Phase 2, Day 1: Eating Fat to Lose Weight?

Weight: 255.0 pounds
Total weight lost: 19.6 pounds

This morning I started Phase 2, which means two things: fat loading and hCG injections. The injection went REALLY easy. I literally did not feel the needle go in, and I was doing it myself. I chose to inject it into my stomach based on recommendations from others. It's a teeny, tiny needle used for insulin shots, so no worries.

This morning I also begin a two-day binge on fat. Ok, so it's not really a binge, but for the first time since I started the whole foods diet two weeks ago, I'll be able to eat almost anything I want to. In fact, the higher the fat content the better. That means that things like mayonnaise, cheese, bacon and ham are back on the menu...for two days. I'm not a doctor, so the science of this is a little above my head, but I'll lay out what I have gathered from various conversations and my own reading.

The purpose of fat loading is well understood in the world of endurance sports where athletes are usually pretty lean but need an energy source to provide maximum output for an extended period of time (whereas carb-loading is good for shorter periods of time). Over the next 45 days or so, I'm going to convince my body that I am running a 45-day marathon and that I have plenty of fat available to sustain the pace.

It starts with the fat loading where I will get as much healthy fat into my bloodstream as possible from meats, nuts and seeds, cooking oils and a moderate amount of dairy. This will promote the creation of more fat-burning enzymes to help convert the fat to energy, but this fat will only last for a couple of days. These elevated enzymes, along with the introduction of hCG ( a natural human hormone used to reduce cravings and hunger pains and most importantly, resets the hypothalmus to burn body fat) through daily injections, will permit my body to start burning the fat reserves that were in place before I started the Somae plan.

Menu Planning has been difficult. As I type, I'm still trying to figure out what to do for lunch and dinner, but breakfast was pretty good. 3-egg omelet with heavy whipping cream and organic goat milk cheddar cheese, 4 pieces of bacon. I literally could not eat any more than this. One of the things with fat loading is that it supposed to be an almost constant eating of fat-rich foods all day, or what is referred to as "eating to capacity".

Some of the other foods in my arsenal are:

• sunflower seeds and fresh-made peanut butter
• organic Greek yogurt with berries
• chicken alfredo (easy on the fettucini)
• shrimp scampi with garlic butter sauce
• bacon & gruyere stuffed crab cakes from Whole Foods Market
• organic bittersweet dark chocolate chips (in small quantities)
• salad with full-fat ranch dressing.

With each of these, I'm looking for at least 75% (if not more) of the total calories to come from fat content. I'm going to try and avoid my old fast food haunts, so wish me luck.