R1P3D21

Today is the last day of phase 3 for me. Whoohoo!
Tomorrow I begin phase 4, and slowly introduce sugar and starch back into my diet. Phase 4 is the rest of my life.

I weighed in at .75 lb less than my first weigh-in at the beginning of phase 3. So kewl beans there. You can see on the chart [only shows phase 3] just how much my weight bounced around. But the trend [green line] stayed pretty level and that is the main goal in this phase. So apparently my hypothalamus is all set. I still will weigh in every morning to stay on track.

My cravings are gone. I don't care if a miss a meal. My hunger signals are barely a whisper. No shakes from low blood sugar. If I skip a meal to bring my weight back in check, I get immediate results the next morning when I weigh in. I get to jump back into fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts and seeds. [The last three of these are starches, and I have not had any since the very beginning of this diet.]

And yes, I have sprouts already matured: mung sprouts. Yum. And the dehydrated flax crackers are almost ready.

Sigh. Life is good! :D

How kewl it this?

http://www.greenbang.com/virtually-waterless-washer-could-hit-market-in-2010_10276.html

Spinach!

Popeye had it half right; spinach is a great food, but not from a can puleez!

Did you know that spinach is not only a rich source of vitamins and minerals, but researchers have identified carotenoids and at least 13 different flavonoid phytonutrients in spinach that act as powerful antioxidants? Antioxidants combat the free radicals that cause oxidative damage to our cells, including their DNA. When the researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University tested various fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant capabilities, spinach ranked second only to kale among the vegetables tested. The various flavonoids in spinach have been shown to possess anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, and anti-carcinogenic properties, while its carotenoids, such as zeaxanthin and lutein, help fight prostate cancer and protect against eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Since carotenoids are fat-soluble, they are not well absorbed unless consumed with a little fat — one more good reason to add extra flavor and nutrition to spinach by dressing it with antioxidant and phenol-rich extra virgin olive oil.

R1P3D14

Okay, it's two weeks into phase 3, and I've simplified this a bit. I stopped counting calories. I pretty much eat how I was taught in phase 2. Counting calories to be sure I was right at 1500 cal/day was a real hassle. Now I gauge what I eat by the scale. The scale keeps bouncing around, but pretty much stays within a 1 lb. variance. When I go up a bit, the next day I skip a fruit or eat more veggies. The next day the scale goes down. I love how what I eat during the day now has an immediate effect on the next morning's weigh-in.

As of today, I am going back to more juicing, and almost no meats. Water is the key to keeping the weight lower, so I try to drink/gulp it as often as I can remember to.

It is still amazing to me that my hunger now is minimal at best; slight tummy growls are the only clues I get. I eat A LOT less food now. I don't think of getting something to eat near as much as I used to. That is really amazing to me. Because I am an emotional eater. Not anymore. It's as if a switch has been turned off.

You Go Hypothalamus! :D

Does cold smoked salmon have the same nutrient value as fresh or frozen salmon?

No, smoked salmon does not have the same nutrient value as fresh or frozen salmon. There are several reasons that smoked salmon is less healthy than salmon that has been cooked using methods that help to retain the maximum amounts of its nutrients.

Perhaps the most important reason involves omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon is one of the richest sources of omega-3 essential fatty acids, which have been associated with the reduction of inflammation and protection against many different types of degenerative diseases.

Smoking salmon has been found to substantially reduce its omega-3 content. For example, three ounces of baked Chinook salmon contain about two grams of omega-3 fatty acids. This same three-ounce portion of Chinook salmon, when smoked, contains less than one-half gram of omega-3s. This reduction in total omega-3 fatty acids is even greater when we look at one particularly important omega-3-EPA, or eicosapentaenoic acid. Smoked salmon contains about 20% as much EPA as non-smoked salmon on an ounce-for-ounce basis.

George Mateljan

R1P3D7

This is the end of my first week in phase 3, and boy does the scale bounce around on this.

The idea is to NEVER gain or lose more than 2 lbs from what you weighed on the last morning of phase 2. If you do go over or under 2 lbs, even if it's only in ounces, you have to do a 'steak day', which is eat nothing until dinner - a huge steak plus either a tomato or an apple. The next day you should drop 1 to 4 lbs, from what I read. [This most likely depends on how much you went overboard in eating the day before.]

