Dieting Lifestyle

I love Diet Doctor. In fact, I feel that Diet Doctor has been the key to my family’s success. The great thing about it is that it gives the visitor the chance to learn all they want to learn, and then make the decision to follow the keto diet in the best, and easiest way for them. It worked perfectly for us. I wanted to share our success story.

Meet my family. We currently live in Virginia, USA. This is Dean, 55; Carol, 57; Nick, 24; Cassandra, 23, Wesley, 17; Alec, 27; Blake, 30, Zac, 21 and Victoria, 26.

I included this graphic to show each person’s weight loss:

(Nick started out super thin. Victoria has been pregnant/nursing since we started keto. Grandson has gained 20 lbs).

For this interview, we have the lovely Adele Frizzell, the author of “The HCG diet, Fact and Fiction”.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, it’s an excellent book with lots of really good information.

Adele first tried the hCG diet 5 years ago.

“I did my first round of hCG 5 years ago. I had a lot of trouble losing weight” Adele explained. She had signed up with a doctor who supplied her with the injections. She also got B12 shots every 2 weeks. After 30 days of being on the diet, Adele lost 17 pounds and was amazed and elated at the result. She, however, did not have a plan after finishing her round and she gradually gained the weight back.

Fast forward to five years later, at 48 years old, Adele started going through menopause and her weight got to 194 pounds. She was anxious and uncomfortable about her size and she felt the impact her weight had on her health as well. She started experiencing sleep apnea and her cholesterol rose to risky levels.

Adele was at a loss for what to do. She even hired diet coaches, a dietician, and a nutritionist. She tried different diets and did a lot of research, but what little weight she lost (she could not lose more than 10 pounds) she would always gain back. Adele thought back on when she did the hCG diet and lost a lot of weight with it so she decided to give it another go.

Adele was at 194 pounds when she went on the hCG diet again and this time she tried the homeopathic drops. During the first week she lost a lot of weight, but then the drops was unable to curb her hunger and she started bingeing. Every day she would try to get back on track but she couldn’t and after 3 weeks, she ended up losing just 7 pounds.

Since she did not do so well on the homeopathic drops, Adele did some more research and that was when she came across hcgchica.com. On the website, she read about other people’s success stories and saw recommendations for hCG suppliers. She thought about how she found success before with the hCG injections and decided to try it again, this time ordering from Nu Image.

Adele went on the 21-day program and it worked immediately. She noticed that her hunger went away and she quickly started losing weight. She decided she wanted to keep going and this time ordered her supplies from Diet Doc. Adele lost a total of 21 pounds (28 pounds including what she lost from the drops), bringing her weight down to 167 pounds. She fitted her clothes again and she felt sexy and confident.

I have talked to lots of hCGers and I respect everyone’s preference, but you guys know that I am partial to the real hormones. While some have found success using the homeopathic drops, Adele’s results were not as remarkable. However, it is great that she was able to try the different variants and found which one worked best for her. Adele believes that some of the success with homeopathic hcg come from appetite suppressants that are included in its formulation or because a keto diet is sometimes recommended while using them. A keto diet has been shown to reduce carb cravings and hunger in some people.

For those of you who are doing homeopathic drops, if you start having trouble as you get smaller and leaner, keep in mind that it may be a good idea to transition at that point to the real hormone. Just some food for thought �

For someone her age, going through menopause and who, like me, also has Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism, Adele’s weight loss of 28 pounds (or about half a pound a day) is pretty AWESOME.

Adele also tried weight watchers and was 100% compliant while on the diet, but unfortunately did not lose a pound on it.  She believes it was more because of her thyroid condition because she was probably under medicated for a lot of years. She believes that unless your hormones are in decent shape, then it will be very difficult to lose weight.

CALORIE INTAKE AND STAYING ACTIVE

Adele believes that maintaining weight loss for life can be achieved by bumping up protein intake and staying active. She has read about long-range studies of people who have kept weight off for a long period of time and she saw that they had two things in common: they follow a high-protein diet and they classify themselves as being highly active.

“I try to keep my proteins to at least 100 grams a day and I find I lose more weight if I keep my carbs below 100 grams,” Adele explains. She enjoys the benefits of eating a high protein diet, it helps keep her satiated and also helps in preventing muscle loss. She is also very particular about her carbs. She found that when her carb intake goes over 100 grams, she starts to stall. She also does not eat any extra fats, her fat intake comes from whatever fats her protein sources provide.

