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This morning, my weight was 148.6#, unchanged from yesterday. I took a look at yesterday’s stats and discovered that in spite of the stall, I had lost 2.8# for the week. So even with the stall, I am doing a lot better than I have on any other plan. Even though I have been hanging out at the same weight or higher since Tuesday, I am not going to do an apple day just yet. I still think TOM has something to do with the stall, and that should resolve itself any day now.

I am debating now whether to stop taking the hCG at 40 days or continue until I run out, which would be another three to five days. I’ll see what happens when the stall breaks. If I’m making good progress again at 40 days, I’ll extend the round.

The HCG Support Group team had been wondering what really happens to fat when we diet. Dr. Simeons seemed to thing that the body reabsorbed the cells. Current scientists believe that we can add fat cells when a person grows fatter, but other research seemed to think that the body retains about the same number of fat cells when a person loses weight. They just hold less fat. The truth may be somewhere in between. While I was checking out articles on the Internet, I found this one: “White Tea May Promote Weight Loss, Reduces Fat Cells.” I decided I might as well include white tea in my regimen. I bought a box of 20 bags at Lindberg Nutrition, and then I went online and bought some loose white tea at SpecialTeas that I can use in my Bodum teapot.

This morning, my weight was 148.6#, down 0.4# from yesterday and back to where I was on Tuesday. TOM is well underway now, so I am expecting some corrections very soon.

Hubby gets back from Europe today. He had invited me to go with him, but I turned it down because I felt it was important to deal with my weight issues as soon as possible. Before I started the hCG diet, I was gaining weight rather rapidly. If I had gone to Europe, I would have needed larger clothes, which I didn’t have. So, was it worth it? It helps that I have been to the destinations before, so it wasn’t like I missed the trip of a lifetime. When Hubby left on June 14, I weighed 152.0#. At 148.6# currently, I am down 3.4#. That does not seem like much; but also in that time, I have lost 1¼” from my rib cage and 1½” from my waist. That was enough to get me down from size 10 pants to size 8. I’m happy with that.

This morning, my weight was 149.0#, the same as yesterday. I decided to take a set of measurements to see where I was that way. (My last set had been on June 18.) I lost an inch each from my rib cage (below breasts) and my waist, so I’m happy about that. Two of my ratios have moved from red to yellow in my spreadsheet. (See Calculating Ideal Body Weight.)

The munchies weren’t quite so bad yesterday. I suppose that is because I was saying, “No!” to all of them. Instead, I’m converting those cravings into plans of what to eat when I’m done with the very low calorie diet phase (VLCD). I am thinking a lot about Phase 3, the low-carb phase. I am checking out restaurant coupons and thinking about where I might want to go. I am also starting to get restaurant shop offers (more about that at Mystery Shopping Information) for after I go low-carb.

Today, my weight was 149.0#, up 0.4# from yesterday. I think the gain is a TOM issue. I’m a bit swollen.

I had another sign that TOM was approaching: cravings. I kept wanting to eat things that were not on protocol. I was not truly hungry, but I was definitely feeling the desire to eat. I just kept telling myself that I want this diet to work. I gave up a trip to Europe so that I could do this diet now. I want to stay on protocol until I get to the end of my supply of hCG so that I can get the most from my efforts.

My weight was 148.6# this morning, down 0.2# since yesterday. My ring is a bit tight today, so I may be retaining fluids. TOM will be arriving in a couple of days, so that might be why. I changed my ticker today, which I do on Tuesdays. I’m down 4.2# for the week.

The tarragon plant isn’t doing so well. My guess is that it did not like the refrigerator. So far, the thyme seems to be doing fine, though. Of the plants in the garden, parsley is harvestable. I suppose I could also take some beet greens as well.

This morning, I weighed 148.8#, down 0.6# from yesterday. I have now lost a net total of 15.0# in 24 days.

I really enjoyed yesterday’s meals, as usual. The chicken dish was a crumb-topped casserole type dish. Yum!

The fish dish had some rather sophisticated seasonings. Some other recipe I’ll be making this week called for fresh thyme, so that is what I used when the fish recipe called for thyme. I had purchased thyme and tarragon from North Shore Living Herbs. I did not fully realize what that meant until I opened the package. What I had purchased was actually a living plant, complete with root ball. I decided to take the sprig I needed and put the plants in my garden. I had a couple of open spaces in it anyway. The fish recipe also called for caper juice. Here, I cheated just a bit. I figured that if I was going to put the juice from the jar into the dish, I might as well put some capers in it, too. They were worth only a couple of calories, though.

