HCG Diet, Phase 3 - The Steak Day Rules

Phase 3 in the HCG Diet is when are you maintaining your weight loss for 21 days. You don't want to lose or gain any weight from the day you took your last injection or drops. If you find that you have increased your weight by 2 pounds or decreased your weight by 2 pounds, you need to do a Steak Day.

This day requires that you abstain from all food all day until dinner. You can just have water during the day. 


I like to have a steak ready to go in the freezer. I'll pull out in the morning if I have had a -2/+2 weight change. What kind of steak is it you ask? The biggest, fattest, best marbled cut of organic meat your purveyor has to offer. If they don't have organic beef, I'll get a 6oz Prime New York Sirloin. Not Choice or Select. Prime. Prime is the finest of the graded meats. Organic meats for some reason are not graded. If you don't know what kind of cut you prefer ask your butcher which cut he thinks is the best to fit the requirements.

Some say to cook the steak in oil or butter, I prefer the grill. If it's truly marbled then I find that is enough fat for me. 


Eat every last drop of that steak and follow it up with one apple or a tomato.




You MUST do a Steak Day IMMEDIATELY after a -2/+2 weight change. My clinic tells me that if you don't do one, try it the following day or do 2 steak days in a row, you will trip out the hypothalamus' function which will slow your metabolism and increase cravings.

Why/How does the the Steak Day work?

It works because more calories were eaten the day prior. The body responds by using up the reduced calories from the Steak Day quickly and corrects the hypothalamus the very next day.

However, when a Steak Day follows a day that did not include additional calories, it will not respond correctly. Your body will think that your current weight -/+ 2lb. is now the correct weight to maintain at. It's not the end of the world but it's not your ideal maintain weight either.

If you are a vegetarian on the HCG Diet, I found a recipe on http://hcgcoach.com that is a revised Steak Day for vegans and vegetarians. HCGCoach.com says it works the same because it has a nutritional profile that is very close to a 6 oz filet mignon.

6oz Filet Mignon:           cal: 575, fat: 30g, carb: 0, protein:71
Steak Day Pudding:        cal: 594, fat: 27g, carb: 12, protein:72 (not including the apple)



Steak Day Pudding (Vegan Substitute for Steak Day)
4.5 scoops Protein Powder (Natural Flavor)
2 T Coconut Oil
1 Granny Smith Apple (half diced)
2 t Konjac Glucomannan Powder

8 droppers Liquid Stevia
2 t Cinnamon
1 t Ginger
2 C Water
1/2 bag Miracle Noodles

Put diced apple and Miracle Noodles, preferably the rice or orzo kind, into a serving bowl. The Miracle Noodles should be chunks rather than long noodles. Although if the noodles are all you have then they will work.

Buy Miracle Noodle Shirataki - Zero Calorie Noodles! Here

Put the remaining ingredients (starting with water) into blender and blend for 50 seconds.  Pour pudding mixture into serving bowl. Stir to coat evenly. 


You can also modify this recipe slightly in order to make a smoothie. Just eliminate the Miracle Noodles and/or Konjac Powder.


UPDATE 1/29/2011:



I went to my clinic yesterday and asked what they recommend people do if they don't eat read meat or are a vegetarian. They told me that you could also do an apple day.

My clinic also said that a Steak Day is an emergency effort and that ideally you should not need one. 


They said there are 4 major reasons why people gain in phase 3:

1. They did not drink enough water.
2. They are not eating breakfast. At the minimum, have an apple for breakfast
3. They are not eating enough calories or are eating too much (1200-1500 calories a day)
4. They ate food not on the approved food list

HCG Diet, Phase 2 - The Apple Day Rules

The rules vary with The Apple Day. There are the official rules, you can find here. Or there are the rules I follow because it is what works best for me. You decide for yourself which works best for you.

Why do you need an Apple Day?

Sometimes while in Phase 2 of the HCG Diet your system gets a little stuck and you are not seeing that pound drop off per day. Or maybe you cheated a little bit and want to bounce back into the program quicker. That is when you do an Apple Day.

An Apple Day for me consists of eating only 5 apples (approx. 100 calories each/ small to medium) throughout one entire day and drinking only water or Sotari. The next day you weigh yourself and should see the scale going in the direction you want. Go back to being an angel and continue with the HCG Phase 2 protocol. It is only recommended that you do an Apple Day twice within a 25-day period or four times if doing the 45-day period.