But for Adele, an intake above the traditional 500 calories while on the protocol isn’t just for people who want to stay active. One of the ladies Adele has coached on hCG (using drops) lost about 30 pounds in 60 days on an 800 to 1000 calorie diet. As her client transitioned off the diet, she lost another 4.5 pounds. According to Adele, that client’s only workout was walking but she still ended up losing a lot of weight on a higher calorie intake. She has been maintaining for a couple of months now and is ready to go on another round and lose more weight.

The experience of Adele’s client reminds me of one of the ladies I interviewed who did P3 to Life as well. She only had another 10 or so pounds to lose and she had been having a stall for around 5 days. She called Diet Doc and they actually advised her to bump up her calories by increasing her protein or eating more veggies. To her surprise, she started losing weight immediately after following their instructions.

It’s worth noting that different people have different thresholds. It’s all about finding your sweet spot. Adele says that her clients even eat chocolate everyday and they still lose weight. It’s possible as long as you learn about your body and what your tolerances are and tracking food is a way to do that.

Adele is a big fan of tracking because it’s a great way of learning about your body which can give you more freedom when it comes to your meal choices and calorie intake. Adele promotes flexible dieting on hCG which works really well for her clients. One of her clients even told her that for the first time in her life, she is not afraid of regaining weight because she feels empowered knowing exactly what she needs to eat to maintain her weight and she can basically eat whatever she wants.

Tracking also works in determining food sensitivities which can hinder weight loss. Adele had a client whom she advised to try about half a cup of cottage cheese at night (cottage cheese is a lean source of protein). Her client stalled and they decided to give it another try to see if the cottage cheese had anything to do with it and again, her weight stalled. Adele’s client was not sensitive to all kinds of dairy since she can have yogurt, but she can’t have cottage cheese if she’s trying to lose weight.

There’s pretty much no off-limits foods for Adele or her clients. She usually starts her client’s calories as high as possible or nothing below 800. She says that when they start to get smaller or leaner, that’s when they consider dropping their calories or macros.

Since she does strength training, protein has always been Adele’s priority so she increased her lean protein intake. She had 100 to 130 grams of protein a day. Her meals included egg whites, nonfat greek yogurt, shrimp, and lots of chicken breast. She also had Jarlsberg Lite Nonfat Cheese and would sometimes have Carbmaster Milk as well as protein pancakes with some light syrup and whipping cream with some light chocolate sauce. As time went on she was basically eating what she wanted as long as it fit her macros. As long as she kept her carbs below 100 grams she would lose weight.

As Adele said, she gets her fats just from her protein sources, except for when she has occasional cravings like nuts. Even if she does consume a little more fat, she makes sure her calorie intake remain the same.

On the program, Adele also had lots of veggies and fruits. She ate a large variety of vegetables and usually mixed them. She would often have an egg white frittata with spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms. She would usually make a big frittata, cut it into 4 servings and have it for four breakfasts. Sometimes she would have a big pot of spaghetti sauce over miracle noodles. She would also have a piece of bread sometimes or some potatoes.

When it comes to meal varieties on the protocol, Adele says “I think 60 years ago they did not have the same understanding of protein and nutrition that they do now so there has been a lot of myths that were pervasive.” She talked about how she was terrified of going off protocol when she first tried the hCG diet because she was afraid of gaining weight or stalling. During her first round, Adele followed simeon’s protocol and the only off-protocol food she had was a diet Pepsi every other day. However, with her succeeding rounds as she learned more about nutrition, she became more confident with experimenting.

It’s great to have varieties and even some weight loss clinics these days use updated protocols that have a longer list of vegetables. Just like the recipes in hcgchicarecipes.com which utilizes a lot more veggies. I get a lot of feedback from people who still lose a lot of weight even while using a lot of different ingredients in their meals as long as it is within the framework of their macros and calories

“I may have lost more weight if I didn’t experiment too much but I am scientific by nature.” She explained, laughing.

In terms of what to expect with weight loss while on the hCG diet, Adele explains, “When you have a lot of carbs, you put on a lot of water weight. When you drop your carbs, that water weight starts flushing out so that’s why the first week on the diet looks great on the scale. However, as things slow down then that’s when you’re experiencing true fat loss since you have flushed out the water weight.”

When you are losing weight, your body is indiscriminate, it will pull from both your fat and muscle stores. “There is some thought that the hCG hormone protects against muscle loss.” Adele says, however, that she still needs more data as proof of that. That’s why she had a Dexa scan done before and after she went on another round of the hCG diet (this time using pellets). The test showed she had lost some muscle, however, she said that there are caveats to the result because your level of hydration can affect it. Another is when you drop your carbs so low, you tend to lose a lot of glycogen. Glycogen loss can look like muscle loss even if it isn’t. As soon as carbs are increased, glycogen stores are also replenished and it can look like you have more muscle than you do.

