The hcg diet is NOT dangerous for most people. At my office, we medically screen potential clients to make sure they can do the diet.  There are some people that can NOT do the diet and some people need help with drug management over the course of the diet. The diet is only 6 weeks long…not months and months like some think. In six weeks no one in America is going to die from malnutrition…remember you are eating your own fat for nutrition (that is what the hormone hcg does for us).  I guess religious fasts of 20-40 days are socially acceptable but a medical weight loss program causes huge controversy.

Someone recently said “hcg caused a bladder infection in my friend”. I say BULLSHIT to that….dehydration causes 90% of urinary tract infections and if she wasn’t drinking enough water she probably caused the infection all by herself. Coincidence. Coincidence. I did tell this person that sex causes UTIs too…so maybe we shouldn’t have sex either????? Come ON!

The hormone hcg is present in the 100,000’s in pregnant women…injecting 200 iu/day is a pinprick amount compared to that. In fact, the more times you are pregnant the lower your risk of breast cancer. Now I guess I could say that hcg lowers cancer risk…I am not going to say that but these are the claims that get made for or against drugs/programs/vitamins/herbs etc…

With about 3000 people through our HCG program (I did it way before the FAD hit) we have had no serious medical problems. In fact, we have had hundreds of medical miracles…people go off of blood pressure medications, migraines go away, blood sugar stabilizes, rashes go away and hundreds of other maladies disappear.  If you can convince people that what they eat matters and directly causes disease and health issues then we have succeeded…no matter how many pounds they lost.

I do hate the fact that people do the program and then gain their weight back and then want to do it again. These people irk me. I want people to change how they eat forever….be thinner forever, be healthier forever. I love the lifelong success the program can jump start in folks. I have over 1000 testimonials I could share and they are the above folks…they lost 30-100lbs on the program and are now LIVING life and maintaining their healthy new self. Love you!  When people say “hcg didn’t work for me” I think they meant to say “I didn’t work while doing the hcg”.  If you want to do the program do it right, don’t waste your time or money. Agh!

So enough of my verbal diarrhea…I hope you get the idea. HCG is a great jumpstart to a healthy new life and anyone who says differently is ignorant or makes money prescribing drugs and seeing sick, fat people. Good luck!!!!!!!

rgds,

dr.gb

I think that the hcg program jump starts anyone’s journey towards wellness. Yes, you might lose 25-40+ pounds and feel great but medically speaking you have just really improved your health. Your heart thanks you for releasing some burden off of its action, your blood sugar might register on the normal side now, your blood pressure might not scare the person taking it, your brain might not want sugar/empty carbs when bored, your appetite might not be that of a grizzly bear before hibernation, your kidneys have to deal with less fluid, and YOU LOOK FRICKIN’ FABULOUS!

As a physician, I get so sick of other physicians telling their patients to lose weight and then offering NOTHING to help them. Well, this hcg program is an option for my clients. Yes, it is a drastic, invasive, seemingly crazy way to start a weight loss journey but HELLO—-if you lose 25-40+ pounds maybe, just maybe you will begin to change your life forever! I do lots of other weight loss programs for my patients that need to lose 5-20 pounds but when someone needs to lose more than that, the hardest part is EMBARKING on the journey.

I have had lots of patients lose over 100 pounds….without surgery or harsh drugs…THAT  ROCKS!  Those people will tell you HCG saved their life.

I have had people lose 25 pounds and then change the way they eat forever. Oh, and they even go to the gym now….WOW! Oh, and their health is better now than ever!

I have had people gain back every pound they lost within 2-3 months of the hcg program. I HATE that…HCG is NOT a quick fix, nothing is. If you are not ready to be healthy forever, then save your money and time. You will need the money for insulin and blood pressure medication eventually anyway.

The hcg program is also a great cleanse for people. It is also a hypo-allergenic diet. I have had many people figure out they were allergic to wheat or dairy or corn or soy or….after doing the program. I have seen many medical issues disappear while on the hcg program…after all, food can cause illness or disease. I have seen eczema, GERD, migraines, acne, hypertension, high cholesterol, edema, PMS, menopausal symptoms, and many others issues DISAPPEAR on the diet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If that doesn’t teach folks that what they eat matters then nothing will.

Thanks for reading the soap box….Next time someone wonders why this physician does HCG with people, I can refer to the soapbox. HA!

Dr.GB

Directions for the next 7-10 days:

1. Every day drink 32 ounces of delicious green smoothie.  Make in the morning in your blender or VitaMix (much better at liquifying the greens than a standard blender) and drink through out the day or even just for breakfast.  Recipe to follow.

