R2 Week 1 RECAP

So... Obviously I'm not going to be such a thorough poster this go 'round. I'm just a lot less attached to my computer in general since I moved to Korea and stopped having a desk job.

Anyway.  Diet is going fairly well so far.  Haven't lost as much as I'd hoped for, especially compared to Round 1, but I also started the low-calorie part of my diet on the first day of my period, which was probably pretty stupid.  I'm also actually counting calories this time, and I'm finding it difficult to actually get to 500 calories a day.  Maybe if I was eating the allotted melba toast, tablespoon of milk, and 1 lemon (juice) I would get there, but I've been betwee 300-400 calories all week.  Which is crazy to think about.

I also got a protein shake from HCGTriumph when I ordered my drops, and that stuff has been relatively amazing, mostly because it still allows me to have chocolate (which, after a few days, I realized I could mix with hot water and cinnamon and it is really nothing like hot chocolate but satisfying all the same).   I really wish I'd ordered two jars of it, though, since the international shipping is $70.  Fast, but really fucking expensive.

Anyway. I'm finally back down to close to where I assume I was when I first arrived - somewhere between 65-67kg is my estimate.  I broke 67 on Sunday - yay!  I'm not sure if I've hit my first plateau already or something else.  I guess my goal is to lose at least 2kg a week.  That would end me up in a good place.  If you haven't noticed, I've switched myself to metric measurements.  First, because I live in a metric-based country now, and secondly because I have a lot less ingrained weight judgments about kilograms.  Even though I basically know what the pound equivalent is, I don't have an irrational opinion ingrained in me about what magical kg number I should weigh.  I know the Korean number, of course, but Koreans are frighteningly thin, and since I haven't heard that particular number-range it doesn't affect me nearly as much.

WEEK 4 RECAP

This is what I have to say on the subject of Week 4:

FUCK YOU, WEEK FOUR.
FUCK-FUCK-FUCK-FUCK YOU.
AND FUCK ME.
FUCK.

After eating my corndog/fair-food today, I will be "restarting" tomorrow.
I actually kind of can't believe I haven't thrown up yet.  I tried, actually - but my gag reflex is not cooperating.

Pretty much nothing went right this week.  I was on my period pretty much all week - I cheated for the first time in earnest on Wednesday, then repeated the exact same mistakes on Thursday.  I tried getting creative with what I was allowed, which really just meant that I was rationalizing weird ways to cheat.

So tomorrow is restart. Day 2.1.  It's like today was a loading day, and this is just my second cycle of HCG - without all the not-quite-cheating (I'm looking at you, stevia-sweetened jello) that had snuck in at the end of week 3.

Just fucking do it, Riley.  You can do this.  Your body can do this.  Stop letting your mouth/emotions do the thinking.

And for god's sake, write your fucking capstone project and stop procrastinating.  It's not helping anyone, least of all yourself.

As of today, after 27 days of ATTEMPTING to eat only 500 calories per day while taking pharmacy-grade sublingual HCG hormone drops, I have lost 15.8 pounds, and 15 inches.

WEEK 3 RECAP

So.  For 21 days now I've been eating like a crazy person.  It really doesn't seem that long.

I haven't lost as much as I'd like to, but I've still lost a lot more than I would have sans HCG.

Also, my upper body is great at HCG, totally knows how to work that shit.  Lower body is a little slower to catch on - but that's been the case my whole life.  I really hope it gets into the game in the last three weeks, since that's where I store most of my fat.

As far as how I'm feeling - it's still been a little up and down, but nothing like the first and second weeks.  The biggest difference in my mood now is that now I pretty actively crave all the food I haven't been able to have for the past 3 weeks.  Chocolate, butter, dairy, macadamia nuts, dark-meat chicken, corn dogs.  Really, anything with fat in it. I'm so happy that the "maintenance" phase (for the 3 weeks after I finish the 500 calorie days) will allow me to have fats - still no sugar or starches, but fats are A-OK!  It's pretty much just a strict paleo diet, at which I'm totally proficient by now.  Anyway, on to the stats and the photos:


As of today, after 20 days of eating only 500 calories per day while taking pharmacy-grade sublingual HCG hormone drops, I have lost 15.8 pounds, and 12.5 inches.

