Dang, I griped to myself, the airlines sure have shrunk the plane seats. I guess that’s so they can squeeze more people into every plane. I can’t even cross my legs sitting here. Sheesh.
Travel is only fun if you’re healthy. When you’re fat (or overweight, if you prefer to be PC), climbing stairs takes more effort, walking uses more energy, and you avoid mirrors and photo ops. And you sure don’t want to be squeezed into a child-size seat at 30,000 feet for hours on end. Ugh.
But that’s not the worst of it: Dan developed DVT on our trans-Pacific flight to Bali, a life-threatening condition. The blood clot in his leg lasted for weeks, I was freaking out, and he didn’t feel like going anywhere. Way to ruin an adventure, right?
He was not happy about being on his feet in this shot.
Denial is not just a river in Egypt
It’s not as though we didn’t know we were overweight. That much was obvious, duh. I could pretend that the airplanes and clothing companies had resized, but I knew it was me. Photos of us in various places around the world were undeniable evidence that we needed to lose weight. I hated most of the shots Dan took of me because of how I looked. I especially hated posting them online where everyone could see my size.
Here’s why I didn’t like being in photos.
Dan was carrying 120 extra pounds around. My size 16 clothes were getting tight and I was at least 50 pounds heavier than I had been in high school. Over the years we had tried “eating right,” Weight Watchers, Atkins, Nutrisystem and more. We had moderate success and made many lifestyle changes, but nothing lasted. We were still too big.
After we returned to the US last year (read about how we were kicked out of Ecuador here) we decided to stay put for a while and try one more time to conquer the weight. And so that’s how we spent most of 2014. Staying in one place is the polar opposite to how we spent 2013.
How it all began
It all began in Panama when I found a doctor who was willing to help me solve my weight issue. Fluent in English, he had trained and worked in the United States but had returned to his homeland. Tired of battling insurance companies, he came back because he wanted to get to know his patients and dig into their lifestyles to find what might be causing their issues. Back in the US he had to move patients along because he needed the revenue to cover his overhead.
Anyway, after medical workups and blood tests he gave me a series of options, and one by one I tried them. Long story short: nothing was working and I was getting desperate. I finally agreed to try a medical protocol I had been resisting.
Who would blame me?
- I don’t like being hungry.
- I like food and I’d be watching Dan enjoy whatever he pleased.
- Cooking is Dan’s therapy and muse. He has claimed the kitchen as his domain.
- I had read on the internet that the protocol was dangerous.
But if I didn’t bite the bullet and do that I would continue to gain weight. I really had no choice.
How we lost so much weight
Dan would never give up control of the kitchen, I knew, but he has always been supportive. Knowing that I’d need his help to succeed, I implored him to come to the appointment and hear the doctor explain how it worked. He needed to know what I could and couldn’t eat so he could plan our dishes accordingly.
Dan making “green” turkey rub for Thanksgiving in Panama.
Minutes after hearing about my program, Dan was using the word we instead of she.
I’m not sure what made him decide to join me. Maybe it was the incredible results we could expect: as much as a pound of weight loss per day, or the fact that it was a long-established medical protocol, or that we only had to be strict for a month. Or maybe it was because of that DVT or that he didn’t want me to know he was pre-diabetic. (Which I already knew.)
Whatever the reason, we both decided to go for it.
How it works
Our doctor was extremely clear: This is not a diet, it’s a bona fide medical protocol that has been around for over 50 years, developed by a British military doctor, Dr. A.T.W. Simeons. So treat it as such and take it seriously. This is not a diet program that allows cheating. At all.
At the heart of the program is a natural hormone that is produced during pregnancy called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG). HCG is what makes it possible for a woman to deliver a healthy baby … even if she has morning sickness the whole time and can barely eat a thing. The theory is that HCG causes the brain to trigger a release of fat stores.
Although HCG is naturally produced only by pregnant women, it has the same effect on everyone, both men and women. When administered in very minute doses and coupled with a very low calorie diet, people routinely lose between 0.5 to 1 pound per day, often more. His patients who have used it swear that it is the only program where they have been able to keep the weight off afterward.
What can you eat?
In the early stage foods are limited; only a few meats, fruits and vegetables are permitted. No fats here either, except for a bit of coconut oil. One grissini or melba toast per meal – lunch and dinner only. You don’t eat breakfast but you can have coffee or tea if you wish.
You might think it could be boring but no – Dan appreciated the challenge to get really creative with seasonings and prep methods. Anyway, we could tolerate the limited choices because it was only temporary.
As for exercise, walking is permitted but not heavy exercise. That’s fine with me, ha-ha.
But is it safe?
I am embarrassed to admit that I could have been thin years ago—if I’d done my own research. Instead I blindly believed what I had once read—that this is a dangerous way to lose weight because no one can live on 500 calories a day. True, the doctor clarified, but we’re not talking about low calories here, it’s low intake. When HCG is present the body gets all the extra calories it needs from fat stores, just as it does in every other diet on the planet.
The difference with other diets though, is that HCG would curb my appetite.
