5 Reasons Why you Gain Weight!

Welcome and weekly news
Our next meeting will be at Casa del Sol Inn, Javier Mina #7, only a block from the doctors office. For any questions, please email me at AjijicHCG@yahoo.com

1:00 Wednesday, April 17th Specials
P2 Savory Chicken with gravy with Salad $60
P3 Savory Chicken with gravy and sautéed veggies and Salad $65 (slightly larger)
P3 Brownies! $20

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Weekly support group, we meet weekly to offer support and to answer questions. This is an amazing diet, please read the information so you are prepared and knowledgeable in order to follow the protocol. If there are things that do not makes sense, we are here for ideas and help. It is also recommended to read Dr. Simeon’s on-line book (available on our website) and the protocol to answer any questions or email AjijicHCG@yahoo.com

New comer’s one on one, please email ajijichcg@yahoo.com to set up appointment. If you are brand new to the program you are also welcome to come to the Wednesday Support Group, 1:00 for the meeting and lunch, please let me know ahead of time if you would like a meal. Please at least skim Dr. Simeons book, the last tab of this website, so you have the basic information. You should receive a newcomers packet from the doctor, if not, please let me know so we can get this information to you!

5 Reasons That Might Surprise You On Why You Gain Weight (Despite Doing Everything RIGHT!)
by Biz

It’s not the weight you lost that matters, it’s the weight you keep off. ~ Biz

We are going to talk about maintenance for a bit. As wonderful and as much a miracle as The hCG Protocol is, it’s nothing without maintenance.

For some, eating the way you do on P2 is just penance for being able to eat the way you REALLY want to on P3.

Many feel that after a round of P2, they can go back to the way they were eating before that round and by some miracle, their body is ok with it, and they will forever maintain the weight they just lost.

Um…not so much.

We were overweight for a reason!
Maintenance is the challenging part. Living with your miraculous weight loss day after day, through all of life’s twists and turns, that is where the real fun begins.

When on maintenance there are occasions when you gain weight, and well, you know why. You indulged in a special dish not on plan, you were unexpectedly detained and didn’t have an emergency pouch of salmon or a bag of nuts on your person, or just felt like you needed a certain comfort food or you were not going to get through the day.

You KNOW you are going to gain weight, and for some, you are prepared to pay the piper and work on getting it back in line right away. For others, believe it or not, they are mad that their bodies behaved that way. HA!

Today I am talking to those people out there that are seriously trying to maintain their weight loss, doing everything they consider is RIGHT, and yet they wake up to a gain that is not a flux. PLEASE understand that to expect your weight to be the exact same number day after day is a bit unrealistic. Fluxes are a natural part of life. I consider a a flux anything that is .6 or below. Anything above a .6 gain is when I recommend looking at factors to determine what might have caused it.

The question then becomes, what causes a gain that is unexpected?

The Biz Buzz Method has narrowed the plethora of reasons you can gain weight down to just 5 THEMES. The list is very general (and specific at the same time), however, it’s in an order I feel most reflects my research with clients. In other words, #1 is the first thing I ask my clients to look at when they have had a gain, and then so on until we get to #5. Your mileage may vary:

