Day 4 of HCG

Now that I'm back from India, I have started a much stricter diet. It is called the HCG diet. It was developed many years ago by a doctor that was based in Italy. This is the concept of the diet: HCG is a pregnancy hormone. The hormone is a defense mechanism that women produce when they are pregnant. It is a safe guard for if the women ends up in a starving situation. The hormone activates to burn the adipose fat in the body to help supply enough energy to sustain the baby and mother. You can administer the hormone by oral drops or by injections. I chose the oral drops which I take twice a day. For the first two days you gut load by eating as much high fat foods as you want. The more the better. The first two days, by the end of the day I wanted to puke. I have already been dieting, so it was really hard to make myself eat big portions and fatty foods. The third day is when you go to what is the starvation phase. You only consume 500 calories a day. This kicks the hormone into action. The hormone begins to eat away at your adipose fat to supply your body with the energy and calories that you need. So, even though I am only eating 500 calories a day, the hormone is making sure that my body gets the full amount of energy that it needs to survive...and the best part is that it's getting it from the fat that you have stored away. The adipose fat is the fat that you pack on that your body doesn't ever really burn. It's the fat in the double chin, the hips, thighs, belly, around the knees.... So I am super excited to see what gets eaten away. It is day four and I have already lost nine pounds. The only down side is the very restrictive list of what can be eaten:

LIST OF ALLOWED FOODS
PROTEIN
100 grams of lean protein weighed raw. You should have two servings per
day and all visible fat must be removed prior to cooking.
􀂃 Chicken breast
􀂃 Beef
􀂃 Veal
􀂃 Fresh white fish
􀂃 Lobster
􀂃 Crab
􀂃 Shrimp
VEGETABLES
One vegetable is to be consumed at each meal. No mixing of vegetables is
allowed per Dr. Simeons. Different vegetable choices should be made for
each meal.
􀂃 Spinach
􀂃 Chicory
􀂃 Chard
􀂃 Beet-greens
􀂃 Green salad
􀂃 Celery
􀂃 Tomatoes
􀂃 Red radishes
􀂃 Onions
􀂃 Cucumbers
􀂃 Asparagus
􀂃 Cabbage
FRUIT
2 servings to be eaten daily at separate meals.
􀂃 1 apple
􀂃 1 orange
􀂃 ½ grapefruit
􀂃 Handful of strawberries
MISC.
􀂃 Tea
􀂃 Coffee
􀂃 Mineral water
􀂃 Juice of 1 lemon daily
􀂃 Spices
􀂃 Stevia (or saccharine)
􀂃 Two Melba toast, breadsticks or grissini (not at the same meal)
􀂃 One tablespoon of milk daily

Now....take away all the stuff that I don't like on the vegetable list and my choices become even more limited. So, this is not a fun diet or even a comfortable diet to be on. So far, I have continued to have hunger pains...though I am told it is more psychological because my body is getting what it requires form the hormone. The headaches are manageable with Tylenol. I know this will only be bad like this for the first week. I can't wait until it gets better.

But, it will be worth it!