I made more of the Baked Celery than I could eat in a meal. I decided to bump one of the other vegetable dishes for the next day and have the leftovers. Even so, there will still be a new dish for that meal. The only meal I have had so far that has not included a new dish was the anniversary party dinner, and I did not have a whole lot of control over that one since I did not prepare it.

As for cleaning, the spice carousel and containers are fully dry now as well, so I can get them reassembled and put away. I finished the first pass with the papers in the dining room. The bag was so heavy when I gathered it all up that I decided to weigh it. It was 24#! It was nice to get rid of all that. Today, I want to finish dealing with what is left of the papers and get them filed or shredded.

This morning, my weight was 149.4#, down 1.6# from yesterday. It feels nice to be down below 150# again. I’m down 4.2# since a week ago and 14.4# since I started the hCG diet 23 days ago. That’s 0.62# a day. Not so bad, considering that I was gaining 2# a week before I started.

Yesterday, I went to my parents’ 50th anniversary party. My sister hosted it. As agreed, she accommodated my diet. She had a rather large grass-fed steak for me. I cut it down to my 100 grams. She also served raw cucumber. I brought Melba toast with me. I had thought I would eat a fruit when I got home, but it was midnight by then.

Before I went, as I was getting ready to go, I decided to try on my size 8 pants. They fit, and with no muffin top!

I washed out all of the spice containers on the carousel. The old spices in the carousel were several years old, so I tossed them. I am now letting the containers dry for a couple of days before I fill them with fresh spices.

My weight this morning was 151.0#, down 0.4# since yesterday. The curve on my graph hasn’t been quite as steep this week.

I’ve decided to buy the low-sodium versions of broths from now on. The regular stuff gets too salty when it boils down.

I’m continuing to try different flavors in my homemade sodas. I got the flavors from Capella. Yesterday, it was Strawberries & Cream and Dutch Chocolate Mint. I think those of you who like the chocolate Metromint will like that last one.

I’m thinking about cleaning out my spice carousel and putting in fresh spices. Right now, the large jars of spices usually live on the top shelf of the baking cupboard. I have to use my step stool to get to them, so they’re not getting put back like they should. Since I’m using so many of them to make the recipes in “THE HCG DIETERS GOURMET COOKBOOK,” I’ve now got quite a collection on the countertop. If I use the spice carousel instead, it will be easy to find the spices and put them back when I’m done.

My weight this morning was 151.4#, down 0.4# from yesterday and back to where I was on Wednesday. My weight loss since a week ago is 5.4#, which I think is quite good, especially considering that I was gaining about 2# a week before I started hCG.

I finally unpacked the SodaStream last night but not before “cheating” with Zevia. I know there could be far worse things to cheat with, but I already knew that it could affect my weight loss, plus I suffered from constipation after my last Zevia bender. I’m blaming the erythritol that is in it. Anyway, I got the SodaStream set up and made my first homemade soda. I put 11 drops of liquid stevia and 4 drops of Capella Root Beer Float flavor into a glass and then poured in the freshly made soda water. The result was a nice, light-tasting soda that I really like a lot better than commercial soda.

I’m halfway through VLCD, so I thought I’d do a midway set of measurements.

I’m still wearing size 10 pants, but there’s some room in them now. I tried on a pair of size 8 shorts that fit at Tommy Bahama today, but I already know that they’re cut generously. I need to lose just a bit more off the waist before the size 8 pants I already have will fit.

My weight this morning was 151.8#, up 0.4# from yesterday. I kind of expected that. My soup last night was too salty, partly because I had let the broth boil down too much and partly because I had added too much seasoning. If not for that, the soup would have been quite good. Also, I ate my dinner quite late. At least the weight should fix itself in the next day or two.

My SodaStream and my Capella Flavor Drops both arrived yesterday. I got Cool Mint, Strawberries & Cream, Orange Creamsicle, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Cola, Root Beer Float, French Vanilla, Raspberry, and Dutch Chocolate Mint. The plan is to make sodas with the flavors and some liquid stevia extract. I’ll be giving that a try later today.

I’ve been using my Omron Fat Analyzer to check lean body mass. It appears that I am losing more than just fat, so I decided to schedule a bunch of yoga classes plus a Zumba class. I went to the first one last night. While it is not a cardio exercise methodology by any means, it does challenge the muscle well. I had difficulty with a lot of the poses, but I’m sure that will improve with time.