Whether you think you can or you think you cannot, either way you are right - Henry Ford

Commitment... This diet is a challenge.  Yes you are typically feeling good and losing weight each day.  Yet, there are always those parties, luncheons, weddings, and delicious brownies sitting on the counter that force you to answer one question: "Am I going to stick with this for a month to lose the weight and reset my metabolism or am I going to give in and just cheat a little?"  You have to decide before that question ever surfaces what your answer is going to be.  So, when it comes down to this, tell yourself, "I can do ANYTHING for a month!"  ...and you can...  Think about it, it really is such a short period of time to make a world of difference in your life.

Now that you have read the manuscript and purchased your hCG (drops, injections, tablets, spray or powder) and the recipe guide and pocket guide to the hCG diet... The next step in prepping for your course of the hCG diet is to plan your food choices for at least the first week and some stuff will carry into the following few weeks.

My normal shopping list for starting the diet includes:
*1 bag of romaine lettuce (can be mixed with other lettuces) (I only buy one bag of either lettuce or spinach a week because then it won't get all brown and slimy before you get to it)
*1 bag of spinach (a side salad from McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's is comparable to the serving size you will need - approximately 1-2 cups)
*4-6 tomatoes - to slice or make into soup
*1 box of 8 count Dole Organic diced tomatoes - to make quick tomato soup
*1 bag of frozen boneless/skinless chicken breasts (can be tenderloins) - used to make chicken broth
*2-3 cucumbers (to slice and dip in the Walden Farms Bacon Ranch dressing)
*1 package of celery (to dip in the Walden Farms Bacon Ranch dressing)
*1-2 packages of fresh chicken breasts (you can also get grilled chicken breasts from McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, and any other restaurant that sells grilled chicken sandwiches, just ask for the grilled chicken breast by itself)
*1 box of Alessi grissini sticks
*1 box of sea salt Melba toast (they have all kinds of different flavors, but sea salt seems to taste good with a lot of meals)
*1 bag of large shrimp (you can actually have any of the white fish like flounder, tilapia and orange roughy and crab legs) (you can get tilapia and flounder from Captain D's too... they usually serve it with rice, so just scrape the rice off and eat only the meat)
*2 bottles of Walden Farms Dressing (I prefer Bacon Ranch... we went through these pretty fast and they have them just as cheap at www.netrition.com and only $4.95 for shipping to the lower 48 states no matter how much you order - just do a search for Walden Farms on www.netrition.com)
*1 bottle of Walden Farms Hickory Smoked or Honey BBQ sauce (you can have any of the Walden Farms stuff during any phase of the diet except the peanut butter and mayonnaise and salsa - which isn't worth it anyway - we just mainly liked the dressings, BBQ sauces and the chocolate dip)
*1 container of Walden Farms Chocolate Dip - they aren't exactly like the real thing, but are very nice to dip apples into when you can't have the real thing...
*1 bottle of Maple Grove Farms No Sugar Added Raspberry Vinagrette dressing (for dipping shrimp into if you want)... the Walden Farms shrimp sauce is not great, but they do make it if you want to try it.
*2-3 bags of frozen strawberries - to make slushies (just add 1 tbsp of milk 15-20 drops of vanilla creme stevia and 10 drops of chocolate stevia) (you can get the stevia from Nature's pantry or from www.vitacost.com)
*several different kinds of flavored stevia and clear stevia and stevia packets (cheapest from www.vitacost.com (Sweetleaf brand granules taste best, but Stevita brand or Sweetleaf brand liquid stevias taste great)
*1 bottle of lemon juice (to use for lemon water - add some clear stevia or vanilla creme stevia and lemon juice to taste in a glass of water and you have lemonade) and you will want lemon juice for sprinkling over asparagus and fish or shrimp too...
*1 pound 93% lean ground beef (makes 4 servings - I usually take each of the four servings and separate them into two smaller patties, totally 8 patties all together, 2 per serving that way)
*1 container Mrs. Dash salt-free spices (just make sure there are no sugars in the spices and you can buy the mixed spices - I use this mostly on chicken)
*1 container Steak seasoning (I use this on the hamburger and steak)
*1 package of fresh strawberries (to use to make apples and strawberry sauce)
*1 dozen apples (Jonagold tastes best, but Gala, Pink Lady, or any of the others are fine too - whatever you like the taste of) (2 packages of apple fries from Burger King or 2 packages of apple slices from McDonalds or Subway are equivolent to one whole apple)
*1-2 boxes of green tea bags.
*1/2 or 1 gallon skim milk

