hCG Day 19: VLCD Day 16/238.4 lbs (-0.6)

13.4 from my pre loading weight. 16.2 since starting the VLCD.
Fasting blood sugar was 88.

Any loss is a good loss!

Lunch was chicken, celery, a grapefruit and a grissini.
Dinner was 97% lean ground beef cooked with onions and garlic (delicious! Thanks Tammy!), cabbage and an orange. I ran out of grissini breadsticks at home.

No hunger and no headachs.

I am not worried about plateaus or small losses. I know that I am not cheating or doing other things that would cause true weight gain.

I'm not sure why I am retaining water, but it doesn't really matter as long as I stay on the protocol and am not getting hungry.

HCG Day 18: VLCD Day 15/239.0 (0) AGAIN!

Second day in a row of no weight loss.
Fasting blood sugar was 91.

I have had 4 out of the last 6 days with no weight loss.
The only thing that has changed is that I have gone off caffeine.
I am going back to caffeine.
I had my first Americano this morning and it was delicious!

I just checked my blood sugar at 9:50 am and it is 80 on the low side of normal.

I will continue drinking as much water as I can and keep on keepin' on.
I am not overly concerned. This mini plateau will not deter me from continuing on!
I have considered my ways and I am not using any lotions or anything that would be providing fat to my body.
I am not cheating on the food.
I am drinking enough fluids.
I will not dispair!

My goal is not just to lose weight but to lose size!
I know the HCG is working because I am not getting hungry.

HCG Day 17: VLCD Day 14/239.0 lbs (0)

Once again, no weight loss today.
My fasting blood sugar was 91.

I think that I have figured out at least part of why.

On all of the days that I have not lost weight, I have drunk just the minimum of fluids (64 oz).
On all other days I have had more than 80 oz of fluids.
I also had been taking a diabetic medicine Metformin which causes diarrhea.
When I started the VLCD I stopped taking Metformin which has probably firmed me up quite a bit.
I have also been abstaining from caffeine which is a diuretic.

All of this may be combining to cause me to retain water.

I'm not real worried about it. I am still doing the VLCD and not feeling hungry, so I know its working.

I will just keep plodding along! (I have already had 48 oz of water today and 2 16oz cups of decaf tea!)

For lunch I had chicken (the last portion from my last cooking day), celery, a grapefruit and a grissini.
For dinner my wife made me a beef stew with cabbage, celery, onion and tomatoes. It was incredible. I also had strawberries and a grissini. All within the 500 calorie limit.

Last night I cooked up 10 fresh batches of chicken. I realized that last time I cooked up the chicken, I weighed it while it was frozen which means that I wasn't getting a full 100 grams of meat when I ate chicken. I was ok with the steak because I weighed it raw and unfrozen.

HCG Day 16: VLCD Day 13 / 239.0 lbs (-1.0)

12.8 from my pre loading weight. 15.6 since starting the VLCD.
Fasting blood sugar was 94.

Yesterday was a good day for hunger and and headaches.

I worked very hard yesterday from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm which my body is not used to.

I was able to drink enough fluids.

Still not drinking any caffeine and about the only difference I have noted is that I am sleeping better!

For lunch I had chicken, a grapefruit, a salad and a grissini.
For the salad I used no dressing or anything but I did cut up my chicken and put it on top. It was great!
For dinner I had stir fried beef (no oil), celery, onion, red pepper, an orange and a grissini.
All for only 500.4 calories!

HCG Day 15: VLCD Day 12/240.0 lbs (0)

No weight loss again today.
Fasting blood sugar 94.

I worked very hard yesterday and didn't drink all of the water I should.

I will work extra hard today to drink the water.

Lunch was chicken, grapefruit, celery and a grissini.
Dinner was shrimp, an orange and a grissini.

I just realized that I never ate my vegetable for dinner last night.

Hunger was fine all day.

HCG Day 14: VLCD Day 11/240.0 lbs (-2.0)

11.8 from my pre loading weight. 14.6 since starting the VLCD.
Fasting blood sugar was 90.

I lost nothing yesterday and lost two pounds today, go figure!

Hunger was good today. Drank plenty of fluids. Did no caffeine. Headaches were few.

For lunch I had chicken, celery, an orange and a grissini.
For dinner it was shrimp, asparagus, strawberries and a grissini.

I am trying to use different spices to liven up my meat choices.

I wil be working all day so Sunday will have to be my cooking day.

HCG Day 13: VLCD Day 10/242.0 lbs (0)

No change from yesterdays weigh-in.
Fasting blood sugar was 92.

I didn't drink as much yesterday as I have been drinking.
And no caffeine. I have a headache this morning, probably from no caffeine.

Lunch was beef, celery, an orange and a grissini.
Dinner was shrimp, asparagus, an orange and a grissini.

