Saturday, May 14, 2011

30-day pictures


Day 35 - 2nd Round of HCG

Starting Weight:  276.8
Today's Weight:  247.4

Well, I just haven't had the time to post.  I have stuck to this program to the letter.  I have been to the coast and watched a friend eat anything and everything.  I stuck with my resolve and lost over 3 pounds that weekend.  At the end of my first 30 days, I lost 28 pounds.  Not too shabby.  I am now starting round 2 of HCG and it is starting off at a snail's pace.  I don't understand how I can lose 1.4 one day and gain it back the next, all while only eating 500 calories!!  It is enough to make a person want to quit.  I decided today that I would take a look at my before/30 days pics together.  I thought maybe that would make me feel better.  Ugh, it certainly does not!!  I don't see a difference AT ALL.  I know my clothes are fitting me, clothes I hadn't been able to even put on. 

The one place that I do see a difference is my measurements.  I'm thankful that I took them.  Here's how it shakes out:

Before Bust:  56.5
30-day Bust:  54

Before Waist:  59.5
30-day Waist:  54.5

Before Neck:  16.5
30-day Neck:  15.5

Before Bicept:  12
30-day Bicept:  11.5

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Day 7

Starting Weight:  276.8
Today's Weight 263.2

I realize now with my active lifestyle that I cannot post every day, although that was the original goal.  I am going to post my weight every day, however.  I think this is what I would want to see in someone going through this process.  I qould want to know the details in the weight.  How long it took and what kinds of stalls they had.

I can say, I am on day 7 and I have NOT cheated one bit.  I have lost almost 14 pounds in one week.  That is crazy for a 42 year old!!  I feel good.  I can certainly see the weight loss in my face and feel it in my stomach, right under my boobs.  Both are the places I see gains first.  I'm not going to measure until the end of the first round.  I might change my mind if I hit a large stall.

I think the weekend has been the hardest.  I'm used to grazing and eating what I want when I'm chilling on a weekend.  I started feeling deprived yesterday, wishing time would go faster and that I could have a normal breakfast.  I have some new habits to form, I can tell.  Right now, if I went off, I would be eating crepes or pancakes for breakfast. I think I need to focus on how to eat more healthfully.  The last thing I'm going to want to do is gain it all back after suffering through what hasn't been terribly hard, just that little voice in your brain who thinks you need to have something tasty!!

I had steak last night and some lettuce with a honey mustard/garlic dressing that I made.  I crunched up my melba toast as croutons and I felt satisfied, full.  It was a good feeling.  Good flavors and the lettuce provided some bulk that I'm not getting with cut veggies.  I also made a lemonade after dinner with some real lemon juice, stevia, water and ice.  It was refreshing and sweet and I enjoyed it very much.  A nice little sweet treat and palate cleanser after dinner and after a day of drinking only water.

So the bottom line is that I am doing extremely well.  I can't wait to wake up every morning and weigh!!  It gives me a bounce in my step!!

Day 6

Starting Weight:  276.8
Today's Weight:  265.2

Day 5

Starting Weight: 276.8
Today's Weight:  267.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Day 4

Starting Weight:  276.8
Today's Weight:  267.4

Oh, yeah, my friends!!  Can't believe how well this is going.  Seriously, this is a very restrictive diet.  It's NO joke.  But it has been one of the easiest diets I've been on...ever.  I feel so blessed to have almost my entire office starting this at the same time. The source of support and comaraderie is astounding.  I feel so good.  So energized.  I'm not going to lie, there are moments of hunger.  Sometimes I have to chug a bit of water.  Sometimes I smell real food and I want to dive in.  But I have no complaints so far....no fatigue, no headaches, no lethargy.  If anything, I have more energy than ever.

I may have let my blood sugar get a little low today.  This is obviously starting to become a problem so I need to really watch it from here on.  I can't wait to get off the meds!!

Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Day 3

Starting Weight: 276.8
Today's Weight:  269.6

Woo, down over 7 pounds in 4 days!!  Crazy!!  And I know this is working as it is supposed to for this reason:  I have been eating 500 calories a day for three datys and I do NOT feel tired, fatigued, irritable, etc.  I feel really good.  With the exception of feeling a bit hungry here and there, I feel FANTASTIC!! 

So lesson of the day:  Do not get too cocky too soon.  The fact is, 7 pounds on a big girl is literally a drop in the bucket.  Since it is pure fat, I am feeling it already in my clothes.  What I shouldn't have done was try on my summer capri pants.  Oh, how absolutely depressing!!  Wow, this really drives it home that I need to stay on this and get this weight off pronto!!  Most of my pants don't meet by over 2".  Sad.  :(  So with that being said, let's see what tomorrow's loss is!!  It's like Christmas every day right now.  :)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Day 2

Starting weight:  276.8
Today's weight:  272.6

Wow!!  I have the most amazing support network on this HCG program.  I am blessed for not having to go through this process alone. What great friends I have!!

I was really pleased to start my day with a 2.2 lb loss.  Woo-hoo!!  I'm down over 4 pounds in three days, two of those being fat loading days.  LOL.

As far as eating goes, today was pretty much the same as yesterday.  It had its moments of feeling hungry but it wasn't emotional and it was totally mangeable.  I just can't wait until this becomes second nature and I don't have to think about it so much.  I want to fast forward a few weeks with some real motivational lost pounds to feel good about.  Soon, though.  I'm hoping time starts to fly!! ;)

Good things are brewing. 

