Round 2, All those Days I Missed Since Last Week: What a Terrible Blogger!

I finally got called out today.  What is up with the blog?  Admittedly, I wasn't very good about blogging at the beginning of this round because I was disappointed in my losses and didn't want to whine too much.  Now that my losses are going better, I should be writing more, but I've been busy, tired, and uninspired.  


This whole "work" thing stinks.  I'm so grateful that it only lasts about three months, because it seriously cuts into my internet time.  Plus, I'm worried that it's going to end up costing me more to work because I'm going to have to replace my work clothes.  I had hoped to get through this season without having to buy new pants (because I plan to be several sizes smaller by next year), but the pants I have are getting ridiculously big.  While I'm excited by the prospect of getting into to a smaller size, I'm not thrilled with shelling out $$$ for pants I'll only wear for a couple more months.  


I'm still not cooking anything exciting, either.  Without HS's demands for a variety of tasty food, I've been content to eat the same thing day after day.  A roast thrown in the pressure is good for a couple meals for the whole family and several more meals for me.  And if I'm making one chicken breast, why not make 8 of them and eat them for four days.  I just really don't really care to put the effort into making my food right now, which is fine for me, but the family is suffering a bit, too.  They've had their fair share of frozen pizzas in the last couple of weeks, but I have been checking ingredient lists, and I don't think they're suffering too badly.


Speaking of checking ingredient lists....I went to the grocery store today and I was SHOCKED!  I know I shouldn't be anymore, but it amazes me how low the food manufacturers will stoop!  I'm learning not to trust anything on the front of packages anymore because the food companies are sneaky.  Case in point: I was going to buy LittleGirl some juice for her lunch box.  Like the health-conscious Mom I am, I reached for the Capri Sun Roaring Waters since that's WAY healthier than the regular Capri Sun.  The box was nearly in my cart when I flipped it over to check out the nutritional information.  INGREDIENTS: water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, sucralose (Splenda brand sweetener), natural flavor.  I give them credit for actually putting water in it, but the HFCS and Splenda were shockers for me!  If you don't know much about those two evils, check these links out:


The Double Danger of HFCS

Women and HFCS

Children, Allergies, and HFCS

Women and Splenda
Children and Splenda

Better yet, head to your library and check out ANY book my Michael Pollan for an extremely eye-opening look at the food we eat.

Bottom line: I'm doing my best to raise my kids with as little chemical exposure as possible.  Sure, they're going to come in contact with yucky stuff, but I'm not going to knowingly pump crap into their bodies.  No more Capri Suns--of any kind--for our household!  If you're a parent, I urge you to check the labels of the food you give your kids.  MOST food marketed to kids is full artificial, chemical, and processed garbage.  Sure, they're convenient, but Pop-Tarts, fruit snacks, Kool-Aid, granola bars, commercially-produced flavored yogurts, and even many of the juice drinks are flat out BAD for your kids, and they deserve better.


Which also reminds me of one more interesting blog I've been following.  Mrs. Q is a teacher who was disturbed by the school lunches she saw every day, so she's vowed to eat school lunch every day in 2010 to bring light to the terrible offerings.  Check her out at Fed Up.


(Oh, and me?  I'm down 11.7 this round after gaining back more than a pound yesterday.  I believe it was from using Vicks, which contains a whole array of oils, to try to treat my cold.  Regardless, I'm still down more than 40 pounds since September!)

Round 2, Days 10, 11, and 12: Slacker!

That is the best way to describe me right now.  In our group of 6 currently following the Protocol and sharing our progress with each other, I am lagging behind everyone else in total losses.  I'm absolutely thrilled to be at a lower weight than I've seen in YEARS, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't frustrating to watch everybody in the group zoom past me.  It's not a race, but I can't help to measure my progress against my friends' progress and wonder what the heck I'm doing wrong.  I think doing the Protocol with a group has been both a blessing and a curse: it's fabulous to have a strong network of support with this wacky diet, but on those days when I'm the only one NOT celebrating a great loss, I have to try really hard not to be bitter.  Trust me, I'm thrilled that everyone is doing well...it just makes this roller coaster ride a little bit bumpier.  


