Beta HCG Diet - 2-1/2 Weeks into Round 2

Round 2 of the Beta HCG Diet for me is a whole 'nuther animal compared to Round 1. So far...all good!

The first few days on Round 1 I felt lightheaded and on the edge of nauseous. On Round 2, I had one day of pretty severe lightheadedness, to the extent that I called my doctor, Pieter DeWet at the Quantum Healing Institute, and together we figured out that I needed to stop taking my blood pressure medicine. I've felt fine ever since.

In Round 1 my HCG came from a homeopathic spray, which is not a prescription. That was necessary because I hadn't yet seen Dr. DeWet in person. I went to him in December and spent a day at his clinic and had a bunch of blood and other tests, so at that point he could prescribe the cream for me for the second round. Whether it's that the cream works so much better or I'm just in a better frame of mind and body this time around, Round 2 is so much easier for me than Round 1 was. For one thing, I know what to do, what to expect and how to do the diet. I also found some HCG-compliant recipes that make all the difference, especially one of the salad dressings. I really, really don't like a lot of the (not that many) vegetables I can eat and anything that helps in that area is good with me.

The results so far have been stunning. In two and a half weeks, I've lost 15 pounds. And that's on top of 25 I lost in the first round. Amazing. I'm fitting into clothes that either I couldn't wear before or they looked awful on me. I feel good since I'm free of the sugar and junk that was in my system. I don't feel weak and tired like I did during Round 1. And, I'm just now, after losing 40 pounds, starting to see a semblance of my "old" face coming back, the one that wasn't all fat all the time.

I have little interest in food much of the time. I forget to eat. I always wondered what that would be like. It used to happen once or twice a year but this is frequent. What a novel concept: eating to live, not living to eat. I doubt that I'll be "reformed" like that very much longer once I end the HCG, but it's refreshing for the moment.

My hands are so dry during the winter dryness and after washing them frequently that they're actually bleeding around my knuckles. On HCG I can't use lotions with oil in them because they stop the HCG from working. I learned that the hard way on Round 1 when I forgot and used some several times the last week of the diet and didn't lose a pound. It didn't occur to me until after the diet. I called Dr. D's office and they suggested organic products like By Valenti Organics' almonds and coconut body butter. I went to my local health food store tonight in search of it and found something similar but wanted to compare the ingredients so now that I've done that, I'll go back tomorrow and pick some up.

So what's living on 500 calories per day like? This time around, it's painless. I can find something to eat no matter where I go. One of my friends is a great cook and made chicken pot pie to die for when four of us went over to celebrate one's birthday. Once the host promised me a doggie bag to freeze for when I can eat it, I was fine eating the asparagus she fixed for me and the sliced steak I brought with me, left over from lunch the day before at Greystone Grill. Most days I have to remind myself to eat all of the eight things I am allotted each day. Now, at midnight, for instance, I still have a fruit to eat before I go to bed. Tonight it will be an apple.

But I do react almost carnally to some of the foods I normally love when commercials for them come on TV. It's mental, not physical. But then that's been the challenge all along, my head.

I still have three and a half weeks to go of the low-calorie diet plus HCG, and then another three weeks of no sugars, starches or grains. But at least I will be able to eat eggs, cheese, more than one vegetable at a time and a whole steak or piece of chicken at one sitting. That will be bliss! So, I can certainly hang in for three more weeks of this strict part of the diet. It already is well worth it! Stay tuned.