The things that happen when you get up early:

I went to go work out this morning.

Worked on my arm flab. I don't feel like I'm going to drop the weight on my head anymore. I spent 30 minutes on the bike, then I worked on my tummy flab a little. I did crunches on the exercise ball. I really like it. If you do enough of them, it hurts pretty bad (which is how I know I'm doing something right), but it doesn't hurt my neck like doing them on the ground would. After crunches, I started to get on the treadmill and start C25K (google it).

Treadmills and I do not get along. I have no idea what "setting" to put them on that's fast enough to do some good, but slow enough so I don't fall off. I played with it for a few minutes, and "briskly walked" (translation: trying to keep my feet straight while stumbling) on it, then I gave up. There was nobody in the building to take me to the hospital if I face planted and riped my skin off. I decided it was best not to tempt fate. It's pretty sad when I feel like a treadmill is too high tech for me. There should be a setting for C25K on a treadmill. That'd be pretty cool.

So after my near disaster with the treadmill, I went to my old faithful elliptical machine (which, in theory, should be more high tech than a treadmill, but with an elliptical, I feel like I'm in control). Spent a half an hour there- no problem. I wanted to work on my arm flab a little more, but the cleaning lady was there, and I kinda feel like a moron with a pink tie around my elbows while I lift weights behind my head (thank you, Daddy, for that technique). Instead, I went back and spent another 20 mins on the bike while I waited for her to leave. She never did. That's okay. I figure you can't dis an hour and 20 minutes of cardio + some muscle work. Pretty good workout today.

Things I am getting used to:
Seeing my colar bone.
Shopping on the other side of the wall.
Staying on the elliptical machine for the whole 30 minutes.
Being aware of what I put in my body all the time.

Things I will never get used to:
Stretchy skin (any advice for that?)
People telling me how different I look
The first 10 minutes of a workout

I did it again.

Just noticed that the last post said "293.6". I hope you all know that it should say "193.6."

I'll get used to putting a 1 in that spot at some point. It's sort of a happy mistake. I made it through Thanksgiving. I was very proud of myself. I had a small slice of chocolate pie, and that was all as far as sweets go. I did not go back for a second (or third) plate of food. My real fault is that I'm addicted to rolls. I probably shouldn't have eaten any, because they are triggers for me, but I ate one... then two... I think I had four or five total. That's not an okay number. I have to learn to stay away from bread.

I'm not sure what my weight is today. I've gotten bad about not weighing myself every morning. On top of that I've been working weird hours, and I'm not really sure when "morning" actually is. I'm good though. I still feel good, and I'm still sitting on my ball at work. I LOVE it. It gives me energy.

