R1P4D14

LIW 159.4
Daily Gain 1.8
Above LIW 2.9
Current Weight 162.3
Food Tracker
Exercise: 3.86 miles walking 3 ml/hr pace

Love watching that weight go up so much in one day, not!...and then having to decide if today will be a steak day, or high protein day, or high fat day, or whatever...Its enough to drive a girl insane. And tonight is book club, and my 1st real massage since December, so even if I do a streak day, Ill be tempted by wine and good food, and probably gain due to massage anyway. Decisions...decisions...

Ill probably do a steak day just since I know it works, and pray that it will bring me down more than just the 1.8 I gained, so that I wont have to do another in a few days. Can't believe its only Wed, and its time to do another one (after doing one on Sun)-though I guessed last night that this would happen. And maybe Ill lay off exercising today (since Im tired!), and see if that helps as well. I've been doing something every day for these past few weeks, and I have to remember to take a few breaks in order to let my body recover. Im hoping that Ill be able to continue my workouts (walking, swimming and yoga) in R2P2 without gaining...didnt seem to work last time, but they are established routines now, so who knows?

And re the gain, I got to 1850 calories yesterday...and gained. So is the gain from the calories or from what I was eating? Do I really need to stay at my BMR calories forever no matter how much I work out in order to not gain? Im going to have to test that one out...eat about 2400 calories in a day eating completely P3 clean (and avoiding dairy since it seems to make a difference), and see what happens. But not today...today a 20 oz sirloin marinated in braggs, garlic and sea salt has my name on it. Again.

And I guess it won't matter if Im hungry or not...though Ill still ask 3 times today so I can reward myself with book club tonight! And just look at the food there instead of partaking...*sigh*.

2nd day of 1st 4 day win:
Hunger assessment: Not so much, maybe a 4
Mood assessment: Pissed about weight gain, hoped for it not to happen
Physical assessment: Little headache, little dehydrated...need to get some water.

Happy Hump Day...

Skinny Mini, Demon Lady, and Fatty

4 day win 1st day update:

So I definitely was able to ask myself how hungry I was feeling...probably did it about 10 times today, every time I went to the kitchen to get some food. And sometimes I turned around and headed back into my office, and sometimes I did feel hungry, and so I sat down and ate. Its strange, I find myself headed to the kitchen at times I designate as breakfast, lunch, dinner...since I think I need to eat then. I realize that most times in the past when I eat, Im not hungry, its just 'that time'.

I treated today as an observation day, and did not judge when I decided to eat when I wasn't physically hungry. The first time was during lunch when I kept eating pita chips and hummus since they tasted good and the texture felt good in my mouth). And tonight, when I ate one of my MIL's mini cheesecakes leftover from Easter (DELICIOUS!) since my littlest didn't want his, and the wrapper was already off it...and then, on my own accord, because I wanted to taste that deliciousness again, when I ate another one after dinner. And for dinner, even, my mind made my body think it was ravenous, when I know that I wasnt overly hungry. I just (psychologically) needed to eat more food, and I did. I had two ears of corn and lots of kielbasa. But I did say no to the garlic bread my husband offered me. So strange and enlightening...though I knew I wasn't hungry, I chose to eat more, for whatever reason, fully knowing that I might have to do a steak day tomorrow. It was all up to me...well up to my wild child that wanted to pig out.
But then again, its always up to me. I am in control of my actions, my thoughts. I can change them. I can get my mind to start to get in touch with my body and its physical needs, and start eating for fuel. And I can get my body to eat for pleasure as well when I need sustenance. I can stop when I start to feel full. I can get myself to eat only when I feel hungry. I only need to put my intentions towards it, direct my focus on it, and PRACTICE without judgement.

