Anyone doing the HCG diet?

[Kim_KS]

Congrats on your first week - that is awesome! I am down 12.6 in 2 weeks. Love it!

[txtrace]

Keep us posted MacBrokefoot.

I broke both my hip and ankle and have had 2 fusions done on my ankle. The second one is taking but like you I can't run, jump, etc. so I've put on a lot of weight. Losing that extra weight will help the ankle so much......gotta get it done.

I will be starting HCG injections on Wednesday and have time to do one round before my cruise. I'm ready to get going.

[Kim_KS]

Good luck txtraci! I love that you don't have to exercise to lose on hcg! I've lost 29 lbs. in 2 months. And part of that time I was off hcg and eating alot. Love it! I have 4 more injections on this round.

[txtrace]

Thanks Kim. The lack of exercise needed is one of the things that drew me to this diet. Today was my second day VLCD and I'm already down 3.7 lbs

[MacBrokefoot]

OK, looking for a little help here - just finished a business trip and started the HCG plan when I got back. The first 2 loading days I wound up losing and then gaining. I am now in day 4 (2 loads and then 2 VLCD) I have put on 5 lbs. I have followed the diet plan to a T. Weighed everything, made sure no oils, etc...drinking so much water I feel like a fish. Any ideas? Not getting frustrated, but want to make sure I am doing nothing wrong.

[MacBrokefoot]

LOL, ok, so disregard my last post. Day 5 weigh in and I have lost 14.5 lbs.

That's a net loss of 9.5 lbs. if you disregard the 5 lbs I put on during the loading days. I use a doctor's scale with the sliding weights and balance and I have it calibrated properly so I know it is accurate. Regardless I weighed myself like 5 times to make sure.

I even wore a shirt to work that I had bought a year or so ago but was just a little bit too snug so I never wore it. Today, buttoned it and it hung off me like it was designed to do.

Next step - smaller sizes!

[txtrace]

Congrats Mac!

[Realblonde474]

It's nice to fine a place I can ask questions about this...my SPARKPEOPLE site has removed HCG info.

This is my 1st DAY of a 2nd attempt, I am so excited. My MD didn't endorse the loading days, I hope this won't effect my weight loss.

More details to come! Best of luck to everyone...

Donna

[Kim_KS]

I start loading tomorrow for round 3! Yay!

[MacBrokefoot]

Another 2.5 lbs. today...

If your reading these posts, obviously you are on or thinking about doing the HCG protocol. I would like to make a recommendation for reading.

It is a book called Weight-Loss Apocalypse. It looks at why we eat, what our motivations are, etc...all around the framework of the HCG protocol. I am the last one to read books like these, but someone else on another board recommended it as a good way to understand why the HCG protocol works with some and not with others. So, I took a chance.

While I haven't had any cravings, I do find that out of habit I begin looking for food at certain times of the day or while I am doing something. This book helps you to understand why that is happening. Once you learn why, it is easy to control and ignore them. Plus you learn why cheating on the protocol has a greater impact then when you are on a regular diet.

[Kim_KS]

I loved Weight Loss Apocalypse! Robin is very good - I like watching her YouTube videos too.

Maybe we are on the same boards?

[MacBrokefoot]

OK, as I get more and more into this I like to read and do research with the idea of making more educated and therefore better choices. So if I gain any helpful tips or knowledge I would like to share them. Be aware - I am not an expert at anything other then eating food, I'm just trying to pass on things I have read. You can decide whether or not the information is good for you.

Today I have been doing research on negative calorie foods. Negative calorie foods are those that require more calories to digest and process then they actually contain.

For example, I read that strawberries require twice as much calories to digest as they contain. If a strawberry serving is 50 calories, the body uses 100 calories to digest them, therefore you are at a net loss of 50 calories.

I have no idea of the validity of the concept, but since the foods are all natural and some are part of the diet, could it hurt to favor those foods over others? Who knows, but why not try it. Might help break through a plateau.

List of negative calorie foods:

Fruits
apple
grapefruit
lemon
orange
strawberries

Vegetables
asparagus
broccoli
cabbage (green)
celery
Chile peppers (hot)
cucumber
garlic
lettuce
onion
radishes
spinach

[Kim_KS]

Interesting that many of those are in Simeon's protocol - I wonder if that's why they were chosen? Hmmm.

[MacBrokefoot]

Originally Posted by Kim_KS

Interesting that many of those are in Simeon's protocol - I wonder if that's why they were chosen? Hmmm.

I think so. I deleted some of the others from the list because I didn't want to encourage anyone to eat off the protocol.

The more I research the HCG protocol, the more I can't understand why it isn't more accepted or why so many react so harshly to it. The reason, I think why people fail with it is they do not understand the science behind it. It is not like other diets where you simply cheat and cut back the next day to make up for it. No, the food program, especially during phase 2 VLCD days, is specifically designed to work with the HCG and the hormones in your body to 1) lose weight and 2) re-train your approach towards feeding yourself.

