My headache subsided by the middle of the day and my slight hunger (I'm still not sure if it was the physical empty feeling or actual hunger, but it was minor in any case) is completely gone, so I am thinking the hCG is back circulating through my system in the necessary quantities to keep me feeling good. My energy, which was flagging in the morning and afternoon, is also back up. I stuck to the plan like glue today too, I'm quite proud of myself. I was making dinner for my family and didn't have one taste of the sauce I was seasoning (tricky! I had to do it by smell), a lick of noodles, and I wore gloves the entire time to prevent fat absorbing through my skin.

On another aside, kneading bread with gloves on? Interesting task and not particularly straight forward, but it worked well enough. Better than coming into contact with a ton of oil and accidentally stalling myself out. The fat really acts like a hormone interference substance when it comes to the protocol, so even the tiniest amounts could cause issues and temporarily stop the hypothalamus response the hCG is affecting. I've been diligent in gloves and scrupulous in my food preparation and consumption and, while I am not sure that is what can be credited for my losses, it can't hurt!

It came to my attention today that Simeons, in Pound and Inches (pg 57), says that the only weight to count as a start weight is not the one prior to loading, but on the first day of the VLCD. As I want my record for this experiment to be correct and record weight daily, regardless, it is really six of one, half dozen of the other for me. But since that it how most other protocol dieters record their weights, for uniformity I should do mine the same way.

What that means, in practical terms, is that I have lost 6 pounds in five days, from 207.4 on Friday to 201.4 this morning.

I guess it makes sense to calculate it that way since the load gaining was not water weight, it was actual extra calories consumed as per the diet instructions. In which case, I am losing marvelously fast for feeling so good! A light headache that hasn't needed Tylenol and a little tiredness for one day? Not bad at all!

That rate of loss will surely taper off, but I'm happy to ride it! If I would see my ultimate low from the summer (191) by the end of the week or beginning of the next? I would be elated. And if I 'only' lose half a pound a day from here on out, I should still be firmly around 180 by the end of my course, so long as I keep being mindful and diligent to follow the protocol to the letter. If I'm going to do it, I'm doing it right. That's what I keep telling myself. It gets me through those moment of cravings and head hunger, or prepping for the rest of the family when I want a taste SO badly.

I don't want that taste more than I want to get this weight off lose these allergies. I don't want that junk more than I want to slim down for my husband. I wasn't in that place for a lot of months - the one where I was willing to work hard and sacrifice my temporary satisfaction for long term benefits - but now I am. It is GOOD to be back. Will there be struggles in subsequent rounds or down the road in maintenance? Always. If I have learned anything over these past few years, it is that weight is something constantly in flux, always requiring some vigilance, and the culmination of MANY choices day to day. I know exactly what it takes to maintain and exactly what tips the balance of the scale up or down. The 'knowing' hasn't been the issue. The doing?

Well, that's where I'm at right now, isn't it?

I will not post pictures at 200, but I will at 190 and every decade of weight below that. The pictures from the last time I hit this weight are still accurate with my current shape. I'll check in with my plan tomorrow morning, and I think I'll make a habit of listing my meals, if not the full recipes for them. It will make this blog less repetitive and boring in a few weeks, if my daily blogging has something more than a number and 'losing weight, feeling great!'.

Until morning, then.