R3 P4 D21....

Today is the last day of P4! Time flies :) I am exactly the same this morning as the last 2 days. I have been between 149.0 and 149.8 for the last 12 days. Mostly at 149.4 like today. I am fine with that. Clothes and measurements are the same. So I guess this where the body wants to be :)

I decided that maybe it is time for me to put on my "big girl panties" and let go of my "pacifier", AKA "the scale" :) Lifetime maintenance should be me living my life, eating right and exercising, and doing the things I love. I have done 3 rounds and know what to do to maintain. Time to let go of the dreaded walk to the scale and allowing that to dictate how I feel about myself that day. I am going to try a month with once a week weigh ins. After that I will see how I am feeling, and decide how I want to proceed. One thing I have realized is that HCG becomes such a big part of your life, and that it can become a crutch like everything else in life. We sort of get stuck in an HCG loop. Almost a version of our previous yo-yo dieting, only slightly healthier :) Eventually, we need to take off the training wheels, and move on to new adventures. HCG has been such a blessing in my life, but it can't be the only thing in my life.

My goal is that "weight" becomes something in the background of my busy life, instead of the front and center focus. I want to finally get my personal trainer certification. I want to challenge myself with my new job and see where that takes me. I want to be a better mom, and enjoy my family. I want to play volleyball all day and dance all night! I want to travel. I want to learn..... the list is endless. HCG has given me the confidence I needed to go after my dreams, and that would be such a tragedy if I didn't.

So my advice is: let HCG help you find that person you used to be or want to become. The person who was confident, happy and excited about their life. The person that did not compare themselves to others around them. The person who was not afraid to fail and take risks. The person who loved themselves enough to take care of themselves. The person who was not so wrapped up in self defeating behavior that they had plenty of themselves to give to others. The person who dreamed big and loved even bigger. Then when you have found that person again......MOVE ON. Take back your life and make it into the life you have always wanted.

R3 P4 D20...

Same as yesterday. Even with stricter calories. Maybe that is just where it wants to be. I am working today and then it's a weight workout after work:)

Here is what I ate today:

cottage cheese w/ yougurt, berries, pecans and coconut flakes.

slice of ezekeil bread with cc and drizzle honey

cheeseburger, 1/2 choc shake

1/2 apple

1/2 apple

2 eggs + 2 whites, with sprinkle of bacon and cheddar

huge side of broccoli with ranch

1 slice ezekiel with cc and fruit spread

string cheese, 2 sf candies

Did weights workout tonight, and then American Idol :)

R3 P4 D19...

Up another .2! So that is +2.2 above my adjusted LIW. I was going to do a steak day today, but I have to work until 6 and then get over to dance class at 7pm. I think I will try to do a true steak day tomorrow just to see if there is any water to release. My guess is it won't do much, but at least then I will know. I was tracking and counting calories for awhile there and keeping it around 2000. That was when I my weight settled. Then I stopped counting and the weight went up a bit, but TOM arrived right at the same time. Hard to say. But now that TOM is gone it is staying up. So either I have some water or maybe I am taking in more than I think. I will track calories this week and see if that brings it back down a little. I do keep trying to increase my weights, so I also don't know if any muscle is being added as well ;)

Here is what I ate today:

protein shake with yogurt and berries
1 slice ezekiel bread with 1 tbsp pb and drizzle of honey

6oz broccoli, 2 tbsp ranch
1 cup cottage cheese, diced strawberries and melon

4 apricot halves
string cheese
pecan delight

2 eggs + 2 whites with sprinkle of bacon and cheddar
1 slice ezekeil bread with 1 tbsp cc

apple
jerky stick
1 sf coconut candy

Workout: 1 hour dance class.

R3 P4 D18...

Up +0.2 from yesterday. Still staying up a bit. I might trying doing a steak day on Monday just to see if there is any water hanging around that I need to get off. If that does nothing then I will just continue as normal. Clean eating and exercise :) Walked for about 4 miles with the hubby this morning. Hopefully we will play some vball a little later :)

Here is what I ate today:

nutball

2 eggs + 2 whites with sprinkle of bacon,cheddar and jalepeno.

ezekiel toast with pb and honey

strawberries and cantalope

string cheese, 2 dried apricot halves, trail mix, coco crack

cheeseburger, diet coke

strawberry shortcake with almond flour biscuit

protein shake, 2 sf candies

Got about 30 minutes of volleyball in before it got too dark :)

R3 P4 D17...

