P2D12

First thing on my mind: my parents come for an overnight visit tomorrow. I am getting worried about how I am going to slip this diet past them. I know I could explain it to them. They usually support me in any major decisions because I always to a lot of research beforehand. For some reason, I just don't feel like explaining and justifying this to them yet. I think I will blame my "small appetite" on the antibiotics I am taking. They are used to me special ordering when we eat out due to my wheat allergy so I think this will cover it. The biggest obstacle will be breakfast on Sunday. We traditionally make yummy family breakfasts that we all eat together. How am I going to get away with my MR shake??? Perhaps I will have eggs (Simeon allows this once in awhile: 1 whole egg + 3 egg whites). I can make everyone regular eggs or omlettes and make mine HCG friendly. I'll let you know what happens, but any advice would be more than welcomed!

Yippee! Down 1.8 lbs on my scale today! I do love to see those drops in weight.

Saw the Doc today and the measurements they have been taking are impressive: I have lost 3 inches in my waste and 7 inches in my hips (this measurement includes the clapper, lol). I am not sure the loss is that great as today was done with my shirt pulled up, but still I see and feel that there has been loss in those areas. Jeans that used to fit are sagging, even on the 1st day of wear. And jeans that were uber-tight are now comfy on the 1st day of wear. I have shirts whose sleeves used to be tight that are now loose. All of that stuff is very encouraging.

The other encouraging thing is that I didn't lose any lean muscle mass. That is so important for permanent weight loss and when you consider the starvation diet I am on, it is miraculous (well, it is the HCG, which IS miraculous!). This is also the thing that will, hopefully, keep my skin from sagging with this rapid weight loss.

So, I think I did pretty well at the restaurant last night. I didn't end up with a seafood cocktail. I asked my server how much meat was in it and she claimed it was basically a soup spoon full. That would not have met my protein needs and I was going to be eating with a bunch of other people that have no dietary restrictions. I needed all the protein I was allowed.

I settled on a grilled chicken breast (had to order the grilled chicken sandwich minus everything but the chicken, lol) and a side salad, minus everything. I squeezed on the lemon juice and had a tolerable meal.

I am very proud of myself. Despite being surrounded by women eating yummy stuff and having beer, wine and cocktails, I stuck with my program. I think the consequences suffered by the recent meat-overeating was a big help.

Okay, so no exciting recipes to share today. I have to say that I am getting tired of the lemon juice on the salad. And all the acid is making my sensitive teeth even more so. Today I have some Walden Farms "Bleu Cheese" dressing to try. I am not expecting much, they WF products tend to have an artificial sweetener aftertaste that I dislike very much.

Today's menu:
B: MR shake
S: protein supplement and pear
L: shrimp, lettuce and new dressing, oh, and fiber pills (I do that every L and D)
S: protein supplement
D: chicken (prepared??? watch for a new recipe, hopefully) and Brussels sprouts

Okay friends, I may not post again until Monday. Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for your love and support!

Amy

P2D11

No weight loss today when I weighed in at home. Sad. No gain either. That is good.

I know how it happened. I made a bad choice last night after dinner. Dinner started out innocently enough. I made burgers with the leanest ground beef I could find (less than 7% fat). I got them seasoned up and put them on our grill. Ooooh, they were tasty. Served mine with some mustard and a little Walden Farm's Ketchup. Delightful. And I had my full 1.5 cups of minted cucumbers. I was a happy HCG dieter.

Then I went to the kitchen to clean up. There was some burger left over so I weighed it, hoping it would be a full serving for today's lunch. Sigh, it was just short. I need 3oz of cooked meat and it was only 2.5. Hey, I need all the protein I can get so I was not about to short myself of .5 oz! So, what did I do? Save it until next time I made burgers to make a "full serving" for myself??? NO! I proceeded to eat that 2.5 oz of burger with the extra mustard and "ketchup" on my plate.

Mmmmm. Sure it was tasty, and sure, 2.5 oz of meat is not a lot extra....but it was enough. I was stuffed. And I mean STUFFED after I ate that extra portion. I stayed stuffed and transitioned into having indigestion for the remainder of the evening. I cannot believe I did that and I cannot believe how crappy it physically made me feel. Dang, won't do that again.

