HCG Diet Day 6: I Want My Food Back!

Join Gina, a new Derma Health Institute client, all this month on her journey through the HCG Ultimate Fat Burning Diet. Learn about her exeriences in her detailed journal on the ups and downs of this extraordinary diet.

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Morning Weigh In: Down 1.4 lbs.

Okay, it’s official…I want my food back!

I can’t do this! I’m craving my daily cheese and crackers and I want a large coke from McDonalds…now! Oh yea, and could you throw in a blueberry muffin?

This morning, after I…yep…peed AGAIN, I weighed myself and injected the HCG. I’ve lost another 1.4 pounds – hooray for me!! Although I am genuinely excited about this weight loss, I have to tell you, I am seriously craving some very specific things. My body is so used to having breakfast with my daughter every morning and of course, my beloved cheese and crackers in the mid-morning, I think I’m going into shock! It’s true when they say your body craves what you give it.

This day was not good. I found myself thinking about food all day. I managed to fight my way through lunch: 3 oz of lean steak, one breadstick, an apple and half of my cucumbers (I’ll save the other half for later afternoon). By the way, if veggies are as difficult to get down for you as they are for me, you can marinate the cucumbers in some apple cider vinegar. It’s not a blueberry muffin, but you do what you have to! Don’t forget to keep suckin’ down the water! (I think I’m going to float away)

My irritability level is at it’s peak (can you tell?) It’s not necessarily hunger, but the cravings are ridiculous! I’ve got to keep pushing through this. It was great to see that weight loss this morning, but it seems like everywhere I look, there’s something I’d love to be eating at that moment. I noticed every advertisement for every restaurant today. I salivated when I passed by the fast food joints on every corner. And even packing my daughter’s lunch…oh, what I’d do for a PBJ! (and I don’t even like those!) I think it might be a good idea for the rest of the world if I stay off the road today.

Dinner came and I noticed today, for the first time, that while I’m taking care to really focus on my portioned meals, I do, in fact, have the responsibility of cooking for the rest of my family. I managed to get through the preparation but when we actually sat down to eat together, I realized I was having a hard time. Their meal: rice, grilled tuna, roasted corn and biscuits. I took time with my own meal (3 oz. of grilled beef, tomatoes and a breadstick) and did my best to visit and enjoy the family.

I finished early and excused myself from the table. I went into the bedroom and sat on the bed and began to cry. At this moment I realized how addictive food has become for me. I felt as though I could have caused bodily harm to someone unless I was able to get my hands on a biscuit! As I write this, I realize how silly it sounds to be captive to such a basic necessity. I began to understand that my body had fallen victim to this pleasure and when removed, I became short tempered and emotional. It was time to re-focus on the goal. I’m going to have to figure out a way to manage my emotions and not take any of my frustrations out on the people around me. This will be difficult, but doable. I can leave a room for a moment, get myself together, and return. I know I can get through these changes; I just need to keep reminding myself that I want this weight loss more than I want a blueberry muffin.

I can do this.

So here we go, into the evening; an orange, some more mineral water and sleep. I’ll wake tomorrow with a better attitude. I’ll wake tomorrow knowing I can get through this.

- Gina

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HCG Diet Day 5: Good Morning Weight Loss

Join Gina, a new Derma Health Institute client, all this month on her journey through the HCG Ultimate Fat Burning Diet. Learn about her exeriences in her detailed journal on the ups and downs of this extraordinary diet.



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Morning Weigh In: Down 1 lb.


Good morning weight loss! Although I really fought through my day yesterday, I realized that I lost 1 more pound – yippee! Normally, I’d like to celebrate with a trip to Dairy Queen – hee, hee!
This morning I realized that I can actually get through this. I’ve adopted a new attitude and am ready to face the challenge! Nothing is going to stop me now! Oh wait, tonight is “tree decorating night”. Crap! That means the traditional lasagna meal followed by desert and hot cocoa as we enjoy the evening together as a family. Darn it!! Okay, okay, I can manage through this day. I refuse to have another day like yesterday.


Mid morning, I ate ½ of my apple to tide me over until lunch. Surprisingly, I find I have a lot of extra energy today. That’s good seeing as that I have a lot of organizing to do for our family night tonight. Keep on drinking that yummy water!! Speaking of water consumption… I went out and bought a water bottle that has ounces printed on the side. This is mentally helpful because I can just count the number of bottles I need to have and spread them out during the day. It makes it a little more tolerable.


