Phase 3 day 14

So I've been able to happily stabilize myself on my weight. I guess the first week was difficult because my body is not yet ready or because on the last days of my HCG I wasn't losing weight. But, I managed to stabilize though I have to admit I had another big cheat 2 days ago. It is almost my TOM and I can feel all the cravings already. I ended up eating 5 pieces of bread the other day but I ended up throwing them up in the toilet. But, I gained weight the next day. I didn't reach the 2 pounds limit though but I was about 1.9 pounds up my last weight on HCG so I decided to do the egg day. It wasn't difficult at all and I lost 1 pound this morning. Not bad...

I also notice my bowel movement is not looking really healthy. Sorry for being graphic but bowels should float to signify it's healthy and mine lately aren't. So I guess I don't have enough fiber on my diet. That's what I missed because I was so focused on getting enough protein that I skipped the fruits and veggies. Now I will change that. Will add papaya to my daily diet and some veggies too. Gosh, I LOOOOVE papayas. I don't know why I forgot to eat that on phase 3. LOL

Phase 3 day 9

I lost all that I gained yesterday. Oh well, screw that. I'll just let it be. If I keep on losing weight, I won't complain I'll just love it. I will be able to maintain, for sure, and stabilize eventually. Maybe not yet, maybe my body is still adjusting. All I know is I am not depriving myself of food. After my 3rd week on phase 3 I won't jump in on sugar and starches right away... will take it slow to see if I can stabilize. If not, i'll think of a new strategy then. If this continues, I guess I won't need to do another round of HCG and try to lose the extra weight on my own.

Phase 3 day 8

I had a very sinful day yesterday. Like I said I ate some bread in the morning but didn't tell you how many. I ate 4 pieces of bread with different flavors because hubby bought some as I told him I wanted to try eating some bread. I ate one piece each. I used to want to cry every time I eat bread because it's just the best thing in the world but yesterday I was like, okay so that's the bread I was crying to eat the past month but I wasn't going crazy about it.

In the afternoon I saw some "yema" in the fridge. Yema is condensed milk cooked and turned into candy like caramel and it tasted so good. I was fond of that when I was a kid. I had one piece and I felt like I was hearing angels singing! LOL I certainly enjoyed it. Guess I'm still fond of sweets but I will not eat sweets again for the next 2 weeks. I was feeling guilty the whole time after I ate that.

For dinner, it was the first meal I had for a while that I really really enjoyed. I talked to my husband about my lack of interest on food and he sure helped me out a lot. He cooked sizzling chicken with gravy for dinner and a piece of egg. It tasted soooo good and I can eat that any day on phase 3 because it is okay on phase 3. He said he'll cook that more often for me since I enjoyed it a lot.

So, I woke up today and I gained half a pound. Not bad. I will maintain this weight as much as I can. But, I also decided to just let it be. I will eat until I am well satisfied with what I put in my mouth but I won't try to worry about what the scale tells me. After phase 3 I will have to slow down on carbs and sugar forever! It really can make us gain weight overnight.

Phase 3 day 7

I dropped 1 1/2 pounds since yesterday. That's just crazy! I ate a lot yesterday and I'm sure I went over the 1,000 calorie mark for the first time and I plan on maintaining it that way. I don't know why I'm still losing weight. If this continues then I won't do another round of HCG since I'm near my weight goal. I think I can do it on my own already afterwards. I don't have the same interest on food now. I guess it's the Metformin that's causing me to lose weight. I need my metformin but I cut my dosage to half and just take 1 tablet a day instead of 2 before I was on HCG. I can't skip my medication, I don't want my PCOS to go crazy on me again. I just need to be more cautious about my weight this time and make sure that I am eating right and not starving myself. Goodness, I've been pushing food in my mouth the past few days already and I am already happy with what I am eating. I just have to make sure I don't go crazy on carbs again. Maybe just a piece of bread every now and then would be fine. In fact, I'll do a bit of cheat today. I'll eat one piece of bread to see if I will gain weight tomorrow or not. I know, it's wrong. I just want to try.