1) Chemicals: This is a big one, and can encompass a HUGE amount of different artificially produced products that we might take in and not know. Some examples are (by no means a comprehensive list):
•ARTIFICIAL COLORS: The FDA still allows 10 different artificial colors in foods. Some still contain carcinogens. Check out the link.
•ARTIFICIAL FLAVORING: Did you know that a single artificial flavoring can be created from hundreds of individual chemicals? There is a suggestion that these can cause behavior changes in some people.
•ASTAXANTHIN: Do you like the color of farmed salmon from the store? How about how farmed crustaceans look? This is manufactured from coal tar.
•BENZOIC ACID/SODIUM BENZOATE: Usually added to milk and meat products, they are known to temporarily stop proper function of digestive enzymes, and to cause gastric distress and asthma attacks.
•BHA (BUTYLATED HYDROXYANISOLE) AND BHT (BUTYLATED HYDROXYTOLUENE): These are added to delay rancidity and are considered a carcinogen.
•CANTHAXANTHIN: Sometimes used to make egg yolks golden yellow and can cause retinal damage.
•EMULSIFIERS: Emulsifiers, made from vegetable fats, glycerol and organic acids, extend the shelf life of bread products and allow liquids that wouldn’t normally mix, such as oil and water, to combine smoothly.
•MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG): I don’t really need to explain this one right?
•METHYLCYCLOPROPENE: A gas they use to stop produce from ripening and turning brown. Bagged lettuce anyone?
•OLESTRA: Fake fat? For real??? Can cause, ick, “anal leakage”. ::giggle::
•PARTIALLY-HYDROGENATED OILS: Hydrogenation is the process of heating oil and passing hydrogen bubbles through it. The fatty acids in the oil then acquire some of the hydrogen, which makes it denser. If you fully hydrogenate, you create a solid (a fat) out of the oil. But if you stop part way, you create semi-solid, partially hydrogenated oil with the consistency of butter. Because this process is so much cheaper than using butter, partially-hydrogenated oils are found in many, many foods. Their addictive properties have linked partially-hydrogenated oils to weight problems caused by a slowed metabolism and the development of diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
•POTASSIUM BROMATE: Potassium bromate increases volume in white flour and we don’t have to worry about this right? We don’t do wheat!!!!!!!!!!!! Right?!
•SODIUM NITRITE AND NITRATE: These closely related chemicals have been used for centuries to preserve meat. While nitrate itself is harmless, it easily converts to nitrite which, when combined with secondary-amines compounds form nitrosamines, a powerful cancer-exacerbating chemical. This chemical reaction occurs easily during the frying process.

2) Wheat/Gluten: Seriously? Do I need to even go here? Just read Wheat Belly by Dr. Davis – the important thing to remember is that gluten can be found in so many different places, get very particular in your research if you find you keep gaining for unexplained reasons. Once had a client that gained on Vodka – didn’t realize that not all vodka is gluten free. Neither did I, so we both learned a lesson that day!

3) Processed Sugar/Artificial Sweeteners: This includes things like TOL sweeteners and stevia products. Look for additives that make some artificial sweeteners measure like regular sugar. My goal with my clients is to get them on natural sugars eventually, things like organic local honey, using dates for sweetening or organic cane sugar (which I use more often than not). But to be clear, these two are the most common that you should stay away from:
•ASPARTAME: This is one of those things that screams “story for another day”, but suffice it to say if you are still doing aspartame, you can pretty much give up on weight control, and your health. Watch this documentary: Sweet Misery
•HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP: The consumption of large quantities has been fingered as a causative factor in heart disease. It raises blood levels of cholesterol and triglyceride fats, while making blood cells more prone to clotting and accelerating the aging process.

4) Sickness/Injury/Medical Procedure: This is actually a theme that I can get into in depth, but not today. In short, our bodies need water to cleanse out toxins. Whenever we injure our bodies in some way, water is the only mechanism that can first balance out the toxins, then help eliminate them. If you have a cold, water is hoarded to collect the offending germs and eliminate (think mucus); if we have a stomach bug, water is the only thing that can grab the offending bacteria and then eliminate them in two distinct ways (don’t need to mention them); if we get sunburned, wind-burned, work out too hard and hurt muscles, stub our toe, sprain an ankle, water gathers to protect the offending hurt (swelling) and then works to eliminate it eventually; if we have surgery or some other medical procedure, water is hoarded to help balance things out, help heal, and then eventually get eliminated.

Let me include loss of sleep in this category because I feel that insomnia is a sickness. This is actually pretty big in the gain department because most of our weight loss happens when we sleep. No sleep? No loss or even a gain. One more thing, weighing either earlier or later than a regular time can affect the scale.

Any new medications or supplements, new brands of medication or supplements, new doses, new times to take them, NOT taking them, all of those things can upset the chemistry balance of our bodies and cause water to be hoarded.

Have you developed intolerance to a certain food? All allergies are inflammation, which is just water hoarding.

And lastly, for men and women, being hormonal can be a factor.

5) Excess Calories/Wrong Kind of Calories: Finally, last on my list is if you either went above your regular calorie limit (usually by simply forgetting to post something in your calorie counter) or your ratios are off. And this could also happen when you back-loaded calories (eating all your calories at night) which is definitely not a healthy and weight maintenance smart thing to do.
Well, there you have it … 5 surprising reasons you might have gained when you didn’t do anything wrong the day before.

