HCG: Planning Stages

Sarah and I have almost completed the 6 weeks of maintenance after our first 40-day cycle of the hCG diet.  We've managed to stay within the guideline of neither gaining nor losing 2 lbs beyond our weights on the final day of the hCG drops.  Well, we occasionally went as much as half a pound over the limit, but regular "steak days," as prescribed by Dr. Simeons, helped us bring those gains instantly back in check. 

Now we are back at the starting gate.  Five days from now, Sarah and I will begin our second 40-day cycle of the hCG diet.  And, while I don't look forward to the restricted 500-calorie diet, I am totally psyched about losing another 30 or so pounds in just 40 days!  That's because I know: It works!

Here are some tips and important facts for those who may be interested in joining us on this weight-loss journey.

1)  Prepare mentally. 

Honestly, I'm not sure if I could have endured this diet the first time if I hadn't been so desperate to bring down my blood pressure and get off half my prescriptions (I was successful on both counts, far sooner than I'd thought possible).  I'm an emotional eater, and suddenly being reduced to such tiny amounts of food was quite a shock. 

On the other hand, my daughter Sarah is also an impulsive, emotional eater and she had no trouble at all adjusting to the diet.  She immediately enjoyed the hCG hormone effect described by most dieters: no hunger, feeling comfortably full all day, to the point that 500 calories often seems like too much food.  Imagine!

I can't imagine.  I did not get that effect, and I was mildly hungry all day, every day, with few exceptions.  I've read hundreds of blogs and thousands of testimonials, and I've personally spoken to more than a dozen people who've lost a lot of weight on this diet.  I am the only one who felt hungry.  I finally found a website that explained the phenomenon as something that sometimes, though rarely, happens to women in perimenopause.  Lucky me.

The important things to keep in mind are these: I was mildly hungry, not ravenously, and the pounds kept falling off.  I learned to endure the hunger because the weight loss was so rewarding.  This time I am prepared.  So be ready for anything, but remember it is all totally worth it!

2)  Read the book.

It isn't absolutely necessary, but I recommend reading Pounds and Inches, by the late ATW Simeons, MD.  He developed the hCG diet protocol and he's the expert.  The entire manuscript can be found on many online sites, some of which can be downloaded.  Below is the one I use.

http://hcgdietinfo.com/HCG_Diet_Simeons_Manuscript.htm 

3)  Obtain your hCG.

If you live in my area, I can give you contact information for several distributors.  If not, I recommend asking around.  Seek out other dieters, talk to people in health food stores, ask your health care professionals, check online distributors.  I have seen prices ranging from $68 to $10 per bottle, for the exact same product from the same suppliers, so shop around.  You may have to wait a few weeks for their next shipment.

One bottle will last slightly more than 3 weeks, so expect to use 2 bottles for a 40-day cycle.

For those who need to lose only 5 to 15 pounds, there is the shorter option of a 26-day cycle, which requires only 23 days of the hCG hormone.  Dr. Simeons stresses the importance of completing the entire 26 days, even if the desired weight is lost sooner.  If the dieter quits before that time, the weight will inevitably be regained.

You will also need to decide whether to use once-a-day, injectible hCG hormone, or the 3-times-per-day homeopathic drops.  Some folks swear by the injections, which was the only method available in Dr. Simeons's day.  Others feel the drops are more effective since they are absorbed into the bloodstream throughout the day.  The drops are sublingual, meaning they are absorbed under the tongue.

All I can say is, Sarah and I used the drops with huge success.  In fact, last week I told the owner of our local health food store how much weight we had lost, and she was astounded.  Linda has seen many, many hCG-dieters, and she said there is a definite difference in the amount of weight lost between those on injections and those on drops, with the drops being the clear winner.

Having read Dr. Simeons's book several times, I suspect he would have embraced the homeopathic drops if they'd been developed in his lifetime.  He had to be so strict with his patients about tiny details, like not allowing lipstick or lotions or makeup because the extra fats were absorbed and interfered with weight loss.  I didn't cut back on any of those things, yet I still lost weight easily.  Also, the injections must be discontinued during the menstrual cycle, but the drops do not.  I had no PMS symptoms, plus I continued to lose weight during my entire period.  Finally, there are issues with developing immunity to the injectible hCG hormone, but there is some evidence that this is less of a problem with the drops.

4)  Decide on dates to begin the hCG and the diet.

 

For our first cycle, Sarah and I began the drops on Friday morning and the 500-calorie diet on Sunday morning.  That worked well for us, so we plan to do the same this week.  You will not start the hCG and the diet on the same day, since the hormone needs at least 48 hours to circulate into the body and become effective.

Ladies, plan to begin the day after your period, or at least 10 days before you expect your next period to start.

Here is the strange part: During those first 2 days on the hCG, it is important to eat as many fatty foods as you can stand.  Dr. Simeons called it "gorging" or "forced feeding."  As odd as it seems, it is an important step in ensuring success on the diet.  Not only that, but if you have recently been trying to lose weight by strictly following a low-fat or low-calorie diet, you need to gorge for a whole week before you begin the hCG.

