HCG progress and updates - for people on it or thinking abou

Sublingual HCG

I've recently heard of this phenomenon and i have a question, what happens when you come off of the drops...how do you maintain all the weight you've lost? i'm a bit confused as to how this approach works!

I HIGHLY recommend reading Dr. Simeons' book 'Pounds & Inches'. He is a British MD that developed this protocol back in the 1960's. His book is the BIBLE of HCG. The book is in the public domain and the PDF is widely available on the internet. It's only 43 pages, but it's packed with nuggets of info. I'll save you the Google search:

www.thehcgdiet.com/pdf/pounds-and-inches-by-dr-a-t-w-simeons.pdf

The Phases:

Phase 1: Loading phase. This phase lasts 2-7 days (the duration is a personal preference). I did 3 days and personally thought I couldn't do a 4th. The main goal in P1 is to eat. Eat FATTY foods. Eat LOTS of FATTY foods.You begin to take your HCG the first day of P1 - this is paramount!!! You eat to capacity as many times as you can stand. The purpose is to load your bloodstream with food to ease into the VLCD (very low calorie diet). If you don't feel full anymore, eat again. I gained 4 pounds in these 3 days, but it's okay because I lost 3.2 the day of P2!!! Don't worry about gaining weight here because it's the WHOLE POINT. You will be so SICK of eating after P1 that P2 is a welcomed change. My wife and I ate out almost every meal and had a large chocolate milkshake with every meal. Also, P1 is when you start weighing yourself daily immediately following your first morning pee. I highly suggest investing in a good quality digital scale that shows tenths of a pound. Those tenths of a pound are crucial!

Phase 2: The VLCD. This phase last 23 or 43 days, depending on your personal preference and the amount of weight you need to lose.This phase is difficult at first. Forget anyone that says that they aren't hungry at all during this phase. I was starving the first 2 days. It gets better with day 3 on. Be aware that the amount of loading you do in P1 has a lot to do with your your hunger the first few days of P2. I also had a headache the first day. It's your hypothalamus reacting to the hormone effects. It goes away after about a day or two. The dietary guidelines are on page 23 of the PDF and are VERY strict. My wife & I have done testing here & there to see what works and what doesn't. Let me tell you that there isn't much that isn't on that list that's okay to eat. The biggest thing that we came up with is that broccoli and cauliflower ARE considered cabbage, so they are permitted...in moderation. Diet soda DOESN'T work. 1 bottle put me into a 3 day stall. Anything with high fructose corn syrup will make you GAIN weight. I learned that one the hard way. Once a week or so, we substitute cottage cheese or the "1 whole egg + 2 egg whites" formula for one of our proteins. We don't lose as much weight those days, but we consider it a necessary evil. Neither one of us eats fish or seafood, so our protein choices are reduced to chicken, beef, or veal. That's not a whole lot of variety. You may drink coffee, water, or tea in any amounts at any time, but you shouldn't exceed 2.5 liters in a day. You start to risk hyper-hydration past that point. P2 encompasses 40 days of HCG injections + 3 days that you continue to observe the VLCD WITHOUT HCG doses. This gives your body time to eliminate the HCG from your system so you don't see adverse effects after you increase your calorie intake. Also, be aware that anything you use on your skin that contains animals fats (ie lotions, makeup, shampoo/conditioner) are off-limits during P2. There is some disparity as to some of the other personal hygiene products. Some people say to only use crystal deodorant & other all-natural hygiene products found in the "hippy aisle" at your grocery store. My personal experience is that this is BS. Those are normally the people that walk around smelling like a musty forest. Yuck! I have been using the same soap, deodorant, and hair care products I've always used and I am completely satisfied with my weight loss. Could I lose more if I changed to these other hygiene products? Maybe, but I'm not willing to switch to a product that may or may not work just to lose an extra 0.3 lbs a day. Take from that what you will.

