I want to get all caught up here so that we can start posting daily updates. Jane will be joining us within the next day or two once I’m all caught up on everything. (Possibly today she said!) She’ll bring a lot of interesting bits of information along with a totally different perspective on the HCG diet and why she’s doing it. So I’m looking forward to reading her posts!
So what I want to do is start back on Saturday… which is the first day that we began the HCG diet shots. Actually, let me go a few days before that and tell you my stats a few days prior, meeting with the Doctor.
Tarzan’s Stats Before the HCG Diet:
Weight on October 6, 2010: 242 pounds
Blood pressure: Can’t remember, but it’s way too high. Both numbers are bad. I admit, they have been bad for a good year or more. Border line having to get on blood pressure medication. And that’s something that I DO NOT want to do. Happy to learn that with the HCG diet my blood pressure will get down to normal – if I stick to it to a T.
How I felt: Low energy, uncomfortable with myself and all clothes were tight.
About our day: At our first 3+ hour consultation, they took “before HCG diet pictures“. I kept my shirt on because, well, I’m embarrassed. My entire life I’ve been the guy who keeps his shirt on when I go to the beach or swimming. Sure, some of it has to do with the sun since I burn easy, but the other side is that I’ve never been comfortable with myself and have been self conscious about my weight since elementary school.
In addition to purchasing the HCG shots, we also loaded up on HCG diet supplements. A TON of them. Now the supplements are not needed during the HCG diet, but the doctor recommended them and we wanted them. Jane and I both knew that our daily multi-vitamin wasn’t the healthiest choice, but at least we were doing something. Now we have high-quality supplements we take daily. I’ll take a picture of what we take within the next day or so, so you can see exactly what we’re taking and I’ll explain what each pill is for. (Update: Just wrote a new post with info and picts!)
Jane and I decided to begin the HCG diet on Saturday because we were going to a fair that day. As I mentioned in the previous post about the HCG diet, you LOAD UP on food for the first two days that you’re on the diet.
I also want to mention that Jane went out on Thursday or Friday to go pick up our back of pre-packaged shots. Two bags of 40 needled filled with HCG. One bag for Jane, the other bag for me. We have to keep them in the refrigerator. So that brings me to…
Saturday, Day 1 of the HCG Diet
We were told the more we eat, including fatty not-good-for-you foods, the easier the first few days of the HCG diet are. We were told to keep eating and stay full. Eat whatever we wanted. And oh boy, did I ever. Here’s what I ate on Saturday:
The morning began with Jane and I giving each other our first HCG diet shots. We were told to wipe a spot on our lower belly with alcohol, let it dry, and then pinch the fat on your belly and inject the shot. I did it first and didn’t feel a thing. Seriously, not a thing. The needle is so small anyway. Jane is not a fan of shots AT ALL, so I gave Jane her shot. We forgot to let the alcohol dry on her and WHOOO OWWW! She felt the sting. Oops. Sorry Jane!
My day began with a super large bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. I’d say at least 1/4 of the box or more, with whole milk. Jane brought home a breakfast sandwich from somewhere, maybe Starbucks, and I ate that while driving to the fair.
When we arrived at the fair, that’s what the eating began for an extended lunch which included: 4 large beers, a large fried dough with extra powdered sugar, a large sugar-coated pretzel, peach cobbler with ice cream, and I’m sure that there was more food, but I can’t remember. We drank those beers first and quickly so we could be in a happy place while we were there. So, I may have had another snack or two or three.
On the way home we ate a large bag of caramel popcorn that we bought on the way out. We got home, decided to go to the movies, went to the movies, and ate a bunch of candy.
And although Jane and I were both stuffed, I ate another large bowl of cereal before bed. Let me tell you, by the time I went to bed, I was feeling ill. Too much junk. But it reminded me of all the times I felt like that after eating too much. It reminded me of all the times I’d have a bowl of cereal at midnight or 1 AM before bed because I was hungry and how I felt when I woke up.
Sunday Fun Day, Day 2 of the HCG Diet
Our last “LOAD UP” day. Jane and I took our HCG shots in the AM. And I went to town on Sunday because we were at a family get-together and there was enough food to feed an army. In the morning on the way to the family get-together, we stopped off at Jack-In-The-Box (fast food) and ordered a breakfast sandwich and hash browns. The sandwich had ham, eggs, and who knows what else. You could literally feel your veins harden with each bite.
