Lynn's HCG Diet Story

March 23, 2013

 Well everyone I've done it again!

I did the magical mystery tour of HCG over 26 days (that includes the loading and the 3 days to get it out of my system)

But before I let you in on what happened this round lets bring you up to speed since my last entry.

I did a 2nd round last year in May for 21 days as planned. Before I started, of the 30lbs lost I gained 2 back. Even when I ate everything I wanted on vacation the weight I gained was off in a week.....talk about impressed.
For the 2nd round I was less diligent and had my coconut delight on a very regular basis. Still in all I lost 12 lbs bringing me to 180lbs. Now here is where the wheels fell off my wagon.
Phase 3. firstly I was lazy and did not stick to the restrictions with much conviction. secondly I wanted to know what would happen IF I cheated. Well the latter part of my question was quickly answered as I gained back 8 of the pounds lost in a very short period of time.

Lynn's HCG Diet 2013

Sooooo, if you invest all that time in Phase 2......DON'T cheat on Phase 3. Those 3 weeks seriously do reset your metabolism.

 

I had a health challenge last year that made most exercise out of the question due to extreme dizziness for several months. Now now .... no jokes about the dizzy dame ;) ! By the time that was corrected a few more pounds had snuck back on and it was nearly Christmas. So my thoughts were that soon I would be doing round 3 of HCG so Eat Drink & be Merry.

When I started the 3rd round I weighed 197 lbs. All in all down 23lbs from the original starting weight of 220lbs, AND still in all the smaller clothes!!

I decided to try something different. I am not a big meat eater and that is the thing I found most challenging in the past. So while I stuck to the 2 fruit/2 veggie, I then had 1 meat and 1 Vega One smoothie and no melba toast. This is what I have every day for lunch when I'm at work anyway so the nice thing was no added work. All in all I spent much less time preparing food.

Diet Comparison
Think about this... I lost 9 grapefruits in 3 weeks with the HCG VLCD and a little will-power! What can you lose?

So I know what the question is going through all your minds.... does it affect the results with the weight loss? Well my answer is Maybe. But not for me. I lost 17lbs this round of HCG. And even though my final weight of 180 is the same as when I finished my 2nd round, I am smaller this time then I was then.
Now here is the BIG difference for me with doing the Vega One, I did not experience the muscle fatigue I had the 2 previous rounds which lasted weeks beyond finishing the the VLCD. So I was more active during and now because I am strong enough to do things. Oh and here's a biggy, not sure if it was the addition of the Vega One or just that my body has changed but with the loss of the 17 pounds my skin doesn't look too big. My last two rounds that was the case, I had all this stretchy extra bits of skin that made me cringe each time I saw it. Now in reading other blogs it says it takes about 7 months for all of that to reshape..... which it did. Just so glad not to see it this time :)
And for you enquiring minds who want to know, I do the French Vanilla Vega One because it tastes good in just cold water; it has 135 Calories, 15g Protein; 3g Fat; 6g Fibre & 2g Sugar.

I again did the HCG with the support of my Naturopath. This is what I did this round that differs from the original HCG protocol:
2 x Trophic Magnesium; 2 x Enerex Friendly Trio probiotic; Wholy Tea 2 cups/day; Fiberlicious 1 Tbsp; 1 x New Roots L-Carnitine. The 1st 4 were to keeps my bowels moving, never a fun thing when they slow down. And the L-Carnitine for the brain & fat metabolism.
I had Miracle Noodles once a week and the Coconut delight twice a week. Everything else was original protocol.

I have one week left till P4 when I can reintroduce all foods. It's funny but there is no one thing that I'm saying, Wow I miss that and can't wait to eat it again. It will be nice not having to worry about whether it is a starch or sugar and needs to be avoided. OK, there is one thing I am anxiously waiting to have again and that is my Vega Sport Energizer. I have never drank coffee, but this, this is my morning wake-up, get my butt & brain in gear start to the day. Oh ya, I'm counting down the days :)

So here are some random thoughts:

  • The 26 day is perfect, especially for women as we can sneak it in between our menses.
  • Do more than 2 days loading. I ended up doing 5 because of my menses being a week late. Now I wouldn't do 5 normally as that is a Long time to gorge, but it didn't have negative effects to my results. But I think 3-4 is more the way to go. I felt great going into the VLCD. No hunger or difficult time reducing to 500 calories.
  • Take photos and measure yourself. Even if the scale is not dropping the numbers, if you are not cheating or eating too much sodium, your body is changing.
  • Get a hobby to stop the desire to snack. I got on Pinterest and that got me through a lot of evenings when, if I had had bad stuff in the house I might have cheated. Now I'm addicted to Pinterest but at least it's not fattening!

