First Day of the hCG + 500 Calorie Diet
I’ve planned this day for a week… I’ve gone through the manuscript, chatted with physicians on their experience, and with other people who have done the program. Anyone who knows me knows I always like a plan, I want to know exactly what I’m allowed to eat, as well as what I cannot eat so I am not forced to make a wrong choice under pressure (i.e. it’s 1pm, I’m starving and I have no idea what I’m going to eat for lunch!). Nope, I have a plan!
The day before I hit Costco to see what they have in the fresh and frozen aisles. Jackpot in the frozen section, I find a box of frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts, box of frozen crab claws (appetizer size, perfect!), and a bag of frozen (individually pre-packaged Sole). When I get back home, I put a piece of chicken and fish in the fridge to defrost overnight. You are also allowed 2 apples a day (not to be taken together. It’s really amazing how many great and tasty apples are available. I’ve grown attached to the Pink Lady, Jonagold, Fuji and Gala.
This is when I’ll be able to tell if I did gorge enough over the previous 2 days. If I did it right, I should only be mildly hungry for a couple of days. If I didn’t gorge enough I’ll be hungry for a week!
I wake up very full from the gorge the night before, no problem, feeling great! I take my hCG sublingually at 8am, wait 20 minutes and get my morning Caffé Americano. I should also make a point of warning all you fellow Starbucks drinkers to keep track of the number of espresso shots that are in the drinks. For example, a Tall Starbucks Caffé Americano is 10 Calories (I usually drink 2-3 of these a day) because it has 2 shots of espresso. If you only have one shot, it is only 5 calories. So I downgrade to a single shot Tall Caffe Americano (you can have 1 Tbsp of milk, but I decide to try it black). Those of you who have regular (black) coffee get away with only a 2 calories hit per 8 oz cup.
Wow, it’s 12:30 before I knew it! Time for a 100g of boneless, skinless chicken breast, a cup of sliced celery with a couple of glasses of water with lemon. I’m actually surprised how long it took me to eat lunch, the pace is slow as I covet each bite! I am now the last one to finish their meal, where I was a speed eater before. Lunch is done and back to work I go. I know I can have one Melba toast and an apple with lunch and dinner, but I also know I can have them as snacks, so that is what I choose to do. I also drink a couple more glasses of water with lemon, and have a glass of green tea (all zero calories). At 3pm I have an apple and one Melba toast. Still going strong!
As 4pm rolls around I do get a bit hungry, but I know dinner is coming up soon. Dinner finally arrives, I settle in for 100g of a Sole (lean white fish) with my SW Rub (recipe below), 1 cup of steamed Swiss chard, and a couple of glasses of lemon water. This is probably a quarter of what I used to eat, but I’m completely full, how bizarre is that! I drink a couple more glasses of water in the evening. Ok it’s 8pm, and I’m certainly ready for my snack! But first I take my second round of hCG sublingually. I wait 30 minutes and have my yummy apple and Melba toast.
I do have to admit I was a bit hungry in the evening. I wasn’t starving by any means (especially since I had eaten less than 400 calories so far that day). I certainly wasn’t exhausted, but I was certainly ready to go to bed at 10:30pm that night.
Ok, to many of you my daily meal probably sounded very bland and boring, but I did kick it up a notch with the approved spices (salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweet basil, parsley, thyme, majoram, etc), and the juice of a lemon. I actually created a couple of dry rubs that I keep in a spice jar to help flavor the meat.
Here is my recipe for a “Dr Simeons friendly” Jeff”s SouthWest Rub:
6 Tbsp Spanish Paprika
3 Tbsp Ancho Chile powder
1 Tbsp Cayenne
1 Tbsp Garlic powder
2 tsp Onion powder
2 tsp ground Cumin
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp Fresh ground pepper
Mix it all up and put it in an airtight container. The above rub works well for chicken and fish!
I know its cold and snowy in many parts of the country, so if you can’t BBQ your meat, get a (I almost hate to say this..) George Foreman grill (or something similar). Grilling is a very good way to cook your meat, it gives it that nice BBQ flavor, and lets the fat drip down below.
Next I’ll share my experiences of day 2, some tips on keeping track of your calories, along with any weight loss!
You can read more details about our hCG weight loss research on the IAPAM’s website, as well, physicians wanting to learn details of the how to incorporate hCG into their practice can also attend one of the IAPAM’s Medical Weight Management training programs.
I hope you’ll enjoy reading about my experience with the Simeons’ hCG weight loss protocol! And please feel free to leave a comment or question. We’ve also just added a new hCG for Weight Loss Facebook Fan Page for those of you who are interested in the hCG program, doing the program, or have completed the program, and would like to share your comments and experiences.
