The HCG Diet
 

Your input please...

No trashing... just honest feedback from those who have actually participated in this protocol or have studied it extensively...

Not to be a jerk, but I am not interested in editorializing by those who haven’t really researched it… we all have opinions…

What I'm looking for is your expeience personally with it.

My sister just mentioned a neighbor of her is trying this and has dropped a ton of weight. Having to wear gloves all the time so she doesn't touch any type of oil freaked me out. That and the consuming only 500 cal a day....
I can ask her more about it if you want Pico, I just kind of shrugged it off as a wtf at the time...

pooka

Yes sir?

He was correcting Jinx.

No one I know doing it is wearing gloves... that is facinating... yes I"d like to hear more about that.

hi, how's it goin?

missed you.

k bai.

I'm great! Just been busy with the Littles. I've missed you too!

FYI... fairly regularly...when the kids are sleeping... before Flint hogs the computer... I check the WTF NSFW thread...hehe

Oops, sorry Pooka.
I'll ask about the gloves tomorrow if I remember.
My sis just said, because of this diet, this woman is not allowed to touch(or ingest) any type of oils (lotions, baby wipes etc) so she wear gloves all the time. I don't know wtf. The 500 cal a day seems like it would do the trick without any hormones or gloves needed - is that standard?

My friend is on this protocol - I have not seen him wear or talk about wearing gloves so as to not touch oils. 500 cals is standard for a certain phase...before that, you have three "loading" days where you eat a lot.

Ok... sooo... I decided to give it a try (I failed to tell you guys before... sorry). And... after the first two weeks I was down 14lbs... I'm now down 15 lbs and dropping. It is easier than I thought. I seem to do well on restricted diets. I just started my period so my progress is slowing a bit, but the scale is still moving in the right direction.

I can tell you anyreservation I had about it is gone and the doubters out there in the medical community haven't researched enough. After the two days of stuffing myself on any and everything I actully lost 4 lbs... if the sublingual HCG was placebo as some folks suggest that would not have occured.

Not only is the weight coming off at a rate I could only have dreamed of, but I have the clarity of mind I have not had since prior to getting knocked up by Flint.... seriously. I feel so great and have such wonderful concentration that I decided to go back to school and signed up for Statistics this fall.

Yesterday I spent half the day sorting my closet and pulled out a huge stack of clothing that no longer fits... because it is too big.

I can't say that from time to time I don't wish I could eat the kids pizza or sneak a ice cream, but the rate of success is sufficient to keep me on track. I spend time every day reading over the protocol and journaling... it is amazing how much food obsessing I was doing before... it is nice to be able to acknowledge the thoughts and let them go. I can see that if you take this seriously as a cure for obesity and use the time and techniques correctly you could come out the other side with much better habbits. I plan on making that the case here... don't get me wrong... I look forward to the day I can have my friends awesome gnocci stew again, but I'll be having a small portion made with buffalo and low fat sour cream instead of eating half the pot of the full fat version myself.

Awesome! Good for you!

I'm glad you're doing so well Pooka. :)

Way to go, Pooka! I'm glad you're feeling so good, that kind of emotional lift would practically be worth it even without the weight loss.

That's why Flint loves you!


PS - keep up the good work, woman. I've never heard of this diet - interesting...I shall google anon.

Thanks!:D

Which by the way... the WTF NSFW thread has been a bit slow lately...

No kidding Clod... For several years I couldn't concentrate to read... I'm soo happy to feel like I have my brain back.

Have hit a frustrating phase in the process... am still at 15 lbs... they say perhaps I'm retaining water and to take potassium...ok... done... and that it could be that right now I'm losing inches and not pounds as my skin tightens after the 15 lb loss... ok... we'll see. To be honest I've not been measuring... that is just too much work...

I tend to look a lot less at the numbers and a lot more at how things fit. Going from "these pants are a bit tight but I think I can get away with it" to "these pants feel perfect" to "damn I'm going to have to buy some new damn pants, these are falling off" is wonderful!

My problem being I can cycle through all those things again, and again. Maybe I should pay more attention numbers...it's so easy to be back where you were without really noticing it happening. :)

Yeah... that is exactly what happened to me before... I wasn't watching the scale and before I knew it the only pants that fit were my yoga pants... and they were headed towards obscene.

Today I'm down 16.5lbs and dropping! Whoo hoo... I'm hoping my food schedule doesn't trow me off today... I totally forgot to eat until 3pm... whoops. Guess I'll be eating dinner at 9pm tonight... at least its a Saturday (not that it really makes a difference in my life)

I'm curious, Pooka, now that you've been doing this awhile: do you feel that it's mostly the 500 calorie/day limit that's doing it, or are the other aspects of the program having a noticeable impact for you as well? (I honestly know nothing about the other parts of it, other than the references earlier in the thread to wearing gloves, which it sounded like you weren't doing...)