I can say for the work you put in the results are amazing. Thanks for taking the time to catch up with my exploits!

Lynn

Older Posts

Lynn start of HCG diet

Hi I am Lynn and I work at Abaco Health here in beautiful Kelowna, BC. On the advice of my Naturopath I am starting the HCG diet. I am doing this with the desire to reset my adrenals. In reading Kevin Trudeau’s book ‘The Weight Loss Cure’ I find there are many other potential benefits. The big one weight loss and second the redistribution of structural fat. And as I approach my 50th birthday I find that I would love the opportunity to address all of the above. I am starting this journey at 5’ 10” and 218 lbs.

Well today is day one of phase II and the loading phase. This means gorge on as much fat and calories as I can handle to bulk up for the next 6 weeks of 500 calories a day.

When you avoiding eating dairy or eggs it is really hard to load up. My first day of loading and taking the HCG drops I actually lost weight. My 2nd day I did eat cheese and that allowed me to gain 2 pounds. Seems it still was not enough as my 1st two days on the VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) I had headaches. Were I to do this again I would do three loading days.

So an average day is, 10 drops of HCG , wait 1/2 hr then have a cup of Wholy Tea (to detox and keep everything moving). Midmorning I have my fruit, then 1/2hr before lunch 10 drops HCG. Lunch consisting of 100g meat, the vegetable & Melba toast. The first few days I did both pieces at lunch. Mid afternoon fruit again. And supper is a repeat of lunch; unless I ate both Melba toast then I omit that at supper. And throughout the day drinking lots of water & tea.

One of the best tools is using one of the HCG calorie counters (like www.fitday.com) many days I find my choices leave me with too few calories thus allowing me to correct my intake.

On day 4 of the VLCD I found I was not feeling hungry, and as long as I ate on time my blood sugar stayed in balance. I do miss eating/snacking but only because I have programmed myself that way. Not having those foods in the house makes it easier.

So today is day 10 of the VLCD and I weigh 207lbs. So far I have lost 11 pounds. 13 if you include the 2 pounds I gained during the loading days. I am wearing jeans I have not been able to wear for more than a year, and even they are loose on me. I feel great, I have been sleeping better and I am noticing an increase in my energy levels.

Now I must admit I did cheat last week. I had my menses and my body was craving more than it was getting. In searching HCG related recipes & foods I found Chocolate Delight. A combo of coconut oil, cocoa & stevia!! Let's just say when I am done the 6 weeks this is something I will indulge in. I ate varying amounts for 3 days and had a small weight gain on the 3rd day, and the previous 2 days my loss had dropped dramatically. I had been losing 2 pounds daily & that dropped to 1. I may yet have this again during the coming weeks but in very limited amounts.

The other thing that seems to really affect my results is missing taking the HCG drops. Very, very important to get those 2000 calories released from the fat cells. And for how hungry you are.

Check back to see how I am doing over the next 5 weeks! And if you should decide to join me I wish you much success!

Thanks for your time

 

Lynn after 15 days of the HCG diet

Day 17 only 26 days left. I must say this is so much easier than I thought it would be. Other than making sure I have the appropriate foods on hand, and batch preparing the meat so I have lunches & late dinner ready. And biggest of all I haven't got tired of the menu. With all the spices and Braggs (my personal favourite) it is easy to shake it up. I will bake a whole tray of chicken breasts. I will marinate them in Braggs for a few hours then I use different spice blends for each piece. I do the same for the beef.

Now after my last installment I got a cold. Now this was my toughest test. When I am sick I have always headed for the comfort foods & junk foods. My brain kept screaming 'go eat junk.....you'll feel better'. So glad I didn't as I was rewarded with a less severe cold and additional weight loss.

I come from a family of pack rats, something I have worked hard to overcome. Well I am glad now that I haven't been totally successful as I keep needing to dig out smaller sizes of jeans! I have gotten back into my size 14 pants again. My ultimate goal is to again be able to wear my cranberry suede pants. I have not worn them since 2002 .....yep ten years ago! See pack rat.

So here are my results as of today, day 17 of the VLCD. And so far I have lost 15.6 pounds. 17.6 if you include the 2 pounds I gained during the loading days. And these are the inches I have lost: bust 3", waist 3 1/4", hips 1.5". I have days where the weight loss is minimal but the shape of me seems to constantly be evolving.

