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.
Need HCG? Click here to buy quality HCG and HCG Diet Supplies
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.
Need HCG? Click here to buy quality HCG and HCG Diet Supplies
{ 5677 comments }
← Previous Comments
Has anyone done more then 1 round and the 2nd round in ph3, you eat the same things you did the first time but the 2nd time your gaining. this is happening to me. before i was eating whatever was allowed, not really counting calories and eating peanut butter everyday. now i have gained the 2.2 lbs and have to do a steak day. would someone be sensitve to the same foods during another round? i dont get whats going on..
Karen,
Thanks for the information on the “ZONE.” My wife is dealing with high blood sugar (although she tested at 113(!!) this morning–the 12th day, second go around with HCG. That’s down from the 180-190 range just a few weeks ago. Dr. Sears’ eating technique might have a great deal of value for us. I didn’t have the time this morning to go into it in any detail, but I did bookmark his site.
Also thanks to you and others who are answering my question about the rest of our lives. There are some good ideas coming in. Since this is a widely read site, those ideas should be of help to all of us. Most of the stuff we have for reference deal with the diet itself but don’t have a whole lot of guidance about “for the rest of our lives.”
Harvel
Harvel,
Good for you & your wife thinking about your next steps & getting a plan in place. One of my ideas is to only eat out, at special occassions or at friends & then have the good high calorie deserts away from home. I do my best to keep the fun deserts out of the house 90 % of the time
I have stopped baking unless it is good & low in calories. Also STEVIA is a great for substitting(SP) some of the deserts. Let me know what you think.
Good night,
Karen
Here you go…
It is by a guy by the name of Dr. Sears. You can sign up for FREE to get the recipes.
http://www.zonediet.com/EATING/Overview/tabid/79/Default.aspx
http://www.zonediet.com/EATING/RECIPES/tabid/80/Default.aspx
Karen,
I have not heard of the ZONE Eating Plan. Could you tell me a little more about it and where to get more information?
Harvel
Hi All,
It sounds like everyone is doing well.
Jackie, I am saving your tart recipe for when I get to phase 3.
Jessica, Did you see my protein days protocal? That might help as I posted it last week.
Harvel, How about the ZONE Eating Plan? I have seen some good recipes on that eating plan. Let me know I may have saved them somewhere on my computer & can email you. Also a Diabetic eating plan might be good or a friend said something about loosing a lot of weight on a high glycemic eating plan. I know you will find something out there. Plus you can still eat the HCG meals as I see lots of good receipes on line etc that I have found. Once again I can email you some.
In one month as of yesterday I had lost 20 lbs. after exactly one month of being on the drops. Today I was up 2 1/2 lbs. I am not going to let this bother me as i am so pleased with the drops & eating plan. Plus I know the inches are down too! Here is a great way to measure yourself…
A good way to make sure you measure in the same place on your arms and legs is measure from you shoulder to your elbow, then take half of that measurement and that is your mark. For my thigh, I measure down from my hip 6 inches and measure around that section of thigh. On my calf, I measure down 5 inches from my knee. That way I am always measuring in the same location.
I just started using this plan for measuring & ONLY measure every two weeks so will not know anything for two weeks & will not ever know my true measurements from over a month ago as I was not measuring accurately9everytime was a different spot with in a few inches. LOL
More later in the week,
Karen
Jackie,
Thanks for the come-back on the “forever” portion of the diet. Even though I spoke of baking our own bread, I doubt that we will be doing very much of that. This diet has almost completely weaned us away from breads and sugar.
And, yes, the daily weighing and the knowledge of how to nip any small gains in the bud are most valuable.
I am looking forward to being able to keep up with the grandkids for a long, long time.
Harvel
Jessica,
If Jackie was planning to answer your question, I apologize for stepping into the middle of your discussion.