I've been slacking on my food preparation more and more, but surprisingly, that hasn't seemed to hurt me...SO FAR.  I probably shouldn't press my luck, though.  I haven't gone off Protocol and had anything I shouldn't; I just haven't been doing a whole lot of measuring.  I had a pretty nice loss after the beef and broccoli (which had stalled me before AND which I didn't measure), and I've continued to push the envelope on that one.  I've been "eye-balling" it way too much, and I know it.  Absolute laziness, and I know it's going to catch up with me.  I am down 6.9 pounds from my start weight and 12.8 pounds from my load weight, so I'm still doing decent.  It's TOM now, too, so hopefully soon  my cravings will subside, my bloat will disappear, and my motivation will make a surprise comeback!

Round 2, Days 7, 8, and 9: Oh, What a Difference!

I regret that I have not been a dependable blogger so far.  This week has been crazy, and I've been a wee-bit frustrated.  I was VERY upset to have a gain earlier in the week, and I've been disappointed that my losses have been much more modest than they were during Round 1.  Since my bad news on Day 6, I've been steadily losing around a pound a day, and I desperately hope that I can keep that up for the entire round!  On Day 7, I lost 1.6 pounds; Day 8, I lost 0.9 pounds; and today I lost 1.4 pounds, putting me a total of 5.2 pounds below my Round 2 start weight, 11.1 pounds below my Load Weight, 33.3 pounds below my Round 1 start weight, and 36.7 pounds below my "high" weight.  I'm about 2.5 pounds behind my Round 1 progress, but as long as my progress stays steady, I'll be happy.


More good news, I tried a pair of hand-me-down jeans from another gettin'-skinny friend, and I'm down another size!  That's THREE pants sizes since September!  I wish I had some accurate measurements.  HS's skills are lacking  suck, so I have no idea what any of measurements are.  Remember how I doubted they were right because they were higher than my Round 1 measurements?  I had him re-measure me the next day, and he was getting 2 inch differences.  Perhaps it was worth it to pay somebody hundreds of dollars to measure me!  I kid, I kid...slipping into a pair of jeans that I couldn't button two weeks ago is "measurement" enough.


Just as I figured, I have been really lazy about my food preparation.  Most of my meals have been a boring slab of beef or chicken with some seasoning on it and a slice-and-go vegetable (or when I'm really lazy, a pickle!).  I was a little worried about my weigh-in this morning because I got so lazy last night, that I didn't even measure out my dinner (and I had broccoli, which caused some problems last round).  All I can say is that it's tough to cook this stuff just for me. 


Several friends started this Round at the same time as me, and it's pretty amazing to see how different everybody's experience has been.  The losses have all been good (I think I'm at the low end of the spectrum), but nobody seems to be on the same "losing" cycle.  It's really interesting to compare notes from day-to-day, and some days, it's even frustrating (see my Day 6!), but it's fabulous to have such a large group of cheerleaders (and soon-to-be skinny friends!)  

Round 2, Day 6: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Nothing in the world is more frustrating than consuming only 500 calories in a day and GAINING weight!

Round 2, Day 5: Below Start Weight!

Yippee!  Down 2.6 pounds today, which puts me 1.5 pounds below my start weight!  I've been comparing notes with my Round 1 progress, and I was down 2 pounds on Day 5 last time, so I'm pleased to be in the same range.  I think I might even be starting to get excited about the diet again!  I'm already looking forward to getting up and checking the scale in the morning!


Not much to report yet.  I'm STILL failing with my water consumption.  Maybe the cold weather keeps me from wanting to drink much, but it's been a struggle to get 2 liters down, much less three or four.  I had another piece of last night's steak and the leftover asparagus.  For dinner, I made chicken cooked in veggie broth with onion, lots of garlic, a little bit of cayenne, some Lemon Creme Stevia drops and Bragg's Liquid Aminos.  The sauce thickened up really nicely and it tasted good.  The Littles didn't even complain about it!