I have dropped .25 lbs from my last weigh-in on phase 2, and got within a 1/2 lb from being over. My graph reads, up-down-over-down-up-down....LOL. But it is pretty easy to bring my weight down a bit when I need to. As a matter of fact, there most definitely is something to your hypothalamus being reset, because I hardly feel hungry at all any more! I can't wait for phase 4 - eat whatever - so that I can work on losing the few extra pounds left.

R1P3D1

Translated: Round one, phase three, day one. :>

Yesterday was my last VLCD. I achieved 93% of my goal, approximate my inches lost as six, and averaged .47 lbs/day over the 32 days I have been in phases 1 and 2. I expected not to completely meet my goal since I am being careful to ween myself off of phase 3 prior to a planned trip out of town, where I will be in NO control over my food intake. Yes, for those who know me, I am heading up to mom's. :> So....I am right on target. I'm fitting into clothes that have been hanging in my closet unworn, and buttoning and zipping where there was no hope before. :D

After doing a bit of research on this third phase, I've come to understand that this is, by far, the most important part of this protocol. I have to keep my weight at no higher, and not less than, two pounds of my last weigh-in on the last day of phase 2. During this phase, my body no longer contains hcg, which enables me to pull calories, etc. from my abnormal fats. I have to maintain at least 1500 cal/day or I may throw my body into a 'survival' state where it will begin to gain gain gain. It may be on this phase that my scale will bounce up and down. This is normal, I understand, as my hypothalamus is leveling out. I must continue to weigh myself each morning, or I risk not realizing that I am gaining weigh. I will not notice my clothes getting tighter, as I would have prior to starting this protocol, because my body will distribute the weight gain evenly over my entire body.

During the next three weeks, my hypothalamus is resetting itself to where I will no longer have food cravings, I will be full with less food, and one day of eating poorly will not mean more weight when I step on the scale. [That would be ONE day of eating poorly, ladies and gentlemen.] I cannot eat ANY starches, or sugars during this phase. So I must avoid carrots, oranges, real sugar, potatoes, rice, pasta, etc. I should eat six times a day, i.e. breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack.

So here it goes....

VLCD 29

My current mixture of hcg will run out after today. Orignially I planned to mix half the dosage for an additional week. Then I remembered the hcg is in a ampule, and it is in powder form. I don't have a sensitve enough scale to split it in half, and also I would be left with the problem of how to store the remaining half. I cannot mix up a whole batch since that would be for 15 days, and would mess with my timeline of being back to eating ANY foods by the end of May.

So this means that beginning tomorrow I will continue the 500 cal/day for three days. It takes that long for the hcg to clear your system. Then I will begin Phase 3, which is eat anything that does not contain sugar and starch. Yay, back to juicing and raw foods and exnay the meats! This will continue for three weeks while my hyperthalmus is continuing to reset itself. It it still very important that I stay strickly within the protocol, or I can risk gaining heavily. And yes [for those of you who have been following since the beginning], broccoli sprouts in are in the sprouter! Yeah baby. Should be readhy in about four or five days.

I will continue to weigh myself each morning and log it and what I eat each day. It will be interesting to see if I can manage to continue losing since I am not at my goal yet. I have a month to see what I can do. Bets anyone? :>

VCLD 28

I am really learning with this "weigh every day" deal to focus on the big picture. I tend to forget there's a process going on here, and keeping in mind that no diet I have ever been on has done this well. My metabolism does run amok. But when I average it out I am losing exactly what the protocol says I will loose: .5 lbs/day for women. A good reason to pay more attention to the green 'trend' line on the graph here, than the blue weight line.

Although, I can say when I was strickly raw for three weeks I averaged losing .3 lbs/day. I'm looking forward to getting back on track with raw foods after Phase 2 is done [soon!]. No calorie counting; just wait for hunger and JUICE! LOL

Do sea vegetables contain any special phytonutrients?

In addition to their wonderfully rich mineral profile, sea vegetables also include unique phytonutrients. One category of nutrients for which sea vegetables are well known is sulfated polysaccarides. These carbohydrate-related nutrients, also called fucans, have been studied for their anti-inflammatory properties. Researchers are also investigating their antithrombotic activity (their ability to inhibit blood clots). Additionally, they have been found to have antiviral activity in laboratory studies.

Yet, their phytonutrient offerings do not end there as sea vegetables are also a noted source of lignans, phytonutrients for which flaxseeds have become famous. In the body, lignans are converted into compounds that have weak estrogenic activity, helping to balance estrogen levels.

