Formspring 2

Thank you to all who have participated in formspring. It's time for another round! First, thought, I must apologize wholeheartedly that three of the questions asked last week on my formspring page were lost in cyberspace. After I answered them, they never showed up on my profile page. I tried troubleshooting it and there were hundreds of similar posts about questions being lost. I guess formspring still has a few kinks to work out. Anyway, if you want to ask them again, I'll be happy to answer them again. Otherwise, please accept my humble apologies for their loss.

Questions Answered:

Do you think you guys will ever move to Austin? It rocks.
Not likely, but also not impossible. If we can ever get the Cutterpillar thing going and it's making decent money, Kelly will feel OK about looking for a better job. Maybe in Austin??

What kind of cake will you be having today? HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
My cake was chocoate with white buttercream frosting. And thank you for the birthday wishes!

How do I purchase said passion party products?
My website is http://www.thepassionroom.yourpassionconsultant.com. I can also mail you catalogues (they're much easier to browse that way) if you email me at hotbootymama at gmail dot com. p.s. Passion parties is having a huge sale right now on discontinued and seasonal products. Prices about 75% - 90% off! If anyone is intersted in seeing what's for sale, email me ASAP. They will go fast!

Anything else you'd like to know? Formspring me!

HCG Day 14 - Update

I haven't been blogging as much lately about how the HCG diet is going. But some of you have emailed me or asked me, so I thought I'd do an update.

It's fine. Just fine.

Hunger: Totally manageable
Weight: Gradually losing (averaging 1/2 lb per day)
Clothes: Getting baggier
Ability to Resist Temptation: depends on the day

Overall, I feel good about things. My hunger is completely under control. By that I mean that, yes, I am occasionally hungry. But I'm not starving like I was the first 3 days. I have plenty of energy, my brain is working fine, I feel normal. And if I do get hungry, I eat a grissini breadstick or eat a few strawberries and I'm fine again. It's no worse than when I was on Weight Watchers and had reduced my caloric intake. Only I'm losing weight way faster than Weight Watchers.

I've also gotten a pretty good feel for what to eat. I have my smoothie for breakfast, then I eat fish or shrimp for lunch with cooked spinach or cabbage or broccoli. Or chicken breast on salad greens. Ditto for dinner, only I usually have steak or ground beef. I have a breadstick or two between meals if I need it (most days I don't). And then after dinner to kill off my sweet tooth, I'll eat strawberries with Steveia or make an apple crisp (using Melba toast ground to crumbs, mixed with cinnamon and Stevia, sprinkled over an apple and baked). I drink a lot of water and occasionally herbal tea or crystal light.

The hardest thing with this diet has been consistency. I've had trouble both of the last weekends with having to go places where food was not in my control. A ward party, a family dinner, and of course my own birthday, for which, I'll have you know, I ate perfectly all day and only allowed myself 1 piece of pizza, 1 cupcake, and 1 slice of cake for dinner. That was a serious test of will since normally on my birthday I pig out on every good thing I can think of. (Also because the chocolate ganache cupcakes my friend Kati made me might possibly have been the mos delicious thing I've ever eaten and I wanted to eat 4 or 5, not 1). Anyway, both weekends, the day after I ate things I shouldn't have, my weight slowed, and the day after that I showed no loss or a small gain. That has set me back 4 days overall. It's amazing how much my body sucks up any fat or sugar I eat on this diet. Normally, eating 1 pork taco with salsa for dinner wouldn't affect my weight at all. In fact, I'd consider it dieting normally. But on this diet, your body is eliminating the fat to such an extent that any fat/sugar taken in is immediately metabolized back into normal fat stores.

So aside from that, and I am learning to try to stay away from any situations where I can't eat my usual foods, the diet is going well. Some days I wish my loss was bigger/faster (the last 3 days have been only .4 loss /day. Normally that is a lot, but on this diet, closer to 1 lb is normal). But in the next week before my VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) ends, if I can lose another 3 lbs, I'll still be my lowest weight in at least 10 years. And that is a good thing.

