Month: November 2010

After a few days of an attempt at Round 3, I decided that a preexisting mood issue needed my attention. In other words, it was an issue before I made my start at Round 3. Research told me that vegans are more at risk for depression than omnivores. The key factor was the fat intake. I needed some saturated fat, it seems. I decided to halt the hCG diet temporarily and consume a relatively low-carb omnivore diet for a few days to see what would happen. My mood was better the next day.

Since Thanksgiving was coming up, I decided to restart after the holiday weekend, which is today. If the mood issues resurface, I plan to use coconut oil to see if that provides the necessary fat to lift my mood back up. That should provide the necessary saturated fat to keep my neurotransmitter level up. Others have successfully used coconut oil while on the hCG diet without affecting their weight loss, so it’s worth at try.

I’ve reset my stats for Round 3 since I really hadn’t gotten far enough with my last attempt at it to really count for anything.

A note for those concerned: HCG generally brings about a great sense of well-being, which I experienced myself during my previous rounds. My psychiatrist witnessed my uplifted mood during my last visit and made note of it. That I did not experience it in my first attempt at Round 3 could be due to one of two things. First, I had not been on the round very long and thus may not have been on the round long enough to achieve the sense of well-being. Second, I am using homeopathic HCG this time. Time will tell on this issue. I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve been reading Sierra Goodman’s site about weight loss and the Law of Attraction. She recommends Japanese green tea known as matcha. This is the tea used in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies. This tea is different from the regular green tea that you would buy at a grocery store. Matcha is finely ground.

A study featured in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition claims that matcha green tea produces a significant increase in energy expenditure (a measure of metabolism) in individuals, combined with a significant effect on fat oxidation. While some of the effects were originally attributed to the caffeine content of green tea, the researchers discovered that matcha green tea effect on energy and weight loss go beyond those that would be caused by the caffeine.

In fact, they found that consuming matcha green tea can increase thermogenesis (the body’s own rate of burning calories) from a normal 8%-10% of daily energy expenditure, to between 35% and 43% of daily energy expenditure.

Of critical importance is the fact that none of the research subjects reported any side effects, and no significant differences in heart rates were noticed.

I have decided to use matcha green tea in my plan. The HCG Diet allows unlimited use of coffee and tea, so it should fit right in.

To prepare matcha:

Place a small sieve over the matcha bowl. Measure about ½ a teaspoon of matcha powder. This is about 2 scoops if you are using a traditional chashaku spoon. Shake it through the sieve into the bowl. Add 50 ml of hot water (not boiling), which is about 1½ ounces. Use a bamboo tea whisk (chasen) to whip the tea until there is a layer of jade colored foam on the top. Serve immediately.

I have done a couple rounds now, but I’ve had problems maintaining the losses. The first two rounds, I used pharmaceutical hCG. I’m going to be using homeopathic HCG drops from GFC Health Products this time.

My plan will differ somewhat from the standard because I will be following a vegan protocol. I followed the standard omnivore version of the plan the for the first round and a vegan protocol for the second round. If you would like to see what I came up with, I posted the vegan protein options on the plan one-sheet on my website. Look in the left column for the one-sheet. My loss rate was virtually the same between my omnivore round and my vegan round. This time, hopefully, I’ll stick to a good vegan P3 protocol when I’ve got the weight off. Not doing so was likely my downfall before.

I’m considering an extended round this time and going until I get to goal. As of this morning, I’ve got 36# to go. My guess is that it will take me somewhere around 60 days to get down to 125#, given previous records. Others have said that they have done extended rounds successfully.