Feeling a bit down today..

I am starting to really struggle on this diet. It was all fine and dandy when I started out and I was dropping between 2-4 lbs a day. I was in heaven. Even losing 1 lb a day wasn't too bad. Now I am stalling. I know it is in part because I am experimenting trying to find foods I can stomach. I think I decided that cottage cheese for lunch and dinner is not a good idea. I only lost 0.2 lbs doing that. I have also decided that eggs seem to work well for me... they just don't taste that great. So I guess my slowed down weight loss is because of experimenting and figuring myself house. It is just frustrating.

Last night was my sisters birthday. Mike and I went over for cake and ice cream... no worries, I didn't eat any. I just sat in the corner and watched everyone else eat. So then to stand on the scale this morning and only lose 0.2 makes me feel like I should have just indulged last night. Ugh! Anyways... I just needed to vent. I am hoping I can get myself figured out soon so I can get back into some serious weight loss. I don't want to torture myself for 40 days on this diet only to lose 10 lbs in the end!

Update

I haven't updated for awhile on my weight loss. Mainly because I stalled for a few days. Anyways it seems I am back on track losing the weight again. Right now I am on day 12 and have lost 9 lbs. Not too bad. I feel much better about myself even with the little amount I lost. I was having problems eating the meat but I think I have found some alternatives I can live with. So hopefully the weight will keep coming off!

P.S. Happy Birthday Linda!!!

Rip Off!!

I just thought this was the best blogging material ever, so here it goes...

Mike and I went to the Sunflower Market yesterday to buy a few things. One of the things Mike bought was a bag of baked chips.

They look like a nice normal bag of chips right??

Well we get home and he opens up the bag...

I am sure you are thinking this is a picture of a half eaten bag of chips... but nope... it is a newly opened bag. I know they put air in the bags to keep chips from breaking, but this is ridiculous! The bag was not even half full.

From the outside... we creased it at the top of the chips. It might be hard to tell how high the chips went from this picture but it was the best I could do. This was honestly the biggest rip off bag of chips ever!

Deseret News Marathon Update: Mike's official time in the marathon yesterday was 3:18:24. That put him 29th out of the men and 35th overall.

HCG Update: My weight loss is slowing down... but I knew it would. I lost 1.6 lbs this morning. That puts my total weight loss overall at 5.6 lbs since last Sunday. Works for me.

I also discovered the joys of Stevia. It is a sweetener that is allow on the diet that you can get in different flavors. I bought Grape flavored to start out with. It is sooo good in water. It makes it taste like grape flavored water (go figure). I am now a huge fan of this stuff! I can't wait till pay day to go buy some more flavors. I think Stevia is going to be my new best friend (along with the scale).

Deseret News Marathon

Another Marathon down. This was the 19th Marathon Mike has run. It ended at Liberty Park. I got up this morning to drive him to Rice Eccles stadium at 3 am. I got to come home and go back to bed... but he wasn't so fortunate.

Linda picked me up at about 8 am and we headed to Liberty Park. We were running a bit late so I was afraid I would miss him. We got there less than 10 minutes before he crossed the finish line. It was close! He came across in something like 3:18:24. We don't have the official time yet. He had a really strong finish as well. He really picked up his speed as he came down the straight-away to the finish. Not only did Linda, her kids and I get to watch him finish, but his parents and sister Heather were there as well. His Dad and Sister both ran the 10K this morning. It is always fun when he has a nice cheering section.

After he crossed the finish line, we laid a blanket on the grass with Linda and the kids and watched the parade. Well.... part of the parade. We were not in a good spot and couldn't see very well. We eventually gave up and went home. It was still fun though. All in all... I am very proud to be married to such an incredibly driven guy. I love seeing him cross the finish lines of his Marathons knowing that he is doing what he loves.

Mike Crossing the Finish Line.

HCG UPDATE: This morning weight-in was another good one. I lost 3 lbs since yesterday which puts me overall losing 4 lbs from when I started on Sunday. Not bad losing 4 lbs in 6 days considering 3 of those days were loading days. Suddenly... the scale has become my best friend.

