HCG Diet for the Man!

HCG Diet for men ... 4 years later!

2014-09-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

So, It's been 4 years since I first started this journey of weight loss. My weight went right back up to what it was 4 years ago just in the summer of 2013. I saw pics of myself and wondered how I could let that happen to myself again. I decided it was time for HCG. That has always been successful for me when I have remained disciplined on it. So In September of 2013 I restarted my journey to a skinnier me.

The mistake I made the last time was going back to eating unhealthy and being up to my old habits. Armed with a better understanding of the diet and what you can and can't do I have faith that this second time around will go more successfully. I ended the first round of HCG around the middle of October and got down to approximately 235. I did Phase 3 and Phase 4 successfully and began another round of Phase 2. That lasted approximately another 30 days and I managed to get down to 214. I slipped a bit and got up to around 222 where I again started a Phase 2 round. I got down to 201 pounds the third time around. This marked a very good moment for me since I had not gotten down to that weight for a very long time. About 12 years.

Early 2014 I was feeling very good about my weight and was much smarter about maintaining it. I managed to maintain for nearly 6 months. This brings us to September of 2014. I decided once again I needed to go on the diet and push my limits. I haven't been under 200 pounds for about 15 years and really desired to do this for myself. I have always wanted to be close to my scientific weight for normal range which is about 160 (I am 5'10). I would be happy getting to 170-175 and then just workout and really eat well after that. My goal is to get leaner but muscular.

After one week on the diet I have done wonderful. I started again on September 6th. After my load days I was 205. I am now at 194 and feeling really good. I am VERY close to getting into a size 34 jean. I am already in a size 34 short (weird I know) but the pants are still a little tight fitting. My 36 jeans are pretty loose so I know I'm close. I haven't been a 34 waist in who knows how long. I'm thinking junior year of high school maybe.

I had a very harsh wake up call seeing myself in those pics a year ago. I resolved to do something about it because I didn't know who that was in the pics. So I am proud to say that exactly one year later I am about 75 pounds lighter. I am motivated to see how far I can push myself. Wish me luck and we'll see where I end up. I will post again soon!

Round 2 Phase 2 - Day 14 - 213.6

2011-01-18T07:44:00.000-08:00

A decidedly different week than last. I know the first week of the HCG diet is great for losing the most weight and this sharp drop off is a pretty big slowdown but I don't feel like I am stalling much. I fully expected this. I have continued to cheat with drinking some diet coke and a handful of caramel corn here and there. For some reason I am just not as committed like I was the first round. I was like a trained soldier the first time. Completely and totally disciplined. I think that was my ultimate undoing to a point. I would have ignored the craving for diet coke and not given in.

This time I am finding that I am drinking much more diet coke than I ever would have. I think the HCG diet is so restrictive that it causes one to burn out on it. Literally the only payoff to this diet is the weight loss. The foods are good but in such small amounts without a lot of variation and variety. It is extremely hard at times. The simple pleasures that come from eating are put on hold somewhat.

Unlike the first round though, I do not have any fast food cravings. I am not craving pizza and Taco Bell like I did the first time. In fact I have not eaten Taco Bell since August of last year. Even after phase 4 when I could bring in starches, I did not have the desire for fast food. It just seemed like the short amount of happiness eating a big fat burger or burrito would ultimately make me feel worse. I definitely picked my battles though so even though I didn't eat at a McDonald's or a Burger King, I did order a platter of nachos from a local Mexican restaurant. Those are equally, if not, more unhealthy.

I am not craving-free unfortunately. This time around I am craving very weird and specific things like homemade white bread with a slathering of Nutella on it. I haven't eaten Nutella since I was a teenager. Weird huh? I am also craving real theater popcorn! So as a treat to myself, I bought a stove top popper and a container of authentic real theater butter topping. I say authentic because I did my research and this is the one they use at most theaters. There were two kinds with or without the trans fats. As unhealthy as I'm sure they both are, I opted for the one without the trans fats (even though the theater uses the other one because it's cheaper). Well anyways, I've noticed all this stuff has already been shipped so I will get it probably early next week. That will only be day 21 so I will have to eagerly wait for my diet to complete to indulge. How's THAT for torture?

Round 2 Phase 2 - Day 8 - 217.6

2011-01-12T12:56:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was only going to blog once a week or so. Here it is about a week later and I am showing my numbers. I have noticed compared to my first round that I have lost more (approx 3 pounds) during the first week this time around.