2. Eat only fruits, veggies, limited whole grains and drink lots of water.  No wheat or dairy. No sugar or processed food.

3. You can do some lean protein…fish and white meat or protein powder.

Green Smoothies:

2-3 cups water (add more if you like it thinner)

Fruit–add 2 to 3 pieces of fruit (frozen berries, frozen bananas, apple, mango, pear, orange etc…)

Greens–add 4-5 leaves of kale, two handfuls spinach, or other greens till your hearts content

Other–can sweeten with stevia or a bit of agave. I also add flaxmeal or chia seeds to my smoothie.  Ice can be nice too.

Smoothies should taste good so adjust according to your taste! Here is a TOAST with my green smoothie to your Spring cleanse!

Dr.GB

1. Diet——-all the veggies, fruit, nuts, and protein you want. Olive oil, coconut oil, and a little butter for oils…Basically, if it runs on the earth or grows from the earth EAT it.

2. Protein powder—Get a whey protein powder (isolate form) and eat for breakfast in a smoothie or between meals to prevent snack attack. Our store has a couple choices and flavors.

3. GREENS-either eat fresh greens (pounds of them), put them in smoothies, or try our GREENS FIRST powder which makes it easy for you. The GREENS FIRST taste delicious too…I add them to my protein smoothie with some berries and get it all in one nice drink.

Other things to help out…..liver herbs, massage, exercise, water, water, and more water……………

Rgds,

Dr.GB

Case in point–We had a man who lost 60 pounds his first round on HCG. He is a bartender and talks with alot of people…he has sent 50+ people (mostly men) to do our program! His slim “no-beer” belly was proof enough….

Get off the couch, put the food away, and come see us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I, Dr.Greenbean, had to hire a consultant just to do the nutritional part of the diet. I do the medical end, she does the food/diet end. My gal gets probably 80 phone calls/emails per day from clients who NEED her help. I, personally, could NOT do all that so I hired her to help. Many clinics will give you the drug but then you get NO help or support at all. Make the choice for yourself.

Another problem that has come up is this:  People are coming to our class to learn the diet and program but are purchasing the hcg through the net or another clinic. Morally this is so wrong. We don’t charge for our class (which probably is going to change) and people are taking advantage of us. Please be honest and tell us where you came from….we can work with you. BUT, if you buy your hcg online (which is illegal and shady) or from another place please don’t ask for our help and support for free. Like I said, we have been doing it for 3 years and know what we are doing…….

WE want you to lose weight and succeed! I am working on a maintenance plan for our dieters….it will be a GREEN weight watchers with wellness of sorts…very exciting! Watch for more on the program.

I went into medicine to “help people” as I bet 99% of all new med school students do. I decided to really help people you have to listen to them, really hear them and their story. I became a naturopathic physician because naturopaths are trained to do this “listening” the best. I am very science-driven and don’t do anything to weird so I guess I am a green-allopath of sorts but one thing I do with every patient is give them the time to share their story and I listen. (my office visits are 45-90 minutes long)

I get very attached to my patients. We form friendships and a tight bond. That being said, my heart and soul are sometimes tested. When a patient ends up with a cancer, illness, or even a personal problem it causes my heart to ache and sometimes to second guess what I have done with them as a doctor. I try my best to prevent disease and illness in everyone I see but sometimes the path is already laid or genetics are a bitch.

I do a weight loss program (hcg diet) at my office that the general public can do without being a “patient” of mine. All they want is the quick weight loss solution and they couldn’t careless about prevention and health (not EVERYONE is like this). I am finding I can’t stand that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have managed to gain several FABULOUS patients who have done the hcg program and want to continue the journey to good health.

I guess what I am trying to say is that for a doc like myself to enjoy what they do and feel adequate we need good relationships with our patients. Our patients must WANT to heal and be healthy.  Getting to know my patients, their stories, their families, their dogs, their sex life etc…is the BEST part of my job. I care about YOU…please remember I am being the best DOCTOR I know how to be and that I still am an emotional bitch too!

rgds

Dr.GB

Well, SOBS, we all have stress in our life, no matter how perfect your little universe is. Stress affects us at a cellular level and changes our internal chemistry. After awhile, all these changes cause our adrenal glands to give up on us. I am not going to bore you with the science of it all…instead I am going to tell you the signs of adrenal fatigue and then what we can do about it. You might always be a SOB but you will feel good doing it!

