April 2009

HCG: Day 29

Submitted by Corey Smith on Thursday, April 30, 2009 Posted in -

beef onion tomatoSince I was down again, I decided to try out the mixing of veggies again. If I gain weight in the morning, I am going to consider it a failure… even though it probably just makes me retain water.

Just getting an additional flavor in my meal, even with the same number of calories, is incredible. I don’t know if adding tomato to my onion is really mixing since I had tomatoes earlier in the day, but it sure tasted good. I added some mustard and enjoyed every single bite.

I can see how I can eat within 2000 calories a day if my permanent diet can contain foods like this. continue reading...

HCG: Day 28

Submitted by Corey Smith on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Posted in -

cow appleI woke up this morning with a little extra weight. Rather than letting my weight simmer a little, I decided to take the bull by the horns and try to preempt holding on to too much water.

So, I had a mostly apple day today.

I was going to do a full apple day, but I wanted strawberries in the morning.

Then, I was going to finish the day with apples but I was too hungry. So, I finished the day with burger and onion… I ended up 35 calories over… if that is cheating then I don’t want to be honest.

One thing that I have noticed in the last 36 hours is I am starting to get cravings. Today I had a strong craving for a quesadilla with sour cream and salsa. I am at least 5 weeks before I can even attempt something like that. I hope I don’t get too many cravings as I try to reintroduce foods. continue reading...

HCG: Day 27

Submitted by Corey Smith on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Posted in -

smileyWell, I decided to take inventory of my HCG injections. I wanted to start planning out when I can eat again.

As of tonight, I only have 11 left.

Hurray!

The protocol normally lasts 40 injections, but for some reason I am going to end up at a total of 36. One day I had a needle pop off and I lost all the fluid. When I tried to get my first few injections from a new vial, it was dripping a bit. I didn’t realize I had lost four dosages worth, but I don’t think I am complaining. I am losing, on average now, almost a pound per day. So, four dosages means less than 4 pounds… I can handle it.

It is starting to boggle my mind a little bit to think about how much food I’ll be eating when I will be at my maintenance diet of 2,500 calories per day. Right now, I am getting plenty of food. I am not hungry very much. Tonight I didn’t get to eat dinner until 8:30pm. I was pretty hungry by the time I at only 1/4 pound of food, but it was very filling.

Sure, I know that the medication is helping to suppress the appetite, but thinking about eating five times what I am eating now is significant. Think about eating five times what you eat now and you’ll kind of understand.

So, I have two weeks left before I start to increase my calories. I am anxious to see how it all shapes up for me.

I did decide to post my entire journey from start to finish with a graph of my experience on this page. continue reading...

HCG: Day 26

Submitted by Corey Smith on Monday, April 27, 2009 Posted in -

hiro nakamura i did itSo, I was amazed before I went to bed last night that I was down a pound from yesterday morning.

I knew that I was going to see something big on the scale (yes, that was a pun, because my big butt was on the scale).

The apple diet did the trick. One full day of apples (495 calories worth) kicked my system into overdrive.

I lost just over four pounds over night.

I know, some of it is that I was holding on to some extra water. But, if I am holding on to some water then it can be discouraging because the scale doesn’t go the direction I want it to go… so, I am good losing that much water.

I mentioned yesterday that a full day of apples was kind of enjoyable.

I went back to my old standbys for lunch and dinner. I have found two meals that I really like, so I am not changing it up. I am not changing for two reasons. First, I like what I am eating. Second, I don’t have to think about it. I know how much turkey, beef, tomato and onion I can eat and I know how to prepare it in a way I like it. I figure as long as I don’t get sick of it, I’ll keep using the same foods over an over again. There would be a greater variety of veggies I’d eat if I liked veggies. I have eaten a bit of asparagus, spinach, sugar snap peas, lettuce and celery, but I get tired of them by the end of the meal. I love my soup and my grilled burger and onions. continue reading...

HCG: Day 25

Submitted by Corey Smith on Sunday, April 26, 2009 Posted in -

appleI grew… and not in a good way. I added another 1 pound to my already substantial girth this morning (well, it is less substantial than it was 3 weeks ago).

It is a little frustrating to be extremely strict on a diet and find negative results.

Yesterday I said that if I was stagnating that I would eat nothing but apples for all my calories. So, today, I have had nothing but apples. I can have 33 oz of apples for 495 calories.

I actually kind of enjoyed it. I enjoyed the simplicity of it all. For about 8 oz, I heated it up with stevia and cinnamon on top and ate that while the family had my favorite baked chicken dish and dutch oven potatoes.