Round 2, Day 4: Glug Glug

I'm STILL not drinking all of my water, but I think I'm going to float away!  Ugh...remind me when Round 2 is over to KEEP drinkin' my stinkin' water so it's not such a shock to my system!  I would've slept great last night if I didn't have to get up every couple of hours to relieve myself!  I still have to sigh, suck it up, and admit that it's worth it because I was down 4.8 pounds this morning--only 1.1 pounds above my start weight!  I'm confident that that (and then some) will be gone tomorrow and I can get back to the business of losing.  


I felt OK most of the day, although I did start feeling sluggish this afternoon (but that could've been the boring work training I was stuck at--Booooooo!).  I also had to crank the heat up last night because I felt colder than I've felt all summer.  Other than that, I really have nothing to complain about.  (Wait for it...if HS actually read the blog anymore, he'd chime in here with a wisecrack about me complaining anyway.)


I had boring chicken with horseradish mustard and grape tomatoes for lunch this morning (actually, I had it for breakfast since I was leaving for work at lunch time), an apple for a snack, a tasty grilled steak and "faux-teed" asparagus for dinner, and an apple for dessert.  So far, I've only had a little more than 2 liters of water today.  I'm going to shoot for 3 liters again, but it's way too late to drink more than that and get a decent night's sleep.  


I'm still not completely energized by this round.  I have lots of support coming at me from many different directions, but I'm not "in the zone" yet, I guess.  Hopefully a couple days of solid losses will get me back there!

Round 2, Day 3: Deja Vu

All of this seems vaguely familiar.  Feeling yucky from two Load Days: check.  Having to pee all the time from drinking so much water: check.  Whining from LittleGirl about having to eat healthy foods: check.  Trepidation that I'm going to somehow mess this up: check.  Deep down, I know I'll do fine, but I'm honestly scared to do this without HS this time.  As some added insurance, I've been fattening him up in the off-season, so maybe he'll decide to do a round with me.  I kid!  


I gained a total of 5.9 pounds in my load, which is comparable to my Round 1 Load Gain of 6.0 pounds.  Hopefully I'll also see a repeat of my Round 1, Day 4 5.4-pound loss!  I haven't really gotten into the cooking aspect yet.  I made four servings of chicken this afternoon, but it was quite uninspired.  I went grocery shopping earlier and picked up some more produce, so perhaps I'll find some inspiration in the next day or so.  

Round 2, Day 2: More Cheesecake?

All in all yesterday, I ended up eating 7 leftover chicken wings, a few leftover onion rings, two-thirds of a frozen pizza, a few servings of taco salad (complete with Doritos, ground beef, lots of cheese, and ranch dressing), three slices of cheesecake, a bottle of wine, a half-gallon of water, and a chocolate malt.  Blech.  I truly hate doing all that eating.  I had a 2.8-pound gain to show for it, too, which is pretty comparable to Round 1.  


Today was 2nd Annual Brunch, and I loved relaxing with my friends while I ate too much.  I had nearly three more slices of cheesecake before anybody even arrived, and then topped it off with a few Bloody Marys, loads of pigs in a blanket, breakfast casseroles, pancake puffs, and other goodies.  After everybody had gone, I reveled in the fact that I didn't feel full anymore...and then I decided I should probably eat some more.  I had another chocolate malt, but it's probably time to go eat again.  Maybe have another bottle of wine, too.  


I borrowed a measuring tape from a friend today, and now I'm wishing I had done it a little sooner.  HS took my measurements for me a little while ago, and either 1) my friend has a defective measuring tape or 2) HS's measuring skills leave something to be desired or 3) I'm seriously bloated from Loading or 4) I packed several inches back on all over my body.  I don't see how that could be possible when I've actually LOST a pound.  I really hope the measuring tape isn't defective because I don't want to be blamed for returning it to her "broken."  I honestly wouldn't be surprised if HS's measuring skills are below average, but I'm truly hoping that I've puffed up in response to all of the nasty food I've been eating for two days.  


Off to raid the fridge, and on to 500 calories tomorrow.  Woohoo!!