Radiant Clinic Diet Program - Our Journal

Below you can watch a testimonial from Tim and Victoria about their expirience.

Click on image below to start the video.

I kept a sort of journal while on the weight-loss program with Radiant Clinic. Here are some entries about what it was actually like for my husband and I to get rid of a whole lot of fat.

Quick intro: We both started out with health problems that cleared up along the way. Although losing fat was a big part of getting healthier, we were also on individual treatment plans with Dr. Howton. Personally, I had lost my mother a few months before beginning treatment, and I wasn’t recovering very well. After struggling to maintain a weight of about 140 pounds (which was not ideal for my body) I had suddenly put on another ten pounds. I had breathing issues: Every time I took a deep breath, my lungs burned. Also, my feet hurt, and I was getting frequent leg and foot cramps, especially at night.

Tim had high blood pressure that used to be controlled by medication. He had a family history of heart disease and obesity. He wasn’t sleeping all that well, and he snored.

Today, I am 33 pounds lighter, and down to 25% body fat. Tim is 60 pounds lighter, and he is under 15% body fat. His blood pressure is perfectly normal without medication. He no longer snores. We both sleep well. My lungs don’t burn anymore, and my feet don’t hurt at all. Not a single cramp for months and months.

The best part about the whole thing: This diet program turned out to be free for us. Yes, we put out money up front, but by the time we added up everything we saved on food, the whole program cost us less than nothing. There weren’t any special meals to buy: All the right foods were in the health food grocery store. Who knows how much we saved on future health costs for conditions that won’t develop now.

Tim didn’t start up the diet when I did. When he saw my progress, though, he began his own program. As you’ll find out if you keep reading, his progress was much faster than mine.

Here’s the journal:

Thursday 8/13/09

Today I met with Andrea at Radiant Clinic about getting started with the diet program. The rest of my treatment plan is going great, so I feel as if I have the energy to tackle those extra pounds. Grab them by the ankle, LOL, and send them crashing. Not that this is a crash diet! It’s full of science.

I’ve done way too many crash programs in the past—notably fasting. Lots of fasting, for up to three weeks at a time. Consequently, my metabolism is really messed up, so messed up that I’m afraid this diet won’t work for me.

I’ll be injecting a small amount of HCG every day, and eating only about 500 calories of food, with close to zero grams of fat. Andrea explained that I wouldn’t need to be hungry, because the HCG will be targeting my fat cells and getting them to release their deep stores. As the fat is burned, it will supply about 2500 calories a day for energy. The food is really just to make sure there’s enough nutrition to maintain muscle mass. Apparently, too many diets out there lead to loss of muscle instead of fat. We’ll be doing body composition analysis every week or so, to keep track of everything.

Being a curious person, I talked with my sister who’s a Registered Nurse, about HCG. She told me that when she went through In Vitro Fertilization, they injected her with 20,000 units of HCG in one shot! Evidently, it’s quite safe. I’ll be using 150 units a day.

Two big surprises about what Andrea said: First, she urged me to eat like it’s Thanksgiving for the first two days of HCG. This is to load up a particular type of fat storage, which encourages the body to UN-load the deeper stores of fat once things get going with the program. Second, she looked me in the eye and said, “I don’t want you to exercise too much. Fifteen minutes a day tops.” Well, even on Thanksgiving I don’t tend to really stuff myself. There’s just too big a price to pay. (A sluggish metabolism is such a bummer.) And I’m pretty conditioned to believe that if you don’t exercise quite a bit, your weight loss is going to be minimal. However, I’m going to follow the instructions.

Here’s the embarrassing part—my starting point: I’m five feet three and a half, and this morning weighed in at 151 pounds. Over 34% fat. (That’s a disturbing amount.) I wear a size XL in tops, and a size 10 in pants that are getting tight. I’ll take my measurements in a week or so. Taking them now would be too depressing.

Friday 8/21/09

I followed the program, including the two days of eating whatever I wanted. It was surprisingly difficult because I felt full quickly. Also felt energized. By Sunday morning, the scale said I’d gained 3 pounds. I started the HCG diet.

On Monday, I was very afraid to step on the scale. But wow, I was FOUR POUNDS lighter! Astonishing. I have done water-only fasts and never dropped four pounds in one day. So I was really psyched and motivated to finish out the week. I have to say, I got pretty hungry at times, but held to the diet 100%.

Yesterday, took measurements (all in inches):
Upper back: 41
Bustline: 40
Ribs: 35
Waist: 34
Abdomen: 41
Hips: 40
Thigh: 22
Upper Arm: 12
This morning I was 148 pounds, for a net weight loss of 3 pounds. 

