Frequently Asked Questions while on the hCG Protocol

Why can’t I eat foods with sugar and starches?  Sugar stimulates insulin and insulin turns sugar into fat.  You will add more fats for your body to burn which will delay reaching your goals.  Starches work as a sponge causing tremendous weight gain.  Stay away from starches.

Can water be substituted for other drinks?  Make yourself an iced coffee with Stevia.  It’s not quite like Starbucks, but it adds variety.  You may make a smoothie.  Take your handful of strawberries and add water, ice, and Stevia to your blender.  This is not cheating!  Another option is to use your daily lemon allowance to make “lemonade”.  Simply add Stevia to taste.

What are some fast snack ideas for between meals?  Slice a tomato or cucumber and add salt and pepper.  You can broil a tomato or onion in the oven with some spices.  These are great ideas for in-between meals.  If you are constantly on the go, try slicing up an apple or celery sticks to carry with you.  Eating a slice or two every few hours will keep your metabolism going and will keep you full throughout your day.

Can I eat salad during hCG?  It is ok to eat an occasional salad.  You may add small amounts of your favorite approved veggies.  The salad should only be topped with apple cider vinegar, salsa, or a dressing from the provided recipes.  No other salad dressing is allowed.  You must add the calories for each ingredient added.  If you eat a salad for lunch, only eat 1 vegetable for dinner.

What products can I use on my skin?  For those of you who have read Dr. Simeon’s protocol or Kevin Tredeau’s book, you are familiar with the section on hygiene products.  Here at HCG Medical we do not focus on this particular portion of the protocol.  Makeup, lotions, etc. may clog your pores and could possibly cause you to lose less weight, but it’s a matter of a couple ounces difference.  For those of you who feel it is necessary to change the products you use, we recommend all natural, oil free lotions and mineral based make-up for the female patients.

What types of exercise are allowed on phase 2 of the diet?  It is best to limit your exercise to light cardio or yoga/palates style workouts.  You do not want to burn too many calories in one single activity.  Your body is under a lot of physiological stress so you do not want to break down the muscle in a strenuous workout because you are not able to re-build the muscle.  Exercise is important to your mental stability, so while on the protocol you will want to limit the strengths to yoga, palates, or brisk walking.

 What happens if I cheat?  Under the influence of hCG the blood is saturated with food and the blood volume has adapted itself so that it can only just accommodate the 500 calories in which come in from the intestinal tract in the course of the day.  Any additional income, however little this may be, cannot be accommodated and the blood is therefore forced to increase its volume sufficiently to hold the extra food, which it can only do in a very diluted form.  Thus it is not the weight of what is eaten that plays the determining role but rather the amount of water which the body must retain to accommodate this food.   Any excess food outside of the 500 calorie intake will result in a plateau that will only break in time, typically 4 to 5 days

Why can’t I take a multivitamin or any other supplements?  Sooner or later most patients express a fear that they may be running out of vitamins or that the restricted diet may make them anemic. On this score the physician can confidently relieve their apprehension by explaining that every time they lose a pound of fatty tissue, which they do almost daily, only the actual fat is burned up; all the vitamins, the proteins, the blood, and the minerals which this tissue contains in abundance are fed back into the body. Actually, a low blood count not due to any serious disorder of the blood forming tissues improves during treatment, and we have never encountered a significant protein deficiency nor signs of a lack of vitamins in patients who are dieting regularly.

Very few supplements are approved outside the basic required: coral calcium, digestive enzyme, potassium, and vitamin E.  Most of the time it is not the actual supplement that interferes with the diet (for example Vitamin D, Multivitamins, Vitamin C, etc.) but the actual compounding of the supplements.  Not all supplements are created equally, some have hidden sugars or carbs used as binding agents or to help make the gel caps.  If you have a question on any supplements that you would like to take during your hCG please address them with your diet coach.

What food substitutions can I make on Phase 2?  There are no substitutions (excluding the diabetic or vegan substitutions).  If it is not on the approved food list, it is not allowed.  The diet used in conjunction with hCG must not exceed 500 calories per day, and the way these calories are made up is of utmost importance. There are a number of foods, particularly fruits and vegetables, which have the same or even lower caloric values than those listed as permissible, and yet we find that they interfere with the regular loss of weight under hCG, presumably owing to the nature of their composition. Pimiento peppers, okra, artichokes and pears are examples of this. When local conditions or the feeding habits of the population make changes necessary it must be borne in mind that the total daily intake must not exceed 500 calories if the best possible results are to be obtained, that the daily ration should contain 200 grams of fat-free protein and a very small amount of starch.