Yes, I know it sounds hokey...but if I say it, and then get myself to believe it, its gonna come true. You can count on it.

ps-I try to be really positive and forward thinking in my posts, because (full disclosure here), I believe in the law of attraction and that what I put forth will come back to me. So don't be put off by all the I can do it talk...in terms of thinking you can't...I have all that talk too-so much so, but Im making a conscious effort to change it. And to fully be the observer, not just with Ms.Wild Child and the Dictator that Martha Beck talks about in her book (a future 4 day win), I want to name my inner criticizing bitch and my extra 30 lbs, just like the heroine of one of my favorite blogs, Me, Drazil and Sheniqua does...so Im taking suggestions. What do you think would be a good name for my inner demon...and that extra 30lbs Im carrying...I really dont like the ones in the title...

pss-since I did my 1st day easy goal, Im off to watch Chuck on Tivo...have a wonderful night.

R1P4D13- My first 4 Day Win!

LIW 159.4
Daily Gain .4
Above LIW 1.1
Current Weight 160.5
Food Tracker
Exercise: 1 hr slow walking (pushing a jogging stroller with my 44lb son); 1600m Swim (55 min)

Still trying to figure out this gain when I eat ok and gain when I don't phenomenom. I need to look back on my food choices to figure out what really causes me to lose, and then eat more of that I suppose. At this point, I eat very little sugar, drink very little alcohol, haven't had many grains or breads (maybe one piece every week), and the majority of my carbs come from vegetables. In R1P4, I'm not overally concerned with this, as Im going to start P2 in two weeks. But after R2, I definitely want to get to a place where I can eat what I like in moderation and not worry about big scale jumps. I do not want to have to keep cycling on HCG, as long as I stick with a healthy, freshly prepared, fresh, local, and organic ingredients diet. And in addition to that, according to Martha Beck, I need to get to a place where thinking about food does not control my every waking moment. Obsession with food and greatly limiting my food choices only leads my little wild child to want to rebel and overeat, and once I'm done with this diet, I want to break free of this pattern of obsession.

And so to start this process, we are going to do our first day win (thanks, Mommygonemilf, for joining me! any other takers?).

For any four day win, you are to come up with a 1) ridiculously easy goal (broken down in 1/2 or even 1/4 of what you think the goal should be, so that you roll your eyes, its so easy), 2) your daily reward(s) for accomplishing the goal-based on physical objects (not food) and pleasureable activities-and then 3) a four day reward, again not based on food. You need to make sure the reward and the action are linked. And you need to make sure you give yourself the reward if you succeed AND of course, not give yourself the reward if you dont (the first one is the one I always forget to do). The once you complete the form I have here:

You need to post it in at least 3 places: ie your bathroom mirror, refrigerator door, and your car dashboard.
Easy Peasy, right?

I am going to do the ones recommended by Martha, and then start to come up with my own. So feel free to do the one I am doing, or come up with one for yourself following the rules above. For her first few 4 day wins, you have to have the book, so I'm just going to post the ones that do not require any extra reading. And while the goal will be the same for us following along, my rewards will be for me...you can put in anything you like.

Without further ado, here it is! My first 4 day Win:

Ridiculously Easy Goal: Each day for the next 4 days, I'll notice what Im feeling physically and emotionally. Ill rate my hunger level from 0 to 10 at least 3 times a day.

Right now, my hunger is:
0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10
not hungry                          ravenous

Repeat this 4 day win until you can name your hunger score and differentiate it from an emotion based eating urge, under any circumstance. Then feel free to move on...

Small Daily Reward: (gosh, these non food rewards are hard to figure out for me):
Tuesday: Watching Chuck on Tivo
Wednesday: Book Club with the girls (very motivating to make this a reward)
Thursday: 15 minutes to spend on internet shopping-for a bike or bench for dining room
Friday: 30 minutes to spend catching up on my blogroll- I havent had a chance to comment on my bloggy peeps for a while!

