A Skeptic Tries HCG

Day 34 of Round 2 - GOOOOOAL!

2009-10-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 31th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 240

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have reached my arbitrary goal of 240. Yay!

On Wednesday we take our last dose of HCG for this round, and then have two more days of VLCD. But the weight you should maintain is the last-dose-weight, not the weight of the last actual day.

So between now and Wednesday it would be nice if:

a) I reach 239.0 - that would be 70 pounds from July 4th.
b) I reach 238.5 - that would be 30 pounds this round.

In case you haven't noticed, I like round numbers.

I have decided, however, that I can no longer eat any white fish for the foreseeable future. I just can't physically bring myself to put a forkful in my mouth. So for the next week it's chicken, shrimp, beef, or fat-free cottage cheese for my protein.

Day 33 of Round 2

2009-10-30T11:17:00.001-07:00

Friday October 30th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 241

One pound to go to my arbitrary goal of 240. Why 240? Dunno. There's all sorts of height-weight guides and BMI recommendations but none of them go up to 6'7", so I have to either extrapolate the curve or make a guess. Either way 240 seemed reasonable.

But now I think I could lose another 20, so a third round is in order, which we'll start in January. We won't be going to the fair again, so we were thinking what could we do for loading days?

Well, for the first day, in the morning we're going to go to a seafood buffet on the waterfront, and in the evening sushi buffet.

Day 32 of Round 2

2009-10-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

Thursday October 29th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 242.5

Beef.

There's a little deli on Lakeside Avenue at Leschi Park that has organic meats for a lot less expensive than Whole Foods, PCC or Trader Joe's. Also, they'll grind beef for you at leanest possible, which is important for Phase 2 of the HCG VLCD.

For the last couple days I'd been stalled at 244.5, very annoying. But on Monday I ordered three pounds of beef, which was ready yesterday, so I made 4 oz patties out of it and fried them up (no oil) in a pan. They were delicious with some tomato, lettuce, onion, and pickle.

They say that beef can either break a stall or start one. It broke mine, as far as I can tell, but stalled K.

This morning I weighed myself at 243 before the shower, and 242.5 after. Fantastic. I'm 2.5 pounds away from my goal (though looking at 240, I see a lot of excess weight around my midsection that will necessitate another round next January). I have a little less than a week to go, and barring further stalls it should happen.

It'd be nice to hit 239 if possible, that'd be 70 total pounds in two rounds. Hell I'll round up if anyone asks. :)

Day 29 of Round 2

2009-10-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

Monday October 26th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 244.5

I was down to 245.5 on Saturday but I fucked around all weekend and didn't get around to posting the blog.

Bought a new belt. The old belt's extra length was ridiculous. 4.5 pounds to go! I should be able to do that before the end of the round one week from this Wednesday.

Yay!

Day 26 of Round 2

2009-10-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

Friday October 23th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 247

It's been said that the last few pounds are the hardest. Definitely true for me - seven pounds to go, but only a week and a half before I have to stop taking the HCG. It's a race against time!

Day 23 of Round 2

2009-10-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

Tuesday October 20th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 249

Right.

Milestone 1: I'm in the 240s. Only 9 pounds to go before I reach my artificial goal that I set 60 pounds ago which leads me to

Milestone 2: 60 pounds. From 309 to 249 - and in only 4 months. Unbelievable.

Milestone 3, and this is the big one:

I don't have a clear memory but back in 1998 K and I decided our weights had gotten out of control, and in anticipation of a two month backpacking trip overseas we joined a health club in the city we were living in. They weighed us. I think I weighed in at 349, though it might have been 345 (don't think it was 350).

So that means I'm 100 pounds down from my highest weight. That's kinda really blowing my mind right now.

Day 20 of Round 2

2009-10-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 17th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 250.5

Hola, amigos. How's by you? I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya, but I been stalled and not energized to blog. Monday night we had a roast suggested by one of the HCG cookbooks and while it was delicious and I only ate 3 ounces, I didn't lose any weight until Thursday when I suddenly dropped to 252. Friday I was 251.5, and today now I'm at 250. So despite the setback I think I'm still on track to get down to my goal of 240.

When I hit 249 (hopefully tomorrow, possibly Monday), that'll be some milestones I'll share. Also Monday I'm going to start ingesting HCG sublingually three times a day instead of twice. I'm picking up a new batch from the doctor Monday morning and will leave some at work. We'll see how that goes.

Day 14 of Round 2

2009-10-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday October 11th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 255

Lost a pound despite having a taste of champagne last night in honor of a dear friend's birthday. Not even a sip. I suspect it was well within expected tolerance levels.

15 pounds to go! I could do this in my sleep. Of course it'll be interesting to see when that happens, and what happens if I continue after? At what point will my body say "Right! That's it, no more weight loss, no more fat to lose."

We'll see.

