Amount to Release:  I have been asked if it is worth it to go on the Protocol to just reduce 30 lbs.  My humble opinion is that this protocol is worth doing if you only have 5 lbs to release!  It is an excellent cleanse for the body, helps adjust your eating habits to a far more healthy pattern, and apparently has other healing benefits as well!

Apple Day:  This is a method used in the Phase 2 Reduction Phase to help break a stall.  It consists of eating up to six apples of any variety and nothing more besides just enough pure water to satisfy an uncomfortable thirst throughout the day.  According to Dr. Simeons, it is primarily psychological as the weight will continue to reduce without an Apple Day in good time, and the weight release after an Apple Day is primarily due to water loss.  It may also help to drink Dandelion Tea, which acts as a diuretic, instead. 

Cellulite:  Oh, yeah, I have/had cellulite issues.  But they are rapidly diminishing, halleluYah!!!  HCG takes care of that as well.  See Re-Sculpting.

Constipation:  Some folks have a little trouble getting backed up, probably because of the high ratio of protein to fiber and the small quantity of food being eaten.  There are several ways to combat this:

• 
• Magnesium Taurate
• Smooth Move Tea

Eating Out & Travel:  Eating out is a great challenge on this protocol!  I don't think it is wise to do it very often, but it is possible to stay faithful to the menu if you are willing to

• make specific, detailed special requests and insist on them being carried out or sending the item back if it is not, and/or

• bring your own food. 

For example, I have been known to mix up one of my delicious dressings and bring it in a jar so that all I had to do was request a large pasta bowl full of mixed greens &/or romaine to pour it over. 

I also made special requests on my trip to New York city for the Mike and Juliet show when I called room service and asked for the Free Range Chicken Breast without rice, carrots or au jus, and adding a side of grilled asparagus and a Field Greens salad with nothing but the greens.  It was great, and I was able to get both my meals for the day from it.  The chef even weighed the chicken uncooked for me!  I had brought a grapefruit and some Miracle Noodles with me and my Brunch ended up looking like this:

I had the asparagus and the rest of the chicken for dinner with an apple I brought with for dessert! 

Smoothies are also a great meal when you are out and about, but make sure you know the exact ingredients (sugar is almost always added in one form or another...just say 'NO!') &/or request that they add some ingredients you have brought along.  It is a good idea to carry a serving or 2 of Protein Powder in a baggie or jar.  Have your strawberries or apple added in and it can be quite delicious with some ice & water blended well.  Or go the distance and have a Sheepra Smoothie

So it is possible and sometimes works really well, but, again, I don't advise doing it often as the temptations and feelings of deprivation can add up quickly.

 

Essential Oils:  Although known as 'oils' these essential oil compounds are chemically completely unrelated to fatty oils (such as olive oil etc.).
Chemically they belong to the huge family of terpenes, which are
ubiquitous in the plant world. Terpenes are very complex chemicals and
some form enormously long chained molecules. Essential oils tend to
consist of rather shorter sequences known as monoterpenes and
sesquiterpenes or ring-like structures called 'benzene rings'.
You may have noticed that if you get essential oils on your clothing
that they don't leave a stain like a fatty oil would. So these are
not a problem, as long as they haven't been mixed with a carrier oil
that does contain fat such as olive or safflower oil.

 

Exercise:

Fish:  You can have a variety of fish, just stick to white, lean fish like haddock, flounder, etc.  Best to get wild caught to avoid the toxins issue as much as possible.  Even better, don't eat any animal products and use the Pea Protein Powder!

Hair: I use these supplements (even during P2) for my hair:

• Thymus Extract (yes it is animal origin YUK)

• Niacin

• FoTi

I already am genetically predisposed to thinning hair and, I must admit that the protocol exacerbates that for some folks.  So, I have noticed it getting worse with the rapid weight reduction, which is common with any weight release regimen.  I have also been adding liquid extracts of burdock, foti, & nettles to my shampoo, in addition to lots of aloe.  This has helped immensely!

