AHA! I know the culprit for my 0.2 loss yesterday..

Start Weight: 168 lbs
Goal Weight: 138 lbs
Weight after two loading days:  171.7 lbs (3.7 lbs total gain)
R2P2D15: 157.6  (-14.1 lbs gross, -10.4 lbs net)

I owe everyone an apology -- I did not post my menu yesterday because I just flat ran out of time.  It was a special day yesterday, and my family was going from sun-up to sun-down (and WAY beyond) so I just didn't have time.  I can't even remember exactly what I ate.  I believe I had a Jay Robb protein shake, a large apple, and a slice of Ezekiel bread with lettuce and tomato.  If you are tracking my food intake vs. losses, I hope that will suffice.

1.2 lbs released -- woo hoo!  I'm glad to see the losses pick up again. Although, I am pretty sure I now know the reason for the slow-down yesterday. I'll explain after the menu, but it is a "womanly" issue. Therefore, all the guys out there can feel free to stop reading after the menu today. It will be all girly stuff after that!  ;-)

So, without further ado, on to the menu!

2p:          ACV concoction

2:30p:     One whole egg plus three egg whites

                scrambled with spinach and onion*

4p:          ACV concoction

7p:          Quorn Naked Chik'n Cutlet, Lettuce,

                Tomato, Onion with dressing of mustard

                mixed with ACV

10:30p:  Apple

Okay men, you can stop reading now...  see all you male losers tomorrow!  :-)

Pause here while the men leave the room....

Now that it is just us ladies, I can say the I believe that the slow-down in loss was due to the onset of menstruation. One of the forums that I peruse calls it TOM (Time Of Menstruation), so I'll stick with that abbreviation. Well, TOM arrived and, as usual, I probably am retaining water.  I suspected it yesterday, but know today for sure. So, that brings me to another dilemma -- do I stop the injections during TOM as Dr. Simeons suggested? Or, do I just plow ahead and continue the injections? My clinic says to stop, following Dr. S's protocol. However, in my research, it looks like a LOT of women just continue injections through TOM. One theory that I have seen floated out there was that in Dr. Simeons' day they erroneously believed that women created HCG in their bodies during menstruation, so there was no need for the injections. However, I'm not sure that I agree, because he specifically says in his protocol that:

"HCG is never found in the human body except during pregnancy and in those rare cases in which a residue of placental tissue continues to grow in the womb in what is known as a chorionic epithelioma. It is never found in the male."

So, it seems clear to me that he doesn't believe that HCG is created during menstruation. My theory is that perhaps people might think that he believed HCG was present in the body during TOM because:

• He said to stop injections during TOM (assuming that HCG is already present)
• He mentions women who forget to take their injection immediately after TOM ends become ravenously hungry (which seems like he is saying that there is HCG present to get them through TOM that drops off right as TOM ends)
• He mentions that HCG "regulates" menstruation
• He says "the end of a course of HCG should never be made to coincide with menstruation. If things should happen to work out that way, it is better to give the last injection three days before the expected date of the menses so that a normal diet can he resumed at onset. Alternatively, at least three injections should be given after the period, followed by the usual three days of dieting."  (This really sounds like he thinks that HCG is in the system during TOM...)

If you just consider these points and ignore the quote about HCG only being present in the human body during pregnancy, you might believe that he thought HCG was created during TOM.

So, what's a girl to do??? I guess that I am going to try to follow protocol and skip my injections during TOM. If I find that I am getting ravenously hungry and TOM is still visiting, then I will probably go ahead and resume injections, but I'll cross that bridge if I come to it. We'll watch together and see how the weight loss goes. I'll be sure to let you know when I resume the injections. I DID take my injection this morning, but that's it until TOM has left or I become ravenously hungry, whichever comes first. Oh, I also want to mention that during my first round, TOM came ONE FULL WEEK EARLY! I also know that has happened to a LOT of other women, so you might want to plan for that. This round, however, TOM showed up right on the day I was expecting. I have no idea what that means, but I wanted to tell you of my experience.

'Til tomorrow, later all you beautiful losers!  ;-)