The symptoms of adrenal fatigue or stress-induced-exhaustion are as follows: 

Weight gain around the middle or hip area

Fatigue

Sleep disturbances

Depression/Anxiety

Low blood pressure

Low blood sugar

Changes in skin pigment

NO libido (sex drive)

Menstrual irregularities

Sensitivity to caffeine or other chemicals

Allergies

Basically, you just feel like shit and you don’t know why!  If you go into any doctors office in the world and complain about the above they might test your thyroid, check for anemia, and then probably suggest an anti-depressant as treatment. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! That really cracks me up and pisses me off. Treat the cause not the symptoms people.

So let’s talk treatment…SOBs have to take charge of their own health to change it!  We can’t get rid of stress but we can make our body tougher and more resilient to it.  The results of treatment are slow but over time you will feel better and your body chemistry will change.  Here are the treatment options I lay out for my SOBs:

1.  Lower your cortisol (stress hormone) whenever you can.  Whether that means breathing for 5 minutes, a massage, exercise, reading after the kids are in bed, drinking (no, just kidding), just relax and take some ME time.

2.B-Stress Complex–one or two per day with food.  I give a liquid B-Stress formula that is like rocket fuel…it works! I have it as a product for sale on the site.

3.B5–I recommend an extra B5 per day.

4.Adrenal glandulars/herbal combination–I like a combo product that is POTENT. I use ADR and do 2-4 caps/day

5.Omega 3 oils–2000-3000mg/day (fish is best)

6. If testing (saliva is what I use) reveals a high cortisol at night—Seriphos (phosphatidyl serine) 2 caps/bedtime

7.If testing reveals low cortisol all day, I do prescriptive cortisol 2-4 times per day. This has to be prescribed by a qualified physician….

8. DHEA– 10-25mg/day if testing reveals low levels

9. Anti-oxidant support–resveratrol, Vitamin C, Vitamin E

10. Diet–Whole foods (which means no crappy processed food–lean proteins, fruits, veg, whole grains)

11. Magnesium citrate–500-800 mg/day

I promise that if all you SOBs make a committment to change by doing some of the above your body will love you for it. You will age slower, you will feel better, you will lose weight, you will SURVIVE!  I, personally, treat my adrenals every day with my basic supplementation/wellness guidelines and then do more aggressive treatment once or twice per year to keep my stress in check. I may still be a SOB but atleast my body is reacting healthfully to the stress.

rgds

dr.gb

I read the article and about blew my top. The argument in the article is that exercise makes us hungrier so most will eat more on days they exercise…hence negating weight loss.  There are bunches of studies in the article which are fascinating but exercises benefit to the body is never really mentioned.

Doesn’t everyone know that in order to lose weight you have to eat less and move more! It is pure physics people! So if I burn 300 calories at the gym and then get a protein smoothie at the snack bar that is 400 calories is my workout not worth it? Well, technically yes…prob won’t lose much weight on that plan BUT the benefits to your body are still worth the workout. Your muscle mass will go up (which burns more calories than fat mass), your cardio system is stronger, your lungs are stronger, you got a nice serotonin boost, you will sleep better at night, you will feel better about yourself, and your energy will be better.  WHAT WAS THAT ARTICLE TRYING TO DO TO US fat AMERICANS?

Another thing the article said was that people who go to the gym for an hour per day tend to then be lazy or sit at a desk the rest of the day. I guess not working out at all would help those who work at a desk all day???? Wrongo.  Any amount of movement is good….really good.

As I stared at those chubby teenage girls, I grew angry with America…why do we encourage fatness. Our food is pathetic, our attitude stinks, our diabetes and heart disease kill, our depression meds make billions, but yet exercise is just a myth.    Please, please encourage exercise and good eating habits in your kids, your partners, your coworkers,  your family, and most importantly YOURSELF! Together we can make America healthier and trimmer!

I love the way the country is turning more GREEN. From sustainable agriculture, to wind power, to recycling , and even to green smoothies. I have heard it a number of times since this time last year that “I want to try something different for my healthcare”…even the GREEN health movement is here! I am getting lots of new patients who want to prevent illness, do anti-aging medicine, love alternative medicine but want a REAL doctors advice. I do pap smears, annual blood work, allergy testing, bio-identical hormone testing/balancing, physicals etc…but my philosophy is to treat naturally.

I am even getting referrals from mainstream MDs that have deemed me competent I guess. This is great news for medicine…truly integrative health care. Although I am a bit fearful of the healthcare reform issues…all we can do is wait and see what the tigers figure out.  In the meantime, enjoy life, health and happiness…and heck, even a green smoothie. 

Dr.J

Smoothie recipe #1:  Add ingredients in this order and blend 1-2 minutes until smooth…I add ice cubes to chill.
2 cups water     3-4 leaves of kale (2 cups chopped)     1 peach    1 green apple   2 tbsp of salba seed (chia seed)  

1 scoop of GREENS first powder (sold in my store)