UPDATE: 6/21/2011

If you are sick of apples or just really don't enjoy them, try dehydrating them and make some apple chips. I have been doing this lately. I like apples but sometimes I get tired of eating them, especially on an apple day. I bought the Nesco Food Dehydrator, which is only $60, and make a batch of apple chips at least once a week. You can also buy apple chips in the store by the bag but you have to be careful and really read the ingredients. Most them have added sugar. They also cost anywhere from 2.99 to 4.99 a bag so it can get expensive. With your own dehydrator you can not only make apple chips but you can also make apple fruit leather for yet another way to eat apples.

The instructions the dehydrator gives you to make apples only says to dry them for 8 hours. If you like your apples chewy then 8 hours is fine. I like mine crunchy so it feels like I am eating chips so I leave mine going for at least 24 hours, sometime longer to get them extra crunchy. If you want to make fruit leather you need to make applesauce (sugar free and all natural of course) first. It takes about 1 and a half cups of applesauce to make on tray of fruit leather, which is equivalent to about 3 apples.

This is the one I bought:

This is the one my husband wanted (he prefers the square trays):

If you have kids I cannot recommend one of these gadgets enough. Fresh, wholesome snacks galore. I have made strawberry chips, apple chips, dehydrated oranges & grapefruit (they turn into a gummy-like, candy snack). I have also made treats for the dog as well as some beef jerky, which can be phase 2 friendly if you make it with lean protein. (You just need to weight it before you dehydrate it so you are still eating 100 grams of pre-cooked weight.

I Don't Trust the FDA - They Approved the Use of Aspartame

I want to talk about the FDA and why I don't trust them. They currently have a very anti stance towards using HCG for weight loss. This does not bother me one bit. Why? Because they released aspartame into our food KNOWING that it was toxic. They did it for profit. They do not have our health our in mind they have $$. Check out the video below of the documentary Sweet Misery and you will be shocked. Find out more about this movie here.

My guess is that since they have not figured out a way to make big money off of HCG, a naturally produced hormone, they are not interested in supporting it.

They are notorious for these type of practices. Check out this recent article about how the FDA Says You Have No Right to Real Food Unless They Give You Permission First .

The moral of this post is that just because the government says something is safe to use and say other things are unsafe, don't believe a word of it. Do your own research and make up your own mind. Don't be sheep people!

My Story, the HCG Diet Food List and Some Rules - Phase 1 & 2

At this point I have been doing the HCG diet for 6 months. If you are interested in the history of the HCG diet, go here. I've completed 3 25-day rounds. I am currently in my 4th round but this time I'm going for the full 45 days. I have lost 80 pounds so far but need to lose 45-50 more.

I am so happy to have found this diet. I have tried everything. I was about to go the lap band route before this diet came on my radar. Since it is significantly less $ than surgery, no one has to cut you open, there is no recovery time, nothing foreign enters your body and alters it, I had to give it a shot.

A few months before I found out about this diet, I decided to give up booze. Strictly for vanity purposes only. I love to party and it showed. I thought maybe if I just gave up booze I'd lose weight. I decided that I didn't love to party more than I loved looking great. I committed to at least a year without it. After 5 months without a drop, I had only lost about 10 pounds. Not terribly significant when you are pushing 300! But I committed to year and I was going to see it through. However, in terms of achieving serious weight loss, I thought I only had the surgery option left.

One day flipping through the Monthly Mailer I found this ad for a medical clinic called "A New Me" claiming they had a program where you will lose a pound of fat per day. I was skeptical but decided to check it out. When I went in for my appointment they told me I couldn't drink alcohol while on the diet. I thought, "perfect...done." (If you are considering doing this diet and enjoy the spirits, I recommend you give it up for a few weeks or months prior to starting, just so it's one less hurdle on the way to your goal.) I started the program that very day.

They showed me how to give myself the injections. I hate needles. Seriously. But I was determined and desperate to get rid of the fat on my body. If I was willing to get cut open and pay over $10K to have it done, then I had to suck it up and do this. I have a theory about the injections though... the reason this program works so well for me when nothing else ever has is because I hate needles. By putting myself through that every morning, it really makes me not want to cheat throughout the day. I can't put myself through that only to sabotage myself later in the day.

In addition to the HCG, I picked up some injectable B-12. B-12 helps with boosting your energy. When you first start consuming only 500 calories a day, it's a shock to your system. My job is intense so I really like having B-12 to compliment the program. I also got some aloe pills, this helps cleanse your system. Most people need help with that when they are doing the HCG diet.

Alright, that's my story in a nutshell.... now on to the food list and rules.

