I suppose the cleanse is working because I feel good, but there are no results yet in terms of loss. I don't know if I'll even have a loss. The amount of liquids I'm drinking and for as much as I went to the bathroom yesterday, I expected at least something; however, I did have a lot of salty vegetables. What's the rule? "In order to hold one teaspoon of salt, the body requires one liter of water."

The cleanse itself tastes a lot like Neuro Water. I was a little worried because the reviews were all over the place in terms of the taste. One person said it tasted like Sunny Delight, while another said it tasted like Gatorade. Still another said it tasted like gelatin (yuck). It's not something I'd want to drink all the time but, I can certainly do it for a couple of days. As for results, some reviewers said they expected what you expect with a cleanse and it worked great. Others were expecting pounds of loss and were disappointed when that didn't happen. My expectations are to clear the works before I start my next round. That's about it.

Yesterday, I drank the cleanse as instructed; between meals, four times per day mixed with 2 ounces of water. For breakfast, I had a not-so-very-good Red and Delicious apple. I ate half of it, then trashed the rest. We were participating in my work-city's parade and I was running like a mad woman behind the back of a fire truck, throwing candy. Did I mention that we were getting surprise thunderstorms through out? Not only was I sweating a bunch, but I was completely soaked by the time we made it back to the station.

They then had a barbecue, which I didn't eat a thing. We got home around 2:00pm, and I had another apple as well as a can of corn (haven't seen the return of that, even with my probiotic yesterday). In the evening, I had stir-fry veggies and Miso soup. Very good, but very salty. There is no mystery here. I am a salt harboring barge!

Today, I will be shopping for some more fruit, a bit of steak and fish for the week (I like the steak/hamburger for lunch and chicken/fish for dinner) as well as a small bottle of full, fat milk for my coffee. I only get one tablespoon per day, so that's going to be at full potency. Tonight, I'll mix up my vial and figure out what to eat for loading. My hope is to repeat some of the more successful loads I've had in the past. It's sort of surreal to think about how much I love the foods I chose for loading, but had a hard time getting them down. I look forward to recreating that phenomena.

As I noted on the other site, I will document my progress here for my sixth round (which I'd really

like to refer to as my round 5 do over; sub-lingual just didn't work as well for me as the injections). I've been scheming for about a month on doing another round and (hopefully) making it my last but, I'll never say never. It just isn't worth it when you've battled for as long as I have.  The goal was to start on July 22nd then be well into phase 4 by the time I go on my trip in September. While at the office today, I began to work up the remainder of my spreadsheet (I always keep one when doing HCG). Lo and behold, I was off an entire week!

I would have spent all of next week mentally preparing myself, doing my necessary reading and shopping, then indulging in the last of my wine/cocktails for a while. Well, that was all wash. Now, I have to start next Monday. The whole week of planning is now out the door. I freaked out for a bit then resolved that, "It is what it is," and I've simply begun to move forward.

The day was spent reading, reading reading. For those of you who don't know, you always have to reread the protocol before you do it again. It's really a great process because you delve back in the what, when, where and why of everything. It also reminds you of some of the more important physiological reasons on why this even works. The good news for me is that I've been really watching my eating habits for about two weeks and taking my probiotics regularly for about three months. I am definitely making sure those are part of the process this round where constipation can be a bit of a plague in this process. I've also been really great about drinking my water. That will make it easier as well.

My entire family is actually on a bit of a health kick. This will make avoiding temptations that much easier. My seven year old is even saying, "We'll be eating lots of fruits and vegetables, right mom?" Frankly, she eats entirely too much fruit, so we'll be tweaking that a bit for her right at the onset. I am glad that she loves her green-stuff, though.

My eldest (the blossoming cheerleader) is going to do another fitness show with her dad and says she wants her abs to "pop". She's in amazing shape already, so I know cleaner eating is going to make her feel and look even more beautiful. It's really exciting to have the entire family rallying together in their own way.

Tomorrow and Sunday, I'm doing the GNC Pre-Diet Cleanse to try and get some of the "works" cleaned out a bit before I start. I don't have enough time to do a Candida cleanse and I'm hesitant to do the cayenne, lemon and honey (hereafter known as CLH). That may be something I do in the fall. We'll see. My vision is simple: Get back into the clothes that I'm comfortable with and have a great time, without feeling self-conscious, with my best friend on our 20th anniversary get away.

