It’s the very last day for me on the 500 calorie per day portion of the HCG diet. using the drops and limiting my food intake to the 500 calories and the approved foods has made a definite difference. I still find myself starting to take the drops before I eat. I really got myself into the routine in the last few weeks. I have to stop myself since you don’t take the drops on the last 3 days of the low calorie diet.

I lost one more pound. I’m at 150. That’s a great ending number to finish off the program with, don’t you think? That’s a total of 21 pounds lost in 25 days. I think that’s pretty amazing! Those are fantastic numbers. I didn’t only lose the weight either. I also picked up some really good habits. I’m much more likely to stick to this weight now that I know how to eat healthy and I’m used to eating healthy. I also learned how to cook a lot of different (and easy) healthy foods and meals. I now drink a lot more water. And I’m in the habit of weighing myself every morning. That’s a lot of good habits to pick up in a month!

I attempted to make a smoothie today. Alright, alright! I thought about it. But it’s just too dang chilly to really enjoy a frozen beverage. Instead I opted for strawberries with Stevia. I also had turkey tomato soup (a favorite) and Melba Toasts. The soup section was definitely my favorite section of the cookbook, but that could be because it’s winter!

I put the pitcher of water out on the counter this morning so I could watch as I drank all the water I should drink in a day. It’s the best way I’ve found to make sure that I get enough water throughout the day. I wanted to make sure I did it right. It’s my last day so it’s my last chance to get it exactly right.

For dinner I grilled some chicken (with my new favorite seasoning, Creole) and paired it with my favorite steamed cabbage and followed it with Mock Apple Cobbler. It was kind of like a mini HCG approved feast.

I heard that people often lose more weight during the maintenance diet (that’s what some of the oral HCG reviews said, anyway). I’m hoping I’m one of those people. That would be a fabulous added bonus! But if all I lose is 21 pounds…that’s absolutely fabulous! And I’m happy with it.

Amelia Handley studied exercise science at university with a minor in Nutrition. Yet she still found herself veering from diet to diet in order to control her weight. With HCG Diet Direct she’s found a program that allows her to combine her desire to control her own body weight with her education and not feel off balance.