Day 16

I forgot to post here this morning. I lost half an inch more off my waist so I'm happy with that. About my weight, I'm not sure if I'm losing but I guess I am not drinking too much water and I'm a bit too moody so I think I may have my period soon. I am drinking water like crazy today and hope to lose some weight tomorrow. If not, I will do the apple day for tomorrow and see if that will fix it. Also, I've been stressed because my baby caught the chicken pox virus. Good thing she's feeling better now but the blisters are still there. I have 14 days left for my first round of this diet and I want to do my very best now. No more little cheating every now and then and I will make sure I will drink as much water as I can. I hope to lose at least 5 more pounds! Yeah, I'm having low expectations now about my weight hihi

day 15

So I won't be blogging about my weight loss since it started to disappoint me (or my scale is not being very accurate). Will just weigh myself weekly from now on just like in the Biggest Loser! LOL. But I checked my measurements and I lost another inch off my waist. Not bad... :) Guess that's what really matters. I just don't know if other parts of my body are also trimming down. I notice my neck appears longer now and my face is not looking so bloated anymore. I hope the next 15 days would show even better results so I won't feel disappointed at the end of my 30-day VLCD.

Also, my husband prepared my meals today. Lunch was simple but it tasted good. Chicken and cabbage with soy sauce and spices. Guess it's really different once cooked by a real cook. Dinner was even better. It was super lean beef on lettuce taco. I had 4 of those at 100 grams lean beef and 110 grams of lettuce. It was cooked with spices and tasted good. Today he will be preparing me another beef taco but he'll make tomato sauce for it. So 100 grams super lean beef, 110 grams (lettuce and tomato). :) I'm excited! Yesterday felt like a cheat actually.

day 14

weight gain day! disappointed when I checked the scale and I have gained a pound. Annooooooying! And, to top it off I didn't lose even a 1/10th of an inch off my waist. I guess it had something to do with stress. My 10 month old girl is showing signs of chickenpox and she's very uncomfy and we're all uncomfy. I don't want to get my weight and measurements tomorrow. Daily weigh in is just disappointing. I'll just continue with the HCG diet but won't always check my weight anymore because it's very disappointing when you expect to get a good number and you don't get anything!

day 13. another inch gone!

So, I'm very happy that I lost another inch off my waist. That's just amazing. I couldn't believe how fast I lose the inches. As regards to my weight, well I have lost 1 pound. Was expecting at least 2 lbs though since I stalled for 3 days. But, 1 lb? I'll take it. :)

For today I'd have 100 grams chicken and shrimp and some cabbage and cauliflower. I'm getting tired of cooking and coming up with a new recipe to make it less boring. Thankfully tomorrow my husband can help me. He'll make healthy beef taco without the taco. hahaha!

---big update---

I had this pair of jeans that served as an inspiration for me. It never fit me for like 3 years. Just about a week ago I tried to wear it again and I can't button it even if I try to breathe in really hard. I thought then I needed to lose like 5 inches off my waist before I can ever wear that pair of jeans again. This morning, guess what? I tried it on and it fits perfectly and comfortably! I actually wanted to cry. HCG is really amazing, guys! I've been struggling with my weight for so long. Though I am not obese or anywhere close to that but my image is important to me. I got so sick with people telling me that I eat too much that's why I became really fat. But, I am not an eater nor do I drink alcohol so it hurts because I can't control my weight because of PCOS. People like to make fun of other people's image without being sensitive as to what others feel and I was a victim of that. Been so sick and tired of being tagged as fat when I know deep down inside that I don't belong inside this body. PCOS had ruined my life and I never thought there's a way for me to go back to my old self. I was model material before, not to brag. Then all of a sudden I ballooned. At first I intended to gain a few pounds because of the sexist comments I've been receiving and because of stalkers. I also did it for my then bf and now husband, who became a bit insecure. I just never thought it became the start of my huge weight gain. Regrets? Yeah, I regret that decision but then again I know it was out of my control. I was bound to gain this much weight because of PCOS. But, I am glad that despite my condition I was only able to gain about 40-50 pounds from my previously underweight state. Yeah, I was actually underweight in the past and didn't know I was because I always felt fat. I don't ever want to go back to my old weight again. I'm 5'8" and used to be 120 and I have big boobs! So just imagine how awful I looked like. I checked my photos before of my old self and I think I actually look much better when I gained the pounds. For now, I am just happy to be losing the inches though the weight is not catching up as fast. I can't express in words just how grateful I am with this diet. Everyone with weight problem and want to change their lives should try this. We can all do it! :)

day 12, 0.6 inches off, not a pound shed?!!