I am super excited with the huge weight loss that I get from HCG. It totally blows me away. I am not a good eater, at all, so this is good to make me lose the weight that I commonly gain from just eating poorly. That is not to say that I overeat. In fact it is the opposite. I eat very little but what I eat is terrible.

I need to tell myself that either I have to start eating smarter or I am going to be doing several rounds of HCG a year, I swear. However, since I have found HCG I will never be over weight again. If I get to the point that I need to correct my weight gain, I will lose it by going on this diet again.

So how was this for a rambling blog post? I just wanted to quickly say that round 2 is going very well so far. I must be honest that I have cheated a little more this go around. I have been drinking a little bit of diet soda, along with cheats of movie popcorn and tortilla chips to name a few. The result? Well, I AM 3 pounds lighter so far ;)

Round 2 Phase 2 - Day 1 - 233.4

2011-01-05T12:18:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I told you I'd be back. I have been on my own and cooking and eating without a plan. It's been tough as some of the cravings I used to have crept back in. However, fast food, and junk food had largely left.

Just before Christmas I was 225 which is a gain of about 5 pounds or so from when I finished the Phase 4 three weeks. So over approximately 2 months I slowly gained 5 pounds. Plus the few Christmas pounds. That is not too good, nor is it bad. I really should just eat healthy all the time but my biggest problem, and always will be, is carbs! I just love them tooooo much.

As for my second time around keeping a log, I am not going to do a daily log as that will just mirror too much of what I have already done and said. I think this time around I will post weekly and show how my progress is going that way. Then over the course of that week, I may have something more interesting to say.

I have already done my load days and so technically I am going to be starting my second journey at 233.4. It would be nice to have started exactly where I left off but I cheated some and rarely exercised and did not eat as healthy as I should have. This was completely my fault and not the fault of the diet. Perhaps my hypothalamus was reset but if you are going eat unhealthy, that is not going to help you.

So here I go trying to get to my very first goal of getting my weight down to where I was about 10 years ago. I went from nearly 270 to 220 in the course of 45 days. I hope now that I can go from 233.4 down to about 185 in the course of the next 45 days. I will very excited if I can do that. I am sincerely hoping for the exact same results as I had before as I am not going to do a single thing different. Wish me luck!! See you in about a week.

Phase 4 - Day 21 - 220.6

2010-10-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

I am officially done a full round of HCG! I will continue on with this phase 4 lifestyle that I am enjoying. The cravings for fast food and large pizzas are gone. I have worked too hard to gain back all the weight that I have worked so hard to lose. I will indulge every once in awhile but nothing so extreme as I used to.

I am looking forward to the holiday season but I am going to try really hard to keep my weight down to a manageable level. We'll see how well I do with that. I lost 2.6 pounds this morning when I got on the scale from my steak day. I will admit that I am not particularly happy that I am at the top end of my limit. So I am actually going to do another steak day today. I know if I eat normally, I will be over my limit tomorrow anyways. Hopefully after a second steak day I will be down to exactly where I was when I finished taking the drops.

Overall, I am completely satisfied with my diet and this experience. Over the course of 6 weeks after taking the drops, I have only gained a net weight of 1.8 pounds back. As this will be a short goodbye, since I will be back in January, I won't say much more but I will see you soon and good luck in all your diet endeavors!!

Phase 4 - Day 20 - 223.2

2010-10-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

Today is a major jump in weight so a steak day it is. Last time I did a steak day I cheated quite a bit eating a piece of hot bread when I shouldn't have etc. Yesterday, I ate quite a bit of bread but also at night I got hungry a lot and just kept picking at stuff.

I ate my first bowl of cereal last night for a snack and I probably shouldn't have done that. That is a lot of cereal that I ate. A large bowl of it. It was the first bowl that I've had since before I started this whole thing. I won't be doing that again. Knowing that I was just a little over my limit, I should have been more smart. That is one reason I think I was as high as I was this morning.

I went over on my luchbreak today to my local grocer and bought my steak. I got a one pound ribeye for about $7.50. I think that is worth it. I am excited to eat it tonight. I am going to be extra good tonight and not eat anything else so that means no bread! Hopefully, I will be rewarded first thing in the morning on the scale!

