Phase 2 Day 19

Well this morning I was pleasantly surprised with a weight loss of 1.8lbs! I don't know how that happened honestly, but I will take it. I am realizing just how important water is on this diet...I cannot go my day without flooding my system with tons of water. I have noticed a great improvement on the scale doing this, as well as in my hunger level and energy level. When I first read up on this diet, I thought...yeah, yeah, water is important...but I am now 100% convinced that it is necessary. So if you are on this diet or thinking about starting it, remember this tip...water, water, water!! Today was a busy, on-the-go day so I only drank 4 of my regular water bottle, and I have been drinking 5-6 consistently, that coupled with my big weight loss this morning will probably mean nothing tomorrow, but that's okay. I really enjoyed the food that I ate today, but looking back I realized that I used tomato for my fruit at both meals...I wonder if this will make a difference?

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Water
Lunch: Curry Chicken with Tomato Soup
Dinner: Pork Loin Steak, 1/4 cup of my homemade tomato sauce, 2 melba toasts crushed (I mixed in salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley as well) as breading for my 200g of zuchini rounds (so good!)

The funny thing about these zuchini rounds is that I made them all the time before this diet. I used way more Melba toast for the crumbs, egg for sticking the breading, and a ranch/sour cream mix for dip, but you know what?...these were so awesome too! I don't know whether it is because I haven't had any breaded food for three weeks, but I would make them this way all the time :)

Don't they look yummy?

Phase 2 Day 17 and 18

Well, today I hit the 240's! I am so excited :) I have lost 16 lbs from my start weight, and over 18 since beginning Phase 2. Honestly, I expected to have lost more than this by this point...almost half way, but I know that my results are amazing. My goal is to have lost at least another 10 lbs so that I can be in the 230's...wow that would be so surreal! Tonight I was doing some research on how to kick start weight loss on the HCG diet, and one idea is a fat flush using macadamia nuts. It is a very interesting idea, essentially you eat 5 ounces of nuts over the course of your day, drink tons of water and see incredible releases (fat losses) the next day. I am super skeptical, but at the same time am willing to try it if I am experiencing a major stall in the future. I did nibble on a piece of Chocolate Delight tonight because coconut oil is supposed to really get your metabolism going. I made it on the weekend...added tons of stevia and I still HATE the way it tastes. This was super disappointing because I was so excited about the concept. I looked up several you tube videos today and found some girls who add their dairy to it and dissolve their stevia in that, which makes it taste better. They also added some macadamia nuts to their chocolate, which seems like a good idea to me as well. I am going to make another batch of the Chocolate Delight and HOPE that is turns out to be yummy and satisfying.

Yesterday was by far, the worst day that I have had on this diet. There was so much temptation around, I was sick, and I suffered from having aversions to EVERYTHING. It was 9pm and I was still standing in the kitchen desperately trying to find something that appealed to me. The only thing that appealed to me was eggs on toast. I compared the carbs in bread to my melba, and it was more (though, not by much) and I just couldn't let myself do it. I finally ended up having an omlette with tomato and onion. I sprinkled a teensy bit of low-fat cheddar cheese on top to make it more appetizing and then had a melba toast with it. It was good and satisfied my desire for eggs.

I was so frustrated yesterday and I just wanted to eat something...be normal again. I have to say, for me the biggest challenge on this diet is all mental. I want to eat something, I want to take part in eating socially, I want to go on a date with my hubby for dinner, I want to be skinny and be able to do all these things. Isn't that the dream? I definitely know that with my genetics, and my pattern of emotional eating and tendency to be addicted to things...this just isn't possible for me. I guess a girl can dream, and be really jealous of all the women out there who are able to do this. Anyways, thankfully when I woke up today I was in better spirits and didn't experience any aversions either.

On my way home from my first staff meeting at my new school (yay!), I stopped at Langley Farm Market to pick up some groceries for me. I was so pleased with what I found: Magic Seasoning Blends, Greek Seasoning Packs, Zero Chicken Broth, Pork Loin Steaks, Grissini breadsticks, and tons of cheap, fresh, yummy veggies and fruit.

The pork was only $6 for 2lbs of meat. The most conventient thing of all is that two pounds is about 900g and there were 9 pork loin steaks already portioned. That made my life so much easier!! I cooked three tonight, and then bagged the rest in two's so that I could always cook an extra one for the next day!

I also cooked extra lean ground sirloin and portioned it into bags. I kept one out and the rest went in the freezer for next week. I didn't take a picture of it, but I also made a HUGE pot of Chicken Curry Soup that my sister-in-law fed me on the weekend and I will portion it in the morning. She is doing the plan as well and is blogging her journey here.

And, here was tonight's dinner: grilled pork with a mustard and spice glaze with softened cabbage and apple. It was pretty good, but I cooked the cabbage and apple together and realized that last time I got more flavour from the apples when I cooked them separately and let them carmelize...so I will do that next time!

I REALLY hope I am down again tomorrow because now that I have reached weights in the 240's, I want to get to the 230's!!! Good night all :)

Phase 2 Day 16

I woke up and I was down 1.2lbs today, which brings me INSANELY close to being in the 240's. It will happen tomorrow or perhaps the next day. I am really happy about my results so far and want to keep going!!!

We were booking our hotels for Vegas tonight, and I am realizing how difficult it is going to be to stay on plan there. The last four days of phase 2 are in Vegas...it is going to be brutal. I am going to be prepared though and try to only stray from plan one day. Any tips for me?

