R4 Phase 3 Day 7

Weight - 131.6

Amazingly a 0.4 drop today even with the high calorie dinner last night.  I'm finally going for the eggs today and about the same amount of calories as yesterday.

I ended up out apartment hunting today with my son and daughter-in-law.  My snack wasn't until 5pm and dinner was after 8.

Sunday Brunch - (571 calories)
**Sausage/Veggie Frittata
3 large eggs
1 egg white
2 Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage patties
80 g mushrooms
60 g onion
50 g bell pepper
1 tbsp half and half
1 tbsp coconut oil cooking

1 mug of coffee with 1 tbsp half & half

Afternoon snack - (294 calories)
7 oz Fage Total Classic Greek yogurt
50 g black raspberries


Dinner - (481 calories)
**Sundried Tomato/Asiago sirloin burger with veggies
7.5 oz 90/10 ground sirloing
28 g sundried tomato
28 g asiago cheese
70 g roma tomato
30 g onion
30 g dill pickle
1 tbsp Heinz Reduced Sugar Ketchup
1 tbsp yellow mustard


Total calories for the day 1,346
Daily Calorie Composition: 12% from carbs, 56% from fat and 32% from protein.

R4 Phase 3 Day 6

Weight - 132.0

Up .8, but very little output overnight.  I'm still 1.4 lbs below LIW.  Sticking to about 1,300 calories again today.  If I'm still good tomorrow I'll do eggs in the morning.

Breakfast - (144 calories)
7 oz container Fage 0% Greek yogurt
60 g raspberries
KAL stevia to taste

Lunch - (350 calories)
112 g Jennie-O Extra Lean Oven Roasted turkey breast
150 g mixed lettuces
85 g roma tomato
30 g onion
3 tbsp Brianna's Real French Vinaigrette

Dinner - (820 calories)
**Sundried Tomato/Asiago sirloin burgers with Artichoke/Pepper Aioli
8 oz 90/10 ground sirloing
28 g sundried tomato
28 g asiago cheese
4 or 5 artichoke heart pieces
2 tbsp Trader Joe's canola mayo
1 tsp minced garlic
pepper

Total calories to day 1,314
Daily Calorie Composition: 13% from carbs, 57% from fat and 30% from protein.

R4 Phase 3 Day 5

Weight - 131.2

I had to step off the scale and back on a few times this morning.  A very unexpected 1.4 lb drop.  I am now 2.2 lbs below LIW.  I am going to add more calories today with the addition of some Fage Greek Yogurt in the morning.

Breakfast - (230 calories)
300 g Fage 0% Greek Yogurt
60 g blueberries
KAL stevia to taste
1 mug coffee with 1 tbsp half & half

Lunch - (524 calories)
2 AmyLu's Sweet Caramelized Onion Chicken patties (Costco)
100 g romaine lettuce
35 g bell pepper
15 g onion
3 tbsp Brianna's Real French Vinaigrette

Afternoon Snack - (32 calories)
50 g Rainier Cherries


Dinner - (503 calories)
185 g Chuck eye steak
15 g Athenos Gorgonzola Crumbles
200 g cucumber
50 g radishes
30 g green onion
2 tbsp Newman's Own Light Italian dressing

Total Calories for the day 1,289
Daily Calorie Composition: 14% from carbs, 48% from fat and 38% from protein.

R4 Phase 3 Day 4

Weight - 132.6

Up 0.4, but there was very little output overnight and I didn't eat the rest of my dinner until 10pm so I was expecting it.  More of the same today.  Depending on what the scale says tomorrow, I may try bumping my calories just a bit.

Morning - (40 calories)
2 mugs of coffee with 1 tbsp half & half in each

Lunch -(464 calories)
Grilled Chuck eye steak with Red Radish & Cucumber Salad
185 g chuck eye steak, grilled with Montreal Steak Seasoning 
Red Radish & Cucumber salad (half portion) 

Dinner - (548 calories)
**Turkey burgers with Jalapeno Salsa on spinach
2 Jennie-O All Natural Quarter Pound turkey burgers
50 g baby spinach
4 tbsp pico de gallo
40 g avocado
15 g Lemon Truffles for dessert

Total Calories for the day 1,052
Daily Calorie Composition: 9% from carbs, 59% from fat and 32% from protein.

R4 Phase 3 Day 3

Weight - 132.2  

Nice.  Still 1.2 below LIW. 

