hCG experiment - day 1

Today is day #1 of the hCG diet, my first "loading day."

I started taking my drops last night and took them throughout the day as required. As this is a loading day where I am supposed to load up on as many calories as possible I started out my day with a sausage and egg breakfast sandwich, had a cheeseburger for lunch, and some chip things for a snack. Normally I wouldn't eat so bad in a day but I'm supposed to build lots of expendable fat. By dinner I have to admit I'm not the least bit hungry. The very thought of having greasy BBQ chicken, sweet potato, and green beans is a bit too much for me and Dale is nagging me to "please, just eat something..."

Had a coffee drink with breakfast and some soda with lunch - am trying to cut back a bit on the caffeine to prevent too much in the way of headaches on day 3 as I start the restricted diet. I am allowed as much coffee or tea as I want, provided I do not sweeten it with sugar, so am thinking I will live partially off iced tea with sweet-n-low or something in it. Also drank about a liter and a half of water today (am supposed to drink at least 2 L once I start the diet) and I figure this, added to about 20 oz of soda and my coffee in the morning, comes out to close to my 2 L of water for the day.

SYMPTOMS:
Not sure if it's purely psychological, the drops, or just my own reaction to eating so much junk today, but I am frankly just not hungry, and got progressively less hungry throughout the day. 

Have had to pee all flippin' day long (then again, that's bound to happen when you suddenly jump to drinking so much water). Interestingly enough, I feel somewhat dehydrated (thirsty). I think this is due to the drop-taking process - you put the drops under your tongue and keep them there for 2 minutes, then can't eat or drink for a minimum of 20 to allow them to properly absorb. This process makes me thirsty every time, although not uncomfortably so. The drops also make my tongue tingle and taste sort of like medicine (both of which make sense since the drops have ethanol as a preservative).

Otherwise, nothing abnormal other than some slight nausea throughout the day. Felt energized and happy, and was as efficient as usual at work. 

Weight: thought it might be interesting to take a "starting weight" today, so hopped on the scale. It WAS after eating my sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich and drinking a Seattle's Best Iced Latte so it may be a bit off, but not by much. Weight today was exactly 306 lbs.

REACTION
So far, am relatively unaffected by the drops apart from having to stop my day for two minutes, six times per day. Have figured out a schedule that will work well for the work week - will take drops when I wake up, on my first break, lunch, and second break, then again on my way home before dinner, with the final dose just before bed. This spreads them out relatively evenly. Have felt tiny bit of nausea similar to mild morning sickness (how ironic, LOL). Have gotten progressively less hungry and had to convince myself to eat more than actually being hungry as day went on. Am curious how tomorrow will go - if this will continue or it's just a fluke. If this is as bad as it gets and I actually lose weight I will be over the moon....

My hCG Experiment

Let me first preface this series of blogs by saying that I am in no way endorsing any product. I bought this product with my own money, I am not being in any way compensated. I am simply telling my story. 

So, with that out of the way, here goes: I decided to try this hCG diet that everyone has been raving about. I know a number of people, both directly and indirectly, that have lost quite a bit of weight on this diet. After many hours of research I have decided to take the plunge into my first "fad diet." I will be making these blog posts (hopefully) on a daily basis with updates to keep you all apprised of my progress.

So, for those who don't know, the diet is rather simple: you start with two "load days" during which you eat as much as you want, with an overall high-ish level of fat to ensure adequate levels of "required fat". During these two days you take your hCG (drops or injections) and then, on the 3rd day, you start the diet portion of it. This is a severely restricted diet of 500 calories per day and very strict rules on what you are and are not allowed to eat (if you want more details go look up "Pounds and Inches" by Dr. Simeons - the founder of this diet). You then follow the diet for 23-40 days depending on how much you need to lose, then go on a sort of maintenance diet for 3 weeks that eases you back into normal eating. Supposedly you can do as many cycles as you need to get to your goal weight, with a resting period of 6 weeks (your 3 weeks maintenance diet then 3 weeks of normal eating) between cycles 1 and 2, 8 weeks between 2 and 3, and so on. The "hook" is that you're supposed to be able to lose around a pound every day, on average. 