Lunch consisted of 3 oz of steak, the rest of my apple, ½ of my cucumbers and my lonely, little breadstick. (I realized that I’ve never eaten a breadstick so slowly – enjoying every teeny, tiny bite). I finished up my cucumbers around 2pm and besides my usual water intake, I started in on my mineral water. Funny, I wasn’t too hungry today. I think it may be because I was so busy with things around the house. But the thought of preparing that huge lasagna for tonight is starting to get scary!


Although I could make dinners in my sleep (I’ve been doing this long enough) I’ve gotten into the habit of tasting it throughout the preparation; seems normal and harmless enough. However, by the time I’m done making the dinner, I find I’m rarely hungry for it when I sit down to eat. Maybe I’m doing a little too much harmless tasting?


I managed to get through making the lasagna (did I mention, pasta is on my “favorites” list?) and finished the garlic bread and salad. Ironically, by the time we sat down to eat, I was managing things pretty well. I was actually proud of myself and refused to excuse myself early. I needed to get through this like a normal human being. The first few bites of my 3 oz. of flounder (cooked with lemon juice, dill and garlic salt) accompanied by my asparagus seemed to be going down just fine. But after a minute or two I realized something…I hate flounder. It was mushy. I don’t think I’ll be making this again. I usually love fish, but I now realized there’s a reason why I never make this particular fish. Yick! I choked the rest of it down and finished off my water intake with the final 20 ounces needed for the day. I’ll save my orange for later tonight. It’s become my new late night treat!


After a while, we began to decorate the tree and I made cocoa for the kids. I decided to have some hot tea and at least look as though I was joining them in our usual tradition. I chose to have some Smooth Move tea because I feel as though my bowel movements aren’t as regular recently. Ooh, bowel movements -- and you thought this journal entry would be boring!
Just a note: if you drink the Smooth Move, be careful about how long it steeps. The longer you let it set, the more effective it becomes. I usually only steep this for about 3-4 minutes.
A big sigh of relief hit me as I enjoyed my orange on this night. I turned on the news, settled into bed and it dawned on me that I had not slammed any cabinets. I hadn’t stomped throughout the house or verbally attacked anyone today! In fact, I was pretty damn pleasant! A far cry from 24 hours ago!


- Gina


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HCG Diet Day 4: Actual Weight Loss? No Way!

Join Gina, a new Derma Health Institute client, all this month on her journey through the HCG Ultimate Fat Burning Diet. Learn about her exeriences in her detailed journal on the ups and downs of this extraordinary diet.

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Morning Weigh In: Down 3.4 lbs.

Woke up this morning, rushed to the bathroom and…you guessed it…had to go AGAIN! I weighed myself and low and behold… I lost 3.4 pounds! Yippee!! So that means I dropped those stupid two pounds I put on during “loading” and then lost another 1.4 pounds to boot! Okay, maybe this is actually going to work!

I will say that my hunger levels are rising. The morning was difficult but the evening was better than the day before. I think my body is in a little state of shock; healthier food, less intake and re-adjusting itself. The water thing is killin’ me! I feel like I’m inflicting a sort of ‘self-drowning’ on myself. And while we’re on the subject of liquids…It’s been a mental re-adjustment to not have cream in my coffee. I decided to go out and buy some real quality coffee so that drinking it black will be a bit more enjoyable. I’ll live.

The meal preparation is interesting. I have to take a lot of extra time to think things through. I have to actually prepare and consider seasoning, elimination of oils and carefully weighing out my portions. This has been a real plus mentally. It slows me down so that I’m actually contemplating my meals. Having kids in the house, it’s so easy to just grab the first thing I see and run out the door. This way, I have to slow down and think about it. I’ve also become slow to eat. Because of the limited amount of food, I’m taking more time to chew, enjoy and digest.

My energy level seemed low today. No headaches or real irritability, but I felt a little sluggish. I think I need to concentrate on spreading out my meals so that I don’t get so tired. Again, this helps in slowing down and taking my time to consider what I’m eating. It’s all good.

Lunch was some beef cooked with tomatoes, garlic salt and pepper – add some water to boil down and make it tender. Not bad. I had ½ of my fruit (an apple) and my cherished breadstick. I finished my other ½ of the apple during late afternoon and by the time I got to dinner, I was feeling pretty good. Dinner actually turned out to be quite yummy! 3 oz. of chicken on the grill (I squeezed some lemon and added some dill and garlic salt). I also cooked up some asparagus with salt and pepper and I’ve got to admit, it was pretty tasty. I think by dividing either my fruit or veggie to spread out some food for snacks, I can manage. I’ll save my orange for a late night snack. I think I can do this!

