Update on Raw

The raw didn't do as well for me as regular protocol. I lost 8 pounds and then stalled for the rest of the round. Oh, well, I sure enjoyed it and I felt better than I have in a long time. It's my own fault because I didn't keep track of what I was eating in FitDay so who knows what the problem may have been. I may try it again at a later time, but for now I'll stick with protocol. I just started again on the 1st, and am down 5.4 pounds, just 1 pound over my last LIW.

I'm trying injections this time and now I'm remembering why I prefer sublingual. I have 5 bruises showing each injection. One of them was a lump that hurt for a couple of days. Each time I inject it stings for quite a while after the injection. Up to an hour later I still feel it stinging. If injections were the only option, I'd do them, but I am so thankful for sublingual!

The Get Your Thin On Tour with Biz was so much fun. She had already met people in TN before coming to OK. Tulsa had 7 "losers" at the meeting. They are mostly all friends who started protocol through a local clinic and have branched out to do it on their own. Yeah, who doesn't want to save money? I have dinner tonight with the group at Ruby Tuesday's and am looking forward to it. They are an inspiring group and there will be new people there who have either just started or are considering it. I have to be good. I don't want to mess up this early in my round!

I went with her to Wichita and met a couple of ladies from the forum, Trish and her mom, Deb. They are wonderful people and you can feel the love in each of their homes. The meeting was such a success! There were more than 20 people there in various stages of protocol, some veterans and some who were just considering protocol. It is so exciting to see that many people jazzed about losing weight.

After leaving Wichita, we came back for regrouping and recuperating at home in Tulsa. We then drove to Houston where we stayed with a friend of Biz's and held meetings there. Everyone there was new to protocol and had many questions. I stayed for two of those meetings, but left before the third, and last, one. Biz's original plan had been to leave Houston on Saturday, so I made flight arrangements for Saturday. Before I left, we met Janet (from the forum) for lunch at a Thai restaurant. It was so much fun! Janet is so beautiful and fun.

My plan is to do a minimum of 3 weeks this round. If I am losing, I will stay on for another week. I want to be solidly in P3 for our meeting in Las Vegas in July. I'll jump back into another round in the middle of August.

On The Road Again

OK, I am back into my neglected blog. I'm trying a new approach this time.

A couple of years ago, before finding hCG, I was exploring the possibility of losing weight with eating raw foods. Although this was extremely appealing to me, my husband wasn't into the idea of eating only raw food. Knowing that it would be impossible for me to eat raw while cooking foods for him, I tossed aside the idea.

Oh, how I wish I would have insisted on it. If I had, I don't believe he would be on dialysis today. I believe we could have arrested the diabetes and avoided the damage to his kidneys.

Oh, well, we are where we are, right?

So, on HTA, a few have been exploring the world of raw while on protocol. I jumped at the chance to do it when my husband agreed to do a short round with me, RAW. WooHoo!

We started last Wed. In one week's time, David has dropped 9.8 and I've dropped 8.4. I didn't count calories, and I didn't measure portions. I ate when I was hungry (which wasn't often with the hCG in my system), and only ate foods that were raw.

So, the journey begins......

Starting Again

A new year, and a new start. Things have really been all over the place the last 6 months. I gained, I lost, I gained again. I tried to do another round, but David wound up in the hospital and the stress of that threw my round 5 right down the drain. I'm pretending it never happened. LOL

The sad news is that I started this round at 224.4.

The good news is that I am pumped and focused this round. I feel like I did in my first round! I can't believe that I've already completed 4 deviation-free days. I've made a commitment to do this round deviation-free, with the exception of using items (like broccoli) that I know don't cause me issues.

The forum has taken over my life! We are growing by leaps and bounds and it is wonderful! You'll have to visit us there. Even though it is our same "old" forum, we have a new home at www.happilythinnerafter.com

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. This year is our year to shine!

Round 4 Completed

I will have finished up Round 4, including Phase 3, tomorrow. Phase 4 starts July 1! I have lost a total of 69 pounds and have maintained LIW through P3. Normally I would be jumping right back in to Phase 2 after completing the 3 weeks of P3, but my body has other ideas. LIW is 198.2.

