What I'm Doing...

I've started doing a new diet that has gotten a LOT of people asking "What are you doing?" So I thought I would blog about the diet- what it is, how it works, what you can eat and what you can't eat, etc.

But first off, I've gotten asked (not just from friends but people at work), "Why do YOU need to lose weight?" The fact of the matter is, ever since I've been down here.. I have slowly put on weight that I'm not proud of. I know the reason partly being is my previous jobs, I'm not used to 1)getting a lunch, and 2) running around a BIG building. Now I get a lunch- sometimes with a nap squeezed in- (which is another bad thing), and my walking is minimal around the building. Add the fact that I was starting to drink Coke (b/c the water tasted weird to me), and not really watching what I was eating.. and you get.. a girl that wore her lab jacket all the time b/c her scrubs were too tight and not being able to get into jeans that she could originally wear 1-2 years ago.

So when New Year's came around, I stopped drinking Coke, vowed to eat better, and not eat out so often. The not drinking Coke is still going on, but the eating better didn't last all that long. Thankfully my husband working a compounding pharmacy brings out more than just "happy drugs," and hormone creams... it also brings out a natural metabolism booster called hCG.

hCG???? What is that?? The long hand-written name is Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, and it's a hormone that's developed during pregnancy so if a woman is not eating enough, this hormone kicks in and gets fat from other sources of her body to feed the baby (Tip #1, if you want to get pregnant-- then take it to increase your chances. If not, then take your birth control).

You can get it online, but honestly I don't know about the potency of it and you also have to worry about the source and if you're actually getting what you paid for. Therefore, you need a prescription for it. A lot of people will do shots through the stomach, but if you can't muster the thought of a shot in your stomach-- then you can also do a nasal spray or sub,lingual (under the tongue) (sub,lingual is what I'm doing b/c I can't muster the thought of a nasal spray). You do it once a day, and you MUST KEEP IT REFRIGERATED OR IT WON'T BE ANY GOOD.

What to Eat, and What Not to Eat-- That is the question. Okay now this is the difficulty of the diet and a LOT of people can't handle the phases which is why I've been saying: ****Do Your Research before you do this diet!!!**** The first day you start the hCG, do your hCG and eat fattening stuff and as much as your body will allow you to eat-- this means pizza, soda, fatty Italian food, candy, sweets, EVERYTHING you can get into your body that is FATTENING. Day 2, do the same thing-- hCG and eat fattening things (Tip 2 Enjoy it while you can b/c it's all going to change from here). This is considered to be Phase 1.

Phase 2 starts your "diet" and your diet goes from eating what you want to eating restricted foods-- foods that have little to no sugar content and lean meats- chicken, pork, LEAN beef, shrimp, and white fish. No tuna, salmon, or herring is allowed. As far as your fruits and veggies go, every source is different. To find out what fruits and veggies are allowed, check out the website: www.poundsandinches.com. Your meats have to be weighed 100gm at lunch and dinner (to equal 200gm), and you have to have 1 fruit and veggie at lunch and dinner. Your daily intake of calories can NOT exceed 500 calories. I know what you're saying- 500 calories, are you kidding me? Nope, sorry, wish I was. And you have to do this for 3 weeks (3 weeks of the 500 calorie diet and the hCG solution). And again, you're saying, How can I survive on 500 calories? You can, trust me. The hCG is meant to curb your appetite and b/c it's "starving" itself, it'll use the stored fat you already have to feed itself.. hence the fast and rapid weight loss. The first week, you generally, lose the most weight (why I've already lost 7lbs since Saturday), and the next 3 weeks it's gradual.. but don't fret... it'll be okay. Just don't cave and don't cheat. It'll either slow your weight loss down or stall it all together if you cheat.

Phase 3: The maintenance phase.. this is the phase where you can increase your calorie intake, but you still have to stay away from sugar and starches. Although you don't really have to worry about it now. BUT you still need to maintain your weight and watch what you eat so you don't exceed your calorie intake and start to gain it back. This phase is 3 more additional weeks, BUT it's easier this time b/c you're just maintaining weight and calorie intake.. you're not restricted to 500 calories anymore.