I was hungrier yesterday than usual.

I also did some work last night that was very exhausting which I have not done since being on the protocol.

I didn't feel too bad but Tammy said I looked exhausted.

HCG Day 12: VLCD Day 9/242.0 lbs (-1.0)

9.8 lbs from my pre loading weight. 12.6 lbs since starting the VLCD.
My fasting blood sugar was 100.

Yesterday after adding a new hole to my belt because it was too big, the slacks I had on were too big and the button kept coming undone all day!
Bummer, guess those pants will join the "Salvation Army" pile!

I'm looking forward to the "thinning of the herd" in my closets. I have been wearing 2X shirts and was up to wearing 42 X 30 pants.

Lunch yesterday was beef, tomatoes, an apple and a grissini.
Dinner was Cod, a Romaine Lettuce Salad, an apple and a grissini.

I am going to go caffine free today and see how that helps my weight loss.

Update: I have had no caffine today and I have been lacking in energy. We'll see in the morning if it pays off!

HCG Day 11: 8th Day of VLCD/ 243.0 lbs (-0.8)

8.8 lbs from my pre loading weight. 11.6 lbs since starting the VLCD.
My fasting blood sugar was 99.

Yesterday was my worst day for hunger but still not bad.

Ended up eating an extra orange late because my blood sugar was low.
My calories for the day were still around 500.

For lunch I had chicken, cucumber, an orange and a grissini.
For dinner I had chicken, a Romaine Lettuce Salad, a small grapefruit, an orange and a grissini.
I drank 3 - 16 oz cups of coffee, 2 - 16 oz cups of green tea and 2.5 liters of water.

My family had dinner with my Dad and Step Mom last night.
Lasagna. Garlic Cheese Bread. Ceasar Salad.
It was kind of funny with my little peice of chicken on my plate and my salad in my salad bowl.

It sure smelled good, but I wasn't really tempted.
I am going to be to a normal weight for my 48th birthday on May 29th!
Sounds pretty good to me!

I almost for got! I wanted to tell you that I had to drill a new hole in my belt this morning because it was too big! Yesterday my pants were just too loose!

HCG Day 10: 7th Day of VLCD/243.8 (-0.2)

8.0 lbs from my pre loading weight. 10.8 lbs since starting the VLCD.
My fasting blood sugar was 104.

Not much weight lost. Maybe because I didn't weigh in yesterday until 10:30 am.
Yesterday I drank coffee all day and drank water all evening, but I don't think I drank enough.
Lunch was chicken, cucumber, apple and a grissini.
For dinner my sister Karin and brother Nolan came over and I wanted Karin to try the cod, so I cooked a cod steak and let her taste it and ate the rest for my dinner protein.
I followed that with a romaine lettuce salad, an orange and a grissini.

No hunger and I think the headaches might be gone!

Karin and Nolan came over so that Nolan could show Karin how to mix the HCG and prepare for injections. I got to give Karin her first injection and she was very excited that it didn't hurt her at all! She will start loading tonight.

We just sat and talked about the protocol for a long time. It was great!

Nolan is a great source of information and experience and a great encouragement!

I am so excited that I am on this journey with my brothers Nolan and Dan, my sister Karin and Dan's brother in law Van!

HCG Day 9: 6th Day of VLCD/244.0 lbs (-1.8)

7.8 lbs from my pre loading weight. 10.6 lbs since starting the VLCD.
My fasting blood sugar was 85, which is a little low, but I didn't check it until 11:30 am.

I slept in 'til 10:30 am this morning (MLK Jr Birthday) and then my neighbor stopped by and we had a cup of coffee so I didn't check my blood sugar or take my HCG injection until an hour later.

Yesterday was pretty good. No hunger and no headaches.

Chicken, cucumber, apple and a grissini for lunch and Cube steak (Plain), romain lettuce salad, orange and a grissini for dinner. I did go 40 calories over yesterday due to a very large and delicious apple!

HCG Day 8: 5th Day of VLCD/245.8 lbs (-1.4)

6.0 lbs from my preloading weight. 8.8 lbs since starting the VLCD.
My fasting blood sugar was 105 which is very good because for dinner I had cod, a salad and a grissini. I just realized that I forgot to eat my fruit for dinner last night! That's a bummer because I was hungry last night and could have eaten it! I drank green tea instead.

Yesterday I went to lunch with my best friend Jim at Patty's Eggnest one of our favorite breakfast restaurants. I had a spinach salad with cucumber, tomato, chicken and a hard boiled egg. I asked them to hold the olives, cheese and dressing. I know lunch was more than likely over 250 calories, but not bad for eating at a restaurant. Also, I still lost 1.4 lbs!

