Step it up

Tomorrow I go see Dr.G.

It will be the first time that I will have my weight checked since I started the protocol.

I struggled this last week quite a lot.

I am scared and anxious about what happens after the protocol. Heck, I am scared and anxious about making it through the protocol.

Earlier this week I was getting unbelievably bored with the food. I had a dream that I had a peanut butter sandwich. I woke up and was weepy and mad at myself as I took my shower. After my shower, as I sat brushing my hair, I stopped, paused, and then started laughing when I realized it was a dream. It was good though to have that feeling, to know that whatever food it would be that I would want to go off course with, would not be worth the feeling I would have after eating it.

So, I was kind of down, and did lots of sighing and feeling bad for myself. I got some words of encouragement from friends, which I can not even start to tell you how meaningful and helpful it they are to hear. I also found an awesome website (information and link to follow) that gave me a whole new outlook on the foods and ingredients I have to work with.

I realized that other than those I live with and those I work with, no one really knows what I have been eating, and since I have had a few questions, I am going to give you a little example of a typical day on the hCG protocol (this is also for those who are considering this treatment):

A day in the life of Katie in the midst of the hCG protocol...

• Wake up

• Shower (use organic soap and shampoo)

• Do my hair and my makeup (organic and natural mineral makeup)

• Go down to the kitchen and take my prescription medications and then give myself a shot of the hCG in my stomach (you don't even feel it, not joking, a pinch is more painful)

• Fill thermos with tea (sometimes that I brewed at home, but most of the time Honest Tea (the unsweetened black tea). I have little packs of Splenda or a drop of Stevia to sweeten the tea. I also get a bottle of water from the fridge and sometimes get a cup of coffee and put it over ice (I don't really like warm drinks, especially not in the Spring/Summer) and usually drink that on my way to work. I have usually prepped my food the night before so I grab that from the fridge and head to work.

• I am not hungry. I am thirsty though and I sip my tea, coffee and/or water throughout the morning. I really have not been hungry so I have actually forgotten to take lunch and end up eating around 2pm (I sometimes go till about 4) but really I should be eating around 12 or so.

• I go back to work and continue to drink my water or tea throughout the afternoon. I have not been tired and I have been more focused and getting more work down than usual.

• I head home usually around 5:30 and get home about 6:15.

• I am usually not hungry yet when I get home so I hold off on dinner for a bit.

• I eat dinner around 7 usually, after making sure my son has gotten his dinner (we do have family meals still too, like last night we had shrimp).

Last nights dinner was:

• steamed shrimp
• asparagus
• "apple crisp" (yes! I know! So, exciting! recipe below)

• Exercise (hopefully)

I do my best to get some exercise in, sometimes with my "trainer" (my son), who thank goodness has not used his whistle again since day one of our workouts. Sometimes it is just stretches, sit-ups, and squats in my room while I watch CSI Miami (waiting for a Horatio one-liner gets me through).

I want to start getting out and walking and have even had walking buddy invitations, but my schedule and the weather has not allowed that yet.

There are also great work-out for free on OnDemand if you have that cable feature. I tried the Carmen Electra workout. I tried it for 5 and realized I wasn't sexy enough for that (where's Jane Fonda when you need her?).

• I drink more tea or water in the evening and I don't find myself hungry.

• I get whatever I need prepped for the next day, get my son to bed, and then relax a bit and go to bed myself (and by relax, I mean go on Facebook, update my blog, post on my Tumblr, and maybe tweet a few times on Twitter).

Here are the basics/standards of the protocol that I go by:

Breakfast: Tea or coffee in any quantity without sugar. Only one tablespoonful of milk allowed in 24 hours. Some sweeteners may be used such as Stevia or Splenda.

Meals: 100 grams of a protein, a fruit and a vegetable. There is a list of approved foods that you will receive from Dr.G. Your total caloric intake is to be 500 calories for the day. There are specific foods allowed while on the protocol and it is all based on how out bodies process these foods. For example: did you know that the body processes a banana as a starch?

Tea, coffee, plain water, or mineral water are the only drinks allowed, but they may be taken in any quantity and at all times.

The weekends have proven to be tough because of the extra time on my hands and the food centric activities people like to indulge in on the days off. I just keep myself busy and remind myself of guilty, horrible feeling I had when I ate that peanut butter sandwich in my dream.

Tonight the rest of the family had pizza for dinner and I was fine with my chicken, asparagus and baked apple. Yes, the idea of pizza sounds tempting., but the actually craving is not there.

I am super excited to meet with Dr.G tomorrow. I have been researching and reading and going back to the connections he has made and am just really hopeful about solving, what many doctors have found" to be my mysterious health problems" that they really couldn't help me with. Finding out that I am Vitamin D deficient and then reading about how it is linked to Insulin Resistance and then how that is connected to depression and then...I could go on and on. Dr.G in my Dr.House (in the wanting to solve the puzzle kind of way, not so much the drug addict, jerk kind of way, although he does have a good sense of humor and is very straightforward).

I have been fax and calling and re-faxing request to doctors (primary, endocrinologist, and two separate hospitals) in order to get my medical records. I look forward to getting them, as the more Dr.G has to go by, as in, test results and patterns, the more he will have to work with. I was hoping I would have them all for my visit tomorrow but it is probably not going to be till next week.

Below is the recipe for the "apple crisp". I found it while doing some research the other day. It is a list of recipes to use while on the hCG protocol. The writer has both recipes for "phase 2" (VLCD) and what people call "phase 3" which is the weeks following and I will explain more of that later. Right now I am just focusing on where I am at now.

Apple Crisp recipe from http://hcgrecipes.blogspot.com/

Filling:

1 apple

half small lemon

1 T water

2 t zsweet/granulated sugar sub. (adjust amount if not using zsweet)

cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400.
   
2. Peel, core, and slice/chop apple.
   
3. Place apples in small baking dish.
   
4. Cover with juice of 1/2 small lemon, zsweet/sugar sub., water, and few dashes of cinnamon. Toss.

Topping:

1 grissini

1 t milk

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1/4 t pumpkin pie spice

1. Grind grissini into a powder using food processor or coffee grinder.
   
2. Add milk in 1/4 t increments. Slowly stir until mixture forms a slightly moist crumbly topping.
   
3. Sprinkle on top of apple filling.

Bake:

1. Cover dish and bake 20 mins.
   
2. Remove cover and broil 1-2 mins to crisp topping.
   
3. Serve immediately.

This includes 1 t of your allowed 1 T milk for the day. Also includes your grissini and fruit portion for one meal.

You can also totally omit the topping if you don't want to use a grissini portion.

It really tasted great and I am so excited to try some more of the recipes she list on her site. I love how specific she is and how she even list what daily allowed amount you have used in each recipe.

I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

In the meantime, why don't you drop me a line and let me know how you're doing?

Note: Dr.G follows the protocol developed by Dr. ATW Simeons, a British endocrinologist and author of "Pounds and Inches" . There are other "doctors" and authors who have tried to put their spin on it, but the true and original protocol is that developed by Dr. Simeons.

Just a a little warning as you may start doing your own research. You will see people trying to sell you books, drugs and all sorts of other things. You will also see where you can order hCG online. Personally, I would feel very uneasy getting some random liquid, from some random online pharmacy and shooting it into my body.

I would have never gone about this without being under the care and supervision of a doctor who specializes in this using this protocol, such as Dr.G. The support, information, direction, care, guidelines and help with health issues beyond my weight, that I receive from Dr.G and his staff at the Atlantis Medical Wellness Center is indescribable and not comparable to any other option I can think of for this type of treatment.