Having said that, I think now might be a good time for an apple day. On the other hand, you might start losing again tomorrow without it. Dr. Simeons’ instructions for the apple day are as follows:
“An apple day begins at lunch and continues until just before lunch of the following day. The patients are given six large apples and are told to eat one whenever they feel the desire though six apples is the maximum allowed. During an apple day no other food or liquids except plain water are allowed and of water they may only drink just enough to quench an uncomfortable thirst if eating an apple still leaves them thirsty.” –Pounds & Inches, Page 35
Hope this helps,
Harvel
Julie,
I would probably avoid soy milk. While it doesn’t seem to have any starch in it, even the plain soy milk has 6 grams of sugar per cup. And the beans for sure contain starch, over 4% starch.
To avoid an potential problems with the efficacy of the HCG mix, I ordered the dry powder and have been mixing it myself. That way, I know how much is in it and how fresh the mixture is.
Man, talk about stick-to-itivness (is that a word?). Two times around and another to go. That 53 pounds has to feel good. I think that was the situation that Les was in. Like any worth-while goal go for it. You know what to do and how to do it. I’m proud of you.
Harvel
Does anyone know if soy milk is okay on Phase 3 (considering soy is a bean)? I also wondered about roasted soy beans during Phase 3. I am starting my second maintenance. I’ve lost an overall total of 53 pounds during the two rounds of HCG injections. I have 30 more pounds to go. I did run into a batch of 2,000 IU made into a mixture of 175 IU doses (11.5 days worth of mix) that didn’t do much at all. I did lose, just not very much. Anything’s progress in my mind’s eye. The other batches to get through the 40 injections seemed fine. So, there are bad batches out there…or should I say, not as effective?
Jackie,
Thank you for responding back to me. I am just hoping that you are right. It has been about 4 days and I still have not lost anything. Only time will tell. Do you think I need to do a apple day, and if so what do you have to do that day. Thanks for letting me know. Jessica
KellyR,
Could you take a cooler with your cooked chicken portion and cut up cucumbers, tomatoes or salad, plus your fruit? If that’s not possible, I don’t see any problem doing an apple day. You’ll still be on the hcg, correct?
If you are almost done the diet, I wouldn’t worry about the Smooth Move tea. Once you are off it, constipation is not an issue. I was worried about Phase 3 also, but it has been easier than I expected. If you start to gain, just go back to the Phase 2 foods, but bigger portions. If I gained a little, I also made a point to exercise the next day – nothing intense – just taking a brisk 15 min. walk or something similar – and cutting back on calories like olive oil and butter.
Good luck!
Harvel,
Regarding your question about what plan to follow after Phase 3, I think I’m leaning toward the Medditeranean diet (with moderation). I probably will avoid potatoes and limit carbs, but eat as I like at parties and special occasions. I think the biggest brake on weight gain will be getting on the scale every day because it makes it possible to nip any gain (quickly) in the bud.
Jessica,
I think you have to be patient. I think I read in the Protocol that it takes about a week to get back on track after cheating. Just keep plugging along, following the diet, and I’m sure you’ll start losing again. All you have lost is a little time. Good luck!
Harvel, you words were very encouraging. Thanks alot!!!!!!!!!!! Stacey
Debra,
It smells wonderful! It looks good too, but it is more “rustic” than the traditional tart because the crust is more crumbly than flaky. The flavor, however, is awesome!
Jackie
Thanks for the recipe. It sounds wonderful. I’ll bet it seems good while it’s baking!
PLEASE HELP!!!! I cheated on Friday and gained about 3 pounds and now I can’t get it off. What can I do to get the weight off. On Sat I went right back on the diet and it is still not working. So if anyone can HELP me please do. Jessica
Thanks Jackie for the recipe. Can’t wait to try it out in phase 3.