Last weekend I wound up in the hospital. After having 10 days of what I thought was indigestion, on Friday I couldn't stand the pain and hubby took me to urgent care. My blood pressure was 218/104 and pain was worse than when I was in labor. They gave me a shot of Fentanyl (which I later found out is approximately 81 times stronger than morphine) and Phenergan. They did an x-ray of my abdomen (where the pain was) and found a gall stone approximately 1" in diameter. I was sent to the hospital because they thought my gallbladder was infected. It wasn't.

So, when I went to the surgeon's office on Tuesday, I was told I needed to have it taken out, even though the CT scan showed it only had the one stone. I told him I wasn't ready yet. I want to try some herbs and oils that help the body get rid of stones. He said the stone was too large for me to pass, but what does he know? He's "only" a doctor. LOL I talked with an herbal physician in AZ and he will send me the herbs I need in tonic form. It all starts with cleansing the liver. The herbs will do that without too much stress to my body.

It will take about 6 to 8 weeks of cleansing and while I am doing that, I am not going to put the stress of losing weight on myself. I will eat healthy, as I have learned to do and will look forward to doing another round in late August or early September.

It is funny how things worked out because I had already decided to take off for the summer because I want to enjoy the fresh vegetables and melons from my garden. It's all good!!

I continue to post on the forums at www.myhcgjourney.com/forums. That place has become so hopping that I don't have time to keep up the blog. Sorry! I don't even have time to read anymore!

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Liz - I sure miss you, sweetie! There just are not enough hours in the day!!!

Yes, I made it to Onderland, and I am as happy to sit here at 197-198 as I was sitting on 203-204. LOL

B - Hey! How are you doing? I miss your cartoons. Yep, the forum is growing by leaps and bounds. We are almost at 500 members now, after just a couple of months! Lots of people having great success! This protocol is the best!

I did try the egg day with no luck. Not even one ounce!!! I did manage to outweight it, and not long after I had posted the last message, I was on the downhill slide once again.

Keep up the good work!

Biz - Yes, dear!

Becca - LOL You have fit right in on the forum! You have great advice and are so helpful! Thanks for your participation.

Monica - I'll leave the blog where it is for now, and try to update at least monthly. I don't expect anything over the next month because I will be on P4, but I'll report whatever may happen. I love having you on the forum. We need all the experienced people we can find to help. I think we've created a monster. ROFL

Crystal - Hey, how is the new job going? I imagine by now it is old hat, huh? I'll have to pop over to your blog and see how you are doing as I make the rounds tonight. I hope you had a very successful Round 4. You should just about be done with it, right?

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Have a great day!

Regina

The Past Two Weeks

I have been sitting on the same numbers for almost two weeks. I go from 204 to 203 and back again. I decided to take a break this week, stopped doses on Sunday and will see what happens. I just think I need a break and then a jump-start! I can still see changes happening in my body, so I know I am losing inches if not pounds.

I'm spending most of my time on the forum at www.myhcgjourney.com/forums and just don't have time to keep up with both it and the blog, so my blog is suffering. I would just close it down, but I like the links to all the other blogs. Oh, decisions, decisions! Ugh!

I am not discouraged, just wondering if I am keeping myself here because I am content with this weight. Am I self-sabotaging without being aware of it? I have not been as focused this round and hope to re-group with the break.

R4 P2 - Day 10 Completed

206.4 Yesterday
206.2 Today
0.2 Pounds Lost Overnight

Ok, so I loved the Mediterranean food, right? Well, David had some cousins from CA stop by yesterday and we were telling them about it. They wanted to give it a try, so we took them to dinner. Mmmm, but I should have stayed with the chicken. I had Mediterranean Tilapia which was 8 oz of fish (and yes, I ate the whole thing. It was early in the afternoon and I hadn't had any protein yet.) It was sauteed in butter (uh-oh) and topped with tomato sauce with a few veggies (peas, peppers) and had the same side of asparagus as I'd had the night before. Can we say YUMMY!!!??? When I got home and put the food into FitDay, imagine my surprise when it said that 142% of my calories came from the fish!! First of all, how can it be more than 100%? ROFL Second, I never have thought of tilapia as being a fatty fish. It is 8g of fat per ounce. The sole is much less, so next time I will order sole instead of tilapia if I am on P2...lesson learned.