Note:  This is my typical list when beginning the diet... you may choose other things that you like too, but these are the foods I liked to have on the diet.  Different recipes call for different spices and seasonings, so you may want to check into getting those too... 

500 Calorie Diet...The following is the summary directly from Dr. Simeons' Manuscript (with a couple of my added notes in parentheses):

The Diet

Breakfast:  Tea or coffee in any quantity without sugar.  Only 1 tablespoonful of milk allowed in 24 hours.  Saccharin or Stevia may be used (Sweetleaf Stevia granule packets taste best).

Lunch: 
1.  100 grams of veal, beef, chicken breast, fresh white fish, lobster, crab, or shrimp (wild game such as wild venison is also allowed if you kill your own meat, however, venison and other wild game is not recommended if buying from a game farm).  All visible fat must be carefully removed before cooking, and the meat must be weighed raw.  It must be boiled or grilled without additional fat.  Salmon, eel, tuna*, herring, dried or pickled fish are not allowed.  The chicken breast must be removed from the bird (the serving size at most restaurants is right around the 100 grams or 3.5 oz size as well if you choose or need to eat out for any of your meals).
2.  One type of vegetable only to be chosen from teh following:  spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage.
3.  One breadstick per serving (Alessi brand grissini sticks) or one Melba toast (the small round pieces you can have 2 of).
4.  An apple or a handful of strawberries or one-half grapefruit, orange* (*in the original manuscript, but not in at least one version of the circulating manuscripts) (fresh tangelo, fresh tangerine, fresh (not canned) mandarin oranges are also allowed).

Dinner:  The same four choices as lunch.

The juice of one lemon daily is allowed for all purposes.  Salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweet basil, parsley, thyme, marjoram, etc., may be used for seasoning, but no oil, butter, or dressing (other than the Walden Farms or Maple Grove Farms No Sugar Added dressings).

Tea, coffe, plain water, or mineral water are the only drinks allowed, but they may be taken in any quantity and at all times.

*In Dr. Simeons' time, tuna was only packed in oil.  However, now that you can get it packed in water, many people have had great success while using one 4 oz. can of tuna packed in water as their meat for their meal.

Though it may be tempting to use other meats such as pork or turkey or other vegetables such as broccolli, carrots, or green beans, or fruits such as watermelon, grapes, or other berries besides strawberries, etc., these are not recommended for the 500 calorie portion.  Each of the meats, vegetables and fruits chosen to eat on the 500 calorie portion (Phase 2) have been taken to an exact science to help you lose the most weight possible.

If you haven't already purchased it, I highly recommend the book 101 Worry-Free HCG Diet Recipes Book (available at http://www.diyhcg.com/hcg-books/hcg-weight-loss-cure-guide-linda-prinster-1).  It gives a lot of great recipes to help keep this diet from getting monotonous and a grocery list in the back.  I also highly recommend (if you haven't purchased it already) the Pocket Guide to the HCG Protocol (available at http://www.diyhcg.com/hcg-books/pocket-guide-to-the-hcg-protocol-prinster), which will guide you through the foods that are tested and proven down to what phase is okay to eat them and what serving sizes are, as well as calories, proteins, sugars, fats, and carbs breakdowns to help you lose the most weight possible and maintain your new weight.

Have fun shopping!

-Melinda