Some positives that came out of this little experience:
1. I don't want to do that again. It hurt. I still felt it this morning.
2. I think this means my body is changing. 5.5 total ounces of meat would have been a breeze for me 2 weeks ago. Perhaps my stomach is shrinking...perhaps my fullness receptors are starting to work again....
3. It inspired me to get back on my treadmill (which I have been avoiding because my ankle has been hurting). The whole motivation for this extreme protocol has been to lose the weight so that my ankle would heal and I could exercise again. Well, knowing I ingested lots of extra calories (okay, lots relative to what I am supposed to have with HCG) got me back on that machine. And, you know what? It felt really good. I am down about 15 lbs from that last time I walked on my treadmill and I felt the difference. My body has definitely changed. My shorts fit differently, my thighs didn't threaten to ignite with the friction (okay, they still rub together, just not quick as much) and my ankle did great. I would even go so far as to say there was a bounce in my step... Love it!!!

So, back on the protocol today.
B: MR shake
S: 1 pear and protein supplement
L: shrimp and lettuce with lemon juice, fiber
D:??crab and lettuce with lemon juice???

I am eating out tonight. First time on HCG for me. A little nervous....I looked at the restaurant's menu and they have crab cocktails. I am going to request that mine be served sans cocktail sauce (might not be gluten free anyway) and with lettuce instead of celery. Otherwise, I don't know what I will do.

Wish me luck!

Do you have any advice for eating out while on the HCG protocol? I would love to hear it.

P2D10

Another pound lost! Woot! I am loving this protocol.

While I am still a bit off from the bacterial invader and the antibiotics, I am doing really well. I cannot believe my energy level (and I don't think it is only from the copious amounts of green tea I am drinking). I am alert, aware and motivated to...do. I am not sitting on the couch watching TV (or if I am, I am sorting through boxes of junk that we have continued to put off sorting). I am loving this feeling of purpose and well being that I am experiencing. Loving it!

Okay, are you sitting down? I have changed up my daily menus a bit. What?!? Are you ready for the big change? Here it is: I am just having my MR shake in the morning and saving my fruit for a mid-morning snack to have with my protein supplement. Wow! Okay, small changes in the diet are a big deal to me. The main reason I did this is because I ran out of my favorite vanilla flavor that I like to blend with frozen fruit. Vanilla goes with everything. Now I just have my chocolate shake and I don't like to blend chocolate and fruit. That's me. I know most of the world thinks chocolate mixed with raspberries, orange or strawberries is heavenly. For me, I want my chocolate straight. Well, that's not true, I do like it blended with peanut butter, nuts, mint, coffee, oh, and bananas. So, I am mot a purest, just don't like it with most fruits.

Whoa, sorry for the chocolate tangent. That is just not nice. I am not craving it or anything, just wanted to explain the shake up in my diet. LOL

So here is today's menu:
B: MR shake
S: protein supplement and apple
L: leftover chicken with tangy tomato soup (I revised this recipe this time, see below)
D: very lean hamburgers and ??? (probably those minted cukes I love sooo much)

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Tangy Tomato Soup II

2 C fat free, sugar free chicken broth/stock (I make my own, but there is a recipe in the list)
1 C strained tomatoes (you must use one that is JUST tomatoes, no other ingredients)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp onion salt
1/2-1 packet stevia
1 tsp dried basil (I used 1 Tbs chopped, fresh basil)
ground black pepper

Saute garlic in 1 Tbs of the chicken stock, set aside. Add strained tomatoes, cook over medium-high heat until it boils, stirring frequently. Turn heat to low and add remaining stock, garlic, onion salt and stevia to the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the pepper and basil. Serve.

counts as 1 vegetable

This had a much richer and deeper taste than the way I made it last week. This may be a different story when tomatoes are in season.

Cheers,
Amy

P2D9

Oh, man, this strep is kicking my butt. I wonder if my body is taking longer to get its strength back due to my special diet??? Hmmm. Not giving up on it though. I am starting to feel better, just not all the way there yet.