--- So I ate some bread this morning. Much to my surprise, I don't like eating bread anymore too. I will not eat anything against the protocol ever again. I know it was wrong that I tried to compensate my weight loss on phase 3 by eating something that is forbidden but I guess what really made me eat the bread is because I just want to eat something that would make me happy for a change. But, my appetite for bread is just not there anymore. I just don't like eating anything! =( That's not a very good side effect of the HCG diet for me and I know it won't be the same case to everyone else. My sisters who were on the HCG diet are quite happy eating foods on phase 3 and after, so I wonder why the heck I lost my appetite completely! I just wish phase 3 will be over. I was much happier on phase 2 which is really weird.

Phase 3 day 6

Now I'm starting to worry. I already thought I ate a lot yesterday. I had two big burger patties for dinner and for lunch I had several slices of chicken adobo and breakfast was egg and tuna. I was feeling full after lunch but I slept very late so I slept feeling a bit hungry. Woke up today to see that I'm losing weight again. Oh well. I should be happy about it, I guess. But was told that I shouldn't lose weight on phase 3. What am I going to do? I'd just let it be for now and hope my weight would stabilize on week 2.

Phase 3 day 5

So far so good. I am maintaining my weight but lost 0.2 kgs from my last weigh in on phase 2. I am still having a hard time adjusting to the new phase but I realize I don't crave for food as much anymore. In fact, I am satisfied with very little amount of food that normally wouldn't keep me alive before. haha! I had 4 tablespoon of beef for dinner last night and 2 glasses of water. I wasn't feeling hungry at all and it was enough of a dinner for me. Unfortunately I cheated a bit though. My daughter shove her baby biscuit in my mouth and she would do that a lot. I ate the biscuit of course but felt a bit guilty I had to eat it because my almost 1 year old daughter wants to see mommy eating her biscuits! LOL But, I'm glad I didn't gain anything today even with that little cheat of starch and sugar on phase 3.

Phase 3 day 4

Yesterday I was feeling really hopeless. I woke up and I was over the 2 pounds weight gain which drove me nuts. I didn't understand how I could gain so much overnight and wanted to just give it up but then I thought maybe I've been doing something that's not right on the phase 3 of HCG diet. I wasn't eating enough protein which, I think, is the culprit. So yesterday I decided to eat more protein and this morning I lost about 1.6 pounds from my weight yesterday and I'm very happy with that. I thought this was going to be my egg day already but thank God I'm back on track. Phase 3 is not as hard, really, but I'm still not used to it. When I eat I feel like I'm being unhealthy. I usually have fried foods now and the feeling of oil in my mouth just makes me want to puke. Seriously, I am not enjoying eating the foods that I used to enjoy before. The only food I'm fond of now is the tuna. I simply looooove tuna! The rest... pfft!

-----

For my lunch today I couldn't stand eating anything with oil. My husband said we could cook some grilled burger for me but even that doesn't seem yummy for me. I don't feel like eating anything, actually. So I ended up cooking my chicken with cabbage which I used to eat often on phase 2 and thought I will never eat that again. But, it seemed good enough for me. It was in a bigger portion though and it took me over 30 minutes to finish what I was eating. I don't know if this is a normal reaction towards the introduction of food on phase 3 but I just feel really sick with all sorts of food. Hope it will be much better tomorrow. Though I want to be losing weight but I also don't want to start hating food this way. I really miss my rice though.

Phase 3 day 1

I woke up today getting pretty excited with phase 3. I had 2 eggs and spicy tuna for breakfast with a total calories of about 500 which I was very happy with. The problem is, after that I didn't feel like eating much anymore. For lunch I had 2 pcs of fried fish that's about 100 grams still with an estimate calories of about 250 and for dinner I'm having 6 pcs of shrimp cooked in a little bit of oil (for extra calories) and orange juice. So, basically I can't even reach 1,200 calories and I can't think of anything else to eat. I love bread, rice or mashed potatoes and not being able to eat those makes me a bit dumbfounded as to what's left for me to eat. I don't mind the sugar, as long as I can drink my coffee with some creamer and stevia then I'm happy.