Woohoo!!

So I totally have to brag. I am losing weight! I know there was a request from Cassie to do a before and after picture... but I would rather not put a before picture. For those of you who haven't seen me for a long time... I would prefer you remember me that way... instead of seeing what I am now. Blah! I also don't want to share my actual weight but I will share how much I am losing.

So day 2 I had gained two pounds from the day before. It was a loading day so not a huge deal. Day 3 I had gained 2 more pounds from the previous day (also a loading day). Day 4 I lost a pound (crazy since I was still doing loading days). So I stood on the scale today after my first day on the actual diet yesterday, Drum roll...

I lost 4 lbs since yesterday! Woohoo! That means over all I have lost one pound from my starting weight before all the loading days. I am excited! It really helps being able to see progress. I honestly didn't expect that big of a loss since yesterday. I just hope I can keep on losing.

So yesterday was my first day on the actual 500 cal diet. it was tough! I was pretty much constantly hungry all day. I also was craving chocolate like no other. Luckily Mike was nice enough to hide the chocolate from me. Anyways I wanted to cave and eat some junk food so bad, but I was strong. I stuck to the diet all the way. It really paid off.

Today hasn't been too bad. I haven't been nearly as hungry as yesterday. There was some mild hungerness this morning before I got to eat my Apple (which I am eating as we speak), but it wasn't unbearable hunger. I really think I can handle this! Anyways.... just wanted to brag.

HCG Diet

So I started the HCG Diet. I don't think I have honestly ever really done a diet in my life. Somethings gotta give though so we are trying this. I did my three load days which surprisingly was rather tough. I didn't think it would be hard... but man it was! I was hating food by the end of it and had the worst time getting myself to eat anything.

Today is the start of the actual 500 cal diet. So far... I am rather hungry. I had an apple as a snack around 10:15, and now am working on lunch. For Lunch I have some grilled chicken with seasoning on it with raw spinach. Not too bad... but I am still hungry. I will eat some strawberries this afternoon as a snack, and some lean ground beef with a tomatoe for dinner.. I have also been trying to drink tons of water which means I have spent a fair amount of the morning in the bathroom. Fun times!

Anyways.,... I am hoping this works for me. I was getting out of control weight wise so I knew I had to do something. So everyone keep their fingers crossed that I can do this!! I will try to do updates when I can letting people know how it is going. I am sure it isn't that interesting to read about... but I like having entries about this Diet for my records. I need some way to record my thoughts and feelings.

Well I have 7 minutes left of my lunch break and one more little piece of chicken left to savor. I really hope I don't starve to death today. I also hope that this constant hunger wont last more than a few days. Wish me luck!

Heaven...aka The North Fork

I was lucky enough to get to take a week vacation to Montana. My family has some property that my Great Great Grandparents Homesteaded in North Western Montana. It happens to be right next to Glacier National Park. I Love it there! That place is heaven to me. Not only is it neat because of all the history behind it... but It is the most beautiful foresty area I have ever seen.

Anyways, Mike and I went up Saturday. Mike ran the Farmington Half Marathon in the morning... then we headed out about noon. We went as far as Missoula, MT and stayed in a motel that night. The next morning we left by 7 am and headed the rest of the way up to the North Fork. It is about a 12 hr drive all combined. There was a decent amount of family up there. Jenny, Roger, their kids, and Rogers Mom were up there. My parents were also there. Shelley and her kids, Linda, Dave, and their kids, as well as Kari and her kids. Plus my grandma was up there for a couple days. I would say total we had about 12 adults and 11 kids up there for a couple days. Jenny and Roger then went home, followed by Kari a couple days later. My parents were next to go... and Mike and I, and Dave and Linda stayed. It was pretty chaotic, but oh so fun!

So I am going to try to recap the days... if I can remember.