Cheers, Jeff Russell
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- IAPAM hCG Protocol and Metabolism | Aesthetic Medicine News | May 28, 2010
Jeff,
I am one day behind you, I researched this diet after the local news in Dallas ran a story on it just before Thanksgiving. I have watched Trudeau’s video clips and read Dr Simeon’s protocol as well as many other articles. I am going through a physician for this protocol as I would recommend to anyone interested in trying this diet. The deciding factor for anyone ought to be if they would just factor in the mount of money they have spent on other diets and trhe clothes they will need to buy if they don’t change their eating habits the justifiaction for the cost comes easy.
A little aboutmyself I am a 59 year-old business owner that does not get near enough exercise and as I have aged I have realized how much my metabolism has slowed. I have no helath concerns and take no medication but if I don’t shed some pounds that could change as I continue to age. I am 5’10” and weigh 235lbs, I feel I need to lose 40-50 lbs.
The doctor that I am using for the protocol uses a little different iteration of the protocol as during phae 2 I gorged for three days and I am using an HCG compounded cream (rub between the inner arms). I will also be on 500 calories for 40 days or until 34lbs are lost whichever comes first.
I just finished phase 1, the gorging phase I had a difficult time gorging much over a normal day but I did eat a few more fats and I am glad that part is over. I actually lost 2 lbs during the gorging phase. I started phase 2 today, the 500 calorie days and as I near the dinner hour I find I am remarkably not hungry. I agree it takes a little longer to eat and the preparation takes a little time but with the variety of the menu I felt satisfied me at lunch. I am wondering how this evening will go.
I will post an update periodically.
Jeff:
I am following your posts and interested in your progress. I did 2 full rounds (40 days) and just finished a 3rd round (short 21 day one) of Hcg. Unlike the advertised promises of 1#/day loss, I experienced an average of 0.5#/day loss for all 3 rounds. Something is better than nothing. I am down 45# as of today and did not have too many issues maintaining that loss between rounds.
Over the years, I have been on many diet and exercise programs and my body does not seem to want to release the weight. I even had a lap band placed in 2006 and was only able to lose 36# with surgery. A holistic practitioner/MD friend of mine told me about Hcg and it is through him that I began to use it.
I will say that if nothing else, the Hcg experience has helped wean me off carbs and sugars. Even when I was able to incorporate them back in to my diet, I had no desire to do so. For me, had I known about Hcg before surgery, I never would have had the band placed the surgerical intervention does not address food addictions/cravings. I am not knocking the procedure in general, I am just saying that for me, Hcg is the better choice.
I will also say that I belong to a few message boards for Hcg users and have found that the average loss for women especially only leans toward the 1# per day IF they have a great deal of weight to lose in the first place (over 100 pounds).
Great insight Tommy & Stacey! Yes, I’m hearing that losing 1/lb a day is a bit unrealistic. I’m now more hopeful that my desire for startches and sugars will be reduced by the end of my first round!
Hi Jeff, I just finished the 2 day gorge and looking forward to following along with you. I lost on Adkins 6 years ago, it doesn’t seem to work this time around. So, watching the carbs and sugar again, along with hcg.
I never drank black coffee, but, grew up with espresso. I’m going to try the starbucks coffee you mentioned.
Looking forward to losing 18 pounds…soon!
I just finished phase 1 aka gorging myself.. it wasn’t easy. Day 1 –bfast-coffee w/ cream, cottage cheese, 2 egg scrambled w/ cheese, a small strawberry crepe, and 2 pcs of deep fried breaded fish. lunch– cookie dough DQ blizzard, chocolate milk, dinner -2 fried chicken, white rice, 1/2 lb chicken wings. Day 2 –bagel with eggs, bacon, double cheese, cinnamon melts, frappuccino, snack-apple pie, lunch –fried rice beijing beef, rasberry ice tea, snack–cake and a iced coffee, dinner–2 slices cheese pizza and reg coke, a glass of chocolate milk. I also drank a gallon water per day… My temperature seems elevated! Phase 2 starts tomorrow.. looking forward. I never ate so much in my life!!!
I have been on this diet now for 25 days…choosing not to take a break after the 21 days. I take sublingual hCG. I have lost only 11 lbs. of the 25 lb. goal and am having a horrible time with constipation. I have gone 2x in three weeks and that was an act of God using tea, Mag. citrate, Dulcolox, you name it..no luck. Does anyone know if the constipation has an effect on the weight loss? I am about ready to throw in the towel.
I would certainly bring this up with your physician, it sounds like you may have bad hCG. Yes, constipation is probably the biggest complaint with patients on the hCG protocol. Again, bring this up with your physician, they should have some options to help ease the discomfort.