Starting next Tuesday, I will no longer take HCG. I will continue the VLCD for 2 days to let the medicine get out of my system. Then I begin phase 2 of the diet, the Maintenance Phase.

Any other questions? Feel free to ask.


Daily Weight Loss: 1 1/2 lbs!!!
Total Weight Loss: 7 lbs
(FYI, after several days of small losses, I decided to rededicate myself to the Protocol. I had been making more and more minor changes that I think were affecting my weight loss. So yesterday I did an experiment where tried to stick exactly to the Protocol. I drank way more water, avoided salt, plus no diet drinks, no yogurt, no 0-calorie butter spray, no forbidden veggies. I stuck as strictly to the protocol as I could, and obviously it worked!)

R.I.P.

Please remove your hats, bow your heads, and say a final prayer for... my lost earrings.

I hate losing earrings. And when I say "earrings," I don't mean that I lost a pair. I don't lose whole pairs. I just lose one of them. Which sucks. Because there is still that other earring hanging around reminding you of your loss. And you can't throw it away because as soon as you do, that lost one will for sure turn up and you'll kick yourself.

I've lost one of several pairs lately and it's making me depressed. It's mostly my fault. Sort of. I have a tendency to take them out as I lie down to sleep and I put them on my bedside table instead of hanging them back up on my jewelry tree. My responsibility for their loss stops there, though. The rest is all SOMEONE ELSE'S FAULT. Like usual.

I think in this case either there is a mischievous sprite that runs around stealing earrings. (Just one earring, though. 'Cause that's way more mischievous). Or my cat fancies herself a girly-girl now and then and steals them when I'm not looking to wear on her collar. My son does like to hang my earrings from the tops of his ears and pretend he's.....well, that's a story for another day. Actually, I think what is most likely is that there is a black hole in the space between my bed and my bedside table. So when one earring accidentally gets nudged off, it is instantly transported to that really dark spot in the sky from which no light or earrings can return.

Truly tragic. I know. I hope you will join me in mourning their loss.

(In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the fund set up for the surviving earrings and their families. Zion's bank. Account "Useless Piece of Crap Jewelry Survivors."





Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 5 1/2 lbs

The Breakfast Of (HCG) Champions

On the HCG diet, along with 200 grams of lean meat, one is supposed to eat two servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit a day. She can eat them together, at a meal, like Halibut, cucumbers, and oranges. Or separate, as a snack or for dessert. For me, I like to have my first serving of fruit for breakfast, in the form of a smoothie. So I thought I'd share my smoothie recipe. Because even if you're not on this diet, you will love how delicious, nutritious, and low-cal this breakfast or snack is.





Strawberry Breakfast Smoothie

Throw in the blender:
5-6 strawberries, cut in quarters (leaves removed)
1 TBS non-fat Greek yogurt (you can also use regular non-fat yogurt, but the Greek yogurt is so much creamier. You can also use vanilla yogurt for extra flavor).**
2 TBS water
3 packets Truvia (or 2 TBS sugar if you like getting fatter)*
5 ice cubes
optional - 1/2 orange (add one extra ice cube)
Blend until smooth.

Enjoy this 42 Calorie Breakfast, dessert, or snack!




* Truvia is an all-natural, 0 calorie sweetener. It's made from the sweetest part of the Stevia leaf, (Stevia is a member of the crystanthemum family). Stevia has been used for sweetening foods and drinks in Paraguay for over 200 years. And did I mention ZERO calories!?!
** Yogurt is not officially on the HCG diet. However, I have been using 1 TBS in my smoothies in lieu of the permitted 1 TBS non-fat milk for most of my diet and haven't noticed any difference in my weight loss. I find that it adds a lot of flavor and creaminess to the smoothie, so I'm sticking with it. Feel free to substitute it with non-fat milk if you're following the HCG diet exactly.



Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 5.2 lbs.
(Yesterday I had a .2 gain. Thanks a lot, birthday cake.)