Slightly Larger 4 Day reward: Movie Night with Hubby on Saturday

Now, you might be saying, how am I supposed to figure out if my hunger is emotional or physical? At least, I know I said that, and Im a health and nutrition coach! You might think it would be easy for me, but for so long, the two of those have been so ingrained in my psyche, that it is hard for me to figure it out. And Im so in my head most of the time, that its hard to notice my physical body unless I am in pain. So here are some exercises directly from the book to figure it out:

Learn to speak creature (your body is the creature, your mind is the computer):
1)Let yourself relax for 10 minutes. Do this after you have eaten, since you need to go without food for 15 minutes.
2) Describe, or write down, in very precise words, the feelings in your hands and feet (temp, texture, shape, discomfort words)...
3) Allow your attention to travel from your hands and feet to your torso and head. Describe in word the physical feelings your observe in your body as a whole. Allow both good and bad feelings to be described without resistance.
4) Remaining relaxed, describe what you are feeling emotionally. If you cannot tell, return your attn to the least comfortable part of your body. Breathe into the discomfort. Allow it to get bigger. Continue this until you sense the emotion connected to the discomfort. Describe that emotion in words (this was a tough one for me and my computer mind).
5) Breathe deeply, relax, and notice on a purely physical level you are not hungry.

At this point, the exercise is just to notice the sensation. If you feel the urge to eat as a result of feeling these emotions, she indicates its ok, as long as you wait until the 10 minutes it takes to complete the exercise (the questions above, and the documentation of your physical hunger level).

For me, 1st hunger assessment, 9:47am:
Right now, I am not physically hungry, maybe a 3. However, I am thinking about food, and psychologically hungry. I want something in my mouth...so Im off to get a piece of gum after I drink my 8oz of water.

Anyway, off to do some work. Will post on this some more tomorrow...feel free to share your reactions, goals, rewards, etc in comments...

R1P3D12-Crazy Weight Weekend

LIW 159.4 Daily loss 3.7
Above LIW .7
Current Weight 160.1
Food Tracker: 16oz steak, 3 plum tomatoes
Exercise: Light walk 1mil

Sat weight: 162
Sat Exercise: 70min yoga, 1hr walking 3ml/hr pace

Sunday weight 163.8

Hi, my darling bloggy peeps, did you have a good weekend (aka Easter for those of you that celebrate)? I did, and I didn't. I really enjoyed spending time with my family, the weather was amazing, we did lots of fun things, but yesterday, on Easter, I had a STEAK DAY-UGH!!!! And it was a please, fingers crossed, I hope this works steak day, because I really should have done one on Sat, but I didn't. Instead, on Sat, after gaining 1.8 lbs (1.5 after the bathroom) the day before, bringing me to 2.6 lbs above LIW, I didn't eat all day, and then enjoyed a wonderful meal out at my favorite restaurant for date night. I agonized over that for about two hours...whether or not to cancel the reservation. But I decided not too, as I need to be able to eat normally, without worrying about steak days in real life, and go on. So we went. And I didn't go crazy with my food...I definitely ate less than I could have (I wasnt full), and ate lots of protein and fat, and had only had two glasses of wine (which normally dehydrate me and make me lose?). Then Sunday, I was up another 1.8! For a total of 4.4 lbs above LIW! Boy, talk about me freaking out. And deciding that I can only go to that restaurant once a month, and hubby and I might need to do something other than eat on date nights...get your mind out of the gutter!

So, anyway, I knew it was now or never yesterday, and despite all the wonderful food at my hubby's parents for Easter Lunch, I didn't eat a thing. I sat at the table while they were eating lunch and dessert, which was hard. I then went over to Wegman's during a walk with my MIL, bought my steak, and enjoyed my family's company back at their house til 4:30, when I rushed us out so I could go home (sorry Mom and Dad, hope I wasnt too rude, I was just hungry!), cook my steak on the grill after marinating it in Bragg's, Garlic and Sea Sat, and hope it worked today-and boy did it!

Ive never lost that much on a steak day before, so I must have been retaining a TON of water. I was almost ready to buy the Holiday Correction Day ebook from ThinnereverAfter.com yesterday since I didn't think the weight was going to come off today. Do any of you have it? Did you find a lot of good tips/tricks in it? I hesitated about buying the normal Correction Day ebook, since I dont like eggs, and already know about chicken day, cheese and apple day, steak day, and all of the egg days. Maybe those of you could comment about whether or not there are other things in there that might work for me (enough for me to purchase it?). It would definitely be helpful as I prepare to go into R2 (and want to get down to 155 before then).

