hi,

i have been reading the message boards for awhile now and find them very informative. I am on day 19 of 500 cals and have only strayed once when I had an oily dressing on some lettuce at at restaurant on 11/20. The scale has either gone up a few pounds or back down to where I was on 11/20 back and forth for now 7 days. As of 11/20 I had lost 13 pounds. I did not eat anything Thanksgiving--which was incredibly difficult with my family. I am losing my motivation with this stall. I have heard that the apple day is psychological only and you get rid of some water weight--but it comes back?? I don't like apples enough to put myself through that for a loss that I will gain back. I am trying not to go to the fridge and make myself a big plate of dressing (at my parents') because I am not seeing any benefit currently. Any suggestions?

Hello,
I'm happy you have found the forum informative, and congratulate you on following the Protocol so closely. They're both life-changing.
I am going to take the liberty of speaking to you, as they say, "like Dutch uncle." Although I'm not exactly certain what that really means, I've always interpreted it as "honestly, without varnish." That, with a great deal of love and compassion, is 'where I'm coming from.'
The Protocol has to work, it's biology. It is no respecter of persons or personality, it simply does it's job on the physiology of the human body.
You haven't stated (that I know of) what your weight is. Without knowing that for sure I do want to say that this Protocol is for "abnormal fat stores" and not for vanity fat. If you happen to be the latter please don't take offense, but please don't ask hCG to do what it can't do which is remove minor body fat on someone who hasn't stored abnormal fat. However...
Presuming you are obese in the parameters of the Simeons Protocol, then please give yourself a chance to succeed by staying on the program. If you can't make it past 23 injections/2 days gorge in the beginning/23 days VLCD, at least go that far and give it an honest chance. And by all means, measure again two weeks after you finish as the changes that continue might surprise you. IF you can follow the protocol for longer, it might be a good idea to go as long as you can, keep the momentum and let any cummulative effect that might be pending occur.
And then a little encouragement on the mental and emotional/psychological side of things, because this is an opportunity to redefine ourselves and understand ourselves better, and permanently improve who and how we are in the world as regards food. Please consider renaming yourself with something more supportive of your goal rather than reiterating your past. Visualize and dream of and speak as if your success were already real, because honestly, it makes each moment better and more hopeful and enjoyable. The weight loss is a great achievement but eating goes on for the rest of our lives, and new habits and new self-regard will stand you in good stead for the rest of the days of your life.
I'd love to know your name or be able to call you by a 'handle' that is uplifting and honoring of the courageous and health-affirming path you're on. I'll root for you every day and with each moment that you come to my mind, and I'll hold you in my heart as revealing your best self, healthy and fit and slender and vibrant ~ I'm simply asking you to do the same.
With great esteem and unimaginable blessings,
Sharin'/Pamela

WOW - Pamela, great words of encouragement and so eloquently put!

I also want to add my 2 cents worth.

As with any diet program, a stall can be for various reasons. Not knowing how much you need to loose, it is hard to speculate.

Basing on being overweight with more than, say 50 pounds to loose, your body (physically) may be trying to catch up with the lost weight.

During the fat loss process, hcg releases the fat in the cells. Water, then rushes in to fill that void where the fat was. Then, the fat cell shrinks and releases the water. This is to help our bodies from going into shock.

So, during a short stall (about 5-6 days) you may not see the scale budge, but, how are your clothes fitting? Are they looser? Have you been taking your measurements? For most of us, our greatest "inches lost" have been during the short weight stalls.

If your weight is closer to your ideal weight, the weight loss will be harder, and what Pamela had to say is correct.

Remember the program is called Pounds and Inches! Your body is possibly going thru a type of transformation.

I hope this helps as well.