Background

Well. It's been a long time since I blogged. It seems most of our social media experience involves Facebook these days, but that isn't the right place for this. I need a diary for my latest personal challenge — weight loss — specifically, the HCG diet. It's pretty radical, but that's what I need right now. So, for a little background ... I've always fought fatness. In 2001, I had a RNY gastric bypass, laproscopic. It was a miracle, and I lost close to 100 lbs. However, I abused my new little stomach by overeating regularly, and after a couple of years, about 15 lbs. crept back on. After my first child was born in late 2007, my metabolism completely tanked and I gained 30 lbs. in just a few months. I spent the next couple of years battling that bulge, including a year of visiting an endocrinologist to see if there was any physical explanation for my fast gain. Nope. In 2010 I got pregnant with baby #2. Pregnancy is kind to my body. I lose weight, my skin clears up, and my relationship with food becomes normal and healthy. I've always said that I wish I could bottle that stuff. Anyway, after baby was born in October 2010, I joined Weight Watchers and a gym. The combo helped me drop 10-12 lbs. in three months. Then my mom broke her leg; she's my babysitter, so my whole world went crazy for a while and I abandoned my senses and ate like a convict on death row. Now, 20 lbs. heavier, I'm depressed and desperate (about my weight; the rest of life is lovely). I'm a mere 20 lbs. from my pre-gastric bypass weight. Life with a full-time job and two young children is too crazy to get much exercise, and yet it's a critical time to have maximum health and energy. So that's it — I need a big boost. I've been reading about the HCG diet and hearing about it on TV and online lately. It's the new fad program. But it's been around for 50+ years, so it's really not new. Whenever I consider a major investment — whether it's money, time, health, etc., I research it to death. That's the phase I'm in now. I've done enough to know I want to do it. I went to my doc for baseline bloodwork and let her know my plan. She gave me her blessing. Now I just have to order the supplies (I'll be getting the HCG from an international pharmacy since it's not covered by insurance for an off-label use). In the meantime, I'll keep on with my reading and research. I need to decide if I'm going to do the daily injections, or if I'll try the sublingual drops. More research on the methods will help me choose. I won't be doing the homeopathic version; I think they're a waste of money. So that's it for now. I'll update when anything changes. We'll talk numbers when I'm ready to start the program.