During dinner last night, I also starting reading Martha Beck's Four Day Win. I am really enjoying it, and plan to incorporate many of the 4 day wins into my lifestyle and report on them here. For any of you that want to join me, I would love it, and you could comment here, on your blog, or even do a guest post to talk about your progress/results. You can do the four days wins no matter what type of diet or lifestyle change you are doing-the book is more about giving you tools to assess and change the way you think (and truly feel) about your body and dieting in order to support your thinner self, and not sabotage your efforts. This is especially important for those of us that have lost weight in the past and regained it all back...or for those of us scared of that happening...both of which are true for me. To find out more about four day wins, and why they work, check out this article.

I will post every four day win here...and I will be easy on myself and only do one every four days- though I want to do lots more, all at the same time, since Im already on chapter 9! Yes, Im the typical overachiever that never really finishes anything because I have too many balls in the air, and too many areas of focus- Ill be working on that as well.

Our first one will start tomorrow...who's with me?

ps...In the words of Martha Beck:

Getting past rebound dieting means choosing kind perceptiveness when our reflexive responses—and those taught by most diet advisers—are to resist and control. Paradoxically, effective change begins with acceptance of everything that makes up our lives at any present moment. It's really true: Love, in the form of kindness to ourselves, is what never fails.

Be Kind to yourself today...

R1P4D8

LIW 159.4
Daily Loss .4
Above LIW 1.1
Current Weight 160.5
Food Tracker
Exercise: 70 minute walking 3 ml/hr pace; 1 hour swimming

Thanks for your concern LavenderDiva, my foot is feeling a little better. And yesterday, I just had to get out of the house at lunchtime to enjoy the good weather, or to escape the feeling of being overwhelmed-by work, my 5 yr old, the mess that is my house, alll the stuff in the house that I have no time to sort through.

This week has been so busy, and I'm craving some down time, which doesn't look like its coming any time soon (unless I start getting up at 5 and going to bed at midnight every night). Every weekend in April is already booked, and work is going to be crazy since we are locking two databases in the next two months, and there is so much to do to make that happen.

So in order to make sure I have me time, the other stuff that isn't so important to get done (like organizing the house) gets put on the back burner...and after a while, that is the task that gets to be so important, so as which not to drive me insane...and then the other responsibilities I have get shoved aside, only to be worried about and guilted over since Im not doing them. And while my hubby is a dear, he needs to be strongly encouraged (aka guilted) into doing things around the house...and then he gets frustrated at me, and ...what a mess! At these times I just need to remember to breathe, count my blessings, and know that everything will work itself out.

On the agenda for today, lots of work, lunchtime walk, First Friday tonight downtown, then bed by 10. Tomorrow, hubby is taking my oldest for the opening of kids fishing at Fanny Chapman, while I go to yoga...and then he is off to play golf with his dad. Date night follows at our favorite restaurant (seated outside-yay for nice 80 degree weather tomorrow), and then early bed to be ready for the Easter Bunny. I cant wait to see whats in my basket ;)...

Hope you guys have a great holiday weekend, and treat yourself well no matter what you eat or how you feel about what you eat!

R1P4D8-TOM finally arrives

LIW 159.4
Daily Loss .7
Above LIW 1.5
Current Weight 160.9
Food Tracker
Exercise: Nada-does thinking about it count?

So TOM was 8 days late this month...and my main concern was that he would catch me unaware and I would be caught without protection and in white pants. Not that I wear white pants yet (nothing to do with the date, moreso the size of my butt), but you get the point (and I will wear them this summer :)!). Im a little bloated, but no big cramps like normal, and the bitchiness, as you know, was two weeks early and then went away. Next TOM I will be on P2, so it will be interesting to see how it changes once again next month.

