[SasortFkire]

Hi Everyone, I recently started the diet after seeing great results from people I work with. I did the two gorging days and I'm near the end of my 5th VLCD day. My daily diet consists of:

1) 2 medium sized granny smith apples

2) 99% lean Turkey breast, 30 calories per ounce. I honestly haven't been measuring the amounts but it's a 32 ounce package I get from Costco and one lasts for 4-5 days, so I think I'm pretty good or close to it.

3) 2 stalks of celery.

If I cheat, its by eating a third apple or 2-3 strawberries. Then again, I haven't eaten the melba toast or bread sticks. I add a little lemon juice to soda water for appetite control. Other than that, I've been very strict. I've halted my exercise regimen of weights, kettlebells and Bikram yoga. Now I don't even go for walks. ( feeling kind of tired.)

While maybe this isn't a good idea, I got a script for pheteramine and I've taken it for 3 of 5 VLCD days as an appetite suppressant. I am also drinking lots of coffee and tea, the normally I drink neither. I'm taking the injectable HCG at 200 units per day. I know a lot of people will say that's a lot but so far it's effective so I'm afraid to change anything.

My weight was 248 at the very start, then up to 251 after the two gorging days. Once I started VLCD, the weight has been coming off quite nicely, 247 after the first day, then 242, 240 and this morning I was 237.5. Ideally, I would be fairly trim at 200.

My problem so far is weakness and lack of energy and occasional cravings. The hunger is somewhat controlled by the phenteramine and the coffee and tea. But without them I do get hungry. I hope it gets better because I don't think I'll be able to last another 17-18 days.

Any advice on what I should be doing differently or how to stay motivated would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Has anyone ever taken a "break" from the diet and had a big meal or cheat day after a week or so and then resume VLCD the next day? Would that totally ruin everything?

Thanks for reading.

[Pjayjukr]

Hi!

When you don't eat the melba, you can increase your protein a little. I eat 4 oz of protein a meal. I don't know what your turkey amounts to, but it needs to be 3.5 (or 4) oz weighted uncooked. Also, turkey is not on protocol, though some people do well. Packaged meat is also high in sodium, something to be aware of.

For vegetables, you could eat more if you wanted. There is a food list with amount and cal that can help. 2 cups of celery is only 32 cal.

Taking appetite suppressants will make it so that you cannot tell whether your hcg does is correct for you or not. With the correct dosage, you feel no hunger, have energy and look good. Most likely your dosage is too high as per the recommendations on this forum. Maybe stop the appetite suppressants and skip a dose. If your hunger is better, it was most likely too high and you should lower it. Ask Grammy!

Best to not cheat but get your levels evened out. ;-)

[jarsbars]

A few things really jump out at me... Try working the plan exactly as it is mapped out in Pounds and Inches... Do away with the processed turkey stuff (read the ingredients on the label, those products are typically chocked full of salt, sugar and preservatives) and purchase real lean protein like chicken or beef and prepare it in advance, weigh your portions. You will be surprised if you follow the directions how much easier, effective and simple it will be. You need to know that injecting more HCG does not affect how quickly you will lose weight. However, you will find that if your dose is too high, you will be hungry. If you adjust your dose down, it will help with your hunger issues. You should not need an amphetamine or any sort of appetite suppressant while doing this diet if your dose is right. I have taken between 125 and 150 units throughout my 3 rounds and that seemed to work well for me and I have lost over 70 pounds. If you are weak and tired then increase your protein some. Most days I would not eat my fruit or the breadsticks... Give that a whirl. Also keep in mind that losses usually slow after the first couple of weeks.

I would highly recommend working with Grammy to adjust your dose, and I think you will feel much better, I don't know if you're sleeping well at night, but that might improve too if you optimize your dose and avoid the Phentermine, that too can help your energy levels

[casinobonuswer]

Thanks a lot Mrs and CCL. Today I skipped my HCG shot and managed to avoid the phenteramine. I had a cup of very strong coffee for breakfast, along with one apple. I'm not sure it made much difference so far. Still feeling a bit hungry and I can't be sure if it's because I skipped the phenteramine or the HCG.

I should clarify what I mean when I say "hunger." Before I was dieting, I would go to work and be very hungry by 1:00 pm even if I had a big breakfast. I have not felt that hungry since I started the HCG, even though I'm eating less than 1/6th or 7th the calories. So maybe I'm just being whiny. I do feel cravings and they can be strong, hence the phent. And I do feel fatigued much of the time.

Probably the fatigue and the sense that something is "just not right" are what are bothering me. I'll try CCL's suggestion and buy some real chicken breast instead of the turkey. After skipping my dose today, I'll restart tomorrow at 150 units. As for sleeping, I had no problems except for last night, when it took a long while to fall asleep and I had to get up early for work.

[fount_pirat]

Try to gain the majority of sustenance from your protein and veggies, and view your fruit as an extra.. I try very hard to start my day off with protein and then use fruit to keep my blood sugar from bottoming out later in the day between meals if needed... just a suggestion, I think your hunger issues will improve with your dosage changes. Sending positive vibes your way!