Dragon Tamers - Not Just For Kids

I went with my mom yesterday to see a movie for my birthday. There wasn't much out that I a) hadn't seen, b) wanted to see, c) would see with my mother. So in the end we settled on How to Train Your Dragon. I was a little worried about seeing a kids' movie, sans kids. Would it be juvenile, stupid, pointless? No, in fact it was delightful, charming and I LOVED it. So much so that if I'd had time today, I would have taken the kiddies to see it. The very next day. So if you are on the fence about this movie or somehow hadn't heard of it, please, do yourself the favor, with or without kids, and see this movie. And maybe take just one tissue for the tears you'll find on your face as the closing credits roll. (You know, in case YOU are a cry baby or something.)

p.s. It comes in a 3-D version, in case you love those. I didn't see it in 3-D and I kinda wish I had. But if you're taking kids, go to the regular one. The kids might not be bothered by the double vision when they peel off their 3-D glasses 90 seconds into the movie, but YOU will go nuts trying to make them put them back on for an hour and a half before they go blind.

Daily Weight Loss: 0.2 lbs

Total Weight Loss: 5 lbs!

"29" Years Ago Today

I'm pretty sure my mother was completely knocked out, by request, for my birth. I always tease her that I could be a switched baby and she'd never know it. Except that I have (well, HAD) the Nicholes nose, the characteristic bump that everyone related to anyone from my mother's family has. Or I could have had a twin born and then whisked away by some evil nurse to another mother whose baby died, and she'd never have known it. I've always felt I had a twin out there somewhere. Maybe it's her after all. In any case, I have no real amazing or tear-inducing details from my birth. I was born at 1am. I think. And I was 7 lbs 14 ounces. And I was really long, like 20 inches or something. And I was, of course, a perfect happy baby who slept all the time and never cried and walked and talked when I was a week old and spit up gold nuggets. The End.

Thanks for giving birth to me, Mom. Even if you slept through the whole thing.


P.S. No need to add details, Mom. I think I've got all the pertinent ones here. No really. It's all good.



Daily Weight Loss: 0.6 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 4.8 lbs

A Few of My Favorite Things

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to get her poor child a scone. But when she got there, the cupboard was such a freaking mess with all the various pasta bags that she couldn't find them.




So she got an idea, and went to IKEA, and her cupboard lived happily ever after.





I seriously can't tell you how much I love having all my noodles in these clear, divided containers. No bags, everything is visible, organized, clean-looking. There is even a tall container for my fettuccine and spaghetti. And for half the price of these kind of containers anywhere else. I love IKEA! Plus, shopping in peace and quiet while your kids run amuck in their playland is the best idea ever. Viva Sweden!



Daily Weight Loss: .2 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 4.2 lbs

HCG Day 9 - Back On Track

This will be brief. I just wanted to say...

YAHOOOEEEE!

I lost 1 lb since yesterday! So my mini carb-binge punishment is over and I am back on track to losing weight. Phew. Those two days of gaining slightly and then not losing SUCKED. Were the carbs worth it in retrospect? Um... YES, duh! But still, I am not going to be doing that again any time soon (well, except on Friday when I might allow myself to eat one piece of birthday cake) and I am glad to be losing again.

(I also feel a bit more confident than some of the smaller cheats I'm doing are not having an ill effect....like using Pam for cooking, adding 1 TBS non-fat yogurt to my smoothy, eating non-approved veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini, and mixing them at a meal, and continuing use of my regular face lotion. )

Goal Weight: Only 9 lbs to go!


Daily Weight Loss: 1 lb!!
Total Weight Loss: 4 lbs

Formspring Answers

If you participated in my Formspring debut (bless you!), you may be interested in seeing the answers to your questions. Or you may have just wanted to relieve the guilt you would have felt for not asking, in which case skip right over this post.


Questions Answered


Sample Question:If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be?
This is a boring question. Why did I ask myself this? Next!


