R2, Day 13

Thanksgiving was great! I did not eat a bunch of crap, just a small bit of everything. Unfortunately, that did not do well for weight loss. In fact, I gained 1.6 lbs. This morning, I was back to the pre-Thanksgiving weight, which was the lowest on HcG. If financing works out, I will continue with the drops right through Christmas and into the new year.

I just have to gripe here. I wanted to take my garbage out this morning. All two of the regular dumpster-ettes were full. The recycle bin was just about empty. In one of the regular bins were 4 cardboard boxes still intact. (I know who you are Mr. Apt D. You forgot to remove the shipping label on all 4 boxes. Someone will be getting a cheery nasty gram today.)

I think I have a herd of mice now. Nice. I found mouse droppings in a tub under the kitchen sink. They were not there last week. Sometimes, the first of the month does not come quick enough. My plan for their demise must be safe for BUBU, and I do not want to catch them using a mouse trap. YUCK!

R2 Day 7, Nov 23

First thing I want to say is DO NOT make shrimp goo-balls. You end up with shrimp soup. Perhaps this time I did not process it enough to make the special goo consistency. Yup; that's it. I did not make goo. I only made what I wanted in the first place.

Mia, one of my beautiful daughters; I hope you are well. Vicky; welcome here. Never forget that I love you.

Well, yee haw for me. I got a call back from an invention designer. I can't tell you what it is, but it could be HUGE. NO, they are not asking for money but sounded intrigued by my submission. (Par-tay girls if this works! Cabana boys will be included.) That's all I'm going to say about that.............. Expecting a phone call tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.

Boo hoo; sad news. Craig (the BF) will not be here for Thanksgiving. Erica, I'm sure you can appreciate the slick roads. Craig lives in Springfield and it is no better there. I told him that there was NO meal worth driving 250 miles for just to eat turkey at Grans house. (I do happen to have a freezer full of seafood ready to make "Seafood Lasagna" and Key Lime pie.) Yup, I'm bucking for the most "excellent girlfriend" of the year award. Mia and Vicky need a new "Daddy". Did I just say that???

A word of sage advice from my mom --> "I kept chasing him (my father) until he decided had caught me". I'm taking it slow with Craig (BF). I do not want to make the same mistakes I have in the past.

Well, it is 12:30 a.m. I am exhausted. The sun will rise in the morning, and I will know that I have friends, even though we have never met.

R2 Day 6 Monday 22nd

New hCG low! 170.4. I'm so close to the 60's I can smell it. I was going to say "taste" but fear of tasting anything good altered my post. (You're supposed to laugh here; at least a chuckle.) Yesterday the cleaning fairy tackled the bathroom and parts of the kitchen. Rumor has it, she will be returning today to overhaul the living room. I can't wait! It would be pure pleasure not to have to jump mounds of crap that has accumulated.

Between my brother, BF (yes, I have one), and me, none of us are sure about our plans for Thanksgiving. Could be Thursday OR Friday. Everyone is supposed to check in sometime today.

Thank you Bre and Erica for posting. Mia, I hope you are feeling well. I'm motivated to get stuff done today. In a way it is fun to uncover items I have purchased and forgot about, unless it was frozen food. Ugg! I don't think so though. Everyone have a great day!

R2 Day 3, Friday 19th

Yay! Another loss this morning. I guess I should have tracked it before I started to blog. Well that is done. I lost 1.2 lbs. Total of 14.8 when I finished up round 1. There is one pesky fly cruisin' my head this evening. He will die before the end of the night.

Fun new food to try. I have named it Goo-balls. (This is not for light-weights who get squeamish handling raw chicken; you will have gloppy hands)

For each serving, combine 100 g uncooked chicken breast into a food processor (I have a Ninja; yee haw!)Process until chopped. Unfortunately, I went too far and made chicken goo. Add about 1/2 inch slice of a medium onion, 1 Grisini bread stick and your favorite spices. Process until it is of the consistency you like for making meat-balls. Heat some (?) chicken stock in a saucepan. Roll the chicken glop into 4 large, or 5 medium balls. Plop them into the boiling broth and boil away for at least 5 minutes. I rolled them a few times during the boiling. Remove from the stock and enjoy.