So K's recipe for HCG Friendly Quiche:

6 egg whites and two yolks
1 cup non-fat cottage cheese
2 cups diced onions
2 cups diced tomatoes or chopped spinach
Fresh herbs - chives, parsley, whatever you have
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Garlic Powder

Adapted from a different person's non-legal HCG diet Phase 2 recipe - this is basically HCG diet Phase 2 legal, except it does mix vegetables. Our doctor told us that mixing vegetables doesn't matter, and we found that mixing vegetables doesn't seem to affect us. If you aren't mixing vegetables, choose one and double the portion.

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Original recommendation: "I try to use a glass baking dish as it seems to stick less." (Personally, I found a ceramic baking dish to work beautifully, with almost no sticking, even with no oil or butter.)

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs with the cottage cheese and spices until well combined, and fold in the herbs, diced onion, and tomatoes or spinach. (I wasn't able to fit in all the veggies, so fold in as many as you can, and eat an equivilent amount of veggies with what was left out to compensate.) Bake for approximately 40 - 50 minutes, or until the eggs have set and the top has gone as golden as you like it. (It should stop jiggling much when moved.) For two people, eat a quarter each, and have some the next day for lunch. :)

Day 13 of Round 2

2009-10-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 10th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 256

Wednesday I was down a half a pound but haven't blogged since - life, she is busy, no? Gonna try to remember to blog every day that I lose weight. :)

K made this amazing quiche for lunch with cottage cheese, eggs (1-3 ratio of yolks-whites), spinach leaves and onion. Google the recipe, you won't be disappointed, if you're looking for a more traditional weekend brunch food than baked fish or chicken. Let me see if I can get her to write up the recipe.

Day 9 of Round 2 - Double fun milestone day!

2009-10-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Tuesday October 6th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 259

Milestone one: If you count from my highest of 309, I've officially lost 50 pounds. That's like four bowling balls.

Milestone two: unarguably down into the 250s. I'm very happy about that.

So the weight I gained yesterday is off and I'm in the 250s. Less than 20 pounds to go!

Day 8 of Round 2

2009-10-05T10:30:00.001-07:00

Monday October 5th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 263.5

Goddammit, so yesterday we had a really great (and expensive) dinner of chilean sea bass and grilled onions. Didn't think it'd be bad, but both K and I gained a pound (and a half for me). Damn. Other than that we were perfect! No cheating or anything.

Hope that comes right back off. :(

Day 6 of Round 2

2009-10-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 3rd
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 262

On Monday morning I really hope to see the scale read in the 250s. Even 259.5 would be acceptable. Milestones, you gotta have milestones in order to reach your goals. The psychology of being able to say "I'm in the 250s!" after never having been in the 250s as far back as I can remember.

Day 4 of Round 2

2009-10-01T11:38:00.001-07:00

Thursday October 1st
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 264

I was concerned about metabolic set points - since we had worked hard to stay at the last injection weight (mine was 268) I thought maybe it would be hard to lose weight and break that.

Evidently not, since in the last four days I've lost four pounds from that LIW, and 11 pounds from the loading weight of 275.

However the HCG immunity is something to keep in mind. I've lost my HCG immunity so it's working at full-strength. Hopefully over the next 30-something days I'll lose another 24 pounds and get down to my goal of 240.

And when I get there, whenever I get there, I'll make the decision as to whether I stay there or continue going. I don't know when I was that skinny before. Like I said, this is all uncharted waters.

Day 3, round 2

2009-10-01T11:34:00.001-07:00

Wednesday September 30th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 266

From here on out, it's all uncharted waters.

After the last round, I saw a dear friend at a bar and she said "have you been working out?" I said no, but I have been losing weight, but it's mostly noticable on my face where I don't have those chipmunk cheeks anymore. She said "but that's what I liked about you!"

"Too bad," I said.

Saturday ran into a friend at the county fair. He said to me "where's the other half of you?"

Day 2 Round 2

2009-10-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday September 29th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 269

So the loading weight is dropping off. I've decided not to count the loading weight and use the LIW from the previous round.

I haven't mentioned the gout yet - it's back, though not as terrible as last time, probably because as soon as I started noticing it I jumped right back on the Colchicine. I spend Sunday afternoon fretting about it, and went home early on Monday, but it never really came on and the colchicine and vicodin really did the trick.

No hunger pangs, so the HCG must be working. This time we're doing sub-lingual so we're getting more of the hormone in every dose but it's not all getting absorbed. Note: B complex tastes NASTY. Even the half B-and-half colloidal silver is pretty rank. So for five minutes you've got this terrible liquid rolling around under your tongue, then the medicine gets absorbed. But for five minutes after that, you can't drink or eat anything to get that taste out of your mouth.

I don't know which is worse, really - a jab with a needle or the terrible flavor. Once we're done with the B complex I think we'll be going full-colloidal-silver for the remainder.