Spent a bit of the day cleaning cupboards in the kitchen.  Tonight the painter came over and tossed up some of the colors I've been looking at.  Now it's time to see which one I might could live with.  I got half my dinner down before he showed up and didn't eat the rest until 10pm.  Ouch.

Morning - (40 calories)
2 mugs of coffee with 1 tbsp half & half in each

Lunch - (530 calories)
**Chicken Salad with Caesar dressing
215 g chicken, sauteed previously in coconut oil
180 g Spring mix lettuce
70 g roma tomato
35 g onion
3 tbsp LiteHouse Caesar Dressing

Afternoon Snack - (32 calories)
70 g apricot

Dinner - (464 calories)
Grilled Chuck eye steak with Red Radish & Cucumber Salad
185 g chuck eye steak, grilled with Montreal Steak Seasoning 
Red Radish & Cucumber salad (half portion)

Total Calories for the day 1,066

Red Radish & Cucumber Salad

**Red Radish & Cucumber Salad
200 g red radishes, sliced thin
200 g cucumber, sliced thin
60 g green onion
6 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp extra light olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp fresh dill
few drops of stevia
salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything but radishes, cucumber and onion in a bowl and mix well.  Pour over veggies and incorporate.  This makes two 105 calorie portions.

R4 Phase 3 Day 2

Weight 132.2

Up 0.6 from day 1 and 1.2 lbs below LIW.  Not bad.  I'll do two meals again today in keeping my calories on the low side for a few more days.

Morning - (40 calories)
2 mugs of coffee with 1 tbsp half & half in each

Lunch - (459 calories)
2 AmyLu's Sweet Caramelized Onion Chicken Burgers
100 g Spring Mix lettuce
2 tbsp Brianna's Real French Vinaigrette

Dinner - (537 calories)
Chicken and avocado salsa with red Russian kale ranchera
215 g boneless skinless chicken breast
2 tsp Nutiva Coconut Oil
Pampered Chef Crushed Peppercorn & Garlic rub
150 g Red Russian kale
3 tbsp El Pato Tomato Sauce
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp Ghee or butter
3 tbsp pico de gallo
40 g avocado.

Pound the chicken breasts thinner for even cooking.  Cook in oil on stovetop until done (I love my grill pan).   Rough chop the kale.  Heat butter and garlic in a deep skillet.  Add kale, water and incorporate.  Cover and continue stirring occasionally until kale is wilted.  Add tomato sauce and reduce.   For the salsa, mix mashed avocado into pico de gallo

Total Calories for the day 1,036
Daily Calorie Composition: 12% from carbs, 52% from fat and 36% from protein.

R4 Phase 3 Day 1

Weight - 131.6

Down another pound which means I have 1.8 lbs of wiggle room below my LIW of 133.4.  Nice.  As I mentioned previously, I'm going into this P3 slowly.  I'll be using solid proteins, ie fish, chicken, beef, veal, cooking in oil or butter, mixing vegetables, using salad dressing and mayonnaise.  I will hold off on things like cheese, Greek yogurt, and nuts for several days.  I'm doing this to work to prevent needed a steak day in the first 10 to 14 days.  My first two rounds I stabilized well, at or below LIW, and didn't need a corrective day until day 14 or 15 of both.  My last round, I had to do a steak day on Day 2 of P3 and stabilization was not as nice.

I continued with some cleaning today.  I got one bite on my four Craigslist ads, and the toolbox is now gone.  Hopefully, it picks up and the other items will disappear soon.  I finished up cleaning the garage cupboards and then tackled the master bathroom. 

Tomorrow I'm going to pick up about 7 or 8 quarts of various paint colors that I'm wanting to toss up on the walls in a few place to narrow down which one I want.  It appears we're about a week out from starting the painting and various repairs.

I've got to get into P3 cooking mode.  I whipped up tuna salad for lunch and did a couple of burger patties for dinner with sauteed onions and mushrooms.  Typically in P3 I try to double cook so that some meals are pretty much ready to go.  I went through all my frozen steaks last night and every one of them is over 13 oz.  Either I cook them and split them afterward or I save those for 'steak days' which I'm really hoping I don't need.

I'm doing two meals today.  I'm not sure when I'll go to three or if I'll just add a snack at some point.

