201.4 today, which is a 1.8 pound loss from yesterday. It was a little rough last night and this morning with slight headaches and tiredness, but then some insomnia, however I also had my first serving of Splenda in over two weeks. I'm going to watch carefully to see if anything is related to the Splenda, as I think it might be. I also think it may have been a bit early in the cycle to take a rest day, as my body just stabilized on the hCG and then I forced it to compensate again. Next week's should go more smoothly.

Hunger is still not an issue. I'm still battling some head munchies, whereby I am thinking about food and wishing I could eat it, but it's not physiological in nature. This is where I'd previously give in - wanting something and then acquiring it. But that isn't the mature way to manage my body, and it neither made me more healthy nor look the way I want. Thus, whether I feel like it or not, no matter how good other food may sound, I am sticking to my plan like glue. It is such a brief period of time, I am going to give it my absolute all. What's the point of doing something drastic like this if I am not going to try to glean as much benefit from it as possible? And the benefits HAVE been great. In four days I am down six pounds from my loading weight and two from my starting weight. That's a great loss and should continue at the rate of half a pound to a pound per day for the duration of the diet, with a few stalls here and there as my body adjusts.

I woke up this morning with the intention of working out. The baby actually woke me an hour before my alarm (and I got to sleep well past 1:00, thanks to insomnia) and so I got up and did my bible study, but as the time came to work out I realized I felt icky enough that I'd benefit more from additional rest than half an hour on the bike. So I rather intentionally made that choice and do feel a bit better for the additional sleep.

I'm going to experiment with some of the other proteins Dr. Simeons lists as okay, including moose (super lean game meat was said to be acceptable), Mahi Mahi (white fish), and even three egg whites and a whole egg. The egg, in particular, I will be watching like a hawk. They have been known to cause sensitivity symptoms in me before, and if they cause a reaction after a solid week of not having even a hint of them, I will have to relegate them to the 'no-except-on-the-rarest-occasion' list.

This is a short week for us, as a family. My husband only works until Wednesday, he has the rest of the year off thanks to vacation time. We have a hot water heater we will be replacing on Thursday and Friday, Christmas celebrations, and then the rest of the year will be spent finishing the bunk beds for the girls once and for all. Callie is in hers, as a single, and Lilah's is done in the garage, but the steps that connect them still need completing and then we will ditch Lilah's crib once and for all. It will free up a ton of space in their rooms, so I am looking forward to completion.

I'll be tracking my symptoms throughout the day and update if necessary. Until then!