George Mateljan

Your skin acts as a barrier to the world, yet it is not impenetrable.

That is why many of the healing practices we use are fomentations, oils, ointments etc. The skin will absorb much of what is placed on it. "Chemicals can be absorbed through the skin and into the blood stream, causing toxic effects". Some say absorption through the skin is more dangerous than through the mouth. What is absorbed through the skin doesn't go through the digestive system where enzymes break them down and detoxify them. What is absorbed through the skin goes directly to the bloodstream without being filtered through the liver. So it is very wise to be aware of what you are placing on your skin so that it will bring healing and life.

George Mateljin

VCLD 25

Yesterday I whined to my husband about how frustrated I was. The last two weeks' weight loss has been disappointing to me; I gained one day and plateaued another. He's like, "Just go with it."

This morning.....I DROPPED TWO POUNDS. Can you freakin' believe it? What it is is my ridiculous metabolism. Seriously. I can't tell you how many times I have stepped on the scale in the past, expecting to have lost weight, and my body says nah-ah.

I also can't tell you how long it's been since I weighed what I weigh now. Yippee Yi Ki A babies! :D I am at 56% of my goal.

Oh, and I forgot to eat my fruit last night LOL.

Even now, though, a little pesky voice in my head says, when you get on that scale tomorrow morning, you will have gained it all back. /sigh I don't think it's only my metabolism that's a mess.....

VCLD 22

A Revelation

I've been complaining about being so stuffed eating large amounts of veggies with both meals so that I get closer to 500 cal. H says listen to your body and stop eating when you're full. Won't I stall? So I posted on an hcg group and learned that I just need to be careful I don't go over 500 cal. [One more reason to review the protocol.]

I have been skimming through these groups and am amazed at how many people don't get this program. It couldn't be any more clear; you cannot vary any items on the foods lists, and the options for your skin care and makeup. Period. Why didn't I lose, or why did I gain, I only _____ [fill in the blank]. READ THE PROTOCOL AND STICK TO IT. It's like a diet book for dummies. Easy-peasy.

So last night I had this dream where I was in a bikini looking at my figure in a mirror. It was almost perfect, if I sucked in my itsty bitsy tummy; that was the only thing 'left to go.' LOL So when I woke up I was sure that I had lost pretty well. Stands to reason, right? This morning I lost the most I since the 4th or 5th day into this. Wuhu! So I am almost at one of my main goals. So far I've lost 42% of my goal. I've got 15 more days to go.

I'm a bit surprised at myself for not being tempted in the least to cheat. In my mind I have some motivations, but I think the main reason is because I know, with the hcg in my system, that if I do cheat - even a bit - I will gain in a major way. Then I would have to start all over re-losing that weight again. The fact that this is in my body is the biggest motivator for me. Plus, I am really looking forward to Phase III. LOL

VCLD 20

I get to pat myself on my back. I took myself to the movies last night [which is my haven for popcorn AND a movie], and did not partake. I had an apple in my purse that I munched into [my afternoon-allowed fruit], and I was happy. Of course it helped that I went on an 'off night' and was almost the only one in the theater. So I was not surrounded by happy popcorn munchers - or my husband. Too tempting to just reach over and grab a handful from him. :D

Cool movie. Special effects are awesome these days. I saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3-D. Only bummer: $14.50 for the ticket!

Do most turkey products contain sodium nitrite?

Virtually all nationally marketed, non-organic deli meats contain sodium nitrite (or sometimes potassium nitrite) as a preservative. Occasionally, a non-organic manufacturer will introduce an "all-natural" version of its deli meat that does not contain any nitrites, but the only way to be sure about this is to check the ingredient list on the back of the package. Since preservation with sodium nitrite is not allowed in certified organic deli meats, these organic versions are a great way to steer clear of this preservative. Cooked whole turkey products and cured turkey products often do contain sodium nitrite, but there are nitrite-free products in the marketplace. Once again, your best bet is to look through the ingredient list and check for sodium nitrite or potassium nitrite among the ingredients. Nitrite-free products will sometimes advertise their nitrite-free status on the label.

George Mateljan

VCLD 19

Yippe Yi Kiyay! It would seem my plateau is ovah! Always a good feeling when I get off the scale, to see progress has once again returned.

/sigh of relief

I really hate my scale. Getting on it I hold my breath and pray. I know. Told ya: headcase. :>

80% of fish eaten in the US cancer- and birth defect-causing?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0F8x4i5GYE