However the jab with the needle had its own issues - like if you hit a nerve (shooting pain or disconcerting twitching) or a blood vessel (bleeding).

Day 1 of Round 2

2009-10-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

Monday September 28th
Starting weight: 268
Today's weight: 272

Last injection weight (LIW) previously was 268. At first it was tough to stay within two pounds of the LIW, having to do a steak day once or twice a week, but then things stabilized over the course of the last six weeks.

As promised, Saturday K and L and I went to the county fair. Saturday I was at 269.5, well within the LIW+2, but Sunday I was at 275! A little freaky and scary but I had to tell myself it was all coming right back off. And it did :)

Here is the list of food we ate:
1. Earthquake burger
2. Brick of fries
3. World's worst cheese steak
4. Krusty pup
5. Ice cream on a stick * 2
6. Blooming onion
7. Corn on the cob
8. Chocolate-dipped strawberries on a stick
9. BBQ dinner (chicken, pulled pork, ribs, baked beans, corn cob)
10. Elephant ear w/ cinnamon & sugar
11. Funnel cake with strawberries

The next day we ate organic at Wild Mountain . Oh, and K made almond flour "molten volcano" cakes. I'll have to post the recipe - they're low-carb and low-cal but don't taste like it.

Day 38, final day of injections

2009-08-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Wednesday August 12th
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 268

Yeah, that's right, 41 pounds. So today we continue our 500cal/day diet, as well as tomorrow and Friday, as the HCG works its way out of our bodies. Theoretically we should start getting hungrier and hungrier.

Don't know if we're supposed to continue to lose weight or not, but I'll say this: I honestly believe the HCG protocol helped me lose over 40 pounds, and that's completely the opposite of what the AMA suggests, that it's ineffective. AMA also says it's not safe, though I can probably agree with that because of the side effects I encountered during the protocol (severe gout, dizziness and lightheadedness) so the use of the protocol should be monitored by a doctor.

I unscientifically believe this statement:
hCG’s role is supposedly to trigger the hypothalamic lean-protection mechanisms Simeons thought he saw, thus promoting mobilization and consumption of abnormal, excessive adipose deposits, while protecting normal adipose and lean tissue from being consumed, with the assumption that these protective hypothalamic mechanisms exist in males as well as females, to be acted upon by hCG.

It seems to have done that very thing.

So unless anything dramatic occurs, I'm going to switch to a weekly blog update during the next phase (phase three, 2000 cal/day diet, gradual increase of starch/sugar).

As a side note, the largest county fair in the state will be taking place when we prepare for the next phase 2 diet. So one of our loading days will be at the fair, eating scones, elephant ears, corn dogs, bbq, everything we can get our hands on. It'll be ridiculous.

I can't wait.

Ciao for now.

No longer skeptic,

alan

Day 37: A new milestone!

2009-08-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

Tuesday August 11th
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 269.5

I'm in the 260s! 39.5 pounds lost! Tomorrow should be 40 fucking pounds!

Can't believe it. All my shirts are fitting loosely, even shirts that I thought I'd never wear again. I got a shirt from my sister-in-law a few xmases back I wore once and shrunk. Now it's too big!

I posted a picture of my new face on Facebook, and here are some of the comments:

Holy crap dude, how did you do that?
Damn, you're looking sharp.
WOW. That sounds pretty extreme... but damned if it's not doing the job.
you look hot.
Wow. Just seeing this pic I wouldn't recognize it as you
Where are you going for the shot? I have only seen that in California when I was a teen. Good job Alan you look fabulous. Better than your younger self even.
yeah like a different person entirely and damn fine
... you be careful, or you'll end up as skinny as me!
Damn! Good job!
holy crap!
Looking good!
good show,man!
Awesome!
whoa! totally crazy! I may have to talk to you about this at some point.... nice work!
Holy crap!! U look great, Alan!! Wow. Congrats, man.

Thank god for supportive friends.

Day 35 quick post

2009-08-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday August 9th
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 271

Sam: Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It'll be spring soon. And the orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And they'll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields... and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?
Frodo: No, Sam. I can't recall the taste of food...

Day 34 quick post

2009-08-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 8th
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 272

Rock and fucking roll.

Day 32 quick post

2009-08-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

Thursday August 6th
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 273

Wow.

Day 31, continuing on...

2009-08-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday August 5th
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 274.5

I didn't mention this cute story.. when K and I went to Northgate mall to buy jeans and shorts on Saturday, we passed through Nordstrom. Normally a 42, occasionally a 44, I assumed I'd be about a 40. So Nordstrom doesn't have any 40s, so we went to Macy's and tried on a bunch of 40s there.

Discovered I'm not really a 40 anymore, I'm actually a 38, so we gave up on Macy's and went back to Nordstrom! Now the weather has cooled and I'm wearing the expensive designer jeans to work.

sweet.

