Day 9 & 8 Pounds Gone So Far!

I am so happy to be seeing such definite progress. I weighed 210.6 this morning, which means I've lost about 8 pounds since day one. That is quite exciting for me, as my rate of loss before was 2-3 pounds a week. Certainly respectable, but it is nice to see the pounds dropping off this quickly.

I still feel odd. Kind of foggy and unmotivated. I find that if I stay active and move around I feel better, but if I exercise or run around too much I get too hungry. There is a balance I try to find everyday.

I cheated quite a bit today because I ran out of meat yesterday and couldn't go grocery shopping until this afternoon. My body friggin' panicked. I felt like I was starving and took three pretty large bites of my husband's meatball sub he had for lunch. I didn't eat meat for lunch on top of that, but with the extra fat and all the extra crackers I ate because I was ravenous, I won't be too surprised if I don't show a major loss tomorrow. It's only one day. I choose to move on and do better (and not let myself run out of meat!).

Day 8 on HCG Diet

I'm down to 212.4 pounds! I have to conclude that these drops are working. I have been on low calorie diets and 'cleanses' before and I always felt terribly hungry and had to quit. I'm not saying I'm not hungry, but it's definitely not as intense. Chewing gum helps, as well as drinking hot tea and spreading my allotted food carefully throughout the day.

I feel somewhat lethargic and depressed today. I'm sure it's just because I've been eating 500-700 calories a day. I think I'll just go to bed early. Lack of sleep may also be a factor.

I made up an amazing HCG dinner tonight that I want to share the recipe for. I will soon! It was so yummy.

Just for fun before I go, here's some inspiration for me... This is me at about 180-190 pounds back in late 2006.

Pretty lady ^_^

Make Your Own Grissini from Scratch

I made these lovelies today from scratch and was unbelievably pleased with myself. I even kneaded the dough by hand instead of using my bread maker. It was a fulfilling experience. ^_^

Grissini with Onion Powder and Parsley

These bread sticks are not only HCG diet approved, they are quite inexpensive to make and surprisingly delicious. I plan to make more after this diet is over and pair them with some healthy dip or hummus. It is a bit of an effort to make them, and it does take some time, but if you consider the cost of making them compared to the cost of buying them, it is well worth it. Plus, it's fun and liberating to make your own bread, especially if you've never done it before. Don't be overwhelmed, you can do it!

I started with this recipe and added some onion powder, parsley, and black pepper. There are tons of options for seasonings and I can't wait to try more. We all know that on the HCG diet, seasonings are your best friend!

Here is the nutritional breakdown:

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 48
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 22.3

• Total Fat: 0.6 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 48.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 3.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
• Protein: 0.5 g

You Will Need:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 package active dry yeast (equal to 2 1/2 teaspoons of jarred yeast)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

I prefer to use organic ingredients as it enhances the taste and is better for you, but the choice is yours. 

Once you have gathered your ingredients, combine the water with the yeast, sugar, and one-half cup of the all-purpose flour in a large bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes, or until bubbly. If you don't see slight bubbles in your mixture, your yeast may not be active or your water may be too cold (in which case it will just take longer).

Stir in all remaining ingredients. You can also add spices at this point such as parsley, black pepper, or rosemary. Knead until smooth and elastic. This will take about 5 minutes. You may need to add some extra water a few tablespoons at a time. You want your dough to all hold together without being very sticky or damp. 

Wash out your bowl and coat it with a thin layer of olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap to help hold in heat, and place in a warm spot for an hour to rise. Good places include a sunny windows or porches.

My dough after rising for an hour

Lightly dust flour on a surface. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into four pieces. Roll out (or gently spread with your fingers if you're an amateur like me and you don't have a rolling pin) rectangles that are approximately 4 by 12 inches. Cut the dough lengthwise into 1/3 inch strips. Place the strips about 1/2 inch apart on a greased or parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Repeat with all the remaining dough.

My bread sticks to be

Allow the grissini to puff (rise) for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

I ended up with three pans of bread sticks. I started my timer for thirty minutes as soon as I was finished with the first pan, then began baking the first batch when the timer went off.

Bake yours in batches on the top shelf of the oven until lightly browned. This takes about 10 minutes per batch. Make sure to rotate your pan halfway through to ensure even baking. Cool your grissini on a rack (or a piece of parchment paper). Continue baking until all bread sticks are baked.

Allow to cool completely and store in a ziploc bag for freshness. One note here, by the way. These babies are super fragile and with break if you're rough with them.

  Be gentle with your grissini! 

This recipe yields about 48 of these sticks of awesome. Good luck with yours! Did you come up with any interesting spice variations? Please share below! ^_^ 

Day 7 on HCG Diet

I think all my cheating finally caught up to me. Today I weighed in at 213.8 pounds, only a 3/4 pound loss. I am doing MUCH better today, though, and I even added some light cardio. I jumped on my rebounder trampoline for 15 minutes this morning and I feel quite excellent. The gum is helping curb food cravings, too.

