MAY!!!

Ok so to those who have done the HCG diet and have succeeded I say kudos, congrats because this diet is difficult to maintain. I made it to my fifth day and decided that it was not worth the lack of energy that I was dealing with. I was taking vitamins and following the diet exactly but I think there are many factors that I did not think about going into this diet. First I walk around a lot at work which means I do burn some calories and on this 500 calorie diet I think I was burning too many and that is why I was so tired to the point that after the work day all I wanted to do was sleep. Second, in my opinion this program is for people with a lot of fat to loose and because this diet requires that you do not have breakfast it practically kills your metabolism. I do have to say that I love getting anything from GNC because I was able to return the HCG and get a full refund. I am still taking the women’s multivitamin that I bought from GNC because I like it and I have more energy and I feel more awake during the day when I take it.

I am still aiming for a healthier lifestyle so on Monday I took the dog on a walk and used an app on my phone called JogTracker. JogTracker uses my phones GPS and maps to get my location and accurately map out my route and give me the distance that I am going. It also gives me time and if I have my headphones in with music playing this app keeps me updated every few minutes of my distance and my time. Better than trying to check my phone while running! So when I took this walk I used the app to plan my route I will be taking. Also since I have not been active since I tried p90x at the beginning of the year I think that a brisk walk may warm up my muscles. I found the right route which was 1.2 miles and walked it again with the dog Tuesday and Wednesday. Yesterday I decided to take the leap of faith and do a light jog to see how I would do. For not remembering the last time I ran a mile I think I did well, and I did better than I thought I would do. 13 minutes for that mile is not great but I am happy with myself in that I pushed to finish and did not let myself walk at all during the run.

On the diet aspect of healthy living I have decided not to follow some crazy diet and just try to make healthier choices and to try and avoid fast food and sugary drinks. I have also picked out low fat or fat free choices when grocery shopping. I also follow @TaralynnsTweets who gives great healthy living advice. I found her blog on Pinterest and I find it amazing. Take a look: http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/. I am super busy in the morning and I am also not a morning gal so making time to get ready AND eat breakfast does not always work out and this leads to not eating breakfast which is a big no no! So I came up with a genius idea to premix oatmeal in a sandwich bag to take to work and since we have a coffee machine that I can get hot water from it works out! I took ½ cup 1 minute oatmeal, 1 tsp brown sugar, dash of salt, desired amount of raisins and craisins. I put all this in a sandwich bag and all I had to take to work was a disposable paper bowl and a plastic spoon.

On the weekend I like to make up pancakes on my little flat grill and I throw some mixed frozen fruit on the grill with the pancakes and this makes for a wholesome breakfast and I did put some syrup on the cakes but I wish I hadn’t since the juices from the fruit were enough I didn’t even need the syrup. Another quick breakfast idea for on the go is a nice smoothie. I used the frozen fruit and mix it in my Ninja with milk, orange juice, and protein mix. I use the protein mix for energy and to fill me up a little more than the smoothie alone would.

A sort of update on the military side of things: My uncle Rob (he is the greatest) got in touch with an air guard recruiter who funny enough happens to work part time as a salesman at the dealership I work. He was telling me of an amazing opportunity to get into the air guard as a commissioned officer which I did not think I was possible without a degree. Turns out that this is possible for only certain fields which are religion, medical, and legal. The only catch that I had found through research so far is that I must get my degree before gaining the rank of O-3 or Captain.  The job is also located in Fairbanks which I thought would be difficult because I would have to travel, good news about that is that the air guard will put me on a plane to and from Fairbanks on drill weekends and the air guard will pay for my hotel and food on the weekend that I have to go. Sounds compelling. My recruiter does not yet know if this job is still available but I really hope so. He is on leave now so I have to be patient but I am positive.

The spring semester is finally coming to a close and I have all my finals this weekend and some end of the semester project due. Which means I will be locked away this weekend. L Good news is that I will be free for the summer after this weekend! So excited!

All this bad food in my house!! AHHHHH!!!!

I hate grocery shopping... period. I feel I do not have self control to say no to deliciously bad foods like Totinos pizzas, bacon, and cookie dough ice cream. I think Dieting is the most difficult thing I have ever done. Zeke is not really all in for a "diet" and so I told him at the grocery store to get what he wants but only enough for him because I wont be eating it. Of course he picks out all the very yummy, fattening, bad for you foods that I cannot have, and what I cannot have I want most of all.