We watched part of The English Patient this weekend. I turned to my sweetheart and said "You are the K in my blog.".

Day 30, time to get serious.

2009-08-04T10:48:00.001-07:00

Tuesday August 4th
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 275.5

OK, time to get serious. I swam hard by myself yesterday for an hour and a half, and then was strict and careful. No more balsamic vinegar. No more cracker. No xylitol, nothing questionable. Oh yeah, and I'm probably not drinking near enough water. Increasing to ridiculous amounts.

I have less than two weeks and I am starting to think I'm not going to lose 15 pounds in the next week and a half. Seems unlikely.

At least I'm at 275 now, but I'm gonna be pissed if I don't reach the 260s.

Day 29 - no progress all weekend

2009-08-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Monday August 3rd
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 276.5

Up and down a half a pound on Saturday and Sunday, back to where I was on friday. I should be happy, I guess.

At a friend's BBQ yesterday, we kinda cheated - instead of having the full-grain Wasa cracker (which we're not really trying to have anyway) we had some grilled sourdough crackers. Very little, but still it didn't seem to help either. So, darn.

On Saturday we spent the heat of the day at the mall, trying on jeans and shorts.

I can now fit in a 38, after wearing a 44 for years and years. This means I can (and DID) spend $200 on a pair of designer jeans at Nordstrom.

That was a very gratifying splurge and I don't regret it at all. I went to three events on saturday night (family gathering, friend's party, cabaret at our favorite club) and many of my friends said I looked different, better.

That makes it all worth it.

On the flip side, why haven't I lost any weight this weekend? Perhaps HCG immunity is kicking in and I should have another skip day, or another plateau breaker. We'll see tomorrow. However we've got a little more than two weeks to go, so I'd like to get down to the 260s and if I do that I'll still consider this round a success. 265 - great success. 260 or below - resounding, phenomenal, unlikely success.

We'll see.

Day 26 quick update

2009-07-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

Friday July 31
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 276.5

I figured the dramatic loss from the previous day was from being out in the 103* heat trying to get stuff done. No surprise I gained a half pound.

Oh well.

I think I'm still on track to get below 265 in the next two weeks. :)

Day 25: effects of heat exhaustion?

2009-07-30T09:20:00.001-07:00

Thursday July 30
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 276

So yesterday the temperature in Seattle was expected to soar from mid 90s to the low 100s, breaking records. I saw a news article talking about a load of air conditioners being trucked to the home depot, so I went to see what they had. I didn't have high hopes.

Evidently I arrived just after the truck did and while most of the AC units were claimed, there was one that was returned. It worked fine (and was one of the larger, stand-alone portable units instead of the in-window jobbies) it just was missing its duct and window insert.

So I said I'd take it off their hands if they threw in a length of duct and some, um, what's that kind of tape?

But throughout the driving and carrying this 95 pound machine and hooking it up and all that, I started to feel nauseous and woozy.

Come to find out it was 103. This big swede isn't accustomed to it. Christ, it was hotter than Tucson!

I think the 3 pound drop (largest drop in a couple of weeks) could likely be due to sweat and energy consumed during the heat, my body attempting to stay cool.

Another 11 pounds to another big personal milestone I'll tell you about when it happens. :)

Day 24: 30 pounds.

2009-07-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

Wednesday July 29
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 279

Thirty pounds.

Day 23: A new milestone

2009-07-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Tuesday July 28
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 279.5

29.5 pounds lost. That scale has never seen me below 280. I can't fucking believe it. The diet is supposed to make one lose between 20 and 30 pounds over 40 days or so - I'm well on my way to losing 50 pounds. If that happens I'll be around 260 - the lightest I've been since before starting at Microsoft nearly 15 fucking years ago. (I know my mom reads this blog but the swearing is staying.)

Damn Microsoft and its free soda program. Damn myself for thinking rice and corn were valid side dishes.

The lightheadedness was really bad at work yesterday. Sitting upright at my desk was difficult. Fortunately I have a job where I can work from home (and an understanding boss).

Our Dr writes and says have extra fruit - half an apple or handful of strawberries per meal more - to get my blood sugar back to normal. I'm going to call my primary care physician (not our HCG diet dr) and get my blood pressure average, then go to the drug store down the street and use the blood pressure machine. I don't know what that will tell me anything but I'll bring it up with our dr at my appointment on Thursday.

Day 22 - Lightheadedness, radio musings

2009-07-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

Monday July 27
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 280.5

I like mileposts, makes me feel like I'm really doing something. This is the lightest I've been since I got back from India nearly ten years ago (except for one stretch when I got down to 265 due to pharmaceuticals but immediately gained it back).

I'm looking forward to the day the scale says 279. Might be tomorrow.

