Model A or Taurus? Which would you choose TODAY?

To begin with, I knew absolutely nothing of HCG except that it promised to reset the "fat meter," as I called it, in your brain and make your body think it's a skinny body. :) I didn't look into the foods allowed or any of that stuff, as I have a nutritionalist that I've worked with for years and have a strong trust with. She got the drops for me, as well as gave me a list of "approved" foods. I don't know who approved them. From the get go on the HCG diet, these were the foods I was allowed. http://lessofmehcg.blogspot.com/2009/08/overview-of-what-we-get-to-eat.html

It was only then that I got involved with forums and boards. It took me almost a full month to come to the realization that of everyone losing weight adding HCG to their diets, we were categorized into three groups:

1. Dr. Simeon Protocol
2. Kevin Trudeau Protocol
3. A local "clinic" protocol

Where food choices were concerned, I fell into category three. I strongly referenced category one and added the vitamins from category two.

I figure that our food system has changed dramatically from the one that Dr. Simeon knew. His protocol is still valid, of course, I would never dispute that! But if we equate the three groups to cars, we'd have:

1. Ford Model A
2. 1957 Ford Wagon
3. 1980 Ford Taurus

If you were allowed only one vehicle to drive - TODAY - which would you choose? There's no disputing that Ford and his original ideas were brilliant. There's no disputing that there's much of the concepts of the first car in the second. Nor is there any disputing that there's concepts of the first and second cars in the third car. I think that there's much room still for improvement and, perhaps, some day, a fourth "car" will be released. However, there will still be those people who will continue to state that the original car is the best and they've chosen to stay with it - and they'll call the people who are using the newer cars fools or tell them it'll never work for them. There will always be people like that, regardless of how sad it is.

From day one, I was "driving" the third car. It's the latest and greatest and all the "car salesmen" want you in that one. There's something to be said for the Ford Model A - concepts, lines, ideas... But, compared to the Taurus, little to be said for the Model A's bumpy ride, lack of air conditioning & wind shield wipers. Likewise, there's something to be said for Dr. Simeon's original injection concept and food list. But, compared to homeopathics and more food choices, it's really in the same boat as the Model A is in compared to the Taurus.

Over all, I'm very pleased with the results I've had while in group three. There are people, following either group one or two, who tell me that I'll not succeed and that I've not succeeded until I've kept it off for at least a year. They can't spoil the results that I've already had, though, and the fact that I'm stable in my new weight. It does fluctuate up or down inside that two pounds and, if I push too much (like a meal at Skippers!), I do gain more than those two pounds and "have" to eat a great big steak the following day.

The point is, regardless of which group you've chosen, the remaining two groups have just as much success. It's just a matter of how strict you wish to be with yourself. For me, who has at least two more rounds planned, I know that I'd never be able to succeed at staying with it with just the foods on the more strict diets. I need flavor and variety. Not only did the foods on the list I got from my nutritionalist give me that, but I got through the process still feeling like I could do that another two times. Or even three times!

HCG, the original protocol, worked like a charm. However, Dr. Simeon stated that you had to stop losing if you hit a 34# loss. He never stated why; that was just his rule. I lost 47# my first round. There are people who are doing a continuous round - HCG VLCD until they lose the full amount they set out to lose! And I say congratulations to them all! But it isn't the original protocol. It's not the Model A.

I guess, what I'm trying to say is that there is no one way to get to the finish line. We aren't all the same. We don't all have to follow exactly what the others do. We just need to make it work in our own lives and get healthy.