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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Karen, Thanks for the link to the Yahoo Groups. I joined two last week when I started the drops and diet. There is one group that has some great links and other cool stuff. I can send the link if you’d like to check it out.
Also check and see if you are getting enough potassium. They are caused becaused you dont have enough potassium. You could try eating bananas (which I know arent on the list), dark lettuce-or romain lettuce will do, brussel sprouts.
Also you could be getting them because of a hormonal imbalance. If you dont want to check with your regular Dr. then I would suggest going down to your local drug store and asking the Pharmacist. I wk with several if you’d like I can ask one of them??? I wk for a Pharmacutical company so I am surrounded with Dr’s, nurse’s and Pharmacist’s.
Harvel, I will be emailing you shortly. It seems when I am not on a “diet” I dont crave chocolate or anthing sweet. However, this last week I am???? I know it is all in my head.
Hi Everyone,
Well tomorrow I start on Phase 4. As of this morning, I weighed four tenths of a pound more than my lowest weight. My weight seems very stable on the Phase 3 diet, often staying the same for 5 or more days. I’m going to slowly add low carb bread (instead of full carb), bananas and carrots (both of which I’ve missed).
Speaking of low carb bread, I highly recommend the cookbook 500 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender. Tonight I made one of her 7 low carb bread recipes in the bread machine and it was absolutely delicious. I had a tiny sliver of it just to try it. My husband loved it also. It’s called White Bread (but it’s a light brown color – very flavorful looking). Each slice has only 5 grams of carbs with 1 gram of fiber (for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs) and 24 grams of protein. The recipe (for a 2 lb. loaf) is as follows (cut ingredients in half for a 1 lb. loaf):
2 cups water
2 Tb olive oil
Equivalent of 2 Tb of Splenda, so use your favorite stevia (I used 3 packets (total of 3/4 tsp) of NuNatural white stevia powder. Each packet has 1/4 tsp and is the sweetness of 2 tsp of sugar. Thus, 6 tsp sweetness = 2 Tb.) The sweetness in the bread was perfect.
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oat bran
1/4 cup psyllium husks
1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup vanilla-flavored whey protein powder
2/3 cup brown rice protein powder
4 tsp regular powdered yeast (not bread machine yeast or rapid rise yeast)
Put ingredients in bread machine in order listed (unless your bread machine calls for a different order). Use whole wheat cycle if your machine has it. Remove bread from bread case to cool on wire rack as soon as it is done.
I bought the ingredients (which, I admit, are not readily available at my grocery store) at iherb.com and off Amazon. I bought Jarrow for all of the protein powders, Bob’s Red Mill for the oat bran and vital wheat gluten and Barry Farm for the psyllium husks. I love bread so if I can make my own healthy low carb version, I’m thrilled to take the time to do it. I’m also going to try the Heart-y Bread recipe that has flax seed and rice bran. I’ll share the recipe if it turns out to be as good as it sounds. It has only 4.1 grams of usable carbs/slice. Good luck everyone!
Hillary,
I’m glad you decided to gorge anyway. I think you made a wise decision.
Rina,
I would take the HCG and be as careful as you possibly can be. I’m sure they will have lots of vegetables available. See if you can find some sushi that isn’t wrapped around rice so you just eat the fish part. Other than that, I would say enjoy yourself and don’t beat yourself up over something that you have to do.
Lynne,
I think you are right about the exercise. Looks like too much to me especially if it is painful. The two pounds you have lost on Ph3 are OK, even allowed. Does the problem with the meat have to do with the gastric bypass? If you are keeping track of the calories during Ph3, it’s fairly easy to stop the loss. Just add calories. Since we can have fat and oil in PH3; olive oil is approximately 220 calores per tablespoon. Maybe use a little more of it on your salad. We can also have cheese, a great source of calories as well as other nutrients.
Phase 4 is simply a continuation of Phase 3 with some added starches. If you have been counting calories in Phase 3, you know about how much you can eat in order to hold your weight steady. It’s that simple. You can eat about anything you want, but in moderation, always moderation.
Actually, you don’t have to eat bread at anytime during the rest of your life. If you do however, go for the the whole grain breads (Not “whole wheat” since it is generally just white flour with coloring added.) Ezekial bread is a good choice. It starts with whole grains that have been spouted.
