VLCD 15 - Countdown To The Finish

As of today, I am officially 9 days away from Maintenance. Nine days. Hot damn.

I remember, when I started this thing, thinking that I could hack a month's worth of drops and diet and restriction, no problem. It'd be a piece of cake, and I'd breeze through the days like they were hours instead of days. The food, once I'd read the portion sizes and actually started measuring them out, seemed like a ton, and cooking was a breeze once you had all the prep work done.

Half way through the protocol, I got bogged down. Exhaustion from life set in, and trying to find both the energy and creativity needed to feed both myself and BF was difficult. I grew frustrated (clearly) with the restrictions, and while the food portion sizes hadn't changed, my perception of their flexibility had. I was no longer confident in the protocol, or my ability to complete it.

Today, I find myself in a curious blend of the two extremes. I'm neither deliriously happy with the program, nor extremely distrustful and dissatisfied with it. I'm...comfortable with it. Yes, you have to go on a restrictive diet for a few weeks. Yes, it makes having a life outside of the living room and your laptop awkward. Yes, it's more than a month long commitment to better health.

Yes, the food is sufficient to feel full. Yes, there is variety in what you eat, how you eat, when you eat. Yes, you can make it through a 26 day program and survive, lol. Yes, you do have much more freedom on the Maintenance phases than you did in the VLCD phase. And YES, you do lose weight. I woke up this morning, to a 0.8 lb loss. After yesterday's gain, that really only means a 0.2lb loss, but it's a loss all the same.

Life, in general, is a constant learning curve of what and how we react to the stimuli we run across in our constant bid for learning, aspiring, growing as human beings. If I'm comfortable being a size 12-14, then I should have just stayed where I was at. If I'm comfortable being a size 6-8, then I need to make the sacrifices to get back to that weight, and then make the proper choices to maintain that life style. It can't be all about indulgence, all the damn time. Sadly :(

I'm finding that as I creep closer to my LDW - Last Drop Weight - that I'm getting hungrier and hungrier throughout the day. I'm hoping it's a sign that I'm getting close to the weight I was two years ago, which is when I gained the most. I'm pretty certain that's one of my plateau weights. I'll be prepping over the next week for Maintenance, and I'm looking forward to working out now that I've already begun the process of getting back to those size 6-8 jeans.

If there's one thing I could stress to a new protocol member, it'd be this: Be prepared. The food guide can be a bit overwhelming when you first look at it, and you start planning meals and buying food based off what sounds good, instead of what's good by the numbers. Pick three (minimum) from each food group, so that they fall into the following categories:

Low Calorie
Medium Calorie
High Calorie

Why, you ask, is this a good idea? Your body's going to crave different types of protein on different days. Let's say you go with ground beef, cabbage, apple, and melba for lunch. That's 301 calories in that one meal. In order to stay under the 500 calorie mark, you've got to eat a protein, veggie, and fruit that are extremely low in calories. My go to meal for this instance would be chicken, lettuce, and half a grapefruit: 179 calories. All combined, I'm looking at 480 calories. There's room to move now, with a piece of melba later if I get snackish. Problem solved.

So, definitely, keep a variety of the groups on hand, and make sure you shop for at least one in each of the low, medium, and high calorie sets. It'll make cooking much easier. I ended up relying on ground beef, chicken, and shrimp, for the protein; lettuce, cabbage, asparagus for the veggie, with some fennel, onion, and spinach thrown in for a change; and apples, oranges, and grapefruit for the fruit. I added beef broth for a little comfort when necessary, and tons of Frank's Red Hot Sauce, mustard, and black pepper. It got repetitive, but at least it tasted good ^_^

I'm still a week away from finishing the drops, so I'm sure I'll have more up and down days between now and then. For now, though, I'm pretty content. I'm almost done, I'm down 15 lbs, I have a desire and drive to work out to lose the rest, and I'm working on the mental changes required to keep going at it. Not bad, for 17 days.

VLCD 6 & 7 - Goodbye Detox, Hello Guilt

Would you believe I completely spaced blogging yesterday? Actually taking into account what happened yesterday, I do believe it. Let's just say Tuesday wasn't the best day in the world, both personally and professionally, and leave it at that.

I'm happy to report the detox symptoms are on their way out the door, and I'm back to losing weight. Monday was still pretty shaky and weak feeling, with Tuesday seeing a sudden attack of nausea right after lunch that lasted close to four hours. Let me tell you, the nausea was NOT fun. I was literally sitting at my desk, my head in my hands, fighting that trip down the hallway to puke. If I have any choice at all, I'll avoid puking in a public restroom. That's just...nasty.

Tuesday night - VLCD 6 - I was feeling much better. I had my go to meal of cabbage and beef, and some strawberries, and downed a whole additional liter of water. I was feeling pretty strong, and able to hold a decent conversation without drifting and losing concentration.

This morning I woke up feeling great again. My hunger pangs didn't kick in until about half way to work, and by then I'd already been able to take my first set of drops so it only lasted for a few minutes. I was starving around 10, and water just wasn't cutting it so I had my strawberries early. Lunch was romaine lettuce, chicken, and a dressing made from Frank's Sauce and mustard, which was delicious. About two thirty I realized I was starving again, and after calculating my total calorie intake so far (110+40+15=165) I wasn't surprised, so I snacked on my melba.

That was thankfully enough to get me to my next set of drops, the last of my second liter of water, and home to relax. Dinner tonight was the VLCD safe eggs - one whole egg, three egg whites - with some more Frank's, an apple and a plate full of radishes. All very very satisfying, and filling. Which is where the guilt sets in.