Day 1 - Sunday

We got up the North Fork at about noon. We got Lily all settled in his big cage... and let him soak up some sunshine for a few hours. We played in the creek with our remote control boats and Kari's submarine for a little while. Me, Mike, Dave, and Kari also did some fishing. We didn't have any luck. Although I was lucky enough to witness Dave sliding down the hillside trying to catch the contents of his tackle box which was also rolling down the hill. It was hilarious! I guess earlier that day Dave was knocking over litte trees and managed to fall down the side of the mountain there. Jenny caught that on camera but I didn't get to witness it. Then we had a little Birthday thing celebrating all of the birthdays in the month of July... which is Kari (9th), Hannah (14th), Dad (22nd), and Linda (30th, or 31st.. sorry Linda). This was the last night Jenny and Roger were there. They had come up the week before us. They went to town the next day to relax before heading home on Tuesday. So that night we stayed up and hung out at the fire. I am a chicken so I kept shinning my flashlight every which way making sure no bears or other animals were sneaking up on us. Oh and we also did fireworks that night. The ones that shoot into the sky are not illegal in Montana so we had lots of fun.

We had Brownies, Peach Cobbler, and per Hannah's request... and Cheese Ball cake which was basically Cheese ball in a cake pan with Happy birthday written in nuts.

Everyone Gathered around the deserts. My new favorite thing to do is try to focus on something and have everything in the background kind of blurred. Hence why the big flower is in the middle of the picture.

Day 2 -Monday

It rained all day long! Mike and I went nuts! It wasn't long before we got cabin fever. Mike had managed to get out and go for a jog that morning before all the rain started. I was scared for him because we were in Bear Country. My parents, Kari, and Shelly all went into town for awhile, and Jenny and Roger also went to town to spend the night before heading home. I managed to get a lot of reading done, and also played a few games with the kids.

Molly ran to greet Mike as he jogged back to the cabin

Day 3 - Tuesday

We floated the river in the morning. It was Mike and I, Kari, and Dave. We didn't catch a single fish because it was overcast (that was our excuse anyways). I also managed to cast out right into a tree. It ended up breaking the reel on my pole so Dave had to fix it for me the following day. I ended up losing a perfectly good hook as well. Mike and I then went into Apgar Villiage in Glacier and had lunch and did some shopping. It was Hannah's birthday and I had yet to get her a present. We also had to have Huckleberry Ice Cream Cones while there. That is a tradition. That night we ended up having another birthday deal for Hannah with another cake (a normal cake, not cheese ball this time).

Day 3 - Wednesday

We managed to get a couple river floats in that day. Mike caught a pretty big fish. It was funny because Lizzy loves to gut fish so Mike convinced her to gut his fish since she was gutting Dave's fish as well. Anyways, she went to rinse it off in the creek after gutting it when she dropped it. It ended up getting caught in the current and going down the hill into the slue. Mike hiked down to the bottom and worked his way up looking for his fish. He was NOT going to let his fish get away. It took him a little while but he found it about half way down, stuck in between rocks. That night Linda made us a nice big meal of Fried Chicken, Potatoes, and Gravy (my favorite meal ever). Mike and I also got to take a nice little four wheeler ride to Teepee Lake. It is a small little lake and in a pretty area... but it is full of leaches... so no one ever plays there.

Mike and his huge grin after retrieving his fish. It is hard to see, but he is holding it up for all to see.

Day 4 - Thursday
We did a float from the Canadian Border down to Ford Ranger Station. That ends up being about a 4 hr float. It was Mike and I, Dave, and my Dad who did that float. I managed to catch three big fish and countless babies which we threw back. It was a good trip. We ended up having fish for dinner that night since we had so many to eat. I hate fish... so I ate a hamburger foil dinner instead. After Dinner my parents and Shelley headed to town before leaving the next morning for home. That left just Linda Dave, and their kids... and Mike and I. It was a rather quiet night.

