...what I've been eating

on May 22 I started taking sub lingual hCG drops...
I'd taken hCG after college,but as a series of injections...
to say it was a pain in the butt, would be redundant...

this hormone, hCG, is present in the urine of pregnant women...
& has been found, along with a rigidly restrictive diet...
to help produce a weight loss that targets the stored fat for nourishment...
while NOT tearing down the muscle tissues needed to sustain a healthy life...

it worked OK then, I lost some weight...
but I wasn't careful about my diet...
I hated the food & was always hungry...
and the minute I got off of it...
the weight all came back & then some...

however, all the back & hip pain since my accident, Dec.27,2007...
[which stopped the regular walking regime I'd been on...
& allowed a small, but debilitating weight gain...]
has really put me "out of action"...
as I got weaker & more unable to get around because of the pain...

it was a vicious circle, feeding itself...

I couldn't exercise properly or take care of my life...
due to the pain from extra pounds & weakened muscles...
which only led to less activity and more pain...

I saw that this path could not continue...
or soon, I would be unable to function at all...

I would try to get moving again...
but was always stopped in my tracks by the grinding pain...
and the accompanying loss of balance & strength...
I was literally afraid of falling down, all the time...

I finally managed to move the scales back into the bathroom...
they are the balance beam kind, quite heavy & clumsy to move...
and I really paid for my effort for more than a week...
with back & hip pain, pinched nerves & being barely able to walk...

the scales had never seemed to work properly in the bedroom...
maybe it was all the clothes I draped over them...
or the uneven floor...
or lack of real space to stand on them properly...

but I hadn't been able to use them...
since the new bath was finished in Feb.,2009...
so I had NO idea what I weighed...

I stepped on the scales with mounting trepidation...
sure that I'd must have regained a big chunk of the 60 lbs I'd lost...
& I was amazed by the discovery that I'd only regained about 10 lbs...
so I was encouraged to take a chance on the hCG drops...

I really was at the end of my rope...
so I had nothing to "lose"[pardon the irony...]
if I tried & failed except the cost of the drops...
and everything to "gain"[ironic, isn't it?] if it "worked"...

basically, I take .5ml of hCG under my tongue 3 times a day...

I can't eat or drink anything 15 minutes right before or after...
I have to drink 3-4 L of water a day...
I also take sub lingual Vit.B complex drops, calcium, a multi vitamin...
and a glucosamine supplement daily...

phase 1 of the diet is 2 days...
during which you take the drops, but eat as much fattening food as you can...

for me, this was harder than you might think...
the idea is to have the hCG stored in your fat cells...
so that you have a jump start to using the stored fat...
when you go into phase 2 for 23-40 days...

phase 2 is the "500 calories a day" phase...
where the hCG pulls the stored fat from your belly, hips, thighs etc...
burning it for your body's use...
in place of the calories you're not consuming...

all the water flushes out your system...
including all the toxins stored in those fat deposits...
so you are encouraged to be normally active...
but to avoid more than easy walking as exercise...
and to make sure you eat most of what you are allowed...

basically, you are changing your metabolism set-point...

too much exercise would trick your body into burning muscle tissue...
too little food would trigger your "famine" mode...
where all food is stored and no weight is dropped...
too little water will put you at the mercy...
of all the toxins the fat burning is releasing...
making you sick, tired & unable to continue...

so it is a careful balancing act...

the 500 calorie diet allows 2 meals a day[lunch & dinner]

at each you may have about 250 calories...

100g[weighed raw] of chicken breast, white fish/seafood or lean beef...
cooked with out skin or fat...

2 veggies[about 1 C each except 2 C salad greens]no root/starchy ones...

1 fruit only 1 apple, 1 orange, 1/2 grapefruit, 2 plums, 1 peach...
or 1cup cherries or strawberries...

2 pieces Melba toast or a bread stick...

each day, you may have 1 TBSP milk, juice of 1 lemon & 1 TBSP tomato paste...
organic chicken & beef broth maybe used for soup or as cooking aids...

Stevia is the only sweetener used, coffee & tea are allowed...
as are most herbs, spices & vinegars...

NO FATS, NO SUGARS/STARCHES, NO MSG...

label reading is required...

so like you, I was thinking that this would NOT be fun...
absolutely necessary, but a trial to suffer through...


I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG...

the first couple of days...
I ate some chicken breast I'd slow cooked...
or a pan grilled bit of beef steak
with some canned spinach or green beans...
and had a couple of apples each day...

it was OK, but I was hungry...
craving flavor & texture...
crunch... tang... zip...

then, the small cooked shrimp was on sale...
so I bought a pound, weighed out portions...
and bagged them, storing in the coldest part of the 'fridge...

for lunch, I put 2 large handfuls[2 C] of salad greens in a bowl...
added some chopped celery & cherry tomatoes...
[always good in a shrimp salad...]
and whipped up a "cocktail sauce"...
from the TBSP of tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, Stevia & spices...

I mixed the shrimp into the sauce and added it to the salad...



it was not only filling, but really good !
I have made it for lunch several times since...
and it never fails to hit the spot...



encouraged by success, I put 100g of snapper, some broccoli, zucchini...
onion, cherry toms, the juice of 1 Meyer lemon & some spices...
into a foil packet & baked at 400˚ for about 25 minutes...
it was delicious and the resulting broth was too die for...



wanting a change from shrimp salad & the tomato-y dressing...
I then tried the same veggies, along with sliced onion...
chicken breast and a mustard vinaigrette...
it was really good too...



then the weather got a bit cooler...
so I decided to try some soup...

I used a quart box of organic 100% fat free, no MSG chix broth...
[it had 40 calories for the entire 4 cups...]
in it I simmered 100g chix breast, 1 zucchini, sliced onion...
the inner stalks of a head of celery and a handful of kale...
along with some "freeze-dried poultry herbs" & "Spike"...
s&p, along with some garlic powder & onion powder...

it was heaven! so satisfying and tasted wonderful...!

I made the same recipe Saturday adding tomato paste & sliced garlic...
so savory & filling, I saved some for Sunday...

that stock would be wonderful with cod, shrimp or crab in it...

and for my Memorial Day "dinner"...?



a nice salad with sliced celery, onion, garlic, cherry toms...
and a pan grilled burger patty[100g of 93% lean] with grilled red onions...
all topped with a stone-ground mustard vinaigrette...
so satisfying & tastes wonderful...

the big surprise is that it is taking me...
maybe 10-15 minutes to make a meal...
a healthy, good-tasting meal from scratch...
that fills me up, I enjoy eating and is healthy...

oh... and since 5/22, I've lost about 12 lbs...
the hip, joint & back pain is almost completely gone...
the stiffness & lurching gait are going...
my strength, balance & energy are returning...
to the point that I'll be able to start walking soon...

and I'm starting to feel light...

who would have ever thought that this...
would be SO, the right thing at the right time for me ?

God is good... even when we aren't paying attention...