hCG

(This post I drafted last November 17th...I realize I never posted it and in light of the post I just wrote, thought I should post it so you could see what I'm talking about, in addition to the "Diet Reviews")

Not sure what all occurred in my heart, mind, and body over the 24-hour time frame from some time on Sunday to when I woke up on Monday morning, but I feel like asking myself that question from the previous post helped me get my head on straight...or at least looking in the right direction.

It's just the beginning, but I am hopeful about my future, and, if this doesn't sound so very weird, I'm really excited for counseling :)  Who says that?! 

Anyway, I'd like to take you back about a year so some of this makes a little more sense...the beginning of last October, 2010, one of the girls on my street invited a few other neighbors to join in a "Biggest Loser" contest.  How does one respond to such an invitation?  How are you supposed to feel if you are invited by someone who hardly knows you to lose weight?  Anyway, my son was born August 28th and because of emotional reasons from losing one son, I was done nursing at this time so it was okay to start losing the baby weight.

There really were no rules as to how we went about the 6-week weight loss, just that everyone pitched in either $10 or $15 bucks, I can't remember, and that results would be judged on percent weight lost instead of just pounds.  We all wrote our checks, hopped on the scale for our first weigh in and were on our way.

Well, I had some very close friends who experienced amazing results with hCG.  I didn't know what that was, but I knew if two Naturopathic doctors whom I respect were willing to endorse and sell it, I felt comfortable trying it out.  (I did a short review of it on my "Diet Reviews" page, near the bottom.)

Anyway, the promises hCG makes are true.  You lose anywhere between a 1/2 lb to a pound or two a day.  It was a no brainer, at least for the contest, so I did the research, put my mind to it and did the hard work as far as following the program.  I lost 15 lbs and won the $160 dollar pot.

I absolutely loved the structure of it!  You cannot cheat on hCG.  You have to follow it to a T, so once I got that in my head, it was easy to do.  And, I had plenty of energy, wasn't tired, had clear skin, no aches or pains and I was seeing daily results, so that is motivation in itself.

After I completed my first round of homeopathic hCG drops, I took a few weeks off between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then started another round of hCG because I had a Mexican beach vacation on the horizon.  The second round of the diet I focused on as more of a cleanse/detox so that when I did introduce starchier foods or potential allergens later in the protocol, I would know which ones were culprits.  I also did allergy testing during this time so knew which foods to avoid when I was done.  I completed this round the day before I headed to Mexico with Jason.  I was down 15 more pounds and felt good.  I ate chips and guacamole and drank margaritas on the beach all week.  I gained 5 pounds, all worth it :)

When we returned from Mexico I was up a few pounds but not freaked out about it.  Jason and I started doing P90X in the mornings so I had a routine to help me stay focused.  I leveled out around 145 lbs but even after P90X I could still grab some meat on my thighs, gut and I still had batwings.

In August of this year I decided to do one final round of hCG to tackle those "last 10 lbs" I've always known I could lose.  The minimum amount of days for a round of hCG is 23.  After that you are on what is called "maintenance" for 3 or 4 weeks which only introduces fats, but no starches.  Then you slowly intro carbs.  Anyway, I lost 15 lbs easily and when I came off it, I didn't eat my allergens and felt great!

One thing I loved about hCG is the results.  I feel so healthy and strong, I'm able to play on the floor with my baby and chase my daughter around the yard.

One thing I've hated about it is it opened the door to my closet where I've hid my skeletons all these years.  It has made me face my food addiction and start this journey of making peace with myself.

Even though I hate that part, I'm thankful I did hCG because it's caused me to realize that the last 30 years haven't been about a number on a scale, but about my heart and aspirations, and never really feeling like I was free to dream out loud...