The Happiest place on Earth!

Diet update: 

I don't wanna talk about it...

Other Stuff:

The Thanksgiving table. I set the table the day before. 

The Thanksgiving table before guests arrive.

Thanksgiving table with our guests and family.

Romantic Table

Today we pack for... 

As Promised to my Foodie Friends on 

the hCG support group.

 

More food pix... For all my hCG diet forum friends... 

Chicken spinach soup... Hubby LOVES it.

Then the ever popular shrimp... I toss the shrimp in fresh lemon juice and fresh chopped cilantro.

This dressing is just a little dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar. 

Its perfect for the tomatoes with a little sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

If anyone needs a recipe just ask... But to be honest... everything is really basic. I believe that's the secret to this protocol. Is keeping to the simpleness of the food itself. The secret it to make it look yummy!

Another tip is I use smaller plates... actually salad plates to trick your eye into thinking you are eating a lot!

Weight loss update:
I lost another pound on the new protocol from my Doc. She said to expect to lose at least a pound a week. If not more. I upped my cardio to two 2 mile walks a day. Two miles in the morning and 2 miles in the evening. Plus I started Fluidity! WoW what a work out! I can FEEL it everywhere!  (No thats not me, perhaps someday) http://www.fluidity.com 

I am short, 5'4. And the thing I love about this workout is that it extends your muscles to make you look longer and leaner. So far all its done is made me sore! But I'll keep at it, because this is going to help sculpt my body. Doc. says that when I reach my goal weight she will do some lipo sculpting on spots that are going to be stubborn. I should be finished by May 2009. Thats my goal at least.

Other stuff...

I got the table ready and all the food prepped for Thanksgiving. I am spending tomorrow with my daughter because she will be at her inlaws for Thanksgiving... then tomorrow night I will bake pies. 

The day after Thanksgiving is hubby's and my 28th wedding anniversary! We are going to Disneyland to celebrate. We go every year and have been for the past 25 years. Can't wait! We love Disneyland, the sights, sounds, smells... It really is the happiest place on earth!

Weight Loss Update:

This is the first day of the "High Performance" Protocol from our Doctor. So far I haven't gained or lost. My weight stayed the same after my last injection of hCG. Today I can start on 900 calories, with the Amino acids. We'll see...  I'm not too sure what I can eat. I see the Doc. today and she will let me know. 900 calories doesn't seem that far away from 500 calories! But I have more choices now. With the hCG protocol I could only eat certain food. 

Other Stuff:

Thanksgiving is coming up on us really fast. Then its the Holidaze. I am going to help hubby put the lights up on the house today. We will wait to do the inside till we get back from Disneyland next week.

Here is a pic of Cinderella's Castle I took last year. I hope they decorate it like this again this year. Actually this picture doesn't do the castle justice. It really takes your  breath away when you see it up-close.

Its been 30 days and we are off the hCG injections. I have lost 19 pounds and Mike has lost 15! We are now doing what our Naturopath Doctor calls the "High Performance" part of weight loss. I am VERY happy with the results of the hCG Protocol. We followed the "Pounds and Inches" Protocol and I have to tell you. I have tried for a year to shed 10 pounds and I was able to get rid of almost 20 pounds of FAT with this protocol in a month! I know it was FAT because my doc. did a body composition on both of us. We lost NO muscle or water... only FAT!  We are both pretty happy with the results. So now we have to get through the Holidaze, then start another round in January 2009. 

I'm happy to be going to DisneyLand next week 20 pounds lighter!

This is our annual family trip. We go just when Disneyland gets up their Christmas decorations. It really puts the whole family in the mood for Christmas.

Thanksgiving is at our house again so I have already been making preparations . I'll post pix!

We were in Colorado last week. We stayed with my brother Kevin, and Kimmie and our nephews Mitch, Jake, Garrett and Chad. I had a blast with the boys. They took Auntie 4 wheeling... but it scared the crap outta me when they went off the road and heading for a pile of rocks... I though they were trying to scare ole Auntie so I played along and DARN if my nephew Chad didn't drive up and over a pile of rocks! *Huge sigh* Boys will be boys...

Auntie had to get out and take pix...