Do you think you will make it to the end of your diet, without tearing all your hair out with craving for carbs?
Oh, I already did that part. I now have a good wig and should be able to make it to the end of my diet just fine. :) (Honestly, it's not bad anymore)


Why do you feel you need a diet? After all you look amazing as you are.
Well, thank you. You are so kind. But unless you've seen me naked and not photoshopped for my blog, I think you are just judging the I'm-very-good-at-dressing-for-my-body-shape me. I'd like to turn into I-am-comfortable-on-a-stripper-pole me. And that equals -10 lbs.

What does your husband do for his job exactly?
Hey, this isn't about that dork. This is about ME. Next!


What would you do with an extra day in the week? Consider this day free of all current responsibilities.
That depends. Does this day also have my kids and husband in it? Or is it a day in the Twilight Zone when I am alone. If so, THIS is what I would do. I would be online all day, except when I was sleeping in and napping. And there might be a bath with reading involved.


As a parent, what are you vigilant about, and what are you relaxed about?
I am vigilant about manners. And danger. Street danger, stranger danger, choking danger, wearing plaid with stripes danger, that sort of thing. I'm not so vigilant about germs. I just don't care much about them. I mean, I don't recommend my kids stick their fingers up other kids' noses or anything. But then again, if the kid doesn't have a cold....


Why isn't anyone asking me anything?
They are, stupid. You just don't know how to log in and check your questions.


Which is your favorite toe?
My pinkie toe, of course. Not that I don't love my two-headed monster toes, but the pinky is just so small and stubby and has such a tiny delicate, slit-like nail. What's not to love?


What was your favorite TV show as a child?
Wonder Woman. That hot starry blue bustier just did it for me.


Would you rather own a luxury yacht or a private jet?
Jet, for sure. You can't sail from here to Texas.


How would you describe your style?
Incredibly not foo-foo meets scorn for labels

Wow, that was fun! Who's up for some more? Ask me anything!


p.s. Only two more days to send me my birthday present prepare to wish me happy birthday. No, I am obviously not above groveling for comments /birthday wishes. What else is your stupid 36th birthday good for?!?

It's a Baby(less) Shower!

You know how we all love to do charity? (We do, right? RIGHT?) Well, here is a chance to do charity AND have a party! What could be better?

I have joined a blogger charity group called the Service Soapbox Blogger Group. We get together every month to chat, talk, gab, chew the fat and, oh, do nice things for others while we're at it.

Our first event is a baby-less baby shower. The organization called The March of Dimes Teddy Bear Den Program (TBD) has created a way for people (OK, we know it's just women) to get together and donate baby goods to low income mothers. But instead of just handing them over, we have an actual baby shower! There are prizes, games, food, and fun....just no actual mom or baby present. All the gifts go to the organization for the future babies and their mommies. Doesn't that sound like a fun way to do charity work?

So if you'd like to attend, you can view the invitation and RSVP here. If you live out of town/state/country but would still like to participate, there will also be a virtual baby shower. Click here.

I hope you'll consider coming or donating. It's for a good cause. And did I mention there would be food? And prizes? And talking??? Good, so now you have no excuses.

See you there!

HCG Day 8 - Equilibrium

So I've been doing the diet part of this diet for seven days. And I've finally reached a state of equilibrium. Actually, I think I hit it on Sunday. That was day 5 of the actual diet. But I wasn't sure if it was from my tiny carb slip up or not. but now that carbs have been out of my system for a couple of days and I'm still feeling great, I think it's safe to say that things with this diet have normalized.

I feel:

normal
happy
not starving
hopeful
energized
healthy
satisfied

Quite a drastic change from how I felt a few days ago when I couldn't stop thinking of food and I felt famished, weak, dazed, headachy, foggy, and slightly like cat in a washing machine. (But not that hairy or wet).

I find this diet completely manageable now. The portion sizes are pretty satisfying. Breakfast is still a little sparse. And I still see sweets/fats/dairy etc and want to eat them. That never goes away with any diet, I'm guessing. But I don't feel any feeling of desperation anymore.