Then once at the family get-together, I had 4 pieces of chocolate cake, a piece of white cake, 3 chocolate chip cookies, many handfuls of Fritos, many handfuls of Tostitos, a salad, fruit, a cheeseburger, more chips, but this time with lots of dip, a huge plate of spaghetti and meat sauce, 2 beers, a good 5-6 cups of soda, a hotdog, and who knows what else. And yes, to cap the day off, I finished off the box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal.
So by the time I went to bed, nearly drunk with a food coma, my stomach was hurting. I had to drink some water and take a few Tums because I had crazy heartburn going on. I felt horrible.
Monday, Day 3 of the HCG Diet
After eating like crap for two days, I was really looking forward to this day. I didn’t sleep well because all of the acid in my stomach kept going up to my throat and burning. Urgh. So tired of having that happen. So yesterday, Jane and I did our HCG shots and realized that we didn’t have anything to eat for breakfast or dinner. Jane went out to get some food, so we missed eating anything for breakfast. Here’s what I ate yesterday:
Breakfast:
A cup of coffee with a Stevia and one tablespoon of whole milk
Lunch:
- 100 grams of chicken breast (which was more than I thought it would be!) cooked on the George Forman grill
- 2+ cups of lettuce
- A tomato
- 1/2 of a lemon squirted on everything to be used as salad dressing
Snack:
- A large apple
- A healthy breadstick (Grissini brand)
Dinner:
- 100 grams of Tilapia (fish) cooked on the George Forman. (YUM! Jane spiced it up, this was GOOD!)
- A cup + of asparagus
- Another breadstick
Exercise for the day:
A brisk 30 minute walk.
Water intake:
I went to TOWN on drinking water yesterday. I filled up my 32 oz. water container 3 times and drank all of it. I also drank a cup of green tea that Jane made for me. So total water intake was: 104 ounces. I believe we need to be drinking at least 70-80 ounces a day, which I thought was going to be a struggle. This was MUCH easier to do than I thought.
How I felt:
Not having anything to eat for breakfast was TOUGH. I wish we had been prepared. But once we ate lunch, I was full. I started to get hungry a few times during the day, but I just drank water and the hunger pangs went away. Eating a large apple and a bread stick was very helpful. I was worried about the evening. That’s my time to snack and the toughest time because I’m up much later than Jane. So 5-6 hours could go by since I had eaten dinner. However, last night I didn’t get hungry, nor was I tempted to eat anything. I was quite surprised.
Also, because of all of the water, I was having to pee almost every hour on the hour. And when I had to go, I had to go bad! This reminds me of when Jane was pregnant and we’d be driving somewhere and have to stop 37 times so she could go to the bathroom. Was it because Monkey was pushing on her bladder, or was it because of the pregnancy hormones? Well, now that I’m on pregnancy hormones and have to pee all the time, I’m starting to wonder!
Calories for the day:
I’m using an app on my iPhone that I can keep track of everything I’m eating and the 30 minute walks we do everyday. The app says that all of the above was 475 calories. The brisk 30-minute walk burned 181 calories, which is a net of 473 calories.
Conclusion:
The first day on the HCG diet shots and the strict diet was actually MUCH easier than I thought and expected. Maybe those 2 loading up days that you have to do before diving into the HCG diet helped me there. So I felt good and feel like I’m off to a good start.
Current Weight:
Oh, I can’t forget about this one. We have to weigh ourselves each and every morning. My weight was 242 pounds. The same as it was at the HCG Doctor’s office.
Tuesday, Day 4 of the HCG Diet
I need to create a format that both Jane and I can use on the daily blog posts about our HCG diet journey. So here’s what we’ll be using going forward… (NOTE: If there is anything else that you would like to see Jane and I add to the below each day, please let us know and we’ll add it.)
Current weight: 236.4 pounds
Weight loss so far: 5.6 pounds
Breakfast: Coffee (with Stevia and 1 tbsp. of whole milk) and a large apple
Lunch: A Grissini breadstick (10 calories), 100 grams of chicken breast (165 calories), 2 slices of tomato (21 calories), 8 ounces of romaine lettuce (40 calories), and lots of water of course.
Dinner: (coming soon)
Snacks: (coming soon)
Water intake: (coming soon)
Exercise for the day: (coming soon)
Total calories eaten: (coming soon)
How I felt: Woke up feeling great. No “food hangover”. Not starving at all. Mood is good. Feel happy. Will update tonight once this day is over.
Some other ramblings…
One thing I will add to this is that I took some pictures of myself today. I’ll admit that I’m embarrassed to have Jane take pictures of me. Isn’t that weird? I mean she’s my wife, I should be 100% comfortable in front of her, but I am not. Deep down, I hate the way I look. So, yeah, this whole HCG before and after pictures thing is tough for me, even though I won’t be showing my face on here! It’s still me and makes me uncomfortable.
