Anyone doing the HCG diet?

[terkatz56]

I haven't heard about dying hair, although I haven't look either. I know they say to use oil free lotions and cosmetics.

LOL...funny block...better luck in the a.m. Don't even dream about cookie dough!

[terkatz56]

Oh one more question..

Can someone please tell me about Apple cider Vinegar

What's the deal with Apple Cider Vinegar??

Thanks, Sheri

 

Apple cider vinegar for weight loss has been used for centuries. It is a natural way to lose weight, and it also has several

health benefits. The nutrients, enzymes and organic acids in apple cider vinegar act as an appetite suppressant by increasing your metabolic rate. Apple cider vinegar is also known to reduce water retention, reduce cholesterol and improve the circulatory system

 

Read more: How to Lose Weight with Apple Cider Vinegar | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4436090_lose-weight-apple-cider-vinegar.html#ixzz1DKeTSkGF

[blueyesdm]

Bighorn - I love how excited you get about this diet, or should I say lifestyle change! It's so nice to hear stories of inspiration. Girl, I've done it all myself - WW a few times, SB a few times, Cabbage soup diet, insulin resistance diet...um where do I finish? And I've lost weight, the most on SB but when I stop and go back to eating crap again, I gain it all back plus I'm not active enough so that doesn't help matters. How long have you been doing this? Are you on maintenance?

 

Block - That's so funny! I love me some cookie dough! I'm a baker and I enjoy making cupcakes so much and it would be so hard for me to do that right now and not want to stick my finger in the batter and taste it. On the bright side - you didn't gain!

 

AZ - Thank you! I never heard of dying your hair and HCG. Who knows! I need to dye mine so if you find anything out confirming that, let me know. I use the ACV in my salad dressings and it's good. They sell it in tablets too so you don't have to taste if if you want to use it as a supressant.

 

So, I'm still continuing to use my makeup and my lotion for my face and I also have to put lotion on my hands because I get super dry. I wonder if maybe I didn't do these things if I"d lose weight faster but I'm still loosing so I won't complain. I'll be using these things once I'm done with the HCG so what's the difference?

[AzCruiseGurl]

Good Morning All,

Thanks for all the info. I do like Apple cider Vinegar.

I havent had a chance to read the info Bighorn posted

but I will after work tonight. If ACV helps with weight loss

and health I am so there :p

Blue I will let you know about Dying your hair..

1 lb loss this am :D So I am R1P2D6

Have a great day everyone

Sheri

[disneyden]

Good morning everybody! I had a nice surprise this morning...a 1.6lb weight loss!! :D I totally wasn't expecting that!

I didn't know about the lotions! I used some tanning lotion yesterday when I went to the tanning bed. My skin gets so dry, I'm going to have to use lotion! :( That's what I've decided to do with my lunch hour now...go to the tanning bed. I guess I've traded one bad thing for another! Oh well, I don't want anyone to confuse me with a ghost on our cruise in April! I've GOT to get a little color on me! You know what they say...tan fat looks better than white fat!! :eek:

I hope everybody has a "loser" day!! ;)

[disneyden]

Good morning everybody! I had a nice surprise this morning...a 1.6lb weight loss!! :D I totally wasn't expecting that!

I didn't know about the lotions! I used some tanning lotion yesterday when I went to the tanning bed. My skin gets so dry, I'm going to have to use lotion! :( That's what I've decided to do with my lunch hour now...go to the tanning bed. I guess I've traded one bad thing for another! Oh well, I don't want anyone to confuse me with a ghost on our cruise in April! I've GOT to get a little color on me! You know what they say...tan fat looks better than white fat!! :eek:

I hope everybody has a "loser" day!! ;)

[blueyesdm]

Congrats girls on your losses!!

 

I was down .50 this morning... which I know is good but I wanted more. I knew I'd get greedy with these loses. ;) I had filet mignon last night so I'm wondering if beef stalls me. It's the first time I've had beef on VLCD. Any experience with this??

