Putting my toe into "One"derland

After a couple of weeks gaining and losing the same pound, I have finally got to the 100's. 199.6, so only 4/10ths of a pound, but, my scale weight has a 1 in the front instead of a 2. Although my weight isn't coming off quickly, my fats cells are shrinking, and they are shrinking in my belly, where I need the losses. What does this tell me? This tells me that my body is finally working on my major issue area. On my first round, I lost most of my weight above the waist. On my second round, I lost all over, but mostly above the waist and in my legs, but my belly hung on for all it was worth. It's been my belly holding me back from getting into smaller sizes, and it was my belly holding me back from exercising (that and being lazy). Exercising is very difficult for people with a large, flabby belly. In my case, having a bunch of kids and stretched belly skin, makes running difficult, and sometimes painful. With my belly flapping all around, putting extra pressure on my bladder, just makes exercise embarrassing. Flapping and peeing, YIKES. Now, I am looking forward to exercising (I have to wait a couple more weeks, 500 calories a day just covers my daily needs for energy, and muscle growth will affect my losses). I am planning a Leptin Reset (LRx), and an exercise regime (kettle bells and kickboxing). As I get stronger, I am planning to incorporate sprints (starting at 20 meters, and working up to 100 meters), and lifting heavy things (a Mark Sisson "commandment"). Once I head into P3, I will be posting more in my other blog, . Mainly because I am feeling the need to tell my whole story. As a wife and mother, there is a lot more to my life, not just weight loss and getting healthy. I am hoping to shred 10 more pounds before the end of this round (crossing fingers, toes, and eyes), and although I am not supposed to, lose another 6 to 10 pounds in P3 (which I tend to do anyway). So, maybe I will see my goal by my maintenance phase (P4), and then I will just be "Jane Anybody" with diet and exercise to look and be healthy. That's who I really want to be, Jane Anybody, not big, fat Rusty. Super strong and sleek Rusty is much better, and I am getting there!

If you lead, I will blindly follow.

While things are at a stand still in my current round of hCG, I am always making plans for my dietary future. This is more of a personal rant, so beware... I have a couple of dozen Paleo sites bookmarked in my "favorites", I love looking at the recipes, the updates of how science is making strives to go against the FDA and USDA, and I especially love reading the comments. It's the comments, more than the articles/recipes themselves that make me laugh, make me cry, or make my blood boil. When my oldest and dearest friend, Lisa, told me she lost 50 lbs. on hCG, I made it my mission to check this stuff out. First the clinics (good golly they're expensive), then the hCG forums (to get lots of opinions), then I downloaded, printed out, and read Pounds and Inches. I took the time and made the effort to learn all I needed to know. I didn't rush in, and buy the most touted and popular product, I just don't have that kind of money! After learning HOW to lose the weight, next was how to keep it off. My "doctor recommended" eating plans (I had TONS), had helped me right into being 300 to 400 lbs., so, instead of repeating the same pattern and expecting different results, I decided to step out of the box. I looked into what was really going to work for me. I had some expectations. First: Any way of eating had to be realistic. Second: It had to be something that the family could eat too. Third: Healthy had to be the priority. Any way of eating had to be realistic I love steak. I am not ashamed to say it. I don't care how cute cows are, I don't care if they fart methane (like people farts aren't). I love steak. That being said, I certainly wasn't going vegetarian, vegan, or anything like that. Yes, vegetables should be the cornerstone of ANY diet (remember, the word diet is the food you eat, not just about losing weight). My diet had to consist of foods that I would eat, and feel good about eating. I don't feel good about eating processed crap, I don't feel good about the "fat free" diets out there, I don't feel good about buying boxed, ready made meals. It had to be something that the family could eat too I have a husband, a father-in-law, adult special needs son, and two littles (5 and 7). Bacon was in, tofu was out. My husband is OK with what I cook, as long as he get what he wants. He likes meat, he likes veggies, he could care less about baked goods, biscuits, pie or cake. My FIL is a junk food junkie, he has his own money, and uses it to buy milk, powdered mocha crap he calls coffee, cookies, and raviolis. He eats dinner with us every night, so my food can't be that bad. My #1 son loves BBQ chicken, hates ham, but he has a job where, again, he can buy his own junk food (he likes Tortino's Pizzas and doughnuts). The my 7 yo, the Pookers, loves breakfast and lunch, but will balk at every dinner. Whereas the 5 yo, the Peanut will eat whatever I set before him. Dinner is always a battle, because everyone wants what they like, and (other than my husband) will turn their collective noses up at new and weird. Since no one else will volunteer to cook, they are stuck with what I serve. Overall, the family at one night or the other will have something they like, even if it's only one item. Otherwise, they just lump it. Healthy has to be a priority I buy the best meat I can. I serve 2 veggies with dinner. I use healthy fats in my cooking. I make most everything from scratch, with ingredients I can pronounce. I start with whole, real food. If we need noodles, I use a spaghetti squash, or zucchinis. Our proteins are meat, chicken, fish, pork, or eggs. Veggies are random and varied, broccoli, salads, cauliflower, green beans, different squashes, spinach, carrots, beets, non-GMO potatoes, and the list goes on. Some are cooked, many are served raw. All these wonderful, healthy foods are cooked in water, or healthy fats (coconut oil, EVOO, butter). I do make some treats, but only once every couple of weeks. Add to these foods, healthy snacks nuts, fruits, homemade jerky, cut, raw veggies, hard boiled eggs. Now, this list isn't even close to exhaustive by any means, and I am not going to tell you that I emptied my house of crap food. There is still bread, store bought processed crap, cuppa noodles, all sorts of canned crap, hiding in many corners of my home. But, I do make it a point to keep the healthy foods in the forefront, and the crap as moderate a possible. I didn't magically get to this point. I had to learn many new things (like how to cook with coconut flour) and unlearn many more things (a healthy diet begins with wholesome grain...). I took the time to educate myself, and not just dive in head first into some weird diet to lose weight, and I didn't just dive into the ever evolving (pun intended) Paleo diet. There are so many fads that people grab on to. Things they do because their favorite actor does it. Because their best friend (or even worst enemy) does it. They take the easiest path, and put in minimal effort, and expect major results. Then, as time ticks, they become disillusioned, bored, or something new has become popular. What they don't do is think for themselves. Just because 4 out of 5 dentists are surveyed, does that mean that we all should chew Trident gum? Have you seen the ingredients in sugarless gum? Ewwww. And who are these dentists? And why should it matter? Back in the 50's, doctors used to recommend that their patients smoke. Now, doctors are pushing that everyone eat food that's processed and fake (heart smart margarine, fat-free everything, processed, packaged foods like protein bars). Why are we listening to these people over what should be common sense? Sure, it never hurts to listen, but if someone tells you something that just doesn't make sense, shouldn't you not only question, but research for facts? With the internet at our finger tips, it seems like it would be easy, but sadly, people lie. They lie in print as well as in those popular info-mercials. Shocked you didn't I? Read the articles. Make the recipes. Use your brain. Don't blindly follow. If you can read, you can learn, hell, even if you can't read, you can learn (but not from here). Just because Justin Bieber thinks that Elmer's Glue is good for your heart (OK, maybe he doesn't, but he is Canadian), doesn't mean that you should drink down a bottle. Don't even take my word for it. There are plenty of people who used hCG, but it didn't work (although they also didn't follow protocol), but there is no "one size fits all" diet. Maybe you can't live with yourself if you eat one of those adorable cows, chickens, fish, piggies, then don't. But, you have to choose for yourself. Think for yourself. Decide for yourself. Join me, outside the box, it's not a crime (yet...)