I'll weigh myself before work tomorrow morning and give you a full overview. I'm may not make it to 170 by January 4th, but if I don't, it won't be from lack of effort. 40 days. Around 20-25 lbs left. I got this.

~~~~~~~~Shoot for the moon.~~~~~~~~

Today- 293.6

Not doing bad... at least I'm still keeping the weight off. I figured I'd be losing weight still, but I'm being patient.

Couple of mile markers today:


Been to the gym every day for the past at least 4 days. I'm pretty satisfied.


- I stayed on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes straight today. There was a much smaller lady who was on the treadmill for 20 or so doing C25K. She got off before me, and when I got off she just stared and said, "I couldn't do that."

- Spent 35 on the bike first though. I try to spend at least an hour doing cardio.

- Been doing a little muscle work. Not much, just enough to get rid of the underarm flab.

- Didn't feel wobbly as I walked down the stairs of the clubhouse when I was done.

- Gonna have to mix up the shakes somehow soon. Getting kinda gross.

Thank you, HCG! I'll take it from here (for now).

Alrighty-

I'm not putting my weight on here today, because I have not been weighing myself every morning like I'm supposed to. I have been doing everything else wonderfully, I'm just not sure how much I weigh today. It's probably between 192-195.

I'm not really sure how to explain my game plan for the rest of the year, except what I already have explained in the last post, so I'll just explain what my day looked like today.

06:30- I made a protein shake and drank it on my way to work.
07:45- Ate a banana.
08:15- Took a women's one-a-day multivitamin.
08:30- Drank a cup of coffee in it with a small amount of 2% milk and some Equal.
12:00- Drank another protein shake for lunch.
12:45- Ate another banana.
          -  I've gone through 2 or 3 bottles of water today, but I'm not sure how much.


At 6:00 or so, I'm going to eat a salad for dinner. It's got a hard boiled egg, ham, turkey, tomatoes etc. in it. I do not eat any dressing on it. I'm trying to learn not to eat so close to bed time.

Last night, I went to work out after I got home. I got off work at 7:00 last night, and got to the gym around 8:00. By the time I got home and showered, it was after 10:00. I didn't feel like eating, but I hadn't really ate anything other than my bananas all day. So, I figure the early dinner will help with that.

When I work out, I mostly do cardio. I want to burn calories without building much muscle. Last night, I worked with Dad on my arms. They are kinda flabby in the typical areas, and I'd like to fix that. The more weight I lose, the more that flab hangs. Dad showed me some stuff I can do to work on those areas, but I'm really trying to be careful not to build muscle instead of losing weight. My arms are sore today.

I've seen a common concern with people about my current game plan that I would like to address. People say that by drinking protein shakes, it triggers my body to gain mass instead of lose it. This would be true if I ate a normal amount of food with these protein shakes, and/or if I put a lot of my powder in the shakes.

Look at a typical Special K/Slim Fast diet plan.
2 protein shakes a day.
2-3 snacks a day.
1 real meal.
Work out.

I'm doing the same thing as far as I can tell, except that my shakes do not have 14-20g of sugar. They are only about 140 calories. Also, I can't tell the difference between the "diet protein bars" and a candy bar, except that they have half the calories and more protein. They have a TON of sugar... why??? I'd rather have something healthy without the sugar. I don't want to mess up my progress with HCG by breaking the rules and eating sugar like that before my 2 weeks are up.

I'm also still sitting on my exercise ball at my desk. I'm thinking about getting another one for home. I've had one at home before, but I really never knew what to do with it. A coworker showed me that I can use it for crunches and stuff and maybe minimize the flab on my stomach that used to be a giant belly.

Yay for fun workouts!

Apparently, I need to update

Monday- 11/7 I weighed in at 192.6. Sunday was the last day of the drops. Girls weekend was Monday- Wednesday, and I was pretty well behaved. I'm not sure what I weigh today. I worked overnight, and didn't check when I woke up this afternoon.

Here's my current game plan:

2 protein shakes a day

1 real meal---- HEALTHY

1 women’s one-a-day multivitamin

I am sitting on an exercise ball at work. That’s a lot of hours of sitting on a ball.  I know it's not really working out if I'm just sitting on it, but it's good for posture, and it keeps me from resting all the time. It's also supposed to be good for your abs- YAY for possible flat tummy.

I am going to get some healthy snacks up here to keep my metabolism going.

I bought 4lb weights today that sit on my desk as well. I have some free time, and those are going to be awesome!

I was thinking about doing Slim Fast, but there is a TON of sugar in those shakes. Instead, I just started doing whey protein shakes with the Slim Fast plan. I'll substitute the Slim Fast shakes with healthier ones, and the protein bars with healthy snacks when I need them. I'll still eat a healthy meal a day.

I am just not comfortable consuming the amount of sugar that is in a Slim Fast or Special K shake or protein bar in any one sitting (let alone multiple times a day). We'll see how my specialized plan works out.

193.8

Just saying.... I'm awesome.

