P4: Week One Plan

Whew! It's been quite a ride this weekend so far... Saturday was day one of P4. I didn't weigh in because we get up and leave so early. It's sort of silly to even look unless I'm within 1/2 hour of "normal" weigh in time. Then Sunday I slept in so late that I still didn't get to that normal time. Today, the kids (4 of 'em) woke me up pre-dawn, so again, no scale for me.

I had to check in at least, after three days of eating *some* starches and sugars, too. I'm exactly +2#LDW. Of course, I was expecting wild fluctuations this first week and I'm NOT going to do a single correction day this whole first week, regardless of what the scale says.

(!)

My plan is to keep having my single apple and cheese meal and make sure that I've got these proportions of foods:
50% Meat/Fats/Dairy
20% Veggie
20% Fruit (apple)
10% Starches/Sugars
100% WATER! lol

I'll weigh in every day, but I'm not doing anything about any gain and just allowing my body to find it's natural new center. During the second week, I'll work on bringing it back to LDW.

During the third week, I'll work on bringing it to -10#LDW before I begin my next "round set."

It's quite a plan and definitely NOT what Dr. S told us to do. However, I feel like I know *my* body better (especially at this point) than Dr. S does (did).

I've got ovulation going on right now (always a gain there), lack of sleep, performance jitters, a possible cold, and lots of other stuff going - so any scale weighing would just make it all that much worse. I'm just going to shelve all that self-induced stress, enjoy an epsom salt bath today after the guests go home and relax. :)

Introductions

I was just introduced to a really fun blog to read. http://cleochatra.blogspot.com/. She doesn't follow HCG, but she does follow Atkins, which is basically P3 of HCG. It's not really the process she follows, but what she has to say about dieting in general that's so great. For instance:

Don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-Weight Watchers. I'm just not for it.

In fact, in 2004, I undertook a two month trek into the vast valley of the points system, flex eating, and online membership. I purchased the little calculator, never spent my flex points, and, over the course of 60 long, hungry days, managed to lose 25 pounds.

I was too tired to jump up and down (thankfully, the floor was concrete) to celebrate the weight loss. I just wanted a piece of bacon. Or cheese. Or something with less more in it than the packaging of their convenience foods.

That's just so much fun!

She also posted a link to this article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1247216/The-Big-Fat-Lies-Britains-obesity-epidemic.html# Seriously interesting stuff written by a lawyer, Hannah Sutter. In fact, take a look at this little bit of her article:

The Government's Food Standards Agency (FSA), among others, is pumping out a template of a balanced diet that is based on flawed science that I believe is responsible for thousands of people developing health problems.

The co-defendant in the dock with the Government is starch.

While we've all been brainwashed into thinking that fat is the killer we must avoid and food manufacturers bring out more and more profitable 'low-fat' versions of foods, starch - in the shape of pasta, bread, cereals, potatoes and rice - has been quietly adding on the pounds, while we are being told that it's good for us.

The problem, I believe, is threefold.

First, we are being given dietary advice that is completely out of keeping with our current lifestyles.

The second problem is that the Government vendetta against fats, because of their apparent link to heart disease, is based on highly debatable studies.

And third, although exercise is undoubtedly good for us all, there is growing evidence that shows sweating away in the gym won't actually make you any slimmer.

And to add insult to injury, it's hard to get any research money to counter these arguments, because most research is funded by the very food conglomerates that stand to benefit most from these lies.

So, the first big fat lie we are fed is that we should eat less.

Maintenance Planning

Yesterday was my first day of P3 (no sugars, no starches). I don't like life to happen to me, but rather I like to have full control of what's happening in my life. It's a border-line control freak thing - it just doesn't overflow all over other people's lives (as a general rule).

So, my first day, I did an Apple/Cheese Day. I'm now 2.5# under LDW. Tonight, I'm planning to do a semi-steak night. It's only a pseudo Steak Day because I enjoyed a breve, some cheese, some apples, and a salad. I'm just ending the night with a steak dinner. Certainly, not because I have to, at 2.5# UNDER, but it's a planning thing, so I can keep a larger buffer zone.

I like a big buffer zone. 5# ought to be about right. I am considering some ongoing losses in this phase, just to see what it does to me (test, test, test - I can't help myself!). I figure that if I'm not protein deficient, I should be doing just fine. I don't know why - really, why - Dr. Simeon said DON'T lose further after the VLCD. I'd think that if you can safely and easily release more, well. YEA! GO!

I'll be able to lock in any further releases with Round 3 (planning for mid-March on that one), so I'm not concerned about maintaining further releases.

Over all, I'll be doing a long term test this time around with maintenance. I'm continuing a test from the VLCD part just to see what it does during this period. AND I've got 8 tests to do before I can release the book I'm in the middle of for Maintenance.

Whew! That's a lot of stuff going on! lol.