“Science says that when you lose fat, you also lose muscle but there isn’t enough research with the hCG hormone,” Adele says. She also thinks there are a lot of factors that come into play as well like some people are more catabolic than others and they tend to lose more muscle when they lose weight, while others work out or eat more protein and that helps them preserve more muscles.  “I was basically doing all that I could to preserve my muscles by eating more protein and working out.”

BEING ACTIVE WHILE ON THE PROTOCOL

According to Adele, the only drawback she found while on the 500 calorie Simeon’s protocol was that whenever she would do something physically demanding she would feel tired. For her, the 500 calorie plan is suitable for people who are more sedentary. She did her best to adhere to the 500 calorie plan but had to bump it up to 650 then 800 calories. However, she would still crash during her workouts. She eventually found her sweet spot around 1,000 to 1,200 calories.

Adele’s usual activities include walking an hour a day with her dog, weight training every three to four times a week for about an hour to an hour and a half. She also loves to go on hikes. For these activities, she needs to have an intake of at least a thousand calories or she would not be able to go through a workout or she’d crash on the couch. She remembered a time when she could not get through her work out. She crashed so hard that she had to go grab a coke. She felt much better 15 minutes later and she was able to finish her exercise.

For people who work out regularly, it would be extremely difficult to maintain the same amount of activity on a 500 calorie diet. So you will either have to take a break from working out or up your calorie intake if you plan to continue exercising. It is important to remember that if you do exercise, you have to be realistic. You will have to adjust the intensity of your workout. You can’t expect to operate at the same level.

“I’m a big fan of exercise but if you find yourself avoiding regular activities because you have no energy, you may need to bump your calories,” Adele explains. “When we reduce our calories the body conserves energy and reduces activity output. It’s better If you eat more calories and get some activity in like walking for an hour to burn calories, plus you get the additional physical and mental benefits.”

According to Adele, she can have as much as 2,000 calories but still lose weight the following day if she did an activity, like a hike, the day before. It is, however, very important to know when to dial it back. Even when you are so active, your weight loss will, of course, slow down or stall when you overeat.

Adele competes in powerlifting and I asked her to tell me more about it. “Most people picture weightlifting which is an Olympic sport, powerlifting isn’t an Olympic sport yet, but it’s trying to get in.” She explains. “[In powerlifting], people compete in three lifts – the deadlift, squat and bench press.”

Adele explained that because of her knees and back, she only competes in the bench press, but not in the deadlift or squat powerlifting, although she still trains in them. Adele’s personal best on the platform is 160 pounds (mine is about 110 or 115) and she even has some records in bench pressing. “There aren’t a lot of ladies lifting at my age, so it’s fairly easy to get records!”

Adele also mentioned that the benefits of lifting include stimulation of growth hormones in the body which helps with aging and osteoporosis. It also increases muscles and helps in preventing bone density loss.

Her advice to people who want to try the hCG diet or are currently on it? “If people really want to be successful on [the program], they really need to be in the mental and physical space to give it 100%.”

For those who are really planning on giving hCG a try, Adele recommends reaching out to a coach like herself or checking out hCGchica.com for motivation and resources. I was very flattered to learn that hCGchica has been a big source of inspiration for Adele, especially the videos, which she said has helped keep her on track while she did the protocol.

Just like I always say, you cannot expect for everything to be perfect every single day on the journey. When things get off track, you can always troubleshoot.

I’m sure some of you guys are fine being independent and doing the diet on your own. For those who utilize my website, you guys know that we answer your emails as they come in but we are limited in what we can do. Adele does one on one coaching for both hcg and beyond limits

Adele says that as a coach, when she takes clients, her goal is not only to help them lose weight, but to help them keep the weight off for life. She helps her clients through all the phases and beyond until they are confident enough that they know what to do to maintain their weight.

For those of you who are interested, you can email Adele at [email protected], you can also visit her website adelefrizzell.com. Her digital book The HCG Diet Fact and Fiction: Cut through the hype for rapid and permanent weight loss is available on Amazon for only $4.99.

Adele goes into more detail in her book about the topics we talked about in the interview. For all of you are interested, Adele will be happy to do a free one-on-one consultation. And, as an super awesome bonus, just include “hcgchica”  in the subject line and you will get 10% off her coaching!