Stuffed Peppers | HCG Guru

I have been waiting to do this recipe all week and tonight I COOK!  Lol.  I am up .6 this morning and I am sure it was because I had an extra 3 oz of mystery beef yesterday.  I thought because I was walking so much I would be ok.  OOPS!  I was wrong.  I also don't think I had enough water which I am finding makes a HUGE difference in lose for the morning.

Bison Stuffed Peppers (Makes 4 servings)
½ medium yellow onion
chopped 1 large or 2 small zucchini
seeded and chopped 4 bell peppers
15 oz lean ground beef, turkey, venison, or bison (Be sure to rinse your meat with hot water after browning.)
5 large button mushrooms (100g) (If you like...)
2 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
1- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes - drain  (Or a large Tomato.)
4 grissini breadsticks
2 tablespoons worstershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut top ¼ of the peppers. (save for another use like salad) Trim bottom so it will sit flat. Clean out inside of pepper. Boil in stock pot of water for 10 minutes to soften. Remove and set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Sautee onion, mushrooms, zucchini, and garlic in a pan till soft. (I use water to sauté, fat free chicken stock will also work.) Add in salt to taste, oregano, basil, and tomatoes. Simmer till hot. Puree half in a blender, food processor, or immersion blender. Cook ground meat with pepper till browned. Drain and rinse under hot water to remove any extra fats. Rinse out pan, too. Add meat to veggie mix and add in worstershire sauce. Salt to taste and simmer for a few minutes. Add in crackers and mix well. Separate into 4 sections and put one section each into each pepper. A spring loaded ice cream scoop works well. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook another 5-10 minutes. Serve with a yummy salad! I made this recipe with bison, and it was 297 calories per serving.

HCG Support Forum

I love this diet; I want to make sure everyone I recommend the diet to loves it as much as me.  I want to share this support forum to everyone that views this blog. 
http://hcgdietinfo.com/hcgdietforums/forum.php   This forum shows that there are many more people out there like me that love the diet and are loving the results.  

Dr. OZ  recently did a segment on the diet.  There is even speculation that Dr. Oz's wife lose weight thanks to the HCG diet. I feel like he missed a lot of important information that is covered in this forum.  It is so fun to see everyone's tickers and weight lose.  Some people have lost over a hundred pounds!

Lunch on Protocol

Lunch was exactly on protocol.  I showed no weight lose this morning, Tom showed a one pound lose.  This is 100g Lean Steak, 100g Spinach, 100g Strawberries, and one Mebla Toast.  Lots of water and a cup of coffee.
I can't wait to cook dinner - I am making stuffed peppers.  Yummy!  I will post the recipe later.

Tom said that his goal is to be 240 at our next weight in on Monday.  That is 5 pounds in 4 days.  I would like to be 157.  Cross your fingers.

The Diet

Here is a simple run down of the diet I found online.  The diet that we are doing allows for more and different foods.  You can see the list of our approved food below.  Our diet also allows for "Free" veggies which the original does not.  Although I have been trying to adhere to this list more so I can maximize the weight loss.  I have also been skipping my apple/ fruit.  But we are going to get grapefruits tomorrow and I will try that.

HCG Diet Phase 2 Eating Plan

Breakfast: Tea or coffee in any quantity without sugar. One tablespoonful of milk per day. Saccharin or Stevia may be used as sweeteners.

Lunch: 3.5 oz (100g) weighed raw of veal, beef, chicken breast without bone, fresh white fish, lobster, crab, or shrimp with all visible fat removed. No additional fat or sprays can be used to boil or grill food. 

Salmon, eel, tuna, herring, dried or pickled fish are not allowed.

Vegetable: One choice from Asparagus, onions, tomatoes, spinach, celery, cucumbers, cabbage, green salad, chard, chicory, beet-greens, fennel, or red radishes.

Fruit: One choice of an apple, orange, handful of strawberries or 1/2 of a grapefruit.

Breads: One bread stick (grissino) or one Melba toast (20 calorie variety).

Condiments and spices: Salt, pepper, chili powder, mustard powder, garlic, sweet basil, parsley, thyme, majoram and other spices may be used for seasoning. Vinegar and the juice of one lemon daily are allowed. No oils, dressings or commercial spice mixes (contain cornstarch and sugar).

