VLCD #6

Gooooood Mornin'!

While I was singing and dancing about my 1 lb weight loss yesterday, my sister who is doing the hcg protocol as well lost 2.6 lbs!  I was like, wow!!** I was totally happy for her, especially since she weighs waaay less than me, and I figured smaller folks needing to lose a smaller number of lbs would lose a little slower.  Well, she reminded me about drinking plenty of water/fluids to flush out that fat.  I knew we had to make sure we drank our water, but just like I'm not that hungry--I'm not that thirsty! So, yesterday, for my VLCD #6, I made sure I drank every time it crossed my mind. This morning, I had lost 2 lbs! Let me repeat that:

THIS MORNING I HAD LOST 2 LBS!
That's a 10lb weight loss in 6 VLCD days! That also means...
I'm finally in my 170's!  Oh my goodness, I haven't seen those since '05 or '06!

Yesterday though, I was fighting cravings.  I think my PMS symptoms have started, and I was seriously craving some carbs.  Even right after I ate, and my stomach was full, I wanted a candy bar, some cake--sumthin'! I just distanced myself from the kitchen.  I've also decided I would get my older kids to do some of the cooking for themselves to keep my temptations low.  I just tell myself when the protocol is over, I can have it! I will not binge God Willing, but I will take my time and eat healthy versions (organic if possible, and homemade if possible) of the foods I want.  Losing this weight is a dream come true, and the thought of being the weight I want and having a metabolism that works right are my motivations to keep at it.  My desert for now is seeing those lbs continue to melt away :)

TTYL

** sorry to bombard you with a flurry of exclamation points, but I'm just that excited!!!!!!!!!

VLCD #5

(singing) dun--dun--dun--   Another one bites the dust!

Yes, another lb, gone! I am now 180 lbs! Alhamdulillah!

Yesterday I ate seasoned ground beef and onions in a bit of broth over some green leaf lettuce for lunch, and for dinner I ate eggs (one egg, 3 egg whites) scrambled with onions, green pepper (wasn't sure it was allowed, so I only used a tiny piece of green pepper) and spinach.  Delish!,

Spinach is definitely my go-to vegetable.

Oh, and don't tell anyone, but I had 4 dates, too. I was hoping I wouldn't pay for that addition.

If you're going to do this Hcg protocol, you may want to start stockpiling recipes, and even cooking some meals to freeze.  Part of us eating what we have no business eating is convenience.  Having an idea of what you'll eat makes the protocol diet much more pleasurable. Sometimes just reading the reviews of books like the ones listed below, or doing your own search for 'hcg protocol recipes' will give you great ideas.

 

TTYL!

VLCD #4

I skipped a day of blogging, but let me fill you in...

On Monday, my VLCD #4, I lost another lb! So my weight that day was 181 lbs, yay!

I had gotten up around 5a.m. and stayed up, and around 10a.m I started feeling hungry.  I started to make my lunch and eat it, then I remembered I hadn't even had my morning tea and fruit (my typical 'breakfast' while on this protocol).  I decided to go ahead and get my tea and a grapefruit with a lil' stevia on it, and I felt fine!

I took my kids to a belated Eid party that day, there was lots of moon bounce jumping, pizza and cupcakes.Yes, I was tempted. And the other mothers were like, "Hey sis, there's plenty of pizza left for the moms, get some!"  I just replied I wasn't that hungry...which was true, but Lord knows I wanted some.  I took a teeny nibble of my 3 yr. old's slice, and I did taste a dab of frosting from the cupcake. For shame.  Whatever!

By the time I finished all my running around, I got home about 4:30.  I fixed my food first, because by then I was good and ready to eat.  I think had I fixed food for the kids first, I would have wanted to eat a lil', so while on this protocol, I have been fixing my food first (and when do we mothers ever put ourselves first? Feels good! Only my two little munchkins keep wanting bites of my precious food, lool!)

Because I go to bed early, I didn't really feel like eating my second meal.  I just added a lil' extra protein to the first meal, and ate my apple (steamed with cinnamon, mace, and stevia).

 That was that!

VLCD #3

Salaam and hey ya'll!!

I lost one pound after my VLCD #3!  So, I'm at 182 lbs :), and that's great considering....

I accidentally ate some lamb : O.  See, what had happened was....

