Here is a breakdown of the approximate calories of each food allowed during the HCG diet. As a refresher, HCG, short for Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin is a hormone found in pregnant women that when taken allows a person to survive on a low calorie diet (500 calories a day) and in which case they are able to lose on average about a pound or two a day, all while maintaining a healthy physique and not experiencing the usual hunger pains that accompany many diets. Read “How I Lost 40 Pounds in 40 Days” for more information on this astounding diet.
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The actual food consumption consists of lunch and dinner (no breakfast) and the following items per meal:
- 3.5 ounces of selected lean meats (see below)
- 3.5 ounces of selected vegetables (see below)
- 1 Grissini Breadstick or Melba Toast
- Selected fruit (see below)
You are encouraged to drink lots of water (I averaged over 100 ounces a day) and you can drink all the coffee and tea you want as well as moderate levels of 0 calorie diet sodas.
And now for the calorie count of allowable foods.
Fish (avg 98 calories)
- Cod (3.5 oz) – 83 calories
- Crab Meat (3.5 oz) – 100 calories
- Flounder (3.5 oz) – 90 calories
- Haddock (3.5 oz) – 88 calories
- Halibut (3.5 oz) – 110 calories
- Lobster (3.5 oz) – 98 calories
- Red Snapper (3.5 oz) – 110 calories
- Shrimp (3.5 oz) – 110 calories
- Tilapia (3.5 oz) – 94 calories
Additional white fish are listed at the bottom of the page.
Very Lean Beef (avg 152 calories)
- 93/7 Lean Ground Beef (3.5 oz) – 150 calories
- Cube Steak (3.5 oz) – 160 calories
- Sirloin Tip Side Steaks (3.5 oz) – 130 calories
- Top Round Steak (3.5 oz) – 166 calories
- Tri-Tip Steak (3.5 oz) – 154 calories
Chicken
- Chicken Breast (3.5 oz) – 87 calories
Veal (avg 114 calories)
- Veal, sirloin (3.5 oz) – 110 calories
- Veal, loin chop (3.5 oz) – 117 calories
Vegetables (avg 18.8 cal)
- Asparagus (3.5 oz) – 20 calories
- Asparagus (2″ tip) – 1 calories
- Asparagus (small spear) – 2 calories
- Asparagus (medium spear) – 3 calories
- Asparagus (large spear) – 4 calories
- Broccoli (3.5 oz) – 34 calories
- Broccoli (1 cup – 88g) – 30 calories
- Broccoli (5″ spear – 31 g) – 11 calories
- Celery (3.5 oz) – 15 cal
- Celery (medium stalk) – 6 calories
- Cabbage (3.5 oz) – 24 calories
- Cabbage (1 cup shredded) – 17 calories
- Cauliflower (3.5 oz) – 22 calories
- Cauliflower (1 cup) – 28 calories
- Cauliflower (3 flowerets) – 12 calories
- Cucumber (3.5 oz) – 12 calories
- Cucumber (small) – 19 calories
- Cucumber (medium) – 24 calories
- Cucumber (large) – 34 calories
- Cucumber (English long) – 60 calories
- Lettuce, all varieties (3.5 oz) – 20 calories
- Lettuce, all varieties (1 cup) – 8 calories
- Lettuce, all varieties (small head) – 32 calories
- Red Radishes (3.5 oz) – 12 calories
- Red Radishes (one medium) – 1 calories
- Spinach, raw (3.5 oz) – 20 calories
- Spinach, raw (1 cup) – 7 calories
- Spinach, frozen (3.5 oz) – 23 calories
- Spinach, frozen (1 cup) – 41 calories
- Spinach, cooked (3.5 oz) – 31 calories
- Spinach, cooked (1 cup) – 48 calories
- Tomato (3.5 oz) – 20 calories
- Tomato (cherry) – 3 calories
- Tomato (plumb) – 11 calories
- Tomato (small) – 16 calories
- Tomato (medium) – 22 calories
- Tomato (large) – 33 calories
Fruit
- Apple (small) – 55 calories
- Apple (medium) – 72 calories
- Apple (large) – 110 calories
- Orange (navel) – 69 calories
- Orange (Florida) – 65 calories
- Orange (California) – 59 calories
- Strawberries, 12 large – 72 calories
- Strawberries, 20 medium – 80 calories
- Pink Grapefruit (California) – 92 calories
- Pink Grapefruit (Florida) – 74 calories
Bread
- Grissini Breadstick (3 g) – 12 calories
- Melba Toast (3 gram) – 12 calories
- Melba Toast (5 gram) – 20 calories
White Fish List
- Ayr
- Cat Fish
- Cod
- Coley
- Dover Sole
- Flounder
- Flying Fish
- Haddock
- Hake
- Halibut
- Hoki
- John Dory
- Kalabasu
- Lemon Sole
- Ling
- Monk Fish
- Parrot Fish
- Plaice
- Pollack
- Pomfret
- Red & Grey Mullet
- Red Fish
- Red Snapper
- Rock Salmon/Dogfish
- Rohu
- Sea Bass
- Sea Bream
- Shark
- Skate
- Tilapia Turbot
- Whiting
Keep in mind that all the above calorie counts on meats and vegetables do not include any sauces, salad dressing or butter. You are in fact encouraged not to us sauces such as barbecue sauce, A-1 Steak Sauce, etc., on meats nor any salad dressings on salads or butter on vegetables.