No more than four items listed for lunch or dinner may be eaten at one meal.

Drinks: 2 liters minimum per day. Coffee, tea, water or mineral water in any quantity.
Dinner: Same choices as lunch, but vary your choices to create variety.
Snacks: Fruit or bread stick may be eaten as a snack instead of as part of the meal

Approved Foods

Here is a list of the approved foods for my HCG diet.

Lean Protein - 3.5 to 4 oz Lunch and Dinner

Skinless White Meat Chicken

Skinless White Meat Turkey

Cornish Game Hen

Ground Sirloin

Filet Mingon

Sirloin Strip Steak

Bison ( I <3 Bison Lettuce Burgers!)

Pork Loin

Tilapia

Orange and White Rought

Walleye

Swordfish

Shrimp

Mahi Mahi

Scallops

Lean Lunch meat of any kind

I have the butcher package the meat in 4oz servings.  Most frozen Chicken/fish comes in 4 oz servings.

Veggies  -  3.5 to 4 oz per meal

Any veggies other then corn and potatoes.  Some people might not do well on peas.  Carrots only 3 oz.

Free Veggies

Lettuce

Cabbage

Celery 

Cucumber 

Tomato

Red Onion

Any peppers 

Fruit
No pineapple, grapes, and bananas.  Very the fruit, to many apples can make people stall.

Bread
Melba Toast
Grissini Bread Stck
1/2 of a 'Flat Out -- This is the name brand

No Dairy!   
 
I have found the drops that we are taking online here --  http://www.vitacost.com/Professional-Health-Products-Weight-Off-Plus-HCG/?csrc=GPF-649818031518&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=649818031518#IngredientFacts

Cheating.

Well the inevitable happened last night.  Tom and I both cheated.  I went to play poker, my favorite pass time.  I had a salad and lots of water.  I had two drinks (Vodka and a Bud Select (I think it had 64 calories?)).  When I return home Tom told me he had cheated and he had 2 pieces of peanut butter toast.  Lol  He loves bread.  Anyways I send him to..... White Castle!  I love White Castle.  By far my favorite fast food place.  I had a fish sandwich and a cheeseburger.  Yum!  Cheese!

Anyways, Tom just steps on the scale and was sad to note he had gained one pound.  I'm scared to step on, because I know I will be up.  Here goes nothing --- 162.2  HA! Down another pound.  Funny cause I was telling Tom last night that I was going to be so mad if he still lost weight and I gained.  I guess the opposite is true. Well we'll see what tomorrow brings, because I know that sometimes it can take 2 days to hit. 

Weight-Loss Controversy: HCG Diet, Pt 1.

Imagine losing a pound a day and never feeling hungry. Those that have had success with it believe it’s the long-awaited miracle cure for weight...

HCG on DR. OZ

 http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/weight-loss-controversy-hcg-diet-pt-1


Placebo?! Lol you have got to kidding me! How is it that I am not hungry throughout the day with only 500 calories. What about my hubby who is a 6'1 160 while starting. We were working out right before starting and he has a lot of muscle. I know he was eating over 2500 calories a day and he never complained of being hungry once. I guessing there are a lot of doctors out there that don't want to say that Homeopathic work, cause they would lose money. I also used homeopathic to put me into labor with my 2nd.

Tricks for Beating Sweet and Salty Cravings.

Tricks I have found for beating the sweet and salty creavings without cheating.

- Sugar Free Jello (Watch the calories and only with meals)
- Flavored Water
- Flavored Tea
- Sugar Free Gum
- Sugar Free Popsicles
- 3 Celery sticks with Salt
- Diet Soda is ok but only like one a day, like I said earlier it can make you retain water weight. For every soda I have I add an extra 8 oz of water.
- Stevia brand sweetener.

Everything much be with 0 calories!

ChiroHCG

Here is a link to the actual HCG diet that we are using.  We go to the local Chiropractors office around the corner.  He has had over 500 clients do the program since he started carrying it just 6 months ago.    Here is a link to the place we go, http://www.columbiahcgweightloss.com/index.html

Here is the main website for the ChiroHCG diet. http://www.chirohcg.com/

There are Many MANY different variations to the original Pounds and Inches I think that it is important to find one that you can stick too and one that fit your life, and your goals.