Today we are bbq'ing with the relatives. They are camped at a lake and we invited all the kids to bring their kids and have dinner with us. Because there are so many of us, I feel like I have to bring the majority of the food, even though Jim (cousin) said he wanted to take care of it. I am making chili beans and am bringing chicken breasts for Natalie (daughter-in-law who is on protocol) and anyone else who wants them. Hey! Now that I think about it, I will marinate them. That way whatever we don't bbq, I can use later. Anyway, I will also bring a bag of premixed salad. I will be fore-armed and will be focused. I'll cut off Nat's arm if she reaches for anything not on protocol. ROFL She is down almost 25 pounds!!!

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Liz - Good luck while traveling! I know it can be done because I maintained while gone from home for two weeks at two different times. Stay focused!!! Think of that 28 pounds loss. Tell yourself that you don't want to have to lose "revisited" weights. Psyche yourself up before you leave. That is what I did and it was a breeze. You know what foods to order. Don't even look at the rest of the menu unless you are focused. Make up your mind before you eat that you will be true to yoursself and your plan. There may be times when you have no control over what your choices are, but do your best. Make the wise choice. (Who am I to talk after choosing tilapia, right? ROFL)

Thank you for being there for me, girlfriend!

Mary - You too! You are always there and I so appreciate it. I love reading your blog, even though I seldom have time to post a comment. Just know that I am visiting you. I am so happy to see you at the forum because I just have minimal time these days!! That forum is consuming my life, but I am loving it. I am so happy the word has gotten out and that we have such a great place to gather.

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Have a great weekend!

R4P2 - Day 9

207.2 Yesterday
206.4 Today
0.8 Pounds Lost Overnight

YES!! I was almost afraid to face the scale this morning because we went out to dinner last night. I was in unfamiliar territory. Usually we go for Mexican food, but we were on our way to pick up an entertainment center for our electrical devices that hook to the TV because we've outgrown the one we have and we passed a new restaurant that just opened. It is called Al's Bistro, and is Mediterrean cuisine. It is now my favorite restaurant in the world!!! Wonderful food.

I ordered chicken (what else) with spinach and cheese sauce. It also came with asparagus spears. I ate half the chicken breast and didn't sop up the cheese sauce, even though I wanted to. It was delicious. I passed on the bread, imagine that!!! The spinach was wilted on top of the chicken. I couldn't taste it or else my taste buds have adapted to it since I have been drinking it in my green smoothies daily for three weeks now. Anyway, my dinner was wonderful!

David ordered Mediterranean Chicken which came on a bed of saffron rice, drizzled with olive oil, baked chicken breast lightly topped with sauted veggies consisting of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and had three or four artichoke hearts on the sides of the breast. I had a bite of it and it too was delicious. I will definitely have that when I am on P3.

I was so happy to try this cuisine because a few months back I was researching the Mediterranean diet for health purposes for David. I had come to the conclusion that this was the diet I wanted to eat for the rest of my life. It is purported to be the healthiest diet on earth.

Things are hopping on the forum www.myhcgjourney.com ! From the airing of "The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet" we have tripled our membership. It is getting more and more time-consuming and I don't know how long I will be able to continue my blog. Many of you are on the forum, and I'm happy that I can follow your progress there. It is so much easier thanreading the blogs because everything is centrally located. LOL

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B - Thanks! You are so sweet and I appreciate you so much! Yep, that doctor was so off base it wasn't funny. Have you watched the segment online? Here is what aired: http://www.mandjshow.com/videos/the-hcg-diet and here is the interviews in the green room: http://www.mandjshow.com/videos/hcg-diet-part-2/ Dr. Gedde is so cool!!!

Becca - And thanks to you too!I know what you mean. The popularity will probably drive up the price of the hCG or cause it to be longer between ordering and receiving.

You most certainly can email me. If you don't have my address it is regina at ewewho dot com.

I will look into getting some instructions for how to use the forum. It is really pretty easy. The easiest thing to do is to click on the New Posts button and any new post from the last time you visited will come up on a list.

CB closed her blog and took it down. She will be posting on the forum from now on.

Mary - Thank you!

Liz - That is exactly what happened to me. I gained weight with each of my pregnancies and never lost it. This is the first thing that I've been able to stick with and believe with all my heart that I will get to goal. You can too. We can do this!!

Amie - Thanks, girlfriend!!! and you are right, I am so close!!

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Have a great weekend!