I cooked a leg of lamb last week for our huge Eid celebration dinner (leg of lamb, by the way, has got to be the best part of the lamb-- hardly no fat, only the bone from the leg, and lots of juicy, tender meat *sigh*), and we had a lot leftover that I was preparing for my kids for dinner.  I was taking it off the bone and munching at the same time, lol!  I had a few bites before I realized that was a no-no.  So I considered that my lunch, and didn't make anything separate.  For dinner, I ate baked swordfish (in an aluminum foil packet with onions, lemon juice, and seasonings).  Let me tell you, that fish was good and meaty, and definitely hit the spot.  And once again, my munchkins kept wanting some (why do kids ALWAYS want what's on your plate, no matter what they have on theirs??).

I'm glad I did not stall or gain because of that slip-up.

TTYL

Why do I have to load? Dr. Simeons explains.

If you've been dieting, more than likely you have been losing 'normal' fat instead of that hideous abnormal fat that you really want to lose. Your body needs the normal fat for proper function.  This is why when you return to eating normally, or have one bad day, you gain the weight back!  Our bodies are not going to start burning the abnormal fat (and on hcg, its the burning of that abnormal fat that keeps us from being hungry) until the normal fat is replaced. To help this process along, we load.  Read what Dr. Simeons has to say here:

Gain before Loss

Patients whose general condition is low, owing to excessive previous dieting, must eat to capacity for about one week before starting treatment, regardless of how much weight they may gain in the process. One cannot keep a patient comfortably on 500 Calories unless his normal fat reserves are reasonably well stocked. It is for this reason also that 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 then third injection. It is a fundamental mistake to put a patient on 500 Calories as soon as the injections are started, as it seems to take about three injections before abnormally deposited fat begins to circulate and thus become available.

We distinguish between the first three injections, which we call ‘non-effective’ as far as the loss of weight is concerned, and the subsequent injections given while the patient is dieting, which we call “effective”. The average loss of weight is calculated on the number of effective injections and from the weight reached on the day of the third injections which may he well above what it was two days earlier when the first injection as given.

Most patients who have been struggling with diets for years and know how rapidly they gain if they let themselves go are very hard to convince of the absolute necessity of gorging for at least two days, and yet this must he insisted upon categorically if the further course of treatment is to run smoothly.

Those patients who have to be put on forced feeding for a week before starting the injections usually gain weight rapidly- four to six pounds in 24 hours is not unusual-but after a day or two this rapid gain generally levels off. In any case the whole gain is usually lost in the first 48 hours of dieting. It is necessary to proceed in this manner because the gain re-stocks the depleted normal reserves, whereas the Subsequent loss is from the abnormal deposits only.

Patients in a satisfactory general condition and those who have not just previously restricted their diet start forced feeding on the day of the first injection. Some patents say that they can no longer overeat because their stomach has shrunk after years of restrictions. While we know that no stomach ever shrinks, we compromise by insisting that they eat frequently of highly concentrated foods such as milk chocolate, pastries with whipped cream sugar, fried meats particularly pork, eggs and bacon, mayonnaise, bread with thick butter and jam, etc. The time and trouble spent on pressing this point upon incredulous or reluctant patients is always amply rewarded afterwards by the complete absence of those difficulties which patients who have disregarded these instructions are liable to experience.

During the two days of forced feeding from the first to the third injection - many patients are surprised that contrary to their previous experience they do not gain weight and some even lose. The explanation is that in these cases there is a compensatory flow of urine, which drains excessive water from the body. To some extent this seems to be a direct action of HCG, but it may also be due to a higher protein intake, as we know that a protein-deficient diet makes the body retain water.

Of course, you know to substitute 'injections' for 'sublingual dosing'.

TTYL

VLCD #2 and Curry Chicken and Spinach Soup

Salaam and Gooood Morning!

Yesterday was my VLCD #2 and it went well! I was not hungry, Alhamdulillah! And......[drumroll please].....

I lost 2 more pounds! That's a total loss of 5 pounds in 2 VLCD days! I am now 183!

In the morning, I fixed a big breakfast for the kids: homemade waffles, eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, and hot chocolate.  I won't say I wasn't tempted at all, but I was okay with it. I think if I was hungry, I would have broken down and cheated, lol.  My mental attitude is that his is a temporary restrictive phase for medical reasons, but when it is done I can have what I want--in moderation, of course. I did eat a bite of the eggs though, because they are allowed. When it came time for my lunch though, one of my lil' munchkins stole a couple of bites of my chicken, so I figured that made up for the bit of eggs, lol.