I have 10 oz left to go on the apples for today. I just cut them all up and I am going to snack on them and watch a little TV. As a reference, the apple in the picture above is just less than 5 oz. I usually eat just less than an apple for one of my fruits every day.

I got to thinking that after this HCG diet is over, I will definitely be eating a lot more fruit. I am toying with the idea of planning one day a week where I eat only fruit. Or maybe a couple of days per week where I get 50% of my calories from just fruit. Regardless, going forward, I want to get a larger percentage of my calories from fruit. I think that the sweetness in the fruit helps to subside sugar cravings. continue reading...

HCG: Day 24

Submitted by Corey Smith on Saturday, April 25, 2009 Posted in -

scaleWell, I am up .2 pounds today.

I am not sure what to think of it.

You might say, “It is only .2 pounds… what’s the big deal.?”

I figure that if I am going to be hungry on this diet and forsake all the good foods my family is eating (well, good as in good tasting) that I better see daily results.

Today I made sure that I was strict on the diet so that I would get back on track.

If I am floating at the same weight tomorrow morning, I’ll try a full day of apples. I’ll eat my 500 calories in just apples. continue reading...

HCG: Day 23

Submitted by Corey Smith on Friday, April 24, 2009 Posted in -

goat and horseI am back on the horse again (like the pic? does this make me a goat?). I guess I didn’t really fall off, but I wanted to when I gained a pound yesterday.

I was a little concerned when I gained a pound yesterday. I am not sure if it was related to mixing some veggies but at least it wasn’t fat. Gaining 1 pound and then the next day losing 2 is okay with me. It just illustrates that I was holding on to some water.

I have see a few blogs of people that are on this diet and are struggling with water weight. I thought that I would share what I do every time I think I am holding on to water. I don’t know if it is right, but it works.

First, I eat my fruits as apples. Second, I cut out most or all of the salt. Third, I increase my water drinking (up to a gallon of water).

I know it sounds weird to increase water. Jen had a doctor explain once that one of the reasons your body will retain water is it thinks it is not getting enough so it starts storing water like a camel. When you are properly hydrated, your body doesn’t need to store as much water.

My scale shows me my percentage of water in my body. As I am losing weight, I am finding that percentage increase. I don’t know what that means, but I think it is interesting. continue reading...

HCG: Day 22

Submitted by Corey Smith on Thursday, April 23, 2009

scaleYesterday I tried to experiment with the diet by eating onions and tomatoes together.

Today I gained 1 pound.

That is just weird. How does one gain weight eating only 500 calories per day regardless of what makes up those calories.

I wonder if I am really retaining water or if eating the “mixed” veggies really made a difference.

So, today, I made two changes to my diet. First, I went back to my normal eating schedule (breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner) instead of eating my breakfast as a dessert. Second, I went back to eating one veggie per meal. I did end up 10 calories shy of my target.

I won’t know until tomorrow how it all worked out. continue reading...

HCG: Day 21

Submitted by Corey Smith on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Posted in -

beef onion tomato I figured that I have done this for 3 weeks now so I can try a little experimentation with the diet. The HCG protocol says you can’t mix veggies. That doesn’t make a bit of sense to me so I want to put it to the test.

For today, I decided the first experiment would be to mix it up only slightly. I had tomatoes for lunch so I figured I would try reducing my normal evening vegetable and add some tomato. You have to admit that the dinner at the left doesn’t look too bad. It is amazing to me that the entire meal at the left is only 190 calories.

I won’t judge my result from one day changing this up a bit. I’ll do the same thing tomorrow and maybe on Friday to see what the results are over a few days. Once I feel that I know, I’ll decide if I want to test something else. I want to test sugar free gum and crystal lite, but I wanted to try different combos of veggies first.

Oh, and dinner tonight was really good to have the combination of onion and tomatoes. continue reading...

HCG: Day 20

Submitted by Corey Smith on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Posted in -

mustardI have found a number of ways to be creative on the diet. Mustard is one of the best ways to get additional flavor and add moisture. If you like sauces, you ought to try mustard. Most mustards have zero calories, zero fat and zero sugar.

You’ll have to be careful because I am sure that some will have sugar and fat. For example, honey mustard wouldn’t be a good fit for this diet. However, even honey mustard tends to be low in calories so after the diet is over it a good way to get some moisture in your sandwich and much better than mayo.

The other day I put this stone ground mustard on my chicken. I don’t normally like brown mustards, but the flavor was really nice for a change. I usually put my almost-famous bar-b-que sauce on my chicken and can’t during this diet. So, it is nice to have something to put on it. continue reading...