6.21.2011

The Protocol Plan

The diet protocol that I mentioned on my last post is composed of 4 phases. I'm not the genius behind this. Know that everything that I am about to mention I learned from google.But regardless of how many links I clicked on google, I'd always find myself going back to Dr. Simeons Original Protocol called Pounds and Inches (download a free pdf copy of his book).

I'll try my best to summarize the protocol.

I recommend you do the following

Take HCG drops as directed on the bottle. If you find yourself hungrier some days, take the drops as many times a day as you need to control your appetite.

Take a before and after picture of yourself – the change can be quite dramatic! Also, record your measurements and do so each week to track your progress.

Success with this diet comes from strictly following everything to the tee.

Things You'll need

Supplements

  • Supplements
    Take Vitamin B12 and Potassium daily while on this diet. Vitamin B12 helps energy levels and Potassium keeps your electrolytes balanced.Always purchase good quality supplements. No other vitamins are required.
    • Vitamin B12 helps energy levels
    • Potassium keeps your electrolytes balanced
      Again, I purchased mine from Amazon: B12 and potssium
  • Digital Food Scale
    I purchased mine from Amazon: Eat Smart Scale
  • Bathroom Digital Scale
    I purchased mine from Amazon: EatSmart Precision Premium Digital Bathroom Scale with 3.5" LCD and "Step-On" Technology (comes with measuring tape!)
  • Measuring Tape
    Just in case your bathroom digital scale didn't come with one: from Amazon: Myotape
  • and of course, your HCG Homeopathic Drops

Phase I: Gorge!! (days 1, 2)

Day One and Day Two:

  • Take the HCG drops
    • 3 times each day at 8-hour intervals
    • You must activate the drops each time you take them – slap the bottom of the bottle on your hand 10 times to activate.
    • Place the drops under your tongue and hold as long as you can – for a minimum of 2 minutes – and then swallow. That's it.
  • Do not eat, smoke or drink anything for a least 15 minutes before and after taking the drops.
  • Drink at least 2 liters of water per day.
  • Gorge yourself and eat as much as you want of anything.
    This is very important to your success. Don't worry about weight gain; it will come off very quickly.

Phase II - 500 calories (days 3- 27 - can be extended to 42 days)

Day Three and Onward:

  • Every morning after using the toilet, weigh yourself without clothes. Keep a daily record of your weight.
  • Take your HCG drops as directed on the bottle. Take more if needed.
  • Drink a minimum of 2 liters of water per day.
  • You may eat less food, but not more and don't skip meals.
  • Eat only the foods outlined in the next section: Your Diet Plan – follow it exactly. Remember, NO oil, butter or dressings of any kind.
  • You may eat less than your daily allowance of food. You can break up the food into smaller meals if you like, for example, you might want to save the fruit and Melba toast for snacks.
  • You may eat less but never more!

Your Diet Plan

The 500-calorie diet is started on your 3rd day of drops.

Liquids

  • Tea, coffee, plain water or mineral water are the only drins allowed in any quantity –do not use sugar. 
  • Only 1 Tablespoon of milk is allowed in 24 hours. 
  • Green, Yerba Matte and Chamomile teas are preferred.

Lunch

  • 100 GRAMS OF:
    • Veal
    • Beef
    • Chicken Breast (The chicken breast must be removed from the bird before cooking)
    • Fresh White Fish
    • Lobster
    • Crab
    • Shrimp
      All visible fast must be carefully removed before cooking and the meat must be weight raw. It must be boiled or grilled without additional fat.
    • Salmon, ell, tuna, herring, dried or pickled fish are not allowed. 
  • 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
      Amount is not limited.
  • One breadstick (grissini) or one Melba toast.
  • An apple or a handful of strawberries or ½ grapefruit or an orange.

Dinner

  • The same 4 choices as for lunch.

Other Limitations

  • Stevia may be used. 
  • The juice of 1 lemon is allowed for all purposes. 
  • Salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, basil, parsley, thyme, marjoram, etc. may be used for seasoning, but no oil, butter or dressing.
  • Avoid peppermint tea.
  • Drink a minimum of 2 liters of water per day.  Your body will be more likely to store water if you don’t drink enough.  Water is also needed to wash away toxins and fat.
  • No medicines, lotions or cosmetics other than lipstick and mineral powders may be used.  All products used must be oil free.  Shampoo & conditioner are allowed; but keep the conditioner away from the scalp.  Safe toothpaste to use is Tom's or Baking Soda but you aren't allowed mouthwash or gum. 

All things not listed are forbidden.

Do's and Don'ts:

  • No over the counter medications or food supplements
  • No creams or lotions unless they are oil free
  • No deodorant – you may use a crystal rock found in health food stores, like Trader Joe's or Henry's
  • Exercise is not necessary for the diet to work, but going for a 30 minute walk will add to your success.
  • If it is not on the diet, don't eat it, drink it or chew it!
  • Cosmetics must be oil free. Lipstick is allowed.
  • You may use mineral oil or petroleum jelly for dry skin, as it is not absorbed
  • Wear gloves when trimming fat off meat as fat can be absorbed through the skin, don't handle anything containing fat without gloves.

Hunger Pangs:

  • Mild hunger will vary from time to time and from person to person and will usually last only a few days at the start. Most people have no problem at all – especially if they ate a lot the first 2 days of gorging.
  • Take a few drops of HCG as often as you need to keep your appetite under control. - If you get hungry the same time each day, save one of your fruits to eat at that time.

