R3-P2- Final 23 Days - DONE and DONE...

R3 P2 Starting weight on 4-7-8 158.2
Tuesday (6-24-2008) was LIW = 139.4
Wednesday's weight 140.0
Yesterday's weight 140.4
Today's weight 139.4
Overnight Loss -1.0 lbs
Today I am exactly at my LIW

Today is my first day of P3. I really felt like saying "Today is the first day of the rest of my life"! LOL! But I resisted... (or maybe I didn't!) This is my final round. I did not make it to my "number" goal of 136, and I thought about extending it to lose a few pounds more, but it seemed like I wasn't losing but gaining so I decided to hang it up. And of course, today I wake up with a one pound loss which puts me back at my LIW! Cool! And I look and feel just fiiiiine! I get compliments daily and people who have never spoken to me before at work are coming up and saying how good I look. One of the hairdressers at my daughter's salon saw me when I came in for a trim on my sassy new haircut and he said "That diet doesn't just make you lose weight, it makes you look younger and prettier every day!" Isn't that just the best compliment? I love male hairdressers because they really notice stuff! LOL!
So I'm off to check in on Biz's P3 bootcamp. If anyone is interested in seeing what that's all about, it's on the HCG forum at this link: http://myhcgjourney.com/forums/
Thanks to everyone for following me in my weight loss adventure. I will continue to post about my stabilization phase but as you can tell, I'm now posting just about every other day instead of daily. It just takes too much time and now that I'm thin and healthy and alive again, I've got a lot of living to do!

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B, you have been such a great source of support for me during the protocol. I appreciate having you as a P2 partner for a while and I wish you the best of luck! Love you girl!

Vic, I thank you for sharing all your valuable lessons and helping me to avoid the pitfalls that you experienced with the end of the protocol. Your tips about continued reshaping is very good news to hear since every little bit helps! Thanks to both you and Bill!

Mary, you have been the most reliable person and I always knew that even if no one else was around, you'd always be here saying something funny or sweet or just plain nice to me. So I thank you so much for that. And good luck to you in making your goals. You can do it!
Love you girl!

Liz, you're making me blush with all those compliments. But I guess I better get used to it huh? LOL! Thanks for your support and I'll be watching your progress too... Good luck with the protocol...

R3-P2- Final 23 Days - INJ #23/skip day.... Maybe one or two more...

R3 P2 Starting weight on 4-7-8 158.2
Monday's weight 139.4
Yesterday's weight 139.4
Today's weight 140.0
Overnight Gain +.6 lbs

Stalling and gaining... I'm not doing things right...
Probably because of my indecisiveness. I can't decide if I need to keep adding in the 300 calories or if I should stick with the 500. So although I am keeping strictly to P2 food choices (other than boiled eggs) I am continuing to go over the 500 but am not going fully to the 800 either. So I've decided today to be strictly on the 500 calorie diet and as long as I feel NO weakness I will follow the plan. That being said though, I don't intend to sacrifice my health either so if I do feel weak or shaky I will go ahead and up my calories again. But will try to go the full 800 instead of being wishy washy and stopping at 650 or 700 like I have been doing. I think it's really hard to get your head around the fact that you need to increase the calories that high after months of thinking the exact opposite. I've got it programmed into me now. But it's really interesting to note that this is really a direct result of the HCG because when I was on my breaks and the HCG was out of my system, I was able to go to a much higher caloric intake without too much effort. The big difference being that I still craved mostly the healthy types of foods that I have been eating for so long. It was just such a relief to be able to not be so careful about how they were prepared or whether you were mixing veggies or not. And to have cheese and milk and salad dressings and butter... But while I'm still on the HCG, it's hard to increase to 800 for some reason... So I'll just do it one day at a time and if I don't make any progress, I'll just call it quits. I actually skipped an injection today so I could do one tomorrow and Friday if I need to. But I'm still going back and forth about it. I could actually make yesterday be my LIW if I wake up tomorrow with still no loss... So just call me miss ambivalent, or miss crazy can't make up her mind person... Just don't call me late for dinner...