Day 5 - Friday

We jumped in Linda's van with them and headed to Glacier Park again. This time we went to Bowman Lake. The road getting up to the lake is narrow and windy and made me a little car sick. We hung out at the lake for a little while. Linda and I brought our remote control boats and played for a little while. It was fun. Linda smacked into my boat so hard that Tinkerbell fell off the front and fell into the lake. Dave was nice enough to wade in and get Tinkerbell out of the lake for me. Matthew loves playing in water so he was sitting on the shore with his little feet in the water. He kept grabbing handfuls of rocks and trying to eat them. It was all we could do to keep them out of his mouth. He was cute playing in the water though.

After Bowman Lake, we went Columbia Falls. We visited the House of Mystery which all my family has been to but me. I guess it is a vortex which does some weird gravitational things and paranormal things. The tour guide we had was not very good. He sounded like he was just speaking a memorized script. I wasn't that impressed. I think it was too commercialized. I would have loved to go and experimented with things without there being a crooked cabin in my way and other stuff. I do believe in vortexes and the energy they create... but some of the things they had there were too much like a gimmick. Anyways I was impressed with the ways the trees grew crooked in a clock wise manner around the vortex.

We then went back to Apgar and did some shopping while Mike and Dave went fishing. I was able to buy a book I wanted about a guy who settled in Montana in the mid 1800's. I am excited to read it. Linda bought the book that my great Grandma and Great Great Grandparents are in. I already have a copy of that book. We once again got Huckleberry Ice Cream and then headed back to the cabin. We then spent the rest of the night on cleaning duty since we were the last ones leaving. The rule is to leave the cabin cleaner than you found it. Sadly enough, neither Linda and Dave, nor Mike and I were the firsts to arrive so it was hard to know how clean it was before hand... or what stuff was left up there on accident versus what was already up there. We managed to get it done though.

Mine and Linda's boats in Bowman Lake

Day 6 - Saturday

We got up at 4 am and got everything loaded in the car and headed out. Mike and I got to see a bear. It was a brown bear that crossed the road in front of us. It didn't seem to care that we were there watching it. Anyways I was too slow on the draw and didn't get any pictures. I was excited to see a bear. Linda and Dave had been driving just a little ways ahead of us and missed the bear. It was probably on the shoulder of the road when they passed... and probably wasn't too noticeable.

The drive home was not very eventful. We managed to get home at about 5:30 pm. It was nice to get home and get everything all unpacked. I am glad we came home Saturday because it gave us an extra day of relaxation before heading back to work tomorrow.

I think that was about it for our trip. It was a very fun trip... and very enjoyable. It sucks I wont get to go back for a whole year. Hopefully time will go by fast.

My Remote Control Boat

It has been awhile since I last blogged. Life has been rather crazy. We are actually getting ready to take a little trip up to Montana. I am very excited for that trip. Linda and I invested in some remote control boats we could play with in the creek up there. We both bought the same boat that has a working water cannon so we can spray each others boats. Anyways I wanted to customize mine. I have spent the last few nights working feverishly on this boat with a lot of help from Mike. Thank goodness he went thru a car model stage so he has all the tools and no-how which enabled my boat to go thru such a transformation.

So... here is the picture of it before. (I forgot to take a picture of it so I took a picture of the picture on the box)

Side note: Linda and I joked about taking to F off and adding an L and making it an FLDS boat. We figured we would have a bunch of figurines of women and children with one man :-)

Anyways.... this is what the finished product looks like:

A huge difference. I painted most of the red parts Blue, and got ride of the Fire Rescue stickers. I painted a little tinkerbell blue and made it so the water cannon comes over her head and sprays water. I named the boat Lady of the Creek. Kinda cheesy I know... but oh so fun. I also made little deck chairs and put a guy on one fishing off the side of the boat. I really had fun doing this. I always wanted to get a remote control item and completely personalize it. Can't wait to get up the North Fork and have the unveiling. Its going to be fun! P.S. Kari bought a submarine... so not only will my boat be attached by Linda and her water cannon... but I have to watch out for Kari doing under water attacks.