- Gina

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HCG Diet Day 3: Scale Shock!

Join Gina, a new Derma Health Institute client, all this month on her journey through the HCG Ultimate Fat Burning Diet. Learn about her exeriences in her detailed journal on the ups and downs of this extraordinary diet.

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I’m two pounds heavier from my loading days. Yikes! I’m looking forward to seeing those two pounds melt away. Ironically, I woke up this morning and felt a little hungry. How can that possibly be? My skin crawls when I think of all of the food I shoved in my mouth for the past two days. If I never see another doughnut again…

Today there has been a lot of anticipation and excitement. I’m eager to do this exactly right. Weighing, measuring and counting – I want to make sure there is absolutely no cheating!! It’s mentally difficult to switch from splurging one day to only eating 500 calories the next. Fortunately, I’m busy today and I can keep my mind on other things.

I decided to go through this diet program with Derma Health Institute. They gave me all of the tools I would need to make this successful. Included in their supplies is a daily log so that I can keep track of my calorie intake as well as gauge my levels for cravings, hunger, energy etc. There’s also a nice margin on the page so that I can vent! After reviewing the foods I am allowed to eat, I realized right away that the veggie list as well as the fruit list is a bit limiting for me (they’re not my favorites). But if I get really creative, I can make it work.

The HCG injections made me nervous. I absolutely hate needles and although I’ve never had a traumatic experience with this, there is this underline fear that goes with needles, blood and icky medical stuff. I’ve gotta’ tell you, this is all mental! The actual injection is literally, nothing. If I wasn’t actually looking at the injection, I’m sure I’d have no idea it was even happening. So, a quick injection after my weigh-in and I’m all set to go!

Because of the anticipation of this new challenge, my morning was tolerable.

No breakfast, but around 10:30 am, I started to feel a little hungry. I had ½ of my apple to tide me over until lunch. Lunch arrived and I had 3oz. of shrimp along with my other apple half and ½ of my cucumber allotment. Oh yes, and don’t forget my one Grissini breadstick! I will say that these are delicious! The unfortunate thing about them is that they’re so delicious, I could eat about ten of em’.

Late afternoon and into the evening I began getting hungry…again. I grabbed the remaining ½ of my cucumbers and downed a big glass of mineral water. The important thing to know about mineral water is that by itself it’s…gross! However, add a few drops of flavored Stevia and it’s pretty good! The carbonation tricked my stomach into thinking it was full. Flavored mineral water is my new best friend.

The one thing that is a little annoying is the water intake. Basically, you divide your weight in half and drink that amount of water in ounces per day. Sheesh! I feel like I’m swishing around all day besides the fact that I’m going to the bathroom constantly!!

But, I’m on my way and the first day is done. I’m fighting through some hunger, but I keep reminding myself of the goal. Hopefully, this will work and I’ll see some real results in the morning.

- Gina

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HCG Diet Day 2: Please Make the Eating Stop!

Join Gina, a new Derma Health Institute client, all this month on her journey through the HCG Ultimate Fat Burning Diet. Learn about her exeriences in her detailed journal on the ups and downs of this extraordinary diet.

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Please, make the eating stop!

I fell out of bed this morning and realized that the eating binge I had shamelessly participated in the day before was in fact, not a dream. I began to recall all of the things I had put into my body and began making a face that surely would have scared small children. I was sick of eating. I never thought that would happen in a million years, but the moment actually arrived when I looked down the barrel of this enviable breakfast time and shuttered. One more full day of eating. A whole 24 hours of force feeding myself to the point of exhaustion. Really? Is this really going to work? Well, it better, because at this point, I’m on my way to gaining 5 more pounds.

Lovely.

I continued to push through the day. A bagel with cream cheese that morning with some more pancakes… extra syrup. Cheese and crackers, chips and some hummus with pita bread would top off my mid morning snack. Ugh! Make it stop! I have to admit, at this point, I simply couldn’t do it anymore. I really thought I’d be sick. So I decided to end this madness for a few hours and wait until late afternoon to even think about food. 4 o’clock hit and I realized it had been a whole 4 hours since I stuffed my face. So here goes: I put a movie in and decided to lay on the couch with my Thanksgiving left-overs. Some turkey and stuffing should do it.