Morning - (40 calories)
2 mugs of coffee with 1 tbsp of Half and Half in each

Lunch - (456 calories)
**Tuna Salad
5 oz Bumble Bee chunk light tuna (pouch)
70 g celery
50 g dill pickle
40 g onion
30 g Trader Joe's Canola Mayo


Dinner - (560 calories)
**Mushroom/Onion Smothered burgers
2 1/4 lb Moran 90/10 ground sirloin patties
100 g mushrooms
50 g onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp butter
70 g roma tomato
30 g spring mix
2 tbsp Marie's Dressing

Total calories for the day 1,056
Daily Calorie Composition: 9% from carbs, 58% from fat and 33% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 66

Weight - 132.6

Down 1 pound today to exactly the weight I was one month ago on June 24th before I started my 'stick it' period for this round in order to try to get my body to more readily accept this new weight.  Tomorrow will be the first day of Phase 3 for me.

With the help of some family, we finally got the garage cleaned out and reorganized.   My big heavy treadmill is now out there along with a file cabinet and a couple of other things I've just put up on CraigsList for sale. 

My younger son played parking lot bumper cars with another SUV this afternoon.  He's not been driving very long and is feeling a bit sheepish about it all.  The guy wants to try to avoid going through insurance.  I'd like to do that if it's not going to run thousands of dollars to prevent rates from increasing since my son is under 25 and single.  Although I have a low deductible and am not about to be taken to the cleaners.

Since I was so busy today I ended up with one meal and had a double portion of protein.   I"m a bit sunburned and sore tonight.  Hope that doesn't play havoc with tomorrow's scale.

Dinner - (266 calories)
200 g Jennie-O 99% lean ground turkey, grilled as burgers
150 g Spring Lettuce Mix
P2 protocol dressing
40 g nectarine

Total calories for the day 266
Daily Calorie Composition: 14% from carbs, 10% from fat and 76% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 65

Weight - 133.6

Up 0.2 but I weighed an hour earlier this morning.  Spend a few hours at the salon getting my hair colored, cut and a few bright colored extensions added.  I had intended to do a P2 Fage day but when dinner rolled around I opted for less carbs with a normal P2 meal plus added protein.

Lunch - (270 calories)
7 oz Fage Total Classic Greek yogurt

Dinner - (244 calories)
200 g chicken breast, previously grilled
150 g romaine
P2 protocol dressing

Total calories for the day 514
Daily Calorie Composition: 9% from carbs, 40% from fat and 51% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 64

Weight - 133.4

Down 1 pound and today is my last injection so this is the weight I will try to maintain during Phase 3.  Hopefully doing the month+ of holding my weight as close to 135 and below as I could will help me with stabilizing.   I had a busy day and didn't get back home for lunch so I ate a double portion of protein for dinner.

Dinner - (308 calories)
**Burger salad
200g 96% lean ground beef
170 g romaine
90 g roma tomato
30 g onion
20 g green pepper

*Burger dressing
3 tbsp pickle juice
1 tbsp yellow mustard
garlic powder, no salt seasoning, and pepper to taste

Total Calories for the day 308
Daily Calorie Composition: 16% from carbs, 25% from fat and 59% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 63

Weight - 134.4

Just call me SeeSaw.  I'm back up the .2 I was down yesterday.  Tomorrow will be my last injection and my LIW.  I'd love to be in the 133-range, but yeah.

Lunch - (182 calories)
100 g chicken breast
300 g cucumber
30 g bell pepper
20 g onion
3 tbsp white wine vinegar

Dinner - (223 calories)
**Buffalo sirloin strips & Zucchini Provencale
150 g buffalo sirloin, previously pan fried
200 g baby zucchini, sliced
1/4 c water
2 tbsp tomato paste, no salt added
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp oregano

For the Zucchini Provencale, heat a small skillet over medium high.  Saute the zucchini until slightly brown on both sides.  Mix the water, tomato paste, and seasonings and pour over zucchini.  Stir and cover for 2 minutes.  Uncover and reduce slightly.

Total Calories for the day 405
Daily Calorie Composition: 24% from carbs, 12% from fat and 64% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 62

Weight - 134.2

Down 0.2 and that's fine with me.  Busy day running errands.  I'm eating extra protein for both meals.

