Gaining weight after hCG diet (drops)

Flora_k

Hi all. I posted after I quit the hCG diet due to side effects. It has been about a month and a half or so since I quit (no need to lecture. I know it was bad news!).

So, here is the problem. One of the issues I'm having (and not the only one by any means) is that it dropped my ferritin so rapidly that I am getting iron infusions. Well, when your ferritin drops and you are anemic, you are tired and exercise isn't the best idea. We're working on getting my levels back up but what the doctor discovered is that the drops messed me up so much that I have to eat under my basil metabolic rate or I gain. Because of all the problems, he wants me eating a more normal amount....not overdoing by any means but I'm still gaining. Before this diet, I would have easily been losing with the amount of calories I'm eating. How in the world do I get my metabolism back? Will it bounce back? Once my iron levels are back up, I'll be doing that 30 day Shred again because I was enjoying that.

Fat2FitChick

Oh wow, I'm sorry to see this. Glad you realized it before it did more damage. I would say exercise to build up your metabolism but you can't really do it. I'd love to see what others say.

Flora_k

Thank you both! Yes, that is the same thing my doctor did but even eating a few hundred below 'sedentary' and I'm gaining! This is really crazy! He said it may just need to equalize and that everybody he's seen who did this diet gained back even more weght than when they started. I don't want that to happen!

Flora_k

So, question for you, now that I'm l'm less tired I have about four or five more weeks of iron infusions and should have more energy by the end of them. I know you can eat more when you exercise but do you think that exercise will really increase my metabolism? If, for some reason, I stopped exercising would my metabolism likely go back to sluggish? I'm worried that I really messed myself up here. I'm reading stories online of people who say their metabolism was never the same after doing the hCG diet.

Jellif1sh

If my best friends experience is any indication, you're in for a stressful next three months but you'll be totally fine if you try to keep calm. She had the same experience as you (almost- no iron infusions) but was gaining under her basal metabolic rate.

Here is what she did (I'm on the phone with her now!):

Her doctor gave her a target calorie level of 1800 for three months. She wasn't allowed to eat below 1600, but encouraged to get to 1800 or so (give or take 100 calories). She was not allowed to eat processed foods. She ate "clean" as some might describe it. No processed convenience foods and no fake sugar, no chemical sodas. She gained quickly for two weeks, then it slowed until she finally plateaued close to month three. Her doctor described this exercise as a "system reboot" and she followed his instruction in spite of the mental stress. She ended HCG at 150lbs at 5'6 and gained about 10-12 pounds in the 4 weeks after she stopped HCG and started eating as her doctor described. She began exercising after about 2 months of the 1800 calorie diet while wearing a chest strap and she ate back every single calorie. She said the mental stress of eating 600 calories to forcing herself to eat 1800 plus every exercise calorie burned was the hardest part.

After 4 months of the 1800 calorie diet, her hair loss from HCG reversed. Her skin improved. She stopped getting sick, and felt refreshed after a normal night of sleep. She got the clearance to slowly cut calories and she cut 100 calories per week until she got to 1500 calories (and stopped eating her exercise calories). It has been over a year in February and she now weighs around 140lbs and looks AMAZING. She's super fit and most importantly, she is HEALTHY. I would not wish her experience on anybody. I really hope you have the same success she did, and I'm sure you will if you just focus on getting healthy and try to put the weight loss out of mind for now.

Good luck to you!

Flora_k

Oh my goodness, you don't even know how much I appreciate your reply. This is so helpful! This sounds a bit like what my doctor was saying as well. Just to know that your friend got beyond all this is hugely helpful. I hear depression can be common after this diet and I understand why. It is so difficult not having control over your own body.

Thank you!!!