Final measurements after round 2

Here is another look at my starting and ending measurements of round 1 followed by my finishing measurements for round 2 :)

Starting:

Weight: 283 lbs (I can't believe I am posting this! Big step here!)
Body fat: 46.2%
BMI: 44.3
Blood Pressure: 120/80

Neck: 14
Chest: 45 3/4
Waist: 54.5
Hips: 47
Upper Arm: 16 3/4
Thigh: 24
Calves: 17 3/4

End of round 1:

Final weight: 260 lbs
BMI: 40.8-down almost 4
% of body fat 40.4-down almost 6

Neck: 13 3/4
Chest: 42
Waist: 50
Hips: 46
Upper arm: 15 3/4
Thigh: 0 (doctor said this could be because she wasn't measuring the same spot)
Calves: 17 1/2

Total weight loss: 23 lbs
Total BMI reduction: almost 4
Total % of body fat reduction: almost 6
Total inches lost: 8 3/4"

End of Round 2:

Final weight: 237 (23 lbs lost totall)
BMI: 36
% of body fat: Not sure how to do this one and I didn't go to the doctor

Neck: 14
Chest: 39 (-3")
Waist: 44.5 (-5.5")
Hips: 45 (-1")
Upper arm: 15 (-3/4")
Thigh: 24
Calves: 16.5 (-1")

Total weight loss: 46 lbs
Total BMI reduction: 10.2
Total inches lost: 21.75

As much as I wanted to get under 230, I am so happy with my results! My biggest areas of loss were in my waist (-10") and my chest (-6.75") and I've seen a HUGE difference in my face when looking at recent pictures. I am exercising *almost* daily and hoping this will help with further loss during my off weeks. If nothing else, it will result in toning up which I will be just as happy about!

Having a rough time

I am still stuck at 237 but that's not even the worst part. I really was hoping to get under 230 in my last week but oh well.

The worst part is I have been overly hungry. So so hungry. I increased my injections but that doesn't seem to have done anything. This is beyond the not satisfied though that is rearing its ugly head as well. I've done so good with temptation this time around and it didn't even phase me. Now throw in serious hunger and temptation and it takes everything I have not to eat more. I ate extra fruit yesterday and had a handful of goldfish-really bad but they were sitting there and I was hungry. It helped but not for long.

The other thing is fatigue. Since yesterday, I have been crazy tired with today being the worst. It is taking everything I have to just stay awake and at that, I failed. Thankfully Braedon kept an eye on Cohen for the few minutes I was asleep but still. 500 calories a day is not a lot and it's certainly not enough to sustain energy but I have yet to be THIS tired since I started. The injections are supposed to help with that.

Oh well..another week to go. I'm really trying to hold out on not quitting early but if I don't see a loss tomorrow, I may just stop :(

I will, however, leave you with a couple more favorite recipes:

Spicy Crab Cucumber Salad

• 100g crab - shredded
• cucumber - peeled, seeded, and julienned (allowed amount)
• 1 T liquid aminos
• 1/2 T rice vinegar
• 1/2-1 T spicy mustard
• 1/2-1 t wasabi powder
• 1 Melba Toast - coarsely ground

1. Combine liquid aminos, rice vinegar, spicy mustard, and wasabi powder. Stir.
2. Add remaining ingredients, toss & serve.

*I didn't have wasabi powder so I used a full T of spicy mustard*

French Onion Soup
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 c beef broth
• 3-4 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 t granulated sugar substitute
• 1/4 t black pepper

1. Preheat non-stick saucepan over MED heat.
2. Place onions and garlic in pan and cook uncovered 5-10 mins.
3. Stir in granulated sugar substitute
4. Cook 10-15 mins until onions are carmelized.
5. Add beef broth & bring to boil.
6. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook 20 mins.
7. Add black pepper.
8. Serve.

In the final stretch

Including today, I have 7 days left of injections with 3 more days of the diet without them. I am weighing in at 237 and really hoping I can get below 230 by the time this is done!

I tempted fate last night when I enjoyed some popcorn and lemonade (lite) at the movie theater followed by a very delicious dinner at one of those moongolian grill places. I was good with my portions of food and devoured crab and shrimp with cabbage. I added a little sauce to it that didn't seem to have oil in it but it probably had some...and sugar. Much to my surprise, I still dropped .5 yesterday :)

However, slip ups like last night can't happen this week if I want to lose those last 7 pounds before going on 8 weeks with no loss. I am getting down to business! I am in the final stretch!

A lesson in "overdoing" it

My doctor strongly cautioned me about "overdoing" it with exercise while on the diet. Strenuous exercise is strictly forbidden-walking, swimming, biking is ok and encouraged. I have been so frustrated with the lack of loss since I'm certainly not averaging 1 pound per day. I decided it would be good to add a little exercise into my routine. I had finally purchased the child bike seat for my bike so Cohen could ride with me. So I took a bike ride to the mailbox-the long route so it was more like a ride through my neighborhood. After that, I thought I'd give one of my workout videos a go. Jillian Michaels 30 day shred to be exact.