You guys are so awesome!! Thanks for the support :) Down -0.8 this morning! Maybe since TOM is leaving, some water will go with it. I am loving having the sun and warmer temps because that means I can play volleyball for my cardio in the back yard. My husband and I play almost everyday during the warmer months. Talk about a workout. 1 on 1 means you cover the whole court! Running, diving, digging, spiking! We usually play till we are drenched and then stand under the hose :) Today and tomorrow are supposed to be sunny around 70 degrees!!! I am going to dance class this morning, and then out to Miller Motorsports Park to see the Ferrari Challenge with my love. Happy Saturday!

Here is what I ate today:

2 eggs + 2 whites, sprinkle of bacon, cheddar and jalapeno

ezekiel toast with pb and honey

diced strawberry and cantalope

cottage cheese, fruit

broccoli/celery with ranch

almond flour biscuit

string cheese, 6 macadamia halves, 4 dried apricot halves

coco crack

cheeseburger, cantalope, 1/2 oreo shake

1 sf mini mint patty

Workout was dance class this morning!! Shake it baby! :)

R3 P4 D16....

Man I thought for sure I would be down today, but I am up instead! My original LIW was 144.4. After workouts started, I raised that to 147.2, since that was where it was staying. As of this morning I was 149.8. So thats 5.4 above original and 2.6 above my adjusted LIW. I did not get done with my weights workout last night until 9:30pm, so that could have something to do with it. Also, this TOM is strange. It was 3 weeks late, and I usually gain 3# right before I start and then lose while on TOM. This time I didn't gain before but am up during TOM. I am not sure what to think. I think I will wait until it is gone and then see if I want to try correcting. I took measurements, but they were the same. I also took pictures and compared them to the end of my round which was 37 days ago. I started my workouts 32 days ago. The ones on the left are from the end of last round, and the ones on the right are from this morning. Let me know what you think. Do you see a change for the worse? Don't worry, I can take it if you tell me I need to wake up and get my butt in gear correcting :)

© Jennifer Payne, West Jordan, Ut. "All Rights Reserved"

© Jennifer Payne, West Jordan, Ut. "All Rights Reserved"

"

© Jennifer Payne, West Jordan, Ut. "All Rights Reserved"

Here is what I ate today:

Nutball

1 egg + 3 whites with sprinkle of bacon and cheddar

2 slices ezekiel with cc and fruit spread

cheeseburger(no bun), 1/2 choc shake

cottage cheese, strawberries and cantalope

broccoli with ranch

almond flour biscuit

string cheese, 2 sf candies, 7 glazed almonds

Workout: 30 minutes 1 on 1 volleball, 30 minutes incline treadmill with 2 sprints.

R3 P4 D15...

Up this morning. Not sure why. TOM is here and played volleyball till late last night. Eating was good yesterday. I am so excited because we are supposed to have sunny skies for the next 3-4 days!!! I really needed that :)

Here is what I ate today:

2 eggs + 2 whites, sprinkle of bacon and cheddar

2 slices ezekiel bread with butter and honey

nutball, tea

cottage cheese, strawberries

broccoli, carrots, ranch

almond flour scone

string cheese, 7 almonds, 4 apricot halves

chicken, brussel sprouts

fruit salad

strawberry shortcake: almond flour biscuit, strawberries, cream

Worked all day, and then had family in town for dinner. Did not get to do my weights workout until 8:45pm!!

R3 P4 D14...

Just about the same as yesterday. Up .2 lbs. I am so happy the sun is out today :) I am working today and then hopefully I will get in a walk and will play volleyball tonight!!

Here is what I ate today:

protein shake, ezekiel toast with butter and honey

1/2 jerky, 1/2 string cheese, 4 dried apricot halves

cottage cheese with diced pears, broccoli with ranch

almond flour scone

1/2 jerky, 1/2 string cheese, 4 dried apricot halves

2 pieces coco crack

chicken, mushrooms, onions and cabbage

handful of trail mix, 2 sf candies

I did get in about a 30 min walk in the sunshine after work, and am going to play volleyball tonight :) My seventeen year old son is going to be the death of me. I don't know how much more I can take... :(

R3 P4 D13...

Down -1.0 from the high protein day :) Which is pretty good since it looks like TOM will arrive today. Finally! That is over 2 weeks late! Better late than never I guess :) I am really sick of the SNOW :( I need some warm weather soon. Today will be a weights workout. I worked yesterday and spent most of my day counseling our current clients. That was fun, and nice to get paid to talk HCG all day :)

Here is what I ate today:

Tea, nutball

protein shake, ezekiel english muffin with cc and fruit spread

1/2 jerky stick, cottage cheese with diced pears
broccoli with ranch, almond flour scone

string cheese, 1/2 jerky stick, 4 apricot halves

cheeseburger, cantalope, 1/2 oreo shake

2 sf candies

Did my weights workout today and got all my bills paid and errands run!

