August 11th, 2011 by Busy Mommy

Our Garden is back and better than ever this year…here’s a few highlights.  This is my first time growing watermelon radishes.  I actually forgot that I planted them- I just couldn’t figure out why next to my french breakfast radishes were these huge radish greens growing and yet when I pulled one out the actual “radish” was only the size of a pea still- so I left them in another month and was rewarded with an awesome harvest of watermelon radish.  They almost look a little like turnips and are definitely in that size range.

Oh so that’s why it’s called a watermelon radish!
Next up is my normal french breakfast radishes- I think these are my favorites when it come to looks and how fast they are ready to be eaten- as little as 20 days!This year was also our first planting and harvesting  of potatoes- we did it a little mindlessly in that we basically just threw them in the veggie bed and left them there- I think Ben threw on a few containers of grass clippings, but that was pretty much it- and look what we got out of it!  9 potatoes were originally planted, and on June 22nd we harvested 88 various sized yukon gold potatoes, all together weighing 19 lbs.  Not bad for almost zero effort!  They are super good as homemade hashbrowns which is about the only way we prepare them right now (key for homemade hashbrowns- get a potato ricer).

August 11th, 2011 by Busy Mommy

Took a Sunday off as a couple and enjoyed a date all alllooonnne…..and found a cool barn!!!!

August 11th, 2011 by Busy Mommy

I wasn’t sure if I was going to put this one here, but I decided to go ahead and do so for anyone out there who reads this blog and who wants to lose weight.  It is getting to the point where many people simply can’t lose weight the “normal” way due to various health issues, hormone issues, thyroid issues, etc.  Or your life is simply too stressful and busy to devote a year of your life focusing your mind solely on losing weight which is what it really takes to lose weight successfully under normal conditions.  It takes all your focus and concentration and sometimes situations in life make that impossible to do.

In come HCG.  HCG  is a very controversial diet out there that you need to fully research before embarking on it.  However, it’s not new- it’s been around since Dr. Simeon’s developed it in the 1950’s- the biggest thing about it that makes it amazing and controversial at the same time is that you lose, not just weight, but fat, crazy fast.  I lost 27.2 lbs in the first 40 day round, and I lost an additional 20 lbs in a second 35 day round.  There is a 2 day “loading” phase just before you start each round where you purposefully gain a few lbs before you start losing, so my net actual loss for those 75 days is 43 lbs.

Yes, I lost 43 lbs in 75 days.  Also- this is completely without exercising, and I did not lose too much lean mass (which is key).  The important thing here is that I easily maintained my weight loss after the first round for a full 9 weeks before starting my next round.  As I just finished my 2nd round, it remains to be seen how I’ll maintain my weight this time, but so far my experience has been as long as you have healthy eating habits going forward, you maintain easily.  If you want to know more there is a whole youtube community of people doing hcg who are vlogging their journey where you can get real-world info on how people do on it and their struggles and successes.  Additionally, the original protocol outlined in detail in Dr. Simeon’s book “pounds and inches” is in pdf form online for free.  If you want more info or help, you can always email me with questions as it is a diet I have thoroughly researched for over 6 months and have completed 2 rounds myself.

Some of you already have asked me about this diet so here you can see my “results” in before and after pictures to help keep you motivated should you decide this protocol is for you.

Before I started HCG- February 22, 2011- 172 pounds

After a  total of 75 days of actually losing weight (with a 9 week break of eating normal and maintaining my weight halfway through) I weighed 43 lbs less, on  July 24, 2011- 129 lbs.One more time- started at size 16/18, and now I’m currently a 6/8