On the protocol, there are certain allowed vegetables.  Dr. Simeons says we are not to mix them.  Many HCG'ers, however, have said the mix vegetables with no problem, so for variety's sake, this is what I do. For lunch I made a curry chicken and spinach soup ( I took a pic, and I will post as soon as my daughter uploads it for me).

• First, I simmered onions in water mixed with vegetable broth (the broth is only 15 calories per cup, with many of the allowed veges in it, and its a chance I was willing to take adding it into my meal.  I only used about 1/4 cup of it, and the some water to desired amount).  
• Then I added in a small handful of baby spinach and simmered until it was wilted.
• I poured that into a bowl, leaving some liquid in the pan.  
• I added chicken breast, and simmered that until done (adding more water if necessary), adding curry seasoning, garam masala, and vege salt, the one allowed tablespoon of milk (if you didn't use already) and a tablespoon or so of crushed tomatoes.
• Once that was done, I poured the onions and spinach back on it, mixed, then put in my bowl
• VOILA! :) I served it with one piece of Melba toast, peppermint tea with stevia, and water.

For dinner I steamed chicken breast with season salt, onions, pepper, and a bit of organic chicken broth and water, then put that over some green leaf lettuce (I use the broth in place of salad dressing).  I drank some chamomile tea with stevia, and some crystal lite (not the regular kind, but the Pure Fitness line which has all natural sweetener. Its not as good as regular crystal lite, but you are saving yourself from the artificial sweetener). Oh, and of course I had my melba toast (seems like just when I'm feeling carb deprived, that lil' teeny piece of toast comes in HANDY, lol).

TTYL!

Do I inject my HCG??

HECK NO!

No disrespect to those who wish to do that, but I mix my HCG in a solution of colloidal silver and liquid B12, and I take it sub-lingually (I hold it under my tongue).

Some people choose to do sub cutaneously (SQ) or intra muscular (IM) injections. The results seem to be the same, so I will not be sticking myself.  So in your research if you run across those injecting, just know you can also take sub lingually.

Anyone Can Lose Weight on a 500 calorie diet, so...

So what's so special about the hcg diet protocol?? Well, you definitely need to read some more about the protocol, especially the story of The Emaciated Lady in Pounds and Inches by Dr. Simeons, but I'll outline the differences here.

• Although you are on a low calorie diet, your body is releasing up to 7,500 calories of your abnormal fat stores. Your body is feeding off the nutrients of that released fat so that you don't feel hungry, unlike your being on a low calorie diet without HCG.
• Most diets have you lose structural fat and normal fat first, before attacking any abnormal fat.  This is why someone with a dramatic weight loss may look older, with drawn facial features, and have loose or hanging skin.  With HCG, thousands of people have reported that their bodies are actually RESHAPED as if they had liposuction (Lord knows I dread any hanging skin! I've seen it on others, and it is horrific!). The before and after pictures on youtube show some of this.
• After the protocol is done, you can resume a normal diet (and normal exercise routine) without gaining the weight back. You don't have to dread doing diets for the rest of your life, or killing yourself everyday at the gym afraid that the weight will come back.

So while you may lose weight on a 500 calorie diet, you'd basically be starving yourself if you're not using HCG.  You will feel hungry, fatigued, irritable, and possibly set yourself up to binge.  You may lose a similar amount of weight, but it will look differently.  Also, once you resume a normal amount of calories, you will more than likely gain the weight back, since your metabolism is still out of wack--in fact, the extreme dieting without HCG will make it even slower, so you will probably gain MORE weight back. 

So there you have it :)

Starting VLCD #2....am I HUNGRY??

NO, I'M NOT!  Oh gosh, I feel sooo much better this morning than I did yesterday morning, let me tell you!

So like I said in my previous post, I'm down to 185 lbs.  I'm excited now, super glad I'm not hungry. I'll keep you posted on how the day goes.

Forgot to Post my starting numbers!

So not everyone I've read about posts their numbers, but they do post their weight loss.  I've decided to just put it all out there, lol.

Before starting the HCG on Wednesday, November 17, I was 186.5 lbs

After Loading day one, I remained 186.5

After Loading day two, I went up to 188 lbs

Moment of truth...this morning, after weighing in after my first VLCD...

I was 185 lbs! That's down 3 lbs :)

I have not taken my measurements, but I'm going to try to do that today (I'll probably take them weekly).

VLCD #1

Yesterday was my VLCD #1 (Very Low Calorie Diet, only about 500 calories, day 1).

