Hi guys. As a fitness blogger I absolutely hate when I look at people's blogs and they appear to be full of crap. They only have before and after pictures; no time line, no discussion of their struggles, no proof of their methods. I find it extremely hard to believe people, or become motivated by them, when this is the case because I have struggled beyond words. So I want to be honest with you.
If you have followed me for a while, you know that I have had a substantial amount of weight to lose when I started this thing. I was 284 pounds when this journey began in February 2010. Its been almost 3 years. I'd successfully gotten down to 186 and I was feeling amazing. However, life and circumstance has found me back at 220, and unhappily so. With the help of my husband, the trainers at the gym, and the nutritionist, I have been working hard to get back under 200 but it's just not happening. My sedentary lifestyle here in England doesn't help.
I'm stuck. I've been yoyoing for quite some time and I am truly stuck. I am not only an overweight person. I am a person who has a dependency on food; a real addiction. I am always thinking about the next meal, eating out, what's for dinner, food, food, food... Always. Food makes me happy, and then it makes me extremely sad. I am nutritionally bipolar. I need to check myself into rehab.
I began this weight loss journey with the help of my doctor when I was in Arizona and he suggested HCG. This is a very low calorie diet in which you eat 500 calories a day while the hormone itself is releasing about 2000 calories into your system. Here is a quick description if you've never heard of it:
HCG or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is a hormone. In pregnant women, it is produced in the early stages of pregnancy to control a woman’s metabolic function. Research is now suggesting that it similarly increases the metabolism and promotes lipolytic, or fat burning activity for non-pregnant women and men. The use of HCG as a diet aid was first discussed in a report Dr. A.T.W. Simeons published in 1954. His report found that patients using HCG could reduce their caloric intake without experiencing irritability, hunger pains, headaches, or weakness. He also found that an HCG injection did more than just help his patients lose weight; it helped to NATURALLY reshape his patients’ bodies. This happened even if they did not engage in exercise while on the diet. Dr. Simeons concluded that this was because patients lost the most weight from fat tissue accumulations. His patients weren’t just losing weight, but fat - and a particular kind of fat! If you’ve tried dieting, perhaps diet after diet, and found that the weight comes back, it’s because diets can’t rid us of the one kind of fat that most needs to be eliminated.
Most HCG weight-loss participants notice a loss in girth (inches) and weight. However, when properly supervised, they also can achieve an overall improved body shape during and after treatment. Patients who struggle with fat in the stomach, buttocks and hips are able to notice a reshaping of their body’s contours in these areas. HCG appears to reset the hypothalamus gland, along with areas of the brain that regulate a variety of hormones, blood sugar metabolism, blood pressure, and other key body functions.
HCG can help metabolize the stored body fat and releases about 1500 - 2000 calories into the bloodstream. A low calorie per day diet can be followed without experiencing the normal fatigue, weakness or hunger one would normally find from limiting one’s calories.
The HCG diet is one of the hardest things I've ever done, but for me it was necessary and here is why. I am very susceptible to stress and the most stressful thing in my life is my weight. I find that right now I am unable to focus on changing my mind about my foods and body while I am so worried about what I'm doing in the gym and what I can cook for dinner. It's a mental thing for me. I know what I should do, but there is l a disconnect between what I know and what I do. I am real enough to acknowledge that I am failing in this aspect.
The HCG forced me to take a hard look at what I was putting in my body and it took all the guess work out of my diet, which also took the stress out of my life. Without thinking about calories, the scale, the gym, and all of those other stressors, I was able to just concentrate on my mind, and how I approached food and fitness. Sadly, I have regressed and need that reality check again.
Now... there is A LOT of backlash for doing a program such as HCG. "It's unhealthy", "Not enough calories", "The weight comes back", and my favorite "That's not the RIGHT way to do it". To that I say, "What exactly is the right way to lose weight"? When I started losing weight on HCG I felt like I was cheating. I felt like anything other than "eating right and working out" was the wrong way to lose weight. But my boyfriend at the time (and husband now), so eloquently stated "Everyone doesn't cross the finish line the same way. Do what you need to, however you need to, and I'm behind you all the way". And how right he was. I lost my first 30 pounds on HCG and it never came back.
Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly believe in eating clean and being fit. However, for ME, that is just not working right now. People always say "If it works for you, then stick with it" and it definitely worked for me, so I'm going to give it another go and really take the 30 days to focus on my mind and habits.
I felt it was extremely important to be honest with my followers about my journey and what I plan on doing next and while you are free to feel however you choose, just know this; while I appreciate any comments and all the love I receive here, your opinions are valued but any opposition or contrary advice is unnecessary because the decision has already been made. I will be on HCG for the month of April and I just didn't want lie or pretend that I was working out and getting the results that I'm about to get. That would be a disservice to you.
So that's it. This is me, Shaina, the foodie, checking in to foodie rehab.
If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.
As always, with love,
Shaina
I'm obsessed with paper. Scrapbooking, note pads, construction, kraft, card stock, ect. But my absolute favorite, Journals. I have so many. Like ridiculous amounts. Some of them are so gorgeous that I can't being myself to write in them. They are from all over the world. I have a handmade one from Turkey with my initials. I have a cute purple one from Japan. I have a few that I picked up in Korea. I love them. I've been keeping them since I was just old enough to write, while I was old enough to get in trouble for what I was writing about boys, and during my teaching experiences and travels. 