Around 6pm, my husband took me out to our usual haunt for dinner. Let’s see, I’m starving right?? I ordered a coke (refills on this of course) with a large plate of potato skins – loaded. I thought…go out big right? I couldn’t finish the plate. I tried, believe me I did, but to no avail. Once again, with my top button on my jeans bursting, we left the restaurant.

I collapsed onto the couch and thought, “just leave me here to die!” But after a few hours, I was back at it again. Something sweet perhaps. Some chocolate ice cream? Gee…yum. The evening went on and the hour was approaching midnight. One last hurrah was definitely in order. My husband and I proceeded to the nearest McDonalds drive-thru. A cheeseburger meal and a coke should do the trick. Why not?? My sanity was already on it’s way out, I might as well give it the final push. Our neighborhood McDonald’s closes at midnight. Great! We got in just under the wire! To my exhausted delight, we were informed that because we were the last customers, we could have the rest of the french fries the workers had made. Sure! Why not? As we paid for the food, we were handed a huge bag. In it? You guessed it! 6 large fries! You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ll tell you what, this diet better work.

That night, I could barely move. If I had to shift at all during the night, I seriously thought something might pop. But, tomorrow would be another day. A day of conscious ‘under’eating. A day of counting calories and weigh-ins and details. Thank God that day was approaching. I don’t think I could do this for one more second.

I was told that if I loaded up properly that I shouldn’t experience any hunger pangs for my first day or two on the diet. Hope that's true!!

- Gina

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HCG Diet Day 1: HCG Loading Days…Hooray!!

Join Gina, a new Derma Health Institute client, all this month on her journey through the HCG Ultimate Fat Burning Diet. Learn about her exeriences in her detailed journal on the ups and downs of this extraordinary diet.

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What a great plan! On the HCG diet, you spend the first two days “loading up” on all of the foods you love but always feel so guilty eating. Your body stores this fat and basically ‘feeds’ on it during your low calorie diet. I’ve got to admit, when I heard I could spend 2 whole days loading up on all of my favorite foods, I got all tingly inside! Being able to throw all caution to the wind, ignore all labels and completely indulge in as many carbs as I could handle, brought the biggest smile to my face! Let’s see, what are some good loading days?... Thanksgiving, of course! The one day of the year where it’s not only acceptable to gorge, but expected of the most serious of holiday-ers. And the second day? Left-overs!! What could be better?

I started out the day with a big breakfast. A nice fluffy omelet with cheese, veggies and ham, a side of toast and then, when my daughter decided to make some pancakes, I thought “why not?” As the day pressed on, we ventured into the real holiday food: I began stuffing myself like never before. First, the appetizer table. Cheese and crackers, deviled eggs, those yummy little mushroom caps and don’t forget the spinach artichoke dip with bread and chips. Oh, that this day would never end!

Once dinner came around, I must admit I was feeling a little fatigued. But I pressed forward, drowning myself in turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing and dinner rolls – hooray! At this point I was feeling as though I would literally roll right out of the place, when I forced another smaller helping down. It’s Thanksgiving…you’ve gotta have seconds – it’s the rule!
It was at this point, in the middle of my second helping, I realized there is such a thing as ‘over-eating’.

As the day went on, dishes were being cleared and the coffee was being made which only means one thing…desert. Okay, I can do this, I can do this. The endless buffet of pies, cookies and cakes made their entrance. I took a deep breath, unbuttoned my jeans and dug in. A piece of pie, a couple of cookies… and then… I had to stop. I just couldn’t do it anymore.

But, I successfully stuffed myself until there was no more room to be filled. I think I could take a couple of hours off and just rest. After all, I had earned it! Later that night, I broke out the left-overs. Another moment of pure eating and then I’d lay my head to rest. It’s been a busy day. Calories, carbohydrates and sugar – so much to eat and only one day left to eat it! I crawled into bed that night…slowly. The ‘beached whale’ metaphor had successfully made it to my bedroom. I would wear this label proudly, but I have to tell you, my excitement for this whole ‘loading day’ concept was fading -- and fast.

That once, tingly feeling I had was positively being replaced with one that is best described as a nauseous cringe. The thought of putting one more piece of food in my mouth… Lord, help me.

