Simeon's protocol (HCG Diet) February 2010 THREAD

[jpollock]

Good morning everone!
Survived my first vlcd! It was tougher than I thought. Not hungry so much as woosy from dropping blood sugar.
load day 1 270
load day 2 271.2
vlcd 1 269.2
Yay! I was only expecting to drop a pound : )

[debkeversole]

Originally Posted by jpollock

Good morning everone!
Survived my first vlcd! It was tougher than I thought. Not hungry so much as woosy from dropping blood sugar.
load day 1 270
load day 2 271.2
vlcd 1 269.2
Yay! I was only expecting to drop a pound : )

[40winks]

This morning brought me another cute little loss -- 0.2 lb. That's what I get for losing .8 yesterday, lol.

Thanks everyone for the congrats and kind words!
Hope everyone is having a fabulous day!

[wmac]

Originally Posted by Emmytheshiba

Hey all, exciting news here...I am in the 160s!!!! I have been grinning, giggling, and happy dancing all day. I even just ambushed my roomate in the kitchen all like "OMG so guess what?! I don't usually freak out about the numbers themselves but I'm at my lowest weight in like 6 years!!!!! Ahhh!!!" I seriously cannot stop thinking about it
Hey all, so I think I'm gonna be posting here less often as I move over to another board, but I'll keep popping in to cheer everyone on and keep y'all posted! Your support is just incredible! <3

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

[cleoland]

Originally Posted by Bhambabe

Body Fortress is the name of the company that makes the protein powder

whey protein is what it is

two teaspoon of whip cream (Just because I wanted a richer creamer taste )you don't need it ,as I just made up the recipes for my taste .

coffee because you need liquid for it , and I enjoy cold coffee drinks

water is just the liquid you need , it could be water, kool aide,diet pop, juice whatever you want that you think would taste good and keeping the calories down .

If you don't want raw eggs, you could do a scoop of whey protein powder for each egg as long as the calories are about the same as your eggs would be . I think it just gives added protein .
However you would never know that raw eggs were in it by the taste.

Just make a drink to make your taste buds happy and loss some weight .

Thanks again I will give it a try.

I am already 2 pounds over. On Wed had to go for a business lunch Benihana didn't eat any carbs but still gain 1 pound. I was doing good until I went out last night with my Husband, again didn't have any starch but still manage to go over 1 pound so now I am exactly 2 pounds over. I am taking antibiotics and other strong med so I can't do a Steak a day need breakfast, lunch and diner. I haven't buy what I need for the shake yet so I am doing an egg CD. I will go Walmart today in case I need more than 1 CD.

I am surprise of gaining cause although I ate in the rest, I didn't over eat and I exercise yesterday. Oh well the story of my life.

Have a great weekend everyone.

[Bob1956]

Good morning All. Today is R3P3D10, and my weight is 180.5 lbs., a .5 loss from yesterday. Today is also Mom's move in day, so I don't know how much I'll be able to post, not that I've been posting much anyway.
Everyone have a great and INTENTIONAL day.

[FitAtForty]

good morning to all- well maybe not so good- scale was NOT my friend yet again today- arghhhhh up .4 makes me very upset- in this week 4 I have only lost .6 lbs.... I have no idea what the problem is or what is going on since I have remained on protocol strictly...
it's just very upsetting and makes me want to scream- I sooo want to hit the 20 lbs loss and the way it is going doubt I'll even get there.... any advice from y'all would be greatly appreciated.... Sometimes I just want to take that d@mn scale and just throw it out the window.... anyhow hope you all have a good day and are seeing some losses today unlike me... so till next time have a good day and talk @ you tomorrow.... DH & I still have about 13 days left I think of our 40 day protocol so gonna stick it out no matter what. I committed to it and will not stop till we get to that goal... sorry for ranting so much but I really am upset with such a small total loss over these past 7 days......

[Gracie514]

Originally Posted by FitAtForty

good morning to all- well maybe not so good- scale was NOT my friend yet again today- arghhhhh up .4 makes me very upset- in this week 4 I have only lost .6 lbs.... I have no idea what the problem is or what is going on since I have remained on protocol strictly...
it's just very upsetting and makes me want to scream- I sooo want to hit the 20 lbs loss and the way it is going doubt I'll even get there.... any advice from y'all would be greatly appreciated.... Sometimes I just want to take that d@mn scale and just throw it out the window.... anyhow hope you all have a good day and are seeing some losses today unlike me... so till next time have a good day and talk @ you tomorrow.... DH & I still have about 13 days left I think of our 40 day protocol so gonna stick it out no matter what. I committed to it and will not stop till we get to that goal... sorry for ranting so much but I really am upset with such a small total loss over these past 7 days......