Homemade Chocolates!

I forgot in my post to include the recipe for these yummy legal treats! I got some mini muffin paper cups and put some nuts and raisins in the bottom of each one. Then take the cocoa crack and spoon over the top. Put in the fridge until hardened. Who needs See's Candies???

For those of you who forgot the cocoa crack recipe:

2 Tbsp coconut oil

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1 packet NuStevia

5 drops english toffee stevia

* I add about 2 Tbsp unsweetened fine shredded coconut.

R3 P4 D12...

Well, after not weighing yesterday and eating almond flour treats all day, I gained .4 from the previous days weight. And that was the day I was up already, so that puts me at +2.2 above LIW this morning. I am going to do a high protein day today, because I don't think this weight is water and that the steak day will be effective. I think the protein day followed by clean eating will be more effective. I am proud of myself for not having one bite of sugar or Easter candy yesterday, but I still paid the price. The almond flour treats have a bit of agave, or some low sugar dark choc chips. I normally have 2 in a day. But yesterday I snacked on those all day to avoid the sugar. Unfortunately, I think that the little bit in them still added up, because I was tossing and turning all night with a massive headache, sweating, and trouble sleeping. Not fun. I think I need to concentrate on clean eating this week and maybe try not baking. Put more of a focus on veggies and limit the almond flour stuff to ONE a day :) My friend kept asking me, if I really did not want the candy. I really didn't. I just wanted more almond flour stuff :) I don't know if that is good or bad! Maybe I am just replacing one bad habit with another habit. A healthier one, but still :) Here is last years Easter compared to this years. And yes I am wearing that outfit again, but the hubby loves it and said it shows off all my progress with family in town :)

Here is what I ate today:

2 hard boiled eggs

tuna in cabbage leaves

string cheese

cheeseburger, lettuce, tomato

string cheese

30 minutes incline treadmill with 3 60 second sprints at the end :)

R3 P4 D11...

Happy Easter all! Hope you all had a wonderful time :) I did not weigh in this morning. I did not want that to affect my day if it was not what I wanted. My goal was to not have any sugar today. I am happy to report that I did not have one bite!! I brought almond flour choc chip scones, glazed nuts, breakfast bars, cocoa crack, and quiche with almond flour crust. Those with some fruit kebobs, and spinach strawberry salad, and I did not miss a thing :) Had a great time with family and friends!

R3 P4 D10...

Up +1.6 from yesterday, and +1.8 above LIW! Baking or TOM :) I keep getting cramps but then nothing. Body is really struggling to start. I ate good stuff yesterday, but between the nutball, almond flour breakfast bars, and glazed nuts, I guess I essentially ate nuts all day (not to mention the In-and-Out burger). I will eat good today :) I can't decide if I want to do a modified steak day today, or just eat clean.....

Here is what I ate today:

1 egg + 2 whites, cheddar and bacon

ezekiel english muffin, cc and fruit spread

string cheese, jerky

1/2 c cottage cheese

celery, carrots, and ranch

piece of breakfast bar

1/2 oz glazed nuts, 4 dried apricot halves

rr bacon burger and 1/2 oreo shake :)

I did really good all day, till the husband decided we were going car shopping. Wen ended up buying a new car, but did not get to eat till late and ended up at Red Robin :) Went to dance class this morning, but the instructor was gone for the holiday so I went to cardio kickboxing instead! Way fun, but way sore :)

Breakfast Bars and Glazed Nuts....... YUM!

Breakfast Bars:

Gluten Free Breakfast Bars
1 ¼ cup blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup grapeseed oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup almond slivers
¼ cup raisins

1. In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a large bowl, combine grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
3. Stir dry ingredients into wet
4. Mix in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond slivers and raisins
5. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with grapeseed oil
6. Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with water to help pat the dough down evenly
7. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes
8. Serve
9. recipe printed from Elana's Pantry:http://www.elanaspantry.com/breakfast-bars/

** I don't use grapeseed oil. I always substitute butter in her recipes when it calls for grapeseed oil. In this recipe I used 2 TBSP butter and 2 TBSP coconut oil. I used chopped almonds, and added dark choc chips. I also used a pie dish because I could not find my 8X8 pan.

Glazed Nuts: I have been dying for these!

Now I can have them sugar free! :)

1 egg white

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 cup perrier

1/2 cup splenda or sweetner of choice

2 cups nuts

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Wisk egg white until frothy.

Add perrier and wisk until frothy again.

Add salt, cinnamon, sugar and nuts.

Stir until completely coated.

Pour out onto a nonstick cookie sheet,

so they are one layer thick.

Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours,

until liquid is absorbed,

and they are shiny and crispy.

Mine took an hour. Stir half way thru.