It is the result of the HCG... if I wasn't taking it I can tell you there is no way I would have lasted this long... that would be a starvation diet wich would actually have caused my body to store fat... plus I would have been so hungry I personally would not have lasted long. Not only that, but I wouldn't have energy, feel fantastic or be able to think very clearly.

Much like when I was pregnant and couldn't eat anything... pretty much the entire pregnancy and survived and had a healthy 7.5 lb baby... the HCG tells your body to take what it needs from your excess fat. It is pretty facinating really. So I may only be consuming 500 cal, but my body takes the rest of the calories it needs from my fat.

I am now using gloves...

If you'd like to read more about it... the text is called Pounds and Inches by Dr. Simeons.

The big draw back is that you really have to prepare all your own food so you know exactly what and how much you are eating... so that can be kinda a social downer. On the up side... I'm not shy about it... I eat first or prepare my own and bring it... in fact I'm throwing a B_day party for MIL tomorrow and I can't eat anything I'm making... they all know I'm on this diet and know I'm going to eat my boring food and still have fun visiting and serving everyone else. It also helps that 3 of my friends are on it and my other closest friend just doesn't eat soo... lots of support and no one trying to derail me.

Ah, I see. I didn't understand the role the HCG itself was supposed to play. So you're not actually hungry at all? That's fascinating.

Like Brianna, I have not heard of this diet either. I too will google it. :p: Anways, congratulations on your weight and inches lost so far. Keep up the good work and good luck. I hope you'll be able to lose to your desired and healthy weight and keep it off. Any diet is hard!

I'm down 20lbs!!!! There are only 3 dresses and two pair of pants left in my closet that are too small... and I haven't worn any of them in 5 years.

I have a stack of clothes too big for me that now exceeds 2 feet in height! I'm going to the store today to get some more clothes that are slightly too tight for me... at this rate they'll fit next week. I should point out that I'll be going to the thrift store to buy them... no point in paying retail for somthing I may only wear for a month.

I started adding a second round of yoga and stretching to my exercise regime... and weather permiting we walk at night... other than that I'm not working out a whole lot, but given the nature of this diet it would be difficult to do more than I'm doing if you weren't already fit.

I also am now including potassium suppliments, cal-mag and B-12.

What form of B12? Pill, I'm assuming? I ask because my kids take an injectable form, which I had thought was very uncommon, but then another woman I met said she had been prescribed the injections for a thyroid problem (I think.)

I've taken subcutanious methyl B12 for about 5 years now... I stopped for a while after my doctor retired, but have come into a new supply... thank goodness. In the interim I was taking sublingual, but it doesn't do a whole lot for me... I do not absorbe B12 very well.

This is interesting reading. I am assuming that you are using homeopathic drop since this requires daily hormone injections.

http://www.healthyhcg.com/Dr-Simeons...and-Inches.pdf

I am currently taking the HHCG (the Homeopathic), but I just got my prescription HCG, soooo I'm going to the health food store tomorrow to get more sublingual B12, colloidal silver and amber bottles to mix it so I can take the RX HCG as sublingual as well. I'm curious to see the differences. So far I've lost 24 lbs... not too shabby... but what is better is that I've dropped 4 dress sizes... seriously...

Is this diet OK for people who just want to lose 10 to 15 pounds? Or is that not recommended.

Yes it is!! You can do a 27 day round... You can do it even if you have 5lbs to lose... it is a modified version, but the nice thing is it helps in reshapping your body and redistributing fat more evenly. This is why despite only being down 24lbs I'm down nearly 6 sizes.

Hmmmm......

Really??? Hmmmmm......I want to lose about 7-10lbs., but more importantly, I want to lose 3 inches off my waist. I think I have to look into this diet. :D Thanks, Pooka! :D I did a search and so many sites came up. Pooka, where is a reliable place I can look into about this diet?

http://hcgdietinfo.com/

This is a great site. You will want to read Pounds and Inches... you can find a link to it earlier in this thread.

I am proud to say I am down 26lbs now... I can officially say this is the most I've ever lost and I am back to pre-baby number 2 weight... Another 10lbs and I'll be back at pre-baby number 1.... that is my next small goal towards the big goal of a total of - 86lbs .

I may have Flint take pictures today or tomorrow... I was to horrified t otake before pics... didn't really want those floating around... call me vain.

So I'm confused/curious. How are you taking the HCG and how often? How much does it cost? Which areas do you feel the fat is being taken from, or is it a pretty uniform thing? (I understand fat gained during pregnancy and breast-feeding and immediately after is prone to end up in certain places and wondered if this was also a factor here -do you lose more or less from those areas or is that irrelevant (I think thighs and hips are two of the main areas))

I am taking sublingual drops because I hate needles.... I was taking 6 drops 6 times a day, but the new HCG only requires me to take 10 drops 3 times a day 30 minutes before eating.

