Update for round 2: very low calorie days 1-3. A total of 2.6 lbs released in 2 days! Plus, a quick tip on safely disposing of your syringes if you don’t have a Sharps container.

Tags : HCG Diet Tips, phase 2, videos, vlog, YouTube

Starting Weight: 201.6

Today’s Weight: 175.2

Overnight Gain/Loss: -1.6

REAL HCG: 166 IU 2x daily under the tongue (Switched over from homeopathic on VLCD 44)

My weight is going back down! Hurray! Maybe all of the mistakes that I made this week are starting to correct themselves. Like I said yesterday, I messed with my dosage 4 days ago. I think that caused me to have headaches, fatigue, and fluctuations on the scale. Let’s see what happens this week!

I drank my gallon of water yesterday and added back in my 4 tablespoons of coconut oil in my chocolate bark. I also drank two warm cups of flavored tea last night.

For lunch, I had grilled chicken, asparagus, strawberries, and a breadstick.

For dinner, I ate chili made with 96% lean ground beef, tomatoes, and onion. I ate a breadstick with it. It was really good!

I drank my usual gallon of water.

Tags : beef, ground beef, HCG Diet Tips, onion, phase 2, Real HCG, sublingual HCG, tomato, VLCD, water, weight loss

I posted these 3 videos on YouTube. 20 HCG diet tips for you. Enjoy!

Part 1: HCG Diet Tips 1-5

Part 2: HCG Diet Tips 6-13

Part 3: HCG Diet Tips 14-20

Tags : coconut oil, HCG Diet Tips, HHCG, lemon juice, phase 2, photos, plateau, pounds and inches, sleep, videos, VLCD, water, weight gain, weight loss, YouTube

I ran across a really good YouTube video today by a lady named Charli . Someone emailed her and asked her why we would choose the HCG diet over eating right and working out at the gym. I have posted that video below.

I would love to address this question.

First of all, some people might not be able to work out. They may not be in good health. They may have heart issues, joint issues, or one of many other health concerns that do not allow them to work out. Don’t judge!

Second, we are not all the same. Many of us do not have very efficient metabolisms. What works for some might not work for others. I have personally been on both sides of the issue. DO NOT assume that we are all fat because we sit around all day and eat tons of ice cream while watching soap operas. Hello! Don’t ASSUME because it makes you look like a fool (to put it nicely).

Throughout the years, I have been on the following diets: The Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, Atkins, Slimfast, The California Diet, a low fat diet, Phen-Fen, Ephedra, Weight Watchers… and YES, even working out! I’ve lifted weights, played tennis, jazzercised, stair-step aerobics, treadmill, exercise bike, etc…

I once joined Jenny Craig over 12+ years ago in the mid-90′s and lasted about two weeks. The clinic accused me of cheating. I was furious and never went back.

I used to hate exercising with a passion when I was in my young 20′s, but for the sake of my weight, I dedicated 6 months to working out at home 4-6 days per week. I would alter between cardio and weight training. Along with working out almost daily, I ate a low-fat diet with lots of good fruit and vegetables. I lost 8 pounds in 6 months. I kid you not! It was then that my husband said he has never seen someone work so hard to get nowhere!

A few years later, I found out that I have hypothyroidism. That explained a lot. A weight loss clinic started me on a low calorie diet along with Phen-Fen and thyroid pills. I lost approximately 20 lbs, but I had to go off the diet when I found out that I was pregnant. After that, one of the Phen-Fen pills became illegal because of health issues that people were experiencing.

After I had my daughter, I gave up for a while. I had my 4th child in 1999 along with a tubal ligation. After that, I seemed to start packing on the pounds for no good reason! I started playing tennis in 2001, and I was very overweight at that time… probably around 226 pounds on a 5’3″ frame. A tennis instructor that I had at the time decided to film us and take notes on the video so we could learn from our mistakes. When I came home with the video, I couldn’t bear to see myself. It was awful!

Around late 2002, Stacker 3 was being advertised all over the television. I decided to give it a try. Without changing my eating habits, I went down to 168 lbs and a size 12. I was thrilled. I had probably taken it for about 3 months at that time. When I was in the 168 lb range, it seemed to stop working, so I quit taking it. I think it was then that ephedra became illegal. From 2003 until January 2008, I packed on the weight and went up to 213 lbs. That’s when I decided to join Weight Watchers.

I was on Weight Watchers from 01/08 until 10/08. I had lost almost 37 lbs within that time period. About a month after I started Weight Watchers, I joined a gym and worked out 3-5 days per week. I altered cardio with weight training. Now remember, I started playing tennis in early 2001. I have been playing tennis ever since then. So, with WW, I was working out at the gym AND playing tennis while trying to eat right. It took me 6 months to lose 35.6 pounds. I slowed down at that point because I was getting so tired of calculating points. I went up and down the last 2-1/2 months until I reached 176.6 (36.4 lb loss). After that point, I completely went off Weight Watchers altogether. I was tired of figuring my points on a daily basis. It was such a pain…

Fast forward to 2 years later, and here I am!