Measured today...

So, I make my first goal, and in a moment of stupidity, I indulged in some Paleo crunch and ham (remember I wasn't going to eat pork or processed foods?), then, just to make things TONS of fun, my girly time kicked in 2 weeks early, all this culminated in a 5 lb. gain! Suddenly, my first goal is in the garbage, and has to be regained (in a losing manner). Of the 5 I gained, I lost 1. Oh boy, I had my work cut out for me. On a weird note, although I gained, I lost. I am thinner, even with the extra weight/bloating. I am now into my size 16s (the bigger 16s as opposed to my smaller 16s). This morning, I woke up to a 2.8 lb. loss! I went ahead and took some measurements, and I am down another 6.5", bringing my total inches lost to 26" overall. Very exciting! Today, we are taking the boys to their skating lesson, and will stay for a skating session. I haven't been this thin on skates since my teen years (I'll be 47 next month), so this should be interesting. There are a couple of caveats to today's plans. First: the 2 hours of skating (a very good cardiovascular exercise and good for core strength) will probably cause me to retain water in my muscles (causing a weight stall) and second: Today is a skip day, which notoriously causes me to stall for a day or two. I use the skip days (days I don't take my hCG, usually once a week) to make sure I don't become immune to hCG. So, as I stand now, I have just over a pound to lose to get to my first goal(again), then I can head to 191 and beyond. It can all be so frustrating. On a positive note, I am not so bummed about the pork and processed meat, as I can truly see the damage it does to my body now. Seeing what happened after what seemed a minor cheat, makes me more determined to stay the course, and stay POP (perfectly on protocol) for the duration of my hCG. In May, I will reevaluate whether or not to invest in another bottle of hCG, and extend my round to 80 days. I feel I have to get to at least 175 (I feel 160 to 175 is optimal for me), on this round. Maybe, I am just being greedy, but sometimes you have got to extend yourself a bit (not in a dangerous, health threatening manner), and be brave enough to jump the shark (Happy Days fans will know what I mean). Remember, focus (not willpower) is the key. Keep on keeping on.