Also, just as a fun comparison, here's a couple pictures of me when I weighed 175lbs, and had also just sprained my knee.  All of this gets easier when I remember that 2 years ago I weighed close to 40lbs more than I do today.

WEEK 2 RECAP

I started the week out feeling pretty crappy thanks to stoppage, and that persisted for a while - but when that stopped I had my first real "7" day since I started this.  Positive feelings were then derailed by a bunch of other stuff in my life, unfortunately, but now that those things are past, I can say that I definitely feel better now than I have in two weeks.

I very much hope that this week represented the low point in this journey.  Progress was still made, but it was definitely stunted.  And after losing close to 10 pounds the first week it's a bit disheartening to only lose 2 the second week.  BUT I have faith that things are sorted out now, and things will return to something closer to the week 1 rate. :D

As of today, after 13 days of eating only 500 calories per day while taking pharmacy-grade sublingual HCG hormone drops, I have lost 11.3 pounds, and 9.6 inches. That's still pretty ridiculous.


Les Graphs:

WEEK 1 RECAP

Really, I should be posting these tomorrow or Tuesday, but I have more time on Sundays so I'm gonna post weeklys on Sundays.

As of today, after 6 days of eating only 500 calories per day while taking pharmacy-grade sublingual HCG hormone drops, I have lost 8.4 pounds, and 6.4 inches. That's pretty ridiculous.

I'm trying to keep track of everything, so I might have a better idea of what effects my losses - I already think drinking more water (and more water than tea) is definitely important. And I lost the least today, actually, and I think that's because yesterday I got my heart rate up running after a bus, which I'm not supposed to do.

Here's the numbers/graphical data, because Yes, I am that much of an Excel nerd. Remember the first two days were "gorging" days, hence the weight gain. (I think calling them "loading" days sounds much nicer.)

The numbers I find more exciting, however, are the measurement inches. I was pretty shocked at my waist (1.5 inches) and my belly button (1.75 inches). Even though that's the area where I know I lose weight the fastest, it's still impressive. The only thing that didn't go down was my calves, which is unsurprising since they're pretty much all muscle, at least at the thickest part of my calf.

So, overall... The good news definitely outweighs any negative feelings I have towards my energy level or inability to have a corn dog. CORN DOG YOU WILL BE MINE AGAIN ONE DAY, BUT NOT THIS DAY. I feel like I'm adjusting well - it's definitely a learning curve, and trying to adjust your life so that you're still in a good place each day. I'm excited for Week 2, 3, 4, etc - and what changes that time is going to bring.

START

So, I've taken my awesome "before" pictures, and my measurements.

40.April.2013
Weight: 153.6lbs
Upper Arm: 13.75"
Bust: 36.5"
Waist: 29.5"
Hips: 43"
Thigh: 25.75"
Calf: 16.25"

Ugh, legs, I will be happy to see you looking differently in 42 days:
In other news: well done, waistline, way to hold down the fort.

Also, I'm at the end of the my "gorge" days (that's literally what they're called).  It is hard to keep eating, because I'm really not hungry at all.  I'm still planning on going to chipotle later and eating a burrito if I can... we'll see how that goes.  I definitely think I didn't eat enough yesterday - not enough to be considered truly "gorging," you're supposed to feel really uncomfortably full all day, and I didn't reach that.

It's really weird to be sitting at home and have NO DESIRE to eat... usually if I'm at home I'm constantly looking for a snack.

Day 1 Food (+ last day of crossfit TT.TT):
1tbsp butter
2 beef & cheese piroshkys
1 square - caramel marshmallow fudge
1 limon creme chocolate
12 oz hot chocolate
1 handful raw cashews
butter chicken with rice (v. spicy)
1/3 large bag popcorn w/butter

Day 2 Food (as of 7:00pm):
meat pie w/cheese
french fries
1/2 square peanut butter fudge
vanilla/vanilla cupcake
12 oz hot chocolate
12 oz beet/apple/ginger veggie juice
1/2 bag leftover popcorn w/butter
veggie juice - greens/lemon
kombucha
----- (post 7:00pm)
burrito! with beef and beef
chocolate milk
6 pieces of bacon
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
veggie juice - greens/lemon


yeah, i feel gross and unhappy about eating.
but i made all of my meat for the next 7 days ^__^