To Harvel and anyone else:
I must be really honest with what’s happening and I don’t want to fall into a trap here but, I have been stagnant with my weight for a couple of days going up sometimes 2oz and losing it when I take the Smooth Move tea. Today, I drop 1lb 4 oz because I took it again. I have notice in the last week that the only time i lose is when I take the tea. I don’t want to form a trend but, I am afraid that in desperation i may become dependent on the tea. I am being honest here. Plus, I have a couple of more days on phase 2 as of October 14 I will begin my 3 days without the HCG. I would appreciate any thoughts. VEry, very scare to start phase 3.
One other thing on Saturday, I will be away and not in a position to prepare my meal, can I substitute and do an apple a day, just for that day??? cause I tried planning ahead and speaking with management and my other co-worker who is also on the diet ate what she order and got sick…(we guessed it was the oil) I don’t want to do that so, I thought just doing the apple a day for just Saturday??
I appreciate and welcome any thoughts.
Thanks
Jackie,
We, my wife and I, too, have noticed a whole lot of changes with this diet. They include: not wanting as much to eat; eating more slowly and savoring our food; eating clean, fresh, pure (organic, non-processed) foods; not really liking “fast food”–the list goes on. I too miss bread. We have talked about grinding our own grains and baking our own breads so we have control over what goes into them.
Thanks for the Apple Tart recipe.
Many of us are nearing the end of the formal phases of the diet. What are folks using as guidelines for the “forever” portion of the diet? We have looked at the Mediteranian Diet, the Sonoma Diet and the South Beach Diet for ideas. They all have good points. Any other ideas?
Harvel
Harvel,
Thanks for the tip about eating slowly. I do think that makes a big difference. I have been very surprised in Phase 3 by how my appetite seems much more under control. I think it’s because I’m eating foods that are more pure or my brain has become used to seeing less on a plate. All I know that before I would be ravenous before each meal (so I would over eat). Now, when lunch or dinner approaches I feel slightly hungry, not ravenous. Then I seem to be satisfied with more reasonable portions. Even though I LOVE bread, I really don’t miss it that much. Anyway, I really thinks this diet is the best one out there.
Debra,
The Apple Tart recipe (acceptable in Phase 3, not Phase 2)is as follows:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Almond Crust
2 cups almond flour (Red Mill makes it or you can make your own by grinding up blanched almonds in your food processor)
3 egg yolks
2 Tb soft butter
2 Tb heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Mix all ingredients well, then press into a 9″ pie dish (or an 8″ square dish).
Prepare Apples:
Peel about 4 Granny Smith apples (or some other good pie apple), cut them in half and slice into 1/4 inch “half moon” slices.
Toss apples with 1 Tb fresh lemon juice, 12 packets of your favorite stevia (or a similar amount of the bulk or liquid stevia). The stevia is meant to replace approximately 1/2 cup of sugar so adjust as necessary considering the type (and strength) of stevia you use.
Place slices on crust, overlapping and going in circles or in diagaonal rows, whatever you prefer.
Dot apples with 4 Tb (1/2 stick) of cold unsalted butter, diced. Bake for about 20 minutes until crust is golden and apples look done. It tastes great. Enjoy!
On day 1 and 2 of “loading” do you drink allot of water? Or is that not till Day 3?
Jackie,
Can you please post your recipe for your apple dessert? It sounds great.
Stacey,
My only advice is to stick with it. None of us like to see a stall on the scales. But, the fact is that a stall is perfectly normal and happens to everyone from time to time.
According to Dr. Simeons what happens with a short stall is that the empty fat cells are filled with water while they are waiting to be resorbed by the body. Water weighs more than fat so no loss shows on the scales. But your body will continue to “resculpt” itself during this time. You may have noticed changes in your measurements.
You are absolutely correct: Not yet time for an apple day.
Hope this helps,
Harvel
I have been on the hcg injections a week and a day now. I have been in a two day stall. I am doing everything the same. I am beginning to get a little worried and discouraged. I know that it is to soon for me to try an apple day. Anyone with any helpful advice? Stacey
← Previous Comments