A few updates...

Hello, readers! Hope you are having a fantastic Monday... you know it's my favorite day of the week, right?!

First things first... an update on my HCG weight loss journey. Last Monday was the first day of phase two, which is the 500 calorie phase of the diet. I am so HAPPY to report that I have lost 8 pounds since then, and I'm feeling great!! I am not really craving any breads, butter, fried food, oils, and my sugar cravings are FINALLY starting to dwindle a bit. When I do start to crave sugar, I take strawberries and ice to the blender, with a bit of vanilla stevia, and make a sort of slushie with it. Every night I've been having an apple with cinnamon, and placing it in the toaster oven for a few minutes. Also yummy! Day Four was the hardest for me. After the first few days I kept waiting for a day when I would be a little grumpy, have a harder time with the cravings, maybe have a withdrawal headache... and day four was the day! I am so glad my mom is doing this with me, as well as a girl I work with. It definitely makes it easier having a support system. I've gotten to the point that I'm not telling anyone else what I'm doing. Everyone loves to say "You'd lose weight anyway if you were only consuming 500 calories a day". Well, sure you would. But without the HCG, your body would immediately go and take muscle for energy instead of unhealthy, abnormal fat deposits. And you would feel weak. And you would gain all the weight back as soon as you increased your calorie intake.

I'm learning so much from doing this. I've had to prepare all my meals at home. It's amazing how much you can actually eat when your meals aren't fast food, or prepared with a ton of butter and oil. I'm to the point now where I actually crave fresh foods. The thought of anything fried actually turns my stomach.

Okay, moving on... I finally watched my first of twelve classic movies for the year... Gone With The Wind. I really kinda loved it. When I first saw how long it was, I thought "I'm never going to make it through that", but it didn't seem that long at all. Not sure what my next movie will be. I'm going to have to check out the lists over at AFI for inspiration.

Next up will probably be planting some flowers. I'm actually excited about this. It means the weather is warming up! I'm not looking forward to mowing my yard, though. Front yard, not so bad, but my backyard is going to be a bitch! Anyone have a favorite flower they like to plant? I could definitely use a little inspiration!