Green Beans and Peas on the HCG Diet, Anyone?

I’m sure that you’ve heard about the HCG Diet program before. Either you came across it during one of your morning reading routines or from your co-workers. Or perhaps from your old friends or distant relatives whom you haven’t heard from a long time.

With 20 years of studying and working with actual patients, Dr. Simeon, the original creator of the HCG Diet, probably figured out exactly what works and what doesn’t work. The protocol requires every dieter to follow a very strict calorie intake of at least 500 calories a day, but some modern HCG diet protocol allows for 700 or 800 calories per day. What allows dieters to survive this calorie restriction and still able to lose not just pound but inches is the daily shot of the HCG hormone. Dr. Simeon’s theory behind this is that the HCG Diet works with the brain’s hypothalamus to change the way the body handles the very low-calorie restriction and the chosen foods during the different phases.

Green beans and peas on HCG Diet

In the HCG diet, you are not allowed to add sugar especially during the second phase. The carb option is restricted to Melba toast or Grissini stick only. The same goes for some protein choices. Not all fruits and vegetables are allowed. Green beans and peas are rich in vitamins A, C, and K, fiber, and folic acid. However, they are not on the list of approved vegetables, meaning they are prohibited.

WHY? Even though with the same caloric value as those listed as permissible, green beans and peas can INTERFERE with the regular weight loss. Dr. Simeon left no explanations, but you’ll notice that all the allowed vegetables have high water content and fiber. So, it’s fair to assume that green beans are excluded because of their low water content, while peas have high starch content.

Allowed vegetables during Phase 2:

• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Beet greens
• Chard
• Chicory
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Fennel
• Red radish
• Onions
• Tomatoes

There is no restriction on the amount of vegetables you can have during each meal. The starting point is two cups, but you can have as much as you want, except for tomato, fennel and tomatoes because they have high carb content. For example, you can have as much lettuce or cucumber as long as you eat it all for that meal, and you are not adding other vegetables for that meal.

Several alternative protocols on the HCG diet have arisen to make the diet more comfortable and doable for some dieters. As mentioned above, many include additional calories and a less restricted menu. Many of this alternative protocol allows the use of peas and green beans.

For the best result, stick to the original protocol to lose the maximum amount of weight. If you will follow the 500 calories a day, you may reap as well the biggest benefits. If you truly want to eat peas or green beans, wait until you reach the maintenance phase or when you have stabilized your weight.