My 'rounds' thus far

Because the Simeons protocol has a limitation of not less than 21 (but not more than 41) days, in order to release the amount of weight I had to release, I had to do it in what is known to HCGers as 'rounds'. This is abbreviated as 'R' followed by the number given to the 'round'.

'Loading' is the 3 days leading up to beginning a program of Very Low Calorie Intake (abbreviated as VLCI)days. These consist of VERY low calorie intake as the term implies (500 calories per day, with a protein, fruit, veggie and bread stick at each of two meals). I experienced little to no hunger, great mood, better sleep and more energy. That is typical, though not universal.

That said, below is the synopsis of what I released and when.

R1
2.19.09
Start HCG 211 lb.; after 3 days of ‘loading’ 212.3
4.14.09
After 52 days VLCI, last HCG day weight 182.6; -29.7 lb.
Notice I did more than 40 days, and it was a mistake. The last 10 or 12 days were painfully slow, but I didn’t want to stop!

R2
5.8.09
177.5 (I continued to lose 5.1 lb. while trying to stabilize and maintain. I should have stopped that, but didn’t want to because I couldn’t believe it was still coming off so easily!); 182.8 after 2 days of loading
5.26.09
After 17 days VLCI, last HCG weight 171; -11.8 lb (I quit at this point because 11.8 lb. in 17 days seemed painfully slow and I thought perhaps it wasn’t working because my first round was longer than suggested and I only waited 3 weeks between rounds.)

R3
7.3.09
169.5; after 2 days of loading, 175
8.1.09
After 28 days of VLCI, final weight 154.6; -20.4 (I waited only 5 weeks between these last two rounds, when it should have been 8 weeks. Again, I was impatient. Again, I quit before the 41 days, as I considered this round a ‘failure’ at a loss of ‘only’ 20.4 lb. in 28 days.)

In retrospect, of course, it’s easy to see these last two ‘rounds’ were successful and could have resulted in a better release had I continued. I waited 8 weeks before trying again (although at this point it should have been 10 weeks between.)

R4
9.28.09
160 lb. before load; 159 after load
11.14.09
45 days on VLCI, final weight 136.3; -22.7
Currently maintaining about 5 lb. over that as I bumped up over the plus side of the 2 lb. +/- range twice over the holidays and was not able to immediately correct due to circumstances outside of my control. (I wasn’t home to be able to do a ‘steak day’ properly…I was on the road.) Complicating matters further is that I am exercising more (yoga and Wii)and I am frequently sore, so some of that gain may be muscle. I am still fitting into the clothes from that lower weight.

For those unfamiliar with Simeons' work, if you gain or lose more than two lb. in either direction, you MUST correct it immediately by adding calories or doing a 'steak day'; if the correction does not take place, the 'bump up' is your new set point goal.

It has now been 8 weeks since I ended my last round. My intention is to wait another 4 weeks to begin my final round, although I have to admit I’d really like to start again right now! I only have one more to go. I'm very close to my goal weight.

I may, actually, just to fit the weight release cycle within a different kind of cycle that tends to complicate things. But I haven't decided yet.