As the title of this blog post goes, I have lost 0.6 inches off my waist but I didn't shed a single pound. Actually, I feel bloated but thirsty this morning. I don't know what's causing it and I don't know if it's soon going to be my TOM because I'm irregular because of my PCOS. Thankfully I read this article that helped me relax a bit and still want to continue on with this diet.

Why the scales can lie?

It talks about the stubbornness of fat and how the body retains water when it starts to lose the body fat. You will notice you're dropping clothes sizes but the scale shows you're not losing any weight!

Oh well, I just hope this is very temporary as I would still want to see my weight go down. It's still annoying me. I'm glad I kept measuring my waist though, at least I still have a reason to be excited about this diet. This is hard work, y'know. So many food temptation around that are not allowed on this diet.

---update---

Just feeling much better today. For the past couple of days or so I've been very lazy about my water drinking. I've been drinking mostly coffee and zero-calorie green tea drinks. Now I'm drinking mostly water and I drink a lot of water. I weighed myself now that I feel I'm at my fullest capacity and voila, I'm still 164! Yesterday at around this time I reach 168 and I get sooo frustrated. I really hope the "whoosh" would happen at tomorrow's weigh in.

Day 11 Phase 2 another stall

I didn't cheat the whole day yesterday. In fact, I was really going nuts because I so wanted to eat everything that I see on TV... or anything with sugar, oil or carbs... especially carbs. I so want to eat at least a piece of bread because that had always been my weakness. :(

So, I stalled once again and it's fine. I measured my waist and I have lost 0.4 inches from yesterday so it's okay. For today I'll be eating 100 grams each of shrimp, cauliflower, chicken and lettuce with 2 pcs of apples.

-----

I'm feeling quite hungry today. Very different from my usual days... I want to eat. huhu! Can't wait to have my lunch already

--- Lunch was quite filling. I had shrimp and cauliflower soup. I used shrimp broth and placed 100 grams of shrimp and 110 grams of cauliflower. It helped me a lot with my hunger.

For dinner, I prepared 110 grams of lettuce and 100 grams of chicken. I grilled the chicken using several spices with very little amount of teriyaki sauce and soy sauce plus stevia. I enjoyed cooking it because of the wonderful aroma and it also tastes really good. Unfortunately I forgot what spices I actually used. I just mixed some pepper, dried chili, salt and also a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. This feels like a cheat! :)

Day 10 Phase 2

Hurray I'm now a third away from the end of my VLCD. It's not that I want it to end soon though because I'm still pretty much enjoying my weight loss. This morning I weighed myself and I lost another pound. Hurray!

I also decided 2 days ago to measure my waist and so I have lost 2 inches! I am just in awe. I can't wait to get back to my old clothes once again but that would probably take another cycle of the HCG diet but it's okay. I'm loving myself more and more each day. I can't wait to lose another 20 lbs! :) If I can't reach 145 at the end of this cycle it's fine. I'm already planning to have my second cycle of the HCG diet 6 weeks after my 30 days. By then I know I'd reach my goal. :)

-------- rant--------

steam... grill... soup... steam... grill...soup... it's starting to take its toll on me. LOL

Day 9 Phase 2

I didn't lose weight today but it's a relief for me because I cheated big time. I ate an extra apple and 2 pieces of guava last night because I had to stay up to finish my work. I would be working hard until evening today and I allow myself to cheat a little or else I'd go nuts! I'm very exhausted with work so I need a bit of extra nourishment to help me out. At least I didn't eat like a full meal or something like that, just some fruits to get me through this very very busy day.

Well, I'm just glad that I didn't gain weight. Will be back on track once again by tomorrow.