I'll write more later...

The Importance of Support!

I read in other blogs people doing the Simeon's protocol with no support other than people in the online groups. Even though I love the online groups, that would be so hard.

I am so blessed to have seen my brother Nolan lose over 50 lbs using this protocol!

I am blessed to have my wonderful wife Tammy and all of my four children be supportive and encouraging as I start!

Also, having my brother Dan and sister Karin doing the proceedure at the same time is very encouraging!

HCG Day 7: 4th Day of VLCD/247.2 (-0.8)

4.6 lbs from my preloading weight. 7.4 lbs since starting the VLCD.
Under one pound loss but still a loss.
I did drink about 32 oz of liquids after 7:00 pm last night. (Green Tea and water)
My fasting blood sugar today was 113. Haven't taken my diabetic meds since the last day of loading. The lowest my blood sugar yesterday was 90.

I started eating both my my lunch and dinner earlier in the day yesterday and never did eat my fruit for dinner. I ended up with only 386 calories for the day. Not on purpose. I just didn't feel like eating the fruit.

For lunch I had chicken, an orange, small tomatoes and a grissini.
For dinner I had chicken, a cucumber and a grissini.

I did pretty good on drinking liquids.
Still had a headach, but it was better for most of the day.

Today I am going to lunch with my best friend Jim. I am just planning to eat a salad so we'll see.

The hard part for me on the weekend is drinking enough fluids!

Tonight will be a cooking night! I want to prepare enough chicken and beef for the whole week not including the weekend. That way when I get home from work I can eat right away if I need to and I don't have to worry about meat for lunches. I will still portion the vegetables each evening for lunch because they don't keep as well!

I am attempting to set myself up for success.

HCG Day 6: 3rd Day of VLCD/248.0 lbs (-2.4)

3.8 lbs under my preloading weight. 5.4 lbs since starting the VLCD.
My fasting blood sugar this morning was 117 without taking any of my diabetic meds the since Tuesday. Yesterday my blood sugar was at 101 most of the day and then dropped to 70 in the afternoon right before dinner but I never felt like it was low.

Last night for dinner I had some of the chicken I cooked up Wednesday night. It was really good, maybe a little hot due to the chile powder but it had nice flavor.
I rounded my meal out with an apple, cucumber and a grissini. I ended up with only 448 calories for the day. Very little hunger. I drank less coffee and tea and about 3 liters of water.

Today I still have a headach, but its not as bad as it has been. I brought more of the chicken for lunch along with an orange and some tomato's. I already have a box of grissini's at work so they don't get crushed, broken or mushy in transit. I take the train to work on most days.

Yesterday my department at work had a meeting and our supervisor brought lots of cookies and candies and I was not tempted at all. I just sat there and thought that if this meeting had been just a week ago I would have eaten lots of junk!

Last night my son James and I worked a concession stand during Preview Night of the Kamiak High School Winter Play. Lots of Pop, Candy, Cookies, Chips and was not tempted.

James is very supportive of my diet so he brought a thermos filled with hot water, green tea and travel cups so that I would have something to drink other than water! James is 15 years old.
Pretty awesome!

Blood Sugars

Yesterday my starting blood sugar was 116 which is within the normal range.

100 is normal.

I didn't take my diabetes medicine in the morning because I didn't want to have a problem with low blood sugar. I took the medicine with me just in case.

At 10:30 am my blood sugar was at 105, still good.
At 2:30 pm I could tell that it was a little low so I checked it and it was 85, which is a little low.
I checked it again at 4:30 pm and it was 81 so I got a cup of coffee at Seattle's Best Coffee Company with a tablespoon of milk.
I know, not much but it never seemed to drop any lower.
I had a small candy bar in my laptop bag but I didn't want to eat it unless I had to. I need to find something that is basically just sugar to carry with me just in case.

I got home at about 6:00 pm and ate dinner and was fine after that.

My fasting blood sugar was 101 this morning which is really good!

HCG Day 5: 2nd Day on VLCD/250.4 lbs (- 4.2)

1.2 pounds below my first loading day weight!
I don't know how much of that is water, but I have been drinking quite a bit of water lately so it can't be that much.
I did drink a lot of water, coffee and tea yesterday. (Over100 oz)

When I got home I was pretty hungry so I ate the apple from my ready meal and a "fresh" Grissini.
(Remind me never to put the Grissini in a zip lock bag with the rest of a meal. I found out at lunch that it turns soft!)

I decided to try the cod I bought at Costco for dinner last night.
It was incredible! I cooked it in lemon juice and Pampered Chef's Dill Seasoning.
It was so good I can't wait to have it again.
It comes with each 4 oz. steak individually wrapped and only 27 calories per ounce! (That's what the package said!)
I rounded out my meal with celery. That really filled me up!