I'm thinking I could do just about the same thing with shrimp. This round I decided to get creative with my food. As soon as I can afford it, I'm buying coconut oil to to cook with.

That's all for tonight. The dishwashing fairy made an impressive dent in the kitchen today. I'm glad she's back!

R2 Day 2 Thursday 11/18

After 2 false attempt to start round 2 of VLCD, I finally did it. I had my two loading days in which I gained 4.3 lbs. That was amazing!!! I woke up to a 3.3 lb loss. Yay me! Now that I know what not to do, I'm hoping for a larger loss in this round. (17.6 lbs to get to my pre-hellLa Grande weight.) I know it is doable.

I keep watching all of your successes on Facebook, and I am so proud of you all. I've been reluctant to post anything there because many of my Bend friends do not know that I had gained all this weight after I moved.

I woke up this morning to SNOW!!! It's still coming down, but I don't think it's going to last long. What a surprise. I'm anxiously awaiting for the fabulous cleaning fairy to return. Me, on my own, sucks.

Just talked to my mom, and right now, Thanksgiving is on hold. We don't know if my brother and his family will be able to come from Portland or not. I don't mean to sound all Scroogish, but I could care less for this family gathering. I know the meal will contain all of the potatoes and gravy, stuffing and fruit-salad. About the only thing I would be able to eat would be the turkey and maybe the green beans. I haven't told them about HCG. My dad would just roll his eyes and say "here she goes again". I would rather avoid that mental road-block anyhow.

I hope everyone is having a great day!
Tonnie

Big Poopey!

I didn't like phase 3 at all....Yes, I got to eat whatever the heck I wanted. No, it was not good for me.. I'm almost back to phase 2 now. My drops should be here by Tuesday or Wednesday. Has anyone ever said, "I can't wait" for that? My apologies, ladies, for not blogging these two horrific weeks of phase 3. To say I was very bad would be putting it mildly. I was an absolute pig (insert oinking noises here). I am afraid of my scale, once again. It sits there mocking me when I go potty in the morning.

On the lighter side (I realize this is not all about me), I bought a Ninja Master Prep machine. The only thing it does not do is the dishes. I made some guacamole yesterday that came out as creamy as butter. I'm going to look up the recipe for "Cabbage Soup" from the Cabbage Soup Diet. If I remember correctly, it has all of the allowed vegetables for phase 2.

Good Things That I Recently Experienced:
1. Pell Grant money was deposited into my account! This gave me the money to not only pay off my Dad for a small loan, but (drum roll please) to buy the Ninja, buy a ink cartridge for the printer and buy a new pair of rockin' shoes (the ones to trim and firm up your legs)and finally, pay off an outstanding debt to a credit bureau for a car accident in '06. My driver's license has been suspended since then. Once all of the paperwork goes through the system, then I can pay to get my D.L. reinstated. (Ha! I have the 100 smackeroos in my wallet as I write.)
2. Craig called me when I was out of town for Dr.s' appointments. Yes, that is good; he still calls me. When I returned his call he answered "Hi darlin". Where were you?" (Ain't that sweet? lol)
3. I refinished an unfinished pine drawer system and it came out awesome.
4. I got an A++ on my Power Point for school. "I can tell you put in the hours coordinating your team. You are a leader and one that knows how to motivate people." That was the comment from Prof. Orr this last week.

That's all for now. I think you must have given up on me and I wouldn't blame you if you did. Sometimes "life" calls, and you have to pay attention.

Thursday, Day 3 No Drops

I hate to admit this, but I am weak. I was not granted a license to pig out during this phase, but I did. At least it felt like it. My weight remains the same, but my mind isn't where it should be. I had a snack-pack of tapioca pudding; later being reminded that it was starch. Ugg!!! Why wasn't I thinking? I was only looking for a full-fat treat that I would enjoy. When I bought it, I had the option of buying a huge container of it, but opted for the single servings. Even though it was more expensive, I did know that if I would have bought the large container, I would have finished the whole thing in one evening. I only ate one of them, and managed to move the remaining 5 to the back of the refrigerator.

Yesterday was horrible. Mia's good friend Dianna finally passed away. I didn't know her, but I know that Mia loved her. Please say a prayer for Mia and Dianna's family to know that she is no longer in pain.