I gave an internal cheer. Woo-hoo! If I’m not hungry, I can do this!
And then he gave me something to think about: Weight loss is a multi-billion dollar industry. Heavy people often need medications for weight-related illnesses and diet pills and shakes are often made by pharmaceutical corporations. Does anyone stand to lose if a weight loss program works well?
Hmmmm.
Our results
Boosted by the information he gave us, we were convinced. Once our doctor recorded all our baseline measurements (bone density, fat, muscle, etc.) with a machine, we left his office with the booklet outlining the protocol and the homeopathic medication we’d be taking for the next 40 days.
As required, we weighed daily. Over the next 40 days I lost an average of 0.4 pounds/day and Dan lost twice that. (Unfair how men always lose so much faster!) Who cares, I was excited: 18.2 pounds lighter in just 40 days!
We did a few more rounds of the protocol while we were in Panama but to be honest we got lazy and stopped paying attention to our intake. We had read that the protocol resets the body’s “set point” and thought we could eat anything we wanted to without gaining any weight.
WRONG.
Here we go, again
By March 2014 I was back where I started and Dan was at least 30 pounds heavier as well. We agreed that it was time to get serious about keeping the weight off.
As I researched the protocol further I discovered something important: Dr. Simeons was incorrect: It is actually possible to stay on the protocol for more than 40 days without developing a resistance to HCG. (I guess it stands to reason: Pregnant women have HCG in their bodies the whole time, right?) We also learned how to monitor our weights afterward so the fat doesn’t return in apocalyptic proportions.
We devoted ourselves to stay on the protocol for as long as it takes. And that’s how we’ve finally reached our weight loss goals.
2014 saw us do three rounds of HCG and I am thrilled with the results. Between us, we have lost close to 170 pounds and are maintaining that loss. At 120 pounds lighter Dan jokes that he almost lost his wife!
Goofball.
Okay, not really “After.” We lost more weight after this was taken.
But seriously: When we started we got winded and broke a sweat just walking a mile. Now we easily cover 4 miles in about an hour. I’m hovering at 130 now, far happier—and healthier—than I was in the 170’s. And I’m not done yet; I’ve set a new goal. Dan’s satisfied to remain in the 150’s and friends tell him he looks like he did in high school … with no more DVT or sugar shakes to worry about.
Now how good does that feel?
The hidden benefit no one talks about
Remember that I mentioned daily weigh-ins? The goal is to stay within two pounds of your weight (from the day you took the last dose) every day for the rest of your life. (There are ways to correct it, but that’s beyond this article.) As you enter the maintenance phase of the diet (there are four phases), you will reintroduce one food every day and monitor how your body responds on the scale the following day.
Through reintroducing foods one by one, I have learned which foods my body can handle and which ones it doesn’t like. When I eat wheat, for instance, my belly will quickly pooch from bloat and the numbers on the scale will rise by at least two pounds for a couple of days. I had an aha moment when I realized that. Now I can make informed, conscious choices: Do I really want that bread/pastry, or not? Sadly, it looks like I have similar reactions to rice and oats, so gluten-free may not be enough. But at least I know.
Breads and pastries everywhere … what’s a girl to do?
It’s all about awareness and empowerment, and that’s where this program shines.
Other benefits
- Going without sugar retrained our taste buds. Things that used to taste yummy taste way too sweet now.
- Drinking water has become a habit.
- We’ve learned that coffee without cream isn’t bad.
- We became aware that boredom and stress are triggers. We no longer head straight to the refrigerator to deal with them.
For more information
Friends often ask about our weight loss. We get different reactions when we tell them how we lost weight, everything from “I can’t live without bread for a day” to “I want to do that!” I can tell who is ready to lose by their reactions.
If you’re intrigued, I recommend:
- Start by reading the original medical paper that Dr. Simeons wrote: Pounds and Inches: A New Approach to Obesity
- Join a Facebook group or two. Ask questions. (Of course you can ask questions below too, silly!)
- Read Weight-Loss Apocalypse by Robin Phipps Woodall, watch her on YouTube or read her Weight Loss Apocalypse blog
- Decide if you want to take a homeopathic medication (drops under the tongue) or do injections. We began with the HCG drops (over the counter). When we ran out I ordered online to save money. (I stuck with the brand we knew because not all homeopathic drops work.) It works but can be hard to remember to take it 3 times a day. HCG injections (prescription required). Once our doctor said he had better results with once-a-day injections we decided to try it. We had better results and it was far more convenient. Plus, surprisingly, those diabetic syringes are painless. (Who knew?)
- Find a good HCG diet coach. Your mileage may vary but we had great success with Colin F. Watson and his HCG Body for Life podcast (I listened on iTunes). Maybe start with this recording: HCG Body for Life Phase 1 & 2. Us? We listened to all of them.
- Many US doctors offer the HCG diet protocol, though their programs can be outrageously expensive. It is also possible to order a complete injection kit online. We did that because going to an M.D. was beyond our budget.
So there you have it, that’s how we spent a lot of 2014. It was a good year.
Please share your thoughts below.
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