I'm highly irritable today. This has nothing to do with my food intake, but I can't imagine blogging today without mentioning it. I might update this more later tonight, but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm awesome. Almost 2 pounds in one day at the very end of the diet.

I'm about to go get Subway for dinner. I figure I could use some veggie intake. :-)

Day... ummm... 34. 6 days left on the drops. 9 days on VLCD

So much to say....

Let's start with the fact that I'm at 195.6. I know progress is slow right now, but progress is progress.

My period starts in 2 days, (according to the app on my phone that says so, I'm not sure I believe it. We'll see.) and supposedly, you stop losing weight when you're on it. I know that I slow down when I'm on it, but I usually lose something. I also usually get very close to not losing any weight towards the end, but regardless of whether or not I lose any, I will stick this out until 3 days after I run out of drops, or day 43, whichever comes first. I'm a very determined person. I feel like the more I say that, the more accountable I am holding myself.

After HCG-
As you should know, I am not allowed starches or sugars for 2-3 weeks after I get off the VLCD. This round, I am going to go without starches and sugars until Thanksgiving, which is just over 2 weeks.

I want to reach 170 before January 4th. I know you all know that, but I want it BAD. The easiest time for me to lose weight will be during those 2 weeks without starches and sugars. I'm going to start working out, which is something I can't do while I'm only consuming 500 calories. In order to make absolute certain that I am consuming ZERO starches and ZERO sugars during this time, I'm trying to find an all liquid/mostly liquid diet to go on. I'm seriously considering Slim Fast, or just drinking protein shakes and taking vitamins. really think it could work, and I think as long as I'm taking vitamins, I should be fine. It would also help me keep away from triggers. If I were to ever do that, this would be the time. I am not tied down with addictions to food right now. In fact, I rarely eat anything anymore. I know... tisk, tisk. I make sure I eat something every day, but I don't eat an apple, or a pickle, or something between meals, and I frequently only eat one "meal" a day (which usually consists of a piece of meat with a tablespoon of salsa).

When I start working out, I know that I'll need more protein, but I want to do that with as few calories as possible. I don't see a need for consuming a bunch of calories when I'm pretty sure that protein would suffice.

*****Disclaimer- I am ABSOLUTELY not a medical professional! I'm just kind of trying experiments with possible weight loss methods for myself, and attempting to do so in a reasonably healthy way. Please also note that the healthiness of HCG is constantly debated, to which my argument will always be that it is much more unhealthy to be 270lbs in your early 20s.*****

I apologize for the long blog, but I warned you that I have a lot to say.

Someone just asked me, "How ever did you do it?" He was talking about managing a Subway while being a full time student, but my answer is the same, regardless of what the question is referencing. "I wanted it very badly. I was very determined." Another friend of mine recently asked me a form of the same question. She is also trying to lose weight via HCG. She asked out I can so easily turn down my temptations.

There are two giant bowls of candy at my house right now from Halloween. I walk by them every time I go to my George Foreman. I look at it, and sometimes want a piece, but it isn't an option. For me, it's like seeing a commercial about chocolate. I can't have it. My mind is made up. I am fully committed to this. It helps that it's been so long since I ate a piece of chocolate, that my taste buds don't remember it. If I ate candy right now, it would probably taste so sweet that I'd be disgusted. When my mom makes dinner, and I can smell it, its, not like I don't like the smell. I do, but I don't want to eat it. It just wouldn't be worth it. I would have to start all over. I would have that taste back in my mouth, and it would be much harder to turn down the second time. What makes me so determined? I don't ever want to have to start over. I don't want to ever get back to 270... or even 201. The reasons I'm doing this are always at the front of my mind. Doing this isn't an option anymore. It's just something that has to be done, so in typical Brittni fashion, I'm just doing it. You can only really fail if you give up, and I won't give up, so I won't fail. :-)

*****************************************************************************
Now that the completely unnecessary pep talk is over, lets have some awesome news.

Today, I put on two different pairs of size 13 pants. They were by no means cute, but not horribly uncomfortable. I have no intentions of wearing them in public for a while, but a friend gave them to me for when I get to that point. At first, I didn't think they would ever fit over my bum... it's HUGE... but one pair covered my whole bum, and the other just the top of my bumcrack showed. It's not like I would say that "I wear a size 13," but I can, and will acknowledge the fact that I am incredibly close to using odd numbers for my pant size, instead of the even numbers used for plus sized clothes.

I am happy.

196.0

I'm getting to the end of this, so slow is expected.

I work a lot of hours today, so it will be easy to chug a bunch of water, but I have to go to Walmart and get a new case.