Day 1: Loading!

So HeSchrader throws down the gauntlet and posts his actual numbers...CRAP!  I'm absolutely mortified at the thought of putting my numbers out there, but it's for the greater good, right?  Um...maybe later.


When I was reading about the HCG Protocol (after I stopped making fun of all the stupid people injecting themselves with pregnant-chick hormones because I realized they were SKINNY stupid people), the Load Days sounded like a fat girl's dream come true!  Seriously?  I need to eat as much fatty food as I can for two days?  Um, OK...are you sure we can't make that four days?!?!  Should be simple, right?  I didn't get this way by eating rice cakes and celery!  


The reality of the situation, however, is that loading SUCKS!  The skeptics say there's no way a person can survive on 500 calories a day; the reality of HCG is that you don't even want 500 calories a day.  I have read about this stuff A LOT, and learned that not loading properly not only leaves you seriously hungry for the first week of the very low calorie diet, but also causes your body to burn the good fat rather than the bad fat that you're trying to eliminate.  So, despite the fact that I wasn't even hungry, LittleBoySchrader and I hit the drive-thru one last time for a Sausage McMuffin, Hash Browns, and a delicious shake for breakfast.  No, not Slim Fast....a great big giant chocolate shake that was embarrassing to even order!  That meal weighed in for 1680 calories and 58 grams of fat (1160 calories and 27 grams for that shake!), and made me feel absolutely disgusting.  I didn't even think about food again for hours, but around noon I realized I should be eating more, so I had a couple servings of cashews--one of my favorites that just doesn't taste good right now.  


HeSchrader and I were comparing notes this afternoon and realized that neither one of us had the stomach for the garbage we're supposed to be eating.  We reminded each other to eat more, so I choked down some salami and provolone (the fattiest food I could find in the house), and ordered a Meat Lovers' Pizza for dinner while HeSchrader picked up a cheesecake on the way home.  I feel so gross...I can't wait to not think about food anymore.

Let me introduce myself...

I'm HeSchrader, didn't realize this until I read SheSchrader's post but I can dig it. A little about myself. I grew up a husky boy, at least that's what was on my corduroys, and while I never was particularly proud of that moniker I never did too much to change it. When I was 19 I joined the Army at a chunky 168 lbs, not great for a 5'6" boy. Within 3 months I was down to 142 lbs, and looked odd. My perfect weight stayed around 155 lbs which is what I'm hoping to get back to after this diet is done.

So once I was a civilian again I found a lovely bride, had a few MiniSchraders and ballooned to the heaviest I have ever been. When SheSchrader and I first met the doc I weighed in at 204 lbs. During the detox week I lost some weight (amazing what no fast food and especially no beer can do for you) and as of this morning's first injection I weighed 200.6. I anticipate that during these first two load days I will gain much of the weight back, which I'm really not looking forward to. Trying to eat fatty foods today was tougher than I thought it would be. I just wasn't hungry.

So here's to hoping I stay not hungry.

Ready!

HeSchrader and I decided at the end of August that we were actually going to do this, and I wanted to get going right away.  Unfortunately, it took a week and a half before we could get into the clinic.  We expected to start right away after visiting with the naturopathic doctor, but she instructed us to "detox" for a week before beginning injections by increasing our water intake, eliminating processed foods, and starting some supplements.  *sigh* OK, so we had to wait another week.


I spent the first few days VERY concerned about what I was eating.  I looked in our pantry and fridge and realized that 99% of the food we had is processed, packaged "convenience" foods.  I made trips to "natural food" stores and avoided the bad stuff.  I felt extreme guilt about the garbage I've been feeding the 2LittleSchraders and vowed to not lead them down the road to weight problems and health issues, and it felt pretty good.


And then over the weekend, PMS hit me, and I got a bad case of the munchies.  The 1.5 pounds I lost in the first few days of detoxing came back (and brought another pound to visit).  It probably didn't help that I've been obsessing about what I'm going to eat this week.  Days 1 and 2 of injections are "load days," in which we're supposed to eat as much fat as we can to keep from feeling outrageously hungry for the first week of the Protocol.  I've been trying to decide what to have for this "last hurrah," what I'm going to make with my limited food choices for the next six weeks, what I'm going to feed the 2LittleSchraders for the next six weeks (and beyond!), and how I'm going to change my habits when this whole thing is over.  Stress from LittleBoySchrader's pantsless antics and LittleGirlSchrader's hysterics pushed me over the edge yesterday, and I finished the detox week by treating the 4HealthySchraders to a dinner of Six-Dollar Burgers and Hand-Scooped Milkshakes.  Oh, and I had a bottle of wine before I went to bed feeling bloated, bummed, and a little bit drunk.  I'm so ready to go!