Off to do more homework. Then I get to prepare for my trip to Bend coming up next Monday. Unfortunately, La Grande does not have a Pulmonary or Liver specialist, so I have to travel to see one. The upside is that I GET to get out of town if only for 3 days. La Grande can really be smothering. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a hole, surrounded by senior citizens. I think this is where people move when they give up wanting to live. The phrase "Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there" comes to mind.

Tuesday, Day one of survival (P3)

I had no problems eating today. I knew that I needed to eat 1500+ calories. I was a bit disappointed with the Ezekial bread though. My sandwich in my dreams fell way short of my expectations. Tomorrow I will attempt french toast using the "E" bread. Instead of using milk, I'm going to use some Greek yogurt and one whole egg. I hear Aunt Jemima calling me now.......After the "E" bread is sopped up, I'll put it in my waffle iron. Yes, it sounds strange, but then again, so am I. I assure you though, it will be fantastic! Think of all of the other weird crap we have eaten.

Time for bed now. It's only 8:15, but I'm plumb tuckered out. I have a busy homework day tomorrow. OMG, I almost forgot that I have a 7:30 class in the morning. Kitty says good-night. Kisses to all and sending good weight-losses vibes to everyone.

Monday, VLCD day 23

Today is the last day of the VLCD for me for 21 days. I haven't had a loss for 4 days now. Boo. I'm excited, but a little afraid of tomorrow. At this point, I'm not thinking of anything decadent to eat. I guess that's good. Besides that I don't have the money to go to the store. I have plenty of stuff in my freezer anyhow. Now would be a good time to eat up what is there. I hope everyone is well, and being successful with their weight loss.

Saturday, Last day of drops

That was it for the drops for a while. Two days still on VLCD, then I begin P3, right? Neck is much better today. It's 11:00 p.m., and I'm beat. Tomorrow the big push to finish my homework. Just wondering why, if the question is asking for your opinion about something, they say to not write in first person? Whatever. Bre, hope you feel better tomorrow. 'Nite all.

Friday, VLCD 20

I went to the chiropractor this morning. He said my neck and shoulders were so tight he couldn't give me an adjustment today. He used a doo-hickey called a mascerator, then another gadget that felt like magic fingers. Continue with the generic version of Aleeve 3 pills, 3 times a day. Backing up a bit, no weight loss again. I just felt smaller. The T-shirt I slapped on was actually loose around the middle. Yay. I can feel that my neck has loosened up since the Dr. visit. This morning I couldn't move my head from left to right a half inch in either direction. Now it moves about 5 inches and the stabbing pain of movement isn't there. I hope everyone is enjoying their Friday!

Thursday, Day 19 VLCD

No weight loss this morning, however I did try on "the pants". They used to have a 6 inch gaposis from zipping; it is now only 3 inches. So woo hoo! for that. Since I still have a couple of days left of drops, I think I'm going to continue on them until they are completely gone. My maid was lax yesterday, so I woke up with a sink full of dishes. Boo. But I'll blame that on the homework that took up most of my day. Before I go on, I'm going to get a sink full of hot soapy water going so there is no excuse for not getting them done. I wish I had a dishwasher. You don't realize what you are missing unless you were used to having one and now it is gone. Have a great day ladies.

Wednesday, Oct 6, VLCD 18

Obviously my apple day yesterday left me confused and in another world. I put for the title, that is was Wednesday. TODAY is Wednesday, you dummy. Wonderful Wednesday. I lost 2.2 lbs. Finally! I'm not sure if it was from the apple day, or the detox bath. Either way, neither one killed me. That's a total of 15.2 lbs. I would not have been able to obtain than loss using traditional dieting methods. That probably would have taken me a good month and a half.

I was considering continuing phase 2 for a few more days, but if I show another loss tomorrow morning, I will be finished with that. Yes! All I can think about is a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon for my first day on phase 3. I did find the Ezekial bread at Safeway. Can anyone guess which fruit I will not be eating today? If you guessed apples, ding, ding; you are correct.

Off to do homework. I hope no one has hurdles to high to jump today. :-)
Tonnie

Wednesday, Oct 5, Apple Day

All I can say is thank goodness it's not apple week. I did eat the apples after a disappointing weigh in this morning. Boo. I also took a detox bath just a few minutes ago. Next time, I'm going to boil a pot of water to add to the tub. It only felt very warm, not steaming. Maybe the people upstairs were using the hot water, but I usually hear that when they do, and I didn't.