[terkatz56]

Great losses girls! Me, it is a slow going but a loss is a loss...8/10ths which is pretty darn close to a pound. The last two days were only

1/10ths and 2/10ths. Hopefully I am back on the upward swing!

I tanned too before a cruise and used Aveeno lotion that is oil free. I use alot of lotion as we are bitter cold here and I always seem to have very dry skin. Please note that sometimes, when tanning you may get a slight burn, not even noticable but it can cause some fluid retention and a gain. So if you do have a gain that is probably the reason and it will run it's course in a day or two.

BEEF! Love it but found I really had to limit it to 2, maybe three times a week as it was the culprit in a stall last time I did the diet.

Chicken spicy lettuce wrap for dinner tonight, I biting at the bit to be done with this phase 2. 100 grams of meat for a meal use to be two, maybe three bites in the "old" days. Now I have to make a meal out of it! LOL

The next phase for me doesn't even seem like a diet. I have been hankering for a big ole Snickers bar though. Just have to replace it with a nice steak, as big as I want.

I hope I have a good loss tomorrow and wishing the same for all of you!

[Liztoybiz]

Hi guys!

Welcome Blueyes! We're so glad to have you!

Had my hair highlighted and lowlighted during this round and it turned out the best it has in several years. Don't know why.

Hate apple cider vinegar, lol, glad some of you can stomach it.

Finally broke through and lost that pound. 29 now! Today is my last day on the VLCD and it is bittersweet. The keeping it off is probably even harder than the losing but I'll let you know how I'm doing. Going to pick up a teen and then a bd. meeting, I"ll post later tonight.

Bye Losers!!!!

Liz

[block]

Evening all !!

Well !!! Reached my 20lbs this morning..It was a party for me.. My next goal is to loose 10 more while I'm still on P2.

Liz, I'm actually afraid to go off P2 ...like I will be lost, I'll be right behind you I hope I have the same results as yourself. I have til the 17th ...10 more days OOH maybe the 10lbs is not realistic...

Sheri- I noticed you are from Chandler, my cousin lives there.

I will be cruising end of April ...Tanning sounds nice but I will catch tons of *rap from people...:mad: if I start tanning ..I have to sneak it ..and then lie and tell them its a spray:p. But you are so right tan fat looks wayyyyy better than white fat.:)

Looking forward to taking less of me on Vacation!!!

20lbs and counting...thats 4 bags of sugar or a one year old...

Off to find new recipes.....Have a good night all !!

[AzCruiseGurl]

WOW you girls did GREAT today..:)

Congrats to you all.. Keep it up losers..

You girls are way too funny but true.

Tan fat is better then white fat any day...:rolleyes:

Block yes I am from Chandler. Have you ever visited your cuz?

Sheri

[block]

Sheri, Yes I have visited a few times.

I'm actually looking to visit him again possibly in June. The air fare is SOO high. My cousin works for Southwest Airlines..that doesn't even help.

 

Haven't gotten on the scale this AM...But wanted to see how everyone else did.

 

I made some minnestrone soup last night minus the pasta and oil for lunch today...so I'll see how that goes.

Oh I found 2 things that are helping me...Fennel and if I feel ungry I brush my teeth ...it works.

 

Now Big horns going to tell me I can't have fennel and reming me of the sugar thats in the toothpaste....:rolleyes:

[mosaicmimi]

Okay so before my cruise I found you guys and just lurked. I had done two rounds of HCG subling before I went on my cruise in Jan. Like most of you I was real worried, actually enjoyed my 37 pound loss but knew I had more rounds to go. 50 is my goal. I was on my last phase 2 round up to three days before the cruise but unfortunately did not lose enough that round...size 12 did not fit and had to stick to size 14 :(. so we go on Carnival and they have a contest who loses the most or does not gain...did not make it in time to weigh in but.....by the time I got home I was back to my LDW!!!!! IT CAN BE DONE LADIES! I did not really monitor what I ate. It was just by the time of cruise end I was tired of their food and looking forward to 'my' HCG food. Don't get me wrong the first couple of days were heaven...pizza, desserts, alcohol! I did notice that eating in the MDR was probably the best for me...the portions are small enough and I could choose salad, shrimp and steak. BUT like I said I did not monitor myself. Now that I am home is the problem did really great until this week don't know what the problem is but craving AND EATING lots of junk food and up 8 pounds over my LDW. Fixing to book our next cruise in Jan 2012 and hopefully that will be incentive to keep it going. Of course my mind tells me eat the junk food I have in the house lol. :eek: I need to lay out all those size 12 summer clothes again and keep my mind focused. Anyone have any tips for focusing on their goal? What do you girls do?