Can you post your menu including drinks and any creams, toothpastes, moisturizers and spices you are using? I stalled in my first round because the garlic salt I was using had high fructose corn syrup in it! Don't worry, we can figure out what's going on!

[40winks]

Hi everyone,
Dropped another .8 lb. this morning! I now weight 239.0.

It's my VLCD-25 of round 1 of Sublingual HCG, and I'm down a total of 23.2 pounds. My waist is reappearing, my thighs are much thinner, and my swollen feet aren't swollen any more. My achy arthritic knee is a bit better (thanks to glucosamine). I even ventured out yesterday into the AZ sunshine and walked maybe a quarter mile.

Hope everyone is having a fun and fabulous day.

[jpollock]

WOO HOO! Down to 267.4! I'm loving HCG!

[Emmytheshiba]

Originally Posted by deedeetv

Are there any restrictions on the types of coffees/teas we can use?

1. I work a lot, so one of the hardest things for me is having to cook every meal (in small portions so I don't eat too much) and gathering all the raw produce and doing something with it. Have any of you tried making batches of food and then portioning it cooked? Like, 3 oz instead of 3.52 oz?

Deedee, I think for coffee and tea, as long as you check the ingredients to make sure there aren't any sugars or dairy products or food products in it, that's fine! I am a huge fan of Bengal Spice by celestial seasonings, and someone (I forget who) makes a really good Chocolate Mate tea. Just be aware that some caramel or hazelnut or berry teas actually use...caramel, hazelnut, or berries. Just check labels.

As for food, I have a super busy and weird student/rehearsal schedule (no two days are ever the same) and I have found a way to do this diet that works really well for me. I measure out, put in baggies, and freeze enough food for at least two weeks at a time, so I have a zillion little baggies with 100 g of chicken or fish in each in my freezer. Every five days or so (I time it out so I can do this over the weekend), I take out to thaw, season, and bake food for the next several days. On any given day there are a bunch of tupperware containers in our fridge with a hunk of chicken and a hunk of fish in each, so I can either pack my meals away or just pull something out and reheat it.
As for cooking stuff, I microwave spinach (lazy girl's version of steaming ), cut my asparagus in half so it steams super fast, or just cut up cukes or celery. And when I buy my produce I wash, peel, and cut up all of it so it's ready to grab when I make my meals for the day. It means a bit of extra work when I get back from the grocery store, but it saves me a TON of time over the week.

[40winks]

deedeetv, I too weigh, bag and freeze dozens of 3.5-oz. baggies of skinless chicken breast. And I use mostly frozen veggies. Preparing a meal takes about 15 minutes. I wouldn't trust myself to cook a lot at once. If cooked food was sitting in my fridge, nibble ready, it would be pretty easy and tempting to cheat, and I don't want that.

[Coconutty]

Originally Posted by cleoland

Thanks again I will give it a try.

I am already 2 pounds over. On Wed had to go for a business lunch Benihana didn't eat any carbs but still gain 1 pound. I was doing good until I went out last night with my Husband, again didn't have any starch but still manage to go over 1 pound so now I am exactly 2 pounds over. I am taking antibiotics and other strong med so I can't do a Steak a day need breakfast, lunch and diner. I haven't buy what I need for the shake yet so I am doing an egg CD. I will go Walmart today in case I need more than 1 CD.

I am surprise of gaining cause although I ate in the rest, I didn't over eat and I exercise yesterday. Oh well the story of my life.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Restaurant meals are often loaded with sodium, so you may just be retaining water. Sometimes there is also sugar in the marinades they use on their meat. I've found that clean p3 days are often as effective as CD's. Also you should not do 2 CD's in a row, rather alternate them with clean p3 days. Some folks have also found that eating only protein for a day are also an effective alternative to CD's, just in case you burn out on eggs.