You Aren't Losing Weight And/Or You Are Constipated:

  • Continue taking your drops and drinking your water and eat 6 apples throughout the day.
  • No other food is allowed.
  • This will break the plateau and solve your tummy trouble.

Ending Phase II

  • The last 3 days of your diet you do not take any drops. It takes about 3 days to get the drops out of your system. Continue on the 500-calorie diet for the 3 days you are off the drops. If you find yourself very hungry by the third day, you make eat a little extra protein.
  • After the drops are out of your system, you may eat normally, but have no sugars or starches. (you normally double your protein intake, and your daily calorie intake should be anywhere between 1,000 and 1,500)
  • Read labels carefully. If you are not familiar with which foods have sugar and starch, many books and Internet articles will outline these foods.

Phase III: Stabilization

  • For 3 weeks after stopping the drops you are allowed to eat whatever you want as long as there are NO STARCHES and NO SUGARS.
  • Continue to weigh yourself every day, you are not to lose more than 2 pounds or gain more than 2 pounds.
  • If you lose, you need to eat more.
  • If you gain, you need to do a "steak day".

Steak Day

Anytime during the stabilization or maintenance period that you gain 2 pounds, the very same day you weigh over, do not eat any food until the evening meal – then eat a large steak cooked in oil or butter and 1 apple or a tomato. The weight should be gone by morning.

Phase IV: Maintenance

Slowly add in other foods, along with starch and sugar. Continue to weigh yourself every day – use the steak day if you gain more than 2 pounds. Make note of the foods that make you gain weight and minimize your intake.

6.12.2011

The Miracle

My boyfriend's friend had been telling him about this great new diet protocol that he had been doing for some time now and how he was able to achieve a weight loss of 70 pounds. We were both very interested in trying it out but were very afraid of what short and long term consequences it would have. We both researched it and couldn't find one person that did not have any results (there were a few that we found, but then later learned they had cheated and didn't follow the letter to the tee).


HCG Diet Protocol

This YouTube video provides a good intro of what the protocol entails:


Please note that I did not use injections, I will provide more information on the details of this protocol at a later post.


Results

My boyfriend was able to loose 20 pounds during the first round and is getting ready to begin his second round. I am a bit over half way through the first round and have lost a total of 23 pounds, and 15.25 inches (I will not be loosing any more during this round - I have to maintain the weight for the remaining 6 weeks). I still cannot believe the results!

The Problems Pilled

Skinny-Bone-Jones

As a kid, I was really skinny - so skinny kids made fun of me all the time. It wasn't bad during the high school years since I was on the "normal, thin" side.


Bizzare Accutane Side Effect

I have a weight problem until after I finished my first treatment of Accutane at the age of 18. I gained over 15 pounds the first month of stopping the drug, 7 the second month, and a couple of more pounds here and there. It also didn't help that I probably gained "the freshmen 15" during the first year of college as well. In less than one years, I went from 115 to 140. It didn't stop there. At the time, I had a boyfriend who ate to his heart's content. He would always had his mom cook us very large portions to eat. A verbal fight was guaranteed to happen if I didn't finish most of my meal. So I learned how to force myself to eat much more than what my body needed. By the time we broke up, four years later, the weight scale read 162.


Followed Doctor's Advice = More Weight Gain

Another four years have gone by, and my health did not improve. I stopped caring about my health. I decided to live a happy life. This was defined as playing on my PS3 hours on end and eating all those things that shouldn't be eaten in high moderations. Why did I stop caring? I had given up on losing the weight. I ate healthy (no fried food, increased greens), and exercised (jogging 1-2 miles a day) and followed my doctor's advice and guidelines for a good six months to only find out I gained 9 pounds, bringing me to a horrible total of 176.


Accutane: Round Two

My acne came back after several years and my doctor insisted to try out Accutane once again. I hesitated and finally agreed to a second round. After the treatment, I was at 185 pounds and was told I was in danger of becoming type two diabetic. I began to care.


Things Get Worse

Unfortunately, things got worse. Late last year (2010), a fibroid was found in my uterus. Although it hasn't been officially confirmed, doctors believe that women who are overweight have a greater risk of developing these little tummors. The chance of this tumor becoming malignant is low, but the risk is there and it's a risk that I never had to worry about - until now. Needless to say, I became very scared.


I started doing small changes in my diet here and there, and continued exercising. I brought my weight to 177 and hit a plateau. I was convinced that I was to live the rest of my life as a 177 pound woman. Then a miracle happened.

5.04.2011

Houston, We Have a Problem

This is where I begin. I'm in debt, and a bit over weigh-wait, no- not exactly perfect -I mean, healthy. Eh, you know what I mean. There are more than a few things I need to work on about myself.


I'm a bit addicted to achieving trophies whenever I play my PS3. I will use that "trophy" obsession for inspiration as I write this blog. I will assign each blog a different trophy. The bigger my achievement, the greater and bigger the trophy will be (bronze, silver, gold). And yes, I will give myself obnoxious trophies for failing or doing stupid things as well - just how some games do. It's all a part of the learning experience.


Several of my friends, including my best friend (who currently resides in Houston - wink, wink... maybe this inspired the title of this blog entry) have been writing their own blog for some time now. I want in! So here I am. The first step is admitting that I have a problem... here it goes: Houston, We Have a Problem


This blog won't necessarily be only on my adventures of loosing weight, it'll be about setting different goals to being a better me.