Mentally I am doing great. I am determined to succeed at this for the next 30 days or so.

Another pound today! Woot! I am starting to get addicted to these results. LOL

Not much energy to cook, but last night I did manage to make shrimp cocktails for the family along with their allowed sides. I made myself some zero/low cal cocktail sauce by doctoring up some Walden Farms ketchup. I had Brussels sprouts for dinner (see below for the yummy way I prepared them). They are little cabbages, right?
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HCG Cocktail Sauce
1/4 C Walden Farms Ketchup
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp prepared horseradish (or to taste, I think I added more)

Mix together and adjust to taste. Allow to sit for at least 15 min for best results. Use a small amount on seafood. The smallest amount you can get away with is best.
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Garlic Lemon Brussels Sprouts

1 lb Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and outer leaves removed
1-2 Tbsp fat free chicken broth
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 T lemon juice

Steam the sprouts until just done (barely fork tender). Now I used to do this with olive oil, but for HCG, I sauteed the garlic in the chicken broth until it was fragrant, but not browned. Add in the sprouts and toss to coat and warm up. Finish by sprinkling with lemon juice just before serving.

If saving some for leftovers, separate them before adding the lemon juice and pack them with a wedge of lemon to be added once reheated.
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That pound of sprouts made two, 1.5 C veggies servings for me and they REALLY filled me up.

Cheers,
Amy

P2D8

What a weekend I had!

Friday evening started the weekend off on a great foot when my friend Kim came over for Scrap Friday. I know I was physically hungry, but there was an emotional/habitual eating pattern to overcome as well. We normally snack (sometime healthy, sometimes not) at these little scrap fests, but this night we abstained. We were both hungry, but we fought off those hunger pangs with lots of Rooibos Carmel Apple tea from Republic of Tea. Yummy! Lots of creativity and plenty of laughter got us through.

Saturday when I weighed in on my home scale I was down, but I don't recall the exact numbers. We got up and did our usual Saturday morning routines. Just before lunch time we headed over to our friends' house to split wood then moved to our house for more of the same. We shared a power splitter and some trees that we cut from our property. While the power splitter helped a lot, it was still hours of hard work. We split, lifted heavy logs, and hauled and stacked wood for the better part of 8 hours. We were all exhausted after that. We enjoyed a dinner together, which I will elaborate upon, before we parted.

Despite a soak in the hot tub before bed, I woke many times in the night with a lot of muscle pain. Ibuprofen barely touched it. I wonder if my muscles were more painful than usual due to the HCG. Perhaps my body broke down muscle to compensate for the huge amount of extra calories it required with the strenuous labor of the day. Not sure. I know that I still saw weight loss when I weighed in on Sunday morning.

I tried to rest up on Sunday. Being a mom of 2 young children means resting is a relative thing. We still had to get chores and errands done and spending quality time as a family is not optional. All in all, it was a great and productive (not quite restful) day. I'll go over the fab food below.

So, today is Monday. I am showing a little more weight loss. Overall, just a couple of pounds over the weekend. There may be some residual inflammation from the weekend's exertions.

I am getting rest today. I have to. My regular physician called and told me that the strep test she took on Friday was positive. I have to take penicillin for the next 10 days. Goody. My HCG doc says it shouldn't interfere with my program. I am nervous though, doesn't antibiotic therapy usually mess with hormones? Guess we will wait and see. All I know is that I am looking forward to feeling better. While I have been less hungry, not getting dizzy anymore and have plenty of energy, I have felt off. I have been sweating at the slightest exertion, and getting shaky after small tasks. I wrote it off to overdoing it this weekend, but now I know. I can't wait to see how good I feel once the penicillin starts winning the battle in my body.

So, the food. By now you know my typical daily menu. Breakfast is a constant and lunch is usually leftovers. I will just go over the highlights of the weekends recipes.