I've found a few things to eat that I think help. If I'm really craving sweets after a meal, I have a big strawberry with Truvia (natural sweetener) on it. It actually curbs my dessert craving.

Or I make myself an Almost As Good As Apple Crisp. I cut up one apple, sprinkle it with cinnamon-Truvia and some lemon juice, put it in a bread pan lined with foil, crush up one melba toast to crumbs, add Truvia and cinnamon to those and sprinkle it over the apples, spray it with butter flavored pam, and bake 45 minutes. It comes out warm and cinnamony and almost fools my body into thinking I'm eating a decadent dessert!

I've also started eating a few off-diet vegetables. The vegetables that this diet allows are kind of odd. Spinach, lettuce, cabbage, onions, celery, and then a bunch of greens we Americans (at least those not in the South) never eat, like beet greens and chard. You can't just eat onions on their own. And as far as I know, no sane human ever eats celery plain either. It just needs ranch or peanut butter or dip. And I've found I can only eat salad (whether spinach, lettuce, or cabbage) so much before I want to scream. I need something warm, something more wintery and satisfying. So I've taken to eating broccoli, zucchini, and cauliflower. I really think eating a hot vegetable with my meat makes me feel like I'm eating a full dinner instead of meat and an appetizer salad. I know they're not allowed. And if I don't have better weight loss by tomorrow, I may consider cutting them out for a day or two to see if it helps. But for now it's making the difference between feeling hungry and feeling full, so I'm going to keep it.

So that's where I'm at, for those of you wondering whether you can do this diet. You can! The first few days were hard, I won't lie. But I've reached the point where my body has gotten used to this calorie intake and/or the HCG is releasing all those extra calories into my body from the stored fat. Whatever the case, I'm now at a place where I feel good about going on like this for another two weeks.

The one down side of my carb load is that I gained back 1/2 lb yesterday and had no loss (or gain) today. I'm crossing my fingers for something good tomorrow.


Daily Loss: 0 lbs
Total Loss: 3 lbs

Do You Formspring?

Perhaps I flatter myself in thinking that people care that much about learning things about me, but when I saw Formspring on her blog and her blog, I was super jealous intrigued and I had to try it!

So if you'd like to ask me an anonymous question and have me answer it here, on my blog, please visit this link.


PLEEEEEASE?

HCG Day 7 - Pay Back

Well, I ended up eating a very little bit of carbs and fat again last night because of eating Sunday dinner at the in-laws. I tried to keep very close to my diet. Tacos were served. I had one, with shredded pork on it. So that's one tortilla, 3.5 ounces of shredded pork, 1 Tbs guacamole. Plus two chips. And I didn't eat my second fruit, or second grissini, to make up for it. But, alas, two days of eating off-diet foods caught up to me. And today I have a small gain of 0.4 lbs. :(

(Shhhh....it was worth it!)

(As long as I lose weight by tomorrow).

(Or I might cry.)

(But it still might have been worth it for that one tiny peanut butter chocolate bar on Saturday.)

(Plus, I still weigh less than I've weighed for the last year, which is awesome.)

Daily Weight Loss: +0.4 lbs
Total Weight Loss: 3 lbs

(And that is still 3 lbs of weight lost in 5 days, which is better than I've ever done on any diet before.)

Frank Day

A few days ago I was Mean Mommy. It was a busy day; there was a lot of running around, so there was a lot of hurrying of the children going on, and yelling, and short tempers, and time outs, and more yelling, and threatened beatings and that sort of thing. I ended the day feeling like I had been, overall, very BAD.

So the next day I decided to take a whole day off to have fun with the kids, practicing being Nice Mommy. I wouldn't try to accomplish anything. I wouldn't go anywhere. The house would go to pot, I knew. But I was determined that the kids know that I loved them and that I wasn't completely and utterly like the witch who tried to eat Hansel, which Daphne is fond of telling me I'm like whenever I ask her to clean up her room.