THE HCG DIET

In all phases of the HCG diet you must not drink alcohol, weigh yourself everyday and drink at least 3 liters of water.

HCG Phase 1 - 2 Binge Days
This is the phase I really look forward to but once I am there, I don't really feel that great. This is the phase in which you LOAD up on fats for the first two days you are on the HCG injections (or drops). You must eat as much as possible and preferably a ton of fat in the foods you load on.

The place I go to, "A New Me" in Redondo Beach, says that you should try and gain between 5 and 10 pounds in those two days. Don't worry by the end of your first week all that weight is gone and then some.

What you are doing in this phase is tricking your system, making it think that this is your normal caloric intake. When you drop from 2500, 3000 or more calories a day to just 500 a day in Phase 2, the HCG thinks it needs to give your body that much to sustain you and starts pulling a ton of energy from your stored resources to feed you. This results in a pound or more a day of weight loss.

The reason why I don't really enjoy all this fat consumption is because of the HCG in my system. I'm just not hungry. Forcing myself to eat all that food makes me feel sick. So it's really not that much fun. I have found that drinking milkshakes is the easiest way to consume a lot of fat and calories without feeling too terrible.

Cold Stone makes a peanut butter and chocolate ice cream shake (the PB&C) that has 2010 calories!!! Normally I would stay far away from this thing but for phase 1 it's perfect.

McDonald's chocolate shake is only 580 calories but you can pick up a Big Mac and some fries to get the calorie count up.

HCG Phase 2 - 25 or 45 Days

This is where it gets real! 500 calories a day of only lean protein and low carb fruits and vegetables. Besides the food restrictions, there are a ton of rules for this phase. I don't pay attention to most of them but I'll call out the ones that I do.

Basic Rules:
• 20 units of HCG every morning at the same time each day - If you are doing the drops: 5 drops under the tongue, wait two minutes then 5 more drops under the tongue.
• No sugar and all sugar products
• No sodas, including diet sodas and drinks such as Crystal Light - Basically Avoid Aspartame - I do drink Hansen's Soda (they have Splenda in them) and have found them not to affect my weight loss.
• No fruits except those listed
• No starches including bread, pasta, tortillas, cookies, etc. - Although some HCG dieters are able to eat melba toast and grissini sticks. I used to eat them but the longer I stay on the diet, it seems the less will power I have. So I avoid them now. When you first start getting off the bread they can help to wean you. However, as soon as you are used to not having bread in your diet I would cease to eat them. You'll get better results if you do.
• No fast food - Duh!
• No alcoholic beverages
• No creams, moisturizers and lotions that are oil based - Your skin is your largest organ. Your body will pull calories from your beauty products. Who knew?
• Eat different protein for your two meals - Eat the heavier protein for lunch and the lighter protein for dinner. Example: Filet Mignon for lunch, Shrimp for dinner
• Eat less Beef and more Fish
• Try not to eat out at restaurants - it challenging right now to find a place where you can trust their ingredients as well as find something on the menu that fits into the food list below. Although I did eat a child's bowl of meat only chili at Chili John's in Burbank and did not find that it affected my weight loss.
• DO NOT SKIP MEALS!

There are a ton more rules out there like avoiding sugarless gum and not combining your vegetables. I have not found doing either of these things makes a difference. You can experiment and if your body does not have any weight loss after chewing gum or combining tomatoes with cucumbers then don't do it.

Phase 2 Food List: (I try to buy all organic, free range and grass fed products that I can find. Eat Clean!)

PROTEIN - (100 grams at pre-cooked weight/ 200 grams per day)
• Chicken Breast
• Buffalo (Ground or Steaks)
• Filet Mignon
• Veal
• Fresh White Fish (No Ahi Tuna, No Salmon)
• Lobster
• Crab
• Shrimp
• Scallops
• Albacore Tuna
• 3 Egg Whites

VEGETABLES - (1 cup per meal/2 cups per day)
• Spinach
• Fennel
• Chard
• Beet-Greens
• Green Salad/Mixed Greens
• Celery
• Tomatoes
• Red Radishes
• Shallots
• Cucumbers
• Asparagus
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower

FRUIT - (2 servings daily - recommendation is to eat them in between meals. I don't follow this rule too closely and often have fruit with lunch or dinner.)
• Apple (smaller size - I typically buy Gala apples)
• 1/2 Grapefruit
• Strawberries (1 cup)
• Blueberries (1 cup)
• Raspberries (1 cup)
• Blackberries (1 cup)
• Orange (Some people say oranges are not ok, others say they are fine - you'll have to figure out what is best for you.)

