Apple Chips

So this week I've been experimenting with making apple chips.  Yesterday I finally got it (by following my husband's added directions from the cookbook (The HCG Diet Gourment Cookbook). A side note of HCG cookbooks...one listed above is the one that I have found that follows the diet exactly and doesn't add things that one shouldn't eat...as this is an exact science and cheating really sets you back about 5 days and you only have 40 to begin with...this cookbook has been invaluable to us.
Ok so back to the super duper yummy apple chips.
I peeled the organic apples and then I cut them in very thin slices around the core (so on all 4 sides).  I heated the oven to 230 degrees F. Put the apples on culinary parchment paper and sprinkle with Cinnamon.  I had added stevia to my last batch but we found it better without.  Then I baked the apples for about and hour and 15 minutes. I checked them every 15 minutes.  Let them cool...they get crispier as they cool.
ENJOY! I'll have to take a picture and add it later when I do the next batch.  

Down a clothing size

I'm at 24 lbs lost and my darling husband is at 32 lbs lost.  I am getting rid of clothes that are swimming on me and is he :D. It's FUN!  We have a week and a day left of the protocol and then we head into maintenance.  The day we start maintenance is the day we move! Should be interesting.  Anyway, we are now visually starting to see the difference as are other people.  It seemed to take 20 lbs before that happened for both of us.  We both feel good!
So cheers to keeping on keeping on.                  

Starting Week 4!

Tomorrow we begin week 4.  My husbands has lost 25 lbs and I have lost 17 lbs.  Yay us!  It's funny (somewhat) everyone notices his loss and not many say anything about me looking different.  And it's true. I can see (from my before pics) that I look different...but really I gain and lose weight evenly...but the scale and measurements don't lie...it is indeed going going gone! AND I started with 3 times more to lose!
So far this journey has been good...it's really more of a mental game. I have ended up cooking 2 meals...one for us and one for our children. Our eldest mentioned to me the other day that she would like to eat what we are eating so now I am trying that with adding some sort of carbs and fat.  So far there haven't been any massive complaints.  You do spend a lot more time cooking.  BUT that is okey dokes with me.  I am trying to double up recipies and have some stuff pre-cooked and stocked in the freezer because we are moving in a few weeks and we don't want to fall off the wagon so to speak. It's funny, making pasta I can't taste it to see if it's cooked, lick my finger to see how this or that tastes...it's an interesting challenge to ALWAYS be aware of what is going into your mouth. We both do those things without even thinking.  It's just what you do! Well what we did...not right now. I often have to ask for help from the girls.  We also have had guests over and we cook what we can eat (like we had a buffalo roast and asparagus) but then we added normal things for everyone...like yesterday I made chocolate chip cookies and and the girls and our guests had homemade ice cream sandwiches...the ice cream from Marble Slab...BUT we did not even have one taste or a desire really...it's a slippery slope and we are focused!
We have not been hungry (past the first week and a half).  I think that hunger had more to do with our bodies coming off of sugar and carbs more than that we were hungry. Eating is a habit...a necessary habit but a habot none the less.  People are funny. They always feel badly if we cannot eat something yummy.  We tell them to enjoy freely!  We are perfectly fine.  If we start to feel hungry we know it's time for another round of drops and then it's all good :).
It's a precise science so you can't mess with it....or it can stop you from losing weight for up to 5 days! That's a massive amount of time when you  are only on for 40 days.    We both have hit plateaus (where you don't lose anything for a few days). THAT IS EXASPERATING! In fact this last week I only lost a few pounds THE WHOLE WEEK!
I ordered some cookbooks on-line for the low cal part that we are currently on. My challenge is to keep the food tasting good and not let it get BORING...thus the cookbook. So far the best cookbook that I could find that sticks very closely to what Dr. Simeon outlined is the HCG Diet Gourmet Cookbook. So far everything I've made from it has been very tasty and definitely not boring. Spices, my friend, are the key!
It's interesting how many people do this diet not really trying to change their eating habits but trying to get away with food that are less calories but don't really feed the body.  We are really making a massive effort to change our ways completely!  We have been trying to switch (as much as is possible) to organic.  We read A LOT of labels.  We've been educating ourselves and working really hard to not just make this about losing weight but about a lifestyle change. We don't want to do this again.  We are going to be healthy people.
We have 2 and a bit weeks left on the low calorie part and then it's maintenance.  I would like to AT LEAST hit the 25 lbs gone mark.
Yesterday my darling husband discovered that if you blend frozen strawberries, water, vanilla bean powder, and stevia together it makes a YUMMY shake! I have been enjoying this only I put dark chocolate stevia in mine mmmmmmmm.
We are excited about all of these changes.  

HCG Round 1 day 2 of low calorie phase

So the last 2 days haven't been that bad.  I do feel hungry but I only really notice it when I am not going like a mad person.  If I stop for a second the strangest thoughts of food pop into my head...mostly sweets.  The girls had a quite time today and I took the opportunity to rest and read myself. Normally I would get a little sweet snack at this time or have coffee and savor the silence and peace.  Instead I made lemonade with fresh squeezed lemons and Stevia.  It was quite good and I really enjoyed it...but I still missed my sweet snack.
Yesterday for lunch we had shrimp, asparagus, 1 Melba toast, and an orange for lunch. DH put the Bragg vinegar on the asparagus and surprisingly it was very good!   For supper we made a chili from tomato paste, fresh cut tomatoes, ground beef, garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper. It was super yummy.
For lunch today we had a spinach and chicken salad. DH made an amazing salad dressing with the Bragg apple cider vinegar, Bragg Amino sauce, fresh sweet basil, Stevia, salt, pepper, garlic, and lemon juice. It was yummers.
I spent most of the day yesterday shopping for allowable foods and reading labels for things like lotion and shampoo, and spices. Then I came home and portioned out the meat and veggies into 3.5 ounce portions. I put them in Ziploc and the meat into the freezer. It should last a couple of weeks.
We are still taking our multi vitamin, a liquid Vit B Complex, potassium pills, and a cal/mag with Vit. D in it.  We both feel good as long as we stick to the schedule and don't miss drops or have a meal late and keep drinking.
DH lost 3.6 lbs! I lost 1.4 lbs.  Cheers to that!
We have made a few videos and I'll get those up soon-ish.
I have to say that my gut is very happy.  :).  So 38 more days to go.  And so far so good.