HCG Diet

I have one friend that I am open with my eating disorder about in real life. If and when I do move to Oregon she'll be one of the people going on the adventure with me. Lately she has been giving the "HCG diet" a shot. She lost 18lbs in two weeks with it already so I have high hopes. There are really mixed reviews about it but I've seen what it can do.

You may eat whatever you like as long as it is on the approved food list and you stay under 500 calories for the day. (You are supposed to supplement the diet with daily injections or oral doses of HCG, but I find this to be unnecessary. Even without the HCG it is still a great way to restrict calories and get results.)

Breakfast: Tea or coffee with up to a tablespoon of milk but no sugar. Sugar substitutes are okay: truvia, sweet n' low, stevia, etc. You can drink as much of this as you want throughout the day.

Snack: Pick one - a medium sized apple, large orange, 1 cup strawberries, or 1/2 a grapefruit.

Lunch: A very small serving of meat, fish, or egg (100 grams / 3.5 ounces) and 1 cup of one of the following vegetables - spinach, cabbage, beets, tomatoes, celery, onions, radish, cucumber, or asparagus.

Snack: Pick one - a medium sized apple, large orange, 1 cup strawberries, or 1/2 a grapefruit.

Dinner: A very small serving of meat, fish, or egg (100 grams / 3.5 ounces); 1 cup of one of the following vegetables - spinach, cabbage, beets, tomatoes, celery, onions, radish, cucumber, or asparagus; 1 piece of plain toast or 1/2 slice of plain toast with 1 teaspoon fruit jam.

Spices that are allowed: lemon juice, salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard, garlic, basil, parsley, and thyme.

Drinks that are allowed: water, tea, coffee, and mineral water.

HCG is a hormone that exists in men and women but increases dramatically in women during pregnancy. It is part of what is detected in urine when using a pregnancy test that causes the test to show as positive. It tells your body to start using extra fat stores to help give extra nutrients to the baby.

I have high hopes for this one! I really don't think that the HCG drops are important. My friend was using a homeopathic version which is basically a VERY diluted form of the prescription strength HCG. A lot of sites that promote the HCG diet say that it won't work right if you're not using a strong dose of HCG. My friend accidentally proved that wrong when she thought that the homeopathic HCG was just as strong as what you would get from a doctor's office.

You're eating 500 calories or less per day and that's obviously what caused the weight loss for her. If you can afford legitimate prescription HCG (about $90 for a 26 day supply... homeopathic versions are as cheap as $10 for a 26 day supply) I don't think that it would hurt. I'm interested in getting some to see if it really does help the process along.

Oregon, Update

It has been a while! Someone asked me if I went to Oregon and they were partially right: I did go there to visit. I was in the Beaverton and Portland area for about a week and a half. The scenery was amazing and it snowed the entire time. If I do end up moving there I'm dead set on the Pearl District. It's cheaper and better looking than Hollywood, CA is. The downtown feel doesn't make me as homesick either.

My roommate and I locked ourselves out of the apartment. That was an adventure. We ruined a credit card, hotel room key, and amusement park annual pass before we managed to get back in.



When I was driving home from work the other day I saw this in front of me. What could it be?


It gave me a laugh.


I'm working two full time jobs right now and they're taking up a lot of my time. I finally got a teaching position with a local college. In California you need two years of student teaching before you can fully earn your credential. I lucked out since the college hired me as a "long term substitute" instead of a professor. The pay is the same but I don't get any benefits. At least it'll look great on my resume.

I've been relatively stress free and productive these past few weeks. Unfortunately that means I have started to pack on the pounds. I haven't weighed myself in at least 21 days but I can feel that my pants are fitting tighter. I'm petrified of the scale. I would guess that it's at least a gain of 10 lbs (5kg). What makes this even worse is the fact that Christmas is right around the corner.

I need to get back on track... I think I'll start off by staying under 600 calories a day. That affords me enough calories to have a moderate breakfast, lunch and dinner if I choose to do so. I'll probably end up breaking it into two meals: one for each job.

Co-workers offering to buy me fast food every day is going to be the end of me. When I bloat up like a balloon and float over the horizon please don't hesitate to load your guns. I cannot fly, I do not belong up there.

Thinspo

Anonymous: I'm interested. Please keep talking to me. [:

I think P.L. got tangled up in my heart strings on his ascent (descent?) towards his final destination. Thinspo theme is... fashion? Dresses? I don't know.

"No pain remains, no feeling - eternity awaits."