I'll let the good doctor explain it to you himself.  Here is an exerpt from his book:

"One cannot keep a patient comfortably on 500 Calories unless his normal fat reserves are reasonably well stocked.  It is for this reason that also every case, even those that are actually gaining, must eat to capacity of the most fattening food they can get down until they have had the third injection.  ...eat frequently of highly concentrated foods such as milk chocolate, pastries with whipped cream and sugar, fried meats (particularly pork), eggs and bacon, mayonnaise, bread with thick butter and jam, etc."

On our first cycle, Sarah and I gorged for the first 2 days and we gained a few pounds.  However, we lost it all and then some within the first 2 days on the diet.

Gorging sounds fun, doesn't it?  It isn't as easy as you think.  Sarah and I were so sick after the first day, we could barely make ourselves eat on the second day.  We weren't even able to eat everything we'd planned.  By the time we started the diet, we were ready!  I admit, we are having fun planning a gorge of our favorite forbidden foods for this weekend--biscuits and gravy, French toast, hash browns, Hersheys chocolate, Lays potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, lunch at a Chinese restaurant, sub sandwich, pizza, fried chicken, potato salad, doughnuts, chocolate lava cake--but in reality we know we're going to be miserable and, in the end, anxious to start the diet. 

5)  Plan at least one week of menus.

Stock your pantry with the fruits and vegetables you plan to eat; buy a box (or several boxes) of melba toast; and pre-cut then freeze your 100-gram proteins.  Those resealable plastic snack-size bags are a perfect fit for the tiny little cuts of meat.  I also kept sugar-free jello cups on hand.

Here are the diet options, again from Dr. Simeons's book:

"Breakfast:  Tea or coffee in any quantity without sugar.  Only one tablespoonful of milk allowed in 24 hours.  Saccharin or Stevia may be used.

"Lunch:  1. 100 grams of veal, beef, chicken breast, fresh white fish, lobster, crab, or shrimp.  All visible fat must be carefully removed before cooking, and the meat must be weighed raw.  It must be boiled or grilled without additional fat.  Salmon, eel, tuna, herring, dried or pickled fish are not allowed.  The chicken breast must be removed from the bird.

                2.  One type of vegetable only to be chosen from the following: spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage.

                3.  One breadstick (grissino) or one Melba toast.

                4.  An apple or an orange or a handful of strawberries or one-half grapefruit.

"Dinner:  The same four choices as lunch.

"The juice of one lemon daily is allowed for all purposes.  Salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweet basil, parsley, thyme, marjoram, etc, may be used for seasoning, but no oil, butter, or dressing.

"Tea, coffee, plain water, or mineral water are the only drinks allowed, but they may be taken in any quantity and at all times.  In fact, the patient should drink about 2 liters of these fluids per day.

"The fruit or breadstick may be eaten between meals instead of with lunch or dinner, but not more than four items listed for lunch and dinner may be eaten at one meal.  There is no objection to breaking up the two meals.  For instance, having a breadstick and an apple for breakfast or before going to bed, provided they are deducted from the regular meals.  The whole daily ration of two breadsticks or two fruits may not be eaten at the same time, nor can any item saved from the previous day be added to the following day.

"It should also be mentioned that two small apples weighing as much as one large one neverthless have a higher caloric value and are therefore not allowed, though there is no restriction on the size of one apple.  ...chicken breast does not mean the breast of any other fowl nor does it mean a wing or drumstick."

I have never found any of the grissino (Italian breadsticks) he refers to, so we do the melba toast (taste is similar to cardboard).  We buy the largest apples and oranges we can get our hands on.  Do not choose the same fruit, the same vegetable, or the same meat for both meals.  He especially cautions against having beef twice in one day.  We lived on lean steaks, 93% lean ground beef, chicken breast, tilapia (white fish), shrimp, and ground turkey/chicken breast.  Ground turkey breast is not on the approved list, but it didn't hamper our weight loss efforts at all.

Do not mix your fruits or vegetables at the same meal.  This may not seem like a big deal, but I believe it matters.  I know another group doing the hCG diet, but they are enjoying foods like mixed green salads and apple slices with strawberry sauce.  Sounds yummy, but Sarah and I lost twice as much weight as anyone in that diet group by sticking with Dr. Simeons's original protocol. 

And, by all means, do drink plenty of water and other fluids.  I've never had a problem with constipation, but when I began getting careless about my water intake, I had some uncomfortable days.  After drastically increasing my fluids, the problem went away.  Dr. Simeons discourages the use of laxatives and states that one small bowel movement every 3 or 4 days is perfectly normal during the diet, given the small amount of food going into the body.

6)  Begin!

Begin taking the hCG and start your 2-day gorge, or begin with a week-long gorge if your normal fat supplies are low from extended, strict low-fat dieting.

I will be back next weekend to report on the end of our 6-week maintenance phase and the start of our second hCG cycle.  Until then, good luck on your own journey!