HCG P3/maintenance Tips

hCG P3 Tips
hCG diet P3 is very critical to your long term weight loss success in your hCG journey. You’ve worked hard to lose the weight in Phase 2 by maintaining a VLCD (very low calorie diet), and now it’s important to stabilize your body at the new weight so that you can prevent any gains. hCG diet P3 is where you reset the hypothalamus.
If you have reached your weight loss goal and don’t need to do another round of hCG, then P3 will be your maintenance phase. If you have more weight to lose, then P3 will be part of your first round of the hCG protocol and you will need to maintain before you go on your next round. In either case your goal is simple, to keep the weight off.
By following these hCG Diet P3 Tips you should be able to maintain your weight loss, avoid and gains, and avoid the need for a steak day.
Check your weight daily – By checking your weight daily you can manage any small gains. As soon as your gains exceed 2 lbs try a steak day to adjust the gain. Your goal is to never gain more than 2 lbs. You are telling your body that you want to keep your weight at this new lower weight by taking it off right away. Remember how hard you worked to lose the weight and commit to keeping the weight off so that you don’t need to lose it again. A 2 lb gain is much easier to manage than a 5 or 10 lb gain. By checking your weight daily you can manage any gains while they are still small.
Read labels – Remember that it is vitally important during P3 to avoid all sugars and starches. These are often hidden in foods where you would least expect them. Condiments such as ketchup often contain sugar as a sweetener. Other sauces and condiments often contain starches as a thickening agent. Even something as simple as boxed or canned vegetable broth often contains sugar!!! You’ll be surprised with what you find, so it’s best to get into the habit of reading all labels.
Week 1 – Increase your food intake to approximately 1000 calories a day including 6-8 oz of protein per meal. In addition to avoiding all sugars and starches it helps to maintain a diet low in carbohydrates. Many dieters are careful not to eat high sugar fruits such as mangos and banana’s. Also, remember, no more bread sticks on P3. You can slowly reintroduce fats into your diet but don’t overdo it. You can add cream in your coffee or tea but continue to drink lots of water to balance out the acidity and caffeine. In P3 you can add fish with a higher fat content such as salmon, trout. You can also begin to use butter, oil in your frying pan.
• Breakfast: Eggs or an omelet with a serving of veggies
• Lunch: 6-8 oz of protein, a small salad with dressing (check labels for sugar!), and a side of veggies
• Dinner: Change it up. Have a different protein and different side of veggies for dinner than you had for lunch.
Try to eat a little at each meal and if hunger becomes an issue try to get in a mid morning and mid afternoon snack.
Add only 1 new food every other day – P3 can be a true test of willpower. Now that Dr. Simeons says that you can eat “anything you wish” with the exception of sugars and starches it’s hard not to let the flood gates open. However, it’s important to add only 1 new food item every other day so you can determine which (if any) foods are causing gains. For example, if you add eggs on Monday, weigh yourself on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you have not experienced any gains then add another new food on Wednesday. Continue to weigh yourself daily and confirm that a particular food is not causing gains before introducing another food.
Week 2 – Increase your daily calorie count to about 1200-1500 calories per day. You can do this by adding in more veggies and more fats such as cheese, nut butter, nuts and other low carbohydrate type foods. Be careful with nuts or to much cheese as they cause gains for some dieters.
Week 3 – Work your way up to your total calorie limit.
Determine your daily calorie limit – For women your recommended daily calorie intake is 11 times your current weight. For men it is 12 times your current weight. For example:
• A woman whose current weight is 150 lbs, multiplied x 11 is 1650 calories per day.
• A man whose current weight is 200, multiplied x 12 is 2400 calories per day.
Keep the meals small – In an effort to not overload your digestive system try to eat 5 or 6 small meals each day: breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner.
Remember that P3 is the stabilization phase. If you are more strict in P3 you will be more stable in P4. By following these hCG Diet P3 Tips, the willpower you display now will be rewarded in a few short weeks when you reach P4. Stay strong and you’ll be very stable!
HCG Diet Info.com

What happens if you cheat on the HCG diet.