It's funny, but I also think one of the biggest factors of me doing so much better is that my husband is off of his vacation and back at work. When I am alone, I tend to be more disciplined. I'm not sure why that is, seems like it should be the opposite.

I'll keep you updated on the rest of the day.

Update: Evening

I cheated much less today. Other than my egg this morning (which I may or may not continue to eat, depending on my weight loss tomorrow), I had a couple taste tests of spaghetti sauce I was making, and 2 of the bread sticks I made today in addition to my allotted crackers.

How could I not taste these?  They're yummy! Make your own.

I haven't felt as hungry, but I have felt a little foggy. Not tired, or even irritable, really, just a little out of it. I hope this passes.

I think I did well, as my calorie count was much less than yesterday. I'll just have to wait and see what I weigh tomorrow morning.

Day 6 on HCG Diet

I am feeling astoundingly more optimistic today. I weighed in at 214.4 this morning. That means I've lost 10 pounds in 5 days (I weighed 224 after my first loading day). I am ecstatic with these results and they are proving to be great motivation. I didn't cheat as much today, but I still ate too many crackers. I won't be buying those Melba Sea Salt Snacks anymore. They're too delicious!

I plan to place my cracker allotment for tomorrow in a baggie so that I'll have a better visual of what I can have and I'll be more likely to ration and less likely to cheat. I like to trick my brain.

I was still a bit hungry today, but I mostly craved carbs and just something to chew. I broke down and got some Trident White gum, which isn't completely aspartame free, but it will do for now. Having something to chew keeps me from craving food so much. Next I will get 'Spry' gum off of Amazon that has no aspartame or sugar, only Xylitol, which is derived from fruits and is actually good for your teeth.

Trying this next to avoid food cravings...

It seems to get a little easier every day, and I'm getting to a point where I can't wait for morning so I can weigh myself. I've noticed in the evenings I can feel a little down and tired, but I think it is because I need to be going to bed earlier.

Day 5 and Feeling Better

I feel a lot better today. Still a bit hungry, but the cravings are mostly for crackers again, so I've been trying to nibble on fruit here and there instead. The excellent news is I weighed in at 217 this morning, an all-time low since I had my twins. I hope the loss will continue.

I have been doing quite a bit of research on the product I purchased, and I plan to write an article on it. Because it is not the actual HCG hormone, and I am feeling much hungrier than I believe I should be, I have decided to add some extra calories to the diet, mainly in the form of a boiled egg at breakfast. This may be foolish and a step taken too early in the game, but as long as I'm losing 1-2 pounds a day, I am not going to worry about it.

I slipped a bit again today, too. I need to stop making my hubby such amazing dinners! I find that a bite or two is just so hard to resist. And these damned Melba's. I may switch to something more bland, as those babies are delicious! I ate about 700 calories today. Not too shabby. The result will be seen tomorrow when I step on that scale.

I miss working out. I'll probably work some light cardio into my routine. I'd gotten so used to physical activity that I feel strange and sluggish now that I'm not doing as much.

Just for fun, here is a photo of me in high school in like 2003. I weighed about 180-185 here. Look how cool I was. I can hardly stand it. Ha!

Yours truly

Hungry on Day 4

I sort of feel like a total wimp, but I have been quite hungry today. I am trying to determine whether it is true hunger or if I am craving foods like sweets and carbs. It seems like that is what I want, mostly, but also fats. I kept wanting to eat more crackers, not necessarily more veggies or meat... I spread my food out a lot today, trying to make it last, but I found myself waiting impatiently for the next time I could eat, without accomplishing much else.

Not a fun day, and I am conflicted because I told myself I would listen to my body and I intend to, but at what point? It is only my second day on the VLCD, so my gut tells me I should give the drops a bit more time to work. I also want to see how much weight I lose before tomorrow.

Speaking of weight, I lost about two and a half pounds since yesterday. That is a fantastic sign, but I will feel much more encouraged when I hit 217, which was my weight before I started my load days.

Also, I have to admit this to you if I'm going to keep this blog totally honest and be accountable. I had a couple extra Melba snacks today, a couple strawberries (not one of my two chosen fruits for the day), and a few bites of my husband's chicken and brussel sprout dinner (made by me and actually quite clean and healthy). I'm not sure if it will change anything, nor will I be able to tell because I didn't give myself a control day to work from. Oh, well. Tomorrow is a new day and all that.

So, all in all, I've decided to give it more time, not get too discouraged, and do my best to avoid boredom and tempting crackers.

Nom, nom, nom. Stop tempting me, Melbas!