In the morning, I told the kids that it was going to be a fun day. I don't know if Daphne misheard me or if it was her usual penchant or coming up with wacky names, but she announced to me later, "Today is a Frank Day!" When I asked her what that meant, she told me it meant treats and games and hugs and kisses and only having fun. So Frank Day it has become.


Frank Day consisted of...


Coloring


The Chewing of Gum


The Playing of iTouches and iPhones

The Eating of Twinkies


The Lighting and Blowing Out of Candles, which I think was the highlight of the kids' day.



The Playing of Play-dough



The Making of Play-dough snakes ( a special talent of mine)

The Making of Playdough ducks

The Making of Play-dough ducks being attacking Play-dough snakes, which I think was the highlight of my day.


There was other funness to be found but things eventually got so crazy fun that we forgot to take pictures.



Suffice it to say that the kids hope Frank comes to visit more often. So does Nice Mommy. (Mean Mommy secretly hopes there will be lots more time outs.)



p.s. My birthday is on Friday. I'm only mentioning it so that you can all send me presents if you so wish. Or if presents aren't on the menu this year, comments?

HCG Day 6 - Reprieve

I will keep this short and sweet. Eating carbs yesterday, however few, was heavenly. Not only did they taste wonderful and make me feel so satisfied, but I stayed satisfied all evening, all night, and even into the morning. I HEART CARBS. This is nothing new. I have always known that carbs were my most dear and cherished friend. It's why I never jumped on board South Beach or Atkins. Also cause I was in denial about how I looked. But mostly cause I love carbs.

So I still lost 1/2 lb, despite the carbs. I don't know if it was a fluke, if it will show up in tomorrow's weight. But if it doesn't, I may consider cheating every few days just to help myself function better!




Daily Weight Loss: - 1/2 lb
Total Weight Loss: 3 1/2 lbs.

HCG Day 5 - The Screw Up

Well, yesterday was turning out pretty well until dinner. I moved my protein to breakfast and had scrambled eggs with one yolk and 3 egg whites, and 1 piece of turkey bacon. I felt a lot more satisfied and normal after that breakfast. I was still a little hungry, but I wasn't starving and I wasn't weak or spaced out. I think it was a good move.

Of course, I had no idea what I was going to do when it came to dinner since I had already used up one protein of my two allowed, and the other one would be for lunch.

As it turned out, things took care of themselves. Because I forgot we had a pizza party at church, which my husband was in charge of so I couldn't skip it. I made a fruit salad so that I would have something there I could eat. But the fruit alone just didn't cut it. And my other options were pizza, pasta salad, pasta chili, jello salad, and 10 kids of desserts. So in the end, I just decided to forego my diet for the evening and just try to eat moderately. So I had one piece of pizza, a small portion of pasta salad, a bunch of fruit, a small handful of caramel corn, and one small peanut butter bar (hey, at least it had protein, right?)

I was very worried about what it would do to my weight, after having protein at breakfast AND a big deviation for dinner. But I'm delighted to say that I still lost 1/2 lb!

And I can't even explain to you how utterly delicious and filling those carbs were. Oh my gosh, the sugar and flour together in those bars....I could have eaten 15 of them! Dear carbs, how I love you so. Please forgive me with my temporary affair with protein. Love, Me.



Daily Weight Loss: 1/2 lb.
Total Weight Loss: 3 lbs!
(I am now my lowest weight in a year!)

HCG Day 4 - Surviving

Day before yesterday, the first day of the real diet, was HARD. I thought about food A LOT. I think part of the time I wasn't actually hungry, I was just used to feeling really full when I stopped eating. I wasn't full once the whole day yesterday, and that was disconcerting. But also, I was hungry. A LOT.