---- UPDATE!!!---

OOOoooopppps! I blogged too soon! Well, I weighed myself a few times again this morning after my morning visit at our rest room and I am actually down by another pound. What?!! That's just incredible! I already cheated and I lost a pound. :) :) :)

Day 8 Phase 2

I woke up today hoping for a 1 lb weight loss but I was shocked with my weight now. I can't believe it I lost 3 lbs! Seriously, people. I'm now 166! Now back to my weight before I went on vacation. Now I'm excited coz every pound I'll shed from this day forward will be new to me. I tried to lose weight from December to about May and all I lost was around 8 lbs and never went down the 166 mark. This is getting pretty exciting! :)

I'm on day 8 and I lost a total of 10 lbs! hurray! I have 3 weeks to go before I end my first round of the HCG Diet and I can't wait! This is getting pretty exciting. I think I could really reach the 25 lbs weight loss and I am hoping for more. 30 lbs would be awesome :)

Day 7 Phase 2- 2nd stall

Just like the title goes, my weight stuck at 169. I'm very disappointed but there's a logical explanation to it as what I was told through a discussion board that I joined in. It could be water retention because I'm showing signs of TOM. So, I guess it's okay. After all, I notice a big difference on the size of my tummy.

I cheated this morning. Well, very early in the morning. I couldn't resist, I didn't feel so well probably because it's almost my TOM so I needed to eat something sour and I picked up 1 passion fruit. Oh well, I expect another stall by tomorrow. I'll just keep up with this diet because I am seeing results and I have to go on with it. 1 week done, 3 more to go!

Btw, I ate cauliflowers as my vegetable of choice yesterday. I checked online and there are many who are consuming cauliflower on their phase 2. It's yummy! :)

---

Before lunch I kinda cheated a little. My husband was preparing spaghetti for their meeting today and I just couldn't resist. I didn't eat pasta, just got 3 spoonful of the spaghetti sauce and ate my two crackers with it. If I gain weight tomorrow then I know it was my fault. But it was such a small portion, just wanted to taste the spaghetti! :(

Temptations please leave me alone! LOL Oh well, I am still hoping I'd lose weight by morning though. It was definitely less than 40 calories anyway.

---

So it's lunch time. I was able to buy McCormick sinigang w/c has no MSG. I cooked chicken sinigang with repolyo (cabbage) and it tastes good! yum!!! :)

My dinner looks really good and I'm excited to devour it. It's 1 pc egg + 3 egg whites with onions and cauliflower. I mixed the onions and cauliflower to make up 100 grams. I cooked the onions first without any oil or anything then I added the cauliflower. It started to smell good then I added the beaten egg plus water with salt, pepper and a tiny teenie bit of magic sarap. Smells good and can't wait to eat! I read that it's okay to mix two veggies in one meal unlike what's written in the protocol. As long as you're losing weight then it's fine. So, I'm giving this a try. If it will let me lose weight by morning then I'm happy.

Day 6 Phase 2- first stall

Okay so I hit my first stall. I'm still at 169. If I didn't research well about the HCG protocol and what to expect, I would be in tears by now. But, I know better and it's perfectly fine with me. A little disappointed of course. I'm excited to watch my weight go down but then I know that stalls like this one would happen on average of 14 days in 40 days. But it's guaranteed you'd be losing over 20 pounds in a 40-day HCG diet period so I'm alright.

I had a very bad day yesterday and this kinda sealed the deal that I, indeed, had a bad day. Nope I didn't cheat or anything and it's not about the HCG weight loss program but just about my life. Hope tomorrow I'd already be losing another pound. :)

Day 5 Phase 2

Now I'm 169 lbs. Lost another pound since yesterday. Instead of taking 10 drops in the morning and 10 again before dinner, I took 10 drops before my lunch too just to see how it will make me feel. I felt a lot better doing it this way so I'd rather take it 3x a day from now on as it makes me feel better... no hunger pangs at all.

My cravings really gets to me. Every time I watch TV and there are commercials about food, I feel like I'm drooling. haha! But I got to keep up with this diet since it's showing me progress. I can't wait to reach 166 again because that's the weight I got stuck with no matter how I tried to lose weight it just won't go anywhere below that. By the time I reach 166 I'd be more determined to push myself more because every day would mean I'd lose more weight than I did in my past hard efforts.