The lightheadedness is actually getting worse. I'm going to contact my doctor and figure out what the fuck to do. I don't want to eat a spoonful of pure sugar or drink a glass of orange juice, which are some of the recommendations online.

I was listening to the radio on my way to work. A guest on a morning show mentioned that his doctor recommended eating nothing all day, then a large balanced meal in the evening. Interesting. He lost twenty pounds in a few months.

Sounds a lot like "steak day" - which is when, after the injection protocol, if at any point you find you're two pounds over your goal weight then you have a steak day. The purpose is to maintain a steady weight as long as possible. This will help maintain your "set point" and your body will try not to let you gain weight or lose weight. The longer you maintain a single weight, the easier it will be to keep it.

So "steak day" - you eat nothing all day except for lots and lots of water. At dinner you eat an apple, and a very nice marbled steak. This resets your body to start letting go of weight instead of packing it on. Not certain how that happens, though the books describe the process, I've just forgotten.

Day 21 quick update

2009-07-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 26
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 281.5

I thought this was posted yesterday. Looks like it disappeared in the cloud. Oh well.

I've been noticing light-headedness more and more. I suspect it's a product of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia?). Standing up from a crouch gives me a head rush.

Day 20 quick update

2009-07-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 25
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 282

With exactly three weeks to go and 27 pounds lost, I'm more than halfway to my goal (260). The remaining 22 pounds should be a trick.

At this halfway point, I will say it's been tough watching my friends eat things I can't. Not that my stomach grumbles and my brain says "I'm starving!", rather, envious of the flavor. I miss the flavor of foods. Sausages, cheese, chocolate, whisky, popcorn. K and I went to see Harry Potter last night and I missed my regular treat of a small popcorn. The dr warned me to avoid trigger situations like that, including my company's usual 4:30 Friday happy hour in the bar in our building. So I've had the luxury of working from home these past three Fridays.

Three weeks from today, we move from the extremely strict diet to a 3 week transitional diet, monitoring our weight and forcing our hypothalamus to create a "set point". However on that transitional diet, while we must avoid starch and sugar, there are some things we can do. We can eat larger portions of meat for example, and enjoy wine or liquor in very small quantities (no beer).

Some friends are having a BBQ on that day. It'll be perfect. Something to look forward to. And not to get a big head about it, but it'll be nice to show off my new, 50-pounds-lighter self to my closest friends.

Day 19 quick update

2009-07-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

Friday July 24
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 283.5

If I lose another 20 pounds in the next three weeks, I'll be skinnier than I've been since 1995 (260 lbs), when I started working at Microsoft, making decent money, lots of free food and soda. Not knowing any better.

My ideal weight due to my size is off the fucking charts (they all stop at 6'4", I'm 6'6" or so), but I think I found it at some point to be 220.

So I can't believe I wouldn't get down to 260 this round, then maintain that for six weeks, then another 20-40 pounds in a second round. I would be positively slender.

Day 17 quick update

2009-07-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

Wednesday July 22
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 285

Who-hoo! I like two pound days.

Also, I can stop lying to people about my weight now. Or start telling everyone I'm at 265. Whatever. :)

Day 16 quick update

2009-07-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

Tuesday July 21
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 287

Michael showed me a trick. When building muscle on your upper body, he notices a few guys at the gym build their biceps, triceps, and shoulders (anterior and posterior), totally ignoring the forearms and the middle shoulder muscles. Which just looks weird. When you think about beefy meatheads who have shoulders up to their ears, these are the guys.

But when you think about large, strong men - what makes a shirt hang well - and what makes the most visible difference is the middle shoulder muscle. So I've been focusing on everything, and not forgetting those shoulder muscles and the forearms.

Day 14, quick update

2009-07-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 19
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 288.5

Yesterday the scale said I was up a pound so I didn't feel like updating. Now it's back down a pound and a half, so this roller coaster is getting frustrating.

Also frustrating, we bought a rather expensive scale with a precision of .1/pound instead of .5/pound, but we both found it to be unreliable. It'll say 288.2 on the first go, then 293.8 on the second. With the old scale at least it stayed within a half a pound. We're taking it back to the store.

Grilled steak yesterday, which was awesome. Only at a quarter of it, which kind wasn't.

Day 12: Twenty pounds. This calls for a celebration

2009-07-17T09:28:00.002-07:00

Friday July 17
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 289

Last night I made Vietnamese Pho (beef noodle soup) with Miracle Noodles, very lean beef, onions, cilantro, basil, garlic, and limes on the side. As a change from the normal piece-of-fish-and-vegetable meal we've been having, this was an amazing treat.

But it was all well within the diet protocol, so I'll make it more often.

It may come as a shock that I'm not really very fitness-oriented. I detest calisthenics and abhor the idea of some germ-ridden, other-people's-sweat-covered, douchebag-filled, loud-you-call-this-music? and I-can't-believe-I'm-paying-money-for-this gym.