I'll be here documenting away. I use MyFitnessPal more than LiveStrong since I've got the App on both my phone and my Ipad. I haven't tried to copy the information to the blog site. If it doesn't workout I'll have to try something else. This is truly the part that keeps me on track (along with my spreadsheet). A little OCD? Maybe, but whatever works. The two-day cleanse requires that I drink this stuff and eat fruits and veggies, only, to clean me out. If the taste is abysmal, I may opt for the CLH instead. I really don't want to (I hear the effects are crazy intense), but it's supposedly for the greater good. The greater good is exactly what I need.

Here we go!

I started the new diet today and, after lunch, I was still hungry. Now that I've had my afternoon snack, I'm doing all right. Here's what I had:

Breakfast:
1 medium California plum
5 Egg whites (small amount of salt and pepper)
2 cups decaf with Splenda

Lunch:

1 oz Baked chicken (slightly seasoned)
1/2 serving "low fat prepared" Pasta Roni (herb and garlic

Afternoon Snack:
(same as Lunch)

I know that dinner will consist of more chicken, but I'm thinking I'll pick up some low-fat coconut milk, Thai Peanut sauce and brown rice to make my fav meal. With the chicken, I think hubby won't have any complaints.

I worked out on the elliptical for 30 minutes and burned around 320 calories (nearly 100 less than what I normally burn because I took down the tension, but about the same as what I used to burn on the old machine). The tension has caused some trouble with my knees, so I think I'll have to let that be for a while. No one wants screaming knees. Hubby says we'll start the weight training program he's given me on Friday. We performed a run through yesterday and it's probably going to kick my butt. I suppose I'm ready (oh well, if I'm not).

Because of birthday party madness (see the other site), we didn't get going on the training as planned a few weeks ago. I was keeping up with my cardio and had managed to skim off three pounds. Now that I'm filled with birthday cake (I haven't checked but), I believe that three pounds is back. Hubby emailed the training plan along with the meal plan I'll be on. It looks suspiciously like those I've seen for figure competitors. Hmm. Wonder if he's been reading the blog again. I would say yes (are you there, honey?).

The babe is sick, my coworker is quitting and my rag is coming. Needless to say, the stress level is way high. Despite these and other stresses in my life, I've managed to watch my food and exercise for the past two days with a fervor I haven't had in about three months. I'm determined to get these pesky extras off again. The hard part is going to come when my girlfriend gets here next week. We have a tendency to overindulge. I think that I'll "get" myself with extra workouts whenever we overdue it, just so I'm staying with the program.

Hubby is threatening to train me again (starting next week). Not sure how serious he is, but it's never a fun process. Don't get me wrong, he's good at what he does, but the wife-husband dynamic always brings up a power issue for me. The first time he trained me, I looked really good (I wasn't as small as I would have liked, but I looked great) and felt good. I suppose that's all that I really should expect, right? Not be a size four like my mother (she walks 5 miles on the treadmill at a 4.5 clip every other day). It takes her approximately ninety minutes. I seriously don't have that kind of time, but I suppose I would be down with it if I did. Nah. The fact that I probably burn more than half of what she burns in thirty minutes on the elliptical is enough to keep me from her kind of torture.

So, there it is. Me trying to get svelte again. My arms are flabby (first indication that I've put on weight) and they're already football player size. Something must be done.

Last week, hubby and I trained together for the first time in a couple of years. It went well (even though I wanted to cuss him out afterwards). I'm doing most of the weight lifting on a stationary balance ball (can't remember what it's called) so that you're engaging your abs while you lift. Craziness! The ab portion of the workout was the toughest. He says that today we'll do legs and that I probably will be sore for a few days afterward.

In terms of the eating schedule, I'm getting used to it and find myself getting hungry around the time I'm supposed to eat my next meal. There's a great deal of protein (I'm usually 100% over the daily recommended amount) and fiber. The fat was a bit high (by my standards) at first, but hubby tweaked the items on the menu and now that is under control. The calories are well below and the sodium is very good. I have a bit of trouble maintaining the carb level he's requesting, but all in all I'm doing okay.

So, I don't really know what to expect in terms of weight. I did well in my training with him the last time and my weight was still in the 160's (low 160's, but still 160's). I really want to get out of this category and hope that his training will help me do so. With the new eating plan, it should. I have my "cheats" on Sunday...but you know, the cheats aren't really cheats. It's getting to eat the things I ate on my last plan. How nutty is that?