10 Things Losing Weight Has Made Me Thankful For

The season of giving thanks has taken me over! I am completely full of thanks for such a wonderful life.

Here are 10 things Im thankful for! Share the images that relate to you. :)

1. My Health
Being overweight was always scary. Now that Ive lost weight, I have a greater appreciation for health. I am so thankful that I dont have to take medications or poke myself with needles. It truly is a blessing.

2. The People Who Make Me Feel Confident

 I am surrounded by friends and family who constantly help me feel my worth by recognizing my hard work. I have had to re-learn what it means to feel confident and I am so thankful for the people who strive to teach me.

3. A Place To Call Home

No matter how hard my day is, how down I feel about myself or how frustrated I am with not reaching a goal, I always have a place to call home. And the more I think about that, the more I realize how insignificant my other problems are compared to other things I could be going through. 

4. My Family

However dysfunctional and frustrating they may be. I love my family. They have supported me through this journey. They have dealt with my crankiness. They have been there to celebrate my triumphs. They are so dear to me. 

5. My Job 

I realize that the job market is tough, and I am so thankful to have a job and not have to be looking during the holiday season. It isnt the easiest job, but it teaches me a lot. It has helped me accomplish a lot of goals, and it pays my bills. 

6. My Car

I am so thankful to have a car that lets me drive up to the mountains to go hiking, drive down to the health food store, and take me anywhere else I need to go. 

7. My Body

Its a work in progress, but I am so thankful for the body that I have. Through improving it, I have learned to respect it. I am so thankful that its working, that its healthy and that its beautiful. 

8. Tomorrows

I am so thankful that no matter what happens, I always know that tomorrow is going to be a fresh start. No matter what the scale says, I can do better tomorrow. 

9. Endorphins

I am so thankful for the feeling that exercise gives me. I am so thankful that endorphins help me feel satisfied, accomplished and happy after I spend time challenging myself physically. 

10. Access to Healthy Food

I am so thankful that I have access to food, and not just food but healthy food. I have so many choices and so many ways to fuel my body. I recognize that having such an abundance of food is truly a blessing. 

What are you thankful for?

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4 tips from an HCG veteran

Skinny news everyone!

Its official. I have lost over 70 pounds using HCG! I started this journey the second week in June and less  than 6 months later I have come farther than I ever thought imaginable!

I have learned a lot from this experience. I almost feel like a veteran for team HCG Diet, kind of like I need to help the new comers out a bit so they have the success Ive had.

Here are my 4 pieces of veteran advice.

1. Track your progress. It is important to track how much you are losing. Each day I come into work and one of the first things I do is write down my progress on a sticky note. Ive done this since round 2. I even have all the sticky notes to prove it.

I love starting my morning knowing that I can update my collection of progress notes. This is a very tangible way to show how quickly the pounds add up.

2. Follow the success of others, but dont compare.Since starting this blog I have had many opportunities to connect and interact with other HCG dieters. During my second round I would get frustrated when I saw people who were on the same round and day as me losing more weight. This frustration would ultimately build until I ate more than I was supposed to. While it is great to connect with other people and share success and experiences, dont let someone elses success negatively impact your diet. Your body is not their body. Sometimes you will lose weight faster, sometimes you will lose weight more slowly. This is not a competition.

3. Take each day one pound at a time. Some days I dont lose any weight. Days like that are difficult. Then I look at before pictures and see all of the progress Ive made and realize that I just have to take things one pound at a time. As long as I am following the program, my efforts will add up to a fantastic reward. On the days you dont lose, take a deep breath and commit yourself to a day of hard work and determination. Dont throw away all your good days because of one bad day.

4. Do it for you. 
I have tried losing weight before, but it was never really about me until now. I used to try to lose weight for my mom, for guys, to fit in at school, but ultimately never because I thought I deserved it. I realize now that trying to lose weight for the sake of pleasing other people never worked. I inevitably crashed and burned. When I finally decided that I deserved to be happy and healthy, losing weight became a lot easier. I am not torturing myself, I am giving myself a gift. This mindset has helped me be successful.

Now that youve read my veteran advice, what advice would you give to someone trying to lose weight?

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Maintaining Weight Loss on the HCG Diet My 5 Tips for Success

It has been awhile since Ive updated all of you on my progress! Not too long ago I finished my 4th round of the HCG Diet.  My four rounds on the HCG Diet were an incredible success; I lost 100 pounds in 293 days.

Losing this weight has been a tremendous blessing in my life. But now that the weight is gone, my next goal is to maintain. I started the maintenance phase at the beginning of March. And I am finally adding carbohydrates back into my diet successfully after 8 weeks of transitioning.

