So, It's been way to long since I posted anything. Just an update on my weight, My last dosage weight was @ 194.6lbs about and I've been holding strong, With no HCG in my system and with starches and sugars back in my diet, I have still lost weight, I am now @ 190 lbs. It's amazing how the weight doesn't come back, I even eat things like Ice cream, breads, fries (obviously in moderation), etc...and I don't gain weight, in fact I believe my metabolism has been reset and am excited to start the next round of HCG, which will be April 3rd.

So, April 3rd and 4th will be my load days and then I'm hoping to get down to 170lbs by the end of that dosage. I love how I feel now, I am wearing a size 31 inch jeans, which it has been forever since I've been able to wear that size.... I've heard the second time going through HCG is pretty freaking tough, but you know what...170lbs is looking very tasty right about now and I'm hungry for it. I am soooooo excited to get down to that weight again, wish me luck and I will post more often once I start HCG again. No before and after pics, because I forgot to force my sister to take pics of me the last time I visited her. But I will force her this weekend. Love ya Candace. =)

Feb 25th, 2010

So, there I was in the grocery store with my two lovely little girls.....and all I could concentrate on was the smell of freshly baked bread from the bakery. Everything around me was calling to me, first it was the bread and then it was the pies, cakes, then the chocolate ice cream and twinkies and....and...and....I was so out of sorts, I didn't realize what was going on, until I heard my stomach grumble...I thought it would be a good idea to delay lunch and just eat after I picked up my kids from school and run a few errands....needless to say, that was a bad idea.

It was pure torture and I was beside myself with thoughts of cheating on my diet. The moral of the story, don't go to the grocery store when you're hungry. Eat an apple, or and orange before you leave the house at the very least.

That being said, I fought the temptation and won victoriously!!! HA!! HA!!! Holding my sweet tooth at bay, I went home, made lunch and for desert made a wonderful baked cinnamon apple...it was delicious and very guilt free.

I have to have variety in my diet and so this was probably a bigger challenge then I anticipated at first, the food list is very limited and I searched everywhere for recipes that would be different from the norm that I saw and unfortunately I had little luck. So, I came up with a few of my own. I can't follow recipes, I always tend to screw it up, so I just follow to taste.

Chicken Orange Salad

I cooked cubed chicken in a frying pan with a little water, I added garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, dehydrated onion and let it simmer for about 5 mins or until the water started to evaporate.

Once the chicken was fully cooked I placed it on top of green leaf lettuce.

With the remaining water/spices in the pan I squeezed half of an orange and poured the juice into the pan, I let it cook for a few more minutes and used that as my dressing for my salad.

Then I cut up the remaining half of the orange and put that on my salad as well.

It was very tasty, and the chicken was tender from cooking it in the water...yet it had sooo much flavor.

Baked Cinnamon Apple

Very simple: Peel one apple, cute it into slices, place in a oven safe dish with about an inch of water, sprinkle cinnamon and cook for about 5 mins @ 350 degrees.

Tastes like apple pie without the added calories. Yummy

Strawberry Lemonade Icee

Take a handful of rinsed strawberries, 1/2 of a lemon's juice and 8 oz of water and place into a blender with a few cubes of ice. You can add sweetener if it's to tart.

Those are a few things I tried, that I really enjoyed, so If your looking for a sweet treat or something different...try these.

Also, I will be posting after pics on Friday...I'm nervously excited to see the changes.

Feb 19th, 2010

Well, A few things new this week. One, for the past couple of months I was using a normal scale and then I switched over to a digital scale. My old scale was off by 4lbs...the entire time, I weighed my daughters to be sure. So though I thought I weighed 195 but in actuality I weighed 199 (Major bummer day for me). So I'm assuming that the weight loss was still the same, but the actual weight wasn't. But now that I have a digital scale (Which seems to be a must) I have a more accurate weight to go by now.

I have lost a total of.... 25.8lbs. Go Me!!!! That's an exciting number. But from the HCG alone I've lost a total of 15.8. I've had those discouraging days where I only lose .4 lbs, or nothing at all....but I guess all you can do is keep riding through it.