After all of these apples, I can't wait for boring chicken tomorrow! A nice lady who was working in the produce dept. at Walmart went and looked in the back room and found me a bag of clementines! It does pay to ask. They wern't that expensive either. Less than $4.00 for the bag. I've seen them as high as $7.00+ before.

Dancing with the Stars is about to come on. Wish me well for tomorrow's weight-in! Bre, so very happy that you met your goal.

Monday, VLCD day 16

Mia, you were right, I have lost 13lbs. This is day 6 with no weight loss at all. I even picked up a 4-pack of toilet paper to make sure the scale wasn't broken. It is not. If I don't show a loss tomorrow, it's apple hell for me. I don't dislike them, but 6 with no water??? I do understand the process, so I guess if it works it will have been worth it.

Today I ate as close to protocol as I could. A mid morning orange. Greek yogurt and strawberry smoothie (yum)for lunch, and 83g of George Foreman chicken with one half of a cucumber. No additional spices. Only salt and pepper. For some pazazz, I had a Smooth Move tea. Can you tell I'm desperate for a loss? (I really don't want to try and cram down 6 apples.) Secret: I did go buy a 6-pack of Motts Unsweetened Apple Sauce. Please God, don't make me do this.

It's Friday! VLCD 13

Apparently I have been sabotaging my own diet. Three days, no weight loss. I realized last night that my bottle of HCG drops was almost empty. Light bulb went on and I realized I must have been doing something wrong with the dosing. Confirmed. With the help of Erica and Mia, it was determined that my "drops" were not little drops. Too much of a good thing is not good. With the combination of too much HCG and sometimes not enough protein will not allow for weight loss.

Grocery shopping today. I have to be careful with my purchases. Instead of buying 75% of my food in one day, I'm only going to get what I need for a week. The tomatoes were not looking too happy that I bought two weeks ago.

Thurs, Day 12 VLCD

Same weight, same time, same bat channel. It actually felt good. For some reason I suspected a slight gain. My digestive issues are normalizing now. I actually considered moving my computer into the bedroom, closer to the bathroom. Lord knows I have all of the wiring to do it, thanks to my handsome son-in-law Aaron. (No Mia, I didn't leave it for Norm) I changed my picture on Facebook. It is of my beast sweetie of a cat, who doesn't know what a holiday is, a weekend, or just the fact that Mom wants to sleep. My day starts when she is ready. She is the queen, and I am the servant.

Wednesday, Sept. 29. Day 11, VLCD

I started to write yesterday, then realized I put the wrong day #. Went to edit it and it wouldn't (boo), so I deleted the post. I was only going to say that I didn't lose anything, except my marbles. This morning my scale was my friend. It showed a 1.6 lb loss from the unexpected 1.8 lb gain two days ago. I discovered a new seasoning to use. Old Bay Seafood seasoning: celery salt, red and black pepper and paprika. Nothing else listed on the ingredients. Yum. I'm a garlic freak, and I found that my McCormick garlic salt grinder only contains sea salt and garlic. Yay! I have to have my flavor to keep things interesting.

Monday, Sept 27 VLCD Day 9

Oh poo! I'm not going to call it a weight gain,it's simply a refusal of my body to release what it should have. I weighed 175, which is where I was two days ago. I'm not going to let this get to me. I did notice that last night I didn't make a dozen visits to the potty. (only 4). That's strange even if I wasn't using the drops. Today is a new day, and a new week. I still feel better, and have more energy now than I did 10 sluggish days ago.

Sunday: VLCD Day 8

I must have been a very good girl yesterday.  I lost another 2 lbs.  Total 13.2.  I had to chuckle this morning; I tried on the pants with the 6' gap from zipping.  It's down to 5' inches now.  Did you all see Mia's new wedding dress picture?  Isn't she beautiful.  Wishing you all a fantastic eating day. :-)

Saturday, September 25 VLCD day 7

Oh happy day!  1.2 lb loss for a total of 11.2 in 5 days.  Today I think I will tackle my tiny kitchen counter.  My dishes are done from yesterday, but I still have redecorating mess too deal with.  Why do I have two hammers, three screwdrivers and a pair of pliers there?  In my apartment, my kitchen is the crappiest room.  It was not inspiring at all.  When I first moved in the walls were all grease splattered and covered with unidentifiable blobs of yuck everywhere.  (Please don't ask me to cook in there.)  Now, I don't mind at all.  I think once I get the counter cleared of the clutter, I will be much happier.  I'll post pictures when I am done.  It seemed like every time I finished one project, I saw something else I could improve upon.  (It's the Martha Stewart in me, which, btw, her and I share the same birthday:  Aug 3).