Phase 4 - Day 19 - 221

2010-10-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

I may be in a little trouble today since I ate more than I probably should have. Also, I am slightly over my limit but did not want to do a steak day. Instead, I'll probably have to do one tomorrow if I can't get back under my limit with just my normal diet.

I have been eating homemade bread but not so much that it should really affect me too much. I have not been very good drinking my water and also not been exercising. All these can play a role in slow weight gain.

I will just keep pushing forward and if I get too far off then just correct things with a steak day.

Phase 4 - Day 18 - 220.6

2010-10-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

Not a terribly big loss from the steak day, however, I think that is in part due to stealing a small piece of hot fresh home baked bread last night. That can really sit in the stomach so I am sure the loss could have been better. At this point, I am really just trying to see where my weight tends to shift with the added starch in my diet.

I have taken the advice and have brought that and sugar in slowly but after almost three weeks I am not sure how fast I can bring more in. I ate a full-sized Kit Kat bar today (in the spirit of Halloween) and we'll see what that does. I am still able to maintain my safe zone even though it requires a correction every so often. I fear that since I am close again to the top of my limit, I may have to do yet another steak day tomorrow. In the meantime, I am enjoying the home baked bread. In fact, I'm enjoying a slice even as we speak....or well, I type anyways. I most likely will have to do this steak day since I have been eating more bread then I probably should and since I have to slice my own it tends to be a little bit too thick. There is a slight possibility that that is done on purpose.

I just bit the inside of my lip just now so that's pretty awesome!

I only have a few more days of blog entries for an official round of HCG. I am going to take a blog break after the 21st day of phase 4 and have a happy holidays time of year. I am going to stay strict to my daily weigh-ins and correct things with a steak day but I am going to really enjoy some of that starch and sugar. I will be back again on January 1st for round 2....ding ding!

Phase 4 - Day 17 - 222.2

2010-10-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

Time for another steak day. I knew this was going to happen today. I ate way too much yesterday. It was just one of those days where my hunger was unstoppable so I knew it was coming. Not a big deal and nothing a tasty steak can't fix!

It was a whopping 45 degrees out today and some of my coworkers even said they got snow on their lawns. I lucked out and didn't get that but it's coming. It was so cold today that I didn't even want to go out for a walk so I didn't. That and I had way too much work to do so I skipped my lunch entirely.

Tonight I am also going to make some bread to have for tomorrow. I have been eating a lot of that too and it's possible that caught up to me too. It's nice to know a steak day can correct this. If I had to do a steak day every other day in order to eat my fresh, hot, homemade bread, I will!

Phase 4 - Day 16 - 220

2010-10-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

It was a relatively quiet day today. The weather was so bad and windy that I did nothing more outside then to go to the grocery store to get some things for my Mexican quiche that I haven't made for awhile.

I decided to mix things up a little and add jalapeno peppers and a red bell pepper to it. The last time I made it I also included the jalapenos but I did not have taco seasoning on hand to use. It's the taco seasoning that really adds the right kick to it. It really tasted bland the last time. No flavor at all to it.

Today I was a homebody and decided to do some work for a side project I have. That was a good idea since I couldn't really run or do anything much outdoors.

Phase 4 - Day 15 - 220.2

2010-10-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

I went and saw my kids today and the weather was just dreadful. We were suppose to go do a pumpkin walk which is really cool community themed pumpkin display where people will dress up and carve pumpkins to represent a scene from a movie or other popular culture theme. It rained so bad throughout the day that it got cancelled so we were unable to go this year.

I also brought them some of my now famous salsa. I say that because not only do they absolutely devour it but I have taken some to my office before and they all devoured it too. Today was no different, it got devoured again. It was fun to watch.

Phase 4 - Day 14 - 220.6

2010-10-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

Not going to be a long post today but I have still managed to keep under my weight limitation. I am eating normally today with an emphasis on paying attention to my protein levels. We'll see if that actually makes me get down a pound or so more into my safe zone. As it stands now I am close to having to do a steak day.

Phase 4 - Day 13 - 219.6

2010-10-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made another home made loaf of bread and this one turned out to be perfect! First of all I can't believe how simple it is to make and second the texture of the bread when it comes out of the oven is a true artisan style looking loaf. And above all, the taste of it is really good.

