Phase 3 HCG Adventures

Today we started into Phase 3 of our HCG diet.  Still no starches or sugars, but we get to add fat. So yesterday we started out with delicious coffee...we like Millstone Black Onyx.  Sounds like an illegal drug doesn't it?  "Psssst...you wanna buy some Mayan Black Onyx?"   To that dark roasted delicious brew we added...wait for it....HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM!   This is my vice. I love heavy whipping cream. I love it in coffee, over fruit, in soup, and anywhere else I can think of to add it to. Add to that avacados, rib eye steak and artichokes and you have our first day of real food.

I would like to say that Bill is at a 26 pound loss and I lost 23 in 5 weeks. I am really proud of my hubby. This diet is not easy to do. So very strict and cheating is really a no no. If you cheat you gain, and you can gain a lot very quickly. We only have 23 to 40 days to do this, so it pays to be POP (Perfect on Protocol). He did it right along with me, but this past week and a half he was pining for real food. Bill is looking really good. His belly has gone down lots and lots. That is what I was so worried about. I have told him for years that I don't want to be a widow, and finally he has lost a bunch. Still a ways to go, but after Christmas is soon enough for more deprivation.
Here we are 2 years ago. Chubby and  happy!

 Wow...hard to believe. We have had fun all along traveling the world.  Even though I walk with a cane because I need a knee replacement. Losing 54 pounds in a year has made a difference. I think that all the world travels will be even more fun when we are skinnier since we won't be tired and weighed down.

5 weeks on on HCG and we are new people. There is a whole lot less of us. Hooray for that!  Here is the new us.....

Like I said...a lot less of us. I would say we still have about 20-30 pounds to lose each. We are on the road to better health with eating better foods. I stay away from processed stuff...boxed or canned foods. Bill loves Nalley's chili (blech!!!). I have to make a chili that he likes better. He loves sweets and I have to find low carb sweets I can make that can tempt him. It will be a challenge. Yesterday I made my own mayonnaise for the first time ever. All mayonnaise has sugar...even the organic stuff. Evaporated cane juice is still sugar. We are in the part of hcg that you can't have sugar so I tried making my own. It came out really good. I am feeling very impressed with myself!
Here's the recipe:

1 lg egg yolk
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 c olive oil or vegetable oil....explanation of oil to follow the recipe
2 tsp white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar...also explanation to follow
2 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp white pepper

Whisk together yolk, mustard and salt until combined well. Add 1/4 c oil drop by drop whisking constantly  until mixture starts to thicken. Whisk in vinegar and lemon juice, then add remaining oil in a very slow stream until well blended. If oil isn't incorporating, stop adding and whisk until it is, then keep going. Add in s and pp to taste. It will keep 3-5 days.

OK...explanations....

Oil...I poured 3/4 c olive oil and started the process. The olive oil was too strong a smell so I only added 1/4 c olive and then did the rest in MCT oil. MCT is an oil that doesn't metabolize as fat in the body. It is expensive and I prefer to only use it on the protocol, but I had it on hand. That brought the smell into a better balance. Whatever oil you use, make sure it is expeller pressed. That means they don't process it with high heat to extract the oil. High heat processing changes the chemical composition to make it really bad for you. Canola oil is supposed to be good for you, but they use VERY high heat to process it, and they also use Hexane gas in the process of extracting the oil. How does that sound as something you want to put in your body...NO THANK YOU!

Vinegar.... I use organic unflitered apple cider vinegar. There are so many health benefits of ACV I suggest you google it. I can't even name them all. Some people drink it straight because it is so good for you. That is too much for me, but I use it almost exclusively in the kitchen now.

The recipe called for less lemon and vinegar. a tsp less of each. I added the extra tsp because it still needed more tang. You can adjust it according to what you like. I first thought it wasn't working as I was adding the oil but I pressed bravely on. It finally started to thicken until it looked like regular store bought mayo. I used my hand mixer with the whisk attachment.

In conclusion...I am learning to do things I have never done before. I gained weight because I was too lazy to cook healthy. Being a carb addict on top of that, means that when you do things the lazy way, you eat processed foods. Processed foods are full of starch and sugar. That causes you to crave more carbs. Then you are chowing down on chips, crackers, cookies etc etc etc. The list is endless.  It's much easier to buy a box of something that you just have to add water to and put in the microwave, than cook something you have to think about. I used to cook when the kids were little. I don't think it was really healthy food. Canned veggies, meat or chicken, pasta or the old staple macaroni and cheese were staples back then.  This new way of cooking is an adventure and I am praying that God keeps me honest and I don't get lazy again. Mayonnaise is just the beginning.  Life is a great adventure and we must keep learning and growing or we will shrivel up and die...or get fat and die which shriveling up inside. I choose to learn and grow! How about you?