My foot is still in pain, and thus I decided to forgo weight bearing exercise yesterday, and instead soak it in a hot bath and go to swimming tonight instead. I am still going to try to walk this afternoon at lunchtime, but have a feeling I wont be able to go too far. Maybe I'll put my spin bike on the deck and ride it in the beautiful weather...can't go for a real bike ride today since my oldest is home for Easter break and I can't leave him by himself and he still doens't know how to ride a bike, even one with training wheels (and the real shame is he doesnt want to learn :(...

Tonight I'm excited to pick up my first food collection from the Doylestown Food Club. Its a food club that orders from lots of different local producers (farms, diary, co-ops, etc) and goes and picks them up and delivers them to a school near me for pickup. It saves members a lot of driving to different places, allows us to eat local and sometimes organic and support the community. And they hope to form a co-op about 3 blocks from where I live...I'm really excited about that! Maybe I could be their resident health counselor...
if you are local and want to find out more about it, visit here .

And if you want to find a local farm or buying club in your area, you can check out these links from my website http://www.flyingdragonwellness.com/ :

Find A Natural Food Coop Near You http://www.coopdirectory.org/
To find a CSA (community supported agriculture) or Farmers Market close to you: http://www.localharvest.org/ , http://www.sare.org/

Here's to eating local, healthy, and hopefully, 100% organic this summer.  And most importantly, to looking and feeling fabulous!
 

R1P4D7

LIW 159.4
Daily Gain .9
Above LIW 2.2
Current Weight 161.6
Food Tracker
Exercise: 30 minute cycling (18mph per stationary bike calculator), 10 minutes Biggest Loser cardio video on ExerciseTV

Should be doing steak day today, but TOM seems to be on the horizon (don't ask me how I know that :), so I feel comfortable eating well today and not doing only steak. Though it is 11am already and Ive only eaten 10 chocolate covered almonds, so I might be able to pull it off....with what kind of results, I have no idea.

Worked out with a few weights last night (just arm curls), and did 1/2 hr on my stationary bike, since I wasn't able to walk on the treadmill. Finished up around 10pm, and wasn't really tired, so stayed up til midnight watching bad but enjoyable TV. Today Im feeling a little fatigued and both feet are giving me issues. Figured out that I must have messed them up Sat night-when I was wearing heels (I never wear heels), and then dancing on said heels. The ice didnt seem to help yesterday, so today I'm going to try soaking them in hot water. And finally breaking down and taking some pain killers-maybe some advil...I dont really like to take meds. I just hope Ill be able to start walking again soon...tomorrow its supposed to be sunny and 70 degrees after all the cold and rain we've had for the last week.

Getting ready to start R2 soon. Big day is the April 19th-R2P2. I'm looking forward to losing again, though I hope to get down to 155 before then in order to not worry about gaining 4 lbs of loading...with all the gains Ive been having lately, not sure if Ill be able to pull that off, but Im sure going to try.

R1P4D6

LIW 159.4
Daily Loss .9
Total above LIW 1.3
Current Weight 160.7
Food Tracker
Exercise: One hour swimming

Last night I made it to Masters Swim despite lots of pain on the top of my right foot. It looks like I might have bruised it, and perhaps strained the muscles on the top of my foot. Either way, I made it worse last night (especially after using my flippers), and its difficult for me to walk today....whenever I move my ankle or put pressure of the foot, it HURTS! While Im working today, I'm going to have my foot propped up with an ice pack to hopefully ease the swelling...and I will be asking my boss to work from home the rest of the week, since I wont be able to drive if I cant move my foot, right?

On a brighter note, we did 1900m in Masters last night (thats 12 lengths past a mile). Thats the longest I've ever swam in a day. And it has me wondering if I should sign up for the 1.5 mile open water swim held locally at a lake in June. Just the thought scares the heck out of me, especially since my tri wetsuit is probably way too big for me (it is a Mens Size L since thats what I fit into-width not length :)), and I definitely don't want to be in the water without a little floatation to pull me through, just in case...Anyone want to do it with me?