I've been reading back over the book again and looking at the directions, and it occurs to me that while you're not anywhere near as restricted as I'd initially thought, there's still a level of abstinence that is required. I'm concerned that my constant intake of hot sauce, and now the eggs, will cause me to 'cheat' unintentionally, and I'll have to start the 21 days on drops all over again. I'm already 7 days into the damn thing, I don't wanna start over again. Technically I haven't gone off the diet, everything I've eaten has been within protocol, and I haven't even maxed out my calorie count, despite permission to do so. I've also avoided the broth, surprisingly enough, and I'm not feeling weak from the loss.

I guess, in my head, I'm worried that I've messed up somewhere and cheated. Even though everything I'm doing is VLCD approved. I made lunch for tomorrow - cabbage and beef, as I haven't had it for lunch yet, and I'm just not prepared for another salad - and I left out the hot sauce in the initial cook. I did sprinkle some on top, but not too much. And I'll have another apple for lunch, with either strawberries or a grapefruit for dinner, which will help me feel less guilty, I hope.

On a more personal note, I had my first true 'test' on the diet. I was so exhausted and weak from the nausea yesterday that when I got home the idea of cooking myself dinner, let alone BF and his dad dinner, was sending me over the edge into emotional temper tantrums. I ended up talking BF into ordering pizza, which is one of my chief food weaknesses. Bf and his dad ate their pizza at the same table as me, seeing as how we were playing Hearts, and I was...FINE!!! No temptation, no hunger pangs, no desire to eat the pizza. The beef and cabbage helped TONS which is one of the reasons I went with it, but I was also feeling strong enough that the desire to eat it was very minimal. It was a huge success for me, one that I'm quite proud of ^_^

To date, I've lost 10.4 pounds, and I'm ecstatic about it. I know the stalls and slow downs in loss are headed my way in the next week, which is why I'm considering weighing myself every other day instead of every day. I'm still feeling guilty, but hopefully I'll overcome that soon. I think I'm entering the more stable phase of the protocol, where I feel good, am able to walk an hour a day, and still function. I'm excited that I only have two more weeks to go, and then I start the transition into Maintenance, which means avocados!!

VLCD Food Measurements and Must Have Additions

On my first day of VLCD, I was beyond surprised at the amount required to equal up two cups of raw asparagus. I was so surprised, that I actually double checked with the support page to ensure I was using the right measurements. With this diet, measurement is everything. Every calorie is accounted for, and if your measurement is off, your calorie count is shot. Beyond even that though, is the blandness. I adore seasonings, and will add them to every protein that I cook, but sometimes it just isn't enough. There are certain condiments/side items that you're allowed on VLCD that I'm experimenting with, and I've found that specific brand names are always helpful.

It is for these reasons that I'm opening up this blog, also to be edited on a daily/as needed basis. I'll be posting the real world translation of a cup for the veggies, and listing any condiments that I stumble across that are helpful with the cooking. If you ever find anything listed here as incorrect, or have something to add, please by all means let me know.

Veggies:
Cucumbers - 2 cups raw = one whole medium cucumber, peeled.
Cabbage - 2 cups raw = one quarter wedge, when sliced in half, then each half sliced in half again.
Red Radishes - 2 cups raw = ten whole medium to small radishes, with ends trimmed off
Asparagus - 2 cups raw = fifteen to twenty medium size stalks. If you go with the smaller ones, then be prepared to use twenty to thirty. It's a lot of food.
Lettuce - 2 cups raw = two to three medium to large leaves of Romain or other leafy lettuce. If you compress the lettuce, it may be closer to three.
Spinach - 3 cups raw = 1/2 to 3/4 of a standard bunch of spinach, with stems.
Fennel - 1.5 cups raw = one medium to large sized bulb


Condiments:
Frank's Red Hot Sauce - if you like spice at all, this is a must have. You can add it to any meal, and it brings up the flavor with no calorie increase.

Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar - I've been told this stuff is an either/or type deal. You either love it, or you hate it. As of Saturday, I'm in the hate category. I tried using the ACV as a liquid to cook my chicken and cherry tomatoes with, and the ACV heated up stunk to high heaven. I'm going to give it another shot with some pasteurized stuff, and hope it works out better.

Mustard - it must be VLCD safe. I found the Ralphs brand to work nicely. The mustard blends spectacularly well with Frank's Red Hot, and works great as a sauce for chicken, and the lettuce.

Health Valley Fat Free Beef Broth - You can make your own chicken and beef broth, but it takes a while. I went in search of canned beef broth, and Health Valley was the safest available. The beef broth one I found wasn't an exact match to the one the MHP support team suggests (I forget which one they said, it had low sodium in the name I think) but all the ingredients were safe, and it had no fat, no sugar. Win win for me, since I love soup, and the beef broth, when simmered with shrimp, onion, and red pepper flakes, is amazing.

Spices - Red Pepper Flakes, Black Pepper, Garlic and Onion Powder, Basil, and Cumin. All must haves

VLCD Food Diary - Day to Day Menu

This entry will be edited on a daily basis, until it comprises my entire VLCD food guide. My intent with this entry is to show what I ate, what the calorie intake was, and how I managed to mix it up. There's a food guide that comes with the P&I Made Simple, but it's not overly helpful with recipes that don't require the Capella, Stevia, and Kal drops. While I'll readily admit that the drops seem to be extremely popular, I'd prefer to make meals that don't require those additions, as they're not readily available in grocery stores, and I need to learn how to cook on an every day basis.

I hope this provides some inspiration for others, too ^_^