HCG

My Story

Updated 3/6/12

I am currently on my second bottle of HCG drops.

I started taking the drops for the first time in January 2012. I took them for 28 days and I lost 16 pounds. While this is nowhere close to “30 pounds in 30 days,” I still consider the diet to be a success (and who knows, maybe I would have lost more if I had skipped those few glasses of wine). During this very low calorie diet (VLCD) stage, I learned about portion control and how to cook satisfying and healthy meals.

Once I finished my bottle of drops I moved into the maintenance phase of the HCG diet. This is where you no longer take the drops, you increase your calories to 1400 per day, and you can eat anything you want except for sugars, starches, carbs, etc. You do this phase for three weeks and then you can either start doing the drops again, or you are finished and you slowly start reintroducing carbs.

In truth I was really nervous to move on to the maintenance phase, because I had been following a more or less set meal plan and was scared to add more calories, dairy and healthy fats. There were only about six meals that I made during the VLCD, and I alternated between them on a daily basis. But there was no need for me to worry. The maintenance phase was definitely a success. Not only didn’t I gain any weight, but over the next three weeks I went on to lose another 5 pounds.

I still want to lose another 10-15 pounds, so I bought another bottle of drops, which I started 2 days ago.

To read all my HCG-related posts, click HERE.

Here’s some info, recipes etc. that I put together, hope it helps!

Preparation

Here is a shopping list of things I advise getting before you start the diet.

MISCELLANEOUS
Digital scale (I bought a cheap one that only shows .5 lb increments, I wish I’d spent a little more for a better one)
Food scale (they’re only $5 at Bed Bath and Beyond)
Bragg’s Apple Cidar Vinegar
Bragg’s liquid Aminos (this tastes just like soy sauce and is amazingggg)
Stevia liquid drops (my favorite is the vanilla)
Stevia powder (for coffee)

SPICES:
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Pumkin Pie Spice
Curry Powder
Minced Onion
Onion Powder
Garlic
Sea Salt
Pepper
Oregano

FOOD:
Chicken
Shrimp
Fish (I used Cod)
Crab meat
Beef (I only used it once because I could never find any that was extra lean)
Steak (didn’t do it too often because 4 ounces = 200 calories)
Spinach
Cabbage
Cucumbers
Radishes
Apples
Oranges
Grapefruit
Strawberries

Menu

Phase 2 was pretty easy, because I followed the same menu nearly every day.

Breakfast – Orange or half a grapefruit
Lunch – Meat and Veg
Snack – Apple or strawberries
Dinner – Meat and Veg

Recipes

Phase 2:

I’m not the best cook in the world, and that was even more true when I first started this diet. But I am able to follow a recipe. During the VLCD phase I basically ate the same few meals over and over, but they were delicious and I never got sick of them. I got most of these recipes from the pdf that came with my HCG, but they’re all over the internet.

Almost an egg roll (my favorite)
Curry chicken and spinach soup
Crab bisque
Cucumber salad
Cod and radishes
Vanilla meringue cookies

Sometimes I would just make steamed shrimp and spinach, but there’s no need for me to post a recipe for that. Also, on days when I had the cucumber salad, I would usually just have a can of tuna with it. I’m sure that I ate a LOT more fish that you’re supposed to.

Phase 3:

Strawberry spinach smoothie
Chocolate mug cake
Sesame shrimp and broccoli
White spinach pizza with a cauliflower crust
Chocolate delight
Peanut butter cups