Originally Posted by FitAtForty

good morning to all- well maybe not so good- scale was NOT my friend yet again today- arghhhhh up .4 makes me very upset- in this week 4 I have only lost .6 lbs.... I have no idea what the problem is or what is going on since I have remained on protocol strictly...
it's just very upsetting and makes me want to scream- I sooo want to hit the 20 lbs loss and the way it is going doubt I'll even get there.... any advice from y'all would be greatly appreciated.... Sometimes I just want to take that d@mn scale and just throw it out the window.... anyhow hope you all have a good day and are seeing some losses today unlike me... so till next time have a good day and talk @ you tomorrow.... DH & I still have about 13 days left I think of our 40 day protocol so gonna stick it out no matter what. I committed to it and will not stop till we get to that goal... sorry for ranting so much but I really am upset with such a small total loss over these past 7 days......

I agree that you should post everything you're eating/using. If there is no problem there, you could be battling a set point. I know it's frustrating, but stay intentional and you will break through it!

Originally Posted by 40winks

Hi everyone,
Dropped another .8 lb. this morning! I now weight 239.0.

It's my VLCD-25 of round 1 of Sublingual HCG, and I'm down a total of 23.2 pounds. My waist is reappearing, my thighs are much thinner, and my swollen feet aren't swollen any more. My achy arthritic knee is a bit better (thanks to glucosamine). I even ventured out yesterday into the AZ sunshine and walked maybe a quarter mile.

Hope everyone is having a fun and fabulous day.

Congrats!!

Originally Posted by jpollock

WOO HOO! Down to 267.4! I'm loving HCG!

Yay!! I love HCG too!

[cleoland]

Originally Posted by Coconutty

Restaurant meals are often loaded with sodium, so you may just be retaining water. Sometimes there is also sugar in the marinades they use on their meat. I've found that clean p3 days are often as effective as CD's. Also you should not do 2 CD's in a row, rather alternate them with clean p3 days. Some folks have also found that eating only protein for a day are also an effective alternative to CD's, just in case you burn out on eggs.

I was just going to ask if I could have a mix of egg and steak and you just answered the question. I already ate 4 eggs but I would love to have a steak for dinner and was wondering if that would be okay as correction day. Thanks again.

[FitAtForty]

well as far as my menus they aren't nothing to wild to write about- the only thing different I have used the last week or 2 was adding 2% cottage cheese as my protein for lunch and cherry grape tomatoes with it also. I am not a big meat eater and saw somewhere that I could substitute cottage cheese for my protein so I have eaten that about maybe 3-4 times per week total. I drink alot of tea and have been using Bigelow Vanilla Carmel tea so maybe I should ck the ingredients to make sure there is nothing hidden in there I should not be having?? I use flavored stevias with my teas etc... but nothing to excessive .. I have noticed these past few days I have been hungrier than normal- I am just finishing week 4 of R1P2 and I take the homeopathic Hhcg and for the most part breezed thru really well the first 3 wks but wk 4 has been just awful with only netting a .6 loss all week. TOM is due the next few days so maybe that is why my hunger is up some which is why I've been f=drinking more tea to help w/the hunger pains. Anyhow I'll keep plugging along since I do want to finish the 41 day protocol as strong as I started so I'll keep @ it loss or not.... tks for all your help folks

[Aggie95]

Originally Posted by FitAtForty

good morning to all- well maybe not so good- scale was NOT my friend yet again today- arghhhhh up .4 makes me very upset- in this week 4 I have only lost .6 lbs.... I have no idea what the problem is or what is going on since I have remained on protocol strictly...
it's just very upsetting and makes me want to scream- I sooo want to hit the 20 lbs loss and the way it is going doubt I'll even get there.... any advice from y'all would be greatly appreciated.... Sometimes I just want to take that d@mn scale and just throw it out the window.... anyhow hope you all have a good day and are seeing some losses today unlike me... so till next time have a good day and talk @ you tomorrow.... DH & I still have about 13 days left I think of our 40 day protocol so gonna stick it out no matter what. I committed to it and will not stop till we get to that goal... sorry for ranting so much but I really am upset with such a small total loss over these past 7 days......

Please post EVERYTHING that you are putting in your mouth and on your body. It may seem a tedious thing to do, but it will help us figure this out. Even things like if you touch meat for other family members meals, etc. Artificial sweetners, teas, how much water you drink, how much sleep you are getting, are you weighing meat raw after all fat is removed, etc. Are TOM or Bernice an issue?
We will figure it out Don't despair..stress makes it worse.