---update---

Just had my lunch and I forgot to take the oral drops. Argh! Got used to not taking it before lunch, I guess.

Day 4 Phase 2

I lost another pound this morning. I'm happy with the extra pound weight loss. 4 more pounds and I'd be back to my weight 2 1/2 months ago right before I went on a vacation. Actually I've been trying to go below 166 pounds but that seems to be my stable weight 'coz I can't lose a single pound right after that stage. By 160 pounds I would already be at the normal weight range so I'm excited about that. That's just 10 pounds away.

I had a good day yesterday. Didn't feel sick or anything. Hope each day from now on would be like that so I could go on with this diet to 30 days or more.

I'm also happy to say that I now found a tape measure here at home. LOL! will start measuring from this day on to see if I am indeed losing "pounds and inches". :) Wish me luck!

Btw, yesterday I skipped the crackers. :)

Just noticed that I can now wear my pants that used to not fit me when I was at 166. I'm still 4 pounds over that but it fits me! nice :)

Day 3 Phase 2

So I had a horrible night last night. I took Mefenamic acid though it was stated that you can only take Aspirin. Well, I just had to take what's available here so that's what I grabbed. I had diarrhea and I still have diarrhea now but I feel good. I exercised on my bike again this morning burning off 30 calories with distance of 2 kilometers. I won't go beyond that to prevent the feeling of weakness. I did the same yesterday as well before I had my morning tea.

I'm so happy to say that on my morning weigh in I am now 171 pounds! :) Yes, I lost a total of 5 pounds in just 2 days!!! Isn't that amazing?

I just got to update you guys because I am enjoying my lunch right now. I'm not a cook but my little experiment proved to be quite good. I made chicken and cabbage soup. Here's my recipe

1 cup chicken broth

100 g chicken breast fillet

100 g cabbage

1 egg white

salt and pepper to taste

Very simple, huh? But this makes me sooo happy! It tastes really good. :) Been struggling with my vegetables the past 2 days because I can't cook. Now I know what to do with my cabbage! hihi

Day 2 Phase 2

So, I was excited to weigh in this morning to see my progress. I lost 2 pounds! Back to my original weight before the loading phase 1. Hopefully I could lose 1 to 2 pounds a day with this diet so I'd be good with just 1 cycle.

Today I'd still be having 100g of fish and 100g of chicken. I didn't like the cucumbers I had last night, I wasn't able to eat it all so I will not have more cucumbers in my diet. I switched to cabbage and I'll eat 100g of raw cabbage. Might add some spices to it to make it more appealing.

So far so good! I'm excited for every morning weigh in. :)

Had onions and chicken for lunch. I didn't like my onions and I didn't finish eating it. HCG diet protocol is getting a bit difficult for me 'coz I don't know how to cook. But I'll stick with this for 30 days. Hope to find some broth from the grocery store. That would make this diet more bearable. :)

I feel hungry every now and then but not super hungry. It's tolerable. I just suffer from a headache now and a bit of diarrhea. But, staying positive. Today feels much better than yesterday though. Yesterday I was just hungry most of the time.

---update---

it's 12:40 AM and I feel okay but earlier I was a mess. My feet were cold and I had a horrible headache. I still have mild diarrhea but now I am feeling normal. Was already thinking of quitting this diet but thanks to Mefenamic Acid, I'm feeling good again. Maybe it's because I'm dehydrated because of diarrhea but I keep on taking in fluids. Hoping everything will improve as the days progress.

Day 1 Phase 2

Yehey I'm done with Phase 1. Most would think that the phase 1 is the best phase but it was really horrible for me. The exhaustion was terrible and the feeling of over stuffing yourself with foods high in fats and sugar is really just not my thing. I'm used to eating healthy so it was really shocking for my system. I didn't take Metformin on phase 1 and will continue to not take it until I'm done with phase 2. So far I gained 2 pounds from phase 1 and I'm happy with the 2 lbs weight gain.