Yesterday, it wasn't as bad. I was terribly hungry in the morning. I forgot to have some herbal tea. Maybe that would have helped. And I forgot to have a snack. And then I went to the temple for two hours on a pretty empty stomach and I swear I didn't hear a word that was said. I just could not focus. Morning seems to be the hardest time for me. Although normally I am hungriest in the afternoon or late at night, for some reason this diet has me starving in the morning. Maybe the long period from after-dinner through until morning is just too long for my body to go. I think I need to try to transfer some of my calories to the morning, when I feel the most sluggish.



Menu.

Yesterdat I ate:



a strawberry smoothie



Cajun shrimp and broccoli



An apple



Steak with mushrooms and onions + sauteed spinach



2 grissini, 1 strawberry with Stevia



LOTS of water.



I'm peeing a lot in case you were wondering. Were you wondering? Well, there you have it. ( I love to make my readers happy.)



Technically, I'm cheating. The official Pounds And Inches HCG diet says no mixing your vegetables. You can eat one per meal. But I think I will seriously die of food boredom if I try to do it that way. So I'm going to have to mix it up. And I have read several sources that say mixing probably isn't a big deal as long as you are losing weight, but if you stop, it's an area to consider changing.



Anyway, to sum up, yesterday wasn't as bad. I wasn't quite as hungry. I didn't think of food quite as often. And I felt more satisfied after today's 2 main meals. But the morning thing needs adjustment. Big time.



Daily Weight Loss: 1/2 lb.
Total weight loss: 2 1/2 lbs

HCG Day 3 - The Meltdown

Ya, so, remember yesterday when I was too full to choke another Oreo down? I would DIE for an Oreo now. I would die for a piece of white bread right now. I would die for the crust of a piece of white bread right now. Or a crumb. I think a crumb from a piece of white bread would be heavenly. A big crumb, please.

I AM STARVING!!!

That is to be expected. Not only did I go from eating fairly normally to dieting rather extremely. But I went from binging and super high fats/sugers to very low fats and sugars. I think this could even out after a few days. I remember being very hungry the first few days on Weight Watchers too. So I'm giving it a few more days to see if I can get control of this hunger. If not, something's going to have to give.

Because it's not just hunger. I am very tired. And I don't feel like I'm thinking very clearly in the morning, when my calorie intake is at its lowest. I'm usually fine after lunch. But the morning time is pretty brutal. And the afternoon. And the evening. And the late evening. But especially the morning.

So my daily menu, in case anyone cares, was:

Breakfast-
1 cup lemon zinger herbal tea with Stevia
1 stawberry smoothie (strawberries, 1 TBS milk, stevia, water, ice)

Snack-
Grissini (hard breadstick)

Lunch-
Grilled Lime-Marinated Turkey Breast
Vinegrette Cole-Slaw

Snack - Grissini

Dinner -
Hamburger patty
Salad w/balsamic dressing
Orange

LOTS of water.

The good news (yes, there IS a silver lining, and I'm sure this is what has kept me going all day) is that I lost 2 lbs since yesterday! WOOT! As of right now, I'm at the lowest weight I've been in two months. And once I lose another 1/2lb, it'll be the lowest weight I've been in a year. So from here on out, it's all icing, baby.

ICING??? WAAAAAAH!!!!


Daily Wieght Loss: -2.0 lbs
Total Weight Loss: -1.0 lb

Caribbean Queen

Ok, let's do this thing.

First off, you should know that although these pictures of pristine white sand beaches and clear turqoise waters will look amazing, and it will seem as though I spent 5 1/2 days in Paradise, there is no need to be jealous. There were plenty of things wrong with this trip. I will try to give you a fair and honest analysis so that you can see the REAL St.Thomas...




So do you see all those lovely ladies I was traveling with? Good, now ignore them and look at the time stamp on that picture. Do you see what it says? If you're not familiar with army time, 06:48 means 6:48 in the freaking morning! That was only half way through our flight. We had already been traveling for hours and hours by the time it hit 6:48am and we still had hours to go. So now your jealousy is fading, right? Well, wait until you see the next travesty. You'll be so glad you stayed home...



This is the view from the apartment where we were staying. Do you see how far away the ocean was? We weren't even beach front.

