Medabolic Recent Program is a Success!

Following the HC3 Trim program, we continued the process moving into the Metabolic Reset Program in which we continued taking supplements, and maintained a low-fat, low calorie diet (1200 calories for me and up to 1500 calories for Paul).

I had read a lot of blogs and general information and my biggest fear going into those next three weeks was the fact that most people seemed to struggle to keep the weight off even eating 1200 calories and exercising. I was so happy with the results from the HC3 Trim, and definitely didn't want to be back in a position where I was struggling to keep the weight off. We weren't supposed to lose or gain more than 3 lbs over the three weeks. Honestly Paul and I both wanted to lose more during this time because we both have around 10-15 more lbs we would like to lose. Either way, we went into the program hoping for the best!

We had fluctuation in weight, but thankfully it was usually not more than a pound or two. We had the occasional slip, but generally have kept to the low-calorie diet. It was honestly a struggle to reach the 1200 calories for me, which seems surprising, but when you're not eating out all the time, it's really not hard to eat healthy and still feel full!

We have gotten through the three weeks of the Metabolic Reset, and it has absolutely been a success! I've been able to maintain, and even lose weight since the last weigh-in. This past meeting with Kelly at Optimum Health, she gave some more good advice. We are allowed to have cheat days (within reason and under certain restrictions) once a week.Those restrictions consist of three or more days of working out prior to the cheat day, limit carb intake to 10 carbs per meal excluding the "cheat meal." Seems pretty easy... I think we can handle that!

Kelly's analogy was based on taking a class, you won't fail a class if you do badly or even fail the occasional quiz, but if you fail a lot of quizzes, you will probably fail the class. When it comes to living and eating healthy, if you continue to stay on a good track, you will succeed, but if you allow those cheat days to happen too regularly, you will likely fall into an unhealthy lifestyle and fail...

Here's to continuing to drop weight and stay healthy! If we've done this well up until this point, I imagine we'll be able to continue!


Phase II: Metabolic Reset Begins

Paul and I started the Metabolic Reset program today, and we couldn't be happier! It's the first time we have had eggs in over a month! YUMMM!

So here's how it goes, we begin higher calories, 1200 for me and 1300-1500 for Paul. In the program manual there is a list of all the foods to eat freely, those to limit, and those to avoid at all cost. Kelly, the nutritionist at Optimum Health, has decided to start our first week without dairy and then we can start to add that in during week two.

So here is the overall daily consumption guidelines:

  • Three to Four Proteins daily, 4 oz per meal (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and a small snack) - All lean meats still, but we are able to obviously add in eggs, salmon, tuna, turkey and others as we see fit!
  • Two Plant Fats daily - You can get this from Avocado, Pecans and Almonds, Salad Dressings (with olive oil), and Coconut Oil, etc.
  • Four to Six Servings of Vegetables daily - This ranges from salad lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, to celery, cabbage, tomatoes and so much more! Sticking mostly with items that are low on the glycemic index.
  • Two Servings of Fruit - We get a wider variety, but still need to stay away from things like bananas and watermelon, etc. But we can have honey-dew melon and cantaloupe which I love!

We can now consume alcohol! FINALLY! We cheated a couple of times on HC3 and while it didn't cause us to gain, it definitely set us back on the weight loss. So it's not something to go hog-wild with, but it's not going to hurt us! The best alcoholic options are:

  • Wines: - Anything Dry! The Dryer the better... Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet, maybe Pino Grigio... etc.
  • Liquor: Best option is Vodka - Martinis, Vodka and Club Soda with Lime and even Flavored Vodkas are ok!
  • NO BEER! Well it would have to be a treat, but Paul is not allowed to consume Gluten, so it looks like we will avoid beer, but we could try Red Brick Ale, if he must have beer...

After the first week, we can start to add in dairy! Only one serving per day... I LOVE Milk, so I will be getting my skim milk on, but we can also have cheese (low-fat, and non-processed). Kelly said low-fat string cheese and laughing cow cheese are good options for a small snack, and good for protein.

So the whole point of this phase is to get our metabolism, adrenals, and pituitary stable and working to our advantage. And the food recommendations also have a point as they don't want our blood sugar to spike, which causes hunger and bad habits! See the full diagram of "the point" below!