OILS -
• Olive Oil (1 tablespoon per day)
• Pam Cooking Spray
• Braggs Oil (get it at Whole Foods)
• Spritzers Salad Dressing

MISC. -
• Tea (all day)
• Coffee (all day)
• Mineral Water, Perrier, Regular Water (3 liters per day)
• Lemon Juice
• Lime Juice
• Braggs Amino Acids
• Spices of any kind
• 2 Melba toast, breadsticks or grissini (not at the same meal, no one can stop at one, avoid if possible)
• 1 tablespoon of half and half daily (I use this in my morning coffee)
• Stevia - I personally hate this stuff so I use Splenda and Whey Low

I wrote another blog post about products I have found that work well with this diet. You can read that here.

EXERCISE -
• Move throughout your day - Take the stairs whenever possible
• 40 minutes of walking per day
• Light Ab Work

Once you get the hang of it, its actually not that hard to follow. It's certainly much better than those pre-packaged food diets like Nutri-system and Weight Watchers. With this diet you shop at a regular store eating normal, fresh, wholesome food.

If you are looking for Apple Day Rules, click here.

There are two mantras I repeat to myself while in Phase 2:
• Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels (This is Kate Moss' favorite quote. It seems to work for her.)
• I can do ANYTHING for 25 days!

When you run out of HCG, you must remain on this very low calorie diet for 2 additional days. These last two days are tough. As the HCG works it's way out of your system, you do start feeling hungry again. It's manageable but you do notice the difference. After this you move into Phase 3: Maintenance for 21 days.

If you are looking for the Phase 3 rules and food list, click here. If you need an HCG cookbook to follow, click here.

Good luck! Leave a comment and let me know how you are doing or if you have discovered any other tricks and tips.

Post HCG Recipe: Thin and Crispy Gourmet Hula Pizza

I found this recipe on The Biggest Loser website and wanted to save it for when I am finally out of phase 3. It looks good. I have been told the last few days of the HCG maintenance phase 3 you can start introducing more carbs. This recipe calls for BBQ sauce, pineapple and a wheat tortilla. All things that are a no-no in P3. If you do try this while still in Phase 3, save it for day 20 or 21. (I think I'll add a little chicken to mine.)

Thin and Crispy Gourmet Hula Pizza

1 (about 8”)	low-fat, whole wheat flour tortilla
2 tablespoons	traditional barbecue sauce (7 grams carbohydrates or less per 2 tablespoons)
¾ ounce	(about 3 tablespoons) goat cheese crumbles
3 tablespoons	drained canned diced pineapple in juice, or drained pineapple in juice, or drained pineapple rings in juice chopped into bite-sized pieces
1½ teaspoons	finely chopped cilantro, or more to taste

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Place the tortilla on a medium nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 2 to 4 minutes per side, or until crisp. If air bubbles form while baking, poke them with a fork, then use a spatula or oven mitt to carefully press the air out.

Remove from the oven and top evenly with the sauce, then the cheese, pineapple, and cilantro. Bake the pizza for 2 to 4 minutes longer, or until the cheese is completely melted. Slice into 8 wedges and serve.

Makes 1 serving Per serving: 217 calories, 7 g protein, 35 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat (3 g saturated), 10 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 484 mg sodium

Rocket Launching!

Gerard is planning the next Y Guide event and thought rocket launching might be fun. Before we get 25 kids together to built and launch these things, he thought he should try it out first. Here is our test video. (I'm the one behind the camera and screaming after each launch. )

What Do You Wear While Losing Weight?

I am currently at 205 lbs. I've lost 80lbs since I began my journey last summer. I've got at least 50 more pounds to lose but I'm at the point with my wardrobe where most of my clothes look comical on me. People at work have mentioned that I should invest in some clown shoes to match my baggy clown clothes. I'm not ready to invest tons of money in clothes cause I'm not done yet and who knows what size I'll be when I reach my goal. (BTW, my goal is to lose weight until my thighs stop rubbing together so I can wear corduroy without starting a fire. Not sure what that weight or size will be.)


I've been combing the internet looking for designers that make clothing geared for people while they are losing weight and I can't find any! I can find articles like this and like this that offer some good advise but not one of them link to actual sites that sell the kind of clothing they write about. Note to designers out there looking for a niche.... here's one!


I am going to do my best to find those resources for us and list them all here. If you have had good luck with certain stores, brands and designers leave a comment and let us know.