Hope I won't be gaining weight by tomorrow.

Oh, and one thing, I took my Metformin for breakfast but only 500 mg. I don't plan on taking it over dinner since I'm going to have just a few pieces of shrimp. I don't want to end up with hypoglycemia. Hope it would still be enough though.

day 26 No Weight Loss

So since it's really hard to lose weight now I started my VLCD without the drops and afterwards I'll proceed with Phase 3. No need to finish until day 30 when I am not getting much result anymore and I'm already happy with my weight. So, I lost 18 pounds in my first round. Hope my 2nd round will let me lose another 15. I know I can. :)

Good luck to everyone who are still on their HCG diet journey. You can do it!

day 25

so I did the apple day and it somehow helped me lose a bit of weight. The last several days my weight was quite erratic. It wasn't very steady at the weight loss of 17.5. Anyway, since my last weigh-in yesterday and my weight now, the apple day helped me lose 1 pound. Yay! I'm happy with that. And I lost half an inch from my waist too. :)

total weight loss now is actually a little over 18 lbs and lost 7.5 inches off my waist. Will see if I'd lose some more weight by tomorrow. I am still hoping I'd hit 155 but my weight loss now is getting really slow. If I'd lose more weight tomorrow then I would finish the 30 days but if not, there's no use. Would stop the HCG and start the 2 day VLCD without the drops. Will be looking forward to my second round :)

All in all, this round of my HCG diet is great. I can't believe I could lose this much weight in 25 days. 18 pounds is 18 pounds. May not sound like such a huge number for some but for me it already is. I'm now no longer overweight but I still need to lose a few more pounds. Maybe I can do it on my own without the drops or maybe I can't, but what's for sure is I will never ever allow myself to gain that weight back. It was unfair, actually, how I gained that much weight. I wish I could say I've been eating for comfort or eating had been my addiction but it isn't. I eat for fun sometimes too, of course we all do, but I am not a slave of food. I'm just insulin resistant and my body had been betraying me for so long. I must say I am a bit scared right now. I have been relying on the HCG hormone for me to lose this weight and without the starch and sugar but I really hope my body wouldn't be so hard on me again that it would keep gaining the weight even when I barely eat. I will depend on Metformin for that. I used to think then that I can lose weight on my own, diet and exercise is key. I wanted to prove the world that women with PCOS don't need the medication to lose weight but I went on over a 5 month period of extreme dieting and cycling just to prove that. But I only proved to myself that it's virtually impossible so I gave up. From now on if I have any problem about my weight again that I know is not normal, I would go to the doctor immediately. They know better and I should just stop thinking I can do it on my own. ;)

day 24 a little frustrated but I shouldn't be

So it's my day 24. I have a few days left and I am stalling. I think it's because of way too much stress I am feeling the past few days that's causing it and I think I am not eating enough. I don't feel like eating my vegetables and I guess that causes the stall. Anyway, today I'd be doing the apple day again. My last apple day for this round of my HCG diet. I just want to see a little weight drop by tomorrow if possible.

I will try to unwind tomorrow and see if that can help lower my stress level. I'm too stressed out that I want to cry. This is my life now, way too stressful and I'm sick of getting too stressed. Read that stress affects the hypothalamus and I believe that's what caused me to stop losing weight for days. Will try to change things before day 30.

I actually feel bloated the past few days. I get thirsty in the morning but I have that bloated feeling which I really don't like. I guess my body's not releasing the water from my system and it's annoying. I am not losing inches too. It's just steady. I am actually happy with my weight loss so far so I don't want to be too frustrated about this. Will just exert one last effort to try and lose some weight through this apple day thing. Hope to see great results in the morning.