In passing, a friend of mine had mentioned that she was about to start the HCG Diet. A mutual friend’s sister had lost approximately 27 pounds in 27 days. I didn’t think much of it. I still felt burned out from dieting at that time, but I googled “hcg diet” and started reading like crazy. I was intrigued. I couldn’t believe the number of positive reviews on this diet. It was amazing! I thought, “what the heck”, and ordered some homeopathic hcg. I was so excited when it came in that I started that day!

So, why is the hcg diet any different? Well, first of all, I have lost weight much faster than anything I have ever tried in my life! Typically, I have lost any cravings for other foods with the exception of the occasional bite of chocolate bark.

Recently, I took a current picture of myself and placed it side by side with my last Weight Watchers picture. In that picture, my WW weight was slightly lower, but my measurements on the HCG diet were better! I look smaller in the HCG picture. I kid you not. Look for yourself !

In the end, you have to decide what works for you. Speaking from my own experience, this is working for me, and I am so excited about it. I am confident that I will make it to my ultimate goal weight! I haven’t been that weight since I was a teenager. I look forward to seeing that day!

Here’s the video that I was talking about. Enjoy!

Tags : exercise, HCG Diet Tips, tennis, videos, VLCD, weight loss

In a previous post, I showed you how to prepare chicken breasts and steak to make your life a little easier. I recently purchased a few pounds of 96% lean ground beef, so I thought you might want to see an easy way to prepare it for individual packaging.

Packages of 96% lean ground beef

Gather your packages of 96% lean ground beef along with snack size ziploc bags.

100 Grams of Lean Ground Beef

Weigh your ground beef and divide into 100 gram portions. Place each 100 gram portion into a snack size ziploc bag and set aside.

Flattened Lean Ground Beef Divided Into Snack Size Bags

Seal one side of your baggy and flatten ground beef in snack size bag, pushing the air out as you go. Once your ground beef has been flattened and the air removed, seal the remainder of the bag. I found this tip two years ago on the GreenLiteBites blog while I was on Weight Watchers. This is a very smart idea. The bags lay flat in the freezer, they defrost rather quickly, and they don’t take up much space. You can also stick them into a box or paper bag and cut out part of the side’s bottom so that you can pull out one package at a time… like a dispenser.

Tags : beef, food scale, ground beef, HCG Diet Tips, phase 2, photos, VLCD

So, here it is. My own version of Delmem ‘s Dark Chocolate Delight recipe .

This recipe uses 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. If you are not sure if you can handle the coconut oil on phase 2 of the HCG protocol, then start off eating only half of it. Delmem has estimated that approximately 88% of HCG dieters are able to continue losing weight while using coconut oil.

Coconut Oil, Cocoa, Truvia, and Agave Nectar

This recipe uses agave nectar for additional sweetness. It adds approximately 10 calories to the batch. It is considered a low glycemic sweetener (approx. 32 on the scale), and several HCG dieters have had success using it in their batches of chocolate.

Ingredients:

2 Tbl. coconut oil

1 Tbl. cocoa (15 calories)

1 packet of Truvia

1/4 tsp. Agave Nectar (5 calories)

small container

Cocoa and Coconut Oil Divided

Place a tablespoon of cocoa into your empty container and break up the big chunks of cocoa with a knife or spoon. Using a separate container (I used a measuring cup), melt two tablespoons of coconut oil in the microwave. This only took me (2) 5 second intervals.

In a separate container, add one packet of Truvia and 1 tsp of HOT water. Stir until dissolved. If the Truvia isn’t completely dissolved, warm in the microwave for 5-10 seconds and stir again. This is an important step. If the Truvia has not been dissolved, your chocolate bark will turn out grainy.

Add the truvia/water mixture and 1/4 tsp. of agave nectar to the coconut oil. It will sink into the bottom of the container. Stir as best as you can. Pour the coconut oil mixture into the cocoa while stirring with a whisk. Mix completely until your coconut mixture is a smooth consistency.

Chocolate Bark Liquid

Your chocolate bark is ready to be refrigerated. Refrigerate about an hour to harden. Once it has hardened, use a knife to cut around the perimeter of the chocolate bark. Flip over and pop out onto a plate.

Coconut Oil Chocolate Bark Broken in Half

Break your chocolate bark in half, and it’s now ready to eat! If you are using coconut oil for the first time on Phase 2, eat half of the bark in one day (1 Tbl. of coconut oil) to see how your body reacts. Enjoy!