These are so good,

and the house smells good too!

You can double/quadruple this recipe.

R3 P4 D9...

Down -1.4 lbs this morning! Back to +0.2 above LIW. I guess it was just the double eating out and the late volleyball that caused the gain. When I got up this morning and saw I had lost instead of gained, I went to the store for a test. Even though I know it is not possible, since hubby was "fixed", I was freaking out. Came back negative! THANK GOODNESS!! I have a 17 1/2 year old son, can you imagine starting over????

Went to work for the first time yesterday. I was by myself all day since the owner had gone home for the holiday. It was nice and easy. Still pretty quiet since they just opened, but I spoke with several of the clients and helped them troubleshoot any issues they were having. Got a few walk-ins as well. We will have some great options coming in about a week. So I will post on that when I get all the specific pricing.

Here is what I ate today:

nutball, tea

1 egg + 3 whites, cheddar and bacon

ezekiel english muffin with cc and fruit spread

1/2 orange

breakfast bar- See new recipe post!! YUM!

cottage cheese with berries and coconut flakes

broccoli with ranch

choc mini muffin with cc

breakfast bar :)

cheeseburger, diet coke

glazed nuts.... OMG! See new recipe post!

I tried some new recipes which I will post for you. SOOOO GOOD! I did incline treadmill with 3 sprints at the end for my workout today. I can't wait for dance class in the morning!

R3 P4 D8....

Up +1.2 from yesterday and +1.8 above LIW!! I did eat out both meals yesterday, and played volleyball for 2.5 hours last night till midnight. I expected to be up, but I am really hoping that this means TOM is finally arriving. In the past, any movements of a pound or more at a time, (once I was stable) were always cycle related. Ovulation and TOM. This would be typical as I usually gain about 1.4, then the next day I am up about 2.8, and then TOM starts within a few days. I hope this is the case since as of today it has been 41 days since last TOM.

Here is what I ate today:

1 egg + 3 whites, sprinkle of cheddar and bacon

ezekiel english muffin with cc and fruit spread

1/2 apple

1/4 apple

nutball

cottage cheese, berries

broccoli with ranch

mini choc muffin w/ cc

1/4 apple

string cheese

chicken with mushrooms and onions and cabbage

carrot cake muffin with cc

string cheese, 2 sf candies

Worked today! Came home and did my weights workout and then sat in the hot tub :) We absolutely love our hot tub. We got it about 1.5 years ago and I don't think we have missed a day yet that we did not get in it!

R3 P4 D7...

Up to +0.4 above LIW. Not too shabby considering that I finished my weights workout last night at 9pm! I was going to put it off, but told myself that I needed to find the time. If it is 9pm, then that is what it will have to be. My butt and hamstrings are so sore :) I am going into work for the first time today to just go over things. Then I will be working Thursday and Monday. I think Helderheid will be there this morning so that should be fun!! Today's workout will be volleyball tonight for about 2.5 hours. If I get some time I will try to walk on the treadmill as well.

Here is what I ate today:

choc mini muffin w/ cc

tea

protein shake

ezekeil english muffin with cc and fruit spread

string cheese

cheeseburger(no bun), diet coke, 1/2 apple

jerky, 1/2 trio bar, piece of cocoa crack

cobb salad, 1/2 oreo shake! Couldn't help it :)

string cheese, 1 sf candy

Ate out both meals today. Between that and volleyball till midnight tonight I fully expect to be up tomorrow morning! If only my arms were not sore from my workouts. I need my killer serve :)

R3 P4 D6...

Up slightly at +0.2 above LIW! Can't believe how stable it has become. I did some baking yesterday, so I thought I might be in trouble :) Today I have to work my last day for the chiropractor and then will try to get my weights workout in later this afternoon.

I also read a really good article on how the current information about the "low fat, high carb" recommendations are finally being proven to be false. It can be found at: http://www.slate.com/id/2248754

There is also a study out by Princeton that proves that high fructose corn syrup causes more weight gain than other sugars across the board!

It is: http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/

Let me know what you think! Good stuff!

Here is what I ate today:

1 egg + 3 whites, bacon and 1/2oz cheddar

1/2 apple

ezekiel english muffin with cc and fruit spread

1/2 jerky stick, 1/2 string cheese, nut cluster

cottage cheese, 1/2 diced apple

6oz broccoli, ranch

2 mini zucchini choc chip muffins

1/2 jerky stick, 1/2 string cheese, nut cluster

double double protein style, diet coke, 1/2 apple

mini choc muffin with cc

1/2 serving of coco crack with coconut flakes

Did my weights workout late!! Got done at 9pm. Always so nice to know that my hot tub is waiting for me when I get done :)