I am so proud to say that 8 weeks after finishing my HCG Diet I have maintained my 100 pound weight loss!

The thought of maintaining can be intimidating. After all, you go from eating hardly anything to doubling your caloric intake overnight.  I have gotten several emails from people who are terrified to gain weight back after finishing their diet. The transition seems impossible and frustrating. I completely understand this feeling, but after doing maintenance 4 times, there are some things Ive learned that I feel are worth sharing.

 Here are my 5 tips for maintaining weight loss after the HCG Diet.

1. Take it day by day
It is incredibly easy to get overwhelmed by maintenance. When you start maintenance, dont take it month by month or even week by week, take it day by day. If what you eat one day makes you gain weight, you dont eat it the next day. The weight you gained will come off if you just re-evaluate your diet. One bad day of weight gain does not mean youre going to gain everything back, it just means you need to make adjustments. Your overall goal is health, so take each day as the opportunity to nourish your body. Each day your body needs nutrients to function properly. Make sure you are getting in the best nutrients so you feel the very best! Your body isnt going anywhere. Youre not in a hurry to be healthy. It is a day by day process. Rushing will only add more pressure to an already difficult situation.

2. Develop a routine
Know what youre going to eat the day before you eat it. For me, I know that if I skip my 10 a.m. protein shake, Im more likely to get hit by a 2 p.m. snack attack. If I schedule out my food ahead of time it is easier to avoid tempting situations, plus I can trend my weight. I know that if I eat certain things at certain times I am going to maintain better than just eating whatever I want whenever I want.

3. Avoid feeling Guilty
So there have been several instances where I give into emotional eating. At one point I ate Chinese food and Del Taco simultaneously. And the next day I gained. I wasnt proud, I knew better than to eat those greasy foods, but it happened. After a binge day, the best thing you can do for yourself is recognize that your behavior led to consequences and recognize that youre human, and youre capable of getting back on track. Guilt will not lead to health, in fact dwelling in guilt after a binge can lead to dangerous behaviors like more binging, skipping meals, or purging. Thats not healthy. You will have bad days, you are not perfect. All that matters is that you make the day after a bad day a really good one!

4. Learn to love exercise
When I was 285 pounds, I HATED exercise. But now that I am not carrying around as much extra weight, I am actually enjoying exercise. It has been one of the biggest helps in maintaining my weight loss. Its helped me get my metabolism going again and its a great release for me mentally. Maybe running and walking isnt your thing, but you can try Zumba or swimming, bike riding or kickboxing! There are so many amazing activities that will help you get in shape and avoid gaining weight back.

5. Give yourself some breathing room
The original HCG protocol suggest a two pound window for gains. For me, I give myself a 5 pound leeway. If I gain more than 5 pounds, I know I need to adjust what Im doing. There will be times where you gain, there will be times where you retain water or eat something bad, so dont stress. This is not the end of the world. Just be proactive about the situation and recognize for every thing you eat there will either be a positive or negative consequence. As long as you are willing to live with the consequence and overcome the negative effects of it, youll be just fine.

Maintenance has taught me that healthy is not a destination. Healthy is an everyday effort! If you do maintenance correctly, you will learn healthy habits. Hang in there. You are more than capable of maintaining your weight loss. Im doing it, so can you!

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Life After the HCG Diet Whats to Eat

Life is kinda strange now that Ive finished all of my phases for my final round of the HCG Diet. While Im not holding myself to a strict list of very specific foods like I did on Phases 2 & 3, I still try to be pretty cautious of what I eat.

I realize what Im about to write may seem like bad news for some, but its true: Even after doing the maintenance phase, I still dont tolerate carbohydrates well. Its just a fact of life. I seem to do fine with more complex carbs like wheat bread and quinoa. However,  I cant eat rolls from Texas Roadhouse without seeing a slight gain the next day.

Basically Im learning that what I once that was normal (enriched, white flour) isnt normal when it comes to my body. My brain thinks its normal because thats what the American culture has taught me. So when I do eat carb-o-loaded foods, my mind registers this as fitting in with the culture I was raised with, but my body registers those tiny carbs as enemy invaders that need to be put into maximum security fat cells.

Bummer.

Im learning to live with this. And while I still allow myself to have the occasional candy bar or the occasional bag of baked chips Ive developed somewhat of a post-HCG eating routine that is helping me maintain.

