A couple of weeks ago Denise mentioned that she was starting the HCG diet. I had thought about doing it before, so I asked her for some information about it. With a little encouragement from Denise and my assistant Jamie (who has done the diet before) I decided to give it a try. All the excercise in the world and a gluten-free diet weren't helping me, so I needed to do something else to try to get in shape.
The HCG diet protocol includes taking the hormone HCG either by drops put under the tongue or by injection, and following a very low calorie, very low carb diet for three to six weeks. The claim is that you can lose about a pound per day. After no more than six weeks you then boost your calorie intake to 1500 per day while still sticking to low carb foods for another three weeks. You then slowly reintroduce carbs into your diet. Jamie did the injections for three weeks, and I think she said she lost 26 pounds. I chose to go with the drops because they were cheaper and because I'm really sick of being poked with needles every couple of weeks for my allergies.
Today is day six of my diet and I have lost 10.2 pounds and 2 inches from my waist and hips. The first few days were really hard. I struggled with being hungry all the time and with low energy. Day four was absolute hell. I had no energy at all and I was beginning to wonder if it was worth it. It probably didn't help that I was coming down with a cold. Luckily I turned a corner yesterday and I am feeling good again. You aren't supposed to eat more than an apple for breakfast, and I'm still struggling with feeling so hungry that I'm sick in the mornings. I have reintroduced diet soda in the mornings and that has helped. I'm hoping to be able to keep this up for the next 4 or 5 weeks, and I would love to lose at least 40 pounds.
