Wednesday, May 2, 2012

It has been a while since I posted. I mentioned a while ago that I was doing something off protocol. What I did was a short 21 day VLCD/hcg round. The reason it was considered off protocol was that I only did 3 weeks of phase 3 and 1 1/2 weeks of phase 4 before I chose to cycle back into phase 2. I chose to continue my exercise routine throughout this short round and did struggle to each strict protocol foods, but I went from 165 back down to 154. Not earth shattering losses, however, my body shape is more like it was when I hit 146 my last round. I believe that is because I chose to maintain my exercise routine.

Now, the really cool thing is, that since entering phase 3 my weight has stayed within .6 of my LDW. This is the first time my weight has been so stable since round 1. I really struggled with portion control and binging after round 2 & 3. In my mind I felt so extremely deprived that I just attacked food... which is REALLY bad!

I had a couple different friends mention the bible study book called: Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. I was able to find it at my library along with the DVD. It has been a huge blessing to me. It is helping me to view food and my food struggles from a biblical perspective. I've found it both convicting and encouraging. Lately I've been watching 2 segments of the DVD while doing my 45 minutes of walk aerobics. The children get really confused because the lady on the TV is not doing the exercises that mommy is! LOL! I'd highly recommend this book/bible study to any of you that find you are an emotional or stress eater and have a desire to get the stronghold of food under control in your life.

Currently hubby and I are using the JUDDD way of eating for our maintenance diet. We are not holding to the strict 500 calorie down day because we are not looking to lose more weight. Hubby is at his ideal weight but wants a WOE (way of eating) that will allow him to maintain with ease. I want to stabilize here for a while, then I plan to tweak my down day amounts lower so that I can eventually lose a little more weight, if my body allows. I believe that the benefits of keeping the SIRT1 Gene active will help us to maintain our weight loss along with giving us more added health benefits.

I'm still doing weights/lifting with the total gym for 30-40 minutes 3 days a week followed by 3-4 miles of walk aerobics and on the off days I do 3-5 miles of walk aerobics. Sunday is my day of rest.  My body is toning up and I'm starting to enjoy the workout routine. I've never really liked exercise, however, this time I really would like to see if the exercise helps to tone up all the jiggle spots left behind from all the fat loss. Plus, I'm hoping it will be part of a health routine that will support not only my weight loss but my struggles with high blood pressure and my endocrine system.

I saw both my doctors last week: my cardiologist Dr. William Davis, author of Wheat Belly, and my Naturalpathic Doctor, Dr. Michelle Nickels. Both were thrilled with the 80 pounds I've lost over the past year. Dr. Davis was particularly surprised to see that my cholesterol levels were perfect. He said, as Dr. Simeons states too, that cholesterol usually is high during weight loss, and that the HDL & LDL are usually way off. My labs revealed that my body is adjusting well to the weight loss and my numbers are absolutely perfect. I had 2 appointments with Dr. Nickels where my blood pressure was 128/82 the first visit and 120/76 the second visit. Then when I saw Dr. Davis it was 140/100. He is still not concerned with my bp readings and is convinced that with the weight loss my body will adjust to that lower number more consistently. My t3 & reverse t3 are perfect now along with my TSH. All of these were high back in August. I'm still having low progesterone symptoms so we are treating that and will re-test in about 3 months to see what my levels are then. I'm very blessed to have a team of physicians that have a desire for full body healing through the use of whole foods and supplements. Neither of them have pushed me to use drugs, though I am on a bio-available progesterone for the time being.

So, that is my LONG update! I hope those of you who are in the midst of your weight loss journey will continue forward. Do not become discouraged by the bumps along the way, learn from each victory and each challenge so that in the end you will reach your desired levels of health and wellness.

2 comments:

  1. OMGosh, Shirley! I'm so happy you seem to be doing better now! Your numbers are awesome!

    I just started loading today for round 3! I have to admit, I 'm a little nervous. I don't think I ever told you, but on round two, I got TOM and it lasted for something like 16 days. I KNEW it wouldn't go away until I got off the drops, but I couldn't get off the drops because I was on TOM! What a vicious cycle! Anyway, the gals on the boards said to just 'quit' because that was wayyy too long. I did, but I had nothing but trouble stabilizing and maintaining. I'm starting round 3 about 12# up from my ldw. I did so many correction days, they weren't working anymore. I'm hoping it was because I stopped on TOM and this round won't be 'cursed', lol. Anyway, I took my drops this morning for the 1st time since round two and guess what? I feel like I'm going to have my TOM!!! I'm not due for two weeks or better. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just really sensitive to the drops and should be dosing less than 6 drops? Very strange. I'm not having any bleeding yet, but I sure feel like day one of TOM. Legs ache, crampy, mild headache (but that could be because of loading). I was wondering what your thoughts on this were. Of course, since I'm not bleeding, maybe I shouldn't worry about it until something DOES happen. Thanks so much! Have a great day!

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  2. So happy to hear your progress, even with the OP issue. Whatever works!
    I got pregnant during the last part of my round 2 p2 and didn't find out til mid p3. When I found out, I just quit p3 altogether, cuz I wasn't getting reset with hcg in me.
    Anyhow...miscarried and then had to wait even LONGER to do my next round than I had planned on to recover and get hcg way out of my system.
    Gained 16 pounds (fairly similar numbers to you, same weight range) and now am on DD7 of round 3. I love being on p2. yes, it's hard not to cheat sometimes, but gosh, I FEEL good.
    and thanks for the encouragement to look into MTC, I'd really like to check it out. Have heard nothing but good things about it.
    Miss hearing from you on our blog but I do check back here on your blog frequently for updates. keep posting!!
    love in Christ, Erin

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