One trick I learned in phase two of my diet is that I could use Louisiana Hot Sauce on chicken as it has zero calories. That has helped immensely and because it is spicy, you feel fuller. I also use Balsamic Vinegar on Spinach salads which is quite tasty.
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{ 5677 comments }
I keep hearing about this apple day or steak day and am curious how it works. I am to day 17 and in the last 7 days have only lost 3 1/2 pounds and seem to be staying close to the same weight now. I had always heard that your body would know when to stop, and wondering if my “ideal” weight is still heavier than I want it to be. Can someone share the apple and steak day thing, and also whether that weight lost will just come back, like on a fad diet. At this point on day 17, I have lost 13 pounds, plus the 2 pounds I gained on the load. With the weight loss slowing down, I do not think I will hit even 15 pounds.
I know I seem wishy washy, I just started thinking and the injections would be faster.
Thanks again to everyone!!
Les,
thanks so much for all of the great info, I really would prefer the injectable type and are you serious about the info for $2oo? I live in San Antonio! I would like to do the 26 day diet first. My boyfriend will be doing it with me as well, so we will be sharing the products and hcg.
Tracy, I hit a plateau for 3 days then gained 2lbs on phase 2 – i did a steak day and lost 4 lbs – I think you should be fine with the apple day – please let us know how it works out for you:)
Going to the doctor now for my next weigh-in. Good luck everyone…
Thanks, I did decide to have the apple day! I had a cup of green tea this morning and water but not a whole lot…I get thirsty pretty often though. Hopefully, the green tea was fine and I will limit my water intake a little more. I have had 2 1/2 apples and it’s 315pm, and I am pretty hunger but not starving so I’ll way till 430 or 5 to have another one!!
Thanks again for your comments and encouragement!
Tracy
Tracy,
Don’t drink too much water on apple day. It says 6 apples and just enough water to quench thirst. I have done 2 apple days, and saw the results 2 days after apple day. Also I only ate 4 each day because I couldn’t do 6. After weighing the apples you only really need 4 to get to 500 calories-not that it is the protocol to reach 500 calories on an apple day.
Anyway they did help me get back on track.
It couldnt hurt and you would prob lose 2-3 pounds.
or Drink extra water and do something this evening or afternoon that will make you work out and sweat pretty good. You are not supposed to do straining excersises because it tears down muscle and rebuilds by retaing water and doubling up on muscle but the drinking and sweating thing seemed to work when i would be at a stand still. Or do a apple day. Just hang in there and be strong. Remember its the outcome at the end we are interested in !! LES
I have stayed about the same over 4 days, 155.8, 156, 155.6, 155.4 so I am considering having an apple day today. Can anybody respond and let me know if they think this is a good idea??
Good Morning!
