And it begins... again

It has been awhile...

While I would chalk it up to busyness... let's be honest, I just quit.  I got tired of being on alert 24-7 for foods that were going to destroy all my hard work, and so I gave up.  I had lost somewhere in the realm of 50-55lbs... and got discouraged.

I have spent the past 6 months evaluating, thinking, and deciding on what I did well, what I hated, and why I stopped and I think I'll write about some of that later, but I really wanted to sign on here today to tell you of my new adventure.

A friend of mine (Jason) has lost almost 110lbs on a protocol called 'Simeon's Protocol'.  It has been made more popular by Kevin Trudeau in his book 'The Weight Loss Cure "THEY" Don't Want You to Know About'.  While I actually think Trudeau is a bit of a whack-job (in the clinical definition) the results that some friends are experiencing have really pushed me to try this.
In it's basic formula you have 4 phases of the diet.

Phase 1:
- a bunch of really nasty cleanses which I am not doing because I am inherently lazy and drinking a weeks worth of organic cranberry juice, with cayenne pepper with honey, doesn't seem like a smart thing to do.
- this is also Trudeau's addition to the protocol, and I think Trudeau is a paranoid, nut-job, who thinks that our tap water is full of chemicals so the gov't can keep us fat... I personally think it was the copious amounts of Coke and Mc'ds that did it too me, but I did drink lot's of water...

Phase 2:
- 15 drops of HCG 2x daily
- Drink copious amounts of water and teas (Green, Chamomile, and Yerba Mate)
- 2 meals (lunch and dinner) consisting of 100 grams of lean protein (chicken breast, white fish, steak)
- handful of salad (greens, asparagus, celery, tomato, cucumber, some other veggies that I really don't like)
- 2 apples, or 1 cup of strawberries, or 2 grapefruit/orange
- no dressings, starch, sugar, fats of ANY KIND
- for 21 days with drops, 3 more days w/o drops
- the first two days you gorge on as much food as possible the fattier the better... I will talk about this later)

Phase 3:
- No drops
- Drink copious amounts of tea and water
- have as much lean protein and veggies and fruit as you like (till you are full)
- for 3 weeks

Phase 4:
- Gradually ease back starches and sugars (in moderation)

or you can do phase 3 for 3 more weeks and then go back to Phase 2 to lose more weight...

My friend Simon has lost somewhere just south of 50 lbs... the thing is that this diet really seems to suck away what they call 'abnormal fat' and the fat that is the hardest to lose that being your belly, your thighs, and your... 'ahem' shall we keep it 'pg' ...buttocks.

During my evaluating of my success and now epic failure as I have put back on all the weight I have lost, I decided that while being goal oriented was a good thing, I think that success needs to be more than just quantified, it has to be qualified as well.  In North America we think that if I can just get to that weight, or if I can have that amount for a salary, or if I could just have a house this big then that's success... but success also needs to include the answers to such questions such as
1).  How do I feel?
2).  Am I more happy now that I am losing weight? or making more money? or owning a bigger house?
     2a).  And if I am or am not why?
3).  Do I have more energy?
4).  Am I a better version of myself?

Those questions need to be answered as well, and for me the past 6 months have been about answering some of those questions so that when I can get to my goal whatever that may be... I will arrive being not just healthier in body, but in mind and spirit as well....

Welcome to the Journey-continued!

Blake