Today I will be eating 100 grams of chicken and 100 grams of fish with some lettuce and cucumber plus 2 apples. Excited to check my weight again tomorrow morning and the day after and the next and so on! :)

For my HCG diet phase 2 I am taking the HCG diet ultra drops. I take 10 drops under the tongue for 1 minute before gulping it in. I wait for 10 minutes before I eat or drink. This morning I will be having only 1 cup of coffee with Stevia sweetener. :) I love coffee and this diet can let me drink coffee so I'm good with that. :)

---update---

I just had my lunch. So far I'm very happy with it. 100grams breast fillet, grilled with garlic powder, ground pepper and some salt. I covered it with foil to cook on its juice. Then had 100 grams of lettuce with white vinegar as its dressing. I also ate 1 pc of cracker worth 10 calories. All in all, 130 calories. Drank 2 glasses of water along with it. I'm full :)

For snacks, I'll have a cup of coffee, 1 pc apple and 1 pc cracker.

For dinner, I will have 100 grams of fish, steamed with spices, 100 grams cucumber and an apple.

None after 8 pm. :)

--- update---

Almost 4pm now and I'm going crazy. My tongue needs some flavor! :( Need to go to the grocery store later to buy what I can use to fight this urge to eat something sweet. Might buy non-calorie iced tea drink to make this diet much bearable.

day 2 of my HCG diet phase 1

So I'm now starting the 2nd day of the HCG diet phase 1 or the loading phase. I have gained almost 2 pounds today and I expect to gain more for tomorrow's start of my phase 2. I ate a lot yesterday as I added 2 ice cream drumsticks, some bread and 1 pack of junk food. Weird 'coz I didn't feel like I was full though I ate a lot already. Not sure if that's part of the HCG effect on me but I'm very enthusiastic about this.

Today I plan on eating more fatty and sweet foods in preparation for the "real HCG diet" phase 2. I notice I'm not enjoying my food since yesterday and I'm not excited to eat some more today. LOL Will update once again tomorrow on the start of the real deal.

--- Update---

I noticed yesterday I kept on sleeping. I thought I was just sleepy. But today I still kept on sleeping and I wake up for an hour then I head back to bed. This had been my problem with PCOS, extreme exhaustion, and now that I stopped taking Metformin (since yesterday) it's back and it's really bad. But, I won't give up on this. Excited to start with the phase 2 tomorrow.

My Quest for Weight Loss

I've been suffering from PCOS or Polycystic ovarian syndrome for more than 6 years. Actually, I don't know when I had PCOS but I noticed I've been gaining a lot of weight since 2004. I used to be very skinny. Was about 120-125 pounds most of my life and I am 5'7 1/2". My maximum weight was 200 pounds but that was on the day that I was going to give birth. It was a miracle how I was able to get pregnant. After many disappointing days of seeing the pregnancy test result as negative, finally I was able to conceive. It was a horrible pregnancy though, we almost died due to severe preeclampsia but we managed to survive it together thanks to a lot of prayers from people who loves us. After I gave birth and had my daughter's baptism, I was ready to do something about my weight because I was about 190 pounds back then.

A lot of people tease me for being fat. They say some mean things without really understanding what I am going through. They think I eat like a pig because I got so big when I used to be so skinny. They don't know how hard it is for me to lose weight as I don't really eat a lot. Well, i went out on a quest to try and lose weight. I've been on a diet of 1 cup of brown rice a day with mostly vegetables for my meals. I count my calories too and I use www.calorieking.com for my calorie count and I managed to keep my food intake at around 800 calories a day... for 5 months! And guess what? I lost 8 pounds in total. It was really heartbreaking for me because I know 1 pound is 3,500 calories and my body require at least 2,000 pounds a day. So why just 8 pounds? I really wondered why and I didn't know what to do.

