A New Twist

First things first: 186.8! It's only a small loss but hey, it's a loss! So yesterday's Come to Jesus didn't screw me up for good. And I used the Swerve Sugar in the Apple Crisp and it was so very lovely. Plus Amy's Organic Dijon Mustard, which after looking on the label, appears to be "OK" re: Simeon and evil K Trudeau.

Anyway. Went to work out with Trevor. My endurance is so totally down it's not even funny. He is patient with me and encouraging. He noted that when you only eat 500 cals per day ("or so" if you're me) then you simply don't have enough energy to do much. He said "It's like pushing your car to work versus just getting in it and turning the engine on." He also noted that we are not going to try to build big muscles but just "touch" the ones I have in order to minimize lean muscle loss. Hubby went fishing with his sweet old brother (ice fishing - you must have to be from Michigan to appreciate this) - so he missed our workout.

Trevor and I had this conversation about the mental place you get when you first begin to really really really surrender to the food thing. He said "I see people put high octane fuel in their car and then drive through McDonald's." He also (man he was really on a Car Metaphor today) said - this food thing and regular weight loss is gratifying. Your real challenge will be when it no longer is new. It's like getting a new car. Then you have to continue to drive it and the newness wears off. And it will stall, just like you will likely hit a plateau. It's how you handle the ongoing eating and what you do when the plateau hits that counts." I love Trevor. He has been so patient with me for almost two years now. He listens to me vent and vent about my internal world with patience. It's like when a patient of mine tells me after a year of treatment "if I get active and do more social things, and if I take my anti-depressant, I really feel better!" I nod sagely and think "Yeppers, it's what I've been telling you for the entire year" but I realize that everyone must come to what the come to in their own time.

So, then I go see Dr. T. My weight loss for the week is almost three pounds, which is low. We then get on the Body Fat Measure Scale. I can't tell what the numbers mean - he's got a full waiting room today and I don't want to bug him. But he is perplexed and says this "It looks like you've lost ten pounds of fat and gained 7 pounds of muscle." WHAT? He wonders why this is. I remind him that I need a re-supply of amino acids. Then he says "Oh! That must be it! I don't typically put people on aminos when they are on hcg - but this must be what is happening - you are losing fat but at this point, you are gaining lean." I said "So I should be happy? Sad? Be more stringent with the diet?" He smiled and said "Be Happy." I said "Are YOU happy?" and he was. Who knows - the aminos plus the hcg may be an even better combination.

Trevor and Dr. K tell me that aminos are essentially protein, like the stuff you get in protein drink, but it's in pill form so it doesn't taste all horrid. Dr. K says that amino acids are the building blocks of all cellular function. Trevor and Dr. T say that they build your lean muscle tissue. So, perhaps you lose a ton initially (with half being water) on hcg with aminos (and I have improved in my amino intake lately.) Maybe I'll be some kind of hcg/amino test case.

The news is not all happy though. I apparently, according to Dr. T. have developed a case of Shingles! I have never had a shingle, or herpes sore on my mouth, or anything. He said "have you had the chicken pox?" "yes" "Then shingles are possible." The appear of course, under times of stress. They appeared immediately after the car accident. Also this diet is dramatic and likely a shock to my system.

I think the name is creepy. How about 'Little Painful Dots in a Group on your Bum Syndrome?"

Shingles. Sounds like something you'd put chipped beef on (aging myself here).