The Scale Doesn’t Lie

I stumbled out of bed this morning, I’m sure due to the extra weight I put on during the last three days of gorging in Phase I of the HCG Diet.  My joints ache due to the dropping temperatures in the Bay Area.  The weatherman is promising snow at sea level.  This is not normal for the San Francisco Bay Area.

I stepped on the bathroom scale:  164 pounds!  “Wow!  That must be wrong!” I exclaimed to no one there.  But, of course, as we all know: The Scale Doesn’t Lie.  So, I immediately reminded myself that I needed to trust the HCG process before I launched myself into a state of depression.

Okay, so I have effortlessly managed to gain seven pounds in a tad over three days.  In my previous blog entry entitled Truly… A Shot A Day Melts the Fat Away, I wonder if I planted a seed when I wrote, “If I reach 164 lbs. by the end of Phase I, Day 3, my goal will be to lose 20 pounds, which will put me in the 144 lb. range.” Nevertheless, I am sticking to my HCG strategy – if I eat everything I think I might be craving later on, while I am on the 500 calorie a day portion of the diet, then it should be easier.

One of the first things that was on my “must eat when I’m gorging” list was a donut …. or maybe you spell it “doughnut.”  I have learned that anyway you spell it, a donut is a doughnut, and has the power to transport me back in time to when I was a little girl eating a scrumptious chocolate raised doughnut.  Definitely comfort food!

Next, I thought pizza was going to be high on the list, but I realized I only loved the pizzas I ate in Italy and my own homemade pizza.  Everything else is less than amazing.  [Key to continued weight loss:  if it’s not spectacular, don’t eat it!]

What was high on my list was barbequed oysters from Tomales Bay with French bread to soak up the garlic/butter/barbeque sauce.  This, again, is another comfort food and launches strong memories from my past when my Longshoreman father used to drive the family two hours up the coast to the very same restaurant.  That was over 50 years ago, and the restaurant is still there.  If you are ever in the San Francisco Bay Area, and you love fresh oysters, Tony’s in Tomales Bay is a must!

Unfortunately, there aren’t many people that love oysters as much as I do …. except for my dear friend and “talking blog” buddy, Suzanna Stinnett.  I was thrilled when she said, “Yes!  I’ll go with you — I love oysters.”  Suzanna was in the gorging stage of her own successful weight loss program [which I will share with you in future blogs], and the only one I would trust watching me gobble up those little babies.

Well, I give myself an A+ for Phase I of the diet — this is a very good start in the HCG Weight Loss Program.   I have read that if you do not load up on fats and calories on these three days, the diet is not as successful.  In fact, when I was on the diet in the winter and the holidays were approaching, I might not have eaten as many calories as I should have, because I was not trusting the system and afraid to add on weight.  Even then, I still dropped seven pounds throughout the holidays, which is no easy task.

Today I am starting Day 1 in Phase II of the HCG Diet and looking forward to the Organic strawberries and Americano.  Bon Appetite!

Barbara Bonardi

Barbara Bonardi with her “talking blog” buddy, Suzanna Stinnett @ Tony’s in Tomales Bay

No Matter How You Spell It, Donuts Are Doughnuts

Phase II – Day 22    WEIGHT: 166.4 lbs.    WORKOUT: The Bar Method (1 hr.)

As my days get busier, my evening preparations are essential:  choosing my breakfast fruit and determining what my lunch will be for the next day.  On Saturdays, I will be at school all day and sometimes into the evening.  I can hold out until 7:30 p.m. for dinner, but what might be challenging is being around people who are eating things I used to and can’t right now.  But I have my dear friend, Victoria, who is also in the GreenMBA program with me, and we have already made a date to eat lunch together on campus.

Actually, I really don’t have anything to worry about.  The kids have helped to “stiffen my resolve” by eating to their heart’s content anything and everything you can imagine in front of Frank and I.  They’re not being mean — they’re just kids with high metabolisms and are used to eating good food ….. but, sometimes they like to experiment and my willpower goes into high gear.  Their latest gastronomical temptation took them to the City.

Doughnuts! I wish I had thought of having a few in the first three days of the “gorging” phase of the diet (SEE: Phase I – Day 2  “Successful Gorging = Snug Stage”) .  What was I thinking!!!  They brought home several plump (1,000 calories each I’m sure) doughnuts from a place called Dynamo Donuts in the City.  Dynamo Donuts does not have a website, but the reviews state that they are “Absolutely the best donuts anywhere!” to “WAY overpriced and overhyped.”

I needed to peek into the 10″ x 14″ brown box that lived in our kitchen for four days, untouched by Frank or me, of course, just to smell and see what a maple doughnut topped with bacon bits looked like.  Next to it was a coconut doughnut that looked incredible.  At that moment, I remembered someone saying to me a long time ago, “I only have to look at food and I get fat.”  Not wanting that fate to happen to me, I quickly closed the eco-friendly box and never touched it again.

Again, am I hungry on the HCG weight loss program?  No.   And I bet many Americans really are not hungry late at night and would effortlessly loose a pound or two a week if they didn’t watch television after 9:00 p.m., so as not to give into the commercials.  Even if you had a satisfying dinner, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, Sara Lee, and Jack-In-The-Box commercials, just to name a few, will convince you that you need to crank the oven up to 400 degrees and bake a cake pan of cinnamon rolls and top them with their famous white sugary frosting piping hot from the oven.  [I just swallowed my saliva!]  Oh, yes, I remember those days.

We have been watching “selected” TV at night — Doc Martin and Frasier reruns or movies on DVDs — with no food commercials.  Any other TV viewing is dangerous and would torture us and weaken our willpower.  Instead, our apples with cinnamon make for a healthy and satisfying dessert and keep us within our daily 500 calorie count, which can only be done on the HCG diet and prescribed shots.

Well, it’s time for my apple that I look forward to every evening.  Oh, I forgot to tell you, remember I was craving hot tamales (the candy).  Well, I conjured up a similar taste and sprinkled it over my sliced apple the other day — in the shape of a large doughnut.

Here’s the recipe:Hot Tamale Apple Slices

Slice the apples into medium-thin wedges

Combine cinnamon, Truvia (TM), and a dash or two of cayenne pepper & mix well

Sprinkle onto of the apple slices.

Enjoy!