Beta HCG Diet -- One Week After Round 1

My last day of eating 500 calories a day was the day before Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving, I've slowly been eating more, though still avoiding grains, sugars and starches. Yup, everything I used to live on.

The great news is that I haven't gained a pound since the last day of Round 1 of the Beta HCG Diet. The other great news is that I'm wearing clothes I had stuck way back in my closet. Losing 25 pounds on this body doesn't make a HUGE difference. Spitting in the ocean comes to mind. But it's a start and it is significant in that it's been quite awhile since I've lost any weight, let alone 25 pounds.

The bad news is... well, let's wait on that.

At first I was scared to eat anything beyond my skimpy portions of food that Round 1 required. For one thing, I wasn't hungry. Even now, a week later, when I can eat whenever I'm hungry, I often forget to eat and I never get ravenous. Today I had a small bowl of blueberries for breakfast, a piece of melba toast around 2:00 and seasoned, steamed shrimp and sesame-crusted rare tuna for dinner around 8:30. Since I am staying up late, I also had some string cheese dipped in a little hummus (ooooh, so good!) about 11:30 p.m. I missed veggies today but had some yesterday as well as some more fruit. Being able to have cheese again is bliss, and having cheese in eggs is super bliss. I've made an omelet nearly every day for a week. And I can eat the whole steak (Flo's Filet) at Longhorn. So great! So I'm delighted to be able to eat a much broader variety of foods and still not gain weight. I weigh every day and if/when I gain more than two pounds over my weight at the end of Round 1, I will have a "steak day" (just water until dinner and then a big steak, with an apple or tomato afterward) and supposedly that takes care of it.

Now for the bad news. My feet and ankles were swollen before going on HCG. They were badly swollen to the point where I completely gave up on wearing dresses, and I could find few shoes that fit me other than sandals of one sort or another. That's been the case for a good two or more years. Very discouraging to have elephant legs and feet. Cankles would be an upgrade. On the HCG diet, I got my feet and ankles back! I thought, "Hallelujia!" and thought it was because I was losing the weight. And I thought it was permanent. But...the minute the HCG was out of my system, even while I was still eating the 500 calories a day, the swelling came back. It is worse than ever! I want to stick a pin in each of my feet and let them deflate. Next week when I see the doctor I've been working with, I'll ask him what he thinks. But I'm sure not happy about that!

Also, the pain I suffered in my left knee (the one I've recently had arthroscopic surgery on) was intense for a couple of days and is somewhat challenging even now. Taking glucosamine and chondroitin seems to be helping. But that was a shock. I had zero pain after the surgery and was doing well while the HCG was surging through my system. Then nasty pain. I just hope it keeps backing off, and I am taking my vitamins faithfully to do my part.

The spectacular news is that I feel totally different about food. For the first time since probably 15 years ago when I went on the Atkins diet and gave up sweets, I have all of that crap out of my system and I don't crave it. I'd knock over old ladies for bread sometimes, but I've resisted it even when it's been on the table when I've been out with others. Mmmmm, that savory aroma of fresh, warm wheat bread in Longhorn was a little tough, and I have visions of Subway subs dancing in my head, but mostly that's about all I would kill for, and even that is only when it's in front of me or in a tv commercial. So I have hope that I truly am changing the way I eat. It's the only way this will work long term.

People tell me endlessly the odds of keeping the weight off. Nearly nil, they tell me. Not to torment me but I think to make me feel better if/when I gain it back. On this plan, gaining more than two pounds is not allowed and immediate action is prescribed, and I even have to travel with my scale to monitor it that closely. I can do that. I don't want to go back UP, that's for sure!

I know it's only been a week, but...so far, so good. Stay tuned!