It is not a diet, is a system, where everything must be in balance to work right. I don't want to come across as a kool aid (stevia sweetened, of course) drinking, zealot of Dr. S., but I am sticking to the letter of the plan and it works. I have not had one legit hunger pang. Have I had times where I was "hungry" sure but I have learned to recognize it not as a body crying out for food due to hunger, but a triggered response to a commercial, a smell of something tasty or a habitual behavior.

Maybe I'll feel different by day 28, but I doubt it. Today while I was driving, I was thinking to myself - wow, this must be how it feels to be "normal" where food isn't anything more then a fueling, pit stop for the body vs. a comforting hug or a mindless thing to do while watching tv.

[Kim_KS]

Originally Posted by MacBrokefoot

I think so. I deleted some of the others from the list because I didn't want to encourage anyone to eat off the protocol.

The more I research the HCG protocol, the more I can't understand why it isn't more accepted or why so many react so harshly to it. The reason, I think why people fail with it is they do not understand the science behind it. It is not like other diets where you simply cheat and cut back the next day to make up for it. No, the food program, especially during phase 2 VLCD days, is specifically designed to work with the HCG and the hormones in your body to 1) lose weight and 2) re-train your approach towards feeding yourself.

It is not a diet, is a system, where everything must be in balance to work right. I don't want to come across as a kool aid (stevia sweetened, of course) drinking, zealot of Dr. S., but I am sticking to the letter of the plan and it works. I have not had one legit hunger pang. Have I had times where I was "hungry" sure but I have learned to recognize it not as a body crying out for food due to hunger, but a triggered response to a commercial, a smell of something tasty or a habitual behavior.

Maybe I'll feel different by day 28, but I doubt it. Today while I was driving, I was thinking to myself - wow, this must be how it feels to be "normal" where food isn't anything more then a fueling, pit stop for the body vs. a comforting hug or a mindless thing to do while watching tv.

I totally agree! I am on other boards and watch a lot of youtube vlogs and I just can't believe how many people treat this like any other diet and cheat constantly. And then do a correction day to make up for it! And they just can't understand why they can't stabilize in P3. It's so much more than a diet - it's hormone therapy - and you have to follow the protocol to get the benefits of the hormone therapy and hypothalmus reset. And with hcg in your system, it's easy to resist cheating. I can honestly say in my 2 rounds so far I never cheated on off-protocol food. I barely wanted to eat anything anyway. But I do use 1 tbs. coconut oil every day - so I guess I can't say I am total POP - but very close. And P3 was very easy for me - I stabilized perfectly. So I think it makes a difference.

Are you doing injections? I also think that makes everything easier.

[Realblonde474]

That is interesting about that list. I had downloaded the WK Apocalypse last week prior to reading this post, and you are right. The book is amazing.

I did have a glass (or two) of wine during the weekend but that's all.

Also, how are y'all managing your workouts. I went to the gym for some treadmill time on Saturday and thought I was going to faint. But I did work in the yard yesterday for a few hours and did fine.

Keep up the great fight!
Donna

[MacBrokefoot]

Originally Posted by Realblonde474

I did have a glass (or two) of wine during the weekend but that's all.

Also, how are y'all managing your workouts. I went to the gym for some treadmill time on Saturday and thought I was going to faint. But I did work in the yard yesterday for a few hours and did fine.

Careful with the wine, the one thing that will short circuit the program is sugar and wine for better or worse has mucho sugar to go along wiht mucho taste (I won't even go into what Weightloss Apocolyse's discussion about habits of eating at social events )

My workouts have stopped. I am doing low impact stuff - working in the yard, long walks, hitting a heavy bag - just things to keep myself moving versus muscle fatigue. The protocol during VLCD cannot sustain you for a heavy workout. Set that aside for now, you will lose the weight better without the intense workout.

By the way, it has been a week since day 1 of loading, got on the scale:

-22 lbs from my post loading high. Can I get a "WOOT WOOT!"

Yet another benefit of being a guy - easier weight loss

TIP: POTASSIUM - Don't forget your supplements. Potassium is important from what I have read during VLCD and I found out the hard way. I woke up early Saturday with bad leg cramps. For about 2 years, every morning I drank a small glass of V8 to get my potassium. I had not had a muscle cramp/spasm since then. Upon being jolted out of sleep with a leg cramp it dawned on me that I was not getting my potassium intake. Took my doctor prescribed potassium supplement every day since, no cramping.

[Realblonde474]

Congrats for your weight loss...and yes men can lose faster. That's the way it happens.

And thanks for the advice on wine. No more for me. Down 6 pounds since last Thursday. And yes, I have been watching the youtube videos about the WLA book...the discussions are adding alot.

Take care,
Donna

[MacBrokefoot]

6 lbs is awesome.

Keep it up, the problem with sugars and fats with the hcg is that the hormone reacts (for lack of a better word) to it and can trigger weight gain despite low calorie intake.

I do the daily injections, what method are you using?

[Realblonde474]

I am doing the daily injections as well.