I've been on this VLCD for a while and am feeling great. I actually don't feel hungry and I don't feel deprived. I find that planning is my best friend. I typically eat one big meal a day and the other 2 meals I either do Roca Labs or a protein shake or something. If I know I have a work lunch or it's Cinco de Mayo then I plan ahead. I time my Roca Labs approx. 45min to an hour before my big meal and depending on when that meal is, I snack on nuts or whatever low calorie thing I want (honestly, if I want some Oreos and my calculation only allows me to have ONE....I'll take it! Don't deprive yourself! It's the worst thing to do while on a 'diet'). My energy level did dip at first but now that my body is used to it, I don't feel it at all! I even forget to eat!
And we've recently had a big life change. We rescued a puppy! She is a 10mo (?) old Yorkiepoo (we think) and she wasn't in a terrible home, but it definitely had the potential to be. We named her Sophie. They had big dogs and a few little kids that would do terrible things like stick pencils in the dogs' nose or whatever. AND they had no intention to spay her! She is about 6lb and in maybe her 3rd or 4th heat cycle, it's not safe for her size to have puppies! Especially because they just open the door to let the dogs do their business and roam their unfenced yard.....dangerous for a female in heat. So we took her in, she's loving our fenced yard and Chewy is loving her company. We're getting her spayed as soon as we both find a day off together (besides Mother's Day, who spays their dog on Mother's Day?! It's an oxymoron). So I've been busy! Housework and running around with 2 puppies about 1 year old and a 15 year old senior dog is exhausting and definitely calorie burning.
Anyhow, my one 'big' meal a day is working great. It gives me something to look forward to as well as allows me to plan around it. For example, I knew ahead of time we were making steak fajitas for Cinco de Mayo, and after some research, I simply wasn't happy with the calories even whole wheat tortillas have. So I decided to do a fajita salad! I eat fajitas for the filling anyways! Let me tell you, it was beyond delicious. And I didn't have to worry about not getting enough of my Cinco....I had a ton! The steak was on the grill and the peppers were steamed then finished on the grill, only some seasoning and barely any oil. And it was so flavorful I didn't even need dressing! So I find even though a VLCD sounds depressing, I'm actually eating very well and am relatively happy and stuffed most of the time. Planning is just key.
The fajita salad lasted me a couple days, then even when the fiancé brought home Chinese take out last night, I wasn't even hungry enough to nibble on more than a couple pieces of Mongolian Beef and some tofu. I did end up a little higher on calories yesterday than I planned, but 537 plus some incalculable puppy wrangling and obedience class (BTW Chewy passed with flying colors!), I'm still at a good place.
In terms of progress, I find I'm definitely an inch-loser rather than a weight-loser. Maybe I'm building muscle or whatever. Here are the measurements:
Arms: 1.5" off
Waist: 1.5" off
Chest: same
Hip: 1" off
Weight: yo yo-ing between 170 and 172lb.
Nothing major, not the numbers I had hoped for in weight loss, but I've only been on the VLCD a week or so, I'm hoping my body is just getting used to it. Cuz all these inches has came off in the last 2 days.
Today: Roca Labs & black coffee for breakfast (diuretic); turkey and egg white salad on whole wheat bagel for lunch (SOOOOO EXCITED!); walking during lunch; puppy wrangling; Roca Labs or protein shake for dinner if I'm hungry.