Later, I weighed out 3 servings of chicken tenders and grilled them with some garlic and chile powder, let them cool and stored them in zip lock bags for future meals.

I didn't do too bad with hunger yesterday.
I just drank coffee and water until about 10:30 am when I ate my apple.
I ate my grissini at about 12:00 pm, the beef at about 1:00 pm and the cucumber at about 2:00 pm.

I did get a pretty good headache after work which has stayed with me through the night.
I haven't taken anything for it yet, but I will later if it doesn't get any better.

My brother Dan in Cocoa Florida started taking Sublingual HCG.
His brother in law Van in Vancouver Washington is on his second week taking injections.
I believe my brother Nolan is on his third series of shots.
My sister Karin is going to start with injections within a week or so.

It's great to be starting with the encouragement and support of family and friends!

HCG Day 4: 1st Day of VLCD/254.6 lbs (+1.2)

254.6 lbs is my new baseline.
My morning bloodsugar measurement was 116 within the normal range.
HCG injection on the right side of my spare tire. Felt a pin prick, but not bad.
I did alot better at loading yesterday. I'm glad that's over. For now.
I've been nervous about starting the VLCD. I don't know why.
I'm just glad to be finally starting it.
I cooked my premeasured beef last night using a fresh clove of garlic (pressed) and fresh ground pepper. I haven't tasted it yet but it sure smelled good!
I decided to slice the beef up and cook it in a frying pan at medium temperature.
There was very little fat so I had to add a little water.
I actually cooked up two batches of beef because I wanted to prepare one 250 calorie meal and have it sitting in the fridge.
That way if my family decides to go out to dinner or we have dinner at someone elses house or whatever, I already have a meal prepared and ready to go.
Less reasons to miss the mark.
Then if I don't need it, I will take it for lunch the next day.
I am planning to prepare two meals each evening. One for dinner and one to replace the ready meal in the fridge that I will take for lunch the next day.
We'll see how that goes.
Today for lunch I will have beef, cucumber, apple and a Grissini breadstick. 242 calories.
My brother saved me from Melba Toast by letting me know where to find them in my area.
I remember eating them when we were kids, pretending they were cigars!
I tried one last night and they were as good as I remembered!
I wasn't looking forward to the Melba Toast, but I might be before this VLCD is done!

HCG Day 3: Third Day of Loading/253.4 lbs (-1.0)

Down a pound today. Probably water loss. I drank a lot of water yesterday compared to very little on Sunday.
Third day of HCG injection and loading. Third day of not enjoying loading.
Injection in the right thigh with no pain.
I think the thing I will miss most on the VLCD is not having a latte in the moring!
I went out and bought ten pounds of very lean round steak on Saturday.
Tammy and I cut it up in 3.5 oz steaks and put it in zip lock storage bags for individual freezing.
I am going to do the same tonight with chicken breats.
I need to get Melba Toast and more vegetables before tomorrow.

My Experience with the Prism Diet.

In September of 1997, my wife Tammy and I joined a weight loss group at our church that was starting the Prism diet.
The Prism diet involves a reduced calorie intake of 1000 for women and 1500 for men and 8 - 8 oz glasses of water each day.
I was at 235 when I started and ended up losing 45 pounds.
I went off the diet when I started a new job. My wife lost about the same.
The diet is restricted to eliminate most starches and carbs. No potatoes, no food made with white flour and no sugar.
We found it enjoyable and very successful.
Our church is about to start up another Prism group but I thought I would give HCG a try first.

HCG Day 2: Second day of loading/254.4 lbs (+2.6)

Picked up some one cc syringes from my brother Nolan, who has lost over 59 lbs since September 10, 2007.
He uses the 1/2 cc syringes so we'll just make a trade.
Nolan told me that he cut the amount of Bacteriostatic water in half so that he could use the 1/2 cc syringe.
I think I may do that on the second course of HCG.

Still not enjoying loading, but I am trying to eat the foods I enjoy that I will not be able to eat for quite a while.

I prefilled the syringe last night and left it out so that it could warm to room temperature before the injection.
I gave the injection in my left thigh with no pain.
Didn't do very well drinking water yesterday so I'm making sure I drink enough to get in the habit.

HCG Day 1: First Injection and Loading/251.8 lbs

I actually started my HCG injections and loading yesterday but did not have time to create this blog.
I weighed in at 251.8 lbs.
I found out that I am not very good at loading!
I'll try harder today.

I mixed my first batch of HGC on Saturday night in preperation for starting injections in the morning.
I used a 1/2 CC syringe for my injections, which was all I had, so I had to give two injections.
Bummer!
One in the stomach and one in the right thigh.
No pain in the thigh and just a little burn in the stomach.