And we had to sleep so close that it was like a slumber party EVERY night.


The close proximity also required a lot of us socially. We frequently had to stay up talking well into the night, and had to eat practically every meal together, out in the open air.


Magen's Bay Beach looks amazing at first glance. But do you see what that is at the very bottom of the picture? Look closely. Yes, those are LEAVES. Leaves! On the beach! Ha, "pristine" indeed.


Plus, I was forced to be seen in a bathing suit in the same general vicinity as these two perfect 10's, Leena and Kirsti. Talk about humiliation.



And on our way to the beach we almost got mauled by the dangerous local wildlife!

The ocean itself was no better. We had to swim with the likes of this man-eating creature.

And at Sapphire Beach the local wildlife wouldn't leave me alone. It kept trying to eat my food right out of my hands!


One night after dinner, we attempted to do some shopping. But the Louis Vitton store was closed. You can see everyone's disappointment. I think they were considering breaking in. But I guess they decided they'd have to forego their great love for loud, overpriced handbags for another day.


We thought maybe we'd fare better in St. John, so on day two we hopped on a ferry and headed over. But you can clearly see, St. John was no better. On St.John we were forced to endure the ultimate Caribbean insult: CLOUDS!


AND we had to walk, like one foot in front of the other, through a jungle, for a whole TEN minutes to get to that secluded beach. Can you imagine?? Walking, on VACATION? I know, I know. The lengths we will go to for a silly old beach.

Our third day, we went to Coki Beach, on St. Thomas. It was a much more crowded and touristy beach. We were forced to endure locals approaching us to see if they could bring us pina coladas and daiquiris. Sigh. "Well, if you MUST..."



And then every time I tried to read on the beach, waves had the nerve to come up and lap at my body, filling my bikini with sand. (By the way, did you know that you can carry around 2 cups of sand in your bikini bottom for several hours without knowing it until you pull down your bikini bottom down go to the bathroom and it dumps out all over the floor? Ya, neither did I. Go figure.)



At one beach on St.John there were pirates!!! We were forced to lay out in the sun with the constant threat of our booty being stolen. Or our booties. I'm not sure what modern-day pirates are after.



And then the natives on St.John kept trying to hypnotize us with their crazy voodoo music and dancing.

The food in St.Thomas was quite different. No macaroni and cheese to be found. Instead we were forced to resort to local things like seafood, fresh from the ocean.



So, yes, there were some amazing beaches and gorgeous water and sun and food and all that "great" stuff. But I think my post has made it clear that there were definitely some trying experiences on this trip. There is certainly not a vacation I would recommend for those who truly love the fast pace, fast food, noise, pollution, traffic and constant hum of city life.

Here are a few more images to convince you that I'm telling the truth about this seriously awesome whoops, I mean awful, horrible, very bad vacation....


Super stoked to get to St.Thomas. Instantly sweaty and sticky, but stoked.












Shopping on St. John.



Riding the ferry to St.John (Kirsti, Lisa, Me)

I learned a new sport while in St.Thomas, paddle boarding. It was super hard! You stand on a long boyant surf board and paddle your way around. Much easier than it looks. That's why there is a picture of Kirsti doing it, not me. I looked like I was in the midst of epilepsy when I was on it.

Snorkeling. We got to see sea turtles, all kinds of fish and coral, and got to swim through several bait balls, giant schools of tiny fish, so many they form a cloud in the water.


Drive-by cultural exposure in Charlotte Amalie's historical center, on our way to shopping, on our way to the airport.


A cemetary in Charlotte Amalie









Finally, I can't end this post without thanking the two people responsible for this trip: Leena, for hooking us up with her sister in St.Thomas, organizing the trip, gathering such a great group of women to travel with, and then abandoning us in coach class.

And Kirsti, for letting a bunch of complete strangers take over her house, eat all her food, hog all her fridge space, leave their under-things all over the place, and deposit the sand equivalent of Maho Beach in her shower.

I heart you both forever.