What happens if you cheat on the hCG diet?</
Cheating on the hcg diet can have dramatic effects on the amount of weight you lose. Most people who have done the diet will tell you that the diet is very sensitive to even small instances of cheating. We found a good article on this from Denise Mitchel on this topic.

hCG, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, is the hormone present in high quantities in a woman’s blood when she is pregnant. The “job” of the hCG is to make available the necessary nutrients to grow the developing fetus during pregnancy. During a 23 or 40 day hCG Diet Protocol, the “job” of the hCG is to mobilize stored fat to supply the body with its necessary nutrients while restricting the calories you are eating.

So why does one little cheat, just a bite of this food or a little more of that food affect the scale so dramatically, 3+ lbs overnight, while on this diet? It is very simple.

If the hCG finds enough fat in the bloodstream, as a result of the food you are consuming throughout the day, it will not mobilize the stored fat in your body. If the hCG is not actively mobilizing stored fat, you will stop losing weight, you will be extremely hungry, as you are living on the restricted 500 calorie diet, and you may experience extreme fatigue instead of the energetic euphoria that most patients experience during their hCG Diet.

In a nutshell, cheating on the hCG diet is the only reason it will not work. In the first 4-5 days of the hCG diet, you must eat ONLY the foods allowed on the diet plan, to the letter, NO EXCEPTIONS. This strict adherence to the foods on the plan will allow the hCG to start the release of the stored fat, the ball in motion essentially, and set you up for amazing success during the remaining days of your journey. If you are hungry on the hCG diet, first ask yourself, am I in ANY way cheating?

Ways you may be cheating and not even realize you are…

* Using a lesser quality of meat than is required on the diet(processed meats)
* Chewing Sugar-Free Gum
* Drinking Diet Soda or any beverage with artificial sweeteners
* Eating out (hidden fats, sugar, msg, in meat or sauces)
* Not taking 30 minutes per day to relax and clear your mind of the stresses of the day

As you can see, there are also some very easy ways to cheat on this diet and not even know it. When you start the diet, be sure to read the instruction manual and stick to it for the best results. Questions or comments? Be sure to leave them below.

Starches on P2 of The hCG Protocol, by Biz

What Dr. Simeons says about starches on The hCG Protocol
By Biz

Dr. Simeons says to get the best possible results on the HCG protocal are to be obtained with a daily ration of a very small amount of starch, one breadstick (grissino) or one Melba toast.
So, he included “starches” in the diet, but also included that one that adding a small amount of starch would lead to the best possible results.

You know, I am a long time, low carber, so I know the so called “evils” of starch, but I have been reformed. I am now a low starcher.
I feel that you absolutely MUST include some sort of starch into The hCG protocol in order for it to be the most successful. Let me add this here however … if you are already on a round, don’t add starch NOW, you will most likely experience a gain. Add it when you begin a new round, use it from the beginning.

To my way of thinking, adding starch does a little something in not making us so carb-sensitive when we are coming off Phase 2. That is why I feel each and every item that he listed is important for you to eat. And yes, I know that he said “you can skip any item”, but that is a subject for another article. ::giggle::

Now, that point being made, I do NOT agree with adding Melba or Grissini as they contain wheat. And we all do know the dangers of wheat ingestion right? If not, do yourself a favor and read Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis, it will convince you. So what can you sub for the Melba or Grissini?

Let’s start by saying that when I was active on my rounds, in the beginning I ate a serving of Melba with each meal (until I learned an alternative!), because that was what I was told to do.
OK a serving of Melba is around 60 calories.

So, for the sake of argument and what I am trying to accomplish with this article, let’s say we are looking for 60 calories to sub as a starch for the day.
So let’s discuss some substitutions that will be close to the above, which it looks like around 60 calories, 11 carbs and let’s settle on 1 protein. I know that they can be “trigger” foods for some people. So try 60 calories of Rice Cakes or Corn Chips abd see how you do.
Make sure it is close to what two servings of Melba or Grissini would be. Close. Not exact, but close enough that it wouldn’t make that big of a difference. Know what I mean?

When you start your round like this, I believe that it helps stabilize you in the end.

If you have used any of these safe starches while on The hCG Protocol, please comment below. Or, if you have any questions, feel free to use the comment box.

How to Load, or How Not to Load – That is the Question

How to Load, or How Not to Load – That is the Question
Article by “Happily Thinner Ever After”
I believe with all my inner being that if you follow The hCG Protocol exactly as written in Pounds and Inches by Dr. Simeons, you are guaranteed success. I also believe that there have been a few acceptable changes that have proven successful in the six-plus decades since he wrote his manuscript … so consider just one more.