I tried to hit the treadmill to lose weight but of course it didn't do anything. Because with cardio exercising, you only really lose the weight while you are exercising. However with weight training, you're training your muscles to burn energy all day long, after you're done exercising.

So I bought some hand weights yesterday (5s through 15s). Amazon is shipping a full-body weights workout video today.

Michael laughed when I showed him the weights. "Honey, you're gonna very rapidly need much heavier weights than those."

grrrr.... fine.

Day 11 quick update

2009-07-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday July 16
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 291

Down another half pound. I like the trajectory but not the velocity. Found out Xylitol has 10 calories in each package, switching to Stevia.

Day 10 update

2009-07-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

Wednesday July 15
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 291.5

Our scale has a precision of half a pound. Normally when I weigh myself I do it three times. The first time it's invariably half a pound below the second and third times, so I go with those. Today they were all 291.5, so... cool.

The authoritative response from the doctor regarding skip days was thus:

You do not need to skip a shot unless you feel like you are hitting a pleateau and developing a tolerance. Just stay on them straight through and we can see how you do.

Interesting.

Day 9: Backwards progress...

2009-07-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Tuesday July 14
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 292

Gained half a pound. I had a feeling it was too good to be true. Damn water loss. Also I was hungry yesterday, probably due to the diarrhea.

Well, that and the "skip" day. Let's talk about the skip day briefly. The reason why the protocol is only 40 days long is because eventually your body develops an immunity, or resistance to the HCG hormone. To delay that immunity you're suggested to skip an injection every 7 days. I haven't gotten a clear answer to whether that's a good idea or not.

K was miserable yesterday - some of her aches and pains that had previously been alleviated have returned, along with the lethargy and nausea. She's emailed our doctor to ask what is the final authority on skip days. Good idea or no?

Further updates when we hear back from the doctor.

Day 8: quick update

2009-07-13T10:20:00.001-07:00

Monday July 13
Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 291.5

Heh - I've lost twenty pounds in one week due to the HCG diet and rounding.

I wonder how much of this recent weight loss is due to the diarrhea. Lots, probably. I'm probably due for a weight-loss plateau.

Speaking of which, the diarrhea is under control. I think the pepto had something to do with it. The gout is 90% remedied.

This diet has been a medical roller coaster. The logey-ness caused by loading, gout caused by hcg, diarrhea caused by gout medication, constipation caused by hcg, etc etc.

Day 7: Couch time.

2009-07-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 12

Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 293

I'm not certain if the Colchicine, which was prescribed to combat the worst gout of my life, has also made me drowsy, but it's definitely given me the diarrhea.

Joy.

So I spent most of the day on the couch, drowsy, sleeping on and off. The rest of the day.. well.. I don't need to draw you a picture.

Leftover spaghetti was nice.

I wonder how many calories Pepto Bismal has.

Halibut and salad for dinner.

Day 6: Much improvement! pt 2

2009-07-12T01:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday July 11

Starting weight: 309
Evening weight: 295

After weighing in and feeling pretty good, K and I got some coffee and went swimming. Breakfast is not allowed on the diet, so I've been enjoying a macchiato and K's been drinking americanos. We sweeten them with Xylitol, which makes a palatable coffee beverage, but it's definitely no whole-milk latte with honey or sugar.

We jumped in the lake and swam for about an hour, full of energy. My foot bugged me a little but I ignored it. We got out and weren't even the slightest bit hungry, but we needed to eat before we hit Ikea so we went home.

Lunch today was half a can of tuna each (specifically Whole Foods Tuna, not albacore, that's too fatty). A handful of tomatos and an apple.

We met up with our friends and went to Ikea. That took a good four hours and despite our friends having snacks at the Ikea restaurant, we were good and not at very tempted. I'd say the temptation was because I like Ikea swedish meatballs, lingonberry sauce and gravy.

But we were fine until we got home and cooked spaghetti. Half a pound of lean ground beef mixed in with some garlic and onions, browned, then mixed in with tomatos. This we portioned over Miracle Noodles and enjoyed something that bore a pretty damn good resemblence to spaghetti. Not perfect. No parmesan cheese, no garlic bread, no red wine, but it was a nice treat.

And not to beat a point into the ground, but while it was nice we simply weren't very hungry.

Gout recovery is up and down, interestingly. In the morning it's bad. During the day, walking around, it seems much better. Then relaxing on the couch at home before bed? Bad again. Hmmmmm........

I weighed myself in the evening just to see. Very interesting results. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Day 6: Much improvement!

2009-07-11T11:44:00.001-07:00

Starting weight: 309
Today's weight: 297

I know I've been updating this blog in the evenings but today I had to jump on with the great news.

