Mommy Gone Milf Via HCG

Food prep - in order to have food readily available and keep myself on track I measured protein portions in batches and made ziploc bags for the freezer. I often cooked several meat portions on the foreman and left them in the fridge. The foreman is a life saver!

Emotions - daily weigh in triggers a roller coaster of emotions. If you lose you are happy and if you don't you are crabby. On injection skip day I was crabby. The first major upset I faced forced me to learn about emotional eating and I did some research on brain chemistry: dopamine, tryptophan, endorphins and seratonin, in regards to emotional eating. "Self medicating" through eating.

Negative emotions - If I had negative emotions I learned to recognize them and to be aware that they were a trigger.  If I cheated I learned to forgive myself, brush it aside and move on. You will completely derail yourself if you don't learn to do this. Negative emotions can trap you in a circular behavior of eating to medicate yourself thus causing more negative emotions that you will eat to medicate....etc.

(I had to work really hard on fighting negative emotions. Things that worked for me: I fell in love with music again and blew the dust off my iPod and loaded it with my favorite songs. I got a pedicure, called my friends and blogged. I spent a lot of time researching and reading about things I am interested in. I took hot Epsom salt baths and/or had a small glass of wine. I focused on goals and planning fun things I haven't enjoyed in a while. I tried to force negative thoughts out of my head by focusing on positive things. Even if I had to start over again every day!)
Cheating - I carried an apple and melba toast (glutino breadsticks) with me everywhere. I avoided eating out. Even ordering a chicken salad would stall me because of the oils they prep the food with. A couple times I brought my own meat and just ordered a house salad. I would allow myself to have a bite of something I wanted- one bite doesn't stall me and I can usually stop after one bite, usually. I could not leave food on the kitchen counter or I would start grazing. Too much physical exertion made me have more cravings. I traveled with my scale. I planned cheats on big occasions.

Stalling - I tracked my weight loss on a paper calendar (I tacked to the wall above my scale) and therefore I made the observation that I stall during ovulation and TOM. An apple day only made me suffer during these times and I learned to wait it out. Brain chemistry again, I read that your pituitary gland releases the "luteinizing hormone" which stimulates the ovary to release estradiol, progesterone, and androgens in a cyclical manner during ovulation. So I'm not surprised that my body won't release fat at that time. It's busy.

To lose more - I made sure to note the days of the month during my cycle that I would lose more and I try not to cheat on those days. A couple times I ate 2 egg whites and 1 egg with spinach to break a stall - better than an apple day. I hated the apple day I did. I lose more on days I eat raw veggies with my protein, as opposed to cooking my veggies. Believe it or not I lose more when I eat beef. Of course fluids help you lose more so lemon water with vanilla stevia helped me drink more fluids. Teas are awesome and besides, green tea I also drank chocolate Yerba Mate with vanilla stevia and occasionally roasted dandelion (diuretic - read about it before drinking).

Side effects - I had some hair loss. I felt a dull ache in my sides on the days I was losing. I got headaches and crabby on skip days. I had occasional bruising from the injections. I started taking liquid B vitamins for more energy.

Mixing - after my first few starving and fatigued days at 200iu injections I bumped my dosage to 225iu and then finally 250iu. Again, I do not instruct you to do this - figure it out on your own. This dosage is what my body responded to. It is the maximum suggested. On the second mixing I followed "mini" mixing instructions and diluted with less Bact water. This made the amount I had to inject much smaller. I inject into my belly fat by pinching my skin tightly between my thumb and index finger and then inserting the needle slowly - pinching makes it hurt less. Mind over matter!

Phase 3 - phase 3 was a snap as soon as I learned it was all about the protein. After the first week of phase 3 I started eating 6 meals a day but with a lot more protein. I stuck with lean protein and I didn't go for the bacon. I added tofu, berries, kale, brussels sprouts, etc. back in. I liked the roasted chicken day for correction. Roast and pick at an entire chicken for the day (less crabby).

Phase 4 - was a flop for me and I will have to learn more next time. At the end of phase 3 the dairy really started to get to me. In phase 4 I ate frozen yogurt and mac and cheese and it really started a downslide for me. I didn't correct right away and ended up stabilizing at 3 lbs over LIW. My allergies returned and my face broke out. I really looked forward to round 2 because of this. I will add foods back more slowly in my next phase 4.