[Aggie95]

Originally Posted by FitAtForty

well as far as my menus they aren't nothing to wild to write about- the only thing different I have used the last week or 2 was adding 2% cottage cheese as my protein for lunch and cherry grape tomatoes with it also. I am not a big meat eater and saw somewhere that I could substitute cottage cheese for my protein so I have eaten that about maybe 3-4 times per week total. I drink alot of tea and have been using Bigelow Vanilla Carmel tea so maybe I should ck the ingredients to make sure there is nothing hidden in there I should not be having?? I use flavored stevias with my teas etc... but nothing to excessive .. I have noticed these past few days I have been hungrier than normal- I am just finishing week 4 of R1P2 and I take the homeopathic Hhcg and for the most part breezed thru really well the first 3 wks but wk 4 has been just awful with only netting a .6 loss all week. TOM is due the next few days so maybe that is why my hunger is up some which is why I've been f=drinking more tea to help w/the hunger pains. Anyhow I'll keep plugging along since I do want to finish the 41 day protocol as strong as I started so I'll keep @ it loss or not.... tks for all your help folks

We posted together. OK. Still need more info, though. On R1 I too tried the cottage cheese (it should be NON fat, though. Remember, don't want any extra fat, even from lotions) and it didn't do me any favors on the scale. How often do you dose, and how many drops? Do you activate the bottle every time? Tomatoes can be stallers for some, as can cabbage. Cucumbers and celery have always been good for most. Could you be close to goal/used up that bodyfat?

[FitAtForty]

well I dose 15 drops 3 times per day of the Hhcy homeopathic drops. Have lost 18 lbs so far and my goal was to lose 30 lbs in the 40 day protocol- sample menu is below:

Bkfst- apple or orange
lunch: 1/2 cp cottage cheese w/ 1 1/2 cps cherry tomatoes, 1 melba toast

supper: 4 oz beef or fish, 1.5 cps veggie usually aspargus or steamed radishes or salad w/ACV and breadstick

water: approx. 90 oz per day
Sleep: average 9 hrs per night
no cheats so far- approx. 3 cps tea per day w/flavored stevia and about 2-3 cps of black coffee per day w/stevia as well.

thats about a typical day for me other than changing the protein choices around- I recently added the radishes so don't know if that is the issue or maybe the cottage cheese or cherry tomatoes?!?!

[Coconutty]

Originally Posted by FitAtForty

well I dose 15 drops 3 times per day of the Hhcy homeopathic drops. Have lost 18 lbs so far and my goal was to lose 30 lbs in the 40 day protocol- sample menu is below:

Bkfst- apple or orange
lunch: 1/2 cp cottage cheese w/ 1 1/2 cps cherry tomatoes, 1 melba toast

supper: 4 oz beef or fish, 1.5 cps veggie usually aspargus or steamed radishes or salad w/ACV and breadstick

water: approx. 90 oz per day
Sleep: average 9 hrs per night
no cheats so far- approx. 3 cps tea per day w/flavored stevia and about 2-3 cps of black coffee per day w/stevia as well.

thats about a typical day for me other than changing the protein choices around- I recently added the radishes so don't know if that is the issue or maybe the cottage cheese or cherry tomatoes?!?!

The red flags I see in your menu are beef, oranges, cottage cheese, and tomatoes. The beef, oranges, and tomatoes are known stallers. Also the allowed cottage cheese should be made of skimmed milk, not 2% milk. I see your dinner protein portion is 4oz, but it should be 100g or 3.5 ounces. The cottage cheese portion should also be 100g, not a half cup. I know this is kind of nit-picky, but Dr. S said that even 1 additional ounce of protein could negatively affect your loss. Can you replace the beef and cottage cheese with chicken breast? Also 1 whole egg + 3 whites are also allowed as an occasional protein substitute. What kind of fish are you eating?

Instead of an orange, can you try 1/2 grapefruit or some strawberries. I see that you only have one fruit listed for the day, so you can just have an apple everyday. What is in your salad? You want to make sure you are not mixing veggies. Do you eat other veggies? You can try cucumbers, spinach, or celery instead of the tomatoes, as they don't seem to be stallers.