And to answer the question I am most often asked..... No, I am not hungry eating 500 calories a day. With the HCG releasing the 2000 calories it keeps me satisfied. And less and less I miss the snacking. They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. Here's hoping I am doing both!

Till next time.

Thanks for reading,

Lynn

 

Day 28
15 days to go. Today is day 28 and I have lost 24 pounds, 26 if you include the 2 pounds I gained during the loading days, 3" from my bust, 4 1/4" from my waist and 3" from my hips. I have plateaued over the last few days with only marginal weight loss, but my body is still reshaping. I treated myself to new jeans as I was running out of non-baggy choices. It is a great feeling looking in the 12's & 14's rather than 16/18 range!

I saw my naturopath last week and she was very impressed with both my results and how everything is working. The HCG diet has managed to reset my adrenals (my original goal) and reset my thyroid! As well she says I have the energy system of an eight year old. This is how everything inside is working, not how much energy I have. But that has definitely been improving. Her only concern was that with the fat from the cells being released for energy the toxins stored within are also being dumped and that the pathways of elimination need to be supported. For me it is my kidneys that are picking up the slack and she suggested I have a cup of Flora's Uratonic Tea each day for a week then 1 three times a week thereafter. She said to keep taking my multi and the Acetyl-L-Carnitine (this both helps the brain & fat mobilization.)

My biggest problem is being constipated. I don't feel bad but I know I am bloated from lack of going. The ND suggested acidophilus but that has yet to do the trick. Tomorrow I shall buy magnesium oxide to get the ball rolling.

I have had a few days of feeling hungry. Those are the days when I have not been drinking enough water. I am still craving bad carbs. I want a big bowl of popcorn with butter! But I keep thinking of why I am doing this and all the results I have had to date and that firms my resolve to keep going. My cheat remains the chocolate delight whenever I feel my body has not received enough sustenance. I am only having the Melba toast when I really want a treat. It is amazing how sweet it tastes when the only sugar you get is from fruit!

Day 36

Lynn after 38 days of the HCG diet


My last few days! I have decided to finish up a few days early. For two main reasons: First I have extinguished the supply of organic chicken from the store (sorry everyone) and second I want to resume having regular bowel movements. This has been the biggest challenge of the diet. I did not do a photo last week as I looked like I did when I started the HCG, later in the week when everything moved I looked completely different! The fibre, probiotics & magnesium have only made a cursory difference. It had to be the laxative tea to do the trick. When I do the HCG again in May I will make sure to start taking these supplements on day 1.

I am also going to do only 3-4 weeks next time as I found I am getting antsy in these last couple weeks. Kind of like a kid right before summer holidays being made to sit still & learn!

Very soon I can resume my morning protein shake with my Udo's oil. I know I've been craving many things but this is what I miss the most. I still will have 3 weeks doing the stabilization phase, so NO starches or sugars. Which means no St. Patrick's day for Lynn this year :( . But I can add more variety of everything I have been eating + fats.... Yah! My skin and brain will be so happy. The other thing that can happen now is exercise. I have only been doing my rebounder to date. My biggest challenge there is getting my butt motivated. So if anyone wants to help me out here I welcome it. Because I can procrastinate with the best of them!

Now as to my results: I have lost 30 lbs. This is amazing to consider, in just over a month, 30 lbs!! No 1-2 lbs/week just hoping the scale shows you some results. From day one it is a triumph. And I know my results could have been even better had I never had the coconut delight (I had this a few times a week) but mentally & physically this was important to how I felt. It was a small trade off and I am still 30 lbs lighter. I have lost 3" from my bust, 5 3/4" from my waist and 3.5" from my hips. When you total all the parts (including the ones I haven’t mentioned) I have lost a total of 19.5”.

One of the things I noticed is that I can once again wear all my rings. For the last year & a half my finger size had expanded. The jeans I bought are all too large, still better than the ones when I started this adventure. I bought a new belt yesterday, one without holes! All my others need new holes punched. You know, this is the kind of stuff I like complaining about. Too often it was the other way around.

Everything taken in to account I believe this is a wonderful diet. I have been eating really well, I have changed my portion size, and have cut out the things that burden our bodies...... Wheat & dairy. I'm not saying I won't eat them again (because I will) but I will be more aware of what I am putting in to my body!

I'll let you know how I do on Phase III. Thanks to everyone for taking the time for my HCG story. And good luck to anyone who decides to try it. And please remember, I did this with my naturopath's blessing.
In health,
Lynn