I ate normally today as I would any regular day and it's nice to know that somedays I can't gain much even though I hate the days that I get a major jump in weight like the other day. That must have just been becuase of the fact that I ate a large portion for dinner.

Phase 4 - Day 12 - 219.2

2010-10-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

I had to do a steak day today but I did it a little more unorthodox this time. I went out with a friend of mine for dinner and decided to go somewhere that had steak on the menu. I found a good little place that doesn't know how to cook a steak properly. I asked for medium to medium rare, but it arrived at my table still mooing. It was pretty bad. I know steaks won't harm you when they are done like that but I will still only able to eat half of it before I decided I needed to take it home and cook it more. I cut into right away and didn't notice how rare it was so it got the point I felt awkward about telling them to put it back on the grill.

It also came with vegatables and a really nice mashed potato side dish. I ate half of the potatoes and most of the vegatables. I took the rest home.

Phase 4 - Day 11 - 221.0

2010-10-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

Even though I am technically over my two pound limit by 0.2 pounds I am going to eat normally today. If I am just a little bit or more about this tomorrow I will do a steak day to get me back down.

I made homemade salsa again today and it turned out great. Anytime I mention that I am going to make some, word inevitably gets around and people start asking for some. Good thing I end up making an awful lot. So I don't mind sharing that at all.

I am not sure I even talked about it or not, because my brain is total mush today but yesterday I baked my own bread. It was so good that it was hard not to eat the whole thing with hot melted butter on it. I use a recipe that allows for it to cook inside an dutch oven. It comes out great. Mine was a little burnt though even though I did it exactly as the recipe calls for. So I am going to play with the cooking time at first and if I don't succeed this next go around then I will play with the oven temperatures. Even though the loaf was a little crispy, it still turned out amazingly.

Phase 4 - Day 10 - 220.8

2010-10-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

A huge unexpected jump today. I knew I was going to gain a little but this is crazy. I must have taken too many liberties with my eating habits and I didn't think I really did. The only thing I can think of is the amount of the meal I ate last night. It was a place called Wing Nutz and their potions are quite big. I ate all 6 large pieces of chicken but they were so delicious I couldn't stop. They come in a wide variety of sauces to choose from and they are just great. With the chicken comes a bunch of fries. Of course I ate all those too.

So maybe it was all of that, that made be have the big jump. It was a lot of food last night perhaps with the other two meals I had that day pushed me up that high even though I was good with those ones and those were not cheating type meals.

I am going to have to go to the grocery store because with my luck tomorrow is going to end up being a steak day for me. But that's ok. I am really liking the steak days because they get me back down in weight and they are also super delicious!

Phase 4 - Day 9 - 217.4

2010-10-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

The steak day yesterday was a success. I am down more than I thought I would be. This gives me the room to cheat a little since tonight I am going out with friends to a wing restaurant. This company is known for baking their wings instead of frying them so it is a much healthier choice!

I went for a nice long walk today since it is a gorgeous warm weather day. But not too warm since we are well into the Fall time of year.

I got the bug to do a little clothes shopping again. I bought some stuff a couple weeks ago to fit my new body but I need a little more. That just wasn't cutting it. So I bought a few more things and came home and tried them on. Everything except one sweater look and fit great. The other one I am not hot on at all. I wasn't entirely convinced of it in the store either but I thought I would get it home and make sure. It is going back!

I have been having diet coke now every day again and it seems to not be having too much of an effect on me thus far. With normal dieting and the odd steak day, I am able to control my weight still and keep it under my limit.

Phase 4 - Day 8 - 222.2

2010-10-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Gotta do a steak day today! I happen to have a nice fat juicy new york strip in the fridge that is calling my name so it will great to cook it up later and enjoy that for sure.

I managed to get out for a walk today and so that was great. The weather is getting so perfect out. This is indeed my time of year as far as weather goes. Not to mention that I just love the Fall season.

Tonight I am going to make some more homemade salsa since I can have the chips now. I think that will make it a little better since no effort has to go into buying a bag of tortilla chips. The salsa that I make makes 5 quarts so it is enough to last me for quite some time. I just freeze what I don't end up using. It freezes really well.

Phase 4 - Day 7 - 220

2010-10-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

I knew I was going to have a spike today! Last night I went to see a friend play indoor soccer and then afterwards we went out to this little whole in the wall diner. It was actually very good. I ate a chicken club sandwhich that had bacon, lettuce, and tomato plus a creamy mayo, swiss cheese all on a couple slices of sourdough bread. To make matters worse, it came with a plate of fries that were just too good to pass up so I downed those too.