Lunch - (245 calories)
200 g ahi tuna, seared
170 g cucumber
30 g onion
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Dinner - (210 calories)
150 g bison London broil
150 g mixed braising greens
1/4 c beef broth
3 tbsp red vinegar
salt & pepper

Total calories for the day 455
Daily Calorie Composition: 14% from carbs, 11% from fat and 75% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 61

Weight - 134.4

up and down up and down.  Today it's down the 0.8 that I was up yesterday. Friday will be my last injection so I'd love to see a couple of more drops over the next 3 days.


Lunch - (135 calories)
100 g chicken, previously baked
200 g bib lettuce
P2 vinaigrette dressing

Afternoon snack - (44 calories)
80 g nectarine
60 g cellery


Dinner - (191 calories)
150 g Kirkland Tilapia Loins
Spice Hunter Fajita Seasoning blend
2 tbsp El Pato Tomato Sauce
170 g cucumber
40 g green bell pepper
40 g onion
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Nu-Salt & Pepper

Total Calories for the day 370
Daily Calorie Composition: 25% from carbs, 12% from fat and 63% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 60

Weight - 135.2

Up another .8 and no real reason for it other than lack of sleep and not a lot of output.   I'm pulling out the veal again today and see if that helps.

Dinner - (371 calories)
322 g veal sirloin, pan fried in lemon and pepper
135 g tomato

Total Calories for the day 371
Daily Calorie Composition: 3% from carbs, 22% from fat and 75% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 59

Weight - 134.4

Arggh... up 1.6 lbs.  No output and very little sleep.   I spent the afternoon at the Mariners/Rangers baseball game.  We lost, of course, but it was nice to get out of the house.  Left on time and had to come back and switch vehicles because I had a low tire.  I stopped and put air in it, but was fearful of driving it on the freeway as I saw a nail in it.  I'll get it checked out in the next couple of days.

Lunch - (206 calories)
**Chicken, Apple, Celery salad
100 g chicken, previously baked
140 g celery
140 g apple
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp water
garlic powder
no salt seasoning

Dinner - (157 calories)
100 g chicken
280 g cucumber
45 g onion
3 tbsp red wine vinegar

Total calories for the day 363
Daily Calorie Composition: 37% from carbs, 7% from fat and 56% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 58

Weight - 132.8

Woot.. stayed the same with the increase in calories and the addition of 120 calories of lemon truffles with coconut butter.

More of the same today.  Well maybe not the lemon truffles.

I ran down to the local Hispanic mini-super this morning and snagged the last 4 cheese and jalapeno tamales (fresh made every Saturday) for my son's GF - the prego one. . I also got some sweets that I have no clue the actual names are, but one is a dense bread pudding made with conchas (sweet bread) that I had a small sliver of.. it's to die for. I love bread pudding.

Spent about 30 minutes this afternoon batch cooking some proteins for the week.  It's so fast to do things on the grill and the food just tastes so much better.

Fastest batch cooking in the west on the grill!
Chicken breasts (10 portions), 99% lean ground turkey (10 portions), 96% lean grassfed burgers (8 portions)

Lunch - (288 calories)
180 g chuck steak
125 g romaine lettuce
mustard dressing

Afternoon Snack - (125 calories)
100 g watermelon
sliver of bread pudding

Dinner - (248 calories)
**P2 Turkey Spaghetti
100 g ground turkey
150 g zucchini, spiral sliced
1 c canned diced tomatoes, no salt added
60 g onion
50 g mushrooms
1/2 c water
2 tbsp tomato paste, no salt added
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp pepper

Total calories for the day 661
Daily Calorie Composition: 22% from carbs, 33% from fat and 45% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 57

Weight - 132.8

Drop 1 pound today. Below 133 and it's holding pattern time. I'm going to increase my calories today in an effort to maintain my weight around 133ish. I'm doing this partially with a new, very rogue, recipe for something called Lemon Truffles. Like chocolate delight aka cocoa crack which using coconut oil, some people swear that it and these help them lose weight. I tried coconut oil a few times in previous rounds but never really noticed a difference.

Lunch - (183 calories)
**Mexi-Chicken Soup
100 g chicken, previous baked, diced
180 g baby zucchini (I used 1 whole one)
60 g green onion
1 cup Kirkland Chicken Broth
1 cup water
3 tbsp El Pato Tomato Sauce
2 tsp Spice Hunter Fajita seasoning

Afternoon Snack - (35 calories)
90 g peach

Dinner - (288 calories)
180 g chuck steak
125 g romaine lettuce
mustard dressing 

Snack - (124 calories)
20 g Lemon Truffles


Total Calories for the day 630
Daily Calorie Composition: 19% from carbs, 37% from fat and 44% from protein.