So today, Jane and I will take pictures of ourselves and post them here. We’ll then start taking pictures once a week to keep everyone updated on the progress there. I can’t wait to see what it feels like to have my shirt off and actually be comfortable with myself. I actually have no idea in the world what in the heck that feels like. And these are all feelings that I NEVER EVER want Monkey to feel in his life. And that is a HUGE motivation for me to stick to this, see this out, and make a complete lifestyle change when it comes to diet and exercise.
OK. Dammit. I will go ahead and upload my “before pictures” that I took this AM now. Ugggrh. This is not fun to do. OK. And by the way, those 9 pounds lost have not changed the way I look. Still the same belly. 
Still the same tight clothes. :( Here they are:
Tarzan Before The HCG Diet Photos
Urrrgh.
– Tarzan
Edited post to fix number of calories on Monday. Made a mistake on my calculations. It’s correct now. Also added today’s lunch.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
@Peta… Thank you! Believe me, it’s not going to be easy. For example, I should have went to bed hours ago, but it’s 12:30 AM and now I’m STARVING! But will be turning in here shortly and will start to go to bed earlier here – which is something I’ve wanted to start doing for a long time now. This is normally the time I’d eat something because I’d be starving. But I’m being good.
Good on you Tarzan… i wish i had your will power..
but being pregnant I can not diet right now but let me tell you I will be on the wagon as soon as bub is born I hate my body my wieght and my state of mind because of my excess weight… You and Jane are doing a great thing not sure I could follow your plan thou… Like Techy Dad Wight watchers has worked for me in the past…
@Mama M… Indeed this is the most common thing people say when they first learn about the HCG diet. “Only 500 calories a day, you’re starving yourself!” That was the first comment that people said when we told them that had never been on this diet or never heard of it. However, when you are on this, your body is using the stored fat for calories. So it’s like I’m eating 2,000+ calories a day. The pregnancy hormone is triggering my body to use my fat reserves and not go into starvation mode.
I highly suggest doing some research on the HCG diet and why eating just 500 calories a day while taking the shots or the drops is the normal protocol.
And as far as, “You’d be surprised how well you can lose weight but simply limiting what you eat and eating healthy”… I would agree normally. However, not now that I’ve become more educated on this and have seen Jane first-hand eat perfectly and go to the gym daily, tracking her foods, using her body bug to track calories burned, etc. and not losing one pound for months, the above does not work for everyone.
Some people have metabolism issues, thyroid issues, or other health conditions that make it nearly impossible to shed excess pounds without help from a doctor which could be this diet, surgery, or other methods. but again, I highly suggest doing some research when you have the time.
@TechyDad… Ah yes, 20 lbs. in 20 weeks is what I meant. And a trip to Disney is def. good cause to put the pause button on a diet
. I can’t wait to take Jane and Monkey there someday!
That sounds like very little calories for one day. Be careful. You’d be surprised how well you can lose weight but simply limiting what you eat and eating healthy. There’s no need to spend crazy money and starve!!!
In my case, Weight Watchers worked well because I’m a math geek. So figuring out points and keeping track of them was right up my alley. (I can still figure out the points for anything in my head given calories/fat/fiber.) Oh, and it was 20 pounds in 20 weeks. I wasn’t that good to get it over with in 20 days!
(Mind you, that 20 weeks included a Disney World trip and Passover – two weeks where I gave myself a week off of my diet.)
@TechyDad… Hey, great to see you around these parts! It’s good to see familiar faces now that I’m back to posting here. Hope you and yours are great! Wow, 70 lbs. congrats on that… especially with Weight Watchers. That one wasn’t easy for me; didn’t last too long on that one, so hats off to you!
Also in regards to your 20 lbs. in 20 days, yeah, posting photos of myself is not fun. Even being a private blog makes me feel awkward. I might as well as have been totally naked, but that would have required us to raise our PG-13 rating on our blog to R, or even X, depending on what I was doing I guess.
So yeah, I’d suggest taking some before and after photos if you regain those 20 pounds – but hopefully you won’t have to!
Good luck. Drinking water is a big help. I found that out when I dropped 70+ pounds a few years back. (For me, the diet that worked was Weight Watchers, but different things work for different people.) Often people will confuse thirst with hunger. I’m not sure how this will work on your diet, but I also found that high-fiber foods helped to keep me full.
Oh, and you’re braver than I am. When I did my “20 pounds in 20 weeks” early this year, I didn’t post photos of myself. Maybe next year I’ll be braver (as I seem poised to regain those 20 pounds).