- Gina

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Begining the HCG Ultimate Fat Burning Diet

Join Gina, a new Derma Health Institute client, all this month on her journey through the HCG Ultimate Fat Burning Diet. Learn about her exeriences in her detailed journal on the ups and downs of this extraordinary diet.

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I’m never going to be this weight again.

About a month ago, I took out my winter clothes. After pulling, stretching and squeezing into my jeans, I realized that between the summer bbq’s, the over-the-sink eating and midnight snacks, I had put on about fifteen pounds just in the summer months alone. No wonder I never wanted to put on my bathing suit in public.

I began buying oversized shirts, wearing a lot of sweatpants and putting on anything that was elastic. I found myself going into my husbands’ closet for t-shirts. Usually when I would do this, I was just trying to bum-out at night and be comfy, but now, I actually needed the extra room. My stomach had ballooned out so much that I couldn’t button my jeans if you had offered me a million dollars.

After showering that morning, I took a good look at myself in the mirror. A real good look. You see, I had gotten into a system with myself, ignoring my weight gain. I’d suck in my gut in public, I’d wear black pants that were loose and flowing, I’d concentrate more on my hair and makeup in hopes of distracting the people around me. Anything I could do to convince myself that I wasn’t gaining a pound. As I finished getting ready for my day, I realized that I had begun to softly cry.

Enough.

I’ve never been thin and have always had to carefully watch my weight. Sweets were never the real enemy with me, but carbs and starches became absolute death when trying to reach any weight loss goal. A big bowl of cereal at night, a second helping of potatoes, and we can’t forget the chips and crackers! I stayed away from scales and pretended to gauge myself based on the fit of my clothes. Now, I was the heaviest I’d ever been. That day, I made a commitment to myself that I would never be this weight again.

The days that followed, I realized that I would have to do something immediately. I couldn’t afford liposuction and wasn’t really sure I wanted to go through that type of invasive surgery anyway. I had heard of the HCG diet but was a bit nervous about putting myself on such a low calorie intake. I worried about energy levels, hunger pangs, headaches, and of course, missing my beloved pasta and potatoes (okay, maybe that was my biggest worry). Even though I was nervous about beginning such a stringent diet, I knew that I was at the end of my rope and was determined to do whatever it took to feel good about myself again.

You see, many times the people around us who love us, don’t really see the weight that we ourselves obsess about. The one or two pounds here and there don’t matter to them. My husband has become a saint in this area. I know, beyond any doubt, that he genuinely loves me just the way I am. My kids are the same way. None of them see any reason for me to go on this diet. But I do. And I’m the one who has to love myself first. If dropping 15-20 pounds is going to make me feel good about myself, than so be it.

I’ve realized that a lot of our self-esteem is birthed from our past. I come from a family who loves me, I have friends that are true to me and a marriage that beats them all. However, in the midst of all of this, I realized, growing up, that I was always the one in my circle that was carrying the most weight. I tried to stay physically active and never binged in my eating. I’m not obese. I don’t have an eating disorder and there’s nothing wrong with my thyroid. Friends and family look at me strangely when I express any concern about my weight. “You’re not over-weight!” or “You look good, don’t worry about it!” or how about, “Oh, please, you’re fine!” and my personal favorite, “We love you just the way you are!" I do appreciate their encouragement and sincerely love the fact that they love me. But if only they could see what I’m really hiding underneath this over-sized sweatshirt!

Now thirty-five years old, my weight has settled. I’m carrying around a constant bulge in my waist that conveniently falls over into two or three rolls, and my metabolism feels like it’s gone into permanent hibernation. I exercise about 3 times a week and don’t really see any significant result. I’ve had enough.

After attending the free Derma Health Institute seminar today, I have decided to go ahead with the HCG diet. From what I’ve been reading, this 27 day diet has the results I’m looking for -- and fast. Although I will be saying farewell to my potatoes, my guacamole, my fast food and my good friend spaghetti, I know I’ll be able to do this. I’ll be journaling my experience throughout this next month. I’ll let you know how I’m doing and what I’m feeling. I’ll keep you up to date on the days I feel good and the days where I think I might have to kill someone. I’ve had enough and it’s time to get things started.

You know, I keep looking at myself in the mirror as I get out of the shower each day and I can see what I used to be. It’s there, somewhere underneath the years of complacency and lack of will. It’s there somewhere. I know I can be a healthier weight again. I know that I can feel good about myself again. And hopefully, at the end of all of this… I’ll go shopping!

- Gina

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