R2P2D38-VLCD 36

R2P2 Highest Loading Weight 165.3
Daily Loss 1.1
Saturday Loss .7
Current Weight 142.4
R2P2 Loss to Date 22.9
LIW R1P2 159.4
Under LIW 17
Total Loss to date from R1 Start: 46.6
Food Tracker:  Friday: Chicken and Romaine, Apple, Strawberries, Steak with bok choy and garlic
Saturday: 8oz steak, apple, tomato, one bite chorizo
Exercise Tracker: 70 min yoga Saturday, 1hr walk 18min/ml Sunday

Another steak day yesterday, unplanned until 2pm when I got back from garage sales, and only had an apple to that point. Went out to one of my fave restaurants with my hubby and had a great ribeye and a tomato while his parents watched the kids.  It was YUM!  And though I didnt have my normal 2lb loss from a steak day, 1.1 is nothing to cry about :).  After dinner we walked around our town for a while and ended up stopping in at our favorite wine bar, where we lounged on the couch and I drank my water, and dreamed of all the things Im going to eat after this round (in moderation, of course).  Im so looking forward to taking the summer off of HCG.  Im hoping to eat really clean this summer, but with all my favorite foods thrown in once a week or so, so I dont feel like Im missing anything.  I also plan to keep up with my 4 day wins (Martha Beck, baby!), just got my own copy from Amazon yesterday.  I will also be reading all of the wonderful diet/lifestyle books that I have been collecting for my client lending library this summer and posting my reviews/great ideas/crap rubbish points.  And that Jillian Micheals video 30 day shred will finally be opened and used! (in addition to my triathlon training).  It should be a fun summer...

On my list of things to eat this summer..sorry, let me wipe the saliva off the screen:

Primos Meatball Sub
Honey Restaurant Faves with glasses of Pacific Rim Chenin Blanc
Cross Culture Indian Restaurant
Domani Star Italian Restaurant
Blue Sage Goat Cheese Nachos
Andre's Sangria with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Meat Platter (or sandwich)
86 West Chorizo in Blanket and Prosuitto Carmelized Onion Flatbread, Brussels, and tons more (and dont forget the martinis!)
Chocolate Chunk Cookies (home baked)
Melanie's Pulled Pork
Brussels!
And so much more.  And by the end of the summer, I hope to weigh less than I do at LIW R2!  Lofty goals, especially with that impressive food list.  Thank goodness the summer last three months!

Though today was filled with kids and stressful screaming and tantrums, I had a great day.  Saw Shrek 3 with both kids, and littlest was actually ok almost the whole time (a feat at 18mo), and got to spend half the day with one of my best friends and her two little ones.  Then a long walk, a visit to the inlaws to pick up a ladder, and some time spent with my biggest getting a barn star ready for painting (to be hung this week on the front of the garage). 

My hubby was a big help now that his vertigo has gone away.  He watched the kids most of the day yesterday, fixed the garage door spring, and tried to help me put the screw in the stucco for the star, though the ladder we got from his dad was markedly too short.  And of course, on Friday, like I predicted, he did the lawn and three loads of laundry..good man, but he did not rest like he should have, and he is still trying to catch up today. 

Hope you guys had a great weekend too...here comes Monday, and fingers crossed for another big loss for all of us!

R1P4D14

LIW 159.4
Daily Gain 1.8
Above LIW 2.9
Current Weight 162.3
Food Tracker
Exercise: 3.86 miles walking 3 ml/hr pace

Love watching that weight go up so much in one day, not!...and then having to decide if today will be a steak day, or high protein day, or high fat day, or whatever...Its enough to drive a girl insane.  And tonight is book club, and my 1st real massage since December, so even if I do a streak day, Ill be tempted by wine and good food, and probably gain due to massage anyway.  Decisions...decisions...

Ill probably do a steak day just since I know it works, and pray that it will bring me down more than just the 1.8 I gained, so that I wont have to do another in a few days.  Can't believe its only Wed, and its time to do another one (after doing one on Sun)-though I guessed last night that this would happen.  And maybe Ill lay off exercising today (since Im tired!), and see if that helps as well.  I've been doing something every day for these past few weeks, and I have to remember to take a few breaks in order to let my body recover.  Im hoping that Ill be able to continue my workouts (walking, swimming and yoga) in R2P2 without gaining...didnt seem to work last time, but they are established routines now, so who knows?

