It's been awhile since I was able to sit down and tap out anything reasonable to read. I mean, there's been progress, but life has just been soooo busy lately! So please forgive me for dropping the blog ball! Today is no different as we get ready to head out to our homeschool park day. I really enjoy getting to connect with all the other families in our group and the kids get to spend time with their friends outdoors. It's starting to heat up here in Arizona, so we start earlier in the day. That's not an easy feat for someone like me who is a night owl!

My Mom and I in the Julian Mountains near San Diego - 1989

Speaking of being a night owl... I was up 'til midnight last night as I was on a mission to get some pictures of my Mom scanned so I could upload them for the Mother's Day celebration on Facebook. It has been a bittersweet journey to discover I even had pictures of my Mom with me. I lost my mom last year. It will be a year on May 27. The last time I recall talking to my Mom was on Mother's Day. So it's a pretty special moment for me. And she had called me, which was unusual as I usually beat her to the punch! I miss talking to her, but I'm glad she's not suffering any longer. My Mom has been the inspiration for my putting so much effort into getting myself to a healthier place and teaching my children to be healthy too. She was very unhealthy when she passed away. I treasure the time she had here with me, but I so wish I could have reached her with the important information I was learning.

During my doctor's visit yesterday, I shared my recurring leg cramps. The doc asked, "Are you taking the Emergen-C?" I replied that I hadn't been. I had not realized that I should be taking this daily, and I hadn't been able to find the "lite" version as she prescribed. So off I went to Trader Joe's after to pick some up. Well, mind you ... life got in the way once again, and I found myself going to bed at midnight and not having had the time to do the Emergen-C. The thought of having the leg cramps once again was enough to make me stay up all night. Instead, I drank the Emergen-C. Midnight (or any other bedtime) is probably NOT the best time to take this! I tossed and I tossed...and turned a few times too! It seems like it took me a couple of hours to finally go to sleep. It's is definitely not a bedtime tottie! BUT ...I also only had a very mild leg cramp last night!

My doctor explained that the leg cramps were most likely due to my losing too many electrolytes during exercise. I'm not exercising a lot, but I was pretty active before HCG. It's been a challenge to stay less active now. Prior to starting HCG, I LOVED going to Zumba at the YMCA. And, I have my garden. I have continued to garden as you all know. But recently, my two youngest have taken a liking to tennis. Now mind you, I'm not out there playing a full set of tennis ...in fact, I'm not sure I could ever do that! LOL Mostly, I chase tennis balls! But with this protocol, you do have to be careful about exercise. I'm going to have to look it up again to see if the concern is over building too much muscle through exercise or if it is due to breaking down your muscle and structural fat. The latter would certainly result in weight loss, but it wouldn't be good for your body.

Update on Stats
Since my last posting, I had actually lost another pound. However, since yesterday, I gained half of that back. So I'm sitting at 193.6, which is still less than I weighed before I became pregnant with my last child. So I'm still pretty happy about that. I'm not so grateful for the half pound gain. I think it had a lot to do with what I ate this week.

It's very important to follow the protocol diet very carefully. Now I didn't run out and have ice cream or pizza, though that has been tempting at times! What I did do is get myself in a pickle with  my menu planning. I had let it slack and ended up having beef for three meals in a row and twice on one day! Not supposed to do that! Of course, I did not realize my error until I was serving up the beef on my plate for that third meal!

Given that beef is not supposed to be good for my A blood type anyway, I suspect my body has become overloaded. According to the Blood Type Diet theory, A types do not digest beef well at all. I suspect, it lodged on my hips in the half-inch gain I saw there this morning! So take care to plan your meals. Your body will thank you ...or not.

The good news is overall, I'm still losing weight and inches. If my clothes get any looser, I might just get arrested! Even my wedding ring is beginning to become too loose as it slides around my finger now when I type. It's amazing that only a few short weeks ago, I could not even wear my wedding ring because my hands were fatter and swollen with fluid all the time.

I'm on Day 25 of the diet, and I've lost almost 15 pounds and edging up to the loss of 26 inches overall! I'm excited about the inches part ...that's the part that makes you feel good! (well...me anyway :-D) I am feeling great through this process. I have plenty of energy to do the things I need to do and want to do. This is a plus... cuz if I had to just lay around, I would not be happy!

I'll try to keep up with blogging a little better so you can have it blow by blow ....but the pounds and inches are just literally melting away! I am so thankful to my doctor and Dr. Simeon's work with HCG.

'Til next time ... Edna