The weekend was as hard as I thought it was going to be, but I survived.Both my family and my in-laws are very active and we love getting together in the summer for Bar-B-Ques. This weekend was no different, we had a Bar-B-Que scheduled for Saturday and Sunday night. I love grilled food and this is a big reason why I find myself in the position I am today.

On Saturday we had a family shower for my Sister-in-Laws wedding. I am the designated Bar-B-Quer in the family, so I had to cook Chicken, Steak and Grilled Pineapple for about 40 people. There is a theory that you never trust a skinny cook… well I am definitely not a skinny cook. Not to brag, or toot my own horn, but I can grill up a very tasty meal on the Bar-B-Que. It was hard cooking the meat and not eating it off the grill like I usually do. I mean, someone has to test it right? I did very well at resisting the urge and luckily I had someone else there that was more than willing to test the meat (It passed with flying colors).

When I was dishing up my plate I was very careful with what I selected. The HCG Diet recommends 2 meat portions per day, 2 fruit portions per day and unlimited Salad and vegetables. I had already had 1 fruit and 1 meat portion. I limited myself to a very small peice of chicken and only 1 strip of flank steak, I can usually eat like 5 strips. I avoided the beans, even though they were my favorite kind with bacon, and only had a salad and 1 piece of grilled pineapple for my sides. Since the meat was marinaded it was probably not the best thing for the diet, but I have been told that it will not destroy the diet to eat like that occasionally.

I mowed my yard right before th Bar-B-Que and the next day when I weighed myself I was 5 pounds lighter than i was the day before. I was at 229 on Sunday morning, the 5th day of the diet. I had lost 4 pounds total sincethe day I started.

On Sunday night I had another challenge. My brother and his wife invited us out to a Bar-B-Que at their house. While I am very good on the grill, my brother makes me look like an amateur. He is amazing, everything he grills turns out perfect. He is the one that taught me how to Bar-B-Que and I doubt the student will ever take down the master in this situation. He grilled up a simple cheeseburger for us, which was horrible for the diet. The meat was okay, but the marinade, buns and sauces were probably bad. I limited myself to 1 burger (I could have easily downed another) and ate watermelon and salad. They did twist my arm and I had a little dessert to go with it.

For lunch I only had an orange, and breakfast I had a banana. So the watermelon was 1 more fruit serving than I should have had and the buns on the cheeseburger were not great for the diet. The dessert was a bad idea, and I thought for sure I would pay for it when I stepped on the scale this morning. However, even with the bad dinner I lost 2 pounds from the previous day.

I weighed in this morning at 227, the lowest I have been in quite some time. I am finally convinced that the HCG is in fact having a huge impact on my weight loss. I am not that hungry and it is getting easier to follow the diet. My appetite has been suppressed, just like they said it would, and I am starting to notice a difference.

The biggest change is in my morning routine. Before I started the HCG diet I had a hard time waking up and getting to work at 8:30. Since I have started the HCG Diet I am awake and going at 6:30 every morning. I have energy throughout the day and I feel better about myself. My shirts and pants are feeling better and my wife keeps commenting about how good I look. All of this after losing 7 pounds, I can’t imagine what it will be like when I lose 50 pounds!