P2D17

No loss on the scale today. I am okay with it. My body fat percentage went down a little, which makes me think I gained some lean muscle mass while burning some fat yesterday. I wouldn't be surprised. Yesterday's pilates was quite a workout for some of my muscles. I am actually a little sore today.

I am also comforted by knowing that the lack of change on the scale is not because I ate too much yesterday. I did very well; I was a good HCG protocol dieter. Actually, I have been a very good HCGer except for my one, 2oz burger overindulgence last week. Yay me!

Today I thought I would talk about some of the negatives or potential negatives about this diet.

Hunger: yes, I am hungry a good deal of the time. But it is not the "feed me now!" hunger or the dizzy nausea that comes with low-blood sugar hunger. I am so glad for that because that kind of hunger would drive me over the edge of sanity. It is just an annoying, empty stomach feeling that is tolerable. It has improved as I have progressed. I am either getting used to it or the HCG is doing the trick. Or both.

Dry skin: yes, this is happening, especially on my hands. Because I am not supposed to use any moisturizers or lotions that contain fats my skin is suffering. I am using my moisturizer on my face once at night and once in the morning. My face seems to be doing pretty well. But my poor hands. My formerly baby soft and supple hands are like sandpaper and I hate it! I have started to use lotion once or twice a day, but it just doesn't keep up. I have actually taken to not washing my hands as much as I used to as this contributes greatly to the dryness. This is one thing I am glad will only last for another 3 weeks or so.

Hair loss: I think I am losing some hair. Not a lot, just a bit extra in the comb/brush. My doc warned me that the HCG could mess with my thyroid meds so I think I will have my levels tested. The dry skin and my cold hands are also symptomatic that my thyroid levels are off. It is possible that I am losing hair just because I am not eating very much. I will keep you posted on this one.

Fatigue: yep, my stamina is down. I can still do pilates or the treadmill, but after a day full of activity (work, shopping, playing with the kids) I am wiped out. I was having those spikes of energy in the beginning, but those seem to have faded. This could be due to the strep infection and subsequent antibiotics. Those antibiotics wipe out my natural (and much needed) gut bacteria. This could be causing me to absorb fewer nutrients. And when you are taking in few nutrients to begin with, any decrease in absorption can have great affect. Today is my last day of taking the penicillin. I am hoping that after a few days of being off of them and taking higher doses of probiotics will solve this issue.

Boredom with food: I am bored. I have a list of like 15 foods I can eat. You can only prep them so many ways to have different flavors. And you can only have so many servings of minted cucumbers and tangy tomato soup before you want something different. Or, at least, that is how things work for me. I am a novelty seeker in most things. I love experimenting, I love trying new things. I don't re-read many books, I don't re-watch movies or TV shows. When I am not on HCG I make a recipe 4 or 5 times max before I set it aside. I may take it up in 6 mos to a year, but sometimes never. I think this is my own personal issue and one that I will just deal with. It does seem to be worth it.

And on that note, enough of this negative stuff! I am really doing well. I love the results and that keeps me going. I just want people to realize how incredibly hard this is. It is not for the faint of heart or those with "vanity pounds" to lose. I can't imagine doing this if I only had 20 lbs to lose. I have so much more than that to lose. Let's put it this way, I was beginning to consider bariatric surgery. With HCG I am getting super great results and it does seem to be targeting my problem areas. I don't think I will need that surgery and all its risks and side effects.

I am nearly half way there. I need to stop reading food blogs. I need to stay the course and carry on. I can do this and I am proud of how far I have come in just a few weeks.


Cheers,
Amy