Day One of Very Low Calorie Diet!

Well, gang, yes, I've begun again. I have to say the second round is harder in some ways. I had really gotten used to the Round 3 and Round 4 way of eating again! I have to say it was very easy for me to maintain my weight over the entire 8 or 9 week break, and as long as I ate healthy foods, especially very little sugar or starch, I could eat as much as I wanted usually. Then those loading days were like a shock--suddenly allowed to eat any and all things forbidden? We ate out a big meal each day, Mexican and Chinese, and I enjoyed other little treats throughout the days--so then there is the other shock of NOT having the foods I had grown used to in phase 3 and 4. I have to admit, I did get hungry several times during the day today (the hcg is still kicking in) and had to remind myself not to reach for a piece of cheese! (love that cheese during round 3 and 4!)

Anyway--I gained about 6 pounds over the loading days and I'm hoping by tomorrow I'll be back down to LIW. I'm making a few changes this round--one, I'm going to try to actually count calories this time. Last round, I measured my protein, but everything else I just estimated--so I never really knew if I was staying within the 500 calorie limit. Today, I added it all up, and found I was 166 calories over! Whoops! I'm not worried, though, since it's just the first day, and I need to ease into it a bit.

Also, last time when I started I had this "carb withdrawal" feeling the first few days, which Victoria Smith told me was from candida die-off. This time, I didn't have that feeling, and I believe it's because I was on Ferm Plus during the 8 week break, and also the Candida G. So my microflora in the gut must be growing back and controlling the yeast overgrowth! Yay!

So onward and upward--one thing I did this time that I didn't last time--I finally took my measurements! For some reason I never got around to it last round, so I never knew how many inches I really had lost--although I could tell I lost a lot of inches because I was getting back into some of my clothes! This time, if I encounter the inevitable stall, I'll be able to check to see if I'm losing inches as well, to keep the encouragement high.

For anyone who is thinking of starting the 40-day phase 2 protocol soon, I figured out this is a good time to do it, so we can be on phase 3 and 4 during the holiday season (Thanksgiving and Christmas). Then my plan is to start again for a third round in the New Year, when everyone always wants to start their diets!

Well, it's late and I need to get to bed. Thanks for reading! Until next time, Merry