Oregon Advice

I've been working on this post for a few days so I could slowly add ideas as they came to me. I need some personal advice about a move I may or may not make. :/

I am considering moving from Hollywood, CA to Beaverton, OR. Here are the personal pros and cons I can come up with in regards to the move.

PROS (reasons to move to Oregon)

• Way cheaper than living in California.
  
  Rent for a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment in CA = $1800. That does not include utilities, cable, etc. Rent for a similar apartment in Oregon = $675. That includes utilities because in Oregon things like heat are considered necessities for living.
  
  
• No more sales tax.
  
  Sales tax in this city is 9.75%. You read that right. That means if I buy something for $100, I actually have to pay $110. There is no sales tax in Oregon. If it says $100 you pay $100.
  
  
• No more traffic.
  
  It took me 18 minutes to travel one mile a few days ago. I'm not kidding. I send pictures of the navigation screen on my phone to friends in other states all the time because it's insane.
  
  
• Actually has seasons.
  
  California pretty much has summer (11 months out of the year) and a brief somewhat-cool-with-a-little-drizzle-of-rain patch thrown in there. The area I'm in doesn't have leaves that change colors. There is no snow. There's nothing besides sunshine and warm weather pretty much. I think it would be really neat to experience the weather changes.
  
  
• Closer to my disabled mom.
  
  My mom moved to Oregon when I was 14 and I've only seen her once a year ever since. She loves it there. She found work as an elementary school teacher and was doing great until she had an accident at work two years ago. At first she was paralyzed from the waist down but has since had two major back surgeries. She has some sensation and can walk a bit if she wants to. She gets around in a wheel chair for the most part. She's living on disability and worker's compensation. I love my mom and we've never had any conflict. This is the biggest reason I want to go.
  
  She keeps begging me to go out there and live with her (which I wouldn't do, bless her heart, I'd have to have a place of my own.) She has the typical guilty mom syndrome: divorce happened when I was 12, she gave custody to my dad, constantly drives herself mad with remorse about "leaving me" and "being a bad mom." In reality did she do either of things things? No. She was always there for me when I needed her and still is. She was a great mom and is a great mom.
  
  Side rant: my mom had me when she was 16 (hardly. Her birthday is October 28, mine is October 31.) Everyone wanted her to get an abortion but she wouldn't. She even moved out of her parent's home to live on her own (homeless for a time) because they said if she didn't get an abortion she couldn't live there. My mom fought for me. If she didn't care, if she didn't try, if she didn't sacrifice just to give me a chance at being alive I wouldn't be here. To any moms out there, particularly young ones: my hat goes off to you and I hope your children are amazingly grateful for the gift you gave them. [: I can't even imagine being that age and having the responsibility of a child. It's mind blowing.
  
  Back on topic: she lives with my step-dad and my two half brothers. I hardly know them since they were born and raised in Oregon. My step-dad is an awesome guy who makes a living touring the country with his KISS impersonation band (he's Paul Stanley.) He's also a corporate guy for WalMart so he has steady salary pay and my mom is pretty well off.
  
  
• Guaranteed job.
  
  If I can't find work right away my step-dad can get me a job in the photo department at WalMart. It's the best paying entry level job that they have there. I won't be making much ($11/hour + commission) but at least I don't have to stress out about employment.
  
  
• Friends will go with me.
  
  I have three friends who are willing to make the journey with me. One of them lived in Portland for two years and wants to go back, the other is my long time friend and neighbor who started off with her eating disorder at the same time I did, and the last is my current roommate. It's always nice to know that I won't have to do it alone.
  

CONS (reasons to stay in California)

• Never moved before.
  
  I was born and raised here. I like it here. I've never been through the experience of moving to a new town, going to a new school, finding new friends, and dealing with a new environment. One friend who would go with me has traveled between Portland and LA so she's comfortable with it. My roommate is from a different country so he has a lot of experience. My good friend moved from California to Utah so she knows the drills. I'd be the odd man out.
  
  
• Miss my family and friends.
  
  This is really only about my grandfather. He gives me advice about everything and he's always there for me. I don't know what I'll do if my main support line is so far away. There's also the fact that he's old and I don't know how much longer I'll get to enjoy his company.
  
  
• Like the environment here / "LA culture."
  
  I hate trees and forests and nature and fresh air and open space. I'm a terrible person. I want a concrete jungle. I want gray buildings so high that they block out my view of the sun. What horizon? My horizon is the line I have to tilt my head way back to see. It's jagged and made of steel. I'm really repulsed by the thought of "country living" and I can't explain why. When I was looking at listings for apartments in Oregon it was killing me. "Country Living with City Convenience!" No. My soul hurts. I want rainbow sunsets created by decades of pollution. I want a haze of brown around my city. It really screws with me emotionally to think that I'll leave this behind. (I'm not being sarcastic.) I like all the 24 hour shops, the aggressive attitude people have, the rush-rush feeling, the night life, the variety of cultures. I'll miss all of it. Terribly. This is going to be my single biggest obstacle.
  