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Vic, if I could just make up my mind, I think we'd all be able to rest easy. I'm just using my women's perogative to the extreme right now! LOL!

Well Mary, I guess I can't even make my foray into the new decade stick. I'm just messed up here! But give me one more day and I'll have my decision!

Liz, Thanks... I really hope I make it back to the 130's! LOL! Still sending WARM wishes your way...

R3-P2- Final 23 Days - INJ #22/1 remaining - Into the next decade...

R3 P2 Starting weight on 4-7-8 158.2
Saturday's weight 140.4
Yesterday's weight 140.0
Today's weight 139.4
Overnight loss -.6 lbs

Woo Hoo! I'm in the 130's now, baby! I've been feeling fine and no problems with weakness or hunger. I started adding in 300 extra calories by eating 3 or 4 boiled eggs in addition to the VLCD every day so I'm sure that's what's keeping me going. I have just one more day to make the 21 effective injection days after my last break. I'm debating going through the end of the week though, so I can get a few extra days in. My DD is going to do the P3 boot camp with me and we want to start on the same day, but since she's going to Vegas this weekend and won't be able to actually start boot camp until Monday (although she will be following P3 while she's gone) we figure we can both start together on Monday and this will give me a few more days on injections to see if I can go a little lower on my weight. I'm really trying to pay attention to how my body is feeling and not go overboard with wanting to get to a certain number, but there really is no doubt that I could comfortably go to a lower weight without depleting critical muscle mass. So depending on how I'm feeling, I may do one or two more injections than I originally planned.

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Thanks Mary, I'm getting so close!

Lili, Thanks for stopping by. It's been a while since I've heard from you and lots has been happening. I am still hanging in there for a few more days and so far so good. I'll have to go check up on you now!

R3-P2- Final 23 Days - INJ #20/3 remaining - Will I make it?

R3 P2 Starting weight on 4-7-8 158.2
Thursday's weight 140.8
Yesterday's weight 140.8
Today's weight 140.4
Overnight loss -.4 lbs

I've got 3 injection days left to go and I'm very close to the 130's. I'm wondering if I will make it or not. I have given up on believing I will make it to my "number" goal of 136 so I'm fine with that, but being in the 130's would mean my BMI would be in the 121 range. So that would be good. I've only got .4 to go to get me there so I'm thinking it's quite possible. I have been continuing to add in the extra 3 eggs for additional protein each day and I've been feeling just fine. Makes me wonder if I really needed to do it or maybe for just the one day I wasn't feeling so good. And my weight loss has not improved much although I have lost a little since then. So today, I'm debating whether to add the eggs or not. So I'll let you know tomorrow...
It's just after noon here in AZ and I've had tea and grapefruit so far. And I'm starting to feel hungry so I'll go have a little lunch now. So stay tuned for the next installment!

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B, you're lovely! And I'll get some pics as soon as I can!

Victoria, Thank you for your comments on the number thing and the abnormal fat. I do see some fat left, but it's not necessarily a bad thing since I really don't want to be skin and bones. I just haven't seen the sculpting like Jennifer got which made her muscles more defined. But then again, it might be the age thing! I've got a good 20 years on her!

Thanks Mary... I'm doing okay now...

Jenn, It hasn't really hit me yet. I still have the fear that I'm quitting too soon. But the timing is right so I'm sticking to it. And as long as I manage the stabilization phase the way I want to I WON'T be doing another round in the future. Although I hope someday to get my husband on the program and then I'll have to post about HIM! LOL!

R3-P2- Final 23 Days - INJ #18/5 - Extra protein...

R3 P2 Starting weight on 4-7-8 158.2
Yesterday's weight 141.4
Today's weight 140.8
Overnight loss -.6 lbs

Okay Peeps,

I feel great after my episode yesterday. I added in 3 boiled eggs on top of my regular P2 menu and felt stuffed all day long. I decided to see if that would result in two things... One, clearing up my symptoms of weakness and nausea and two, getting my weight back down after yesterday's gain.
It helped on both issues so I'm going to try it again today. Only problem is that it really does make me feel uncomfortably full all day. So stay tuned and we'll see how I do tomorrow!