You may want to consider using my elixir recipe as well:

Sheepra's Salve-ation for Luxurious Locks (P3 & 4 only):

Add to bottle of Emu Oil 2 droppers full each

• Fo-Ti Extract,

• Burdock Extract,

• Nettles Extract,

• A few drops of your fave essential oil (I like Ylang-Ylang & Patchouli mixed)

• 1 Tablespoon Colloidal Silver &

• 1 bottle Thymus liquid (opt).

Store in refrigerator. Massage into scalp 3 times daily for one month. 

All ingredients available at

 

Hunger:  If you are having hunger, be sure to ask yourself: could it be you didn't load sufficiently?  That is usually the case.  Or you may be actually experiencing emotional rather than physical hunger.  I finally found myself able to distinguish between the two since I began taking the hCG.  Make sure to start off by spreading your foods out to keep from being hungry.  For example, have a fruit for breakfast, your meat for lunch, a veggie for snack, meat & veggie for dinner and fruit for evening snack/dessert.  Just an idea to start off with to help you gain confidence.  You may also want to plan on having around 30 oz of water about 30 minutes after your morning hCG dose, then again 30 minutes before your lunch, and once again a half hour before dinner.  You can spread this out however you like, but that is how I do it and it seems to work for me.  The water is intrinsic to staving off hunger as well as helping the fat & toxins to have a route out of the body.

One other consideration if you are hungry during Phase 2.  You know, this is sometimes a sign that your body has reached an ideal weight.  It isn't always what we wish it to be, and Simeons often ran into problems with the celebrities that he treated wanting to be far thinner than the Protocol would take them.  But when the body reaches its' ideal weight, he says, the Protocol will take it no further.  So perhaps you are actually where you need to be.  How tall are you?  Are you large, medium, or small boned?  These are factors, of course.  You may also want to make note of your body shape at this point.  You will probably find, as most folks who do this Protocol find, that it is better at this weight than it has ever been before at this weight.  That can mean you are 'there'.  If this is the case, one is directed to increase calories to 800/day until day 21 of the VLCD.

Injections:  I consider this method of dosing inferior to Sublingual (SL), however it is the choice of a number of HCGers, so here are some FAQs about it.

• Where?: Apparently it is a good idea to rotate your injection site from day to day.  I had intended to do left thigh, right thigh, left buttock, right, left arm, right, and stomach, so your sequence is just fine.  It will work as long as you get it into your blood stream.  Most peeps like stomach best.
• How long?: The original protocol has a maximum set of 40 hCG injections or 34 lbs released, unless a person is 'grotesquely obese', in which case they are allowed to drop an 'aditional 5-6 lbs if this occurs before the 40 injections are up.'
  However, on sublingual dosing, many have been known to go all the way to goal, in excess of 100 days. This is another reason I prefer sublingual over injections: the immunity issue is not a problem. Apparently with injections folks find that if they don't adhere to the original protocol restrictions, they develop an immunity to the hCG and it becomes ineffective at that point.
• How to Mix?:  Go here for Injection Mixing Instructions

 

Ketone Sticks:  Taking a reading each AM with Ketone Sticks is extremely helpful in determining if the hCG is still working. This is particularly important when one encounters a stall and cannot think of any reason for it. If the sticks continue to indicate high burning, one can relax and know that it is 'just one of those things' described by Simeons that occurs occasionally and that one has no need to concern one's self with changing anything. This happened to me last week and I would have gone bonkers without those blessed sticks. The drop finally came! Apparently it was a 'former setpoint' as Simeons discusses in his treatise.

You can get yourself some Ketone Sticks from Wal-Mart and test yourself each morning in your urine stream and if you don't get one of the top 3 readings, then you are doing something that needs adjustment because the hCG isn't burning adequately.  Otherwise, you are just fine, even if you are in a stall.  It is handy to have them on hand so that if you do try something new, you can see if it interfered with your progress or not. 

