Ok so here's the question:

How much (in grams) of protein is needed to sustain this diet successfully?

I ask because I have been a vegetarian for 6 years and I have stuck with that through this diet so far, I just find that I'm craving protein like MAD... -and- I've hit a wall with the losses.



Here's the situation:

R1P2VLCD23... Down 18.6 pounds, have another 15 or so to lose. Sublingual HCG (RX) twice a day, 333IUs (less makes me hungry, tried it).

No cheating, minimal vegetable mixing, tried apple day for a 1.6 pound loss but stall the next day, only eating one apple and one serving of melba per day... Ivory bar soap, Crest toothpaste, mineral deodorant stick, glycerin for the hair and that's -it-.

So far, I've been using egg whites, quinoa, and the Quorn chicken cutlets for my protein. Egg whites and quinoa wasn't cutting it -- first 10 days or so, I did that, and I was starving. I upped my dose and put in Quorn stuff; I had zero hunger issues!...but the weight loss stalled right about the time I started using Quorn. I know a lot of people here use it with no problem, and I AM at a previous weight set-point, so I'm wondering if it's a coincidence.

Another comment: in doing some of the math, I realize that 3.5 oz of chicken breast is about 30 grams of protein, whereas one of the Quorn chic'n cutlets is 11. This means that meat-eaters are getting 60 grams a day (or thereabouts) and vegetarians only 22. Does anyone have an insight with this -- could this be why vegetarians lose less? Is my recent craving for protein a result of having gone 23 days like this, with insufficient protein?

My husband also did this diet with me; he's now in P3 and he lost fantastically (like men always do). He looks great and feels great. But... he's been a vegetarian his whole life, and is a 4th generation vege. The option of eating meat on this diet was NOT an option for him. I, on the other hand, am considering it, since I am going for a 40 day round.

(And... please... I know the animal cruelty issues and the karma issues. I probably know more than most. I don't need reminding, I'm looking for sound medical insight. In what I do for a living, I walk a path of service... 2 weeks of eating organic chicken breast is worth it to me if it means that I don't damage my body and I can finally be free of the self-image that I have (and am trying to correct). I honor the animals for their sacrifice and will give back in the ways I know how. If that's selfish or offensive to anyone, I apologize, but believe me when I say that the decision to consider this is not an easy one)...

Bottom line, I guess, is that this diet is working for me and I'm very happy with it, I just want to be sure that I'm doing the right thing. I want to get the most out of it, and I want to emerge healthy.

If anyone knows the target grams of protein per day that we're supposed to have, I'd appreciate that knowledge.

Thank you for your time.

Upat4,

Thank you for the insight, 30 grams is about consistent with what I've found too. And yes, I've been using Sun Warrior to supplement eggs... that works nicely. Not sure if I can do another 20 days of it, but we'll see. *chuckle* Again, thanks!

Anyone else care to chime in about amount of protein (grams) we should be having every day...?


As a slight update, I've started mixing Sun Warrior protein shakes to supplement the egg whites, and that seems to be working well. The shakes don't TASTE that great, but I can't tell you how good it felt to get what my body's been craving.

I went out and got some lean, natural chicken with no hormones or anything... measured and cooked it. Tomorrow's dinner will be a chicken salad, just so I can see how I do with it. It'll be the first time in about 6 years that I've eaten chicken, but I was raised on the stuff, so hopefully it'll do fine.

I am new to hcg and today is my 3rd day of VLCD. I've been vegetarian for about 8 years, so meat was not an option for me. I was nervous about starting this diet becuase there didn't seem to be many options for vegetarians, but after researching and reading a lot I've found a few options that don't stray too far from the original protocol. I know that Dr. Simeon stated that 1 egg plus the whites of 3 is allowed as well as cottage cheese. If you buy non fat cottage cheese it has 14 grams of protein per serving which is pretty good. I've also been using Jay Robb egg white protein which has 24 grams of protein per serving. He has a non flavored powder which is as close as original protocol that i think you can get with protein powder, its basically egg white protein powder and stevia. A lot of the other powders have other sweteners and additives in the ingredients. I've also heard other veggies say they use whey protein and that it works fine. I've also been using the quorn chicken cutlets.

As for the amount of protein per day, I believe it should be around 50-60 grams per day. I downloaded a book called "HCG weight loss cure guide" that has been really helpfull with things like this. It lists how many cups of certain veggies you should have and how many calories it is, etc. it's been really helpful. If anyone wants this book, I would be happy to email it. It's been helful to see how many calories are in a serving of each kind of meat. For example, beef roast has 150 calories and extra lean ground beef has 215 calories, so i figure if I have 1 quorn cutlet which is 80 calories and 11g protein, i can add another cutlet to get the right amount of protein and it's still only 160 calories, which isnt too bad. I dont know if your not supposed to mix protein, but the other day I had 1 quorn cutlet and put cottage cheese on it. So my protein intake was 25g. Hope this helps!

I'm a vegetarian and getting ready to start hhcg tomorrow (for the first time!).
I really appreciate the posts! I am wondering how everyone is doing now? The last post was three weeks ago.
I live a block away from a whole foods and I've used rice protein before, but I didn't bother checking for sugars so I need to read the labels before I buy. I'm wondering if Sun Warrior is available in stores? I have never heard of these "chicken" cutlets (quorn), but I'm going to check them out. I wasn't sure how much protein I should be getting in at each meal so I appreciate the posts!

Any updates? I'd love to hear how you did since I'm starting my loading day tomorrow! :-D