Monday, April 11, 2011

Before Pictures


Day 1 - VLCD

Starting Weight:  276.8
Today's Weight:  274.8

How on earth I lost 2 pounds on fat loading, I have NO idea.  But I guess it's 2 pounds that I don't have to lose again.

Today was day 1 on VLCD.  I really had myself worked up that this would be an extremely hard day, filled with anxiety and deprivation, thus equaling tears.  I actually did pretty well.  I certainly wanted to eat more.  I certainly could have.  But NO tears.  I'm sure they are going to come.  I had some hunger between lunch and dinner, but mostly after I ate my apple for a snack.  Apples always make me feel more hungry and I knew that already.  I created a Fitday account and I am logging my calories.  I feel pretty even tempered and certainly much better after eating dinner.

All in all, not a bad day.  We'll see what my loss is tomorrow. 

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Day 2 FAT LOADING!!

Starting Weight:  276.8
Today: 276

I don't have any clue how I lost on a Fat Load day.  I ate myself sick yesterday, so today I had to eat more.  I cannot even believe how much I ate.  Tall buttery stack of pancakes for breakfast.  Cheese quesadilla for a snack.  Big Mac, large fry, large mocha frappe for lunch.  I could not even finish my fries.  My best friend Annette is on track with me and we wanted to barf as we tried stuffing our faces with fries as we were rushing to make an afternoon movie.  She was practically force feeding me as we both laughed hysterically.  I finally opened the car window and "oops!!" dropped the last quarter of my fries out the window.  The gluttony continued this evening as we shared a small pizza with lots of fattening meat and ranch dressing.  The icing on the cake was a large bowl of rocky road ice cream.  Doesn't that sound disgusting?!!  Oh, my!!

So needless to say, we are ready to start our VLCD tomorrow.  We purchased our food, portioned it out, cooked it, bagged it up in portions, chopped veggies and bagged them up.  I'm ready!!  I'm nervous and scared that I am going to be hungry.  Looking at my food for the day is a little frightning.  I'm fairly certain that I eat way more than 500 in a meal, let alone a day!! I really dislike being hungry.  I get uncomfortable and anxiety ridden when I can't eat what I want when I want it.  I've been known to cry when I feel deprived.  This will, for sure, be interesting!!

As promised, here are the measurements.  I'm only doing a few.  It will be enough to see if I'm losing.  Honestly, it was really depressing to see that my stomach nearly took the entire measuring tape.  Wow!!  That was eye opening!!  I know I've weighed more.  I know my measurements have been bigger.  But those were times where there was no record.  I know I was well over 300 pounds.  I know my gut was much huger than it is now.I was in a bad space then and quite depressed.  In light of that, I have to just document these measurements and move on.  I'm excited for the big loss to begin!!

Neck:  16.5"
Bust:  56.5"
Bicept:  12"
Waist:  59.5"

Day 1 - FAT LOADING!!

Hi.  My name is Shannon.  I'm 42 years old, almost 43.  Thank you for taking the time to follow my journey as I learn about HCG, mess up, struggle, succeed, fight, kick and scream and dance for joy.  A little background:  I have been overweight my whole life.  I was a chunky kid, a pudgy teenager, a fat young adult and an obese grown woman.  I have struggled with my weight, my identity and my place in this world.  I have spent the better part of my life disliking myself, feeling worthless and terribly insecure.  This last year I gave myself the best gift that I could give myself.  The gift of therapy.  Was it easy?  Heck no!!  Did I have to face some really tough stuff?  Oh, you bet!!  Was it worth it?  I'd do it again and again.  I wish I'd done it in my 20s.  But better late than never, right?  ....The result?  Well, after the better part of a year seeing a therapist weekly, I am now a strong, confident woman.  I feel that I deserve to take up space on the real estate under my feet.  I feel grounded.  I know the woman I am.  I like the woman I am.  I know what makes me happy and I live in that space more now than ever!!  And even at 276.8 pounds, I finally feel attractive and even sexy!!  Yep, it's true.  And I've noticed a change in how other people perceive me as well with the change in my attitude about myself.

That being said, this challenge is less about wanting to lose weight for vanity reasons and more for health reasons.  I am a type 2 diabetic and I have hypertension.  My goal is to get off of those medications and restore my health.  During therapy and learning about myself, I gained about 40 pounds.  I think I used my standby "feel good" remedy of food to soothe myself as I weeded through the difficult feelings and memories. I'm okay with that.  But now my back hurts all the time. Seriously, all the time!!  My clothes are all too small.  I have two pairs of jeans and two pairs of athletic pants that fit.  My shirts are all too small, but I camouflage that with jackets and sweaters to cover the bumps and rolls.  Summer is coming and I know for a fact that I will not fit into my summer clothes and I will not be able to hide under layers on those 100 degree days. 

So here I am, exposing it all.  I will be honest with my experience, good or bad.  I hope to learn even more about me in the process.  I also hope to recover my health and begin to regain a more physical life. I loved to hike, camp, walk, etc.  I want that back.  I hope to also be an inspiration to other people.  I have 5 co-workers and two friends beginning this journey also, all with different goals, so I have much support and for that I am grateful. 

Tomorrow I will post my stats and my "before" pictures.  Ooh, that won't be easy, but here we go....