Update after vacation

So I was out of town for 2 weeks, with 5 days of driving. It was a great vacation but hard on my stomach. Blech. I brought my scale and weighed myself the 1st 9 days. I stayed with a pound up or down of my last drop weight. I was surprised considering how, uh, constipated... I felt. Gross.
Anyway... When we got home I was only .3 over my last drop day weight. Not bad since I didn't really have a big choice in what I ate. But now that I'm home I feel like it's hard to eat right!! Aack. I thought it'd be opposite.
I haven't gone to the grocery store since getting home- so that could be part of the problem. I am planning to do one more short round of 23 days. I will start August 9 most likely...
I am proud of myself for not going crazy on vacation. :)

Day 9 maintenance

It's in the morning, so I haven't actually completed day 9, but I just thought I'd mention that I was down .8 pounds this morning from my last drop day weight. How random is that? I'll probably be back to normal tomorrow, I just thought it was weird because I'm pretty sure I ate more yesterday than the other days that I "cheated." But I was mostly eating salads, strawberries, an apple... Wow- GOOD food DOES make a difference. Go figure. haha Too bad my body craves bad. It's a curse. Peanut butter M & Ms have been calling my name! I tried to curb the craving by eating apple slices with some peanut button on them. Yeah... definitely NOT the same! ;)

I thought I'd post some tips in case you're having a lot of hunger or if you're not happy with your loss rate:

- Spread your drops out. You can do 7 drops 5x a day. Or do 12 drops 3x a day or something like that. I changed mine up depending on how I felt. Experiment and see what works for you. Different people need different dosages.
- Half your fruit. Ex. Eat 1/2 an orange in the morning and the other 1/2 with your lunch. 3 hours later eat 1/2 an apple then add the rest to a chicken salad at dinner. Or something like that.
- Cut out the melba toast if you can. It seemed to make me hungrier.
- Add more veggies. There isn't a real measurement to follow. I mean, an entire cucumber is only like 45 calories.
- Don't eat the same protein 2x in one day. I did sometimes, but I read it slowed some other people down.
- Drink tons of water.

Day 8 maintenance

I've now been doing the maintenance part of hcg since last Thursday. So I guess this is day 8. I'm not counting the 3 days of no drops, but still only 500 calories. So far, so good. I surprisingly DIDN'T gain enough to merit a steak day even after the crappy eating. I gained a pound, watched what I ate - mostly protein- the next day and was back to my last drop weight the very next day. I have been within .2 pounds of my last drop weight every day since. I'm not gonna pretend I've been perfect this week because I haven't. I ate 2 small pieces of frozen pizza yesterday, but the other food I ate- an apple, chicken, salad... - were all fine. I have found that if I stick within 1200-1400 calories I don't seem to have a problem. And honestly, I'm not hungry enough to eat more.
I'm still kind of nervous to eat much, but I realize I am leaving on vacay soon and there's gonna be food. My husband is Polynesian and it's his family reunion: LOTS of FOOD. I have been trying to make sure I am more active each day which I should do anyway. We have hikes planned on our trip and this may sound crazy- but I'm taking my scale. I don't want it to get out of control. We are also taking snacks in the car- apples, carrots, granola bars, etc... so that cuts out fast food. I'm just trying to make better choices and eat ONLY when I'm hungry and only before 7pm if at all possible. I was hungry last nite and my man cooked steak around 10pm. I didn't have any. I wasn't starving and after drinking some water I was good.
I'm still trying to decide whether to do one more round after vacay. I'd love to lose 10 more pounds, but I'm also liking where I'm at- and a few of my shorts are really baggy in the butt area. My friend saw me for the 1st time since losing weight and she said "WOW!" She was surprised by how much my body had changed. She lost a lot of weight this last year as well. I told her I wasn't sure if I should lose more because I'd have to get all new clothes. She said, "DO IT! You won't have a lot of clothes, but they'll be new!!" haha I'll see how I feel after vacay. I'm wondering if I'll do a 2nd round as well now that the need to lose isn't so intense. Ya know? Or will I be like, "It doesn't matter if I cheat. I already fit in my clothes. These last 10 pounds are just for the heck of it..."?? It would definitely only be a 23 day round and then maintenance. That's still a big commitment. I'd love to shop for some cute jeans... mine are dorky. ;)