[Liztoybiz]

Good morning all. Glad we're such losers!

Mosaic, I visited with the head of the company I get my hcg from and she mentioned that it was harder to keep it off than to lose it. Given how easily I've lost it (compared to EVERYTHING else I've ever tried) I can believe it. According to my massage therapist who is male and in his 60s and has lost and kept most of it off for 7 months, there are several key things. First, the three weeks after phase 2, we're supposed to eat 1500-1800 calories a day, but not focus on the calories as much as the type of food. Picture the current protocol, and then picture adding additional veggies (minus the white potatoes and corn), additional fruit with bananas and pineapples in moderation, like only in smoothies. Also, you can add in beans (so good in a crock pot with onion!), brown and wild rice, plus butter, olive oil, avacado. You know, the healthy fats. Plus continuing lean proteins, just bigger variety. So basically it is limiting the starches and the sugars. I have been told that if you do that for the three weeks post VLCD, you have an excellent chance of maintaining your weight loss. BTW, what I just described is also the P90X diet and what my nutritionist has had me on before. The trick is to weigh daily and slowly add in new foods. And if you gain more than two pounds, go back to the foods that you ate during protocol. After losing so well the first round (21 lbs), gaining seven of them back stunk. ESPECIALLY when you go on round two, it bites having to 'relose' them. So this time I am going to work very hard at not gaining them back because I'd like to do one more round before our June cruise. He also said that the supplements we take, which can be continued after finishing the VLCD have helped him so you'd better believe, I'm still taking them! lol

Mosaic, I'm so glad you did so well!!! Yea! One thing to ask, when you finished the VLCD, did you do 2-3 days of low cal, even after finishing the hcg? I didn't because of getting taken on a surprise Vegas trip (i.e. Chocolate martinis) so that really goes against us for keeping the weight off. Wondering if you had any time for maintainance.

One thing that I found interesting that the lady told me was that we can actually gain 5-10 pounds and not have it really show up in our clothes after doing hcg. Because we've actually eliminated some of those fat cells by shrinking then flushing, the weight can sneak back on but not really show up. So it's something to watch for. My 7 lb. weight gain is testimony to that.

Block, the soup sounds good. And won't you have beautiful teeth to go with your skinny bod!! Also Block, if you don't cheat AT ALL, you might just get it off! Also, to bump up your loss, you might consider not having the melba toasts at all. Don't know if you eat those, but on days that I abstained, I lost lots more. Those are the one thing that kept me feeling kinda full though...lol

Listening to you guys talk about lotion reminded me of something. My massage therapist that I mentioned works with oil and lotion all day long so if you need a little, I don't know how much it really slows loss down.

I love Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer. It is the light brown tube, pretty cheap, and tans you very slowly and gradually. Not orange! Smells a little funky so I use it in the morning, not right before getting into bed, lol. I used to use the beds but stopped when my dad had a big chunk removed from his back as I have his skin.

Once it starts to warm up, I try to spend 15-30 minutes in the back yard in my bikini (NOT in public though!) because the vitamin D and mood enhancers, as well as a base tan. It also evens out my tennis tan as I play year-round. I don't know if I told you, but I actually won my match on Monday! It felt so good to be faster on the court and I loved that my skirt didn't have any rolls showing! tehehe~

Bighorn, I can so understand the 'beef'' thing! I was told to limit meat to 2 servings a week and seafood to 3. Unlimited chicken though...I felt like I was gonna cluck some days...