And re the gain, I got to 1850 calories yesterday...and gained.  So is the gain from the calories or from what I was eating?  Do I really need to stay at my BMR calories forever no matter how much I work out in order to not gain?  Im going to have to test that one out...eat about 2400 calories in a day eating completely P3 clean (and avoiding dairy since it seems to make a difference), and see what happens.  But not today...today a 20 oz sirloin marinated in braggs, garlic and sea salt has my name on it.  Again.

And I guess it won't matter if Im hungry or not...though Ill still ask 3 times today so I can reward myself with book club tonight!  And just look at the food there instead of partaking...*sigh*.

2nd day of 1st 4 day win:
Hunger assessment: Not so much, maybe a 4
Mood assessment: Pissed about weight gain, hoped for it not to happen
Physical assessment: Little headache, little dehydrated...need to get some water.

Happy Hump Day...

R1P4D12-Crazy Weight Weekend

LIW 159.4
Daily loss 3.7
Above LIW .7
Current Weight 160.1
Food Tracker: 16oz steak, 3 plum tomatoes
Exercise: Light walk 1mil

Sat weight: 162
Sat Exercise: 70min yoga, 1hr walking 3ml/hr pace

Sunday weight 163.8

Hi, my darling bloggy peeps, did you have a good weekend (aka Easter for those of you that celebrate)?  I did, and I didn't.  I really enjoyed spending time with my family, the weather was amazing, we did lots of fun things, but yesterday, on Easter, I had a STEAK DAY-UGH!!!!  And it was a please, fingers crossed, I hope this works steak day, because I really should have done one on Sat,  but I didn't.  Instead, on Sat, after gaining 1.8 lbs (1.5 after the bathroom) the day before, bringing me to 2.6 lbs above LIW, I didn't eat all day, and then enjoyed a wonderful meal out at my favorite restaurant for date night.  I agonized over that for about two hours...whether or not to cancel the reservation.  But I decided not too, as I need to be able to eat normally, without worrying about steak days in real life, and go on.  So we went.   And I didn't go crazy with my food...I definitely ate less than I could have (I wasnt full), and ate lots of protein and fat, and had only had two glasses of wine (which normally dehydrate me and make me lose?).  Then Sunday, I was up another 1.8!  For a total of 4.4 lbs above LIW!  Boy, talk about me freaking out.  And deciding that I can only go to that restaurant once a month, and hubby and I might need to do something other than eat on date nights...get your mind out of the gutter!

So, anyway, I knew it was now or never yesterday, and despite all the wonderful food at my hubby's parents for Easter Lunch, I didn't eat a thing.  I sat at the table while they were eating lunch and dessert, which was hard.  I then went over to Wegman's during a walk with my MIL, bought my steak, and enjoyed my family's company back at their house til 4:30, when I rushed us out so I could go home (sorry Mom and Dad, hope I wasnt too rude, I was just hungry!), cook my steak on the grill after marinating it in Bragg's, Garlic and Sea Sat, and hope it worked today-and boy did it! 

Ive never lost that much on a steak day before, so I must have been retaining a TON of water.  I was almost ready to buy the Holiday Correction Day ebook from ThinnereverAfter.com yesterday since I didn't think the weight was going to come off today.  Do any of you have it?  Did you find a lot of good tips/tricks in it?  I hesitated about buying the normal Correction Day ebook, since I dont like eggs, and already know about chicken day, cheese and apple day, steak day, and all of the egg days.  Maybe those of you could comment about whether or not there are other things in there that might work for me (enough for me to purchase it?).  It would definitely be helpful as I prepare to go into R2 (and want to get down to 155 before then). 

During dinner last night, I also starting reading Martha Beck's Four Day Win.  I am really enjoying it, and plan to incorporate many of the 4 day wins into my lifestyle and report on them here.  For any of you that want to join me, I would love it, and you could comment here, on your blog, or even do a guest post to talk about your progress/results.  You can do the four days wins no matter what type of diet or lifestyle change you are doing-the book is more about giving you tools to assess and change the way you think (and truly feel) about your body and dieting in order to support your thinner self, and not sabotage your efforts.  This is especially important for those of us that have lost weight in the past and regained it all back...or for those of us scared of that happening...both of which are true for me.  To find out more about four day wins, and why they work, check out this article.

I will post every four day win here...and I will be easy on myself and only do one every four days- though I want to do lots more, all at the same time, since Im already on chapter 9!  Yes, Im the typical overachiever that never really finishes anything because I have too many balls in the air, and too many areas of focus- Ill be working on that as well.