Kevin Trudeau:  I have read all of this man's health & cures books and agree with most of what he has to say.  I think that the lawsuit against him is only evidence of what he has written about how 'powers that be' are conspiring against the health & wellbeing of the public for greedy motivations.  The lawsuit has to do with his statement in the infomercial (which has been taken off the air) that one can 'eat anything you want' after completion of the protocol.  I don't believe this is fraud because of the key word 'want'.  It appears that hCG does indeed make changes in the hypothalamus that result in a significant decrease in appetite and even in what one does desire when one becomes hungry.  It is my opinion that his book is an answered prayer, because it certainly was for me, literally!  And I was praying for this whole country's obesity epidemic as well, which this protocol has made inroads to alleviating.  The infomercial for this book was my first exposure to the protocol and after I did some internet research on the subject I purchased the book.  It is a very valuable resource and I highly recommend it. It is true that Trudeau makes many 'suggestions' for success on the protocol that can be rather involved and costly, but that is all most of it is: suggestion.  It is Simeons' original 'Pounds and Inches' description of the Protocol that will tell you the primary hard & fast rules for success, however.

LDW or LIW:  These are acronyms for 'Last Dose Weight' and 'Last Injection Weight' respectively.  Both apply to the weight observed on the morning of the last day to use hCG in Phase 2.  That weight is the one which an hCGer must stay within +/- 2 lbs of throughout Phases 3 & 4 before taking action in the form of a 'Steak Day' or increase of calorie intake.  LDW is generally used to refer to those using SL, while LIW refers to those taking injections.

 Leg Cramps:  Taking about 99 mg/day of Potassium supplement has alleviated this occasional side effect for many folks, including moi!  When you do get one, though, a handy remedy that my mom heard about is to take your thumbs and squeeze the muscle from either side of the center of the cramp.  Works every time!  Thanks, Muzzie!

Loading:  You DO need to take the hCG on loading days.  The loading works with the hCG to prep your bod for the changes coming.  The emphasis here is on consuming foods high in FAT.  You may eat whatever you want, but fats are what you need to focus on these loading days.  Loading days are to help your body set up the new hCG in your system to start burning fat.  You will want to eat or 'load up' on as many fatty foods as you can possibly stand.  Dr. Simeons' Protocol states to 'eat to capacity' for those first 2 days on the hCG.  The consequence if you don't has been for many to discover that their hunger is still there and can become uncomfortable.  If you 'load' properly, you will find that the hCG begins right away to scavenge needed calories from your abnormal fat stores (the really annoying ones like in the gut) so that you feel no real hunger at all.  This doesn't mean you won't experience some 'emotional' hunger, especially if you are around others eating whatever they want.  But you will discover the ability to distinguish between the two types of hunger: real & emotional.  I was amazed and thrilled when this happened, as most folks are.  So loading is important. 

My mother used the 'Eat Every 2 Hours' method, and it served her well.  Not easy, but it works.
Now, you can include foods high in sugars & starches as well, but the emphasis for this purpose is on fatty foods like avocados, almond butter, olive oil and the like.  I confess, however, that my first load was partly spent at a state fair and included such nasties as fried twinkie (my first...& last!), funnel cake, chocolate banana and greasy veggie sub, to name a few only!  You will find it difficult as the hCG will already have begun to dampen your appetite, but it is important that you push yourself to eat, perhaps even every couple hours for those 2 days, if you can.  It sounds like fun at first, but, believe me, it really isn't after a point at all.  You will welcome that first VLCD day!  See more here: LOAD

 

Oral Tablets:  The hCG tablets, or hCG pills, that are out there for sale (OraThin) are bogus.  Lots of people have found that out the hard way.  They consist of nothing more than an herbal blend that will not be comparable in any way to hCG Protocol.