I have tried a very, very low fat diet while doing the P90x workout but with low fat and low calories I did not have the energy to complete the workouts. I think if I would have stuck with it I would have liked the results and I think if anyone is hard core enough the P90x workout is awesome and I hope to try it again only when I find the right diet to combine with it. I am currently trying the HGC diet because I keep hearing these "miracle stories" about it, including a co-worker who lost 25lbs in two weeks! I know I'm not "fat" but I am not in shape, skinny, or where I want to be. I currently weigh the more than I ever have in my life and this is discouraging to my self-esteem. I am only on day 5 of the HCG diet and it is the most difficult thing I have ever done. I think without the daily vitamins I am taking I would not get past day 3.

Here is what the HCG diet is all about:
Phase 1(2 days): Gorging phase- while taking HCG before lunch and before dinner (so 2x daily) eat EVERYTHING! Sounds crazy but this is supposed to build fat. But I already have fat, is this not why I am doing this in the first place? Well you need calories and fat to burn so that way it is not a shock to your body going into phase 2.

Phase 2 (no more than 3 weeks, stop at desired weight): 500 calories a day-
Breakfast- tea, coffee, water, mineral water. No sugar except for Stevia. Only one tablespoon of milk allowed in 24hrs.
Lunch- 100 grams of chicken breast, grass fed beef, shrimp, white fish, lobster, or crab. All visible meat to be removed. Weighed raw. 1 Melba toast. 2 cups vegetables spinach, chicory, beet greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage ONLY. 1 apple, orange, or handful of strawberries. Melba toast or apple can be snacks instead of with the meal.
Dinner- same as lunch, advised different meat and veggie.

Light exercise to no exercise. This is a very low calorie diet and the HCG is used to trick your brain to use fat stored in your body to gain extra calories for daily activities instead of muscle. Do Not exceed 3 weeks. When desired weight is reached or 3 weeks have passed slowly add more calories to diet, first 1,000 then 1,500, then 2,000. If more weight loss is desired take 3 week break than start diet again.

This is intense! And again I am only on day 5, or day 3 of 500 calories. When I purchased HCG at GNC I was advised to purchase a daily multivitamin because of the lack of energy and essential vitamins and nutrients from the diet. I purchased a months supply of multivitamin packs that consist of 7 different pills including a caffeine pill. Besides this pack I take everyday I include vitamin D because although the winter is almost done in Alaska we were without sun for a few months and therefore it is not uncommon to not get enough vitamin D. This alone can give me some energy, unless I am active at work, which I am. My job is a somewhat outside job and I walk a lot. when burning 1/4 at least of my daily calorie intake you can imagine how tired I feel. It is not the meals, its not hunger, it is the lack of energy that is getting to me. In fact I do not get hungry at all on this diet! Sometimes I feel full by the time I eat half my veggies. I also have, just in case, appetite control but I have not had to use them. This is a tough diet and I have already told myself that if I do not see results by the end of week one I will try something else. I have, as of last night, lost 3 pounds. My goal is to reach my desired weight then start a higher calorie diet and start an exercise routine to tone and get back into shape. I am not looking to loose a ton of weight and I know I will probably gain it back in muscle and that is what I want.

I have already done some digging on my next diet and I have found the blog to use. http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/. There are so many healthy, low fat recipes on this blog that look so delicious I think this one will be easier to maintain. I also hope to get Zeke into the diet as well. My current motivation is a lean body, healthy lifestyle, and increase energy.

I know I do not blog a lot and since I started spring classes it has been increasingly difficult to blog. I do believe however, that I have a new blogging adventure in searching and sharing healthy living tips and recipes. I want to be able to look back at this blog and see what I have accomplished and use it as motivation to continue.

I eat a lot out of boredom and that is how you gain weight so my first tip:

Eat with your non-dominant hand only! This odd motion will stop bored eating.
OR
Do something that requires both hands or gets you moving when you find yourself looking for an unhealthy snack. Like household chores, crafts, walking the dog, reorganize the closet, yard work, etc. 

Water is your friend, first step to healthier living is to eliminate sugary drinks!