I am talking about loading. To break it down simply, Dr. Simeons provides three important points about loading:
1.Patients whose general condition is low (excessive previous dieting): Eat to capacity for about one week before starting treatment.
2.Patients in a satisfactory general condition and those who have not just previously restricted their diet: Start force feeding on the day of the first injection.
3.Eat to capacity of the most fattening food they can get down: He describes fattening foods as highly concentrated items such as milk chocolate, pastries with whipped cream, sugar, fried meats (particularly pork), eggs and bacon, mayonnaise, bread with thick butter and jam, etc.

Ok, the above points are a given, and they make sense. First, if you were a new patient of Dr. Simeons and were of low condition (or yo-yo “excessive” dieting for a long while) he wanted you to eat to capacity for a week before you started treatment. If you are in satisfactory condition, you can start treatment right away. And then he gives examples of what he felt is optimal to load on. Do you find it interesting, that with the exception of the pastries and bread that everything he recommends is high fat?

I know I don’t need to get into the whole “wheat thing” here. If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and read Wheat Belly by Dr. Davis or go to his website. Things have changed DRAMATICALLY since the 50′s with our food, but especially with wheat, and I can’t help but feel if he were alive today that he would remove wheat from the equation, ok, story for another day.

My point, simply stated, is that he was of the opinion that loading should be predominately HIGH FAT. Check.

He makes another interesting point: the whole gain is usually lost in the first 48 hours of dieting.

More and more I am seeing that clients that load with junk food (even GOOD junk food) are not losing their gains within 48 hours. Now sure, I totally get that this whole loading with stuff that you are going to miss while on a round of hCG. I get it. And gosh, you should see some comments I see around HTA justifying their right to eat what they want on load! HA! Really? Load on what you want to load on. If you want to spend 7-10 days getting off weight you already lost, then by all means go for it. It’s not that big a deal.

Wait, that isn’t entirely true.

IT’S A HUGE DEAL!

I cannot claim to know all there is to know about how blood sugars/insulin work in our bodies (in other words, I am NOT a scientist or doctor), however I do know that it is a very serious problem. I know that the hybrid wheat that is in almost everything today is causing major health issues, NOT just weight gain.

Oh no, it’s far more serious than that.

There is ample evidence out there that explain how insulin spikes are deadly. LITERALLY deadly.
•Dr. Davis: A blood sugar level of 140 mg/dl after a meal carries 30-60% increased (relative) risk for heart attack and other events. The increase in risk begins at even lower levels, perhaps 110 mg/dl or lower after eating.
•Chris Kresser: He wrote two very profound blog posts about blood sugar (Part 1 & Part 2), but most significantly his conclusion was that what is considered “normal” blood sugar can double your risk of heart disease and lead to all kinds of complications down the road.
•Dr. Dwight Lundell: When you spike your blood sugar level several times a day, every day, it is exactly like taking sandpaper to the inside of your delicate blood vessels. (This causes inflammation which does damage to your arteries)

You know all that right? But do you do anything about it? Have you tested your blood sugar lately? Have you tested it after you had a junk food binge? I think the results would scare you. Literally scare you.

I am seriously frightened for people now that are eating relatively clean foods while on break and then choose to eat their favorite comfort foods for loading. I am sure there is an even greater surge of insulin because your body is now used to leveling things out that this is a shock to the system. I can’t help but feel they are setting themselves up for a heart attack or stroke. 30-60% increased risk for a spike over 140. What is really amazing is that I can’t convince people to take their sugars after an indulgence of any sort of junk food, it’s like because they don’t know it’s not going to hurt them.

Recently I have lost 6 people in about 3 months (just lost two earlier this week in one day) in my social circle. People I knew. The age range was 37-70 (the last one was 70, before that the eldest was 63). That ratio of people in just my own circle is high. And they are young. And all of them died of some sort of heart event. I have to think that there is something going on that is much more insidious than “natural” causes.

I have a client in the medical profession that told me that over the holidays (where there is abundant wheat/sugar) there was a significant rise of MI’s (myocardial infarction’s – heart related events) in just one weekend at the ER where she works. That is very telling.