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Thanks Liz, I think I'm almost there!

Mary, no headaches and no light headedness. So a little different than some... I'll keep monitoring it and keep you all posted!

Jenn, Yes I'm getting close I think! But not quitting yet... 5 more days to go! Will I make it to 136 by then? Doubtful, but WHO CARES! LOL! I'm going to be happy just getting into the 130's.
E is doing just fine. At her lowest weight right now and is going to continue until she has completed the 21 days, which is the same ending day as me. So 5 more for her too! And we are both going to join Biz's P3 boot camp so that we can reset/stabilize properly. I'm very happy about the outcome! I'll post pics next week...

R3-P2- Final 23 Days - INJ #17/6 - Something going on...

R3 P2 Starting weight on 4-7-8 158.2
Yesterday's weight 141.0
Today's weight 141.4
Overnight loss/GAIN +.4 lbs

I woke up to a small gain this morning after a strict day of protocol food. So what could be happening? No swelling in my fingers and I don't have TOM issues to worry about. Hmmm, then while I was drying my hair my arms started feeling so heavy and I could hardly hold the brush and dryer over my head. I was feeling so tired that I just wanted to put my head down and close my eyes. And then I started feeling nauseous. So I sat down for a minute and finished styling my hair and just pushed through the feeling and got ready for work. I considered staying home, but decided to just go ahead and go in to work. Once there, I emailed Biz to tell her that I thought I needed to add some protein. I wasn't sure if this meant I was nearing the end but that was what I was beginning to think. She suggested adding a few boiled eggs to my daily intake to bring my calories up around 800. So I took her advice and added the eggs to my menu. Once I ate the first egg, I started feeling better right away. And after two more eggs and my grapefruit, I was pretty stuffed. That feeling has stayed with me all day, but the weakness and nausea have disappeared completely. So I am going to see what happens in the morning. If I've put on weight that may be an indication that I should NOT be upping my calories and I'll try to just go back to the VLCD. If my weight is fine, and I feel hungry, I will continue to add the extra protein.

I am struggling a little with the decision mostly because I am still about 5 pounds over my goal and also because my BMI is still 22.1. And I know they're just numbers and I shouldn't be too attached to them so I'll be open to what my body is telling me. And I will not allow myself to get malnourished if I am at the end of my abnormal fat reserves.

I still intend to finish the last 6 injections because I feel that it is important to have 21 days of effective injections from the time of my last break. But I will raise my calorie level to 800 or higher if needed to maintain a healthy energy level.

I'll try to post early tomorrow with my stats and a little update...

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Mary, as you can see I've decided to share the POSSIBLE news that I may be done! Can you believe it? Tomorrow will tell...

R3-P2- Final 23 Days - INJ #16/7 remaining

R3 P2 Starting weight on 4-7-8 158.2
Yesterday's weight 141.0
Today's weight 141.0
Overnight loss -0- lbs

Nothing lost but nothing gained! So I'm not unhappy about that. I was expecting a loss today because my nighttime weight was lower than the night before and usually that is an indicator that I will be down in the morning as well, but the nighttime weigh-in doesn't count as we all know...

So two things might be off, not enough water and a couple of those little 20 calorie creamsicles that I had instead of my evening fruit.

So today I'm drinking up! And I'll have an apple instead for my evening snack!

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Ed and Jenn! Making an appearance... So good to hear from you. I want to hear all about the crazy activity going on at your house now that it's just FULL of kids! Hope you're having fun...
But don't stay away too long or you might miss my big announcement. But I'll probably not be able to resist emailing you if I actually make it!

Mary, it's supposed to reach 113 here today. No WAY am I going to exercise outside!

Liz, YOU'RE back! I'll have to go look at your blog to see how you did on your trip! Welcome home!

Biz, yes it's true... I FEEL the love! LOL! You'll be one of the first to know!