[xtrupoke]

The hunger is likely from the dose that's too high. Hunger is much more common on a dose that's too high than one that's too low. And you shouldn't mask that with phentermine because if you have hunger you need to know about it so you can fix it. It's vital to fix it because on the wrong dose you are losing the wrong kind of fat and you will quickly regain it. The fatigue is another sign that the dose is wrong.

Just so you know, turkey is not on protocol, strange as it may seem.

[teewHettive]

Thanks everyone for your support and advice. I confess today I totally fell off the wagon. I halted both the HCG and phenteramine yesterday and today. (the phent I had taken 3 of the 6 VLCD days) My wife and I were planning to go to a party this evening and so I broke down and took the day off and started pigging out. I feel bad about this failure but all I can do now is pick myself up and try again.

This morning I was was 235, which is 16 pounds of weight loss over 6 VLCD days minus the 3 pounds I gained during gorging. The results were great, though I dread stepping on the scale tomorrow. My plan now is to resume the shots at 150 units tomorrow and diet per protocol. Ditching the turkey and getting lean beef and chicken breast instead. The apples were a convenient carry around food so If I got hungry at work I would have that instead of something much worse. I figured if I cheated, better it be with an extra apple rather than apple pie.

If anyone has any other advice, I would be most grateful.

P.S. I think the feeling of fatigue and jitters could have been due to both the phent and the large amounts of coffee and tea. I normally drink neither.

Thanks again

[g4YthYXx]

Just for the future, skipping the hcg for the day isn't going to help you. LOL It takes 72 hours to get out of your system. Most of us have fallen off the wagon at some point. It's early in the protocol too so what you gain should drop off fairly quickly. Don't resume the phentermine though. We need to make sure your dose is right. Hang in there. The damage isn't permanent.

[Creelaleps]

Update: I think these may be useful observations to others.

1) I stepped on the scale today and I was 242, or up 7 pounds from yesterday morning. It could have been much worse as yesterday was not "one little cheat" but really a whole new gorging day wherein I ate all manner of foods all day and well into the night. Resuming the diet today.

2) I think I may have discovered the source of my earlier troubles with weakness. I bought a kitchen scale to measure portions and I realized I was actually OVER(!)estimating how much protein I was eating. I was eating much closer to 4 ounces than the 8 I had intended to eat. That could have been the problem.

3) Since I gorged yesterday, I was feeling pretty buff and couldn't resist the urge to go weight lifting (Yes, I know I shouldn't this was meant as an experiment.) I have been weight training for most of my adult life so I have decent amount of muscle mass and wanted to see if all that weakness was muscle breakdown. My lifting was diminished only slightly. That's very positive since I hadn't lifted in two weeks and that alone should have made me a little weaker, even if I were eating a normal diet.

This last point is hardly scientific and you can't draw conclusions from it since I was on VLCD for only 6 days. But I feel much more confident that I am not loosing a lot of muscle mass from the VLCD and that the weight loss is either water or fat.

I'm resuming the diet today although I will eat more than the allotted protein today to recover from the workout. I adjusted my dose down to 150 units. If I still feel weakness after this, I will increase my total calories to 700-800.

Good Luck to all.
P.S. I'm trying to avoid the phent and minimize the caffeine.

[gZAhTyWY]

That's cool.May be you should also focus on your calorie and burn out plan.

[CurtisTH]

Update II: Since the Saturday impromptu gorge day I've been injecting 150 units of HCG and have gone rogue. Specificall, I'm eating about 900 calories per day and adding in off-protocol veggies, namely broccoli and some carrots. I mix them in a blendtec blender and make a sort of vegetable "juice." This is not a juicer of the sort that drains out the liquid and wastes 80-90 percent of the vegetable. Rather it is a power blender that turns the veggies into drinkable mush when you add water. Doesn't sound very appetizing but it's very filling and has plenty of vitamins and phytonutrients. I highly recommend for healthy eating in between rounds (or during if you are also rogue) They are pricey, but you can get a Ninja for much less and it does much the same. I mix carrots, apples, oranges, spinach, celery and broccoli in various combos.

At that number of calories, I feel a lot less hunger and have enough energy for 30-45 minutes of moderate exercise everyday. I doubt the exercise helps with weight loss, but it helps with fitness.

So far down to 238, loosing 4 of the 7 pounds I gained during that gorge day.

This is just an FYI. I make no recommendations to others and guarantee no results.

[st01en_lox]

Sounds like you are a little all over the place with the diet. Regardless of following protocol or going rogue you might want to just pump your brakes for a couple of days and try to find a little stability. You have no way of knowing what works what doesn't if you don't give it some time.

That said, if you are mentally ready for the diet, there is one thing that seems to work all the time and that is the Pounds and Inches way.

[TineSeign]

Oh, also, turkey has an ingredient that chicken does not....tryptophane (sp?) It can cause sleepiness which can feel like *tired*. Many people feel like napping after their meal on Thanksgiving, not *just* because of such a large meal......but b/c of the amount of turkey they eat (those who eat turkey of course! lol)

True story LOL