Did you know that there are three types of fat? by “ChangingHabits”

Did you know that there are three types of fat?
Article by “Changing Habits”
Structural Fat – in your cheeks, heel pads, protective fat around organs – fat you want to have and keep.
Reserve Fat – this is fat that is used for ready energy, that can be converted quickly and without much effort.
Stored Fat – hips, thighs, arms, cellulite, stomach and all those fat deposits in places you don’t want it – this fat is not easily sourced for energy and is often hard to budge.
I learnt about a 60 year old program last July that could eliminate the third fat – stored fat, while keeping your structural fat in place. In other words, get rid of the fat that doesn’t make you look good and creates ill health and keep the fat that makes you look young and beautiful. Could such a thing be possible?

It was called a “protocol” rather than a “diet” and it intrigued me but looking at it superficially, at first I was very skeptical so I decided to read everything I could on the protocol. I read the books, I read the web pages, I read whatever I could get my hands on. There was positive information and there was negative – I read it all.

While I was reading I had several friends that decided to act and do the protocol. I watched men and women (all friends) shrink before my eyes, many had been overweight much of their adult life. Not only did I see them shrink but I also saw them learn about foods and how foods effect their body for health and therefore create a stable weight. Many of these friends have lost the weight and all their aches and pains and ailments and have had an awakening about their health, weight and food. Listening to them was like music to my ears, some said “we now know what you’ve been talking about all these years”. The fact that they lost weight was great, but what was so amazing is that they had changed their thinking about food.

I’ve always been full of energy and healthy and had what I felt was a good weight. I’m not one to count calories or weigh myself.. it was always something that I decided to stop doing back in my 20’s and it served me well. This protocol insists on weighing yourself and counting calories for a period of time – after that you don’t count calories again (so that was one positive), It was against 2 principles I taught but the results I was seeing were phenomenal. What I realised was that the counting of calories was for a specific reason and the weighing every day was to teach about foods – more on that when you get the protocol.

It was because of this that I decided to do the protocol and see what they were all talking about. I was amazed!!! Within a week I felt amazing, I felt euphoric and so clear in my mind. By the second week I had lost 7kg and everyone was saying how great my skin was looking and that I had a certain vitality they hadn’t seen before. By the third week I wanted to run and skip and play and I was motivated and excited about everything – not bad for a 51 year old. It’s now months on and I still feel the same way, there is still a buzz amongst my friends about the whole protocol and what they have learnt and how they feel. We’ve all got a new lease on life and people on the outside want to know what we’ve been doing.

I want you to know upfront that this is not an easy protocol, however having said that it is worth every minute of highs and lows. I liken it to a marathon, sometimes you feel great and other times you just want to quit. If you quit you don’t finish the marathon and what was the point. If you don’t quit, then you have the knowledge forever and the power that you have achieved something quite amazing.

You’ll have good days and bad days, but it is only three weeks of hard yakka. Doing it with a friend really helps. Rikki (my walking partner) and I did it together and we were in contact with each other every morning at weigh in, we also walked most days just so we could talk and keep each other going.

10 of the Easiest HCG Success Tips

10 of the Easiest HCG Success Tips You’ll Ever Read
Posted by Liliana

Having successfully completed one round of HCG Detox, I made note of all the tips that made the program very easy for me to follow.