Then I became very desperate. I wanted to try diet pills so I did my research and I came to the conclusion that Slimina is the best bet. I thought it was the safest diet pill out there but it actually almost killed me! No offense to those who take it or are selling it, but this is the truth. Slimina almost killed me after taking it for just a little over a month. It didn't help me lose weight actually but it was able to stabilize my weight a bit. But, I got into a breaking point. One day while I was busy writing my articles to meet my deadline, I felt something on my chest that I couldn't understand. Then I felt like I couldn't breathe as well as normal. Then after a few minutes the left side of my head became numb. I couldn't feel anything! I was a bit frantic but I know being scared won't do me any good so I called up my husband to drive me to the E.R. There, the doctor suspected I had a stroke! A stroke? At my age? I'm only 28! I was scared because it felt so real... like I was going to die then and there. I had my CT scan and they also checked my heart but everything came out normal. As I went home that night I had the worse kind of headache I ever experienced and no pain medication was able to help me. It was the worst experience ever. That time I didn't know it was Slimina that did it. I thought I was sick. The next day everything went back to normal and I was relieved. Then, a week later, I started experiencing something odd. (I already stopped taking Slimina on the day I had that attack as the doctor advised that it could be the cause) I notice that I have difficulty breathing after I had a nap and didn't understand why. I told my sister about it, I have a nurse sis and a doctor sis so they were able to help me out. They said that I should observe it more closely and so I did. I'm a little stubborn too so I didn't really think about it much. But one day while almost on the verge of sleeping, I noticed I can hear my heart beat. It was fast and I felt like the beat goes up to the topmost part of my skull. I texted my sister and she asked me to count my beats per minute and voila it reached 130! It stayed like that for 5 minutes then I started having difficulty breathing. So, I was rushed to the E.R. again and everything came out normal. My doctor told me that he also had a patient who took Slimina and was rushed to the E.R. That girl unfortunately had to stay in the ICU for days because she got into a coma. I'm so thankful I didn't reach that point but I kept on having arrhythmia for several weeks until all traces of Slimina was flushed away from my body. I will never try Slimina or any diet pills again.

I was 166 pounds 2 months before but then I went home to have my vacation and I gained 18 pounds in less than 3 weeks. that's 18 freaky pounds!!! That's just not possible, right? Well, if you have PCOS then you know how quickly we can gain that much weight. It was disheartening for me because I worked my * off to lose weight gradually but then I gained so much weight in just 3 weeks of normal eating. I didn't even enjoy my food so much :( My doctor told me that since I've been suffering from PCOS then I should take Metformin. So I've been taking Metformin for about a month now, 500 mg breakfast and 500 mg dinner. So far I lost some weight and reached 171 pounds. Then I gained 3 pounds but I don't feel bad about the 3 pound weight gain. Why? Because I super eat out during the time I gained the 3 pounds. I would normally be expecting a weight gain of 10-20 pounds with the way I was eating when I just gained the 3 pounds while I was on Metformin so I am now very happy with Metformin because it helped control my weight. Cheers to Metformin for PCOS women!

----

I've been writing articles and one client of mine asked me to write tons of articles about the HCG diet. And that's how I was able to learn a lot about the HCG diet. I recommended it to my sis who also had a weight problem and she bought some HCG drops. She was on the 40 day HCG diet plan and she lost 25 pounds! My other sis got excited too and asked for 1 bottle of the HCG drops. She said she wants to lose 15 pounds and she's currently still on the 21 day HCG diet phase 2. For now, she's on her 6th or 7th day of the diet and she lost over 8 pounds already! So, with 2 of my sisters acting as my guinea pigs (no pun intended) I decided to give this a go too. And, I want to post all my experiences on this blog. For now, I am on my first day of the HCG diet phase 1 and my weight is 174 pounds.

Phase 1 is the loading phase so I need to eat a lot today and tomorrow. So far I had 1 slice of pizza, 12 oz of dark chocolate smoothie, fried chicken, bread, tuna, soda and I will eat some more later for dinner! hehe! I will be posting my pic later when I have the chance.

This will be the start of my weight loss journey with HCG oral drops and I am hoping to lose 25 pounds with the HCG diet but my total weight loss goal is to lose a total of 35 lbs. I have enough oral drops for 30 days so will be on a 30-day HCG phase 1-2. I also won't be taking my Metformin during my weight loss phase 1 and 2 but might take it during the phase 3 but I'll ask my doctor about that first. For now, drumrolls!

---update---

So here's my photo. Hoping to look slimmer again. ;)