Lost .9 yesterday thanks to the swimming...not thanks to my eating, since it was terrible! I was hungry for crap all day, and didnt really hold myself back too much. Looks like my candida it is coming back with a vengenance. At least now all the cookies are out of the house. And the Tuscan salad from Houlihans. And the flatbread pizza from date night. Its nice to know that I can have anything I want to eat now, in moderation, and it will only throw me off for a little while.

Once I'm down to my goal weight, my plan is to get my candida under control for good, and eat heathly throughout the week and let myself have one day of the weekend to let loose. I will weigh myself once per week on a Friday, and then Sat will probably be my splurge day, since we have our date nights that night most weeks. And then by eating clean til the next Friday, I should be able to maintain spendidly. Thats the goal, anyway.

My short term plan is to do one more long round from mid April to end May, lose 20-30lbs then (fingers crossed), finish P3 by third week of June, and maintain all during the summer and fall so I can train fully for my triathlon season. Then I will reassess in October if I want to do another round or two-or if I can actually lose on my own without the HCG.

Goals for me this year include: (this does not include those things I am presently doing regularly):

• Getting to my goal weight of 130 and staying there
• Remembering to take my supplements daily
• Adding one new recipe to my repetoire a week
• Trying one new vegetable or fruit a week (after P2, of course)
• Increase the quality of the food I serve my kids daily (have you seen food revolution-so eye opening!)
• Daily favorite thing about myself and my day (for me and my hubby)
• Doing 50 pushups in a single session
• Completing the 1.5 mile swim
• Completing a 5K in less than 30 minutes
• Completing two Sprint triathlons and one Olympic, or if I am still having foot issues, completing the same distances are aquabikes (no run)
• Finally doing the 30 day shred video, and if I like it, actually completing the program (ie once a day for 30 days)-I've had the video for about a month now and havent opened it yet!
• Continue to blog at least three times weekly after finishing R2

Goals I have attained to date and will continue to persue (if applicable):

• Drinking 3L of water a day
• Stop biting and picking my nails (now they look GREAT!).
• Returning to Masters Swim at least one day a week
• Walking/aerobic exercise at least three days a week
• Returning to Yoga-doing it once a week
• Loss of 30 lbs
• Signing up to mentor 7 students at my alma mater IIN-starts in April
• Learning to love, be gentle with, and reward myself (constant work in progress)
• Taking time for myself, making time with my kids, making time for my husband

What about you? What are your goals for the the next three months? The next six? All of 2010?

ps-still no TOM

R1P2D5-Up

LIW 159.4
Daily Loss .4
Above LIW 2.2
Current Weight 161.6

So the modified steak day with benefits did not work.  Wonder why I thought it would?  Only .4 down, making me above my LIW more than 2 again.  But I really dont want just steak again, do I?  Though being really busy today, that might be ok.  Not sure if I should just eat really clean and hope for the best tomorrow (though really clean would have to include a double chocolate cookie that I just had for breakfast-oops ;} ), or do a chicken day, or ?  What do you think?  No matter what, I will definitely be eating less calories today, and I may skip my workout (masters swim tonight) since the muscles in the top part of my right foot are killing me (not sure why?  no workout or child related injury that I can remember from yesterday) and no kicking doesn't really make for effective swimming-or walking, either.  Wonder if I did it Sat night when I was bombed on martinis?

Today Verizon is coming to install FIOS so I wanted to make sure I posted before my internet goes down. I also once again have tons of listings to review (and poor me, I dont need my internet to do them, so thats not getting me out of it).  So a busy day...

