P3 Day 13 - What I've noticed...

LIW 151 on 2-21-08
Saturday's weight 153.2
Sunday's weight 153.0
Today’s weight 153.0
2.0 lbs over LIW

WOO HOO! I’m still over my LIW, but at least now I’m “Legal”! Meaning I don’t have to stress over trying to do a steak or egg day. Now I will just concentrate on eating good fresh foods and lots of “good” fats and I’m sure I’ll keep inching back down towards my LIW.

Wow people, I’ve had a busy couple of weeks here. I really feel as though I’ve neglected my blog, but I’m so gratified to see that people are still hanging in with me and checking everyday even when I haven’t been able to post. I just love all you HCG peeps! I think part of the bond is that we are all working so hard at the same goal and having such varying degrees of success. And we’re always able to go through the blogs and the group posts and find someone who is going through the same problems or having the same feelings as we are. And on the other hand, we can see many who have already survived the rough times and are coming out the other side with their success stories and they are giving us inspiration and hope, they’re our light at the end of the tunnel and we are keeping them in sight as we struggle down the same path.
There are a few things that I’ve noticed during all my adventures in the last few weeks that I’d really like to share with those who read my blog. All things that have something to do with just how much HCG has improved my quality of life.

The first was actually before my ski trip, when I was able to take my old size Large (Men’s!) ski bibs and throw them on the discard pile that has been steadily growing in my closet. I found a stylish pair of size 10’s that look pretty good with my ski jacket (which is also getting kind of big) and they fit just fine. My husband told me several times how nice they looked on me.
Then, I noticed that the trip to Utah, in and out of the airport, lugging all that gear… Well, it just wasn’t as exhausting as it used to be when I was 45 lbs heavier! And imagine sitting down in the airplane seat and needing to adjust the seat belt SMALLER!
Then ,when we get to the ski resort, it used to be that by the time we carried our gear to the lockers, struggled into the ski boots and then stomped up to the lifts all bundled up in our winter clothes, I’d be sweating and exhausted and feel as if I needed to rest before I even got started. But this trip… it wasn’t until I’m bending down to tighten my ski boots just before getting on the lift, I realized that, WOW, it’s so much easier to bend over and I’m not even breathing hard… What a huge difference that lost weight has made for me.
And my stamina on the ski runs was so much better too. I am glad that we got a few short one day ski trips in before this 3(ski) day to Utah because my muscles were waaaay out of shape after my two rounds of HCG with little to no exercise. My first trip I only lasted about four hours and my legs just wouldn’t stand for ANY MORE SKIING! The next trip I made it about five hours and then it seems as if I finally regained most of my strength and was able to go a full day without getting too tired. I skied better than I have in years and it brought so much enjoyment back into the activity for me. Going from thinking, “I’m too old and fat to ski anymore” to “WOW! Now I remember what I love so much about skiing”, is just such a wonderful gift!

Then the next event that came up was the baby shower for one of my favorite nieces. She lives out of state so we don’t get to see her often and everyone on that side of the family is THIN! So when I went to visit before losing weight, I always felt so self-conscious of my weight. It got so I didn’t even want to show up because I felt so conspicuous. This trip I had none of those worries. And although no one remarked specifically on my weight, (probably too polite to comment) many people told me how good I looked and some guests who didn’t know who I was thought that I was my grandkid’s MOM, not their Grandma! Gotta love it when that happens!

And then, going to Vegas with my daughter was so much more enjoyable now that I’m happy with my weight. Instead of feeling uncomfortable and not having anything to wear that didn’t fit too snug or look like a tent, I was able to wear stylish clothes and feel good about myself. When someone called us sisters, I just laughed about it because before I would have been thinking “yeah right, you big brown-noser!” But this time it was just fun.

So each of these accomplishments are a product of finding this “cure” and taking the huge leap of faith and try it for myself. Because the risk of this being just another fad diet that I would try and fail, or just some scam artist trying to make a quick buck, or something that worked for others but not for me… Well those were all big concerns for me as I’m sure they were for many. So how wonderful it seems to me when I look at where I was just 6 months ago, that something so risky and scary could turn out to be such a genuine miracle…
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To my commenters:

Mary, Vegas was fun, just too bad I lost $$$!

Marlene, So glad you stopped by to check out my blog! Newcomers are always welcome. Are you blogging? Are you on HCG? C'mon gimme details!

Hazel! Another Utah ski bunny! Hey as you can tell from my post today, I felt the same way as you did just last season! I was afraid I’d split my ski bibs when I bent over and I felt like the stay puff marshmallow man in my ski jacket. So just know that you can follow in my footsteps and be skiing skinny next season! You’ll have to give me some more info on your stats too! Do you have a blog?
And don’t be afraid to go to Vegas. You can do it and stay on plan, it will just take a little planning ahead. Email me if you want some advice… beccabetts at hotmail dot com

Hey Jen, I know, how rude of me to go off and have fun! The worst part is that I missed your birthday. The e-card was supposed to be sent on Friday and I was going to send a Bday card on Saturday, but I totally screwed it up! I’m so glad you had a good time anyway! Party on!!!

Monica, we stayed at Harrah’s and went back and forth between the Mirage, and Mandalay Bay to the boutique shows we were there for. We then lost our money playing “Crazy 4 Poker” and “Blackjack Switch” and roulette. We had fun anyway, but just didn’t get on a good run of luck… Maybe next time…

CB, Thanks for the compliment! It’s never to late for those!

Biz, So glad you could stop by yesterday for a bit! Sorry to hear about the dial-up-from-hell!!! That explains why no posting from you for so long. Everybody is just jonesing for a post from you. But yay that you stopped by some of our blogs to say HI. I’m so glad to hear how well your sis is doing! It gives me hope for my friend.
So I gotta say I MISS YOU TOO! Did you and Regina get a chance to meet up? I haven’t checked her blog yet, so if she has posted it will totally answer this question. So I hope you get a chance to get connected soon!