Finally made the minted cucumber recipe:
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Minted Cucumbers

1 cucumber, peeled (optional), seeded and chopped
1 minced garlic clove
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. chopped fresh mint or 1/2 t. crushed dried mint leaves
onion salt
black pepper
dash of stevia powder

Mix cucumber with garlic, lemon juice and mint. Season with onion salt and pepper. Add a sprinkle of stevia, mix and taste. Adjust as needed. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or longer. Toss before serving.
Servings: 1 vegetable

Oh...my...gravy. This was good. It was crunchy and fresh. I loved it and will be making it over and over again. The first time I made it, it sat for over 4 hours and it was delish! The second time it only sat for about 20 minutes. Still good, but I think it really needs the time for all the flavors to penetrate the cucumbers.
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Not Rocket Science Grilled Chicken

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skin removed
onion salt
pepper

Sprinkle both sides of chicken breast with onion salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Grill over medium heat until thickest part of breast reaches 165 degrees. If you do this on a Foreman Grill I would suggest about 8 minutes. Allow the breast to stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve 3 oz to HCGers.

3 oz=1 protein serving

I know, I know this one was not rocket science. I was worried how they would turn out, but I had to come up with something on the fly after splitting wood all day. I couldn't believe how good they turned out. My whole family, and the guests, gave it enthusiastic thumbs up. You would have thought I slaved over it or marinated it all day.
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Not Rocket Science Fish
Another, duh, that was simple recipe that turned out to be incredibly tasty.

halibut or other white fish
lemon pepper (find one that is HCG okay)
onion salt

Sprinkle both sides of fish with onion salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Grill over medium heat until fish is opaque, but still moist. Flaky is usually too dry, but cook it to your taste. My very thick (about 2") halibut took 25 minutes total.

3 oz=1 protein.

Again, delicious and a whole family hit.

Wahoo! I can cook HCG okay food and feed my entire family. They just have larger servings and more sides. I was so afraid that I would have to become a short order cook while on this phase. I am so glad I don't have to.

Here's to me feeling better in about 24 hours. I am really hating it now so I am heading to my bed for a nap.

Cheers,
Amy

P2D5

Happy. My scale at home says I am down another 1.4 lbs. Woot!

Feeling pretty good these days. Sure there is hunger, but not crazy, low blood sugar hunger. Just hunger 1-2 hours before my next meal. Energy level is great. Loving that!

Had my weekly doc appointment today and got some great results. So, they weighed me a week ago, before my load days. I never figured out what my weight gain was for the load days, but from the doc's numbers I think I gained about 4 lbs. Yikes. That all came off because my total loss according to his scale was 7 lbs this week. 4 lbs of that was fat!!!! .5 lbs was lean muscle and the rest was water. Still, 4 lbs of fat!!! They gave me an amino acid supplement to take that is supposed to help me preserve my lean muscle mass. Still, .5 lbs is not much considering how damned little I eat.

So, eating. I'll give you today's menu and then tell you about last nights experiment and a recipe:
B: MR blended with blackberries
L: left over garlic chicken, Asian cabbage and shirataki noodles
D: fish and minted cukes
tea and water until I am swimming :)

So, last night I decided to try the shirataki noodles (I am convinced these are the same thing as the Miracle noodles, just different, and more honest, packaging) I used the ones with the tofu for extra protein and I rinsed them well, very well. Yes, they did have an odd scent, but it didn't translate to an odd flavor once I had prepared them.

----------------------
Cabbage and Shirataki noodle stir fry
1 T fat free chicken broth (I think I ended up using more as the pan dried up)
1 tsp fresh, chopped ginger
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 Cups sliced cabbage (I used Napa, but you could use any)
1 package tofu shirataki noodles
1 Tbs soy sauce (I am not on a pH balance program and I have to use gluten free soy sauce, Bragg's Aminos would also work here)
1 Tbs sugar free rice vinegar

Saute the ginger and garlic over medium heat in the chicken broth until fragrant. Add cabbage and stir fry until it begins to wilt. I found that covering the pan with a lid prevented a lot of liquid loss. Add shirataki noodles and toss to coat. I allowed this to cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in soy sauce and vinegar, toss to coat.