For you and anyone else out there who might be living under a lot of stress and (like I used to) goes after the sweet, fatty, starch-laden comfort foods, I have a possible solution. Send me an email and I’ll put you onto it. hfalish@hotmail.com
Karen,
I was going to try the miracle noodles. But, I went on-line and found a comment that they had been banned in Australia because of some sort of health risk. I did not verify the information. It could have been a hoax. I have also read on this website about folks who tried them and didn’t care for them. Lynn’s comment just above is one of them.
We have a VitaMix. It’s a great piece of equipment. I really hadn’t thought of incorporating it into our lifestyle. Thanks for the reminder.
It’s very possible the cramps in your legs are in fact due to some sort of mineral deficiency. Without extensive testing, it would be difficult to tell which one or ones are low. Have you tried a good colloidal mineral mix as a supplement?
OK. I think I have responded to everything. If not, you know where to find me.
Harvel
Hi Everyone
Has anybody else received an email from somebody named Andreas Dettlaff about a Pounds and Inches HCG weightloss website. I was wondering how she got my email address as I don’t give it out to just anyone. I Did give it to one person, but I know they wouldn’t have given it to anyone.
Can’t be to careful.
Harvel
What kind of bread do you eat on P4, I bought one that has 15 carbs, 1 sugar, 4 protein, 3 fiber, and has 80 calories per slice. Do you think I can do better than that. I am so nervous, I am supose to start P4 tomorrow, but may give it another day. I am worried because I lost 2 lbs on P3, and I don’t want to screw it up this time. Thanks for all your help.
Lynne
Hi Karen,
I have a whole box of the so called miracle noodles. They re going to go in the trash tomorrow. I thought , oh well something I can really get into. Put a little spag sauce on them or make chix soup. They smelled so nasty, I couldn’t get them down. Someone on here wrote to rinse them really well and the odor will go away. I rinsed them forever, maybe the smell was still in my head, but I thought I was going to be sick. They smell very fishy and I eat fish, but I could’t get past this smell.
What is the vitamax thing you were talking about?
Lynne
Hi All,
It has been so quiet here today. I have several post awaiting MODERATION. Maggie the website is there for you, too!
Today after 5 weeks
with about a 21 day loss from the drops I noticed I was getting some charlie horses in my legs. A few painful ones. Thank Goodness they only last for a
short time. I need to find out what mineral or vitamin I am lacking. Does
anyone know off hand? Also Today I jointed the link at yahoo for the hcg eating plan. I wanted everyone
to know in case you want to check it out. Here is the link. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/homeopathichcgdieters
Have a great week,
Karen
Hi All,
Has anyone tried this yet? Harvel, this would be another great way to enjoy food on Maintenance. Alot less than the vitamix & does almost everything like the vitamix. I think.
http://www.myhealthmaster.com
More later,
Karen
Hi All,
I keep seeing this on line & finally decided to check it out. I am only in Phase 1 so I am not sure how this would work for any of the phases. Or has anyone else heard about this? Harvel I know you & your wife are exploring different options for the future. What are your thoughts?
http://www.miraclenoodle.com
Please advise,
Karen
Maggie,
Here is the info 636-634-2500 & ask for Ann. Please let me know you received the info, ok.
Thank you,
Karen
Hi Everyone,
I took the shots and I am wondering if next time I should do the drops, since I have done shots 3 times and ran into immunity problems all 3 times. Thought if I stretched out drops during the day I would do better? My question is: How do you keep drops cool if you are out and about all day?
I was shocked as I am right now stuck in my recliner most of day do to pain issues and still had a great loss. Guess I din’t need to force myself to walk 5-7 miles and endure all that pain. I think I actually hurt my weight loss by walking that much, as someone talked about starvation mode. I sure fit the bill.
Harvel, Thanks for the advice, about eating to much on trip. That usually isn’t my problem, even after gastric bypass. Sweets are supose to make you sick. They were the only thing that didn’t make me sick. Sure wish they did. It must of been, my body was just sue to them and not food. I am praying that my body has conqered the sugar problem now. harvel I have 2 more days on P3 and have lost 2lbs on this P, do you think that will hurt me. i didn’t try and loose the weight, I just can’t handle the density of the meat. The only way I seem to be able to get it down , is if I make a veggie soup with Chix broth and dump some meat into that. I bought the Veggie broth, but didn’t use it, because it had about 6 sugars in it. Do you think the Ezekial bread was a good choice, or do you know if there is a better one. It seems to be low in carbs. Have you tried any cereals on P4, I use to eat Kellogs Protein plus, I use to put 1/2 cup in my 4 oz 3 carb , no sugar added yogurt, do you think I could do that. I don’t want to eat any of those yogurts with 12-42 gr sugar yogurts. I don’t know how they can get by advertising them to be healthy?
