Many Days Later: SS Returns!

I can't believe it's been more than a week since I've blogged!  Oh, what a week it's been!  


I already wrote about the Girls' Night Out of Control where I had too much to eat.  Of course, I vowed to be well-behaved for Thanksgiving.  Remember my vow to have a healthy Turkey Day meal?  Well...it was probably healthier than usual, but it wasn't exactly my healthiest Phase 4 Day.  I did, however, make everything myself from all-natural ingredients: Turkey (OK, so I used a whole stick of butter on it) stuffed with apples, oranges, onions, garlic, and celery; Dressing made with multi-grain bread, Italian sausage, and veggies; Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Bananas (with another stick of butter, orange blossom honey, heavy cream, and topped with brown sugar); Smashed Potatoes (with ANOTHER stick of butter and heavy cream); Fresh Cranberry Sauce (with orange juice and brown sugar), and Turkey Gravy (yep, another stick of butter with the turkey drippings).  We did skip the dinner rolls and extra veggies, but it was still a very carb-heavy (and butter-heavy) day.  On a positive note, HS and I did not go back for second helping of our favorites, so that's a good thing!  


I definitely wasn't pleased (but certainly wasn't surprised) when I stepped on the scale on BLACK FRIDAY and found myself more than 3 pounds over my Last Injection Weight.  Yikes!  I gained five pounds in less than a week!  On a positive note here, I lost 2 pounds the following day and I've been hovering at about a pound over my LIW.  That is both good news and bad news.


That's GOOD because I have definitely managed to maintain my weight loss.  That's BAD because it's given me license to eat a whole bunch of junk that I shouldn't be eating.  That's GOOD because I'm "getting it out of my system" now before I start the second cycle.  But it's still BAD because I thought I had broken that habit already.  Maybe that's GOOD so I can remember how crummy I feel when I eat garbage and compare it again to how much better I feel when I eat good food.  


Now don't get me wrong...I'm not making the WORST food choices ever, but I know I'm not eating as well as I should be.  We've had more fast food in the last two weeks than we'd had in the past several months combined.  I've had a good amount of ice cream, and I've done some late-night snacking.  We've had pizza four times.  Oddly enough, I haven't had pasta or rice...formerly huge staples of our diet.  I haven't been drinking anything except water and the occasional iced tea (oh, and a few glasses of wine and some beers), but I haven't had soda or juice.  With the exception of the fast food and a frozen pizza, I've still been avoiding processed foods.  In other words, I'm not eating as healthfully as I was in Phases 2 and 3, but I'm eating better than I was pre-HCG.  


And I can feel the difference, too.  While the scale is only slightly higher than it was a month ago, my pants are  more snug in the waist.  I'm bloated, tired, lazy, and unmotivated.  My back hurts again.  I feel like I fell off the wagon AND got run over by it.  I absolutely cannot wait to start injections again so I have energy again and so I don't have the urge to eat garbage anymore.  My HCG for the next cycle arrived this week and I would start tomorrow if only LittleGirl's heart wasn't set on a New Year's Day brunch.  


It's goal-setting time again!  For the next 4 weeks, I'm going to strive to:

• Eat dinner at home at least 6 nights each week.
• Increase my water consumption to at least 3 quarts per day.
• Take my multi-vitamin and other medication daily.
• Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
• Stay at or below my last injection weight.
• Blog at least every other day.