Just wanted to thank DAVID today, as I have totally enjoyed this site and it seems everyone is getting so much good information from one another, so I wanted to take a moment to thank David for setting this up, for allowing this interaction, and to plead with him, and everyone!, to stay connected to this place so you will all be here with your tremendous support when I begin my HCG journey in a few weeks…
Boy! Big run-on sentence…
Happy Tuesday,
Amy
Hey Les, i am using the drops and I bought it from YourHcg website. I spent $199 for 2 2oz bottles. I will definately be ordering from the website you mentioned above. One or two recipes were provided but nothing as interesting as you have mentioned. Today I tried the baked apple cinnamon and it was the highlight of my day; thank you. I am still kindly asking whether you would send me a few recipes so that I can continue on this weightloss journey. Thank you. rosemariewarren@hotmail.com
Candace use all the zero zero zero stuff you want, it doesnt matter what it is if it has zero carbs, zero calories, zero fat or even zero fat zero carbs and just a few calories it is ok. Pickles and it juice. Use pickle juice mixed with chili powder and a little splenda for a great sause to put on your cabbage, squash beef or what ever you want. Lots of tomato stuff is legal. We found a local market brand spagetti sauce that was almost free of any thing and pourd over spegetti squash noodles with mushrooms and 96/4 ground burger WOW !!! Freezr you strawberries wnd then blend them with ice and a little splenda and water and wala you have a great smoothie. See ya
WOW big type “O” $40.00 per bottle FORTY DOLLARS ONLY. HCG Homeopathic MEDIRAL company out of Colorado is the distributor to wholesalers. A well known Homeopathic company around the world. Les
Jane, I did HCG homeopathic and did great as well as my family and many friends now have started a new life. Go to DIYHCG.COM and put in the comments that you heard about this from LES in Killeen, Texas and you will get the drops for $Z430.00 per bottle and my 40 days took 2 bottles but order 3 just in case. I started at .5 cc on the syringe and after day 10 dropped to .4 and made it just fine with a dose or 2 left. Total cost for me 80.00 plus shipping. Go by the food list on this blog and you cant go wrong. People I can tell you from experiance you can have Zucchinni, yellow squash sauteed in “I cant believe its not butter” or spray pam or generic, with onions and mushrooms, yes mixed veggies, bake the squash with cinnamon and splenda and yes I used splenda throughout, used low sugar heinz ketchup with horseradish for cocktail dip (only 5 cal per tablspoon) for you folks that think this is bland , it must mean you are not using Garlic and curry and pepper, sea salt, cilantro , shrimp boil and hot sauce, pico, peppers of all kinds, cabbage with meats and seasoning, wiltted greens with spray pam and onions, grilled fish and grilled chicken and grilled burgers seasoned with anything that doesnt have sugar in it. Get you romain hearts and use them for your taco shells your burger buns, use Mustard and eat pickles they are all VLCD foods, really there is no excuse not to have tasty food on phase 2, experiment with Braggs Amino Acid and other Braggs seasonings, Garlic, horseradish, mustard all kinds of things. Cinnamon on apples baked with splenda the squash the same things. Spagetti squash with marinara and 96/4 burger and mushrooms AWESOME !! all legal. Dont over kill on this diet, if you stay under your 500 and the reason you do that is because hcg is dumping 2000 calories into your blood stream from stored fat, it is awesome the way the fat is burned and folks just because you are not losing pounds some days doesnt mean you arnt losing inches, TRUST ME ,have lost 45 pounds and did it in the 45 days and 43 of it was by day 35. You will retain water and food in your system and your weight will fluctuate but dont get discouraged when you dont lose as much as me or someone else. Thjink about how just .5 per day is so Good. There is no other diet out there that does that for you. If you have lost 11.4 pounds in 18 days where else could you lose .6 over half a pound a day. Sometimes people expect a little to much out of this diet from what they have heard. Just do it for your self and be proud of the weight you have lost because no other diet will do this in my opinion only.
Overall at the end of the diet you will do well just look for tomorrow dont re-live yesterday or try to live tomorrow. LIVE TODAY and do it the best you can. When you feel like cheating, Take a big ole drink of water and a big bite of apple. Remember water weighs 8.33 pounds per gallon and if you drink close to that you will prob retain some of it like maybe 2 pounds of it so just keep on keepin on and drink your water at room temp. It is a lot easier to drink copious amounts of water at room temp and out of small glasses. Keep you a small glass by your work place and before long it is a habit to reach over and take a swig. This diet is really going crazy and its got the medical field jacked up. For those of you that are thinking of doing this diet and spending the average 800 – 1200 dollars and dont get any info or have been given any guidance or food ideas, Send me $200 and I will get you going with a manual, recipes and instruction and product. Get with me first it will save you at least 700 – 1000 dollars. All of you readers be BLESSED forgive the type o’s and remember ” GO THE DISTANCE” you will be glad you did. up to day 5 you could feel like you have the flue, detoxing and ridding your body of sugar, carbs, starches and cleansing. Your Lymph nodes could swell and your throat get sore, but keep on going because in 40 days you will need different clothes or fit in the ones you saved for when you got back to size. Have a Great evening.