One of the tips the articles offer is to invest in some good knitwear. My favorite knitwear designer is Margaret O'Leary. Her clothes ebb and flow with your body as it is. Her aesthetic is modern and timeless. I have some pieces from hers that I bought 8 years ago and they have been in constant rotation in my wardrobe. And trust me, my body has been doing a lot of ebbing and flowing in the past 8 years. There are over 500 boutiques across the US that carry her line. Check out her site here: http://www.margaretoleary.com/


I found this awesome deal on Amazon: Margaret O'Leary Wool Crepe Zip Cardigan medium Pink 
You can also find her stuff on ebay.

Another awesome designer I like for clothes that are easy going and forgiving is Weston Wear. Their clothes are made from a mesh material that flows with the body beautifully. 


They are also in boutiques all over the country, go to their website to find out which location is close to you. I have also been able to find a lot of their stuff on ebay.




The bra situation is another dilemma. I don't know about you but my boobs have shrunk dramatically. They started to literally swim inside my big girl bra cups. I invested good money into my under garment wardrobe. I sadly had to come to terms with getting rid of most of my bras as the fit was getting pretty comical. So I started wearing a sports bra to tide me over until I could go shopping and sort out what I am to do until I have completed my weight loss journey.


Here's what I have come up with... It's inevitable that I needed to buy something but I wanted whatever I bought to also be hopefully useful at my goal weight as well. I figure, you just gotta avoid buying a bra with a cup size, because otherwise you'll be buying a new bra every month. So first I picked up some inexpensive sports bras that just pull on. No clasps. Something like this: Champion Women's Seamless Fitness Sports Bra, Black, Medium But you can't always wear a bra with a racer back, so I needed more inexpensive options. I was at the Gap buying some new jeans and wandered into their PJ section and found their essential basic bra. (The featured image next to this section.) I got one in every basic color. If you want something fancier to hold you over, I recommend the Cosabella Bralette.Cosabella Women's Never Say Never Sweetie Soft Bra, Black, Large Do a search on Amazon for "bralette" they have a ton of other very affordable options.  Search Amazon.com for bralette I also really like the Barely There CustomFlex Fit Lightly Lined Wirefree Bra at One Hanes Place. They are having a killer deal right now. Check it out by clicking below.

Dressing in layers is another way to make your clothes that are now too big last a little longer. By throwing on a tank top underneath a shirt that hangs a little too low in the front now, you have just extended the life of that top in your wardrobe for another few months. I found the BEST tops to do this with at M.Fredric today. They are one size fits most and made out of Nylon and Spandex and come in a variety of colors. They have a complete line of these stretchy comfy goodies. They have bralettes, strapless bandeau tops, camis, tank tops, racer back tank tops, short sleeved shirts and long sleeved shirts!! Prices range from $14 to $38. I bought 10 different colors and styles in the tank top varieties. They are amazing! They are kinda like Spanx for the top half of you. Unfortunately they do not sell most of these items online, so you will have to check to see if there is a store near you. I found a link in their online store to the long sleeved version. I think they are located only in southern California. Maybe you can call them and order over the phone, try it: 310-305-1272

Maximizing Results on the HCG Diet

I am in my 4th 25 day round of the HCG diet. You'd think the longer I did this diet the easier it would be but it has actually gotten harder to be "good." And I never lost 1lb of fat a day it was more like .5. But any weight falling off was great so I didn't complain. I am so close to being under 200 lbs and I wanted to ensure it would happen in this 4th round so here are some tricks I have found that have contributed to me loosing 1 to 2 to 2.5 lbs a day.

First, I cut waaaay back on red meat. I eat mostly shrimp and chicken, alternating them of course.

Second, I found this product at the mall called Green Tea HP. Now being on the HCG diet, you cannot have anything sweet besides stevia, which I find truly awful. So when finding something to drink, I usually have plain soda water or a Sotari. Sotari only comes in 2 flavors. I have been doing HCG now for 5 months and two flavors and soda water can get pretty boring. Green Tea HP seemingly has and endless array of flavors. And it does the same thing as Sotari, only using green tea as their main ingredient instead of hoodia. Green Tea HP also promotes weight-loss and really curbs those carby cravings.

I think that eating lighter proteins and drinking this product has really amp'd up the fat loss.

I'm curious to know if anyone else out there has tried this product while on the HCG diet. I'd love to know if you had similar results.

Here is a link to some reviews about the Green Tea HP drink.