Our first one will start tomorrow...who's with me?

ps-In the words of Martha Beck:

Getting past rebound dieting means choosing kind perceptiveness when our reflexive responses—and those taught by most diet advisers—are to resist and control. Paradoxically, effective change begins with acceptance of everything that makes up our lives at any present moment. It's really true: Love, in the form of kindness to ourselves, is what never fails.

Be kind to yourself today...

R1P4D4

LIW 159.4
Daily gain 2
Over LIW 2.6
Current Weight 162

Went out for a wonderful dinner with my Hubby last night, and I ended up having four fruity decadent martinis before the food came out. I didn't overeat, however, those, in combination with some delish fried calamari and chorizo in puff pastry definitely brought my weight up. Today I did a modified steak day, in that I had sausage for breakfast, a 12oz steak for lunch and a 16oz steak for dinner. Lots of protein with two chocolate cookies, asparagus, and brussel sprouts thrown in for good measure. Wonder what the scale is going to say tomorrow.

And still no TOM- why does he elude me so? Definitely not pregnant- took a test just to make sure.

Hope you had a great weekend!

R1P3D19-Steak Day again

LIW 159.4

Daily Gain .7
Above LIW 2.5
Current Weight 161.8 (per the Wii, but it should be 161.9 per the numbers)

No food tracker today
Exercise:
Sat-yoga 70 minutes, walk 4 miles
Sun-walk 4 miles


Hi bloggy peeps, sorry for not writing since Friday. The weather was beatuiful this weekend and I spent most of it outdoors, and when I did come in, my internet wasn't working, so no posts...My food this weekend was atrocious in terms of sticking to no sugar no starch, but delicious in my belly. Sat night we went to our friend Kristen's birthday party, and as a treat for herself, she made mint chocolate chip ice cream cake (my favorite). I decided to treat myself as well, knowing full well that I would most likely gain and need a steak day on Sunday (especially since I was only .2 away that morning). And so I had a piece. And it was so good I decided to have another piece. And then I had three glasses of wine. And then a chocolate brownie with strawberries and whipped cream on top. Before those treats, I had tons of guacamole and buffalo chicken cheese dip. If I was going to have a steak day anyway, might as well make it good. OMG, it was wonderful. And then yesterday, not one ounce gained. YIPPEE! Im sure it was because I was dehydrated from the wine, and the fact that I did a yoga class, and walked about 4 miles that day. Either way, it was great.

Yesterday was the local Y's 5K that my hubby decided to run in (his first-great job, baby!), and afterwards they had our favorite water ice vendor and cookies, both of which I decided to partake in (maybe a little test to see how far I could go with this no gain thing). We also went to lunch with hubby's parents, and I had onion strings and sweet potato fries in addition to my burger. Again, so good. But that filled me up for most of the day, as did the 6L's of water I drank trying to counteract the food I was eating (another test). But even after all the walking, water, espon salt bath, and number 2 bathroom fun this morning, I was still up .7. Thats ok. So on with the steak tonight. And on with work, 9 more pages of my listing due today (so I really dont have time for food anyway is what im telling myself :)

Have a wonderful week, my friends. You deserve it!

R1P3D11-Fully Deserved Steak Day!

LIW 159.4
Current Weight 163.1
Daily gain 2.0
Above LIW 2.7

Yesterday, I gained .4 and the day before that I was .3 above LIW, so that brings me to almost 3 lbs above LIW. And this steak day is fully deserved. Hubby and I went out to our favorite restaurant Honey for our date night last night (its been 60 days since Ive been there!)...and this is a restaurant that you do not make substitutions at since the menu is so artfully crafted and delicious. You order small plates (tapas) and share. I went with the full knowledge that I would ordering off the menu and that I might not be able to stick to the no sugar no starch deal. Since the power was out due to the storm that we had last night, most of the meat dishes that had no sugar or starch were not available AND we ate by candlelight...meaning I couldn't really see the starches in order to avoid them, and I'm glad I didn't get higher than a 2 lb gain this morning.

My hubby and I shared:
Broccolini with crab and cheese fondue
Tuna with garlic aioli and tomatoes
Spinach and tomato torte-just one bite (and didnt have the torte part)
Coffee short ribs with fried shallots
Pear and goat cheese rissotto cake with butternut squash sauce- just one bite
Glass of Pacific Rim Chenin Blanc
And the topper, chocolate chili creme brulee-and yes, I finished a whole 1/2 of it

Can you say YUM? Definitely! I also had a big salad for lunch with roasted chicken, tomatoes, feta cheese, pepperoni and bacon, and for breakfast I had a few oopsie rolls with guacamole, and 6 pieces of uncured turkey bacon. Hubby and I also did yoga yesterday, so there are all sorts of things I did yesterday that could have contributed to the gain.