And still no TOM-Im getting a little worried....I had an ectopic pregnancy back in 2007 that didn't show up on pregnancy tests til I was 8 weeks along, and I definitely don't want to go through that again.  We were trying to get pregnant at the time, and it was devastating, especially since they had to remove one of my fallopian tubes and indicated that it might take me a long time to get pregnant again.   Little did they know that my body didn't hear what the doctor said, and I was pregnant (without even trying) 5 months later.  So now that we are done having kids, or so we think, I have to worry that I'm pregnant again.  Fun.  Anyone else out there have this happen to them-ie not get their period during P3-P4 after being regular for a long time? (besides, Jen P, who seems to be in the same boat as me right now with the ever elusive TOM).  How long did it take to come back?  If I dont see if within a week, Im going to make an appointment with my midwife and get checked out.  I would hate to start round 2 with this hanging over my head.

R1P4D4-Steak Day

LIW 159.4

Daily gain 2
Over LIW 2.6
Current Weight 162

Went out for a wonderful dinner with my Hubby last night, and I ended up having four fruity decadent martinis before the food came out. I didn't overeat, however, those, in combination with some delish fried calamari and chorizo in puff pastry definitely brought my weight up. Today I did a modified steak day, in that I had sausage for breakfast, a 12oz steak for lunch and a 16oz steak for dinner. Lots of protein with two chocolate cookies, asparagus, and brussel sprouts thrown in for good measure. Wonder what the scale is going to say tomorrow.

And still no TOM- why does he elude me so? Definitely not pregnant- took a test just to make sure.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Ugh! Bloated and bellyaching...

My belly hurts...
too much smoked salmon spread sampling and bean cheese burrito shoveling...

no more cheese and bean combos for me in the near future...though I really think it was the eggs in the salmon spread since I felt the belly ache a little after that and before the burrito.

Which brings me to the question, why do I do these things to myself? After the salmon, I wasn't even hungry anymore, but I just had to have that burrito, didn't I? This kind of eating/thinking is what got me into this fat mess to begin with. For the rest of the day I'm going to take it easy, listen to my belly and body, be gentle to myself, and eat well. See you later...

R1P4D2

LIW 159.4
Daily Loss .2
Above LIW .2
Current Weight 159.6
Food Tracker
Exercise: 45 minute walk 15m/mile; Swimming 45 minutes

I love P4 so far...adding back some good foods with a little sugar slowly (like sunflower butter straight out of the jar! or almond macaroons! or chocolate almonds!), so yummy, and other .2 released! Im only .2 above LIW, YIPEE-I-O! Today Im going to test my body with a black bean and cheddar burrito and salsa from Whole Foods...Ive warned those around me in my office to stay away after lunch since there may be a noxious odor eminating from my cube thanks to those beans. And I feel so bad for those poor souls that will be walking behind my treadmill later at the gym. In fact, I might just have my pick of any machine, the smell will be so bad ;). I wonder, though, how my stomach will do with wheat again, and will it cause a gain?

Anyway, off to a meeting...Happy Friday everyone! Make sure to do something wonderful for yourself this weekend...Ill be checking in on you...

ps-forgot to mention that the sugar definitely caused me to crash yesterday...I was so tired by 4pm that I had to take a nap before my Reiki followup class and Masters Swim. This morning I am feeling the same fatigue..which could be related to the sugar, the fact that I didnt sleep too well last night (woke up 4 or 5 times) or perhaps to TOM, who still has not made his presence known. Its definitely an interesting thing...and I will definitely be eating it in moderation!

P4 Starts NOW

LIW 159.4
Daily Loss .7
Above LIW .4
Current Weight 159.8
Food Tracker
Exercise: 45 minute walk outside 4 ml/hr pace

I can definitely handle a stabilization weight of .4 above LIW! That rocks, if it stays in place. Have to admit I started adding some new foods in yesterday...since this is my first round, I definitely want to see if I have stabilized and what that looks like in terms of my body accepting new foods. Yesterday, I had a full organic blueberry greek yogurt for breakfast, as well as some granola with almonds for a snack, 1/2 cup of corn (it was so good), and a tiny piece of whole wheat bread added to my dinner. With all the food I ate yesterday (though within my calorie count), I felt stuffed all day. My stomach was upset for about an hour in the evening, and I was really stinking up the joint, but low and behold a loss this morning. I ate lots of fruit yesterday too, and had some macadamias...so my body seemed to be ok with the combo.