You've already lost a lot of weight this round, and you are ahead of the .5lb/day average for most women. Your body may be just adjusting to your rapid loss. Are you measuring? A lot of times the scale may stall while you are losing inches. What was your week 3 like? Most find the week 3 loss to be terrible and this happened to me in my first round. But during my second round, week 2 was terrible and week 3 was great! I think the same thing happened to Em. So it seemed that the slow week was switched around. It seems like a slow week at some point is to be expected during the protocol.

What kind of lotions or cosmetics are you using? You want to make sure there is not something there that is interfering with your loss.

HTH

[Aggie95]

Originally Posted by Coconutty

The red flags I see in your menu are beef, oranges, cottage cheese, and tomatoes. The beef, oranges, and tomatoes are known stallers. Also the allowed cottage cheese should be made of skimmed milk, not 2% milk. I see your dinner protein portion is 4oz, but it should be 100g or 3.5 ounces. The cottage cheese portion should also be 100g, not a half cup. I know this is kind of nit-picky, but Dr. S said that even 1 additional ounce of protein could negatively affect your loss. Can you replace the beef and cottage cheese with chicken breast? Also 1 whole egg + 3 whites are also allowed as an occasional protein substitute. What kind of fish are you eating?

Instead of an orange, can you try 1/2 grapefruit or some strawberries. I see that you only have one fruit listed for the day, so you can just have an apple everyday. What is in your salad? You want to make sure you are not mixing veggies. Do you eat other veggies? You can try cucumbers, spinach, or celery instead of the tomatoes, as they don't seem to be stallers.

You've already lost a lot of weight this round, and you are ahead of the .5lb/day average for most women. Your body may be just adjusting to your rapid loss. Are you measuring? A lot of times the scale may stall while you are losing inches. What was your week 3 like? Most find the week 3 loss to be terrible and this happened to me in my first round. But during my second round, week 2 was terrible and week 3 was great! I think the same thing happened to Em. So it seemed that the slow week was switched around. It seems like a slow week at some point is to be expected during the protocol.

What kind of lotions or cosmetics are you using? You want to make sure there is not something there that is interfering with your loss.

HTH

I agree with Alisa about all of this. Week three can be a real bear for some reason.

[40winks]

I registered a .4 loss for the day.

Had insomnia last night, for the fourth time since starting HCG, and feel groggy. (yawn) Before HCG, insomnia was my constant companion. I almost never got more than 6 hours sleep and often got as little as 4 hours. When I first started taking HCG, I slept like a baby for 7-8 hours a night and awoke feeling refreshed. This is my 28th day of HCG (including the load days) and the "sleep like a baby" sensation isn't weaker and intermittent. Anyone else's sleep patterns changed during the HCG protocol?

[Gracie514]

Originally Posted by FitAtForty

well I dose 15 drops 3 times per day of the Hhcy homeopathic drops. Have lost 18 lbs so far and my goal was to lose 30 lbs in the 40 day protocol- sample menu is below:

Bkfst- apple or orange
lunch: 1/2 cp cottage cheese w/ 1 1/2 cps cherry tomatoes, 1 melba toast

supper: 4 oz beef or fish, 1.5 cps veggie usually aspargus or steamed radishes or salad w/ACV and breadstick

water: approx. 90 oz per day
Sleep: average 9 hrs per night
no cheats so far- approx. 3 cps tea per day w/flavored stevia and about 2-3 cps of black coffee per day w/stevia as well.

thats about a typical day for me other than changing the protein choices around- I recently added the radishes so don't know if that is the issue or maybe the cottage cheese or cherry tomatoes?!?!

Looking at your drops, when I did the hcg drops I did 10/ 3x per day. When I tried to up them I got hungry. Maybe try lowering.

I agree with the others, oranges are not on protocol, the cottage cheese is supposed to be 3.5 ounce (1/2 cup is 4 ounces) and skim, the beef should be 3.5 ounces. If you change those things you should start losing again. I eat tomatoes nearly every day but some people stall with them.

You have lost alot so it could just be your body fighting you. Sometimes our fat stores fill with water until our body is ready to release it. You are probably losing mad inches too.

Good luck!

[FitAtForty]

well yet another day of no loss or no gain..... This week 4 has been the worst week ever..... have no idea what is going on and really is getting me down.... doesn't make it any better when I see DH losing almost every day either.... anyhow hope you all have a good day and will ck in tomorrow and see what week 5 brings- can't be any worse than this last wk thats for sure....

