Using Protein Powders on the HCG Diet Protocol

The Use of Protein Powders on the HCG Diet

Over the past few years, the number of protein powders on store shelves has quadrupled.  Not only are there a million different flavors, there are also many different sources of protein and they come with many different degrees of processing.  If you are on the HCG Diet protocol, it is very important to know what protein powders will work with the program.  After facilitating the HCG Diet Protocol for many years, I have seen which protein powders work the best with the program.  As a a naturopathic physician, it is also very important to me that my patients choose a protein powder that is minimally processed.

Protein powder can be a nice addition to the HCG Diet protocol. For those patients who exercise moderately, I invite them to have a serving of some HCG Diet friendly protein powder post workout to replenish! For those who prefer vegan protein options on the HCG Diet program some of the plant based protein powders are recommended!

Choosing High Quality HCG Diet Friendly Protein Powders

When it comes to protein powders, I have a select few that I recommend to my HCG Diet patients.  As far as brands go, I like the Sun Warrior Natural or Vanilla Protein, Warrior food Natural or Vanilla Protein, Healthforce Nutritionals Vanilla Protein, Vega Lite Protein by Thorne Research and Garden of  Life Raw Vanilla Protein.  These powders are minimally processed and are made up of raw brown rice protein (sun warrior and warrior food).  The raw protein is a blend of sprouted grain proteins.  The Thorne Vega Lite protein is a blend of pea protein and brown rice protein.  All of these protein powders have between 70 and 90 calories per serving and less than 2 g of carbs with between 15 and 20 g of protein.  With this nutritional profile, they work well on the HCG Diet.  Of course, there are many others that would work as well. Again, I am all about minimum processing of the raw ingredients and I prefer to use hypo allergenic sources of protein when I can!

Using these Protein Powders Effectively on the HCG Diet

For most patients,  just shaking the powder up with some water when hunger strikes can work great.  I only recommend doing this once per day.  Most patients can get by with doing this as an “extra” food source on the program.  If you want to make it a little more tasty, you can add some cinnamon to the water and powder.  You can also add in some cocoa powder and some finely ground coffee to make a mocha flavored protein drink.  If you decide to blend in some frozen strawberries and make it more like a “smoothie” you would need to deduct the berries from your fruit options for the day.

If you decide to use a protein powder on the HCG Diet be sure that you use one of the brands mentioned above. They are HCG Diet approved for most patients in my clinical experience.

Categories: Body Composition, hCG Diet, HCG Diet Weight Loss, HCG Weight Loss, Weight Loss