Off to the races now.  I've got a final paper to write for class that is due tomorrow.  Title page, Abstract, 5-6 pages of text and a reference page.  I found out earlier this week that I have to complete my Associates degree in Business Administration before I can start on my Masters in Graphic Arts and Web Design.   I'll need many prayers when I have to take Algebra.  Evidently, the Algebra I took at Central Oregon Comm. College is not good enough.  Ugg!!

Friday, Day 6 VLCD

Better late than never I suppose.  I did not lose any thing this morning, but I didn't gain either.  I am hopeful for tomorrow; that is the way it has always worked for me.  No loss, no loss, then BOOM!  I tried on some pants today, hoping at least one pair would fit.  Darn me for being talented with the sewing machine!  I had taken them in on my last dieting adventure.  I was aghast at how far they were from fitting; a good 6 inches.  Boo!  That is disgusting to think that my rear-end has expanded that much since I moved here almost a year ago.  I can only imagine what it looks like when I ride my "sky-trike" to the bus stop.

Tomorrow will be a great day.  I am amazed that for 3 days in a row my dishes are done!  I've been tackling small jobs around the house as well.  Thank you Erica, Bre and Mia for believing in me. 

Thursday, Day 5 VLCD

I don't know who that strange person was that came to my house and did my dishes.  I hope she keeps coming back.  She also cleaned off the mountain of "stuff" on my desk.  Where did that energy come from?? 

I ate scrambled eggs with onions, asparagus and Greek pepperoncini for dinner.  Good thing I checked the serving size on the egg white container.  2 Tablespoons = 1 serving.  I thought it was a quarter cup.  Luckily I had just purchased new coffee measures that were clearly marked 1/8 cup.  Much easier to use them, than to try to pour into a single Tablespoon measure.  I got those at the Dollar Store just last week.

Yay, woke up this morning with a 2 lb loss.  That's 9.4  lbs in 5 days.

Tuesday Day 3 VLCD

I was so excited yesterday morning to get on the scale.........Battery DEAD on scale.  I didn't weigh myself yesterday after I had replaced the darn thing.  This morning, I show a weight loss of 7.4 lbs.  Yes!!

Sunday: Day 1 VLCD

After my two loading days, I gained 1.8 lbs.  Not as much as I was dreading.  Coffee, no milk so far.  A plan formulating for lunch and dinner.  At least I didn't wait for the last minute to buy foods that I can eat.  I wish though that I would have taken the time to clean up a little better after my feeding frenzy from the last two days. 

Loading, day 1

I believe I was as successful as I could possibly be.  I ate until I was uncomfortable, then ate some more.  Surprisingly, it really did not take much.  Having free reign to eat like a cow and to feel like a beached whale (honestly) didn't sit well, but I did it any how. The clock on the cable box tells me it will be time to take the drops in 12 minutes, but I have not ate, drank or smoked for at least 5.  Tomorrow I am advancing my "drop" times by an hour.  Mia and I will be taking them at the same time then.  Woo Hoo! 

Besides buying cat food for my kitty, I will be buying something decadant to eat tomorrow.  Yum, Snickers, Three Muskateers and maybe some M & M's.  I did buy a quart of chocolate milk today to have with my remaining maple bar in the morning.  That sounds like something I would have done as a teen. 

The last day of the old me

My friends.  In a way this is bittersweet moment.  I have established my weight loss goal.  It seemed like the 17th would never come around.  Please bare with me as I go through this learning process.  I know that "loading" is important; it just seems like there is something wrong when you are dealing with a new concept in weight loss.  I told Mia that I was scared.  I am afraid to fail once again.  I do realize that I have a support crew that will be there to pull me through this temporary trauma.  I apologize in advance for being a problem child to all of you. 

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