Truly FREE Foods

I thought I would compose a list of Truly FREE Foods that will work on this diet.  These still have to be eaten during your lunch or dinner for maximum weight loss.  But I still had success in the beginning munching on these at my late night cravings.

Miracle Noodles - You can find these close to the organic section in the grocery store.  We had to ask, but luckily he know just what we were talking about.  They com in a bag with a liquid substance mixed with them.  Basically you drain the fluid and cook for about a minute like you would roman noodles.  They are fantastic for your carb cravings!  They are 100% FREE, there is nothing in them at all. 

Weldon Farm is the brand name, and they make no fat, no carbs, no calorie dressings and Mayo.  Yummy for adding to chicken breast to liven them up!

Fake butter, now you have to be careful here because part of the reason for this diet is to get rid of the 'taste' for fat.  Never the less, there is a 0 calorie "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter", and a 0 calorie Parkey.  Again I would only use these sparingly.

Stevia brand is the sweetener that we use.  Taste just the same to me.  You can find this also at the Organic store or area at the local store.

If there are anymore that you know of please leave a comment!  Thanks!

Maximizing Weight Loss

Tom is losing weight like crazy!  He is down another pound and a half, I jealous, I wish I was losing weight as rapidly.  I only lost a half pound. (Still great if you consider I'm still losing a least a half pound a day!) I know that men lose weight faster because they have more muscle which burns the fat off faster.  Reading online I see that I should have waited to start the diet until after I had finished my 'monthly friend.'  Womp Womp! It has to be all the water weight that is sticking around.....  :]

When we were at the Doc office yesterday he included a sheet with tips to Maximize Weight Loss, these tips will also work if you have hit a ' Plateaus'.  These include:

- Drink at least 80-100 ounces of water per day
- Trick - Eliminate the bread or fruit component from your meals and increase protein slightly for a few days.
- Make sure you are not having more then one apple a day
- Try this - Eat only 6 -6.5 oz of meat with your water only at lunch and dinner with nothing else for 2 days
- Double check (I triple check!) the foods and make sure you are not accidentally cheating! -- I had this happen just this week with Bouillon cubes that I was cooking with and making my Miracle Noodles in. 
- If you think you are retaining water, eat more water based veggies.  They are a natural diuretic effect.

Vodka and HCG

Tom just finished his final and after a long week without drink he wanted a drink.  Of course me being the cautious one I wanted to look and see if it was okey first.   What I found is that Vodka is the best alcohol to have on the diet and that diet soda will make you retain water, and blow up like balloon. 

Because Tom is losing more then me I am only going to have 2 shots, and Tom is going to have 3.  Here is a delishious mixed drink that I found. I am going to call it the Orange Skinny.

My recipe calls for strawberries but you can substitute orange if you prefer. You could even combine the two for an extra summery cocktail. Just use half an orange, 3 muddled strawberries, and continue recipe.

4 large Strawberries
1 Orange (optional)
1/2 lemon (optional)
1 oz high quality vodka
shaker with strainer
fork (for muddling in shaker)
handful of ice
4 packets of truvia
2 1/2 tablespoons water (rough estimate)
Mint sprig for garnish
Chilled martini glass
Muddle about four strawberries OR squeeze the juice of one orange (strawberries are recommended), into a shaker that has a strainer. Add ice, vodka (between one and two shots, I prefer to use one per serving) and as much simple syrup (see recipe below) as you need to satisfy your fruity cocktail sweet tooth. If you want something tart, add a squeeze of lemon to the strawberry mixture. Shake the cocktail and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with mint sprig and enjoy.
(I didn't do this bottom part, but maybe you will?)
HCG friendly simple syrup:
Mix water with Truvia and heat on the stove on low. When mixture begins to bubble, remove it from heat. This is your simple syrup mixture. Add a little at a time to the cocktail because Truvia is sweeter than sugar.
Please enjoy this recipe!

Cycling

I found this online and had to share it.  Sounds very interesting for someone that has a lot of weight to lose.  It does state that you should not try cycling unless you have completed a full cycle, including all the maintenance days.