Ok, feels like I've written a novel.

Hang tough girls! Just remember, each time you cheat, you are basically robbing yourself of 3 days of losing! And this is just a 28 day sprint so every day counts!!!!

Liz

[terkatz56]

Sheri, Yes I have visited a few times.

I'm actually looking to visit him again possibly in June. The air fare is SOO high. My cousin works for Southwest Airlines..that doesn't even help.

 

Haven't gotten on the scale this AM...But wanted to see how everyone else did.

 

I made some minnestrone soup last night minus the pasta and oil for lunch today...so I'll see how that goes.

Oh I found 2 things that are helping me...Fennel and if I feel ungry I brush my teeth ...it works.

 

Now Big horns going to tell me I can't have fennel and reming me of the sugar thats in the toothpaste....:rolleyes:

 

 

:DLOL...no fennel is great and I brush my teeth to stave off cravings also.

I am winding down on P2 and I will be so happy to get to P3. I have done two rounds and I think I will wait another year before I do this diet again. I am hoping that I can get some additional weight and inches off while using the modified Atkins for maintenance, and adding some additional exercise.

Welcome Mosaicmimi....thanks for the helpful advice and info. I have bought a really cute size 12 outfit, I can't get into it yet but I am hoping that by summer I can. I am in the 14's and pretty comfortable in them but know I can lose that extra inch or two and maybe a few pounds by June. I am going to start doing water aerobics a couple of times a week and see what that does for me.

Had a 1.1 pound loss this morning, so I am happy with that and hope to finish up the few remaining days of P2 with another pound or two.

Good luck ladies and stay on track!

[blueyesdm]

Hi girls! Congrats on the loses!! I was down .50 this morning!! I love the HCG diet. I feel great!! Today is R1P2D10 (did I do that right?) I'm staying on phase 2 for two rounds! I'm also going to transition to the 1500-1800 cals just like Liz suggested 3 weeks prior to my cruise so my body doesn't go into shock.

Welcome Mosaic!! :) So glad it can be done on a cruise! I know it's going to be hard to put some of that crap into my body.

[disneyden]

Hello ladies. Well, I stalled! No loss yesterday. :( I couldn't figure out why because I've been doing SO good since the "oops" weekend I had, then I re-read your posts. I have been eating beef and shrimp for the last two days! It will be chicken ONLY for me for the rest of the week. Cluck! Cluck!

BTY, does R1P2D10 mean round 1, phase 2, day 10? If that's the case, it's R1P2D10 for me too.

Have a great day!!

[blueyesdm]

Disney - Yup that's what it means!! Yeah beef doesn't work for me either so I'm not sure I'll be eating much of it. I'll stick to fish, ground turkey, chicken. Good luck today!! Don't let the stall get you down.

[terkatz56]

Hello ladies. Well, I stalled! No loss yesterday. :( I couldn't figure out why because I've been doing SO good since the "oops" weekend I had, then I re-read your posts. I have been eating beef and shrimp for the last two days! It will be chicken ONLY for me for the rest of the week. Cluck! Cluck!

BTY, does R1P2D10 mean round 1, phase 2, day 10? If that's the case, it's R1P2D10 for me too.

Have a great day!!

 

Day 9, 10, 11, and 12 were not great ones for me, I didn't lose or just barely lost. That is when I decided to do a mile in 20 minutes on the treadmill. I know they tell you not to exercise on P2 but I think it jump started me again and it certainly didn't do me any harm:) I also think that just like any other diet, you kind of hit a plateau and instead of being weeks with regular diets, it is just a few days with HCG...just my opinion though.

What kinds of fish are you gals eating? I love Tilapia, it is low cal. and sometimes I add another 50 grams.

Me...I am R2P2D19...and have lost 12 pounds. As I have said before this time was harder and I see less weight loss. I think if you lose 1/2 to a pound a day, OVERALL....that this diet is successful.

Don't let a stall get into your head and get you off track...know it will pass and holler if you need an encouraging word!