I am almost sorry that I didn’t pass up this trip to finish up these last 15 lbs. Just hope I can maintain, until after holidays. I would hate to lose ground again. I gained 25 lbs after last round, because I didn’t understand about loading and exercise. Thats what I get for thinking I was being a matyr. Right. Thanks everyone. have a fgreat day. Lynne
Thanks Harvel: I bit the bullet and regorged. After reading pounds and inches I knew I had to so as of this morning I am back up there…I hate the feeling and the pounds so I guess it does peak your motivation. Thanks for the vegetable advice. I was not counting before but I will be doing so now. I know in the next 3-5 weeks this will all be so worth it.
Hi everyone–
Ok, big question. im on day 20. down 16 lbs. Day 26 will be a night where im going out for a cocktail party and dinner. i plan on cheating, then giving myself 3 days to recover and get back in line, and THEN doing my three hcg weaning days of 500 cal.
The question is- what do i do the day i know im going to cheat regarding the shot. do I skip a day? will that help? what’s the best thing to do- im at a loss. I will be as good as i can, sushi, vodka soda etc, but it’s a big night and i gotta go.
i dont want to quit before and then ruin the sinking in phase after the hcg shots, so i thought this was best–
thoughts???
thanks!
Rina
Hillary,
what to do? What to do? I don’t know. We are in unchartered waters for both of us so far as you getting back on the program is concerned. On the one hand, I’m fairly sure that gorge days would put you back on schedule. On the other hand, you could just go back on the HCG-VLCD and see what happens. I think that if you do that and are very hungry, that would be evidence that the gorge days were needed. And, of course, the opposite would be true. With no hunger and losing weight everything would seem to be OK. In the end, it is up to what you want to do.
Here’s the way I handle the vegetable portions for my wife and me. I first figure the calories in the meat portions for the day. I then add in the fruit calories. Finally, I figure how much of the two chosen vegetables would be needed to take the total to 500 calories. I was not concerned about having a particular quantity of vegetables, 2 cups, 5 ounces, or whatever. Just whatever was needed to make up the calories. And, I always base my calculations on the weight of the vegetables, not a volumetric measure.
Hope this helps,
Harvel
Hi Maggie,
I have not been on for the last three days. Here is the website for the drops http://www.hcgliquid.com. You can call them and ask for Ann she is the greatest help you can get on the drops.
More later,
Karen
PS Thank you to everyone who gave the pointers on the books & confirmed the Tammy Skye Book is good Thank You Jackie. I was sure it was good & will purchase soon. I have the 101 recipes & find it helpful for starters & basics to get us going.
I just received two books on HCG weight loss program from Amazon. The first is the 101 recipes. Some look good and some were available for free on other sites so I am a little disappointed. The other called the Pocket Guide to the HCG Protocol by the Prinsters had little information other than the foods you can eat at each phase. I am not knocking the authors, it is just that all of the info in the book is obtainable for free…anyway I am sure the book is useful in the next phases when you need to know what foods are okay but certainly not in the first phase.
Some new hints I found:
If you have the drops, they need to be refrigerated. I did not know that and I am hoping the vial I have still has some potency to it. Since I broke a brand new one when I started, I dont want to buy a third one right now.
The authors claim that you can use tuna in water, that was unavailable in Simeons time. I wonder if they are right. I am choosing not to deviate.
They also strictly advise to look at all spice labels.Many contain sugar and can halt your progress.
They also say you can eat a tangelo or a tangerine.
And yes to cottage cheese.
Anyone out there on a stall, it is sometimes caused by your body being accustomed to a certain weight. Simeon says that it will correct itself if you remain true to the diet. To be patient…and wait it out. He is emphatic about the success of this plan. Even with the holidays around the corner, I am excited to get back on track. Food just doesnt hold the same allure for me anymore. I hope that mindset continues.
I am confused on one issue.There are several different amounts out there on vegetables.Some websites say 6 oz a day and other say 2 cups. I dont know how much to have. Please let me know. Good luck to all
Harvel: I was on the drops for two weeks before vacation. I lost 10 lbs. I dont have anyone else to ask. I truthfully do not want to do the gorge days as I feel I had enough of that on vacation. What are your thoughts if I just eat right but not the 500 for today and tomorrow and then start fresh on Monday? I would do the drops starting today…Will not gorging hurt my chances of a serious loss? Please let me know.