HOWEVER! When I went in to get a body analysis, the machine said I’d put ON a tenth of a pound of fat, and the rest of the weight reduction was H2O. What?? How can this be? I have not lost any FAT? Just as I feared, I’m doomed!

Met with Andrea. She made adjustments to the diet. Add protein. Two scoops at least every day, one in mid-morning, one in mid-afternoon. She also explained that the body has safeguards to prevent becoming too acidic. Releasing fatty acids when your system is already acidic could be a deal-breaker for the body. She suggested apple cider vinegar as a means to correct my pH.

Thursday 8/27/09

I added some protein this week, and the apple cider vinegar. It’s hard for me to believe it’s okay to eat more, so I’ve resisted adding as much protein as Andrea recommended. I’ve been much less hungry, but by 6:00 pm I want to sit down and stay down.

Scale weight today is 145 
Upper back: 40
Bustline: 40
Ribs: 34.5
Waist: 33.5
Abdomen: 40.25
Hips: 39.75
Thigh: 21
Upper Arm: 12
That’s a total loss of 5 inches (counting 2 thighs). My clothes are looser, and feet hurt a lot less. 

Body analysis today showed a fat loss of almost a pound. However, I also lost 1.6 pounds of muscle mass. Argh. Andrea met with me again, concerned about the ratio. She says I’m moving awfully slowly compared to others on HCG. (No surprise, considering my metabolism needs to heal.) She reminded me to eat more protein and keep up with the apple cider vinegar.

Thursday 9/3/09

Weight: 143
Upper back: 39
Bustline: 39.5
Ribs: 34.5
Waist: 33
Abdomen: 39.75
Hips: 39.25
Thigh: 20.5
Upper Arm: 12
Another 5.5 inches smaller! That’s good! 

This week I went ahead and ate protein powder whenever I got hungry, which worked out to be the amount Andrea suggested to begin with: 2 full scoops a day. Good news: Today the body analysis showed that ALL the weight loss for the week AND MORE was fat! I added some muscle mass and lost 3.3 pounds of fat. Apparently, the extra protein has made a good difference. Yay! Dancing for joy. Andrea thrilled, too.

Thursday 9/10/09

Weight: 141
Upper back: 36
Bustline: 39
Ribs: 33.5
Waist: 32
Abdomen: 39.25
Hips: 38.75
Thigh: 20.25
Upper Arm: 12

Another 6.5 inches smaller. Wow! My clothes are really loose! I continued to eat the protein powder. However, body analysis shows only half a pound of fat loss. I gained muscle mass, which is good, and also gained water, which is neither good nor bad. It’s hard to understand how the inches reduced so dramatically. All in all, I’m pretty confused, but in a good way.

Wednesday 9/16/09

Weight: 140
Upper back: 34.75
Bustline: 38.5
Ribs: 32.75
Waist: 31.8
Abdomen: 38.75
Hips: 38.75
Thigh: 20
Upper Arm: 11.9

Inches lost this week: 3.80 (Did I mention I’ve been doing kettle bell exercises all along? But never more than 15 minutes a day) Body analysis says: half a pound of fat lost this week. The other half a pound was muscle and water. Andrea’s concerned because it’s all so slow for me. She doesn’t understand why I’m so happy about “only” losing 5 pounds of fat, but for me it’s all fantastic. My metabolism has been at a standstill for so long, 5 pounds of fat is a true victory. I’ve started wearing my size 8 pants and size L shirts. She wants me to try adding a half a piece of bread in the morning. Really? More food? Okay!

Thursday 9/24/09

reWeight: 138
Upper back: 34
Bustline: 38
Ribs: 32.5
Waist: 31.5
Abdomen: 38
Hips: 38
Thigh: 20
Upper Arm: 11.9
Inches lost this week: 3.3

Body analysis says 1.2 pounds fat loss. The rest is water. My size 8 pants are loose now. Wow! I’m feeling so much better. This week was kind of a strange one, though. I swear there are emotions stored in fat! I felt weepy a lot of the time, and lots of memories spontaneously appearing, of less-than-happy times I haven’t thought about in a long while. I’ve been tired in the evenings. But things are progressing, surely if slowly.

Tuesday 10/6/09

Weight: 135
Upper back: 33
Bustline: 37.5
Ribs: 32
Waist: 30.5
Abdomen: 37.25
Hips: 37
Thigh: 19.5
Upper Arm: 11.5
Inches lost this week: 6.15

The body analysis this week showed fat loss of 2.3 pounds. I’m heartened to find that on this program my fat loss is increasing instead of stopping! Words can’t express how good that feels. Tim has been watching my progress, and he’s made up his mind to join me on the diet. He will be starting out at 30% fat, with a waistline of 50 inches (around the navel).