Servings: 2 Tbl. Coconut Oil

Tags : agave nectar, chocolate bark, cocoa, coconut oil, desserts, HCG Diet Tips, HCG recipes, off protocol, photos, truvia

Time for another little treat. If you are tired of meat and want a change, then you can substitute cottage cheese for your protein. The following recipe is a good tasty dessert for anyone with a sweet tooth.

Cheesy Mock Cinnamon Apple Pie

Ingredients:

1 Apple (core it and weigh it to calculate your fruit calories)

1/2 cup (113 grams) Cottage Cheese (calculate your calories)

Cinnamon

Sweetener to taste (In this example, I use 3-4 packets of Truvia)

Chop up your apple into fine little pieces and cook in the microwave for 1-1/2 minutes until soft. Sprinkle with a liberal amount of cinnamon. Add your sweetener. I use between 3-4 packets of Truvia. Remember: the cottage cheese is not sweet. Adjust the amount of sweetener to your taste. Stir cinnamon and sweetener into the apple bits and allow to sit for a minute or two.  A small amount of sweet juice will form at the bottle of the bowl. Combine with cottage cheese.

This dessert will equal your protein and fruit for one meal. Please be sure to calculate your calories.

Cottage Cheese:

I love Daisy Brand Cottage Cheese. It seems to be the most pure of the brands.

Here is the breakdown for one serving:

4% milkfat- 113 grams (1/2 cup)- 110 calories, 5 grams of fat

2% milkfat- 113 grams (1/2 cup)- 90 calories, 2.5 grams of fat

Servings: 1

HCG Exchange: 1 protein, 1 fruit

Tags : apple, cottage cheese, desserts, HCG Diet Tips, HCG recipes, photos

I wanted to address this topic a little bit. I am now on Day 29 of the VLCD (very low calorie diet). In this amount of time, I have had 6 total days of weight gain (3 times @ 2 days in a row). Today is the third time that I have gained weight for the 2nd day in a row. Strange, huh? I believe my body is showing a pattern…

What do you do when you gain weight on VLCD?

First of all, do not stress out over it. It’s really not that big of a deal unless you are cheating or not following the protocol.

Second, reevaluate everything that you have eaten. Have you followed the protocol? Are you ONLY eating the allowed foods? Have you weighed your fruits and veggies and added up calories to equal no more than 500? Are you eating oils? Are you eating your fruits in the same meal (a NO-NO)? Are you combining your breadsticks (another NO-NO)?

Third, are you using oily lotions or products on your skin? Are you ovulating or on your menstrual cycle? Did you exercise recently? Are you getting enough sleep at night?

Fourth, are you drinking enough water? Water is VERY important to this diet. It helps flush away the fat! In the manuscript, Dr. Simeons says that patients should be drinking at least 2 liters of fluids per day. It has been recommend by numerous health sites that a person should drink half their weight in ounces daily. If you weigh 200 lbs, then you should be drinking 100 ounces of water per day! At my current weight, I should be drinking 90 ounces of water per day. However, I am drinking 1 gallon of water (128 oz.) every day. It has really helped my digestive system!

All of these factors come into play on this diet. First, evaluate everything that I have said above before moving on to the information below.

Remember, as a woman, it is normal to go through weight fluctuations. Women hold more water than men. It’s also easier for a man to lose weight. The average weight loss for a woman is 1/2 pound per day. Evaluate your progress so far. From your start date, what is your average weight loss? Despite the six days that I have gained and two days of no loss, I am still averaging .62 per day from the time that I started this diet. I am above the average loss for a woman.

Should I try an apple day?

People tend to panic when they start gaining weight or have days of no losses. In Dr. Simeons manuscript, he addresses “The Plateau”. A true plateau, according to the good doctor, is after 4-6 days of no losses and frequently occurs during the second half of a phase. Unless you have been stuck for at least 4-6 days, then you are not in a TRUE plateau.

If a patient wants to break up a plateau, then they can have an “Apple Day”. An apple day begins at lunch and continues just until lunch the next day. You are allowed 6 apples to eat throughout the day whenever you are hungry. You should only drink enough water to quench your thirst, and you are not to eat anything else until lunch the next day.

Is an Apple Day worth it?

In my opinion, not really. Dr. Simeons describes the “Apple Day” as purely psychological !  Basically, it’s for those that feel like they need to see movement on the scale.

Why do we gain or plateau if we are following the protocol?

