My name is Jen. I’m a naturopath, former nurse, and currently pursuing my PhD. I have spent much of my life studying at Rutgers & Oxford Universities, where I currently study medicine. I have over 20 years of experience in medicine, with a nursing background that includes certifications and specializations in emergency and acute care, psychology, pathology, nutrition, fitness & rehabilitation.
I have a strong passion for understanding behavior and its links to obesity. More importantly, how that behavior can be changed to acquire the healthy lifestyle everyone deserves. This focus came after I personally lost nearly 90 pounds with Hcg & medical weight loss.
I am also the founder of HCG Diet Info. I made the decision to create HDI in 2002 when I was on the HCG Diet and I realized there was not a single site online to help others on the protocol. I had 13 visitors my first week. In 2013, HDI passed 100 million visitors and continues to grow today, as the leading authority on the HCG Diet Plan and medical weight loss.
I have also personally lost 88 lbs with medical weight loss and have successfully kept it off (my success story) for over 10 years. I then lost another 45 lbs of baby weight with help from Nu Image and Diet Doc. This diet changed my life, and created a passion to learn more about behavior modification, hormone therapy and medical weight loss from a holistic perspective.
Somewhere along the line, I started the first Hcg Diet website: 15+ years later, 100 million visits, over a million pages, & countless lives changed… HDI has become the true highlight of my weight loss journey.
How the Hcg Diet Has Changed My Life…
My Hcg Diet success story? I lost 88 pounds with prescription Hcg, and in less than a year. I went from a size 18/20 to a size 6 and maintained a healthy lifestyle for over 10 years. When I had a baby, I chose Hcg, lipotropics, B12 and medical weight loss supplements to lose 45 lbs, with a modern, modified protocol.
From Fast Food Junkie to Next-Gen Health Nut
Several years ago, I had some guests staying over; friend’s of friend’s from overseas that didn’t particularly know me or my lifestyle habits. As I was settling them in, I told them to make themselves at home, and two of them opened my fridge and were perusing my kitchen. I heard them talking amongst themselves as I was talking to my friend.
One of the girls finally asked, “Do you always eat like this?” I had no idea what she was referring to. “Like what?”
I walked over to my fridge and looked. There it was in all it’s glory: stacks (yes, stacks) of organic kale, tubs of spinach, rows of english cucumbers. A fridge door full of coconut water. I looked on my counter where the other girl was pointing: Bags of raw spirulina chips, containers of Amazing Grass vegetable shakes. Vega protein drink mix. Terra chips. Raw Bars and Kind Bars, Amazing Grass bars, chia bars. And of course, my beloved, and well-used Vitamix. My entire kitchen was that of a next-gen, health nut.
I remember that moment well. I couldn’t help but wonder… “When did this happen???? When did I start eating like this? Heck, when did I start to ENJOY eating like this???”
This truly was an eye-opening moment for me. I remembered the days when I had a box of twinkles (gag) stashed in my car, and couldn’t pass through a grocery line without grabbing a snickers and a diet coke (btw, my size 2 friend once told me, “only big girls drink diet coke” and I’ve come to realize she was right.) I ate fast food… and enjoyed it. I overstuffed myself at every meal and didn’t own a swimsuit… on purpose. Ahhh…. those were the days (the days where I would have been happy to fit into a size 16 because those were my “skinny jeans.“) Well, times have changed and I have evolved… and continue to evolve, into that vibrantly healthy woman I never imagined I could be.
2017 Hcg Diet Success Story Update
After maintaining my size 6, post-hcg diet weight for over 10 years, I have had a baby and am currently a size 14 (such a small price to pay after waiting 20 years for my bundle of joy!) I have just stopped breastfeeding and am preparing to start my 2nd Hcg Diet Success Story this year!
2018 Hcg Diet Success Story Update
As you may have seen on my blog, I have completed three rounds in 2017 and am feeling great! My stomach is flat once again and while I still have some post-baby curves going on, I really feel amazing and am happily eating well and enjoying life in a bikini once again!
My Early Hcg diet Journey: How it started
Once upon a time, I weighed 240+ lbs. I had tried every diet on the planet (or at least it felt like it) and ultimately ended up in a size 18/20. A friend once mentioned she was on this “miracle medical hormone diet” that a doctor she worked with had recommended. I was shocked- she had been a size 2 for as long as I had known her, but apparently that wasn’t always so. Imagine the expression on my face when she said she had once been over 170 lbs.
I suddenly had visions of what it would be like to live a life where I could eat something… anything, without a mix of guilt and shame, and shop in the “normal girls” section. I felt desperate to find information on this diet that could possibly have such long term results. I searched on the web for hours…days… weeks. I found nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. I started a yahoo group, searching for others that had heard of this diet. A few gathered, and a few shared tips on possible clinics and physicians that would prescribe HCG for weight loss.
Another woman shared an outline of the original manuscript she had gotten from a doctor. One thing led to another and a month later, I had my HCG and was ready to start. I modified the 500 calorie diet, adding more greens, and a few supplements. I was motivated to exercise. Within a few rounds, I had lost nearly 90 pounds, and I felt better than I had ever felt in my life.
Over the following year, a few nurses and doctors joined the cause, providing valuable insight to Dr. Simeons work. All of these people joined together, creating the first, largest and best Hcg Diet resource on the web. I couldn’t have done it without them.
Where I’m at today…
Over the years, my weight has fluctuated a little but I have never gained all that weight back, not even close. While I had no guidance to the maintenance phase, it was trial and error that slowly led me to the healthy person that I am today. My average size over the last 10 years has been a size 6/8.
I have been as high as a size 10 before figuring out what the problem was, tweaking my diet/lifestyle and making my way back down to a size 6/8.
I looooooove to workout… although I rarely call it working out. Instead, you’ll hear me say, “I love moving.” (Moving is so much more fun than exercising, don’t you think?) I box- yes, gloves and all. I lift weights and I love it. I’m not afraid of a paddle board and have been known to win a paddle-battle with my friends (sorry you fell in, Justin) I love to swim, and even jog now and then. Oh, and yoga is a daily now.
What about food, you ask?
The difference between “before-Jen” and “after-Jen” … I know my food limits and I know my body. I know what I can “get away with.” I know excessive dairy makes me gain weight quickly and makes my face break out. I know my body loves berries of all kinds. I know I do better on a diet with mostly fish, vs. beef or chicken. I know that my body does really well with a boost of B12 now and then, and various supplements. Chocolate; I only reach for dark chocolate- healthier choice and now, I prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate.
I love spinach and I put it in everything; I toss it in my omelettes and smoothies. I tear it up and add it to tuna salad. I throw it on top of my pizzas. Yes, I eat pizza. Yet, I go ages without buying bread. I used to love sprouted and spelt bread, but somehow, I’ve slowly gotten out of the habit of bread. Wraps- I’ll do spinach wraps occasionally; I do love wraps with nothing but spinach, avocado and tomato, sprinkled with sea salt and Braggs amino acids. I suppose you see a trend here right? Healthier food choices have now become my natural preference.
I also understand portion control. I know that a bite or two is so much more satisfying than handfuls of food. Once I have more than a few bites, I’m good.
I recently realized that my biggest post-HCG Diet accomplishment, was actually letting go of the battle. This alone makes it incredibly hard for me to gain weight. As I mentioned above, I am currently holding onto some post-baby weight. The weight is not coming off easily… but unlike years ago, the weight is not coming on easily either. In fact, it’s the holidays and I have been eating plenty, and enjoying it! I stepped on the scale the other day expecting to have gained a few extra pounds. I had lost a pound.
