The 500 calorie diet is explained on the day of the second injection to those patients who will be preparing their own food, and it is most important that the person who will actually cook is present – the wife, the mother or the cook, as the case may be. Here in Italy patients are given the following diet sheet.
Breakfast:
Tea or coffee in any quantity without sugar. Only one tablespoonful of milk allowed in 24 hours. Saccharin or Stevia may be used.
Lunch:
1. 100 grams of veal, beef, chicken breast, fresh white fish, lobster, crab, or shrimp. All visible fat must
be carefully removed before cooking, and the meat must be weighed raw. It must be boiled or grilled without additional fat. Salmon, eel, tuna, herring, dried or pickled fish are not allowed. The chicken breast must be removed from the bird.
2. One type of vegetable only to be chosen from the following: spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage.
3. One breadstick (grissino) or one Melba toast.
4. An apple or a handful of strawberries or one-half grapefruit.
Dinner:
The same four choices as lunch.
The juice of one lemon daily is allowed for all purposes.
Salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweet basil, parsley, thyme, marjoram, etc., may be used for
seasoning, but no oil, butter or dressing.
Tea, coffee, plain water, or mineral water are the only drinks allowed, but they may be taken in any quantity and at all times. In fact, the patient should drink about 2 liters of these fluids per day. Many patients are afraid to drink so much because they fear that this may make them retain more water. This is a wrong notion as the body is more inclined to store water when the intake falls below its normal requirements.
The fruit or the breadstick may be eaten between meals instead of with lunch or dinner, but not more than four items listed for lunch and dinner may be eaten at one meal.
No medicines or cosmetics other than lipstick, eyebrow pencil and powder may be used.
Diet Phases
| Days 1 & 2 | Start oral, sublingual hCG drops and begin high fat, high calorie diet. This is an essential step in resetting the body’s fat regulating system. |
| Days 3-20 (or 40) | Continue hCG drops that are now triggering the body to release stored fat as “food” for the body and supplement with the low calorie diet. The burned fat is providing a constant flow of fuel so you won’t feel hungry as pounds & inches melt away. |
| Days 21-23 (or 41-43) | Stop hCG drops. Continue hCG VLCD (500 calorie diet) for 3 days following the last day of HCG, this allows the body to cleanse itself of HCG wile still losing weight. |
| Maintenance Phase | The body’s fat regulation system is now adjusted. Slowly increase caloric intake, while stabilizing your new weight. |
Low Calorie Diet Breakdown ( see Recipes section for all the delicious food you can make )
| One Serving of Fruit ( 2 x’s a day ) Apple, 6-9 strawberries, an orange, OR ½ grapefruit |
| 100 grams of lean meat (2 x’s a day) (3.5 oz if weighed raw, 3.0 oz if cooked) veal, beef, chicken breast, turkey, white fish (tilapia, halibut, flounder, sole, wild Chilean sea bass), lobster, crab, or shrimp. All visible fat must be carefully removed before cooking. 3 egg whites & 1 egg with yolk can be substituted for a protein once or twice a week. |
| Vegetables (2 x’s a day) Spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, lettuce (any type), tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus and cabbage. |
| Drinks Water (1/2 to 1 gallon per day), Tea (any kind) or coffee in any quantity without sugar. Only 1 Tablespoon of milk allowed in a 24 hour period. Stevia may be used as a sweetener. Green tea is also great to help with energy and even helps to burn more fat. (see fruity cold green tea recipe!) |
| 2 Grissino breadsticks or 2 melba toasts |
| Seasonings, etc. The juice of one lemon is allowed for all purposes and recommended to alkalize the body. Sea Salt (include it in your diet everyday), pepper, vinegar, mustard, garlic, sweet basil, parsley, thyme, chives, cilantro, etc. may be used for seasoning. Salsa/ pico de gallo in moderation. NO oil, butter, sugar or dressing. |
Light Exercise
It is recommended that you do only light exercise. Walking, Yoga ,Pilates, lighter weight lifting (resistance) is great to keep up your strength. Stay away from high calorie burning exercises (ex. Running, aerobics). Over exercising will cause the body to go into starvation mode and hold on to the fat, fighting against the hCG.
Keep Track of Weight
It is important to weigh yourself and keep track of your success. You will want to weigh yourself when you first get up in the morning (the same clothing every time) after you have emptied your bladder.
Concluding a Course
When the three days of dieting after the last injection are over, the patients are told that they may now eat anything they please, except sugar and starch provided they faithfully observe one simple rule. This rule is that they must have their own portable bathroom-scale always at hand, particularly while traveling. They must without fail weight themselves every morning as they get out of bed, having first emptied their bladder. If they are in the habit of having breakfast in bed, they must weigh before breakfast.
It takes about 3 weeks before the weight reached at the end of the treatment becomes stable, i.e. does not show violent fluctuations after an occasional excess. During this period patients must realize that the so-called carbohydrates, that are sugar, rice, bread, potatoes, pastries etc, are by far the most dangerous. If no carbohydrates whatsoever are eaten, fats can be indulged in somewhat more liberally and even small quantities of alcohol, such as a glass of wine with meals, does no harm, but as soon as fats and starch are combined things are very liable to get out of hand. This has to be observed very carefully during the first 3 weeks after the treatment is ended otherwise disappointments are almost sure to occur.