The price varies... to give you an example... one of my friends is going to a clinic for injections... she was charges $1,400. Another bought the homeopathic drops at a health food store and pays $22/ bottle. The health food store near me charges $140 for a different brand same amount. I just ordered 45 day supply through an onling pharmacy for $70...

The homeopathic sublingual, Rx sublingual, and Rx injections are supposedly of equal effectiveness... but from what I've been told the RX does a better job of evenly distributing the fat and then the loss as well as tightening the skin... I am about to find out if that is true for myself. It supposedly redistributes fat evenly across your body as well as causing the fat loss... thsi is why some women who are of a healthy weight, but have disproportionate fat deposites in some areas will do what is called a re-shapping round. It is also why you lose fat and inches, but not always simultaneously... I have experienced days where I followed the diet perfectly, but saw no weight loss yet noticed pants that were to tight a few days ago suddenly fit perfectly.

As for the fat loss it honestly has been fairly even which is great...

That's really interesting thanks. Are your drops homeopathic or RX? That $1,400 vs $22 is mindboggling.

It is indeed... we haven't been able to figure out why there is such a discrepancy... other than people think they have to go to a clinic... and the clinics mark up the costs dramatically. They are not doing any more for her... in fact I found her to be less informed and the materials they supplied her with are not all according to Dr. simeons protocol... she has lost 37lbs, but she started in April... I started 36 days ago and am down 26lbs... I have followed the protocol in Pounds and Inches as precisely as possible.

I am taking the homeopathic version... I will be starting the RX as soon as I have time to mix it... it arrives in powder form and you have to mix it with colloidal silver and B12... it is fairly simple.

I am now down 28.5 lbs! Below are some Before pictures... not flattering at all. I will post some current pics after my shower. I can say the thing that makes me most successful with this diet is fear... lol... unlike a regular diet... if i cheat on this the scale is going to scream at me...

Here I am down 28.5 lbs. I'm about 1/3 of the way to my goal.

That's awesome Pooka! you go girl! :)

Thanks! I should point out that I'm 5 ft 1 in tall... and am aiming for 110lbs which is height weight proportionate for me. When I started I was 196.5 lbs. I am down to 168 lbs here. I will try to post updates every 10lbs or so.

The way this system works seems to be amazing and you LOOK amazing Pooka.

Wow Pooka! Amazing achievement!

Holy shit Pooka, you look amazing! I had a good idea of where you were starting from, having met in person. You're doing fantastic.

So when this is done, what does your diet look like? More than 500 calories a day, I assume, but is it still supposed to be everything-from-scratch, or are you able to adjust at least halfway back to a normal set of foods?

can't argue with results. :thumb:

Once I reach my goal weight or begin to build up a tollerance to the drops whichever comes first... I will enter phase 3 which is the maintanance phase during which time I need to stay within 2lbs of my weight on the last days of drops. I will not have any carbs or sugars for 3weeks but will increase my calories to an amount sufficient to maintain that weight. I will also begin combining foods and adding other fruits, vegtables, protien, and fats to my diet. - will add something new one at a time so I am able to observe if that food causes any problems for me. Much like when you go through allergy testing. After 3 weeks - will begin to add back in carbs in the same fashion. My goal is to come out the other side eating smaller portions of primarily organic foods... And be satisfied. I'm hoping I will have given myself enough time and distance from my destructive eating patterns and enough tools to combate any moments of weakness.

Pooka I have no worries that your new 'diet' will be quite satisfying to you and that, in fact, your old 'diet' will have lost most of its charm. You will have learned new eating habits that will totally change the way you feel emotionally and physically. You won't want to go back.

I have a question about exercise ...I remember reading that you were walking. Are you doing anything else to retain muscle tone? And does the HCG cause any of the muscle, ligament and joint problems that pregnancy can?

I do yoga. I have the wii fit and play it with the kids. I don't sit down very often. I do get leg cramps which is why I now take potassium.

cool, thanks. I am nosey, just tell me when I'm too intrusive.

Does it help? For me, leg cramps always mean calcium deficiency. It's an absolute guarantee that if I forget to take it, I'll wake up that night with leg cramps. When I was pregnant I needed to add an extra one right before bed too.

oh that's interesting -now you mention it, I think my leg cramps may have reduced since I started taking calcium.

I take Cal-Mag too... The potassium seems to do the trick... the cramps I get are always following strenuous activity...

Entering a bit late, but wanted to add my WOW, outstanding - great job!
:thumb:

You look great, Pooka! Keep up the good job. :thumb: And thanks for the link.

Hey Pooka - you look awesome!!!

My gf just received her drops in the mail, she's starting her load days tomorrow (greens hcg plan)....I'll be interested to see how it all goes....she tends to get sucked into everything....miracle pineapple pills, cabbage diet etc...I really hope this one works for her.

It doesn't do anything "for" you...success on this plan is a personal accomplishment.