Thursday 10/22/09

It’s been two weeks since I’ve made any entries. Tim’s on the program now, too, and it’s been really nice to have a companion on this journey. He, of course, being a guy, is losing a LOT faster. Excellent results. He’s already dropped over ten pounds of fat!

My numbers this week:
Weight: 130.8
Upper back: 32
Bustline: 37
Ribs: 31.25
Waist: 29.5
Abdomen: 36
Hips: 37
Thigh: 19.25
Upper Arm: 11.25
Inches lost in 2 weeks: 6.75

Body analysis was outstanding this time!! Although the scale only showed 4.2 pounds lighter, I’ve dropped 5.7 pounds of FAT in two weeks. What glorious news. My size 8 pants are too big now. My feet hardly ever hurt, and it’s getting easy to run up and down stairs.

Apparently, I have the dubious distinction of being the person at the clinic who has stayed on the diet the longest. I am nothing if not persevering.

Tuesday 11/3/09

Weight is 127.2 This is a BIG milestone, because 130 pounds had been a rock-solid plateau, one I haven’t been able to get under for fifteen years! I barely dared to hope that I could break it ever again. And here I am, almost three pounds past it. Anyone reading this who has struggled with the dreaded plateau problem, take heart!

Upper back: 31.25
Bustline: 36.75
Ribs: 31
Waist: 28.75
Abdomen: 35.5
Hips: 36.5
Thigh: 19
Upper Arm: 11
Inches lost in 2 weeks: 3.25

Body analysis shows another 1.5 boxes of butter gone from my body. I’m now 27.9 % fat, aiming for 25%. Yay!

Tuesday 11/10/09

Weight: 126.8
Upper back: 31
Bustline: 36.50
Ribs: 30.75
Waist: 28.
Abdomen: 35.5
Hips: 36.25
Thigh: 19
Upper Arm: 11
Inches lost this week: 1.75 

ody analysis: 1.8 pounds of fat gone. So once again, the scale didn’t tell the real story, and the story is a happy one! I’m learning that the scale is only one thing to look at, and by no means the most important one. This week I hovered at 127 pounds for five days, and thought I was losing momentum. The scale showed less than half a pound of weight reduction, but, as it turns out, almost 2 pounds of fat had disappeared.

I’m going to have to go shopping for clothes because everything I own hangs on me. As for Tim, he’s lost over 25 pounds of fat in one month, and 8 inches off his waist. He’s SO happy, fitting into his size 38 jeans again for the first time in years. His blood pressure is improving by the day. Wow!!

Tuesday 11/24/09

Weight: 122.8
Upper back: 31
Bustline: 36.25
Ribs: 30.25
Waist: 27.5
Abdomen: 34.5
Hips: 36
Thigh: 18.5
Upper Arm: 10.75
Inches lost in two weeks: 4.5

Another weird couple of weeks. Tim and I had some days where we laughed at everything. Everything! But by the time 6 p.m. rolled around, we weren’t good for much except sitting around. He is now 35 pounds lighter. He feels like a million bucks, and looks so good, too!

Body analysis: I lost another 2.8 pounds of fat. There was a sale on boxes of tea, and I bought 20 boxes and then stacked them up and pretended they were butter. Whee! All that fat gone! It could have turned into so many diseases but instead it’s GONE. 122 pounds was another barrier plateau for me years ago, so if I get under that, I’ll be amazed.

Monday 12/7/09

Weight: 119
Upper back: 31
Bustline: 36
Ribs: 30
Waist: 27
Abdomen: 34
Hips: 35.5
Thigh: 18.25
Upper Arm: 10.5
Inches lost: 3

Body analysis: 1.2 pounds of fat. I am 25% fat, and I’m going to start on the Phase 2 part of the diet program. I’m now wearing size 4 pants and size S tops. For women reading this, as you can see by my measurements, on this diet you will lose inches in the right places and the right proportions. It’s quite an experience to go into a clothing store! I’ve gone from size 10 pants to size 4, and from size XL tops to size S.

Although I’m trying to express my gratitude in words, words really do fall short. I’m so thankful to Andrea for being there to guide everything and make the adjustments that worked for me personally. Her support was a big part of why I was able to keep going through the plateau points.

Wednesday 6/9/10 - Six months later

Tim ended up shedding 60 pounds and going from 30% body fat to 14.9% body fat. These are numbers that fit a healthy 30-year-old man. His blood pressure is 110/75 without medication. He went from a 50-inch waist to a 37-inch waist. He used to wear size 40 jeans, and now he can get into size 34. He went from XXL shirts to XL.

And, BTW, neither one of us got baggy skin.

I weighed 118 pounds this morning, and have more energy than I did fifteen years ago. The main message I have for people reading this is: YOU CAN DO IT. Be patient, stick with it, and make adjustments as needed with the help of knowledgeable staff members.

~ Tim and Victoria