The Bottle That Changed My Life: Part 1

This post is about my personal experience as I come toward the finish line of Round 1, Phase 2 of the hCG diet, which I just learned about a month ago, even though it’s not some new fad.

The hCG Protocol

I believe that my body is the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells in me, but it’s been over a year since I treated it that way.  I rarely get manicures, massages, or even go to a professional to get my hair “done” these days. And I certainly haven’t been taking good care of my inner health, either.

I got motivated a bit in January when I participated in a 21-day fast with my church and lost a lot of weight then, but when it was over, I gained it back (by resuming my less-than-stellar eating habits) and continued to NOT exercise.

One of the real motivating factors to begin my weight loss was watching myself give speeches on Toastmasters videos and reviewing myself on YouTube when posting ones. I am very comfortable and self-confident when speaking, even at almost 200 lbs., but in my own opinion–not something I heard from anyone else–I didn’t look very good doing it.

I can’t afford for a distraction like that to take away from my message and mission of empowering girls and women to be better and do better. So by chance, I heard about the hCG protocol at a friend’s gathering and decided that I would give it a try.

The Skepticism

I looked at the menu of allowed foods for the protocol in total disbelief, thinking “How in the heck am I going to survive on a month on only 500 CALORIES!!?” But I would soon find out that taking 3 drops of hCG a day made the difference.

Typically, my foods of choice came from drive-thrus (especially if it was fried), the frozen section of the grocery store (anything I could microwave) and an occasional side of broccoli, collard greens or green beans. But settling for convenience was making me a big girl. My determination to stick to the protocol has completely changed my perception of my diet, cooking, and eating foods from the earth. Some people complain about the high cost of healthy food, but it doesn’t get me down, and I don’t use that as an excuse to eat poorly. (I’ll discuss this more in Part 2 of this post.)

The (Painful) Withdrawal

Phase 1, in which you stuff yourself with fattening, surgary foods (to build up your fat stores) was a lot of fun– not terribly different from the way I had been eating for a while. But the first day of Phase 2 for me was a Saturday in which I had a long meeting (2 workshops with lunch in between) from 9 am – 3 pm. I thought it would keep me distracted, but once the meeting was over, I went home and that’s when reality set in. I was eating only 500 calories for the first time without an illness present. Not my idea of fun.

Cravings? Man, listen. My habit of eating in front of the TV and snacking on a whim (I work at home) haunted me BIG TIME that weekend. But I got over that with the quickness once I saw the scale the next day.

The Instant Results

Hold onto your hats folks: I lost 2-3 lbs. every day in the first week of Phase 2. To date, I have lost 19 lbs. and more than 4 inches across my belly, arms, and hips, and thighs–all in just under a month.

Now it wasn’t easy to forget about my old ways of eating. I had to make a total mindshift and get serious about staying the course. hCG is not for sissies. Every now and then I will think about a food that I miss, but I don’t stay in that moment long, because I know that once my hypothalamus in brain is reset to “like” my new weight (this stabilization takes place in Phase 3), I can go back to eating almost anything I want (in moderation). In the meantime, I enjoy wearing some old/new jeans that I haven’t worn since ’09–and we all know that jeans don’t lie.

I’ve got a feeling that I won’t though. I mean, I didn’t undertake all this self-denial and hard work just to go back to my former self.  (I’ll talk about how my mindset has changed in Part 2 of this post.)

Where to Get It

There’s no shortage of websites (and drugstores) on the hCG bandwagon. However, you have to be careful to choose a quality product. Many formulations of the liquid drops exist, but I’m not keen on getting injections from my doctor. A friend of mine lost 50 lbs and kept it off for over a year, and decided to start selling it herself, so I purchased my first bottle from her at http://ResetUrBodyNow.com (which includes coaching–you need support doing this thing!). But whatever route you choose, do your due diligence and research the company/brand before you buy.