Still no TOM, but like last month, I know its coming, its just on its own schedule. Im expecting it today or tomorrow now...just in time for the weekend-JOY!

Anyway, for those of you tracking like me, here are my Wk 10 and 11 Measurements (completion of P3):




Have a great day! 

R1P3D21-Last P3 day

LIW 159.4
Daily Gain .7
Above LIW 1.1
Current Weight 160.5
Food Tracker
Exercise: 30 minutes 3.8m/hr; 10 minute stationary bike, 5 minute rebounder


What a B**** I have been yesterday and this morning, especially to my poor hubby.  PMS is rocking my world the last two days.  And I have no idea if I have stabilized or not during this round?  It seems to go up and down and by every third or fourth day, I have to eat another steak, and while its good to be within 2 lbs, it sure is hard to stay there.  Should I forgo doing that in P4 just to test my body, or keep on keeping on until after the next round, which will be the ultimate test?

It sure is good to be aware of everything going on with and going into my body, but boy, is it time consuming and discouraging sometimes.  Good thing I have the goal in mind, and every week or so I put on those size 28 Seven jeans and laugh (my ass off, hopefully!).  They still fit, if you call my butt crack, or perhaps, 1/2 of my entire butt hanging out that back fitting...now thats what I call low riders!  Just wait, this June, I will be posting a pic of me in those jeans, front AND back...and baby definitely wont have as much back!

Love all you guys out there in the blogosphere, thanks for your support, your kindness, and generosity.  You make this journey much easier and more fun! 

Now who wants my size 16 pants that I am never gonna fit in again?

R1P3D20-Almost to P4

LIW 159.4
Daily Loss 2.0
Above LIW .4
Current Weight 159.8
Food Tracker
Exercise: Four laps in a pool :(

So I just have to say that I LOVE my new Taylor scale (though I just read the reviews since I was going to post a link, and they are really bad-oops!). I bought it so I wouldn't have to go into the living room every morning and get naked in front of my family, and whomever else was peeking in the windows, to weigh myself on the Wii Fit. Yes, I love getting my stamp every morning, but now that its bright and sunny out in the morning when I weigh myself, and I have neighbors that love to get up early every morning and work on their gardens, lawns, chasing bunnies, I really would rather not share my intimate details with them. And when I weighed myself on both scales this morning, the Taylor said 158.8 three times in different locations in the room-just to test the floor, of course (wow, below LIW!), and the Wii said 159.8. Which would you prefer ;} ? But yes, I have kept the Wii weight up in my tracker above. I really need to test the Taylor scale to see if its consistantly 1 lb less than the Wii before I decide which will be the gold standard. I'll probably just switch to the Taylor no matter what once I start R2.

Re the exercise listed above, I waited to exercise til last night at Masters Swim...went in my swimsuit, coverup and flipflops, and was sorely disappointed when they closed the pool due to lightning. And then I couldn't work out...I didn't even have any underwear, and flip flops dont really work for my feet on the treadmill. When I got home at 9pm, I knew if i tried to do cardio then I would never go to sleep, so I figured I would just watch a little TV and go to bed after a cup of chamomile tea. So exercise is definitely on the agenda today. Probably the treadclimber at the gym if I can make it there during lunch.

Can't believe that Im already 20 days into P3. And while technically I am moving into P4 in two days, I definitely will be sticking close to the P3 tenets until my next P2 starts mid April (three more weeks!)....though I really am sick of steak days. They work well for me, so I'm hestitant to do other types of protein days, but I will need to get over that to make sure I can make this diet sustainable for me until mid June (that will be the end of R2P3 for me). I am looking forward to making some P3/P4 recipes from this site once Im stabilized a little more. Then I need to start working on controlling my candida...fun!

And tomorrow marks the arrival of TOM ( I hope) so I wonder what it will do to my body now that there is no HCG in it? How has it affected you?