Lemon Truffles Recipe

**Lemon Truffles Recipe
1 cup Artisana Coconut Butter
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp lemon rind
no calorie sweetener of choice (I used KAL stevia - about 10 little scoops)

Heat the coconut butter for 60 to 90 seconds in the microwave.  Stir.  Add the lemon juice, lemon rind, and sweetener.  Combine well.  Spoon small amounts (I used a plastic teaspoon to make about 10 gram truffles).  Freezer for 10 minutes then refrigerate.  Let them come to room temperature before eating.

Coconut Flour Cheddar Drop Biscuits

Here's a recipe I plan to try in my next P3

Coconut Flour Cheddar Drop Biscuits

R4 Phase 2 Day 56

Weight - 133.8

Up 0.8 today.  Not unusual after the good drop yesterday.  I have a deep tissue massage this afternoon at 3pm.  I so need it. 

I broiled up 3/4 a pound of bison sirloin today and split it between lunch and dinner. 


Lunch - (187 calories)
158 g bison sirloin
170 g cucumber
2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Afternoon snack - (72 calories)
150 g raspberries


Dinner - (186 calories)

157 g bison sirloin
170 g cucumber
2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Total calories for the day 445
Daily Calorie Composition: 23% from carbs, 15% from fat and 62% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 55

Weight - 133.0

Nice!  1.8 lbs down today.  I think I need to spend more evenings in a movie theater like I did last night.

Lunch - (207 calories)
100 g flank steak (previously grilled)
150 g mixed lettuce
vinegar dressing

Afternoon snack - (99 calories)
168 g Fage 0% Greek Yogurt
Apricot stevia to taste

Dinner - (192 calories)
140 g Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna (pouch)
100 g celery
40 g dill pickle
20 g onion
2 tbsp pickle juice
1 tbsp yellow mustard
pepper

Total Calories for the day 498
Daily Calorie Composition: 16% from carbs, 19% from fat and 65% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 54

Weight - 134.8

Down 0.6 today.  Today is my injection skip day.  Still using a dose of 170iu per day of Hucog brand of hcg.  Packed away some fragile glass items from my China hutch and other places.  Then went tonight to see Transformers, finally.  Not bad at all. 

Lunch - (228 calories)
**Tuna salad
137 g Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna (pouch)
100 g celery
35 g onion
35 g pickle
56 g Fage 0% Greek yogurt
1 tbsp yellow mustard
2 tbsp jalapeno


Afternoon Snack - (94 calories)
180 g apple

Dinner - (140 calories)
**Turkey pattie in Spinach salad
100 g Jennie-O 99% lean ground turkey, grilled
140 g baby spinach
mustard dressing

Total calories for the day 462
Daily Calorie Composition: 37% from carbs, 6% from fat and 57% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 53

Weight - 135.4

Up 1.2 lbs with no real reason.  Plugging along.

They installed the gas pipe for the fire pit on the deck today. At 9 am, I'm standing on my deck with a Sharpie marking the spot where the pipe comes up through the deck. I was like "you mean I don't get a flex hose like the grill has?" They say "no ma'am, it's got to be hard pipe all the way.. once it's installed this is where it sits."  I don't like making permanent decisions at 9 am on a Monday morning.

I made tossed together something new today.  Loved it.  I made one dish and split it into two meals.  I also tried kelp noodles again.  These noodles are clear and a bit crisp as compared to the Miracle Noodles which are smelly and rubbery.  4 ounces has 6 calories.  Honestly, I won't bother with them again.

Lunch and Dinner - (490 calories)

**Buffalo Ranchera Stew

280 g buffalo sirloin, diced

290 g bok choy, diced

6 oz Sea Tangle Kelp Noodles**(optional)

60 g onion, diced

1/2 c beef broth

3 to 4 tbsp Herdez Salsa Ranchera

1 tsp Spice Hunter Mexican Seasoning 

90 g nectarine for desert

Boil kelp noodles in hot water, drain and rinse. Saute buffalo, bokchoy, and onion, until cooked through.  Add beef broth, salsa ranchera, and seasoning.  Cover and simmer until flavors are melded.  Pour over kelp noodles and combine.