This weekend we are headed up to the North Carolina Smoky Mountains for the Labor Day Holiday and Paul and I are looking forward to widening our meal options as well as cutting loose a bit with a few drinks! YEAH!


HC3 Trim Phase I Comes to an End

Today was our last day of the HC3 Trim program, and I have to say it has definitely been a success! We've lost a combined total of 52 lbs and 21.5 inches!!! Paul and I both feel we do have more to lose, but you'll see details about our total weight-loss, and overall inches dropped, and clearly it has worked!

We are no longer taking the hormone, and have completed the two 500 calorie days (without the hormone), and everything is looking good! We are both really excited to add things into our diet like eggs, dairy and a wider variety of fruits, vegetables, and proteins!

I'll be posting again soon with details of the Metabolic Reset Program, which will be our focus for the next three weeks. But the nice thing is, we will be back up to a normal caloric intake, we will begin exercising, and we will be able to indulge here and there in some of the things we love (including alcohol)!!! But one of the things that stuck with me from Kelly at Optimum Health is "try to just break one rule at a time..." So if we are going to indulge in something a little more fatty for lunch or dinner, make sure the other meal is lower in fat and calories. It makes sense!

So here are the before and after images and it's pretty awesome to see the change! And we expect continued loss as we begin to work out! Also check out our measurements too! The numbers tell just as much, maybe even more than the photos.

Monica's HC3 Measurements:

Starting Measurement

Ending Measurement

Total Loss

Chest

44

39.5

4.5 inches

Waist

37

33

4 inches

Biceps

13

11.25

1.75 inches

Thighs

25.5

23.5

2 inches

Weight

157

137

20 lbs

Paul's HC3 Measurements:

Starting Measurement

Ending Measurement

Total Loss

Chest

48.5

45.25

3.25 inches

Waist

44

40.5

3.5 inches

Biceps

15.5

14.5

1 inch

Thighs

26

24.5

1.5 inches

Weight

244

212

32 lbs


HC3 Diet - We've Passed the Half-Way Mark

Paul and I have been on the HC3 Diet for about three and a half weeks now,passing the half-way point. Things are going well, but I must say, we are getting tired of the same stuff we've been eating and are ready for the reset phase when we can add more options into our diet!

Yesterday we met with Kelly Hall, our nutritionist at Optimum Health, and definitely had a lot more questions for her this time around! While we have continued to loose weight, we are planning to try a couple different things to pump up and keep the momentum!

We've had several temptations (alcoholic beverages mostly) that we just could not resist, we have generally stayed strong with the diet, and overall during those times didn't gain weight, just maintained. After the Bryan Adams evening, our ketone levels just dropped off, and so we had to build back up, but the rebound was definitely quick. Kelly was a bit concerned with me, as my eetone levels have continually stayed high, which would imply fat burning, so I should be dropping the weight faster, but weight loss seems to taper more and more as my ketones stay at a high level. It seems to be the case that it's better to be at a medium ketone level to really continually lose the weight. The main concern was that I am getting too acidic.

So, she is starting me with a half serving of Total Vegan on a daily basis to see if that puts me in a good place to lose more while still keeping the ketone levels moderated. It's kind of nice because the Total Vegan is Chocolate flavor, and I've missed chocolate!

The continual weight loss has been a huge motivating factor, we have about 2 weeks left and it's certainly possible that we could both drop another 15 pounds or so. We just need to keep focused on the long term goal. It's definitely worth feeling more energy and comfort with our bodies, and also seeing clothes that didn't fit us previously fit us now and even are too big!

Here is an image of the body composition analysis from July 26th and August 9th respectively. I know it's hard to read cause it's on thermal paper and the heat has gotten to it. I've outlined the main details below (first is mine and the second is Paul's) :

Body Composition: July 26 August 9th

  • Weight 149.6lbs 145.0 lbs
  • BMI 31.3 30.3
  • Fat % 38.8% 34.7%
  • Fat Mass 55.0 lbs 50.4 lbs

Desirable Range - Fat % 21-33 and Fat Mass 25.2-46.6lbs

 

Body Composition: July 26 August 9th

  • Weight 234.6lbs 227.0 lbs
  • BMI 34.6 34.5
  • Fat % 39.2% 34.8%
  • Fat Mass 92.0 lbs 79.0 lbs

Desirable Range - Fat % 8-20 and Fat Mass 12.8-37.0lbs

I'm very close to being within the desirable range, but definitely would prefer to be in the middle of that range with wiggle room up or down. Paul's got a little more to go, but has definitely made awesome progress! I get frustrated that he seems to have dropped so much more... but I guess that's the difference between girls and guys! Unfortunately we don't have details from the start date, but I have officially dropped 13 lbs total, and Paul has dropped 18 lbs total.