Well...I learned my lesson about WHY strenuous exercise is forbidden. The video is only 20 minutes and I had started it between rounds so I was aware of the intensity. I had been able to make it through the entire video with just 1-2 brief stops for rest. Man oh man...12 minutes in this time around and I was seeing stars...literally! I go so dizzy I seriously thought I was going to pass out. I guess when you only consume 500 calories per day and you are doing a video that will cause you to burn upwards of 200-300 calories, it's probably a bad idea. I took a break, let the stars disappear and tried again. This time, I lasted less than 3 minutes before the stars returned and I physically could not get up. My whole body was exhausted, I tried to force my legs to stand but they just wouldn't.

So yeah..that was my lesson in OVERDOING it! I will hold off on the video until after I'm done and just stick with bike rides and swimming :)

Milestones

I went out with some people last night for the Eclipse release. I say people because they weren't all friends..just 1 and I've known her since we were wee little one's in elementary school. I moved away after 7th grade and hadn't seen her since. Well, we've seen each other a few times over the last several months. The rest of the peeps were her friends from high school. I'll admit, I was a little nervous not knowing these people and knowing I would be the odd one out. You see, my friend and I don't see eye to eye. We were good (not great) friends when we were younger but as we approached middle school, our personalities and outlook on life just didn't add up even at that young age. It's more apparent now that we live completely different lives. Aside from our Twilight obsession and general know how of being a mom, we have nothing else in common.

So I was the last to arrive since hubby was late getting home. I found them in the middle of the restaurant and proceeded to join them. This is when my first milestone occured. I WAS NOT THE "BIGGEST" one there..I wasn't even the second. Out of 4 girls, *I* was the smallest one. This has NEVER happened to me. Ok well maybe when I was thin in high school and didn't really pay attention to that sort of thing. The next milestone came as I went to sit down at the table. It just so happened the 2 "biggest" girls sat on the same side of the table and the table was sort of sitting at an angle to allow more room for the others on the side I would be on. Well, since it was at an angle, the seat left open for me was, well, small. In the brief second I had before sitting down, I stared at the tiny space before with a sense of unease and nervousness. NO WAY was I going to fit there. I had hoped no one had noticed my instant panic but ultimately decided to scoot the table just a tad. I mean, I was in the company of several larger people. Surely they'd understand though there wasn't much more room to move. I got maybe an inch and quickly decided just to squeeze in. BUT much to my surprise, THERE WAS NO SQUEEZING needed! And there was room for me to be comfortable!! YES!

This put an extra skip in my step the rest of the night and I just sort of had this confidence about me walking around knowing that I was not the biggest one in the group and that I had fit into what seemed like and impossibly small space at the table! Our night went on and we watched the movies. I was definitely the odd one out as for whatever reason, our seating arrangements put me on the end of the group with my 1 friend on the opposite end. Thankfully another friend from high school was next to me so we chatted it up.

A 3rd milestone came this morning when I stepped on the scale. I had been a bit discouraged by the slow progress in weight loss on the scale but this morning, I finally saw something that made me give a little YAY! 239.8 I AM UNDER 240! Woot! Another 10 down with hopefully another 10 to go before my 40 days is up on July 10!

YES!!

Guess what!!! The 2 pounds I had gained yesterday.....ARE GONE TODAY! YESSSSS!!! 241.6 this morning :)

The new recipe's I tried yesterday were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! I really enjoyed eating which has been the hardest part about this diet. I almost felt like I was pregnant again-eating because I had to not because I enjoyed it. I guess it's a sort of double edge sword. Enjoying food too much is how you become overweight BUT it's good to know you can still enjoy food that is good for you. And of course, it's all about portion control!

So for today's menu:

Breakfast- Strawberry Lemon smoothie (posted earlier)

Lunch- Meatloaf and Onion rings!

• 100g ground steak
• 1/2 t milk or bbq sauce
• 1 melba toast (ground into powder)
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 t dehydrated minced onion
• 1/2 t spicy mustard
• 1/4 t allspice
• 1/8 t sage
• salt/pepper to taste
• Any additional seasonings you like

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In small bowl, combine all ingredients and form into a small meatloaf.
3. Place in glass dish, cover, and bake 25-30 mins.
4. Uncover dish, add bbq sauce or homemade sugar free ketchup to top, and bake 5-10 additional mins.
5. Serve immediately with a bit more of bbq sauce or homemade sugar free ketchup for dipping.

*I will use BBQ sauce in place of the milk so I can save the milk for the onion rings and dessert*

Onion rings:
• 80g sliced onion rings
• 1 melba toast
• 1 T skim milk (as allowed daily)
*I will adjust this to 2t*
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. In a small bowl, add milk, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper. Mix to make a batter.
3. Grind melba toast in food processor until it is a powder.
4. Put powder in a separate small bowl.
5. Place rings in batter bowl and toss to coat fully. (It's best to use your hands here to ensure you coat each ring.)
6. Let sit in batter 2-3 mins then toss again.
7. Dip each ring into the powder by hand.
8. Place on cookie sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil.
9. Cook 6-7 mins. Then flip, cooking an additional 6-7 mins.
10. Serve immediately.