1. Preparation of meals leads to success and helps you avoid temptations! I prepare ALL my meals ahead of time, or bought them from Lauri. For instance, I purchase the 10-lbs. bag of frozen skinless/boneless organic chicken breasts, pull enough for 4 days, defrost in the fridge. I’m never without at least two meals already cooked and ready to eat, so I’m not tempted to grab something that’s off limits. Once the chicken is thawed, I add Mrs. Dash, toss the chicken on the grill and in 10 minutes, I have lunch or dinner. Sometimes I cook dinner while I’m grilling lunch so I can heat & eat later. I even pre-measure and slice strawberries to leave in the fridge for the morning. With one, two or a whole weeks worth of meals that I got from Lauri, it was even easier, heat and eat!
2. Never be without the comforts of home items in your purse or desk or car. I carry my Melba toast (one serving) in a plastic baggie, stevia sweeteners, an apple, a bottle of water and tea bags in my purse, car or at my salon station. Even when I pass a Starbucks , I can still have my Venti Iced Green Tea with stevia and not feel like I am missing out. Every night I take 3 minutes to replenish my supply so that I’m not scrambling to find the items in the morning.
3. A pitcher is my new best friend. I’m not talking about baseball, I’m talking about a water pitcher! This is the easiest trick I learned on my first round. I don’t have a big sweet tooth but I do love Coke. So to avoid reaching for a soda, I take 5 organic Green Tea bags, steep them in cold water in a water pitcher (make sure it has a lid) and leave it in the fridge overnight. The next morning, I compost the bags, fill my thermos and refill the pitcher later in the week. The tea lasts me about 3 days and I can add stevia if I am craving a sweeter drink. Add Rosehips Tea for a more fragrant drink. Simple!
4. Have something to motivate you daily. I lost about 20 lbs. in round 1, and my goal that kept me going was to fit into a dress I bought a year ago. Twenty pounds ago I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing but I bought it with the intention of wearing it for my graduation in October. I hung the dress on my bedroom door so to remind me to stick to the plan everyday. By graduation time, I had to have the dress taken in on the sides! Hang your motivation on your door whether it is a dress, picture of a vacation spot, photos of your grandchildren, health related goal—whatever it is, place it where you can see it everyday to remind yourself of what you are working to achieve. This round, my motivation is the money I am saving from eating out. My goal is to save $400 a month and put that towards a trip to Paris.
5. Keep track of your weight on a calendar. There are fancy computer programs and planner tools to help track weight but for me, I misplace them or fail to get the program uploaded. Easiest thing I have found was to write my daily weight on my calendar, which is right next to my Motivation area on my door! I can see week-by-week my progress and can’t lose it or forget to write it down.
6. Nothing was harder for me than to turn down dinner parties, wine tastings and late night snack runs. Any of those activities would have ruined my progress. But when my friends understood that I was on a doctor’s program and invited me to join their events, I was prepared! I had my own food and they were more than willing to accommodate my needs when they SAW the weight loss for themselves and gave me the emotional support I needed. There is no shame in losing the weight—it’s all about you, so feel free to share with the people who love you and support you. You never know if you’ll inspire one of your loved ones to do a round for him or herself.
7. Ensure early success in your program by donating your restricted foods. I had the usual suspects lurking in my kitchen—my favorite Tillamook cheddar was staring me back in the face after my fat loading days so I gave it to a friend along with my new french bread baguette. As soon as I started the official HCG program, my entire kitchen was free of the no-no’s and filled with organic foods from the HCG list. See no evil, eat no evil! That was my motto and it sure worked for me.
8. Throw a party for the start and end of your program so you don’t feel like it’s a punishment. My problem with food was partly emotional eating—eat when bored, frustrated, happy, sad, etc. I celebrated the “beginning of the end” of that phase in my life with two fat loading days to socialize with friends and “party” with all my good fats! Sounds funny but it really helped me come to terms with why I eat how and when I do. Fat loading really was the most fun out of the program, so celebrate your impending accomplishments.
9. Make sure you drink at least 2 liters of water. Take two one liter bottles and tape a number one on the first bottle and a number 2 the second bottle. It helps to make sure you get in both liters each day. I refill them the night before so I am ready to go the next day.
10. And last but not least, reward yourself with little tokens of self-appreciation along the way. After my second week on the program, I lost a whopping 9 lbs. I was so overjoyed, I cried a little bit on the bus back home. I didn’t know how to prepare myself for the emotional purging I was about to experience. The next day, I bought myself a gold and citrine ring that I had eyeballed for about a month! It was a very small expense, but it was my way of saying “great job” for sticking to the plan so diligently.This time, I started with a gold and labradorite ring, but after each little goal I reach, I put away some money for me to spend when I go to Paris. For you, a little token might be extra time with your grandkids, a day trip to your favorite vacation spot, maybe something like treating yourself to a great new haircut or massage. Whatever you decide, do it for you!

You are making a change in your life by putting your health first and foremost—you should get that proverbial pat on your back for your dedication! With support from Dr. Aceves and Lauri and your peers, you’ll reach your weight goals and embark on a happier, healthier lifestyle. I’m living proof that it can happen, best of luck on your personal success on the HCG program.