Hopelessness.
Exhaustion.
Failure.
At 48, and 18 years of carrying the extra weigh my body started talking to me. My obesity started to take a toll on my body. I had high blood pressure, aches and pains, never ending exhaustion, and a silent feeling of failure. I needed help. My doctor suggested trying the HCG diet, a protocol developed to release abnormal fat when taken with a combination of low calorie diet and a low amount of Human Gonadotropin hormone. A woman could lose between 20-30 pounds in one round of following the diet. With promising results I was determined to alter my health.
Leaving my doctor’s office with the book in hand, I wondered how does it work? I take a prescription HCG nasal spray, eat 500 calories a day, drink 10 glasses of water but do not faint? But here was my doctor, who I trusted, telling me if followed properly, with support, and good quality HCG, his patients had success losing weight through this protocol. I had so many questions to be answerd by the manual. I left his office and read it cover to cover before the kids came home from school.
The food is restrictive, but I liked the menu. But no sugar, starch, oil, or fat for 40 days? The more I read the more determined I became. This was severe but my health was worth it. Checking in daily by email with my doctor helped keep me accountable. At the end of 40 days I had to check in by appointment with my doctor. I wasn’t going to let myself down.
The first few days were tough. Detoxing from sugar, making sure I drank enough water, I was worried I would put something in my mouth by accident. The weird thing was I didn’t get hunger pains. The hormone releases between 1500 to 4000 calories of your visceral fat per day.
Suprise
Weighing myself first thing in the morning was like opening a birthday present each day. By the 7th day I had lost 10 pounds! Do you know how motivating that is? Along with an incredible sense of energy, I felt buzzed all the time. My mental clarity was incredible. I can only attribute that to the absence of sugar. After the initial few days, I NEVER craved sugar while on the HCG diet.
I also began to appreciate food differently. When your food is restricted what you bite into becomes very precious. It almost becomes a gift. And with any gift, you want it to be the best. You taste and appreciate the flavor. It’s a wonderful mind set that still carries with me to this day.
Over the course of 2 years and 3 rounds of following the HCG protocol I was able to lose the weight, lower my blood pressure, break my addiction to sugar, get rid of my physical pain, and return to high impact exercise without injuring myself.
Successful radical transformation
50 pounds lighter, I floated up the stairs. I ran the Hot Chocolate 5k with my daughters, had more energy and mental clarity. I never wanted to lose the empowerment of feeling the physical lightness of my being.
That was 10 years ago. Over the course of time I learned how to mindfully eat to maintain weight. How to do well on the scale and still enjoy weekends of wine, tequila, dinners out, and in with family and friends.
I live with life’s challenges and successes. When my weight creeps up and I start to feel uncomfortable in my clothes I have the tools to lose what I need to get back to the lightness of being that exists.
On the cusp of my 60’s…
I never want to lose this feeling
Maintaining a nourished life…