Again, Dr. Simeons explains this in his manuscript. Let’s review how this diet works. While on HCG and a VLCD, fat is pulled from the cells of the fatty tissue. Once the cells have been emptied, before they are absorbed by the body, they may fill with water. Water is heavier than fat. In this process, you could show no loss or even a slight gain. When the tissue has been broken down and absorbed by the body, you will probably experience an increase in urination and a loss on the scale. Here is a quote from Dr. Simeons manuscript:

“The weight registered by the scale is determined by two processes not necessarily synchronized. Under the influence of HCG, fat is being extracted from the cells, in which it is stored in the fatty tissue. When these cells are empty and therefore serve no purpose, the body breaks down the cellular structure and absorbs it, but breaking up of useless cells, connective tissue, blood vessels, etc., may lag behind the process of fat-extraction. When this happens the body appears to replace some of the extracted fat with water which is retained for this purpose. As water is heavier than fat the scales may show no loss of weight, although sufficient fat has actually been consumed to make up for the deficit in the 500-Calorie diet. When then such tissue is finally broken down, the water is liberated and there is a sudden flood of urine and a marked loss of weight. This simple interpretation of what is really an extremely complex mechanism is the one we give those patients who want to know why it is that on certain days they do not lose, though they have committed no dietary error.”

This should help explain the process of fat loss on the HCG Diet.

To conclude this topic, don’t stress over the scale! This is why it is important to continue to measure yourself. Many people experience inches lost while the scale isn’t moving. We lose weight in a stair step fashion. Our bodies need time to adjust. Keep following the diet, and it will work for you. Don’t try to cheat the system. This is an effective way to lose weight.

Good Luck!

Tags : Dr. Simeons, exercise, HCG Diet Tips, phase 2, plateau, pounds and inches, sleep, water, weight gain

Starting Weight: 201.6

Today’s Weight: 183.8

Overnight Loss/Gain: -1.0 (wow!)

Total Loss: 17.8 pounds in 26 days

HHCG: 15 drops 2 x daily

I was a happy camper this morning! I can’t believe I lost a pound! I haven’t lost a pound or more in six days. This diet is amazing! I had my usual coffee with splenda this morning, which helps tide me over until lunchtime.

Grilled Chicken Breast with Asparagus Cinnamon Apples and Breadstick

This was my lunch for today. I’m enjoying this diet very much! I had 100 grams of grilled chicken with asparagus, one whole apple (cooked in the microwave for two minutes and sprinkled with 1 pkg of Truvia and sprinkled with cinnamon), and a sesame breadstick. I drank one Diet Pepsi. Yummy!

96% Lean Hamburger with Tomato Slices Orange and Breadstick

I was fortunate enough to make a large amount of food yesterday, so I didn’t have to cook for the entire family today. I made my hamburger from my handy dandy George Foreman grill. I had a nice 100 gram hamburger patty, a few slices of tomato, one whole orange, and a breadstick. I love this diet!

Here is the breakdown-

Lunch:

100 grams of chicken breast (114 calories)

114 grams of asparagus (23 calories)

121 grams – whole apple (63 calories)

1 sesame breadstick (23 calories)

Lunch Total: 223 calories

Dinner:

100 grams 96% lean ground beef (130 calories)

109 grams of tomato slices (20 calories)

204 grams – whole orange (96 calories)

1 sesame breadstick (23 calories)

Dinner Total: 269 calories

GRAND TOTAL: 492 calories

Water for the day= 1 gallon

I played tennis tonight, so we’ll see what happens on the scale tomorrow! Stay Tuned!

Tags : apple, asparagus, beef, breadstick, chicken breast, coffee, exercise, ground beef, HCG Diet Tips, HHCG, oranges, phase 2, photos, splenda, tennis, tomato, VLCD, water, weight loss

Drink PLENTY of Water!

The rule of thumb for water is typically 1/2 your weight in ounces daily. So, if you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink 100 ounces of water per day. Water is important for our everyday functions. It helps flush away toxins and move our digestive system along.

In Dr. Simeon’s manuscript, he believed that it is important to drink at least 2 liters of “fluids” per day. He included coffee and tea in the fluid count. However, I do not do this. I believe that you should not count your coffee and tea as your fluid intake, or you may never drink plain water! I drink a gallon of water per day, and it has really helped my digestive system to function properly.

If you don’t like water, then add a little bit of lemon juice to it. I used to fill up one liter bottles and refill them when they were empty. The problem was that I would forget how many times I filled them up. Now, I fill up a one gallon jug with water and pour it into a large cup throughout the day. I know exactly how much that I have drank for the day. If I have coffee, tea, or a diet soda, I do not include those amounts of fluids with my water. I ALWAYS drink my one gallon of water ON TOP OF my coffee, tea, or diet soda.

If you are worried about being up all night and running to the bathroom, be sure to drink all of your water by no later than 3-4 hours before you go to bed. My rule thumb is to be finished by 8pm if I am up until midnight. This way, I can get a good night’s sleep (which is diet tip #3)!

Tags : Dr. Simeons, HCG Diet Tips, pounds and inches, water