This is a place for me to hash out my feelings about HCG. I'm trying it. I've always been a hard core skeptic. But I can't ignore the great results I've seen family and friends get from the protocol. I personally know eight people who have tried it. 7 of them lost substantial amounts of weight. Two of them gained quite a bit back and one of them had a hard time with messed up periods and little weight loss. Still pretty good odds.

This is a place for me to track my feelings, food, progress, doubts and hopes. This is not a place for nay sayers. Trust me, I've nay sayed plenty of times!

I'm on day 9 of Phase two. I've lost nine pounds so far. I know that I would have lost as much without HCG while following the 500 calorie diet. I've read plenty of studies that say HCG makes little difference in pounds lost. The debate is, how long you keep it off, whether or not you lose muscle and bone tissue, whether or not your body slows it's metabolism etc... Factors I can't really measure and test with my Walmart scale. So, I've decided to give it an honest go...and be honest with myself on how I feel. I don't know for sure if this is the real deal. I'm doing the homeopathic version because from what I've been able to study, it's more gentle on your body.

But let me say, the more "homeopathic" believers I talk to...the more freaked out I get. I don't believe in the hocus pocus of many of their methods. It's quite discouraging actually because it really mows down the credibility factor for me. I truly don't know if I am glad I chose the homeopathic method as opposed to the other ones. That's my biggest fear in this whole journey so far.

Some encouraging things I've learned from reading scientific studies are: Those treated with HCG tend to keep weight off more successfully than those not treated. In addition, those treated with HCG lose body fat and not muscle and bone tissue as compared to those on only a strict low calorie diet. I also was pleased to read a study about how preemie babies are treated with fatty ointments rubbed on their skin to help them increase the fatty acids in their blood. I was glad to read that because I was so ticked about not being able to use lotions and products with fats while on the Low Cal part. I thought it was totally bogus that your body could absorb fats in some form through the skin until I read the preemie study. Still learning. (I'm thinking of going to get some strips to pee on to see if I have a lot of ketones in my urine. I'm guessing that might help me know if I'm eating through too much muscle tissue which would NOT be cool.)

I know it's early. I have a long way to go. I'm feeling frustrated so far in some ways. I keep reading what a feeling of well being I'll have and how much energy I'll have. Maybe it's too early, but so far NOT HAPPENING! I feel pretty ticked off most of the time actually. My patience is short. It's harder to carry a baby up the stairs. My hands feel really weak and cold all of the time. What's up with that?

But I am surprised that I only had mild headaches the first two days of the low cal diet. Haven't had a problem with that since then which surprising because before this diet, I often got pretty bad headaches if I got the least bit hungry. I could count on it like clockwork that I'd get a headache after the four hours of church with no eating.

The hunger factor was awful the first day. I went to bed so discouraged because I felt starving and knew I wasn't going to get a meal until lunch the next day. But I can honestly say, that I feel a lot better in the hunger department. If I eat on time and spread my two meals and two snacks out I feel like there is enough food. Enough for this six weeks that is...I couldn't nor should anyone eat like this for life. The fact that it's only six weeks gives me a lot of encouragement. I've been awesome so far. No cheating at all.

I miss the foods I used to love. It's hard to cook them for my kids. Pancakes with butter, bacon, spaghetti with creamy marinara and Parmesan....Gah! It's hard! But I rock. Not one nibble.

I have a little problem with food fatigue. I'm so sick of vegetables already. Not good. I have a hard time getting them all down. Pretty darn sick of apples and oranges too. Warming up frozen strawberries seems to taste good lately.

That's all for now. Just want to keep a record of how things are going. Now, here goes. So embarrassing, but my starting weight:

198.4

Today's Weight:

189.6

I can say that amount of weight loss would have taken me at least two months to accomplish on my other weight loss methods. I tried Body for life. With religious adherence, I lost 11 pounds in two months. And it did take almost a year to put it back on. I think it's a great program for single people. But the gym time was too much for me once I started having kids. I tried the Dr. OZ You on a Diet thing. It was pretty good. I lost 2 inches from my waist in 10 days. There was plenty of food, but the problem was that I was a slave to the kitchen. I cooked literally, hours a day between meals for my kids and the diet food. It was too hard to keep up and I was sick of standing at the stove all day. But I plan on eating a lot of the sorts of foods I learned about on that plan when I reach my normal eating time again. They really did have tons of nutrients, helped me feel great and kept me satisfied. Learning, learning, learning.... I also tried running. So many people including my dad have had success losing weight that way. I ran for six months, three to four times a week while trying to eat more sensibly. Amount lost: zero pounds. I felt great though, had a ton of accomplishment including running a 5k. I also toned up and my legs looked better. But no fat loss. My sister jumped on the band wagon with me and trained for a Ragnar race. She actually gained weight! I still have the dream of being a runner. I just know it will be so much easier when I'm not carrying 60 extra pounds. That's more than a bag of cement people! Oh boy....what a mystery weight loss is. One I have not conquered so far. Keep trying.

More later!