Phase 3: The maintenance phase. This phase lasts 21-40 days (strictly personal preference or the results you see on the scale). This is the Phase where Dr. Simeons theorizes that your "weight point" is reset, signaling a change in your metabolism through your hypothalamus. Your food choices open up some. All animal proteins are allowed, as are eggs, cheese, all vegetables, good fats, and all low-sugar fruits. NO sugars or starches are allowed, including potatoes, beans, bread, pasta, rice, or oats. You whole goal during P3 is to stay within 2 pounds of your LIW (last injection weight - the weight you were the day after your last dose of HCG). You adjust your eating style based on your morning weight. If you lost 2 pounds, eat a little more calories. If you gained 2 pounds, eat a little less. You may start integrating organic starches or sugars during your last week of P3

If you wish to do another round of HCG doses to lose more weight, do a 40-day P3 session and then start over at P1. Yes, the load days again. Take advantage of these days to eat whatever you've been craving for the last 3-1/2 months! If you are at or near your target weight, you may move onto Phase 4 and continue losing those last few pounds using calorie-counting or exercise.

Phase 4. The integration phase. This phase starts once you decide to stop P3. Sugars & starches are allowed IN REASONABLE AMOUNTS. You are encouraged to eat organic foods & AVOID the processed, sugary crap that made us all fat to begin with. I highly recommend you use the BMR tools on MFP to find the right BMR for your body and use that as your calorie barometer. I plan to continue to use the MFP diet tracker to count my calories. I would also suggest continuing to weigh yourself daily and adjusting your calorie intake based on your daily result, just like in P3.

Most people choose P4 to reset their food definitions. Their cravings for HFCS, fast food, soda, candy, and other unhealthy crap have been dispelled and they are now craving healthy foods like fruit, vegetables, and water. Why go back to that other life? Choose now to eat healthy and prevent having to do this ever again! Congratulations - this is the rest of your life!!!

I hope you got some of the answers you were looking for. If you have ANY other questions, I'm always here - and NO topic is off-limits. I spent 9 years in the US Army & I've been married collectively for 10 years, so I don't embarrass easily. To breach a few of the 'touchy' ones: condoms can only be used if they are non-lubricated. Yes, that also means that you can't use KY or any other lube. Oral contraception is the only 'medication' birth control allowed. Any BC that uses hormones (NuvaRing, Norplant, Depo) shouldn't be used. No, you don't take the HCG doses during your period. Your body naturally produces it during your heavy flows and you'll just be wasting the product. Let your body be your guide. Once you start getting hungry, you may resume the doses. Because your body produces a lower amount than your dose, be prepared to stall or even gain a little weight 3-5 days after your heavy flow days.

wow thanks for posting that...I’m going to have to wrap my brain around it for a little while. My thing is, is that it just seems like your setting your body up for failure. if you can't restrict yourself off of HCG why/how can you while you're on it? because of the immediate results? I guess that would be a good motivator...but how are you going to be able to restrict yourself when you get to P4? Its suggested that you eat organic and stay away from processed foods? what tools is Dr. Simeons providing you with besides instant, seemingly artificial results to help you navigate through the world of food after you are no longer feeding your body "appetite suppressants." are there any graduates here that can speak to their experience?

Basically - Here is a little bit of the science behind it all.............

The HCG puts your body into a fat burning mode like extremely low carb eating does............when your body starts burning fat, you go into a ketogenic state or ketosis............

Ketosis is a natural appetite suppressant. The HCG also resets your Hypothalamus, which is kind of like a memory chip if you will that tells your body where to stay weight wise..............So, you will have a lower set point and therefore you will be able to maintain the weight loss.........

i suggest reading, reading and re-reading the Pounds and Inches Manuscript.

Hello,

Posted a 1 lb. loss this morning. In my last post, I said I was at 9 lbs. lost, but apparently, I can't subtract very well. At that point, it was EIGHT lbs. NOW I am at nine, and on day 9 of VLCD, so that isn't bad. Beats the heck out of GAINING 9 in half the time!!!:bigsmile: :bigsmile:

I agree w/Rob's assessment of shampoo, and deodorant changes. The one thing I did do was change the product I put in my bath water to one without oil--figured why tempt fate--and the other product is something I like and have used before. I also changed to an oil free cleanser and oil-free moisturizer.

I have been using apricots for fruit, because, even though I love strawberries, I don't want to eat them every meal, same with apples. I haven't noticed any problems. My biggest problem has been craving melba toast in the evenings!!:noway: Really a pain in the posterior!!!