I checked that web site it seems expensive,anyone else have any connections?
Yes, these injections are the HCG, Human Chronic Gonadotrophin, which is found in the body during pregnancy. You can read all about them on the website under forms there is a lot of good info on that site, just click on the forms section and read all of the forms, question and Answers form, ect.
Good Luck.
Dionne I know just what you mean I was skeptical at first also, but it really does work I got really discourage my second week because I was staying the same weight, then I gained two pounds, but Les told me that it is not about what you loose everyday, but what you loose overall and he is right because after the apple day I lost 3.4lbs and then it continues to come off. This is my 16th day and I am down 16.2 lbs so it does average out to be 1 lb a day. I am super impressed with this diet and I would recomend it to anyone ready to loose weight! I have struggled with weight all my life including an eating disorder in high school and college when I finally got help for my eating disorder I got really big, but this diet is a safe way for me to loose the weight an learn how to properly eat!
I am really glad I tried it.
it’s so encouraging to hear that people continue to lose weight throughout the 40 days and even on the other phases of the diet. I was so skeptical but in my first week I lost almost 7 lbs. I was happy and then in a split second a new fear set in. What if that’s it? What if I dont lose anymore after that? But I’m sticking to it and I’m not going to weigh myself again until Saturday. I am encouraged by all of your posts that the first week was not a fluke. I am excited at how quickly I could reach my goal weight on this diet.
Thanks everyone!
Thanks everyone!! This is a great site. I have been doing the drops now for 26 days and have lost 15.8 Could have done better I know, but there were some weekends that the beer was calling my name! LOL So I will take the loss and just move forward. Im hoping by the time my 43 days are up will lose another 10-12 pounds. Very excited!!!
Hi Judy! You asked about whether or not you need to do the VLCD 2 or 3 days after the last injection. Kevin T. says it more clearly than Dr. Simeon’s and that is: start with Phase 3 after 72 hours after the last injection. This means if your last injection was 8 AM Sunday, Monday is day 1, Tuesday is day 2 and as of 8 AM on Wednesday, you would start Phase 3 (basically eat until you’re full but no sugar or starches for 21 days and then you can slowly introduce starches, and some sugar if desired–but really document what you eat so you know what culprit it is that causes you to start gaining). I hope this helps you. I started Phase 3 as of 7/22/09. I am doing very well. My weight stays within the range allowed. I haven’t had to do a steak day yet and hope I don’t. I feel great! I start my second round of 40 days on the HCG on September 1st and actually look forward to it! I love this diet! Good luck on yours.
Lynda -
This answer I know!!
VLCD stands for Very Low Calorie Diet…
Good luck!
Amy
What does VLCD stand for?
Dr. Simeons books says to do 3 days of VLCD after stopping the hcg and Kevin Trudeau’s book says to do 2 days. For those of you who have done it, which advice did you follow?
Amanda – Everyone is different. For example, my friend seems to be averaging a loss of 1/2 pound per day, but I have been losing about 1 pound per day (9 pounds in 10 days). However, my results will probably slow down as I am on it longer. Even if it is only 1/2 pound a day, it is well worth it because you are losing the bad fat in the places where you don’t lose on all the other diets AND you are losing inches.
I have also read that eating organic food during the diet may have better success than non-organic (which may have hormones, antibiotics, additives, etc.) I have gone out of my way to buy organic (especially chicken since I have so much of it on this diet). I try to get wild caught fish as well (as opposed to farm raised which has been fed antibiotics, and I have a vegetable and herb garden. If you haven’t planted a garden, this time of year it’s easy to find a farm market that carries organic vegetables. Organic eating also more closely approximates the type of food available to the dieters in Dr. Simeons protocol. Hang in there, and good luck!
I dont know whats going on. Ive been on this 18 days and have only lost 11.4 lbs. whats up with that? im doing the 23 day injections and i thought i would have lost more then just 11.4 lbs. im doing everything to the T!!! has anyone else lost just this little in the 23 days?
Hi all,
I followed Dr.Simeon’s protocol for the 42 days and lost 27 pounds. I did gain back 4
Just started round 2 after 6 weeks off. Having a hard time getting back in the groove. Seems so boring. Can I add the mushrooms, zucchini etc? I also see many have oranges and broccoli. Will this affect my loss?
I have lost 11.5 so far and only on day 8 including load days. That amazes me because I’m not that far from my goal weight.
Let me know your thoughts.
Debbie