  When I was in Oregon there were signs on the highway leading to the local highschool. There is ONE highschool in the entire fucking city. What the...? My heart bleeds. I really need to abandon this topic because it's making me want to say "fuck all" and forget about moving all together. ]:
  
  
• Can't drive 75mph anymore. Can I drive at all?

My car is very close to the ground and I've never tried to drive it in the snow. Not to mention that the speed limit on the highway out here is 75mph and it's 50mph in Oregon. Driving in Oregon always makes me anxious as hell. I'm relaxed and at home in traffic surrounded by unpredictable drivers in 110 degree weather. I don't know how to function when everything is organized and slow paced on the ice. Will I have to get chains for my tires? ...how do I even put those on?


• Can only take one car full of possessions.

I'd have to sell my furniture and start all over and I'm not looking forward to that. I don't want to pay for a moving van, nor are any of us comfortable driving it. I would probably take some clothes, my TV, my computer, video games, some blankets and pillows, and my cat. (Who would be miserable and stressed the entire time.)


• Have to sell a lot of things that aren't compatible with Oregon.
  
  I can't take my motorcycle to Oregon. There are some pets that I don't want to transport because they wouldn't survive it.
  
  
• Miss my job.
  
  I have an awesome job doing what I love at the moment. The pay is great, the office is really relaxed, there's no dress code, internet access is unmonitored - I can go on and on. I don't think I'll be able to find anything like it in Oregon or anywhere else.
  
  
• Generally uprooting my life.
  
  I'll have to let my car insurance company know that I'm moving. I'll have to do my renter's insurance again. I have to get my mail forwarded. I have to change my address. I have to get my license again. I don't want to deal with all the paperwork associated with moving to a new state with new laws.
  

What would you do in my position? Think I missed any pros or cons? Do you know anything about the area in Oregon? Thanks! [: Expect this post to be updated frequently as I add advice from friends.

Candy, Drinks

I read a few articles on the worst Halloween candies. Some of the stuff I came across was a real shocker so I thought I'd share the cold facts with everyone:

3 small Reese's = more sugar than a glazed doughnut.



1/2 pack of Skittles = more sugar than two scoops of ice-cream.



9 fun size Twizzlers = more calories than a Wendy's Double Stack.



Butterfinger fun size = 130 calories. Worst "fun size" candy.



3 Musketeers fun size = 41 calories. Best "fun size" candy.



1 can of soda = 2 Hershey's chocolate bars.



Average lollipop = 70 to 140 calories. (DumDums are 77!)



Dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa) = less calories than milk chocolate.
Healthier too since it has: less fat, more flavonoids (helps your blood and arteries,) and epicatechin (prevents strokes and increases brain function.)

If you want to continue scaring yourself out of eating anything too bad for Halloween check out this list of drinks and their equivalents. Here's one example out of the twenty that they give you:

1 Rockstar = 6 Krispie Kreme Glazed Doughnuts!
And I was scared of some boba?

Boba, Thinspo

I was talking to a friend today and I think I'm traumatized. Have you have had a delicious boba drink? Bubble tea? Tapioca? They have a thousand different names. (No, this isn't me, it's some random picture from Google.)



Those suckers are overflowing with calories. 1/4 cup of boba/tapioca/bubbles has 270 calories and 45% of your daily carbohydrates. What in the world? Where do these calories come from? The actual tapioca itself is super calorie dense. Then if you add in the fact that they're slowly cooked in a maple syrup sugary concoction... it all starts to come together.

The drinks themselves aren't low calorie either. Here is a short list:

Honeydew Milk Tea - 361 calories

Milk Tea -260 calories

Lychee / Litchi Jelly - 125 calories

In case you've ever wondered what the milk teas are made of it's usually a mix of condensed milk, regular milk, a tea base and water. The condensed milk is where most of the calories come from. I'm really bummed out. I love these drinks.

Time for some dancer thinspo. [:
































This has nothing to do with the topic but I found it while I was looking and I love the outfit.



This one just cracks me up.

Comparisons

Halloween is only 3 weeks away. How are you doing with your goal?

Side note: for most men's costumes the "plus size" versions use the same picture as the regular sizes. I wonder why...?