Maintenance Day 3

I am sucking eggs at maintenance!! I'm suppose to eat low carb veggies, lower sugar fruits, and protein- no sugar or starches. All I wanna do is go wild and eat! And I was not very good this weekend at all. And by "weekend" I mean Friday AND Saturday AND Sunday. I'm gonna be doin' a steak day for sure. My weight has been within a pound of my final weigh in after drops, but it's gonna catch up with me. I'm not eating A LOT of food, just not the food I'm suppose to be eating. In my defense... Friday we went to Oklahoma for a wedding and to visit the OKC Memorial I ate a 6 inch turkey sub, a chicken breast, salad and lots and lots of Reeses Pieces. :( They had a "candy bar" at the reception... But my weight was fine in the morning. Saturday I ate a salad with chicken on it, 2 pieces of pizza and some Nilla Wafer Firecracker Bites I made... See- not a lot of food, but not the "ok" food. Today I started out ok. I had sweet and sour meatballs with some salad. Then some yummy pudding fruit salad that was no ok. And a bowl of cereal. Idk why. I'm weak. But tomorrow I am vowing to do better and to do maintenance the way it's suppose to be done. I'm just thinking my weight will be up tomorrow and I'll be doing a steak day. We'll see.
What's funny is that I didn't eat that much today, but I feel gross. I don't like to feel gross. I've also realized I haven't been drinking as much water as I did the last 6-7 weeks. I am just sucking. But sucking ends RIGHT NOW. I WILL drink more water. I WILL eat the right foods. I WILL be strong!! YAY!

Day 3 no drops (aka Phase 3)

For the first 72 hours off of drops you're still suppose to follow the 500 calorie plan while all the drops work their way out of you system. My last drops were 11am on Monday- because I forgot to take them that evening. So, technically at 11am today I am free to start eating more. But I'm scared!! I'm starting to think the drops were my security blanket. I do so much better when I'm told, "This is all you can eat, in this amount." Now it's like I'm more in the real world- minus sugar and starches- and I'm scared!!
I DID totally screw up on Tuesday. We were at Six Flags all day. I ate a turkey sandwich, a funnel cake and some shrimp that was so good from Panda Express. I was hoping the 2 mile walk with my dog that morning, then all the walking that day would even it out. Nope. I gained 2.5 pounds. Boo. I know it's because there were still drops in my body, because really, my calories weren't that high. I mean, I shared the funnel cake with 2 other people. ;) So, I only ate an apple and some shrimp last nite. I also took the kids on a bike ride, & hiking on a trail with the dog. I haven't weighed this morning yet... I'm nervous. I'm such a dork. But I will weigh in a little while...
I'm nervous to start eating more, but I know I need to learn to eat normally again. I just SO don't wanna gain weight. I know if I continue to play basketball, take long walks with my dog, and eat good food, then I should be ok. I guess I'm not really excited about eating more because I can't eat a bowl of cereal yet or a slice of pizza. I really want a bowl of Frosted Cheerios. Is that so wrong? ;)
Anyway... I'll update thru out the maintenance phase. I'm hoping to not have to do a "steak day" at all. See, thru out maintenance I have to weigh myself every day. If my weight is more 2 pounds more or less than my weight on the last day of hcg, then I only drink lots of water and eat a big steak (8-14 oz.) that nite. Then have an apple or raw tomato. This should even my weight out the next day. The idea is training my body to recognize the new "normal" weight. You know how you kind of get "stuck" on a weight? That's what this diet is suppose to help do- fix your metabolism and help your body find it's new normal weight.
I am still trying to decide whether to do a short 23 day round when I get back from vacation. Of course, what I weigh when I get back may decide for me!