Here's hoping that steak day works for me tomorrow. I have tons of things I've precooked that I need to start eating before they go bad.

Today I went to an Endurance Sports Expo to get me ready for this Triathlon season, and purchased some new bike shoes and running shoes, both sorely needed. I plan to start full training by mid June (after my second round of HCG) and do my first event in August. I am going to do at least two sprints this season and one Olympic distance. I also may do some aqua-velo events (just the swim and bike) since I dont know if I will be able to build up to running more than 6 miles due to pains my body has currently just from walking. There is actually a 1/2 Iron distance event that is allowing an aqua bike, so I might do that. It would be a 1.2 mile swim and 56.6 mile bike. Im pretty sure I could handle that!

What about you? What are your fitness goals for this season? This year?

R1P3D5-Another Steak Day

LIW 159.4
Daily Gain 1.5
Weight above LIW 2.2
Current Weight 161.6

So I am definitely not getting the hang of this P3 yet :(.  Yesterday, I ate what I thought was pretty clean, but when I look back, maybe I did not eat enough calories.  Let me figure it out here:

Water: 3L
Tea: One cup senna with chamomile at bedtime

Breakfast: chorizo, bite of mashed cauliflower, approx 300 calories

Lunch:  5 oz. Burger with one piece of cheddar cheese, two small pieces of bacon, piece of cheese with onions off the top of a flatbbread pizza, small mixed green salad, one piece bibb lettuce
Approximately 570 calories

Dinner: 1 piece chocoperfection bar (had to try it), 3 spoons of P2 chili with lots of veggies, as noted in yesterday's post, 3 pieces of chicken skin and 1.5 oz of roasted chicken (did the chicken on the rotisserie, and it was delicious!), 1 oz of choco crack (yuck!!!) which is just coconut oil mixed with unsweetened cocoa and a little stevia.
Approximately 340 calories. 

Snacks throughout day: Ate a little of the veggies I was cutting up throughout the morning, mainly red and yellow peppers and some celery: approx 50 calories.

For a grand total of 1260 calories, or about 300 less than I should be getting (but thats not a ton, since my low range starts at about 1200 per SPARKpeople). 

It could also be the fact that I ate after 7pm (the chicken and the chocolate was consumed about 8:30pm), or that I didn't get enough fat? 

What do you think when you look at that menu?  Any tips or advice?

I'm going to do the steak day today, and then eat clean tomorrow...P2 foods with some added fat...maybe some olive oil and Ill start my fish oil supplementation again, and let you know how that goes.  Ive read that most people don't stabilize until the end of the 3 weeks, but I hope thats not the case for me...I really want to make this work and not have to relose pounds Ive already released. 

And I want this stress headache to go away as well...

R1P3D3-My first STEAK day

LIW 159.4
Daily Gain 1.5
Current Weight (including the .9 from yesterday): 161.6
2.2 above LIW

I was so excited to eat my chorizo, mashed cauliflower, and my big salad during Reiki training today. But the scale registered an amount that put me at 2.2 over my LIW, so I drank water all day, and thought about the big steak I would be getting that night for date night. I was a little disappointed, since I had planned to eat all the yummy stuff at 86 West that I have been seeing Mark get the last few weeks: Goat Cheese Fritters (just the inside for me), Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and a huge cheeseburger with bibb lettuce as a bun. Instead I had a 10 oz steak (the biggest they had) and a tomato, and really enjoyed it despite my intial disappointment. And it was fine.

The Reiki training was really nice. I refreshed my knowledge of the hand positions, and learned that I no longer need to hold my hand above the body like I was first trained 12 yrs ago. Instead I can lay my hands on the body. That was such a relief for me since it makes it much easier to do the treatment when you can relax your arms. I will take Reiki II in the next few months and then be able to do distance Reiki (let me know if you want me to practice on you when that happens, its pretty cool). I also got in touch with some feelings about how to be a better mother by paying better attention to Connor (ie turn off the TV and play a game with him, get out of my head and be loving towards him), and how to be a better wife...so all's good.

Hope you have a good rest of the weekend-Im so looking forward to being outside tomorrow. Its supposed to 55 degrees out! A heat wave