The End is Near! Or is it the Beginning?

Only 3 more day of shots for me and my family. This Round Three of Phase 2 has definitely been the hardest one for me, not necessarily in terms of being hungry...though I have had bad days...but because I'm reaching my diet saturation point. I've been doing the HCG diet since March of 2009 (almost 1 whole year) and I think I'm just ready to be independently healthy. I only need to drop 1.5 pounds in the next week to reach my goal of losing 100 pounds!! Once I've reached that goal...and I know I will...I can move on to others that I've set for myself. I've determined to run in a 5K this year and I've already scheduled my training sessions to begin when this round is ended.

I am completely sedentary now, so this will be a challenge for me! I know I can do it though. I'm going to start the Couch Potato to 5K program (C25K) starting in mid-march. Once again, my husband and daughter will be joining me. I'm hoping to get my younger daughter running with us too! I'm so glad to have had my family supporting me all this time. My husband has lost 32 pounds and my daughter has lost 20 pounds. We all look and feel great! We've surely learned a lot along the way too...

• You must drink your 2L of water each day! I'm convinced that this is how the fat is "rinsed" from your system. I'm no scientist and have done no research other than my own experience but I know my loss is accelerated when I drink plenty of water. 
• You can NOT cheat! We have found that any variance from Dr. Simeons original protocol leads to plateaus and frustration. I do think that things like soda, Walden Farms, artificial sweeteners can lead to slower weight loss, but sometimes it's worth it! :)
• This is a hard diet for teenagers. Well, for anyone really! My daughter has done very well, but being a teenager she has not had the patience to wait out the results. Any sign of a plateau or slow loss would send her into a depression and she would succumb to temptation. She has struggled but her 20-pound loss has also encouraged her to start running, play the Wii Fit, put more effort into healthy habits, like keeping a food journal, etc. In a way, I think this has been the most effective for her since she is beginning to develop LIFE LONG healthy habits that can benefit her now and in the future! If we were to do it again, which I'm not sure I will encourage her to do, I would opt for the shorter 23-day session. I think that's about all a teen should have to endure. I'm proud of my girl though! She's done an amazing job!
• HCG really works!!! There is no way that I could have accomplished this 100 pound weight loss without the aid of this diet. I have tried other programs from Weight Watchers to Phen/Fen to Exercising and Eating Right. I have always maxed out at about 40 pounds lost then bounced right back up to where I was before. This diet has been hard, but not as hard as being fat has been! My challenge now will be to keep the weight off. It has always been my plan to lost the weight that has been keeping me from doing the things I want to do so that I can go walk, run, bike, hike, swim....and be healthy! I couldn't do any of those things 100-lbs ago!

So even though this round is coming to an end, I still feel like we have long way to go! I am scheduling a family portrait session very soon. We haven't had one in over 3 years! It's funny how we're all looking forward to getting our pictures taken again. I will also keep you posted on our 5K progress. I wish all of you the best of success with your HCG journeys. I hope you will share your success here. I love to hear your inspirational stories and lessons learned.