I am not going to lie to you, I was hungry.  I mean, I woke up hungry.  But since I get up for my morning prayer around 5:30-6:00a.m., I stayed up for a while and just went back to sleep. I woke up again around 9, still hungry.  I drank my tea sweetened with Stevia (which I didn't like before, but somehow didn't mind today, lol) and ate an orange for breakfast.  I held out eating my lunch until 11:30a.m.

I ate lunch, and wasn't hungry, but I think I was missing carbs or something.  And I'm allowed to have a piece of melba toast with my two meals, but I had forgotten to pick some up from the store.  For lunch I ate steamed shrimp, with nicely seasoned cabbage and onions.

I called my girlfriend up, who had started the hcg protocol before me, and was like, "I'm hungry, what's up with this??"  She reminded me that she was like that her first VLCD day, too. Now, I have read that some folks may experience hunger the first couple of days.  I just wasn't trying to hear that, lol.  One reason I may have been hungry was because of poor loading on my first load day.

I ate dinner around 7p.m.  I softened some onions in a minuscule amount of vegetable broth, then poured that into a bowl.  I browned some very lean ground beef in a pan, seasoned well, and added that to the onion broth.  I then poured that concoction over some green leaf lettuce and spinach mix (the broth took the place of salad dressing) and ate that.  I totally appreciated the sweetness of those onions! I was satisfied and couldn't eat it all, nor did I eat my apple. But let me tell you, that lil' piece of melba toast made a world of difference to me.

I felt great otherwise though, no headaches, fatigue, or anything.  And I didn't have hunger pains, so the hunger wasn't that bad, lol.

R1, Loading days 1 and 2

R1 means round 1.  I'll be taking my HCG for about 5 and 1/2 weeks, followed by a 3 week maintenance phase. After that I can return to normal eating.  My hypothalamus will be set at that ending weight point.  If I want to reset it further and lose more weight, I'll do another round of HCG, or R2 (Round 2).

My first day of loading (eating to capacity, giving your body a large amount of fat and calories as you start the HCG) didn't go that well.  I simply wasn't that hungry! I did eat some pie I had made, but I didn't do nearly what I  had read others do.

My second day of loading went better. I fixed fried potatoes and turkey bacon from breakfast. I added whipped cream to my chai, as well as a very rich mug of hot chocolate.  I ate more homemade pie, and pizza.  I still wasn't that hungry, so I sort of grazed on rich foods throughout the day, hoping it was enough. I'm not sure it was, as you can see by my next post, lol.

Getting Started

I'm a few days behind recording, so I'm playing catch up, bear with me.

In order to get started, I needed a kitchen scale like this one KINTREX SCL0640 Digital Tempered Glass Kitchen Scale, to weigh my food.  I also needed a bathroom scale to weight myself daily to document my results. A scale that weighs you to the nearest .2 or .1 lbs would be the best, but I kept my scale that weighs to the .5.  If that goes out, then I guess I'll spring for a scale like the Omega Ultra Thin Digital Bathroom Scale, 400 lb. Capacity, Super Sleek Design,Precision Accuracy,Sense-On Technology.  You can get both of these from a local store or order them online.

I also bought and pre-measured my foods, so I'd be prepared to whip up my meals quickly. Okay, time to post the good stuff, lol.

The HCG Diet is NOT a diet!

Many wonder, "what is the HCG diet?"  Well, first off, it is NOT a diet.  It is more appropriately called a weight loss cure.  This cure was discovered over fifty years ago by Dr. A.T.W. Simeons. Dr. Simeons learned that the hypothalamus portions of our brains control, among other things, our hunger, thirst and metabolism.  He observed that obese people permanently had incredibly slow metabolisms that would not speed up.  He determined that obese/overweight people did not simply lack the will power to eat less nor were they too lazy to exercise.  They have a legitimate hunger that drives them to eat (and even eating the same as their slimmer counterparts can cause them to gain weight, since their metabolism is abnormally slow), and even if they allow themselves to be hungry to lose weight, they seldom do it successfully. 

 The HCG protocol is designed to RESET the hypothalamus, restore the metabolism to a normal rate, and end our struggles with obesity. After doing the protocol, we should be able to return to a normal, sensible way of eating and burning calories. I'll probably sprinkle more information about this cure here and there, but my purposes here are to chronicle my daily experiences on the protocol as well as my weight loss results.  For more in-depth information, you can read The Weight Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau (purchase a cheap copy or check it out from the library). Also, you will want to read Dr. Simeons original manuscript, POUNDS AND INCHES - A New Approach to Obesity.