It was really fun spending time with the boyz. One day they took me to gather eggs. Oh my gosh those eggs are wonderful, I brought home a couple doz. Although we stayed busy there is something about being out in the country. The quiet, the darkness of the night... the whiney of the horses... It was fun and I can't wait to visit again.

 Kevin and Kimmies horses... 

Here are some pictures

 of the meals we are eating on the hCG VLCD. You get to eat 2 of these meals a day plus two fruits, your choice of an apple, orange or grapefruit. Plus 2 pieces of Melba toast daily.

                  #1) 100 grams of Grilled chicken with a mustard sauce drizzle and steamed asparagus.

 

#2) 100g Steamed Lemon Pepper Shrimp tossed with fresh cilantro 

and 100g of Apple cider baby cucumbers.

#3) 100g grilled Red Hot Chicken with steamed lemon pepper spinach. 

#4)  Grilled glazed Salmon with fresh spinach salad.

#5) 100g Grilled Streak with cucumber/red onion salad.

I will be posting more pictures of the VLCD (very low calorie diet) food.

As of Oct. 26, 2008, Mike and I both have lost 

7 pounds each in 7 days!

A little more about the hCG diet.

There are some strict rules, like the VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) but if you follow them you can lose on average 1/2 pound a day! With out losing muscle or water! There are certain foods you can eat, and teas you can drink and spices you can use. And of course you are always loading up on water... No need for a "BIGGEST LOSER" work out... Just a little walk everyday to get your body moving! A little ab work or free weights to maintain muscle 3 times a week is recommended. Click on the link below for the whole diet. Its free.

 I am also going to be posting some recipes and photos of the food that stay within the guidelines of this diet that I personally made up. Here are the spices I use to cook everyday:

I'm a chef, I love to cook. I try to cook healthy, but we all need to learn healthy portions and habits. On this diet you may also drink coffe and tea. I chose to stop drinking coffee for 21 days and stick to tea... these teas and others were chosen to help you on this diet. Here is what we drink and use to give the tea a bit of sweetness: 

 The  original hCG Diet by Dr. A.T.W. Simeons

The complete manuscript can be found here: 

http://www.hcgdietinfo.com/HCG-Diet-Protocol.htm

Check it out for yourself

YOU CAN'T JUST BE ON A VERY LOW CALORIE DIET DIET WITHOUT THE hCG INJECTIONS!

This is what we are using to help sculpt our bodies along with the strict VLCD

Rainey: "Enough is enough, I am tired of being fat and looking at photos of myself and cringing and trying to keep up with the grandkids! I need to lose weight for me and my health!"

Mike: "I had a liver transplant three years ago. All went well as I had a living doner, my incredible son Scott. After that I lost a lot of weight, much of it was that "surgery" weight and it left me looking drawn and sagging... But when I started feeling better and eating again I gained the weight I lost back! I have to lose it the right way. The healthy way."

We have a Natureapath Doctor and she has highly recommended the hCG Diet. If you haven't heard of it before I will explain the protocol. It was developed by Dr. Simions. Its been used for over 40 years... its quite simple and I will explain it as I understand it:

You inject your self with .125IU of hCG every morning and keep to a strict 500 calorie a day intake of certain foods per day, for 21 days. The concept: With every injection, the hCG helps burn appx. 2000 calories of stored fat and you intake 500 calories of fresh food, so really, you are on a 2500 calorie a day diet. The fat is burned as energy, the foods you eat therefor are used for nutrients and energy also. With the hCG you aren't supposed to be hungry or weak.

We started this diet on Sunday Oct. 19th. That first and second days of injections, you load up on fat... Its all designed to "shock" the body and get its attention... cause on Tuesday we started our 500 cal. a day diet! Ok we loaded up and took our first injections. The injections are no big deal. Mike is diabetic, so we use his insulin needles and they are so small. You don't even feel the injection... Besides, we keep telling our selves... Its only for 23 days!

UPDATE: Our 23 days of the phase 2 part of the protocol are over. Rainey lost 19 pounds of FAT and Mike lost 15 pounds! Now we have to have a 6 to 8 week break, then we can have a round two.