Hunger hasn't been a big problem the past few days, but I am sure getting sick of seeing food ads everywhere I turn. Today I have to grocery shop for my mom, so I wisely decided to do so right after eating. No reason to tempt fate.

Congrats, Lioness on getting off to a good start. The hungries will pass. I suggest , coffee, green tea, water, to take the edge off.

Barb

I sent Sagithia a PM on how to find the thread, and told her to look for answers to her questions here.

My first suggestion would be, if you want others on the forum to be able to see your food diary, you need to make it public. Right now it is asking for a key.

There are several reasons you might not be losing at the rate others are. If you are not that far away from your ideal weight, you will lose more slowly. Have you eliminated oil-based moisturizers and cosmetics? Are you keep to the quantities specified for food items 100 grams - 3.5 ounces. Measurements are for UNCOOKED items.

What type of HCG are you using?

Maybe I'm not really joking about the TOM loading. I have been ravenous today. I have eaten all my allowed food, except dinner and I'm holding off so I don't starve in the middle of the night. Drinking water has not helped. I have had 40 ounces so far. I've also just had my "snack" of strawberries and melba toast. Not even my coffee is taking away this urge to eat!

I don't understand where this is coming from. I have not really been hungry at all on this (except maybe day 3). Yesterday, in fact, I was way below my calories because I just wasn't hungry. Now, I don't know if I'll make it!

Thanks for all the info, Rob. I am using NuvaRing and I wonder is this is why I am having trouble.

Oh, and yes - I had the same issue with a dill pickle. I think it was all the salt! I enjoyed it, but won't be eating another for a long time.

bump

I am down another 4.4 pounds this morning for a total of 7 pounds in 2 days, woooohoooo!!

The hungries are starting to subside a bit, so that is a calming feeling. I was getting really testy yesterday and just felt irritated, LOL.....

Still have lots of energy and feeling GREAT!!!

Confession, I had a half slice of cheddar cheese on my burger last night with tomato and a lettuce leaf. I still lost 4.4 pounds and I won't make a habit of this either............. Just happy that its coming off.

How long does it take to start noticing that you are actually losing weight???

Ive been eating a bit more about 100gs of cooked meat because I take a 2hour walk every day. I haven't realyl been posting but I will start today. I se a homeopathic drop and take it 6times a day with 6 drops.

YAY! So glad I found some fellow HCGers. (please feel free to add me as a friend. I like interaction).

I did this diet successfully a couple years ago except I screwed up Phase 3 and 4 (and we all know what that means, right).

So I'm back. It took me two years to work up the "umph" needed to do this diet successfully. It's a mental attitude that if your aren't ready to commit, you won't do well. As I often say about this type of thing: it may be simple but that doesn't mean it's easy. hehe.

Anyway I am on day two of VLCD. I'm doing injections and skipping two days a week to prevent immunity.

I'm ready to go!

So happy to see you here!!!

I will be going on vacation on August 24th for 10days to the dominican republic. I have been on the diet for a week now and only lost a ew lbs I started out at a weight of 170 and now am at 158 but that includes weight loss from working out before. My boyfriend plans on popping the question when we are there and we are probably just going to elope when there. I want to drink with him and enjoy myself. What should I do now? I am getting scared hearing about putting on 1lb a day if I go there and enjoy. PLEASE HELP!

I broke the plateau!! I only lost a pound, but that pound was hard won! I think I will start losing more. More importantly, I was able to put on a pair of shorts today that I have not been able to wear in two years! And when I did wear them, they looked tight. Today, they look good! I went over my calories yesterday, but I stuck to protocol, so I don't think it hurt me. I drank a lot of water. I can't stress it enough - if you're not losing DRINK! Drink lots of water.
Good luck today everyone.

I am not experienced enough to help you, sagithia. I would suggest that you do the diet until you go. Stop taking the hcg while you are on vacation and stick to as many protocol foods as you can. Eat good fresh fish, lots of veggies and stay away from fried anything. Splurge once in a while. Taste things, but have the self discipline to stop after three bites.

YAY!!!
Congratulations!