I've been having cabbage almost everyday on this diet and I really didn't like cabbage before. Seriously, if someone lets me eat cabbage again after this diet I will really walk-out! hahaha

day 23

I think I stalled again but I'm not quite sure since I had no time to weigh myself early without getting hydrated. I'm a bit stressed too because of work. I don't want to worry much about my weight loss because I know I am still on track and I don't want to be a slave of the scale. I feel great about my body now and that's all that matters. My sis also told me that it's possible to stall especially when you're almost at your target weight. I check my tummy and it's not as big anymore. Actually, it looked a bit sagging because of the dramatic weight loss I had at such a short time that I think what I have left is excess skin and not too much fat underneath it. My clothes fit great now and that's all that I really wanted. I don't care whether I'd lose 5 more pounds or not. For now, I believe I had a great weight loss with my first round of the HCG diet and I'm already happy with this. If I'd lose some more weight before day 30 then great but if not, I won't sulk over it.

Would have to constantly wear my girdle now, hopefully that will help with my tummy's condition. It really looks like I had just given birth! LOL

Will definitely do the 2nd round of HCG diet after 6 weeks. I have a few more days left and I'll finish my 30 days with a big smile on my face because I've lost almost 20 pounds in just 1 month. How cool is that?!!

day 22 no weight loss

I stalled again. Probably because I drank a lot of water at night time. My weight is still dropping on the scale so I guess I just had too much water in my body. I wasn't able to drink enough water during the day yesterday so I tried to drink a lot last night plus I kinda cheated a little. Boo! Too much torture already I just had to have a tiny piece of fried fish that was my favorite for all eternity. :( Never thought it could really hurt though... Okay, I had 2 pieces of small fish, as small as my pinky and much thinner too. Oh well, just a small bump on the road and it's fine with me. I know I would still lose weight. Few days to go and I can go on phase 3 already which is what I'm most scared of actually. Hope I could maintain my weight loss and PCOS won't sabotage all my hard work.

---- 8:30 pm---

I just noticed I keep drinking water but I don't get to pee as much as I am drinking. I know this is normal but I wonder where all the water's going. I have over 8 glasses of water now and each glass has 220 grams of water (220 mL) so that's 1.76 kilos or almost 4 pounds of water and I still keep on drinking! I'd be staying up the whole night tonight because of work so I'd be drinking more water and for sure my weigh in tomorrow morning would show that I gained a lot of weight overnight. LOL Oh well, at least I know it'll just be water weight and I need to chill. I'm just scared of stalling again until day 30. Hope not!

day 21 down half a pound...then more! :)

I weighed in this morning and I'm down half a pound though I still feel I have some more water in my system. I slept past 2 am and I've been drinking a lot of water at that time. Slept for 4 hours before I weighed in this morning. I'm fine with half a pound. :) As for my measurement, I lost 1/4 inch. :)

I discovered cauliflower rice/cauliflower mashed potato/cauliflower pizza crust. For those who don't want to use cauliflower on phase 2, you can enjoy it on phase 3 and it looks great. I'm very excited to give it a try too. It's very easy to do and instructions are found on Youtube. :) I'm excited for cauliflower rice for phase 3 since breakfast without rice feels too boring for me. I want to try the cauliflower pizza crust too. Since phase 3 disallows you to have starch and sugar, you can still enjoy putting pizza toppings and bake it. It will surely be awesome. I already told my sister who lost 18 pounds in 24 days with the HCG diet and is currently on phase 3. She's excited to give it a try too. She settled with almond flour for a little taste of bread in the morning. :)

---update---

So after I made this blog I became quite sleepy and dozed off. It's now 9:30 am and I had enough sleep already. I weighed myself and couldn't actually believe it. Like I said this morning I feel like there's still water in my system and true enough when I woke up I had a full bladder. I weighed myself again countless times and in just a few hours I lost 1 more pound so that's a total of 1 1/2 pounds weight loss since yesterday! :)

-update again ;)-

So I had my cauliflower rice today. 100grams looked like 2 tbsp of the cauliflower rice which was very disappointing. But I liked the taste but it's useless for phase 2. LOL! I just love cauliflowers and I'm glad it doesn't cause me to stall on Phase 2. Again, it's not for everybody. I just gave it a try in the beginning because I am not a veggie person and it's one vegetable I can eat all the time and enjoy. So I won't be making it until phase 3 again but at least we tried it and I enjoyed it. :) phase 3 wouldn't be so hard for me anymore. Few days left on phase 2.

