Well - It's all over. We did 6 weeks of phase 2, and 3 weeks of phase 3. We are now well into phase 4 and the news is good. We both lost faster and better than we have ever done, and we are both maintaining really well. We are convinced that including the phentermine with the diet made a huge difference. Also, we were better prepared this time and better informed on what we should do. I am back down to my previous weight [18 lbs down] and Jill lost 20.

Jill was able to pass the 100 lb mark for her efforts over the past 3 years. She looks fabulous!

My 2nd daughter began her HCG journey the end of May. She is so excited and happy. She honestly did not think it would work, but because it had worked for Jill and I, she decided to try it anyway.

She gained her weight due to a medical error 16 years ago, and has never been able to take it off. She even had surgery to lose weight and while that worked up to a point, she has been frustrated and unhappy. She spends at least 2 hours a day in the gym and just was not seeing results.

She was able to lose 25 lbs. in 6 weeks and she is looking great, but the best part is how happy she is. She is now on phase 3 and can't wait to do this again [probably in January].

Now I need to get some updated pictures of everyone!

Lane's brother and his family came for dinner last Wednesday night. We didn't have a lot of notice and they said we could either go out, or eat in. We decided to 'eat in'.

We bought a couple of Tri-Tip roasts, chicken, and some fresh fruits and veggies. We did grilled steaks and chicken, fresh green salad and a fruit bowl w/ cantaloupe, grapes, apples and pineapple chunks. I was able to eat everything and no-one had any idea I was on a 'diet'. The meal was delicious and I served them dessert of ice cream and brownies while I ate my chia pudding with some stevia sweetened whipped cream on top.

Very successful dinner!

Tomorrow begins my final week of maintenance. Doing this session with Jill has been such a blessing. We have accomplished the journey together, and it has been a joy. I recommend always doing this with a buddy.

We were in Duchesne yesterday and went to town for lunch. Lane chose a Chinese restaurant and I panicked inside. How could you eat chinese and stay 'legal'? Jill said "No Worries, this will be easy!" We chose a shrimp stir fry with veggies, skipped the rice and soup, and it WAS fine. Jill ate the won-tons, but I just couldn't do it. My weight today was actually down from yesterday. Yay.

The greatest discovery of this maintenace phase is when Jill discovered CHIA SEEDS. WE LOVE THEM! they are now a daily part of our menus. Just adding the fiber would have been worth it, but they also supply energy from protein, calcium, and so many other nutrients. I add them to my morning shake, make chia 'pudding' every day and eat some with both lunch and dinner.

CHIA CHOCOLATE PUDDING
2 C ALMOND MILK
2 TLB COCOA POWDER [Regular or Special Dark]
1 Tsp VANILLA
1 Tsp ALMOND EXTRACT
5 packets SPLENDA [or Stevia]
6 TLB CHIA SEEDS

Put cocoa powder in bowl, add almond milk and whip until incorporated.
Add vanilla and almond ext.
Add chia seeds and stir.
Stir about every 10 minutes for 30 minutes or so, until thick.
I like to pour it into three 1-cup containers so it is already portioned out.
I also like to add blueberries or fresh strawberries. That will increase the portions to 4 1-cup containers. Refrigerate and ENJOY!

Well, I have finished the 6 weeks of Phase 2 and it was VERY successful. My lowest weight was 18 pounds down. I am sitting most days at 16 - 16 1/2 pounds down. The biggest difference this time was that because of taking phentermine with the diet, I had plenty of energy, didn't feel hungry all the time, was able to do mild exercise, and the weight came off easier. It has to be the 37.5 mg. dose. Have you heard of the MD Diet? That's what they do. HCG with Phentermine. Well - I think it's magic! Jill lost close to 20 pounds this time and just surpassed 100 lb lost since her journey began 3 years ago! I am so proud of her, and she looks amazing! I am back to the weight I was when my profile pic was taken. I'm happy and now doing Phase 3. AND - Jill discovered CHIA and we are loving it!! I will post some recipes soon.

I'm B-a-a-a-k

First day of doing this again.  It's been a year and a half and I'm so ready to lose these unwelcome, returning pounds.     Stay tuned!

UP AND DOWN,
UP AND DOWN


I haven’t written anything on this blog for a long time. I did the cleanse phase of FIT shortly before going on the cruise. I gained a couple of pounds on the cruise, but not bad. I think I did well because I took my fiber and took it every night before going to bed.


I had decided to do another round of HCG when I got home from the cruise but I haven’t started it yet. Lane wanted to wait until the first of March, but he didn’t pick up the stuff last week, so I did another round of the cleanse. I am traveling for business next week and that concerns me with the HCG. I would have to leave the meds at home and just skip a day. That might not be a bad thing though.


I am having trouble staying under 150. I have put on 7 pounds since my last injection of HCG a few months ago and I don’t like it! My lowest weight was 143 and that was fabuloso! I knew that I might not stay that low, but I never wanted to see the 150’s again. That is the biggest reason I want to do another round of HCG. I want to get back solidly into the 140’s [or lower].


I started the cleanse phase again today because I have a weigh-in on Thursday. I need to show at least a 5 pound loss and a body % loss from the last time I weighed in. If I had to weigh in today, I’d be in trouble.


AND - - I want to just S-C-H-M-A-A-K Lane these days. He has re-gained all the weight he lost on the last round of HCG. He seems to have just thrown everything he learned out the window and given up! He worked so hard to achieve his success, and now he is not trying at all. Frustrating!

TNI FIT - ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS



Jill, Carl and I are finished with the cleanse. I lost a total of 4 pounds. I haven’t checked in with Jill and Carl yet. That is the ‘ENDINGS’ reference in the title. The ‘BEGINNINGS’ refers to the fact that Lane starts his cleanse today.


I emailed him some support materials to get him started. He has a full week of sample menus, and a daily guide to know what to eat when. I expect some whining this week, but true to form, he will decide on his own that he is ‘just going to do it’.


Jill and I found a couple of good ‘free’ calorie counting sites. We were both using myfooddiary.com but they charge $9 per month, and we both decided to see if we could find a free site that offered the same things. I found www.caloriecount.about.com and Jill found http://www.everydayhealth.com/



They both offer daily calorie counts, activity reports, charting, blogs, etc. Both sites allow you to enter your own items, such as TNI Fiber, RESET, REDUCE, etc. so you can really customize your day. They are both good resources for tracking daily stats.

One of the biggest issues for all of us is that we know what to expect from HCG, but we are just learning about TNI FIT. It is definitely a learning process as we try this new program. However, focusing more on 'fitness' via exercise will be so good for all of us. Jill put it really well when she said, "I lost weight with HCG, but I was not fit. I weighed less, but I was still 'flabby'" Well said. I agree that the 'fitness' piece was missing from HCG. TNI FIT is a complete program that focuses on nutrition and exercise together.