[Liztoybiz]

Bighorn, good advice. I think I shared (probably back 4 pgs. ago) that my entire first round I would lose, stall, stall, lose, then 3 stalls, etc. It still came to 21 when the month was over. This time, stalls were because of cheats, but I still stalled with eating perfect so that's where the inches matter. Regarding exercise; I questioned the MD carefully and what she said was we weren't to do power-lifting. So no heavy muscle building. It is actually important TO exercise while doing this. I've been told that over and over that it helps the diet work better, if we move, the bowels move and kidneys function better, etc. I've done the tennis and bootcamp through every bit of this, excluding the first two days of VLCD as I was concerned about headaches, weakness, etc. So feel free to do anything you want, except trying to lift enough to sculpt your body. I told her I had to see my muscles first to be able to sculpt them. Anyone else play that game? Hey, I thought I saw a hip bone the other day! jk

Ok, maybe not quite yet, but I'll find them eventually...

Blueyes, are you going to do two back to back phase 2? I'll do some research for you to find out how to successfully do that. I know some people do this for 40 days and what they do is take Sunday off each week. I'd considered that, I just personally can psyche myself up for 4 weeks at a time, but not longer, if that makes sense.

Bighorn, Great loss overall!

Disney, I'm sorry. I know how anxious we are to see that scale move every morning. I've even caught myself weighing more than once a day! I was driving myself crazy with it.

Mosaic, I reread your post and I can see how the MDR was the most helpful because they portions are somewhat small. Ok, by hcg standards they are freakin huge!

But compared to normal...

The thing that motivates me? I had 3 sections of my closet that had too-small clothing and every night while my bath fills, I try on clothing. I now have 1 lg. section that is still too small, but 1 lg. section that is too big!!! The 14 and 16s are falling off of me, looks like a family moved out of the back of the pants! Ok, slight exaggeration but you understand. I also have a pair of shorts that my daughter didn't want and every Sunday I try to try them on. I can now get them to the top of my thighs! Each week they come a little higher so it gives me hope.

Anyone else have cold digits? My fingers and toes have frozen throughout the entire four week journey. If the hcg is out of my system, when do my digits quit freezing?

Also, anyone making up a big pot of soup? Love to put cabbage, celery, green beans, garlic, spices, etc. in chicken broth and water. The rest of the family loves it too.

We FINALLY got some snow. I've seen a few flakes blowing by today, yea!!

Sorry to all of you who don't want anymore, it's just nice to get it once every 5-10 yrs...

Keep the faith!!

Liz

[disneyden]

Thanks for the pep talks everybody! They have REALLY helped me today!! :)

I hope y'all have a good night.

[block]

I reluctantly got on the scale this morning..TOM also showed up.. and I didn't loose any weight :( So Ill see what happens tomorrow morning . Making sure I get in ACV. Stay on protocol and doing the best I can. Thanks For everyones support. It helps to check in !!

[blueyesdm]

Block - I stalled for 3 days because of TOM so don't let it get you down! :)

[block]

Blueyes ..I hope it only stalls 3 days...ugh nothing today. Don't we sound like spoiled brats :p If we were on any other diet 5 lbs a month would be good. I've lost 20lbs in a month...I should quit complainin:pg.

 

Cooking my lunch now roasted,eggplant asparagus garlic,zucchini and tomatoes..with chicken on top and a dash of vinegar...smells good.

 

Have a good day all.

[terkatz56]

Block,

20 pounds in a month is fabulous! You are right on track, keep the chin up and push through.

I had a .6 gain this a.m., ate something I wasn't suppose to, just a reminder to self...follow the protocol!

Going to flush the system with 1/2 my body weight in water and stay on track today and get a mile in on the treadmill.

I have my grand daughter this week-end and we are going to the show. I dread it in the reason, I have been craving popcorn, since I started. BUT the plan is to get one of the giant pickles they have and have my water. I did this last round and it was bearable.

Wed. I go to P3, last time I jumped right up to the 1500 calories and had no gains. I may try to step up 200 calories at a time to see if that makes any difference.

Have a great day!