Day 20 and I'm happy :)

So it's now day 20. 10 more days to go and I'm starting to be attached to my HCG that it makes me a little sad that I would have to say goodbye to it 10 days from now. You can get pretty attached, I guess. LOL. Anyway, I'm happy today that I am down by 2 pounds. Well, I think I lost some weight yesterday but it just wasn't very clear to me if I did or didn't lose weight. I lost another half inch off my waist with a total of 7 inches off since August 23 (the day I started measuring it). It's really amazing how HCG is changing my body and it feels effortless now. I struggled a lot the first week but I'm feeling like I can live with this type of diet forever... As long as my husband won't eat pizza and our other favorites in front of me then I'm good. hihi

Last night I took the HCG drops. I know, I said I wouldn't since I am having my period but I was so hungry yesterday I hated the feeling. I took the drops and voila! no more hunger. :) My dysmenorrhea wasn't as painful either so I'm not sure if that's because of HCG or not but I always expect to have painful dysmenorrhea all the time. Well, I'm not complaining. I feel good this morning. :)

Oh, one more thing. Today marks a very special moment... at 160 I am now back to normal BMI :) I so hope I'd lose at least 5 more pounds... I'll take 155! :)

So my husband cooks for me the past few days and for lunch today he cooked shrimp and cauliflower in orange juice. Cauliflower is not in the original protocol but it's okay to use on phase 2 but you have to check first if you'd stall with it or not. In my case, I indulge in cauliflower because it doesn't cause me to stall at all. He mixed some spices on the orange juice with water. It was just about a teaspoon of orange juice, actually. It tasted so good. :) He's making my diet feel much easier. I can't cook so every time I try to mix up my own meal, there's 50/50 chance that it'd taste awful! LOL

day 19 and it's my TOM

So, I got my period today and I didn't lose weight. I won't be taking my drops today 'til God knows when. The last monthly period I had lasted the entire month before it skipped for over a month again. But I think this one won't last that long anymore. I just hate my cycle! PCOS sucks this way. :(

As for my waist measurement, I gained half an inch... Oh well, I'll get rid of this crazy measurement and weight once my period's over.

I have 11 days left before I say goodbye to phase 2. I don't think I can lose 17 more pounds! LOL! But, I sure hope I could lose some more. 6 more pounds would be great! That means I'd lose a total of 20 if that's the case. I do hope I'd reach that and I have a feeling I can. :)

day 18

So I did the apple day and I lost just 1 pound. Was ecstatic yesterday, thought i lost 2 pounds already but then again I remember I weighed in with my jeans on. LOL! But, a pound is still a pound and I hope to get back on track starting now. But I have a feeling it's almost my TOM already. Anyway, I don't mind about my weight as much anymore. What's important is that I'm getting smaller and my clothes start to fit.

I have 12 days left before I say goodbye to phase 2 and hello to phase 3. I want to push a little more but I have to stick with my schedule so I can eat normally on my daughter's first birthday. I am hoping for the next 12 days I could still lose at least 5 pounds but losing 10 pounds would be awesome. ;) But it's fine if I can't since I've already decided to do another round of 21-day HCG after 6 weeks. :) I can do this, I'm sure. It's just a question of when exactly but most definitely by the end of this year I'd reach my 30+ pound weight loss dream.

day 17 apple day

so now I am already getting frustrated. I've been stalling for so long grr! Will do the apple day today and hopefully I'll lose something by tomorrow. *sigh*