My last day for this dose will be on Feb. 28th, and so I plan on working out in between doses, I would like to see some of the muscle definition that I had before I got married....(don't we all).

And I know this sounds weird, but I often find myself with my hands wandering over my arms, stomach and butt....because they feel so foreign to me and I think to myself "This cant be my butt". But I feel it one more time, and sure enough it is.

I'm proud of the progress I've made, and sadly a few months ago, I would have seen myself the same weight if not more for the rest of my life. It's like every pound I gained, I took permanent ownership of. When you first start gaining weight it's different, because you tell yourself, I can lose that....but once the pounds start packing on, your life and thoughts change...it's part of who you are.

So losing weight, isn't just losing pounds....it's also losing the person who got you into that state in the first place. This is more freedom I've had over anything in my life in a long time. I'm slowly saying goodbye to my fat friend...and saying a tearful hello to a long lost healthy friend I haven't seen in ages.

Todays Weight: 195.2

Goal Weight: 137

Weight to go: 58.2 (Much better than 84lbs to go).

I will post some after pics on March 3rd, After my first HCG dose is over. Thanks for the support guys, I love ya.

In the beginning....

Hi, If ya'll don't know who I am...My name is Jessica, I started this weight loss journey the day after I bought a scale. I weighed a whopping 217lbs, I'm 5"6 and have two children. To be honest, it's always been a daunting thought to start to lose weight, one because It's a long way to my goal weight of 137lbs, second I was afraid of failing, and third I couldn't remember what it was like to be physically fit and thin.

I have been on this journey for only a month, but so far...I'm extremely proud of myself. I have lost a total of 22lbs. That's a huge decrease and every morning when I hop on that scale, it's an amazing feeling to see the pounds just melt off.

I first started with a detox and stopped drinking soda pop....with that alone I lost 14lbs in a week. I felt lighter and happier, because I didn't feel weighed down by all the parasites in my body. I wasn't sure what my next step was, but I was determined to keep going. My sisters were on what is called the HCG and VLCD (Very low calorie diet), my sister bought me some without me knowing, and I'm very glad that she did.

I began that about a week ago, I decided to take the shot because I didn't want to have to remember to do two oral drops a day. And frankly giving myself a shot once a day is not bad at all.

After one week of the HCG, I have lost 22lbs total. I don't feel hungry, I don't have the old cravings that I did...and slowly my body is reshaping back into something I vaguely remember. A couple of benefits of the HCG is it takes weight from the abnormal fat cells and destroys those fat cells, so after your off the HCG...the fat doesn't come back very easily, also it resets your metabolism. I feel good, a wonderful side affect of the HCG.

HCG protocol originated in the 1950's by a Dr. Simeons and is a hormone found in pregnant women, I know it sounds weird and a little crazy. But I have researched the source on where it comes from and the tests that have been done on it and it's completely safe to take (even for men). My brother in law and both of my sisters have been on it longer, and their results are amazing. My sister has 10lbs to her goal weight and my other sister is going on her second round of HCG in a week.

Another thing I've noticed is, from people who have been on it, despite there fast weight loss, don't have sagging skin...

I sound like an advertisement, but I can't help myself..it's definitely something to be excited about.

However it does take a lot of willpower to stay on the VLCD while you're taking the HCG. But I found that doing a detox a week before starting has helped immensely. I don't feel hungry like some people do. However, I realized my biggest issue is drinking enough water, which is a definite must if you want to lose the maximum amount of weight. In basic terms, when this starts working, it takes your abnormal fat cells and empties them and then replaces the fat with water...after the fat cell is broken down, the water turns to urine...and there you go, you have a sudden need to urinate a lot and those abnormal fat cells are gone. (It's more scientific than that, but that's it in a nutshell).

But, I figure if I can do this, anyone can. I will post once a week or more if I remember. I have posted some before and after pics of my detox, however I haven't taken another after pic, I'll probably do those once a week also.

I will also link some cool websites that I have used to help me keep track of my calorie intake, weight loss, fun recipes, support groups, etc. BTW these are all free....

First suggestion is: www.caloriecount.com