YEAH for Us!


HC3 Diet - Week Two - The Mission to Stay On Track!

Although it was a struggle going through the end of the previous week and weekend without Paul's support and understanding of the temptations, we both came out of the first week with significant losses. Week 2 was going to be a challenge though! On Wednesday of this week, I would be traveling to Nashville, TN for work, so preparations had to be made.

The beginning of the week was going well and we were able to meet with the nutritionist on Tuesday. She was pleased with our results and we generally discussed questions we had, etc. I think one of my biggest questions for her was relative to moisturizers! I am an addict when it comes to lotion, and throughout this process we are not supposed to use lotions because of the oils, so I found a body shimmer spray I had and it doesn't have oil in it! YEAH! It certainly doesn't do what lotion would, but for an addict like me, it helps.

So Tuesday evening Paul and I had to get me ready to head up to Nashville! I called to hotel to check on getting a mini-fridge cause I was planning to bring all my meals! They assured me they would be able to accommodate, so it was meal planning time! We cooked up a bunch of chicken and shrimp! Both of which would be just as tasty warm as cold, so it would work out. We went out and bought a bunch of Tupperware, and of course I needed a scale to travel with! And I packed two small coolers worth of food! I was set!

I was being so good throughout the entire trip until the final night of the meeting in Nashville. They had a banquet with dinner and drinks! I ate the salad, with just vinegar, and even ate the main course which was chicken (which seemed ok cause it looked fairly oil-free), and luckily they had asparagus as the veggie. While it was probably a little more calories then I should have had, I was running around preparing for stuff so I figured it wasn't a big deal.

Cocktails started flowing for everyone at the meeting and I was SOOOO GOOD! I had club soda with lime the entire night (pretending it was a vodka tonic), but I did end up slipping during the after-party in downtown Nashville, where I had two real vodka tonics!

I was fairly concerned I may have screwed myself up, and this week the weight wasn't coming off so quickly as it was the first week, but come Saturday morning when we had to leave, I did my weigh-in and had dropped almost two pounds from the previous day, and my ketone levels were still fairly high! It was CRAZY!

Week Two Ended with a 3.8 lbs loss, for a total of 8lbs since the beginning! Not bad for a small slip!


HC3 Diet - Week One of 500 Calorie Limit

Week One went surprisingly well! It's unbelievable, but I was actually full after each meal and snack! The hormone actually was doing it's job! I wasn't hungry and I have energy, although we aren't supposed to work out at all. I took it easy and had fruits for breakfast, chicken, lean ground beef, or shrimp usually for lunch and dinner, fruits and veggies for snack, and occasional glutton free pretzels (which are surprisingly very good)!

As we started, we had to begin testing our ketone levels each morning on the ketone testing strips (similar to a pregnancy test). My ketone levels started off at a medium level and as the week went on they got high! The higher the ketone levels, the better the chances you are burning fat. Toward the end of the week I was supplementing fruit or veggie snacks for the Power Reds to manage the ketone levels so that the levels don't cause my body to go into a ketone-acidosis.

Toward the end of the week Paul was traveling for work, and that was when I felt more challenged! It's easier when you are doing something like this with someone else. And ironically, when you're alone and just watching TV or movies, you get the boredom eating syndrome. TV doesn't help with this either, with commercials for Dairy Queen, McDonald's, Domino's Pizza and more! The craziest part about it, my body wasn't hungry for those things, my head was! The pretzels and water helped, but this was the struggle I realized would be ongoing for the remainder of the 40 days!

At the end of week one, I lost a total of 4.8 pounds! It was the most I had lost ever in that period of time. Usually it would take me a month to lose 5 lbs, and I pretty much did it in one week! AND I resisted ALL TEMPTATIONS!