So that's what we're doing-- the hCG diet. And of course when you "Google" it, you're going to get some negatives and positives, but I promise it's well worth it and it works (trust me, I know from personal experience).

A couple more things before signing off-- only black coffee, unsweetened tea, or water for breakfast. You can't skip out on meat, fruits, or veggies-- your body really does need this stuff to "survive." Again no foods with sugar- nothing processed-- no milk products, starches (potatoes, rice, pasta, etc), oils, or butters (we do use a smidgen of butter but nothing that will hurt us and we only use it if we're sauteing veggies. Because there's no oil-- ladies this means no makeup or lotion for a month b/c the oils absorb in your body. You're only allowed to use seasonings and fresh herbs when cooking.

If I have left anything out or you have questions, then again check out: www.poundsandinches.com

Ham and Cheese Panini... oh my.

Our cable has been out for the past month or so-- so that means no Food Network, which really bums me out. However my Internet is NOT down, so I got on Food Network's website and found a sandwich that Ann Burrell had made... And that is how I discovered Sweet Pepper Relish. Oh my gracious-- it's so good.

Ciabata Bread
Smoked Ham
Provolone and Swiss Cheese
Sweet Pepper Relish
Slices of Red Onion
Olive Oil

Cut the bread in half and drizzle the olive oil in the bread. Put a thin layer of the relish on (I did it only on half the bread, but do it on both sides if you choose). Layer the Provolone and Swiss on one side of the bread and several slices of ham on the other. Put the thin slices of onion on. Spray your panini maker and cook/bake until the cheese is melty and gooey.

It's a GREAT sandwich--- that Sweet Pepper Relish is sweet and spicy, and so good.

Yummy goodness.

Chicken Fettuccine...

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a Food Network Junkie.. I love watching people mix ingredients together to produce this awesome dish- whether it's sweet or savory. This morning I was watching Rachel Ray, and she made a wonderful looking dish called Fettuccine with Garden Vegetables and Greens. The dish calls for eggplant and a type of lettuce on top of the pasta-- both of which are weird to me, so I left them out. This is what I did:

1 zucchini- cut into matchsticks or cubed
1 small onion- cut very thin
1 red pepper- cut into matchsticks or cubed
5 small cloves of garlic- if your cloves are big, only use 2-3
2 T of extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes
1 lb chicken breasts or tenders
12 ounce of fettuccine
Kraft Italian 5 Cheese Blend
Handful of basil leaves, julienned or shredded.

Boil and salt (2 tablespoons of salt in the water is fine) your water for the pasta. The recipe says to cook shy of al dente, but this didn't work for me-- so just cook it al dente (for fettuccine, it's about 12-13 minutes).

While your pasta is boiling, cook your chicken until cooked through and then remove. Use the oil leftover from the chicken and put all your veggies in a pan to saute them until they're tender, for about 12 minutes. Cook the veggies over a medium-low or medium heat. Add more oil IF you need to. Add your salt, pepper, and red peppers flakes to the veggies. Once the veggies are tender, add the chicken and warm through.

Once the pasta is done, reserve about a cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the veggies and toss everything together, adding your pasta water. From there, add your basil leaves and your cheese. Continue tossing until the cheese is just melted and the basil have started to wilt.

Transfer to another bowl (if you want to, I just left mine in the pot) and finish topping with cheese and maybe a sprinkle more of extra virgin olive oil... and voila.

Some other ingredients you may add to the dish: mushrooms or alfredo sauce to be tossed until everything is lightly, evenly coated.

This dish, I thought, was really yummy... and thinking back now, I wish I would have taken pictures of it... but my stomach out-ruled my mind, and I didn't think about it. Take my word for it, though, it looked just as good as it tasted.

Bon Appetit!!!