpful in asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis
• Improve Cholesterol Profile especially in people with Type 2 Diabetes
• Reported to lower levels of some molecules that promote Atherosclerosis
• Has been known to prevent gallstones
• Protects Bone Health

In addition, walnuts contain an antioxidant compound called ellagic acid that supports the immune system and appears to have several anticancer properties.

The antioxidant properties of walnuts are HUGE:

A 2002 study conducted in Norway showed that walnuts rank second only to rose hips in their antioxidant content. The researchers examined a wide variety of plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, cereals, nuts, and seeds. Sunflower seeds were shown to have 25% of the activity of walnuts while other nuts (almonds, cashews, hazelnuts and peanuts) exhibited less than 4% of the activity. (This information was found here)

So be sure to add Walnuts to your daily regime. Very healthy snack. Add it to your salads!

One of my favorite ‘desserts’ for Walnuts - legal for Phase 3:

Here is one of my favorite recipes for use of WALNUTS - completely legal for Phase 3:

Toasted Walnuts

Ingredients:

1 cup raw walnuts
2 tbsp butter
3 packets of sweetener
Pinch of salt

Directions:

Warm butter until bubbly but not browned in a skillet on medium heat.

Add walnuts and distbute evenly in the butter.

Add salt, always keeping the pan moving so that the walnuts do not burn. Let cook for around 3 minutes. Add sweetener and cook for one minute longer.

Great as a snack, or chopped and added to your salad.

Hope you enjoyed our discussion on Walnuts! Tomorrow I will be taking a break from Superfood discussion as I am leaving the house early. Wont have time to give an update until later in the day, and then I will only be able to give you our stats. So stay tuned on Thursday, I will have a discussion about OATS!

A question to all my readers - feel free to either comment here on the blog, use my Tag Board or use my Comment Form. Today’s Question:

What is YOUR favorite way to use WALNUTS?

LIW - 175.4 lbs (12/17/07)
Today’s Weight - 178.6 lbs
3.2 OVER LIW

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

Breakfast: Coffee with Cream - a small slice of DR Fudge (Found out this is called Dulce de Leche)
Mid Morning Snack: A serving of my Eggplant Lasagna
Lunch: Ate at Cracker Barrel - ate from their low carb menu - Chicken Tenderloins with Bacon and Colby Cheese, a double salad with Peppercorn Dressing and green beans
Mid Afternoon Snack: Praline Pecans (these are sinful)
Dinner: At at Wild Wing - had 5 wings and a serving of nachos with chili and a salad with blue cheese dressing
Dessert: More Praline Pecans

A total of over 2000 cals (this is an estimation) divided this way: 119 Fat, 106 Carbs, 112 Protein (need to focus on NO MORE SWEETS! ROFL)

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! We are really trying to get this out, I am looking at Monday - thank you all for being patient!

Lise is still looking for support for her Teeth Fund, if there is ANY way you can help her, please pay attention to this Preview Commercial - her date of takeoff to Costa Rica is the 8th (I was mistaken) - I will keep it up until she leaves on that day:

Dire Super Emergency Teeth Fundraiser for Lise Who is Scared Witless About Being Toothless in Ohio!

End of Preview Commercial!

Here is the eMail form for signing up for the New Book Club! WOO HOO! I did my part, I read what I was supposed to read and I filled out the post, now I am just waiting for comments! If you have a chance today, go to the HCG BOOK CLUB and join in on the fun! If you haven’t signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Thank you Jeanne for filling out my FAQ question. Anyone else want to help me with my FAQ on TOM / Aunt Flo issues? I will leave it up until Monday morning and then we will start a new one. Again, the FAQ form has only one question on it, you can take as much room as you like, it should be able to handle your response.

Please take a few moments to fill this form out:

TOM / Aunt Flo Issues on the Protocol

Let’s Play Pretend

Just for a moment or two, let’s pretend you are this big wig famous television interviewer (like let’s say Barbara Walters, Katie Couric, Walter Cronkite) and you wanted to interview little ole me about my journey using the HCG Protocol for weight loss.

What would be the questions you would most want answers to?

Why am I doing this? I would like to start conducting interviews of various people that have been successful on this protocol, and what got them to that point. If I ask you, my readers what you would want to know about my journey, I would have a good set of thoughts that would lead to a great interview.

As usual, I count on all of you, my readers, to help me put a framework of intelligence into a simple process. What would I do without you all???

Some guidelines to follow:

1) Post as many questions as you think are relevant - you can use any form you like, either by using the comment section here on the blog, or the tag board located on my left side bar, or my web submission contact form on the right side bar, or you can write me directly at bizadventure at comcast dot net

2) Even if you feel that your question might be repetitive (such as someone else has asked it), please ask it anyway.

3) You will have until Wednesday Morning to come up with some questions. At that point I will gather them all and then put them into a coherent order.

4) Anyone who participates in this little assignment will receive a special little thank you gift from me (this will be something tangible and sent to you through snail mail - so I will need your snail mail address - if your comfortable doing that sort of thing - sorry, I have to limit this little thing to USA residents only). Please do not post your address here, I will write you personally for any information I might need from you. If you prefer not to receive anything via snail mail, please post questions anyway. This part is NOT a requirement!!!

5) Have fun with this, please don’t think any question is too personal - if it’s something that I might not want to answer, I will let you know, but keep in mind that these questions will be used as a guideline for future interviews.

This ties into what I wanted to talk about today anyway - my history of the protocol.

On to my commenter’s - these are my responses to yesterday’s comments:

Lili - OMG - you are way too funny! I enjoyed chatting with you yesterday on my way out of town, you are seriously a funny, funny lady! I have added that link to my favorite recipes, as this stuff is truly divine, I have to say! I love this line “Envisioning success creates success” - AWESOME!

Mary - You are so welcome! I enjoy it, seriously! But I really enjoy it when YOU folks blog better! ROFL

Winston - It’s SO good to have you back my friend! I know I am not the only one that can say, WE MISSED YOU! How utterly COOL that you made it throughout the holiday’s UNSCATHED! I hope you updated!!!

Jennifer - it is MOST important that you blog, you are the perfect candidate for this medium. Your energetic, fully of bubbly information, and you are surely inquisitive and desire information. By blogging you will fulfill ALL of those things my sweet! I will DEFINITELY help you start! Can you get on some sort of IM message thingie? I even don’t mind calling you to help you get started, just let me know. If you want me to call, don’t post your phone number here, write me an email ok? I am so glad yesterday’s post was what you needed. I felt compelled to write it, there was a reason for me to do it eh?

Becca - as time goes on, I find more and more similarities between us. I am a step parent as well! I have two step sons and my daughter is OURS. I don’t like sharing things about my personal life either, some things need to remain “mine” ya know? But I don’t mind sharing things as they pertain to the protocol. But I try to stay “vague” - my family hasn’t asked to be a part of this internet community, so I only share tidbits as it relates to MY journey using this protocol…make sense???

Take care people, sorry this was so late today!!!

Biz