Dinner- Chilli

• 100g ground steak
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 c water or broth
• 3-4 cloves minced garlic

Seasonings (to taste):
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1/4 t cumin
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/4 t cayenne
• 1/4 t basil
• 1/4 t thyme

1. Preheat pan over MED heat.
2. Add minced garlic and 1 T of the water/broth to pan.
3. Saute 2-3 mins. Be sure not to burn the garlic. Add more water/broth as necessary.
4. Increase heat to MED-HI.
5. Add ground steak and saute until brown - about 5 mins.
6. Add all seasonings and cook an additional 3 mins. Continue to add more water/broth as necessary.
7. While that is cooking dice 1/2 of tomato and place other 1/2 in food processor or blender to puree.
8. Mix in tomatoes, puree, and rest of broth.
9. Turn heat down to MED-LO and simmer until it reaches desired consistency.

Dessert- Apple crisp

Filling:
• 1 apple
• half small lemon
• 1 T water
• 2 t Stevia
• cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Peel, core, and slice/chop apple.
3. Place apples in small baking dish.
4. Cover with juice of 1/2 small lemon, stevia, water, and few dashes of cinnamon. Toss.

Topping:
• 1 Melba toast
• 1 t milk
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t pumpkin pie spice

1. Grind Melba toast into a powder using food processor or coffee grinder.
2. Add milk in 1/4 t increments. Slowly stir until mixture forms a slightly moist crumbly topping.
3. Sprinkle on top of apple filling.

Bake:

1. Cover dish and bake 20 mins.
2. Remove cover and broil 1-2 mins to crisp topping.
3. Serve immediately.

YUMMY! Can't wait to try everything!!

Delicious recipes!!

So I have found an amazing website full of hCG friendly recipes and I am SO EXCITED to try them all! After finding all of them, I am certain I will be doing a 3rd round! I will have to wait longer between though. The more times you do it, the longer it takes your body to get rid of it afterwards.

So here's the recipe I tried for lunch..and will definitely be doing again!

"Fried" Chicken Tenders

• 100g chicken
• 1 T milk
• 1 Melba Toast
• Seasonings (salt, pepper, paprika, ground red pepper, garlic powder)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Slice chicken breast into 3 tenders.
3. In small bowl, mix milk and any seasonings you prefer.
4. Grind Melba Toast in food processor until it is a powder.
5. Put Melba Toast powder in a separate small bowl.
6. Add chicken to milk mixture and toss to coat well.
7. Then one at a time, place chicken in Melba Toast powder and coat both sides of chicken.
8. Place chicken in glass baking dish and bake 30-40 mins, turning over halfway through.
9. In last 5 mins, turn on broiler and broil 2-3 mins each side.

Serve immediately


This was SO good and very close to the weight watchers oven "fried" chicken I usually make!

For dinner, I will be having meatballs with marinara sauce!

Meatballs:

• 100g hamburger
• 1 Melba Toast (ground into powder)
• 1 T milk
• parsley
• onion powder
• basil
• oregano
• garlic
• salt
• pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. In bowl, combine all ingredients.
3. Form into 1" meatballs (makes about 6-7).
4. Place in baking dish or non-stick baking sheet and cook 10 minutes turning halfway through cooking time.

Top with marinara sauce.

Marinara Sauce:

• tomato
• water
• basil
• parsley
• onion powder
• garlic (fresh minced)
• salt
• pepper

1. Fill small saucepan with a few cups of water & bring to boil.
2. Score skin of tomato in a few places with serrated knife.
3. Blanch tomato in the boiling water for 1-2 mins.
4. Immediately transfer tomato to ice water to cool and discard boiling water.
5. Remove skin of tomato and discard skin.
6. Preheat small non-stick saucepan over MED-HI heat.
7. If want chunky sauce, crush tomato with your hands in saucepan (discard stem). If you prefer smoother sauce, puree tomato in blender or food processor then add to pan.
8. Add garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper.
9. Bring to low boil, then immediately reduce heat to low, cover & simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often to keep tomato from sticking.
10. Turn heat up to MED.
11. Add parsley, more garlic, and basil.
12. Cook 5-10 more minutes, stirring constantly. While cooking, start adding water 1T at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.

Can't wait to try it! Oh and for dessert...Orange Julius!

Orange Julius:

• 1 orange
• 5-10 drops vanilla creme liquid stevia (to taste)
• ice
• water (as needed)

1. Peel orange and place orange sections in blender.
2. Add about a handful of ice.
3. Blend.
4. Add vanilla creme stevia.
5. Blend to desired consistency. Add water as needed.

TIP: Place this in the freezer for about 1 hr after preparing and have an on protocol version of orange sherbet!

Oh yes!! I am in heaven!! The rest of this round will be a CAKE WALK!