Hillary,
I forgot to ask how long you were taking the drops before you went on vacation? You might want to go into Ph3 mode and finish out the cycle before starting again.
Harvel
Hillary,
I think that it would be best to start over. The two gorge days and the whole thing. I don’t see the weight gain to be that much of a problem, but 7 days without HCG, I think, is just too long. The HCG is pretty well gone from the body by the end of the third day, according to Dr. Simeons. Of course, you will probably gain a little more those first two days, but it will get you solidly back on the path to slenderness. Plus, as a bonus, you probably made some good memories on the vacation.
Do you have someone with more experience in this thing than I have? If you do, you might want to get get their opinion.
Harvel
Harvel: I could always count on you to answer. Thanks. I gained 5 and was without drops for 7 days now. Your thoughts….
Jackie,
Thanks for passing along the veggie cookbook ideas. We are thinking like you are. The standard midwestern diet has pretty much gone the way in our household. I’m feeling too good to go back to the meat and potatoes that once were the mainstay of my diet.
Harvel
Lynne,
The cruise sounds like a fun time. Unfortunately, I think one of the major entertainments is eating. By now, you should know about how much you can eat without gaining. Just trust you body, chew slowly, and stop when your body tells you to. If anyone questions why you are not eating more, just tell them that you are under a doctors’s care. You don’t need to tell them what for.
Don’t be afraid of Phase 4. You don’t need self-control. Your body has learned–trust it.
Harvel
Hillary,
Two questions:
How long did you go without taking any HCG?
How much did you gain?
Harvel
Hi all: I am back but did gain during vacation. I probably could have done better as food does not hold the same appeal for me anymore. I made some good choices but I need to continue on my journey. My question is this: Should I restart the whole process with gorge days or just start back on phase 2? I am not sure of what to do. I came home to find the 101 recipe book I ordered. Will share the good ones and another book on the protocol that I will happily share as well. Thanks for everyone’s advice. In reading, I think I was always hungry because I wasnt taking enough drops. My plan is to be even stricter. But I am looking forward to it. I felt great and know that the end is worth it. I am looking at it this way: I could have gone away with the 10 pounds I lost and been in big trouble. Thanks to all..again and again.
Rina, I didn’t use cofee mate for my coffe, but I did use Fat free half and half. It had 2 sugars, and since low fat milk had 12, I thought I was better off with half’n half.
Doing some research tonight into new Akins diet called Eco Turbo ( Womans’s World feature this week Oct 19 ) I ran across this site that said eating yogurt because of the cultures and other things. If you eat one cup a day no matter what the imfo on package it is only 4 grams of carb of carbs you are gettig. Must be why, it never put weight on me. It was just my way of getting the protein I wasn’t getting from meat.
Harvel,
Biscuits and Gravy, yes, now I don’t feel so mad that I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich next Tues. But I am scared to death to go on P4, I did go out and buy some Ezekeial bread and stashed in the freezer for when I am brave enough. I was going to start Round 4, but our devlopement are all signed up for an Elvis cruise for a few nights, and I don’t want to start it and not be able to be off of it by Thanksgiving. I know some people start it and take a break, but I don’t trust myself to get back on it and things are going so right, I just don’t want to screw it up. Can’t believe I have actually lost a little weight on P3, and I am still within the 2 lb range.
Harvel Thank you so much for all your help and advice, that I have picked up from advice to others. I think being able to read how everyone else does things, sure helps. I gained back 20 after Round 2 just because I didn’t understand and didn’t have anyone to ask. I did the wrong thing back then, by forcing myself to walk 5-7 miles per day, ( I didn’t know you should only walk for 30 minutes.) God Bless you all for your help. Hope I can keep it off this time. I know I did it right this time. Lynne
Rina,
I do not believe coffeemate is allowed in Phase 2. You are allowed 1 Tb of milk/day, however. I almost think if would be better to have more than 1 Tb of fat free milk than having the coffeemate.
That’s great that you are hanging in there even when you’re hungry. When I was on Phase 2 if I felt at all hungry between meal times (which wasn’t often), I had an iced tea with stevia. It totally controlled my cravings. Good luck!
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