So, the first weigh-in is supposed to be the morning of day 3, as one transitions into the diet portion, which will be the first weight I post as it seems the most logical place to start.

Tonight I went and bought the drops and a good chunk of the special food I will need. Also, to kick start my progress I will take some drops tonight. The brand I bought requires 6 drops under the tongue 6 times per day, so my plan is to take one set when I wake up, one before bed, and the rest spread out throughout my day. So, I took 6 drops before I ate, then will take 6 more before bed.

Wish me luck!

See you all tomorrow...

Pink Zebra French Manicure Nail Art

Watch this tutorial live! 

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WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- Nail polish in your favorite color
- Black nail art polish (or use your favorite black polish if you have a striping brush of your own)
- Your favorite top coat
- French tip guide stickers (optional)


With this term in school being so outrageously brutal I haven't had a lot of time to make tutorials, and haven't had enough energy to get inspired, so instead I thought I would do a quick, easy nail tutorial. This is my first one, so let me know what you think!


The pink zebra tips are hand-painted, and the colors can be changed to suit your style. I chose a hot pink for this look as it is the middle of summer and I was feeling a bit bold. You could also use this as a full-nail look if you wanted to.


I used the stick-on french tip guides to make it easier to have a clean line and no, these are not my nails. I use the full-coverage tips you buy in the kit from Walmart or wherever (it's about $5-6 for 200). They are a cheaper alternative and much more personalizable than the normal press-ons and I change them every week and make sure to let my nails breathe for at least a few hours to a day before putting on a new set.


It is easiest to put the stickers on first, then paint a coat or two of your base color (keep it thin if you're using the stickers as they will be easier to remove cleanly at the end). Allow to dry for a minute or two between coats.

Then, all you do is paint random wavy lines. Less is more with a look like this, and not matching from nail to nail is okay - it will all even out in the end.

Allow to dry FULLY otherwise when you apply the topcoat it will smudge the zebra lines. Apply topcoat and enjoy!

Review/Haul - www.eyeslipsface.com

I recently made my second purchase from E.L.F. (also known as eyeslipsface), and this encompasses my haul, as well as a review of both the products I purchased, my purchasing experience, and the company itself.

PRODUCTS PURCHASED:

Regular Makeup Line
Eyelash Curler - $1
Eyeliner Brush - $1
Waterproof Eyeliner Pen “Coffee” - $1

Initial Review - Graftobian Glamour Creme Foundation and www.paintandpowderstore.com

I placed an order recently with www.paintandpowderstore.com, primarily based on the suggestions of two of my favorite YouTube gurus (TalkinMakeup and GossMakeupArtist).

I wanted to try the Graftobian GlamourCreme foundation that they have been raving about, and so I placed my order about a week ago in the hope of finding a better option than my Revlon Colorstay,

Microdermabrasion At Home

I have lately become very interested in this area of skincare.

Few who follow me here, on Twitter or Facebook, or watch my YouTube videos realize that I suffer from a very painful and embarrassing condition called cystic acne. This is not your average breakout, but rather cysts that form beneath the skin leaving painfully swollen areas that can take weeks to heal.

At this point in my life I have been unable to find a particular treatment that really helps in any way. I have tried Proactive, it made everything worse. I tried the AcneFree system, which helped somewhat (although not much). I have tried washing my face a thousand times a day, not washing at all, “washing” with oil, treating with the harshest chemicals, Retinol treatments and antibiotics, etc. You start to get the idea…

Anyway, I have been seeing a lot of videos on YouTube lately for this new Clarisonic system (also the iSkin

Product List – Red, White, and Blue Cut Crease Look (Big, Bright, Bold Palladio Contest Entry)

YouTube Channel:
www.youtube.com/user/auraofbeauty

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/anauraofbeauty

PRODUCTS USED
Face:
Maybelline SuperStay 24-Hour Concealer - Ivory
Revlon Colorstay – 150 Buff
Covergirl Professional Loose Powder – 105 Fair