Total calories for the day 490

Daily Calorie Composition: 29% from carbs, 12% from fat and 59% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 52

Weight 134.2

Finally a decent drop again.. 1.8 down today.  Busy day again.  I started in on boxing up knick knacks, etc in my bedroom and formal living room.  Seriously looking at things to decide to keep, toss, sell.  Got waylaid by younger son and GF wanting to go find an engagement ring. So the entire crew spent a couple of hours at Jareds. Was not what was planned for the day exactly, but now it's done and I'll get back to the packing in between other things

Lunch - (193 calories)
**Sunday Frittata
1 large egg
3 egg whites
60 g mushrooms
50 g onion
50 g garlic scrapes


Dinner - (181 calories)
**Turkey Patty With Cucumber salad
100 g Jennie-O 99% lean ground turkey, grilled
170 g cucumber
30 g onion
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
garlic powder to taste

Total calories for the day 374
Daily Calorie Composition: 23% from carbs, 22% from fat and 55% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 51

Weight - 136.0

This is beginning to be like pulling teeth.  Down 0.6 this morning.  With my PM weigh in last night I thought it was going to be a lot more.  Oh well.

Very busy day today.  I tackled my office.  I pulled everything out of my office closet, tossed stuff, organized cords, chargers, etc in plastic bins, transferred pictures and memorabilia to a couple of those flip-top bins, cleared out the 2 draw lateral file and moved it out so it can go in the garage to sell on Craigslist. I'm bushed.

I did one meal today again.  I've not been that hungry at all.  I grilled up 2 lbs of lean ground beef, 20 oz of lean ground turkey, and a couple of turkey breasts.  I froze some of it and put some in the fridge for the next few days.  Remember there's two in my household on Phase 2.

Breakfast
Coffee with KAL stevia
with my Keurig Coffee Maker.  A lot of the flavored coffees available are P2 friendly.  Today, I had Timothy's Sugar Bush Maple and White Tea Orange Indulgence.

Dinner - (347 calories)
**Turkey burger & salad
250 g Jennie-O 99% lean ground turkey, grilled
150 g red leaf lettuce
burger dressing

Total calories for the day 347
Daily Calorie Composition: 16% from carbs, 10% from fat and 74% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 50

Weight - 136.6

I don't think I've ever weighed exactly the same three days in a row while in Phase 2.  I guess there's a first for everything. 

Time got away from me today and I ended up skipping lunch so I made it a mini-veal day and ate all my protein at dinner time.   At noon, the appliance repairman finally came with the part that was ordered back a couple of months ago when they installed my new double wall oven.  It's worked, but the upper panel wasn't hinged right.  By the time he was done, it was 1pm and I'd planned on tackling my laundry room today as a start toward getting this house prepped for paint and carpet in two to three weeks.  My daughter-in-law was supposed to come help me get going on things because a lot of what's around here is theirs also and needs to either go to their place, get packed up or go to Goodwill.  She'd postponed three times on me so when she did again today I got upset and when I get upset I clean.  My laundry room is about 12' by 10' with a shelving/hanging system in one corner over two of the walls, a big wash sink and higher than normal counter, the washer & dryer, along with 4 cat litter boxes.  Besides all that, there was several laundry bins of clothes, linens, and miscellaneous stuff just piled in one corner.  I pulled everything out from top to bottom.  What belonged to son, daughter-in-law, or grandbaby went in a couple of huge garbage bags for them to go through.  The litter boxes got a thorough bleaching and the floors, walls, and baseboards scrubbed.  Then what was going back in the room got reloaded.  It took me about 3 hours.  When I was finished I realized I'd totally skipped lunch.

The next room to tackle will be my office.  All the closets in the house will be recarpeted and I'm still trying to decide if they are getting painted or not.  Every closet has a hanging California Closet system.  To paint it properly I guess the system would have to come off the wall.  I guess they could paint just above, below and on the sides, but I'm not sure yet.  Regardless, anything on the floors has to be moved, boxed, or trashed.  My office closet is a catch all of computer stuff that's currently unused except for my laptop. There's boxes of software, etc on the shelves.  I also have a two drawer lateral file cabinet that sits at my back behind my desk.  I used it a lot the first few years, but now the top ends up getting stuff tossed on it and what's inside I don't really access much.  The bottom drawer holds years of taxes for myself and my businesses as well as a lot of copies of print media that my business has been mentioned in.  I want the lateral file emptied, out of my office and set aside to CraigsList along with some other things in the house.   I also have to pack away all the knick knacks, glassware, artwork, etc so that when they come to paint all they are dealing with is major furniture.  Same for when they carpet.

Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend.

Breakfast
Coffee with KAL stevia
with my Keurig Coffee Maker.  A lot of the flavored coffees available are P2 friendly.  Today, I had Green Mountain Island Coconut coffee and Timothy's Cranberry Green Twist tea.

Dinner - (326 calories)
**Lemon Pepper Veal & Braised Greens
8 oz veal sliced thin
juice of one lemon
pepper to taste
150 g braising mix which consists of organic kales, chards, mustards and collards that I got in my weekly farm to doorstep organic produce delivery from FullCircleFarm
1/4 c beef broth
1 tsp Kirkland No Salt Seasoning
60 g black plum (for desert)

Total calories for the day 326
Daily Calorie Composition: 24% from carbs, 13% from fat and 63% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 49

Weight - 136.6

Exactly the same weight today as yesterday. 

I have decided tonight to mix another vial which will give me up to 12 more days on doses.  I know that's a very very long round.  In fact it's longer than any of the other three previous rounds.  Kind of sad when you think about the fact that I started this round with just 15 or 16 lbs to lose.  Well, I was at that point three weeks back, but have since pussy-footed around, cheated, dropped it again, cheated again..and so on and so on.   So either I'm reign things in and drop, then hold for the rest of the time or I'll continue to crash and burn and be sitting in this same position in less than two weeks.

Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment.

Breakfast
Coffee with KAL stevia
with my Keurig Coffee Maker.  A lot of the flavored coffees available are P2 friendly.  Today, I had Gloria Jean's Butter Toffee flavor.


Lunch - (191 calories)
**Sunday Omelet (yes I know it's Thursday)
1 large egg
3 egg whites
120 g mushrooms
60 g onion

Afternoon Snack - (78 calories)
150 g apple
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar


Dinner - (157 calories)
**Chicken & Radish soup
100 g chicken breast, previously baked
200 g red radishes, sliced with greens included
1 c Kirkland Chicken Stock
1 c water
1 tbsp horseradish mustard
1 tsp Kirkland No Salt Seasoning
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper

Total Calories for the day 426
Daily Calorie Composition: 38% from carbs, 14% from fat and 48% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 48

Weight - 136.6

Down 2.0 lbs of my gain.  Hoping for more of it to be gone in the morning.  I'm in a quandry.  I have enough mixed hcg for 2 more injections.  If I stop at that point I'd start Phase 3 on Monday morning.  Or I can mix again and have enough for up to 11 more days.  I'm mad at myself because I've let me weekend cheating get me off track of 'sticking' my weight.  I counted yesterday and in the last 21 days I've been below 135 lb 14 of them.  What I had intended was to get under 133 and hold it there for 10 to 14 days.  That's just not happened to this point.  I need to wrap my head around finishing this up right or just transition off and hope that it sticks.   My son is on Phase 2 for at least another two weeks.  I could easily continue until that point and try to curb the cheating.  Perhaps going to be earlier might help.  I tend to do most of my extra eating after 10 or 11 pm at night until bedtime which for me is usually after midnight.

Breakfast
Coffee with KAL stevia
with my Keurig Coffee Maker.  A lot of the flavored coffees available are P2 friendly.

Lunch - (127 calories)
100 g baked chicken breast
100 g mixed baby greens
mustard dressing 

Afternoon snack - (99 calories)
168 g Fage 0% Greek Yogurt


Dinner - (219 calories)
210 g Mahi Mahi
juice of one lemon
Spice Hunter Key Lime Pepper
200 g Napa Cabbage
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp water
stevia to taste
garlic powder and pepper to taste


Total calories for the day 445
Daily Calorie Composition: 15% from carbs, 8% from fat and 77% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 47

Weight - 138.6

Okay.. I have got to get things under control or just move on to P3.  Tonight did not stop at just the cupcake and a bit of ice cream.  Seems to be my issue lately.  My "stick it" idea has not come as easily as I thought.  I'm almost nearing the longest amount of time I've been on hcg in any round and certainly that was not what I expected.

Breakfast
Coffee with KAL stevia
with my Keurig Coffee Maker.  A lot of the flavored coffees available are P2 friendly.