[FitAtForty]

just read all the suggestions and tk you all I really do appreciate all the advice- will start paying more attn to those stallers and try and stay away from them for a bit and see how that goes- the fish we eat is tilapia which I love- that will be supper tonight... I'll get some strawberries today and stear away from the oranges for a bit- I am losing inches so I guess that is wonderful if anything.... it's just been a long 8 days and only netting a .6 loss makes me not to happy to say the least... I'll keep plugging away and try to get more water in- wknds I never seem to get enough- tks all for the info

[Bob1956]

Good afternoon All. Today is R3P3D11, and my weight today is 179.5 lbs., a 1 lb. loss from yesterday. Played a round of golf yesterday, after getting Mom settled in. So that must be why the loss. It was to cold and windy to be out there yesterday. Getting ready to watch the Daytona 500, I'll catch up with you guys later.
Everyone have a great Valentines Day and stay INTENTIONAL.

[jpollock]

well, dh came home friday night and was concered with the calorie limits and insited I up to 1000 a day. Which I did yesterday and still lost 1 lb so down to 266.4 this morning. We will see how things continue. I appreciate his concern although I hope it doesn't completely stop the losses.

[Bhambabe]

Originally Posted by jpollock

well, dh came home friday night and was concered with the calorie limits and insited I up to 1000 a day. Which I did yesterday and still lost 1 lb so down to 266.4 this morning. We will see how things continue. I appreciate his concern although I hope it doesn't completely stop the losses.

This is from POUNDS & INCHES
The diet used in conjunction with HCG must not exceed 500 Calories per day, and the way these Calories are made up is of utmost importance.

It may be a good idea for you and your husband to read the full POUNDS & INCHES . You may loss some weight at a 1000 calories but you wont' get the full benefits of the diet . I wish you the best

Janeann

[Aggie95]

Originally Posted by FitAtForty

just read all the suggestions and tk you all I really do appreciate all the advice- will start paying more attn to those stallers and try and stay away from them for a bit and see how that goes- the fish we eat is tilapia which I love- that will be supper tonight... I'll get some strawberries today and stear away from the oranges for a bit- I am losing inches so I guess that is wonderful if anything.... it's just been a long 8 days and only netting a .6 loss makes me not to happy to say the least... I'll keep plugging away and try to get more water in- wknds I never seem to get enough- tks all for the info

ONE more thing If you've been stalled for 4 days, you might consider (in addition to all changes suggested) jump-starting things with an apple day. They do work well for most folks.

[FitAtForty]

well gonna see how week 5 goes starting tomorrow- I had cucs for lunch and 1 whole egg and 3 whites for lunch and half a grapefruit for bkfst- supper will be tilapia w/a salad and a breadstick and hope for a better day(s) next week.. Made some P2 chili but think I'll let hubby eat that all week- gonna try and stay away from meat as much as possible - plus I'm not a big meat eater anyhow- ckn and fish is what I love best... got some strawberries and grapefruit so I'll keep positive and carry onward. As far as lotions w/oils etc... all the ones I have are on the approved list as is my shampoo so that is not the issue. and it's just DH & I @ home so it's not like I'm nibbling leftovers off kids plates or anything- I've been really faithful on program so hoping the losses start coming again- will see what this next week brings- I'm about 12 lbs from my goal that I wanted of 150 lbs- TOM is due any day now and the sweet cravings have been AWFUL these past 2 days- tk goodness for my Bigelow vanilla carmel tea that seems to help it some w/cinnamon stevia..

[Gracie514]

Originally Posted by jpollock

well, dh came home friday night and was concered with the calorie limits and insited I up to 1000 a day. Which I did yesterday and still lost 1 lb so down to 266.4 this morning. We will see how things continue. I appreciate his concern although I hope it doesn't completely stop the losses.

I agree, you need to keep your calories at 500 or you will most likely gain. The hcg releases 1500-3000 calories into your system in the way of stored fat. If you keep your level at 500 calories that's exactly where you will lose. If you up it to 1000 you could be heading the wrong direction. Just explain to him the science behind the protocol - it works. There are clinics everywhere making beaucoup bucks because the protocol works as long as you follow it. Anything done "off protocol" cancels out the program. Good luck in whatever you decide!