Traditional P2 & P3

The length of a traditional P2 is a minimum of 23 days also known as a short round. Days 1 and 2 are loading days followed by days 3 through 23 of VLCD (very low calorie diet) during which time you are taking hcg. After this point you stop the hcg, but continue with the VLCD for 72 hours if taking Rx hcg, or 48 hours if taking homeopathic hcg, before you start the P3 break.

The length of a traditional P3 is 21 days. During this time, you may eat anything you wish except sugar and starches. You will be stabilizing during this phase. At any point you go over 2 pounds of your LIW (or LDW), you must do a steak day the next day to drop your weight back down within the 2 pound range.

Non-Traditional P2 & P3

Cycling can be modified to fit what works for you. For example, a 2 week /1 week round looks like this:

• 2 weeks of P2: day 1 = first injection and load day followed by 13 days of VLCD
• Continue VLCD for 72 hours with no injections - days 15-18
• 4 days of P3 - days 19-21
• Cycle back to P2

While cycling, I typically load by eating P3 foods (aka a Mini-Load) and don‘t restrict the amounts; however, I don‘t do a traditional load day wherein I eat any and all foods to capacity and then some. I only load one day at the most. Some people do the traditional 2 load days and eat everything they wish, but realize if you do this, you will have to use extra days of your P2 to lose the load weight.

The key is to pay attention to your body to know what works for you. One thing you must know is this: cycling is not a way to lose more weight in a shorter amount of time. Your losses will not be greater, so if that is your objective for trying cycling, you will be disappointed. Keep in mind when doing shorter rounds, any cheat will effect the result of your round so staying on protocol is imperative because there are not extra days to recover from the cheat. Of course, you can always extend the round if you wish, but then you're likely doing a full P2.

It is recommended that before cycling, a dieter should do a complete round (P2, P3 & P4) before cycling (see Pounds and Inches for pertinent data--at the very least, you should do a full 23 days the first time). Also the last round should be a complete round as well. There are those who have been successful cycling without ever doing a P4 until their last round--this is a decision you will have to make after weighing the facts.

Although similar, cycling is not the same as a “planned interruption” as described in Pounds and Inches. A planned interruption still assumes the dieter will continue to complete a full round including P4.

A final word… cycling is not protocol and it does not work for everyone. You will read arguments both for and against cycling--at this time, there is no definitive information to know the long-term results. Again, it is a personal choice and doing your due diligence is strongly suggested.

First Check In

Today we had our first weight in at the Doctors office.  Tom is down 10 pounds in one week, I only showed a 5 pound difference even though I have really lost almost 8 already.  This is first week!  Tom has lost 5 inches total and I have 4 1/2 total.  :] 

We had our first 'fast food' meal while being on the diet.  We had Arby's - Both ordered a Medium Roast Beef with no bun, this is 3 oz - then we shared the roast beef from a Junior which is 1.5.  It was so good!  

Here is a recipe that I used for dinner.  It was so good it didn't even feel like diet food.  Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken or Beef
You can cook several pounds of chicken or beef for convenience

2 pounds chicken/beef 
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped (I used a red one since they are 'free)
4 stocks of celery
garlic powder, onion powder, basial, paprika, rosemary, parsley, salt and pepper to taste.  (About a teaspoon to a table spoon each)
Enough water to cover everything in the crockpot.


This makes 8 servings - the easiest thing to do is divide them up into ziplock bags then you have a quick meal or an easy lunch at the office.  You can also save back the remainder of the broth for other meals that you do.

Sharing the Diet

I have been getting a lot of questions about Tom and I's new diet.  I thought that the best way to share our story was through a blog.  I have never done a blog before so forgive me if I am going about this wrong.

Let's start with the diet -  The diet is the HCG diet (Dr. Simeons' diet - here is a link to all the info on the actual HCG - http://www.hcgdiet.com/abouthcg.html), we are doing the diet through our chiropractor office but I found the same drops that we are using on eBay for around $40 bucks.

Tom weight starting was 255.5 and mine was 170.4.  We are now on day 8.  The first two days are 'load days' so I don't really count them on the weight lose days.  We are on day 6 on the very low calorie diet. ( I will abbreviate this VLCD#6)  Tom is now at 247.6 and I am at 164.4

We are no longer hungry throughout the day and my headaches have gone away, they lasted about the first 5 days.  Tom was complaining of muscle pains today and is going to start potassium tomorrow.