Dinner - (266 calories)
**Citrus pepper veal with braised greens
190 g veal sliced thin
90 g kale
90 g escarole

Snack - (51 calories)
150 g cantaloupe

Total calories for the day 317
Daily Calorie Composition: 31% from carbs, 12% from fat and 57% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 46

Weight - 135.4

Okay.. I think my scale is crazy.  I was down 0.2 this morning..even after all that extra late night food.  Today is totally crazy with 4th of July, my oldest's birthday, people over all day, etc.  Spent almost all day out on my deck.

I'm skipping lunch today so that I can eat more flank steak tonight.  The marinate is definitely not P2 nor is the cupcakes and ice cream.

Breakfast
Coffee with KAL stevia
with my Keurig Coffee Maker.  A lot of the flavored coffees available are P2 friendly.

 Dinner - (518 calories)
200 g flank steak, grilled
100 g romaine
burger dressing
2 heaping tbsp loaded mashed potatoes

After Dinner - (444 calories)
1 chocolate cupcake
.3 c vanilla ice cream

Total Calories for the day 962
Daily Calorie Composition: 31% from carbs, 48% from fat and 21% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 45

Weight - 135.6

What happens when the gremlin has a shot or two or twelve?  She eats late and weighs 1.6 lbs more the next morning.  Today will not be a great food day, nor will tomorrow.  Such is life, I'll do what I can and pick things back up correctly on Tuesday.

Breakfast 
Coffee with KAL stevia
with my Keurig Coffee Maker.  A lot of the flavored coffees available are P2 friendly.

Lunch - (180 calories)
**P2 tuna salad
5 oz Bumble Bee Chunk light tuna in water (pouch)
80 g celery
40 g dill pickle
40 g onion
1 tbsp mustard
3 tbsp pickle juice


Dinner - (332 calories)
8 oz 96/4 ground beef, burgers grilled
50 g mixed greens
1/2 c mixed fruit

Sooo things went will up to that point.  We got back from my parents' around 10 pm.  My daugher-in-law is loading Sunday and Monday and you would have thought it was me loading.

The rest of the evening went something like this

Part of a spring roll, a small bag of Pop Chips, a sliver of pound cake made with splenda topped with strawberries in splenda, a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich, a Lil Drum Stick ice cream, a few tortilla chips with cheese, and an empanada that was filled with cream.

My best guess is about another 941 calories.

Total calories for the day 1,453
Daily Calorie Composition: 33% from carbs, 39% from fat and 28% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 44

Weight - 134.0

Down 1.2 lbs today.  Amazing considering my PM weight was about 5 lbs up.  Must have been full of fluids from spending a lot of the day outside.  Family is here until Tuesday.  I grilled chicken tonight for dinner.  Those not in P2/P3 got bbq sauce on theirs.

Breakfast
Coffee with KAL stevia
with my Keurig Coffee Maker.  A lot of the flavored coffees available are P2 friendly. Today I had Man Houtte Chocolate Raspberry Truffle.

Lunch - (189 calories)
116 g Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore tuna, very low sodium
100 g mixed baby lettuces
40 g dill pickle
40 g onion
1 tbsp yellow mustard
pickle juice for moisture
pepper

Dinner - (203 calories)
150 g chicken
200 g Napa cabbage
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Total Calories for the day 392
Daily Calorie Composition: 13% from carbs, 10% from fat and 77% from protein.

R4 Phase 2 Day 43

Weight - 135.2

Up .4 and so I don't think I'll try the bedtime protein again for a while, if at all.  Busy day today getting things together for the weekend.  Family will be here through Tuesday, and we're all heading out to my parents' on the coast on Sunday for the day.  Then 4th of July here at my house.

I'm doing 1 meal today at dinner time and again it ended up being later than I like so who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Breakfast
Coffee with KAL stevia
with my Keurig Coffee Maker.  A lot of the flavored coffees available are P2 friendly.

Dinner - (381 calories)
**Lemon pepper veal & braised greens
260 g veal sliced thin
3 tbsp lemon juice
pepper to taste
90 g kale
90 g escarole
50 g spring onion
1 tbsp capers
lemon juice and water for braising
60 g pluot for dessert

Total calories for the day 381
Daily Calorie Composition: 25% from carbs, 13% from fat and 62% from protein.