Still hanging in there!

Start Weight: 168 lbs

Goal Weight: 138 lbs
Weight after two loading days:  171.7 lbs (3.7 lbs total gain)
R2P2D41: 147.5 lbs  (-24.2 lbs gross, -20.5 lbs net)

Only 0.2 lbs gained, thank goodness.  With me eating so late, and eating NUTS, and then weighing early this morning, I was afraid it would be much worse.  I even got a manicure yesterday with my overnight guests, and they slathered on the lotions and creams.  The slight weight gain indicates to me that the HCG is either gone or almost gone from my system.  If it was still in my system full force, I believe I would have had a much larger gain.  I have a dull headache this morning, but thankfully the hunger is still subsided.

I'm not sure how the day is going to go.  I'm going to try to stick to the VLCD and add in extra protein if I need it.  I'll have to fly by the seat of my pants, because I'm in unchartered territory (at least by me) and I'm not sure what to expect.  I wish I could take some kind of test to verify my HCG level, but since that's not possible I'll just have to listen to my body.

For all those out there who are coming to the end of your treatment and entering these last three VLCDs with no injection:  I know that it is hard, but please do not let my experience this round worry you.  In my previous round, and even in this round when I was preparing to take my break, getting through the last VLCDs without the HCG was not difficult at all.  Hunger only started creeping up near the end of the 72 hours, but it didn't compare with what I was feeling yesterday.  That's how I knew something was wrong -- I had never felt hunger like that on this diet, so I knew something was off-kilter.

On to the menu:

8:30a:  20oz water with Lemon (out of my Lemon Drop Liquid
             Stevia - boo!)

10a:     16oz water

10:30a: One hard-boiled egg

11a:     24oz water with Lemon and ACV (Note:  This tastes VILE

           to menwithout the Lemon Drop Stevia to sweeten it... But

           I'm going to get it down come hell or high-water!)

12:30p:  20oz water with Lemon (can't stomach any more ACV...

           blech!)

1:15p:  One hard-boiled egg*

2p:      One diced Quorn Chik'n Cutlet*, One diced Apple, and Baby

           Spring Mix Lettuce, dressed with spicy mustard/ACV

2p:       20oz water with Lemon

4p:       Handful of nuts* (ok... maybe two handfuls... ARGH!

           SO HUNGRY!)

4:30p:  20oz water with Lemon

5:45p:  Another handful of nuts* and 2oz of Raw Sharp Cheddar

           Cheese*

6p:       20oz water with Lemon

8p:       2oz Raw Sharp Cheddar Cheese*

*OFF PROTOCOL WARNING!!!

Reflection on the menu:  I was at home all day today so I could really push the water.  The strange thing is that I seem to be retaining a lot of it so I may have gained 5 lbs in pure water weight.  I'm trusting that if I continue pushing it then that tide will change.  I'm not eating organic, raw nuts since I don't have any, so maybe the salt in the nuts is causing me to retain water???  Not sure.  The scale may not look pretty tomorrow. :(

Reflection on this experience:  I'm curious as to how I will do as I enter Phase 3.  If my HCG had lost potency or I was becoming immune earlier in the week, then it is going to be tough to discover when my true "Last Injection Weight" should be.  I'm worried about the hunger, which most likely means I lost "normal" fat instead "abnormal" fat.  If that is the case, then I'll put any "normal" fat I lost back on quickly. This will probably not be easy to maneuver through. I will try to blog as much as possible about everything that I am feeling and doing.

Reflection on the day:  During the morning, I was holding my own between sipping my coffee and downing the waters left and right, but as the afternoon stretched on the ravenous feeling returned.  I probably overdid it with the nuts and cheese but I just couldn't stop myself.  I wanted to squelch the hunger.  At least they will be "legal" foods for me starting tomorrow.  'Til then -- later all you wonderful losers!  :D