Makes 2 servings; each has 1 vegetable and 1??? for the noodles (they have no net carbs and my package only had 20 cals/serving. With the noodles and the soy sauce I added a total of 35 extra calories to my day and I still had a loss this morning, wahoo!)
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The garlic chicken I adapted from that wonderful list of HCG-friendly recipes.

Garlic Chicken
2 chicken breast (skinless and boneless)
fat free chicken broth
3 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
dash of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Poor a small amount of chicken broth in your baking dish and place the chicken breasts in the broth (my broth came about a 1/4 of the way up the breasts). Put the garlic and a little water into the microwave for 20 seconds. Add salt, pepper and herbs to form a paste, adding water if too dry. Spoon the paste over the chicken pieces. I tried to get a fairly even coating. Cook for approximately 30 mins. I watch my chicken with a thermometer so they don't get over cooked and dry.

Measure out 3 oz for the HCGers. Makes about 4 protein servings.
-------

This got thumbs up all around from my family. Moist and tasty. Mmmm.

So, one of these days I am going to discuss all of the great teas I have discovered and am enjoying daily.

But, for now, I say have a good weekend,
Amy

P2D4

Zowee! Down another 1.4lbs! Woot!

Things are definitely getting better. I have less and less dizziness. I feel like I am functioning at close to 100% normal as far as energy goes. I am still hungry the last 1-2 hours before my next meal, but it is tolerable.

Pilates today was great. Had plenty of energy and strength, but sweat a lot again. Still wondering if it is because the studio is warmer than usual. Guess I will stop questioning it as long as my strength keeps steady.

So, I have to tell you about last night's dinner. I had marinated flank steak and tomato soup. It was amazing and yummy and I was actually full after I ate it and not hungry the rest of the night.
------------------------------
Marinated Flank steak and onions
1-1.5 lbs flank steak (I think any lean beef would work just as well)
1 C sweet onion, thinly sliced (about 1/2 of an onion)
2-3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 C water
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
ground pepper, to taste

I took the flank steak and sliced it across the grain, holding my knife at a diagonal. I have always done this with cooked flank steak , but never raw. It worked well. I put the sliced steak into a large ziplock bag along with the remaining ingredients. I mixed it all up so that all the onions and all the steak were coated and the garlic was evenly distributed. I then let this marinate overnight in the fridge.

When it was time to cook I preheated my Foreman Grill and then put the steak and onions on in a thin layer. I cooked mine for 4 min and this made it well done. I did this to get as much fat out of the meat as possible. If you want it closer to medium, I would start checking it after 2 minutes. I had to do 3 rounds of cooking on my small grill. After it was all cooked I pulled out 3 oz for myself and put 2 additional 3oz servings in containers for future meals. The rest of the steak I seasoned with McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning (sorry HCGers, it has sunflower oil in it, so not for us) before serving to my family. Although they are not big steak eaters, this got the thumbs up all around.

counts as 1 protein (and 1 vegetable if you eat all the grilled onions)

I ended up not eating my onions because I wanted to eat soup. The onions did, however, provide excellent flavor to the overall dish. I put some with my leftovers for another day.
------------------------------
I also made this fabulous tomato soup from that list of recipes I posted earlier.

Tangy Tomato Soup
1 C fat free, sugar free chicken broth/stock (I make my own, but there is a recipe in the list)
1 large or 2 small tomatoes (I measure it as 1 C when chopped and I needed 2 small)
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 packet stevia
1/2 tsp dried basil (I used 1/2 Tbs chopped, fresh basil, see below)
ground black pepper

Saute garlic in 1 Tbs of the chicken stock, set aside. Puree tomatoes in a blender (I used my Vitamix for the finest grind), then cook over medium heat to a boil, stirring frequently. Turn heat to low and add remaining stock, garlic, onion salt and stevia to the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the pepper and basil (I used fresh, but there is some who believe fresh herbs have more oils in them. I am not one of those people. Oils do not evaporate when something is dried, they usually stay with the dried item....so I am taking my chances. You will have to decide for yourself.) Serve.

counts as 1 vegetable

I doubled the recipe so that I could have leftovers for lunch.
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Here is today's menu:
B: MR blended with raspberries
L: leftovers of tomato soup and grilled flank steak (yum!)
D: chicken and either green salad or minted cucumbers

and lots of water and tea all day.