There is an oral product from Releana that is hCG.  I don't recommend it for 2 reasons: it is very expensive and it contains ingredients that I think are not fit to put in one's body.

Don't get me wrong,

• sodium bicarbonate,

• ethanol (believed by Dr. Bellascio, the man carrying on Simeons' work in Argentina, to degrade the hCG)

• glycerine (can contribute to cravings)

There is one other place that offers an oral product that is legitimate, and that is Dr. Bellascio's Clinic in Argentina.  Obviously that is going to be an option that won't be available to everyone, however.

 

 Organic Food: 

Personal Care Products: 

 

Phases: 

Prescription:

 

Prescription Meds & Vitamins:  You can take prescriptions &/or allergy meds during protocol, but, again, it is not optimum.  It may interfere some with your progress, but you will still have more success with this regimen than any other you have tried, IMHO.  There are plenty of folks who have stayed on all their meds & vites and done okay.  They usually do find that their weight release rate isn't quite as high as some other people's, and many of them have found that they have been able to go off of their meds during protocol because their bodies go through such a great cleansing that they have no more need for them.  You will be, hopefully, eating a very clean, organic menu that will detox & heal your body on many levels.  There may be some detox reactions (e.g., headaches), but they will pass and they are worth the trouble, so hang in there.  Personally, I stopped all meds & vites my first round and have only added some of the vites back in.  I am adding my vites to my smoothies, puddings & soup/salads:

• Licorice Extract (for raising my too low BP)

• Thymus Extract (for improving my hair - yes it is animal origin YUK)

• Probiotic

• Vitamin D (I tested deficient prior to protocol)

• CoQ10 (for my mitral valve prolapse)

• Magnesium Taurate (for head, bones & colon)

• Niacin (for hair)

• FoTi (for hair)

All of these products may be found here in Supplements section: 

 

Protein: 

There are several ways to get the required protein into the menu besides using meat.  You may want to consider this just for variety, or you may be vegetarian or vegan.

Soy protein is NOT something I recommend, however.

1. It's nutritional profile isn't as close to that of lean meats as Pea Protein.  The fat & carb content are too high.

2. Most soy is GMO (genetically modified organism).  This is very bad for the body & may contribute to weight gain.
3. Soy has properties that affect the hormonal balances in the body which, again, my contribute to weight gain.
4. Soy is goiterogenic and interferes with thyroid function.  This is more important to someone like me who is hypothyroid with Hashimoto's Disease.

Re-Sculpting:  One of the fabulous aspects of this protocol is that, even without exercise, the body becomes sculpted and there are none of the usual 'flabbies'.  In fact, many of us are finding that we are reducing in 'all the right places', unlike other reduction regimens.  For example, I am thrilled that my chest size is not reducing as much as it has on past diets, but my waist is reducing more!  Some people who have problems with heavy hips & thighs, but look okay otherwise find that the protocol will correct this.  A lot of people are doing this primarily for the re-sculpting that results.  I notice that I look better at 166.8 (my weight today) than I ever did before!  I still want to get to goal, but I can see the re-sculpting that is referred to by others in my own body. 

Scales: After a great deal of research, I have discovered what I believe is the ideal bathroom scale for the protocol.  It is a precision scale with accuracy to 0.1 lbs, very thin & light so that it can be packed for travel (which is a must as you will need to weigh daily to make this work, even for maintenance), and at an excellent price:

For a kitchen scale, it is best to have a very accurate digital one that also will travel well:

Sheepra: This is my YouTube name and I chose it because I consider myself to be one of Yeshua's sheep as I am His follower.  My prayer is that all that I do in my efforts to help others be blessed by my answered prayer of this hCG Protocol will glorify YHVH, my King. 

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University.  I minored in Math & English.  My professional background is Environmental Engineering Consulting, where I specialized in Hazardous Materials & Waste training and OSHA training for corporations.

Here you can check out my musical tastes:

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