How I Lost 80 lbs

by Roxanne Larcher, © 2010

My name is Roxanne, I’m 5’ 2 ½” and I’m 40 years old. I’m a wife, a mother of a 21 year old US Marine and the grandmother of an 18-month old grandson. In addition to my corporate background, I am an entrepreneur with an interesting profession – I am an international Middle Eastern dance artist (think – belly dancer) and fitness professional specializing in Pilates.

On September 14, 2009, I weighed 208 pounds and wore a size 16-18 – and that was a tight fight. My cholesterol was 361 (yes, you read the number correctly), my sugars were high (pre-diabetic) and I had started experiencing chest pains when exercising. At 5’2 ½”, 208 pounds was more than “voluptuous and curvy” people would use to describe me.

The weight came on due to a couple of key things. I successfully conquered a series of health issues – in 2004, I had foot surgery and ended up with a staph infection that nearly cost me my leg.  In 2007, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and was fortunate to have all the cancer removed through surgery.

Due to the requirements of my dance and fitness career, my weekly activity has ranged between 20 to 25 hours per week. Throughout the years, my calorie intake was very low – a minimum of three hours exercise per day was fueled by 800 to 1,000 – when I was lucky and took the time to eat.  Although my eating choices were relatively healthy (most meals were home cooked), the result was a sluggish metabolism that was extremely ineffective.

The combination of the health challenges and my sluggish metabolism caused me to pack on 50 pounds in about 4 years. I tried a number of programs – Jenny Craig, LA Weight Loss, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice meals – all with no success. My previous doctor said I needed to eat less and exercise more. I explained that there was no way I could physically exercise anymore and frankly, my calorie intake was well below what I needed to have. He did not listen and insisted that I was not exercising as much as I thought I was and that I was eating more than I realized. His diagnosis caused me to completely distrust his ability and I started the search for something that would work.

I found a specialist in bioidentical hormones and asked her if she knew someone who could help me with a liver detox. She referred me to a physician in a nearby suburb. I looked up the website and researched their service offerings. I read about the HCG program and I have to admit, I was completely unconvinced at first. After all, the program appeared to fly in the face of conventional “wisdom” and my education and fitness professional training.

At first, I dismissed the program as a fad.

But I was intrigued and could not stop thinking about the possibility that maybe, just maybe, I might be able to finally get rid of the excess weight. As a professional belly dancer, I knew that my career could certainly go even further if I were a more normal size.

I decided to take the physician’s practice up on their offer to do a free phone consultation. The doctor spent about an hour with me on the phone and I took copious notes.  I researched and found the original Dr. Simeon’s protocol and read every page. I looked up case studies on the program to see if there were any side effects or adverse reports. I found nothing from any credible sources that raised any red flags. The only thing I could find that had credibility to it was positive reports and testimonials about the program. The seeds of hope had been planted.

After I called, my life took a minor detour as I tended to my dying best friend in her final days.

About three months passed. Val transitioned to be with the angels and I looked back at my notes from the call with the doctor. Seven days after my 39^th birthday, I decided to go in for an in-person consultation to talk with him face to face and learn more.

In typical fashion, I was 30 minutes late and was convinced that I had missed my opportunity and would have to reschedule. The doctor was really friendly and said that it was no problem; his next appointment had rescheduled and that we could get started right now. I said okay and we spent the next 30 minutes talking about the program.

After our discussion, his assistant took me into the consultation room and took my measurements, then trained me on how to take the HCG. I love wine and I asked her point blank if I could drink wine while on the program. She looked me straight in the eye and said no, that in order to be successful, I had to commit all the way to the program and follow the protocol to the letter. It was at that moment that I promised myself I was going to do the HCG program all the way. I decided that if my husband supported me in taking this step (we were experiencing significant financial challenges at the time and I had saved the money to pay for the program at great sacrifice) and both the doctor and his assistant said that I really could be successful if I was disciplined – I owed it to myself to do the research and see what happened.

I left the medical office that day with a sense of hope and a determination to do my best. I decided to follow a yoga-type philosophy and give up expectations, follow the program and see where the journey took me.

During Round 1, I lost a total of 28 pounds. I dropped two pants sizes and my cholesterol decreased to 216. The chest pains stopped when I exercised and my energy started soaring. My dancing became lighter and stronger and I felt amazing – like a filet mignon as opposed to a batch of mashed potatoes.

Although I had been successful, I knew I still had a ways to go. I decided to set a goal – to lose a total of 80 pounds , decrease my cholesterol to the low hundreds and set my sights on a weight of 125-135. I checked with the doctors assistant and she confirmed that my goals were not only realistic but absolutely achievable and healthy for size and built.

I did a second round and am completely amazed by the transformation. In Round 2, I lost a total of 23 additional pounds and my weight ranged between 148 and 152 and I am in a size 8 to 10. In fact, the pair of jeans from 1987 I kept in my bottom drawer because one day I was going to fit into them again – are now too big for me!

In total, I have done six rounds of HCG. I blew my 4th round and cheated 23 days out of 40 – this cheating set me back a round and was a great learning lesson for me as I had not cheated during my other rounds.  (Now I can honestly tell you what will happen if you cheat!!!)

Today, I am at 128 lbs, 22% BMI and 20% body fat.  I am successful. This program works. I will keep the weight off because now I have the education and knowledge to be healthy for life.

For anyone seeking a realistic program that works, I recommend the HCG protocol with the following parameters:

• Medical supervision – with my health history, it was incredibly important for me to have medical supervision with my program. After all, when you’ve conquered cancer, you’ve been given a second lease on life and there is nothing I will ever do to jeopardize this precious gift.

• On-going communication and encouragement – Be sure to find a doctors office that provides on-going support and education to help you through the program and beyond

• Highest quality HCG supplies – Make absolotely positive that that HCG comes from highly reputable pharmacies from inside the country

• Education for life long success – I now have the tools I need to make the right choices to keep the weight off for the rest of my life. Find a practice that provides the information I needed about my body and how it responds to food and I am empowered to make good choices about my body and my eating habits.

It is not an exaggeration to say that my life has transformed since meeting  embracing the HCG program and applying the knowledge I gained from the experience to my life.

My health has dramatically improved, my dancing is stronger and I look and feel fabulous. I sent the before and “now” pictures to my Mom and Daddy via email – they almost didn’t recognize me! I turn 40 years old in five months – and I have never felt or looked better in my life. I look forward to spending many fabulous years with my husband, my son and my new grandson – healthy, happy and fit!

I thank God for bringing the HCG program into my life. If you are serious about getting the weight off and taking control of your health, I strongly recommend this program. You will be very successful and be amazed at the transformation that will take place in your life!