San Diego Area

I've done HCG (drops) for three rounds now. I'll tell you my experience.

My first round was in 2013, I was 176 lbs when I started it. By the end of P2, I was 147lbs. I ended up stabilizing at 138, well below my LDW, but it just naturally happened that way. I maintained 138 for almost three years, and started to consider doing another round. I am only 5'1, so I was still pretty over weight and wasn't very happy. I ended up gaining ten pounds between the day I decided to do another round of HCG and ACTUALLY starting the HCG, lol. Holiday sweets got me. I should have done a steak day when I was at 140, but I was in denial, haha.

I started my second round of HCG in late February 2016. I started at 146ish lbs, and was 132.2 at the end of P2. I stabilized at 131.2 lbs after a lot of back and forth. I didn't get to my optimal weight/goal, which was the 120 range (for my height), so I took a month off for p4 and started my third round in May 2016, just last month. I ended p2 at 124.6, and currently I am on phase 3 at 124.4 lbs. I've had a lot harder time stabilizing this round than my last two, which I hear is normal as you get closer to your optimal weight, as well as having the rounds so close together. I've decided I am going to maintain here for now.

HCG has a lot of mixed opinions, and on My Fitness Pal I've noticed they are mainly negative. Most of the negative reviews I've heard from HCG is from people who cheated constantly throughout the diet, and it's just NOT POSSIBLE to cheat in the diet and get back on track. Mainly it makes all the work you've done to the point of the cheat worth NOTHING, but it's also questionable as to how it affects your body! You HAVE to follow the rules 100%. It's not like a regular diet where you can take the day off and start up again the next morning. Every action has a consequence.

I highly suggest viewing HCGChica's videos/articles, as well as getting STEVIA DROPS as a sugar alternative. I didn't have stevia my first round, and they literally saved my diet this round.

Some things I wish I had known my first round..

Loading Days:

• If you avoid carbs in your loading days, and only eat high fat stuff, you can get into ketosis within a week of p2, and lose more weight than you would have otherwise. Jumps the gun a little. I personally wouldn't do this because I love being able to eat icecream/scones/muffins/chicken fries on my loading days. lol HCGChica advises it, though. It's called "Clean Loading".

P2:

• You can leave the melba out. You don't HAVE to get to 500 calories every day! I averaged 300-400 every day.
• You can leave the fruit out, and eat FAGE (0%) Greek Yogurt instead. This also allows you to eat the veggies more liberally. I haven't done this personally, but HCGchica says avoiding fruit allows her to get rid of cravings for sweets, as well as giving her more leniency with other foods.
• CALI-KICKER. Google it. It works!
• Bakers cocoa + stevia + water = Yum & safe
• Nutritional yeast helps get over not being able to eat cheese, and helps provide variety.

P3 Tips:

• If you do a steak day, it can take a couple days later for the weight to completely drop from the scale. IT REALLY WORKS. Seriously. I went from 124.6 --> 127.8, did a steak day, dropped to 126.8, and then the next morning I was 123.0.
• Eat a LOT of protein. Like, they say you should eat at LEAST 100g of protein each day, most people up it to 125-150g. You were eating so little protein in P2 that it's really important to up the protein dramatically in the beginning of P3.
• Peanut butter is technically a legume???? And it's not advised to be eaten in p3 because legumes are not allowed. Still trying to wrap my head around that one.

There are probably more, but really just try and research the diet and the loop holes etc before you begin the diet! Try and learn as much as you can about it before committing, because once you start, if you decide you aren't up for the task, you are VERY likely to come out weighing much more than you started with.

If you DO end up wanting to end the diet early (Which has questionable effects on your body..) the best way to do so that I found is immediately end the drops and begin the three day transition days, and then follow the p3 rules very closely. If you're lucky, you can avoid gaining more weight than you went in with, but I personally would just finish the 21 p2 days and tough it up. If you get PREGNANT while in p2, this is what they suggest to do. Immediately stop the drops, do the 72hr transition days, and follow maintenance closely.

Honestly I love HCG, it's really turned my life around. Going from 176 to 124 is something I have dreamed about since I was in middle school, and never really thought would happen. Looking at how many people have turned their lives around with HCG convinced me enough to try it, as well as the co-worker who told me about it in the first place. Whether it's right for you should be a question between you and your doctor, I'm sure there are a lot of people who shouldn't use HCG due to personal health reasons. You need to be in the right mindset in the beginning, and you also need to be willing to make major changes to your habits after ending HCG, otherwise it's not sustainable.

Anyways thanks for reading this. Sorry for writing so much! I just wish someone told me all this when I first started HCG so it was all compiled in one comment compared to all the searching it took to find the answers to my questions or worries. GOOD LUCK. If you have any questions that you think I might be able to answer for you, try sending me a message through My Fitness Pal. I dont have any friends on there yet.