Not sure what I am doing to the chicken breasts, but rest assured, I will tell you the results tomorrow.

Cheers,
Amy

P2D3

Wow! Down another 1.8#s today! Woot!

Yesterday wasn't as rough as the first day on the VLCD, but I was still hungry a lot of the time. I think I will mention it to my doc when I go to his office for something unrelated to the HCG protocol. Today I am still feeling hungry most of the time, but I don't seem to feel as bad.

I have also been a little light-headed. I wonder if that is from the HCG itself. I felt like that for my pregnancies in the first trimester. I haven't been too light-headed today.

I went to my pilates class in the morning, as usual. I felt fine all the way through. I did sweat a bit more than usual, but that could have been because we were working larger muscle groups. I had plenty of energy and really enjoyed my class as I usually do.

So, last night's dinner was pretty good.

I cooked Dover sole in parchment under a layer of fennel which I had tossed with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Baked it at 375 for 15 min. Made a similar version for my family, minus the fennel (not fans). They loved it too.

I did do a quick survey of my calories yesterday and I only ate 470. Do you think I should have found another 30 calories to eat somewhere?

Here is what I am eating/plan to eat today:
B: MR shake blended with blueberries
L: green salad with shrimp, dressed with lemon juice, salt and pepper (gotta make a better dressing)
D: flank steak and onions

I am really excited about dinner. I am trying a new method and will let you know how is goes tomorrow!

Cheers!

Amy

P2D2

So yesterday was pretty rough. I was hungry most of the day. I drank and drank and drank water and green tea in an attempt to keep my stomach full. I really hope it is because I didn't load correctly. I really hope the rest of the 6 weeks won't be like that. I really hope.

When I woke up today I wasn't starving like I was yesterday. And now, 30 minutes before lunch I am just mildly hungry. So far, so good.

Good news on the scale though. 7 lbs lost yesterday. Woot! I know most of that is water weight, but I am certain 1 or 2 lbs was fat. My total loss, including what I lost for the 3 weeks of prep before the HCG protocol is 14lbs. Woot! I can't wait to watch the scale keep creeping down.

Food today is not very adventurous. I haven't had time to make some of the recipes that I found yesterday. Let me know if you try any, would love to hear how they turn out.

Today's menu:
B: MR shake blended with strawberries
L: crab on green salad with lemon juice
D: white fish and fennel salad. For this meal I am thinking I will try to cook the fish in parchment paper on a bed of fennel with some lemon juice and seasonings. I will let you know how it works out.

And, as promised, here is what my clinic allows on the adapted Simeon's protocol:

B: Ultrameal or Protoclear meal replacement shake AND one serving of fruit (not bananas or pineapple)

L and D: 100g (precooked weight) of chicken, lean beef, whitefish, shrimp, veal, tuna, lobster or crab, all visible fat removed, if applicable AND 1-1.5 cups vegetables: green salad, cabbage, onion, chicory, fennel, cucumber, tomato, spinach, chard, celery, beet greens or asparagus

I am also supposed to take psyllium husk fiber with lunch and dinner to keep things moving.

For flavor I can use the juice of 1 lemon, salt, pepper, vinegar, herbs and spices, but not butter, oil or dressing.

I can drink tea, coffee, water or mineral water (2L/day).

Phase 2, day 1

Okay, I am a little hungry...I expected to be a little hungry so it's okay. I am not sure I loaded correctly. Loading was more difficult than I thought it would be. I thought I would have a lot of fun eating the high fat foods that I usually avoid. Truth is, I was full and bloated all weekend. Sigh. So here is what I did.

I got up Sat and injected my pre-measured dose of HCG. That was very easy. I was nervous about it, but it wasn't difficult at all. I didn't really feel it; the needle is quite small.

I started to write about all the foods I ate to load but then realized it was making me hungry and was a bit obsessive. So instead you should know that I ate as much high-fat foods as my body would allow. It was fun, but I got full and uncomfortable. I probably ate too much carbs and sugar too. That could be why I am hungry today.

