I found HhCG after my fifth and most recent pregnancy. My doula, Bonnie Miller, had shed 60 pounds between the time I met her while I was pregnant, and my 6 week post delivery check up. She lost her weight with HCG injections through a local doctor's office and was delighted with the results. I was heavier than I'd ever been, but heck, I'd just had a baby. I figured that with time, plus eating better than ever and adding in exercise, and with nursing my baby, I'd lose the weight.
It did not happen. I mean, my weight seemed stuck. I had 70 pounds to lose. I ate according to the book "Eat Well, Lose Weight While Breastfeeding" by Eileen Behan R.D. (Registered Dietitian)
This book is highly recommended by so many professionals - (but who among them has actually followed this diet?)
Eight months later, I STILL had 70 pounds to lose.
I was obese.
200 lbs.
I was not losing weight. I was eating healthy and getting angrier by the day. I could not find the part in the book that said how much weight loss to expect when following the "Eat well, Lose Weight While Breastfeeding" diet until I went page by page and finally, finally found it: One to two pounds per month.
One to two pounds per month?! So, this was going to take 70 - 140 months?!!!
After wandering around the weight-loss-gimmick aisles in my local drug store in a angry fat daze, I decided to give my doula a call. Bonnie gave me the name of her doctor but when I called, I learned two things:
1) I would not qualify for treatment unless I agreed to wean my baby (which I was not willing to do, even though she was then 8 months old and already eating some solids)
2) It would cost $600 for the first month and $300 for each subsequent month.
Ok. So, it was way out of reach financially as well as not something I should do anyway because I was nursing - right? Or was it. If I naturally produce millions of units of HCG while pregnant, and I have successfully nursed babied while pregnant, why would approx 330 units per day be a problem?
Well, it did not matter, the doctor said I did not qualify unless I stopped breastfeeding.
So, I started googling. And lo and behold - I found homeopathic versions in spray form, in drops, and sub-lingual versions (under the tongue)... the version that I liked best was 'My Fat Cure' (now re-named TrimYou) which offered a
Rob, the man whose beer belly graces the front page of his website, makes it very clear that you MUST read Dr Simeon's book before deciding to try the protocol. BEFORE even buying the product. I remember being very skeptical but also feeling like I was at my wits end and why not give it a try. If you want you can check out the site here. You can also go here: Here's a new link to an HhCG site run by Suzanne Jackson. She got her start on 'My Fat Cure' and was an administrator in charge when it switched to 'Ketomist'. Now she runs her own site called 'Protocol2Health'. You could not wish for a more helpful and involved person!!!
The spray cost $77 plus shipping.
I read the book. I printed out the download materials. I put them in a 3-ring binder. I bought a digital scale and waited for my spray to arrive. It took 5 days, I think, and then, on June 4th 2009, I started Phase 1, the loading phase.
Holy Mexican Deep Fried Burrito. I ate all the most fattening things I could think of and ate all day long for the 2 days. I took the advice to heart, that if you do not eat constantly, you will be hungry when the diet actually starts. I thought this part would be easy. In truth, it wasn't. I wanted to be done 'loading' by the end of the first day. This is apparently a common theme among us following protocol. But I kept going, and by the end of P1 I had gained 7 lbs. (Who even knew that was possible?!).
I started Phase 2 on the third day. By day 5 I had shed 8 pounds.
By day 10 I had shed 15 pounds and by day 14 I had shed 20 pounds. Let me repeat that:
I lost TWENTY POUNDS in 2 weeks!!!
It was then that my husband decided to join up. He could not believe how rapidly I was shrinking and neither could I. And the best part was I was not hungry. I must have loaded well because I felt pretty great overall, plus, my self-esteem was soaring - look what I can do, Ma!
Phase 2 is a 6 week phase - roughly 45 days. I ended up losing 40 lbs that first round. That's nearly a pound a day!!!
The picture at the top of this page is me before (taken Jan 09) and me after the first round ( August 09).
I do not have loads of before pictures, I would usually hide when cameras came out (if you are reading this, maybe you can relate) but that's me there. In that 'after' picture I weighed 160. Not bad, but not where I wanted to be - still, I had to get through P3 - to maintain 160 for the next 6 weeks and supposedly 'reset' my hypothalamus.
Well, the first phases worked so well, that I decided I trusted Dr Simeons knew why this interruption of weight loss had to happen and so I embarked on the next phase of my adventure - maintenance - which changed my life in an even more dramatic way than losing the weight - I began to eat 'normally' and learned what that meant.
It meant I could eat high fat and high calories - but avoiding sugars and limiting carbs. Really high fat? Really.
I can eat hollandaise sauce and I do on a regular basis!!! Tuna salad made with real mayonnaise(!), Chicken Piccata with real butter and heavy cream to make the sauce, brocolli with cheese sauce, salami and cheese roll-ups, strawberry milkshakes, coconut brittle...so much great food - and I can eat, no calorie counting, nothing labeled 'low-fat', ever!!! If I eat this way, I either maintain my weight or drop slightly.
Life. Is. Delicious!!!
(I plan on posting my favorite recipes here too.)
After successfully completing Phase 3 (maintenance for 6 weeks), I loaded again and lost 25 more pounds during my second round. (The more weight you have to lose, the faster it comes off.)
I ended up weighing 133 lbs by the end of October 09.
Friends and neighbors asked me how I was shrinking so fast! My kids' school teachers would greet me with big eyes and tell me I looked great! And best of all, I felt great AND I had successfully nursed my baby the entire time.
I will talk about that aspect another day, but for now, the above is my true story and I have been able to keep the weight off for more than 2 months now, with every hope of continuing.
This is actually the main focus of my life today (ok, besides my family of course) - to ever better understand why and how to eat well so I can maintain my weight loss and my health and happiness - and I plan to share all my 'secrets' here on this blog.
If you'd like to try the spray, you can purchase it here: (it's called TrimYou now)
So, stay tuned!
:D
