CHEAT AND LOSE HCG DIET TIPS

If you are obsessed with following the diet to the letter, this page is not for you.  For those that want to incorporate the occasional party or social event into their HCG diet without blowing it completely, this is for YOU!

Many people ask about alcohol and the HCG diet.  Having a glass of wine or a mixed drink while on the HCG diet is not taboo as long as you don’t overdo it.  If you really splurge totally one night and pig out, just know that you will gain 3 to 4 pounds overnight (mainly fluid) and it will take you 2 to 3 days back on the diet to lose it.  It’s not the end of the world and neither is it the end of the diet! Get right back on it the next day.

So you lose 15 to 18 pounds in 3 weeks rather than 20 to 24.  Most of us are quite happy with that.  It is also easier for our skin to adjust to the quick weight loss.  This is the main reason we advocate the 3 weeks on and 3 weeks on maintenance cycle rather than staying on the diet for the 40 day cycle and then waiting 40 days before beginning another round.
 
 

NOW FOR THE TIPS:

 
 
1. Invest in a digital scale – ½  pound lost is better than seeing none!
 
 
2. ALCOHOL CHOICES ON THE HCG DIET -Subtract 1 Fruit from the diet

• Very Dry Red Wine – chose a Cabernet Sauvignon or Chianti
• Very Dry White Wine – Pinot Grigio, Brut Champagne
• Gin and Canada Dry Diet Tonic Water (I know, I know, Saccharine – a little won’t blow it! Make sure you avoid aspartame, however.)
• Vodka with a splash of grapefruit juice
• Silver Tequila with fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice, couple of drops of orange flavored stevia drops.
• Any of the above choices in a blender with frozen strawberries and a little stevia
• STICK TO THE WHITE LIQUORS – AVOID BOURBON, BLENDS, SCOTCH

 
 
3. EATING OUT ON THE HCG DIET

• RULE #1 AVOID FAT, BREAD AND SUGAR
• Ask the waiter to remove croutons, cheese, bacon, egg, anything with fat or starch from salads.  (If they won’t oblige, find another restaurant that will!)
• Avoid steaks and red meat – too much fat in restaurant cuts
• Ceasar salad – NO DRESSING – with grilled chicken, white fish or shrimp – NO SALMON.  Use a little balsamic vinegar and squeeze lemon wedges on salad.
• Ruby Tuesday’s Crab Cake appetizer with a side salad (No croutons or cheese please! Lemon juice, or vinegar, salt and pepper for dressing)
• Shrimp Cocktail or Crabmeat Cocktail.  Ask for fresh horseradish to add to the cocktail sauce to lower sugar content and give it a kick.
• Lobster – NO BUTTER!
• If you cannot find grilled chicken or fish, ask for it broiled in a little water – no butter.  Ask for Salsa or Pico de Gallo for flavor.
• NO BLACKENED ANYTHING – USUALLY HAS MSG ADDED
• Add a large serving of steamed broccoli or asparagus with lemon juice to any of the above in place of salad.

 
 
4. SPECIAL OCCASIONS AND THE HCG DIET

• RULE #1 –AVOID FAT, BREAD AND SUGAR
• Have a wedge of Low Fat Laughing Cow cheese and celery before leaving home
• Drink a large glass of water upon arriving at the party
• Keep a glass of Club Soda or sparkling water in your hand
• Be picky about the appetizers – remember RULE #!!
• Fill plate with salad and allowed veggies (preferably) first
• Add 1 small spoonful of everything else that looks fabulous
• Can’t pass up dessert?? Take a sliver or a taste with a large cup of Decaf
• Tune in to your stomach and quit when it is satisfied – DO NOT STUFF!
• Or just blow it completely.  Get back on the diet tomorrow, and DON’T BE SURPRISED AT THE SCALE IN THE MORNING!

Best case scenarios, you still lose a couple of ounces or you don’t gain any weight at all.  If you do gain, don’t worry and don’t quit!  It will be gone again in a day or two and you will continue to lose at the rate of about a pound a day.  Stick with the drops even on days that you cheat.  Limit your cheating to one meal – not one day – and be real good the rest of the day!