I was disheartened yesterday by a lack of progress but today I had to weigh myself like fifty times to make sure the scale wasn't lying to me. Two more pounds! A total loss of 12 pounds in 6 days.

The gout is mostly gone now too, just a dull ache around my ankle and on the top of my foot.

Caloo calay, bitches!

(more to come this evening)

Day 5: No improvements

2009-07-11T00:43:00.000-07:00

299. Loss of a half pound. Disappointing. However there are things one can do if they find their weight loss plateau, but I think it's way too early to consider this a plateau.

Went to the doctor for the gout treatment today. Though he had never heard of the HCG protocol, but was supportive of the idea. He prescribed Colchicine for this attack, and liked the idea of cherry fruit extract going forward, but had no opinion on the nettles. He said once this attack is over we'll do a baseline uric acid test and see what happens.

Colchine was a good idea because it doesn't have the weight gain (especially in the face) that Prednisone has.

So to sum up. The first couple days I felt logy and unhappy so I didn't do any exercising. The next two days the gout attack has kept me from exercising seriously. I'm really looking forward to it - maybe Sunday.

Day 4: Recovering from gout

2009-07-09T23:02:00.000-07:00

Starting weight post loading: 309
Yesterday: 300.5
Day three: 299.5

So the gout was pretty bad, still. Borrowed a walking cane from my sister in law. I'll probably stay home from work again tomorrow (Friday).

I only seemed to lose a pound, probably because there was no exercise let alone walking yesterday. More walking today, but gimp-y. More peeing today than yesterday.

Lunch was leftover halibut and tomatos. I've decided to drop the Wasa as much as possible if I don't feel like I need it, along with the Zevia. Later I had an orange.

Dinner tonight was half a breast of chicken and some salad, a late night snack of cherries.

One interesting thing is I never really cared for cherries before, would prefer other fruit. But with the limited diet (and probably the fact alcohol isn't numbing my taste buds), cherries are THE MOST DELICIOUS THING FUCKING EVER.

I hope my ankle gout gets better - K and I are going out with some friends to Ikea on Saturday and I'd hate to be stuck in the middle of the maze of affordable Swedish crap and lose my ability to walk.

Interestingly enough, despite the gout, my energy level has skyrocketed and if I could exercise, I would.

Day 3: The worst gout of my life

2009-07-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

Starting weight post loading: 309
Yesterday: 304.5
Day three: 300.5 (I'm peeing a lot. I suspect most of this loss is water.)

Day three started at around 6 am. My right ankle was starting to be a bit sore over the course of the previous day which I attributed to a misstep at some point. But awake and needing to use the bathroom, my ankle hurt so badly I thought I had sprained it.

The pain was like a white-hot shackle around my ankle. I could not put any weight on it. I crawled downstairs and crawled into the bathroom. Standing was excruciating. I guess I could have sat down, but I'm a man, dammit.

Crawled on my knees upstairs, woke up K and had her get me some pillows and ice. She also brought up Aleve and a supplement that contains Tumeric and Nettle. I took those and the ice helped okay, then I went back to sleep.

Later K went to the store and bought cherry extract, nettle capsules, and cherries, though cherries aren't necessarily on the diet. I stayed horizontal throughout the course of the day, staying home from work, and occasionally going to the bathroom despite pain while standing.

Over the course of the day the pain dissipated a bit, allowing me to make small steps.

I've had gout before - a few times since turning thirty. It usually presents itself as a circle of pain on the side of the ball of my foot, like the picture of gout on wikipedia.

Uric acid turns to painful crystals in lower extremeties. Gout in gout-prone individuals (hereditary), or due to diet (mushrooms, clams, oysters, mussels, red meat and alcohol - sorry, lovers of mushroom burgers, fried clams and beer). Cherries and nettles are supposed to re-absorb the uric acid and crystals into your bloodstreams.

Gout-prone individuals are prone to a massive gout attack in the first few days of the diet. K says that our dr should have considered that when I mentioned my gout to the dr. There's a medicine that can be prescribed to help avoid it, though it has side effects.

Now it's the evening and I've taken some more pain pills, and can almost imagine walking upstairs to bed.

Food notes: Lunch was yesterday's leftover lean steak and cherries. Dinner tonight was lovely wild-caught halibut with a little key lime juice we brought back from Florida :) It is sometimes hard to remember to eat - almost have to force myself to eat. No hunger pangs or alcohol cravings at all.

Cherries are not allowed on the diet. So I've cheated on my third day. :( But I avoided other stuff - the Wasa cracker, the Zevia soda, so I don't feel too badly about it. I'm going to have another batch of cherries before I go to bed.

Day 2 of Very Low Calorie Diet

2009-07-07T16:15:00.001-07:00

Got up this morning. Weighed myself - 309 yesterday, 304.5 today. I assume a lot of that is water. I am trying to avoid extrapolation at this extremely early stage - I don't expect to lose 4.5 pounds a day for 40 days. :P

My thighs are starting to be pretty sore from the injections.