Heres my diet on a regular clean-eating day:

Breakfast
Apple

Snack
Carrots

Lunch
Protein shake
- 2 scoops Triumph Slim
- 1 frozen banana
- 2 T. peanut butter
- Spinach
- Ice & water

Snack
Zucchini

Dinner
Grilled Chicken, Green Peppers & Onion
Salsa
Avocado

So if you noticed from the list above, I dont eat a lot of diary or a lot of grains. Before I started my weight loss journey, I used to drink a lot of milk and load almost every dish with cheese. But when I started counting calories, I realized that the amount of calories dairy adds isnt worth it. I try to eat six servings of veggies each day and a few servings of fruits. I stick mostly to chicken and protein powder because they are pretty lean and easy to prepare when Im short on time!

 When I follow the diet above I do really, really well maintaining my weight loss. Even if I slip up and eat junk for a day or two, getting back on this system usually helps me drop any weight I may have gained.

Now for a short little update on my goals: I want to lose about 30 more pounds but Im hesitant to do the HCG Diet yet. I dont think Im in the right mind frame mentally. Im not sure if I will do another round, but as of right now Im going to do form healthy eating and exercise habits before I worry too much about losing weight. I try to maintain a weight of 185 pounds but I give myself about 5 pounds of breathing room. So far Ive been able to stay within that threshold and Im looking to continue that streak! It feels amazing.

Are you nervous for life after the HCG Diet?

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3 Tips To Avoid Fall Weight Gain

I love fall. It is my favorite season. The temperature is perfect, the colors in the mountains are beautiful, and I can finally wear cardigans, scarves and boots without burning up. Its the season of soup and haunted hay rides. Its the season of cuddling and wearing leg warmers. But of course with all of my favorite fall activities also comes the season of eating.

Tends to bring out everyones desire to bake rolls and pies. Just since the beginning of October Ive had co-workers bring in pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, cheesecake, homemade biscuits and home made cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting. Oh. My. Word. Its like carbohydrate heaven around here!

As easy as it may seem to stuff my face with all this bready goodness and wear baggy sweaters for the next three months, I know that I have a goal that is much more important than snacking on the fall foods that make me pack on the pounds.
Im not saying it is easy, because its incredibly hard to be surrounded by friends when they are eating rich, homemade confections while Im crunching on an apple, but I am saying youll feel better about yourself come January when youre already making progress toward your weight loss goal.

Here are 3 Tips to avoid Fall weight gain:

1. Sweaters are good, just dont hide under them
Big sweaters are in right now. They are easy to dress up with a pair of leggings, boots and a chunky necklace, but they also give you the perfect excuse to gain a little weight and have it go unnoticed. Tempting
right? Nothing hides a food baby (the bloat you get after overeating) better than a cute, off the shoulder, sweater. Keep in mind, though, that sweater season wont be around forever. It takes a lot longer to take off pounds than it does a sweater. Even though its tempting to use this fashion trend as an excuse to indulge in pumpkin spiced lattes from Starbucks, ditch the over-sized sweaters and pick up some fitted cardigans.

A couple months ago, target was having a sell on their boyfriend cardigans, and I stocked up. They are form fitting enough that if I put on too much weight they will show off my muffin top. Its good incentive to eat healthy even when everyone around me isnt.

2. Go for foods that are warm but not rich

Theres nothing quite like the feeling of broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl, or hot apple pie settling in your stomach. Usually when its cold outside we want something warm to eat or drink, right? Unfortunately a lot of the things we end up eating and drinking are warm but they are also rich. Cream based soups, hot pie, and creamy lattes are loaded with calories. But just because youre on a diet doesnt mean you cant have something warm and delicious, its all about making some healthy swaps. For instance, instead of Broccoli Cheese Soup go for vegetable soup in broth. Its incredibly tasty but it doesnt have the flour and butter that are usually in cream based soups. Instead of apple pie, slice an apple, sprinkle it with cinnamon and Trulicious powdered stevia, and bake it. You still get sweet, warm apples but you cut down on calories tremendously. Instead of a latte add a tablespoon of milk and a teaspoon of stevia to a cup of black coffee. Again, its a lot less calories but you still get that warm, full feeling.

3. Keep exercising
I live in Utah, and eventually its going to get dark earlier than I get home from school and too cold for me to
go jogging outside (yup, Im a sissy). If youre anything like me, staying home seems so much better than braving the cold for a workout.  But NO EXCUSES! There are hundreds of exercise videos out there that you can do in the comfort of your headed home. You can also check out HCGDiet.coms fitness board on Pinterest for some awesome and FREE stay at home fitness ideas! Even if its a 30 minute zumba video, its better than nothing. Keep moving. Your body will feel so much better if you continue to exercise through fall and winter!

Dont use fall as an excuse for weight gain. Enjoy fall without packing on the pounds with those three tips!

Need additional help reaching your goal weight in time for the family Christmas party?  Order your HCG Triumph kit today and you can lose up to 40 pounds before Christmas! Get your kit now while its on sale: http://www.hcgdiet.com/

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