I didn't take any pictures of the food I ate today, but here is what I had:
Breakfast: Water
Lunch: 100g Steak, 150g Asparagus, Grissini, Small Orange
Dinner: 100g Chicken, 200g Zuchini, Grissini, 1/4 cup Tomato Sauce (in place of fruit)

All in all a pretty average day, and I hope that my streak of losing will continue tomorrow morning :)

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
1 can (28 ou) Crushed Tomatoes
*make sure the ingredients are only tomato, water and salt*
1-2 Tbsp Oregano, freshly chopped
1-2 Tbsp Basil, freshly chopped
1-2 Tbsp Parsley, freshly chopped
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt

Place everything into a saucepan, heat and serve! I will portion the rest into servings and freeze!

 

I served this with zuchini "spaghetti" and chicken breast. I even dipped my breadstick into the rest that was left on my plate...it is SO yummy!

Calories: 25 calories (1/4 cup)

Phase 2 Day 13, 14, 15

So, I have definitely not been keeping up with my blogging...but to be fair it has been a CRAZY weekend! On Friday I got to go watch my Mom graduate from her nursing program. She was the valedictorian and gave an awesome speech. I also had to go to a baby shower and birthday party this weekend, and of course I made all the gift that I was bringing. I made paper dolls, a tutu, 3 head bands, a onesie, baby blanet and burp cloth. I got very little sleep in the last week because of all these activities, but I LOVE doing this type of stuff so it is worth it!

As far as the eating, I have been doing great. This morning marks 14 lbs gone and I am still feeling great! Sometimes I catch myself wishing I had lost more weight, but honestly it is incredible that I have lost that much in two weeks! I am really looking forward to more results in the next week, including getting into the 240's, which is a place I haven't been in 5 years! These past few days have not been without challenges, I mean a shower with peanut butter chocolate brownies, a birthday party with cake and roasted potatoes, and tonight...I am baking for my year-end parties I hold for my students, as well as for the Grade 3 class. My favorite cookie is a sugar cookie and I just made, baked and iced 68 of them...it is a special kind of toture for someone who is doing a no sugar, no carb diet!

I wish I could say that I didn't sneak anything, but I did have a miniscule piece of dough...I couldn't resist. It was bad, but I think it will be okay tomorrow. My willpower will still stay, but I just "needed" to have a taste. At this point in the diet, I am feeling great but also starting to miss the way I used to eat. I am not having cravings for things, but I miss having a sandwich, or my homemade egg salad with rice cakes. I have definitely not lost perspective on why I am doing this, and I love the results so far. I am, however, looking forward to beginning to eat "normally" again because I have drastically changed the way I think about portions, food and eating habits in general. It will be nice to finally have control over my eating habits...thank you HCG!

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Green Tea, Water
Lunch: 150g Cabbage (50 calories), 100g Ground Greek Chicken (114 calories), Green Tea
Dinner: 100g Chicken Breast (114 calories), 1/4 cup Homemade Tomato Sauce (25 calories), 200g Zuchini (32 calories), 2 Breadsticks (50 calories)

I am counting that tomato sauce as my fruit, and I FORGOT to eat my fruit throughout the day, but I am going to leave it because I am full and don't think I should eat if I'm not hungry. Anyways, I think I need to make my way to my bedroom to read because the smell of cookies and muffins is driving me CRAZY! (Oh, by the way I also made Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip muffins!)

Phase 2 Day 12

I was down 1.2 lbs...hooray! The real test will be if I am down again in the next few days as well...if not, I am not sure what I will do. I have also had a bunch of compliments on how thin my face looks...that feels AWESOME :)

Today was one of those crazy, busy days and I am sitting here at 11:45pm realizing that I didn't even have my second fruit today...crazy!! The end of the year for a teacher is always busy and I also have a baby shower that I am making a gift for, my niece Sarah's birthday present I am working on, orders for my business, and preparations for my review session next week before finals. Too much stuff to do, but I honestly love all the craftiness happening at my house, but it looks like a bomb went off in here :)

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast: Water, Apple (72 calories)
Lunch: Homemade Chicken and Celery Soup (176 calories), 1 Grissini Breadstick (24 calories)
Dinner: 100g Ground Chicken with Greek Seasoning (114 calories), 150g cabbage (49 calories), 1 Grissini Breadstick (24 calories)
Snack: Oops, forgot to make my strawberry lemon sorbet...tomorrow though :)

Total Calories: 459

Phase 2 Day 11

Today I woke up and I was 254.6, so I had taken off the stuff that I gained yesterday. I was still really frustrated this morning with this because I feel like I have been hovering between 254 and 255 for several days. My solution: apple day. So far today I have had three apples, but I think I was supposed to eat more apples than that, but honestly I have not been hungry for it. I have barely had anything to drink today as well, which is also part of this method to kick a stall. I sincerely hope that this takes a couple pounds off of me tomorrow morning because as soon as I get discouraged, I want to eat.

I feel like everytime I blog I am relaying a story about the wonderful food that I had to sit and admire, but it's a big deal! Something you should know about me is that I LOVE macaroni and cheese...I mean the cheesy goodness is my favorite thing in the world!! I don't let myself keep Kraft Dinner in the house because I will eat an entire box for lunch...needless to say it is my weakness. So today I walk into the staff room and there is a huge bowl of delicious HOMEMADE macaroni and cheese for the staff to partake in. I was so sad and all I could think about was when am I going to be able to eat that again. Something that I have been thinking about is how am I going to manage keeping this weight off, if all I am looking forward to is these bad-for-me dishes. I can easily follow an "everything in moderation" mantra, but will that work to keep this weight off? I certainly hope so because, although I am loving, loving, loving the way that I am eating and the way that I feel on this diet...I can't live with the idea that I can never let myself have macaroni and cheese again :)