So today is my first VLCD day. Here is the modified-Simeons protocol that my clinic follows:
Bfast: meal replacement shake and a medium fruit.
Lunch: 100g lean protein and 1-1.5 cups approved veggies. Plus, one psyllium fiber pill
Dinner: 100g lean protein and 1-1.5 cups approved veggies. Plus, one psyllium fiber pill

That's it. Melba toasts and grissini are not allowed at my clinic and I am okay with that. I couldn't eat them anyway (I am allergic to wheat/gluten) so I would have had to find a substitute. They choose for us to have the meal replacement shake so we get more nutrients for the same calories. Makes sense to me. My doc is also allowing me to mix veggies from the list. Gasp! I am glad because I think I will do better mentally.

I will post what kind of meal replacement shake I use and my approved proteins and veggies tomorrow. I forgot to bring the list with me today.

Here is what I am eating today:
lots of water and green tea
B: MR blended with half a mango.
L: cocktail shrimp on a salad of lettuce with a few slices of cucumber and a few cherry tomatoes. I plan to sprinkle those with some fresh lemon juice and pepper.
D: fresh Dungeness crab another salad.

I will explore a bit more as this progresses. For now, I am keeping things simple.

I found a link to a downloadable recipe book. It looks VERY interesting and I will be trying some of the recipes very soon. yourhcgdiet.com/documents/HCG_Diet_Recipes.pdf . I don't know who to thank for this, but I think I will love it.

Oh, I am not ready to post my weight, but I will have before and after pics as I go along. Also, once I find a weight loss ticker, that will be on my blog page too.

If you know of some great P2 recipes or want to commiserate with me, don't hesitate to post a reply or contact me personally.

Cheers,
Amy

And So It Begins...

So, I go into the doctor's office tomorrow to get started on my HCG journey. I am a little nervous, but mostly excited about this new adventure for me. I am worried about how I will feel for 6 weeks on this program, but I am excited at the prospects of losing a large amount of weight in a short time without the side effects of major hunger, sagging skin, etc.

Why did I decide to follow this non-FDA approved weight loss protocol? For one, I think the FDA failed to approve it for many reasons, one of those being they didn't look at all the parameters of the weight lost on the Simeon's HCG protocol. They compared people on a very low calorie diet (VLCD) of 500 calories; one group got HCG injections and one group got placebo. The end result: both groups experienced the same average weight loss. It didn't examine what kind of weight they lost, but I am pretty sure the ones without HCG had a fairly dramatic muscle loss. I bet they were starving the entire time. From what I have read about the Simeon's HCG protocol, you shouldn't be terribly hungry and the weight lost should primarily be fat (and the fat we don't need, not essential, organ protecting fat). Lean muscle mass is supposed to stay close to what you had before the protocol. In my mind this is critical. It is how you keep the weight off.

The second reason I think the FDA denied an approval is lobbying pressure. With a diet industry worth millions of dollars do you think this study went unnoticed by the pharma companies making diet drugs at that time. I would not be surprised if they put up a bit of a fuss over this protocol. If everyone could lose weight and reset their hunger signals with HCG, where would the pharma companies be???

Okay, so enough of that.

I chose to do this after I did a bit of research. I am a scientist, a biologist specifically, so I can read research papers and understand the jargon. Nothing convinced me NOT to do this.

I am doing this under a MD's constant supervision. Yes, it is costing me lots of bucks, but I want to know that all my systems are working as expected. This was also important to the family and friends with whom I discussed my decision.

And finally, I am doing this because I have a lot of weight to lose. I injured my right ankle and hamstring muscles almost 2 years ago. Theses injuries are not healing well. This is preventing me from getting the exercise I need to lose weight. My weight is aggravating my injuries. You see the vicious cycle I am in. I need to lose a large chunk of weight so that I can exercise without causing more damage and pain to my leg. I believe that this is my answer.

Okay, so I see the doc tomorrow and learn to do the injections. I start the injections and my first 2 load days on Saturday. I will keep you posted.

Thanks for following me on what I hope with be a life changing journey.

Amy