I also didn't have a chance to get out and do some exercise today. I went out for my lunch break and actually went sunglasses shopping instead because my last pair broke. I found a couple pairs I liked but I hate the markup in the mall stores like sunglass hut. I grabbed the model number and ran. I looked up the model number and found Zappos online sold the exact same pair for half the price! Viva online shopping!

Phase 4 - Day 6 - 218.4

2010-10-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

I am glad to see that the scale is continually showing a decrease over the last couple of days. I am down in a much more comfortable level. It looks as though my weekend is filling up again with stuff to do so I could be in for some more trouble. I suppose we'll see. Even after last weekend I have managed with the steak day to keep things well maintained. So I am not too worried.

I have been having toast every morning and again there is not cause for concern since my body is not reflecting that change at all. I have slowly added in my starch and sugar and that is probably what is helping me maintain the most. I have had a couple of excesses but nothing major.

Phase 4 - Day 5 - 219.2

2010-10-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterdays steak day, although successful, was a little bit difficult. I was extremely hungry all day and it was pretty bad. I drank a ton of water in order to drown out the hunger pangs. But it turned out to be successful! I am back down close to the last weigh in I was when I finished phase 2. Just 0.4 pounds off. I am super excited that I have been able to keep my weight off and maintain it.

My office does Birthday treats and since mine was a few weeks ago they do all the montly birthdays at once so we are doing the September birthdays today. They asked me what ice cream flavor I liked. And even though the idea of ice cream does not excite me right now, I need to have some because it is just being nice.

So I had them order the burnt almond fudge! Yeah I know, but hey, if I am going to go out, I am going to go ALL OUT!

Phase 4 - Day 4 - 222.2

2010-10-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I am going to do a steak day today since I know my weekend antics got me into trouble. The scale does not lie. I took my steak out of the freezer this morning and so I am actually looking forward to cooking it up tonight. I found a great deal on steaks at my local grocer. They had thick New York cuts on sale and I bought a two-pack.

For dinner last night I had Mexican and possibly the flour tortillas and a bunch of other stuff they use is their food preparation made the jump this morning.

Phase 4 - Day 3 - 220.8

2010-10-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

I am at my limit today in terms of weighing in this morning. Hopefully the nachos I ate the day before yesterday and also sneaking in another order of them yesterday with a friend of mine isn't going to blow out of whack too badly. I'm sure this can't be good so I am really going to have to try and do better in terms of eating better and limited my starches and sugars. I can do that really easy during the week. It's the weekend when my friends want to do something that makes things difficult.

I am also going to be better about my runs this week so that I can get some kind of exercise in. I am also going to try and get a walk in during my lunch.

Phase 4 - Day 2 - 218.8

2010-10-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

I think this will be the lull before the storm. I ate a big plate of nachos and I fear that might have an effect over the next couple of days we'll have to see. I worked a lot today for some stuff for a client so I was not able to get away for a run. I hope that I can get one in tomorrow but if not then I will get one in on Monday when my week is back to a normal routine.

I did not do very good with my water today and that could have an effect too. If I get too close to my limit again or if I go over then I will do my steak day.

Phase 4 - Day 1 - 219.2

2010-10-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

So with only eating two pieces of toast and some blue corn tortilla chips yesterday as my only starch and sugar, I did not gain that much. I hope that as I keep eating this amount more or less that my body will be able to maintain this weight. As I keep going through this phase and adding in different recipes I'll be sure to pay close attention to what makes me gain and what makes me lose.

I also went for another run/walk yesterday. I faired even better this time by running a little more than I was walking so I'm sure that I will be able to condition myself slowly to eventually get to a great all around running regiment. The other day when I ran I forgot to stretch afterwards which is just as important I found out as it is to stretch beforehand. I did actually remember to do that! Yesterday I stretched after and today I feel great. My muscles were a little sore the first time but today they feel good.

Like I mentioned earlier, I went to my grocery stores organic section and picked up a bag of blue corn chips. I used these for my artichoke dip that I made the other night. It was hard to stop to eating them.

I am going out with friends tonight and I fear even though I am allowed to add more food choices into my diet I can still blow it. I'll just have to work harder to get it back down if I do.