Coffee this morning was a double shot macchiato with Xylitol. K had an americano with a tablespoon of steamed milk. She liked that a lot more than I liked my macchiato, so I think I'll start that tomorrow.

Lunch was delayed due to a meeting. Normally during a noon-2pm meeting if I haven't eaten I'll start getting really hungry, and then run off immediately to find something quick to eat. And that usually means fast food, high fat and low nutrition.

Today, however, I wandered back to my desk and lazily prepared my lunch (the leftover halibut, lettuce, tomatos, put some apple cider vinegar on that mess, cut up the apple). I was pretty full by the time it was over, surprisingly.

I'm telling myself that the HCG is releasing thousands of calories from my fat stores. I hope that is true despite scientific studies on the internet to the contrary. Anecdotal evidence from other blogs and vlogs is encouraging.

Day 1 of Very Low Calorie Diet

2009-07-07T15:54:00.001-07:00

Weighed myself. At the doctor's office I weighed in at 306.5 but on Monday 7/6/09 I weighed 309. Great, I gained 2.5 pounds during the loading phase. Oh well.

Injections have been interesting. On day 2 of the loading phase my wife (K) hit a small vein and had to put on a band-aid, though I've been lucky and have had hardly any bleeding. However the thighs are starting to be pretty sore.

We prepared for lunch half a can of tuna, a handful of tomatoes, an apple, and a piece of Wassa cracker.

Regular espresso drinkers, we have to experiment to find a morning wake-up that fits the bill. Monday we both tried macciatos, which are a shot or tow of espresso, with a tablespoon of milk frothed up. Bitter as hell with no sweetener, we'll try something different the next day.

So in reference to my previous post where I said I wasn't going to be cruel and eat a big meal in front of K, when lunch time rolled around, I was NOT hungry in the slightest. My coworkers are eating pizza and burgers and I just don't care.

When I got home from work I was a little hungry. I cooked up a package of Miracle Noodles and put garlic powder, salt, pepper, and paprika on them. It wasn't the same as noodles. Especially without any butter or parmesan cheese, but I ate 'em and washed 'em down with Zevia root beer. Both the noodles and the soda were approved by our doctor but interestingly, Kevin Trudeau says "no" to ice cold drinks or carbonated beverages.

For dinner we had 2 oz of poached halibut. Another questionable choice. One section of the workbook said wild caught halibut was okay for phase 2, another said no. Well, we won't make that mistake again, and stick to definates, but that plus some lettuce and tomato, a Wasa cracker and an apple and we were fine.

Leftover halibut for lunch the next day.

Starting HCG - loading days

2009-07-07T15:42:00.001-07:00

Background: my wife was researching detox diets to counteract what she fears was a flouride poisoning when she was prescribed Cipro (!) for a staph infection. She was referred to a naturopath who gave her a slew of tests to determine her overall chemical balance.

The doctor also suggested that she try the HCG diet to help balance out all her chemicals, and potentially prevent some serious adverse affects from the Cipro poisoning.

And since I'm such a nice guy I decided that if she was going to eat a seriously low-cal diet, I'd naturally do the same thing, because of the following reasons:

1. We both could stand to lose weight. I'm 80 pounds overweight for my height, according to the federal government, but I'd be happy losing 40-60.

2. It would be really unkind for me to enjoy a nice steak dinner with baked potato and green beans and a beer when she's eating a thimble of white fish and five cherry tomatos. More on that later, as it turns out.

3. The diet is supposed to reset your metabolism and energy level. We'd both been trying to be more outdoorsy and adventuresome, but then we get tired and crave protein and probably eat too much red meat and fried chicken as a result. I'd like to have more energy without the powerful desire for bad stuff after.

4. Alcohol. While she's trying to avoid alcohol for a number of reasons, I enjoy it very much. So if I can go 43 days without a drink in the phase 2 portion, that'll mean something to me personally.

We started the "loading" phase on Saturday, July 4th, which was interesting. We gave ourselves our first injections in the morning, then a huge breakfast, lots of snacks, and bbq salmon and tri tip in the afternoon, then pizza before dinner. No issues, but I felt full all day.

The next day, Sunday, we injected ourselves then went to a restaurant for breakfast. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, hashbrowns, coffee, juice. I could not possibly finish the pancakes, I was so full. Later in the day we polished off a bag of potato chips. For dinner, several pieces of oven baked chicken and a huge salad with goat cheese and walnuts. Lots of fat. For dessert, rum cake.

Sunday was interesting because we were basically forcing ourselves to eat. I was very unhappy with the idea and very full. I was not hungry. I wondered if the HCG had already started to release the expected 2500 calories from my obvious fat stores. We were exhausted and logey the rest of the day despite not really doing much of anything.