HCG: Week Three

We are now halfway through this diet. Thank goodness. Hate the diet...love the results!

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In 21 days I have lost 22.4 lbs and Sarah has lost 20.2 lbs.

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I'm still off the third hypertension med, and my latest readings were 120/76 and 125/76. Plus I'm in the process of cutting back the doubled medication to its original dosage.

A lot of people wonder what you eat on a 500-calorie diet. Here is my typical day in menus:

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Breakfast: .35 cc of hCG under my tongue and iced tea made from decaffeinated green tea. I sip it all day long.

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Herbal teas are also allowed, hot or cold. The only sweetener allowed is Stevia. (English Toffee-flavored Stevia drops are heavenly in tea!)
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Mid-Morning Snack: Melba toast and an orange, the biggest orange I can find!
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Lunch: A vegetable and 100 grams of protein, just slightly more than 3.5 oz. It makes the cutest little hamburger patties you've ever seen!

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At left is a typical lunch. Notice the size of the burger compared to the regular-sized radishes.
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I usually have a ground beef, chicken, or turkey patty, or sometimes 6-7 medium shrimp.

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Mid-Afternoon Snack: More Melba toast and a sugar-free Jello cup.
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Dinner: Another vegetable (different from the lunch choice) and 100 grams of a different protein.

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We usually have a teeny-tiny strip of steak or chicken breast. White fish, like tilapia, is also allowed, but not fatty fish like tuna or salmon.
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This steak-and-cabbage stew was dinner a few nights ago. Quite tasty!

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Dessert: The biggest apple I can get my hands on: Granny Smith, gala, golden delicious, etc. Once Sarah and I splurged on a cupful each of fresh strawberries for dessert, but that's a luxury now that berries are out of season.

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There are also 2 more .35 cc doses of hCG spread out through the day. I was told to take the drops 10 minutes before eating, but I now take it at various times of the day. I don't see any difference in the rate of weight loss.

Fruits and Vegetables: 2 fruits and 2 vegetables are allowed per day. The fruits and the Melba toast may be eaten with lunch and dinner, but I prefer to spread them out as snacks to keep my blood sugar stable.

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Allowed fruits are oranges, apples, strawberries, or half of a grapefruit. They must be eaten separately and you shouldn't eat the same fruit twice in one day.

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The same rules apply to vegetables: choose 2 different vegetables in a day, and never mix them at the same meal. Some modern versions of the diet allow combining of vegetables, but I'm following Dr. Simeons's original protocal.

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Allowed vegetables: lettuce, spinach, cabbage, tomato, cucumber, radishes, celery, asparagus, or onion. Healthy, but not exactly nutrient-dense. Sarah and I usually have a small, sliced tomato; or half a diced cucumber in vinegar; or steamed, seasoned cabbage.

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Serving sizes for the vegetables aren't specific. It just states that you can have a "large handful." Any seasonings are allowable as long as they contain no fats.

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Proteins, though, are strictly measured. The 100 grams is pre-cooked weight, so I find it simpler to spend a couple of hours cutting the meat into correct portions and sealing them in snack bags. For the next 2 weeks we just pull them out of the freezer as needed.

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At right are my cute little freezer-ready bags of tilapia, shrimp, steak, chicken breast, 93% lean ground beef, and ground chicken and turkey.

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I've stated before that I don't believe fat-free or extreme low-fat diets are healthy. I've also said I don't approve of rigidly restricted-calorie diets. I still don't, at least for the long term.

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However, according to Dr. Simeons, while hCG is releasing abnormal fat deposits into the bloodstream it is necessary to limit the amount of fat in the diet so it doesn't overload the system. And supposedly all the nutrients we need are stored in those fat deposits.
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It makes sense, and it seems to be working. Both Sarah and I feel fine. For me, the first week was rough, but my energy has been climbing ever since. (Still hungry, though!)

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And due to the caloric restriction, Simeons does discourage exercise during the 40 days of the diet. He allows a 20-minute daily walk for those who feel they must get in some cardio. Sarah was doing more than twice that and still felt fine.

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Lose weight without exercise? Sign me up!
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Dr. Simeons's diet actually prohibits the use of Chapstick, lotion, makeup, and cream-based products such as shampoo and conditioner in order to further limit fats being absorbed into the body, but I can't go quite that far. I'm not sure being thin would be worth looking like a dried up old prune! Besides, even with my Chapstick and lotions, I'm still losing steadily.

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I continue to study the research and anecdotal information on this diet, and it is not without its controversies. I'll go into that information next week.

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Meanwhile, I just have to say:
**********Works for me!