Obviously this will depend on how much you have to lose at least in part. If you have 100lbs to lose, it will take you longer than someone who has 50 lbs to lose.
But sometimes I get questions from people who’ve seen that I’ve done 5 rounds of this protocol and they wonder if everyone needs to do that many rounds of the diet to get to a healthy weight.
In short, nope.
Typically a woman will lose about 20-30 lbs in a 40 day round of the hCG Diet protocol. Expect the higher end in general if you have more like 50+ lbs to lose, and expect the lower end if you have less than 50 lbs to lose.
My experience? I was about 50 lbs overweight or so, so take this info from that perspective.
2 rounds of the hCG Diet protocol, both about 40 days each, was all I technically needed to be a healthy weight for my height.
I started in February 2011, and by July I looked like the after photo below. Keep in mind, my personal results are based on doing the injections ONLY, so I cannot vouch for what other methods may or may not accomplish.
– A 43 lb weight loss
– Clothing size change from size 16 to size 6
– Accomplished in two 40 day rounds of the hCG Diet
– So about 80 days, or 11 weeks of actual “dieting” days.
– This also includes some “lost time” for a few cheats I gave in to. If I hadn’t cheated a few times, I probably would have lost a little more in that span of time.
Before we get into all the details, if you are currently still in the research phase when it comes to your hCG purchasing decisions, you can find my current recommendations for finding real, rx prescription/pharmaceutical hCG here (all forms mentioned below come in POWDER form (not premixed liquid), as the real hormone MUST if you are using real hCG):
So why have I done 5 rounds of the diet then?
You may discover, as time goes on and you try out the hCG Diet that,
#1 You aren’t perfect.
Most people who undertake a life change to become fit and healthy experience slip-ups along that path and I’m no exception. The 2nd round that got me to the above photo at size 6? Just after that I totally wigged out and ate my way with sugar laden foods all the way back up to 143 lbs (from 129lbs). So I had to re-do round 2, which I did on round 3. Technically speaking, if I had done everything perfect from the start (which I’ll be truthful here- very few accomplish this- but you know what? It’s the end result that matters, not how long it takes) it would have taken only 2 rounds to get to a healthy weight range for my height according to the charts.
#2 The hCG Diet is so effective, you realize halfway through that you can have a better body than you were originally going to “settle” for.
I remember thinking at size 16, first starting the hCG Diet, ‘boy, if I could just get to 130 lbs and a size 8 I’ll be so content and just leave it at that.’
Even though being just over 5′ tall I could certainly get smaller than that and be even healthier, most of us know and have experienced that losing weight is typically very difficult and takes a long time, so that’s why I didn’t want to set my hopes too high. Many many people who have successfully gone through their weight loss journey have changed their “ultimate goal” when they realize how fast and effective the hCG Diet really is. This has been the case with me.
So I screwed up round 2 and had to re-do it with round 3. So one round fits into the “I’m not perfect” reason for a round. At the end of round 3 I was 122 lbs and a size 4!
How can it get any better than that you may ask?
Well, to me it wasn’t just about being thin- I wanted to be fit and physically active as it’s always been in my nature to be. So I started lifting weights and doing interval cross training at Crossfit- I put on 12 pounds of muscle in 1 year- 12 lbs of muscle is great, but of course still does take up space on my body, so I used 2 rounds of hCG to lose more fat between it. So the last 2 rounds of the protocol I’ve basically been just “tweaking” and “fine-tuning” my body- those 2 rounds fit into the “I realized I can do better than normal- I can actually get very fit and active and lower my body fat percent with the hormone” reason.
As an example, at 129 lbs in the above photo I wore a size 6 and was not physically fit at all and had a body fat percent of about 28%, and now I’m close to 129 lbs again, but I’m a size 2/4 and am extremely physically fit and have a body fat percent of 19%. (Update April 2016: It’s been a couple more years since I wrote this post and as I’ve continued crossfitting and fasting 1x a week, I am now about 128-129 lbs and 16.5% bodyfat- what this means is that over time I have build yet more muscle and reduced my fat a little further, so that I am still a small size but more fit, and I can also eat more!) Same weight, totally different body composition- a lot more of me is muscle and a lot less of me is fat now, at the same weight. That’s what those last 2 rounds of weight loss protocol were about, and something I’m very proud of. In the photos below to show you the comparison, I don’t really LOOK that much different do I?
But the point is that my fitness level is completely different in these photos– in the first photo I couldn’t do 1 single push-up (even the girly way on my knees!) and doing 1 set of squats with no weights at all left me so sore that I could barely walk for several days. In the 2nd photo that I took on February 5, 2013, I was almost exactly the same weight, yet I can do 10 pushups (the guy way) in a row, and I can squat with heavy weights and the whole shebang. I’m not just thin or normal now, I’m actually strong and fit and it’s the combo of the last 2 rounds of HCG and 1 year of crossfit that accomplished this for me.
Update April 8, 2014
I’m happy to say I recently got to 15% bodyfat- I will try to get a photo soon! This was all through crossfit and clean eating. It’s been 17 months since my last round of the weight loss protocol. You CAN get to a normal weight AND keep it off!
Update December 28, 2014
I have now been maintaining my weight loss from hCG diet for over 2 years! Ahhhh! Okay, I’ll calm down now. I’ve been pretty much between 16-19% bodyfat for the vast majority of that 2 years. I got to dip my feet into the 15% body fat territory briefly, but was too hard to maintain, and I’ve gone up to 20% bodyfat a few times, that I was able to correct on my own without hCG (since it was only a few lbs) using these techniques here.
Update April 2015
Check out my 2 year anniversary maintaining weight loss video (even though it took me so long to put it together that it’s been two and a half years now lol). It really shows my entire journey from start to finish to now – you even see my face shrink quickly over time at the end! I am currently maintaining about 16-17% bodyfat (which is under where I finished the hCG diet at).
Update April 2018
I am still maintaining my hCG Weight Loss, 5.5 years later with no further hCG usage – my most recent bodyfat test, at the time of this photo you see below on the far right in the bright pink sports crop, I was 16.7% bodyfat according to hydrostatic tank testing. Image of my test results below.
My results were achieved solely with hCG injections I purchased online so I can’t vouch for other methods. Lastly, if you do go the real hormone route for your weight loss, be sure to find the right dose of hCG for you! This can seriously make or break your time on the diet.
Pattern of Weight Loss
Another thing that would be good to discuss is what sort of weight loss on a DAILY weight loss is normal to see. Before I embarked on this journey I like many of you may be thinking, thought that weight loss was supposed to happen in a kind of linear fashion. Like .5 lbs a day, every day. Or when I’d start off losing 1.2 and 1.4 at the beginning but then it stopped being such a big numbers, I would think something is wrong. When actually in general, it’s all a totally normal weight loss path when it happens like that.
Here are my own weight loss stats when I was on the diet:
Round 3 for hCGChica:
VLCD 1: 142.6
VLCD 2: 140.4 -.6
VLCD 3: 139.2 -2.2
VLCD 4: 137.8 -1.4
VLCD 5: 136.4 -1.4
VLCD 6: 136.0 -.4
VLCD 7: 135.4 -.6
VLCD 8: 135.0 -.4
VLCD 9: 134.2 -.8
VLCD 10: 134.0 -.2
VLCD 11: 133.2 -.8
VLCD 12: 132.4 -.8
VLCD 13: 132.0 -.4
VLCD 14: 132.0 -.0 ZERO LOSS DAY
VLCD 15: 131.4 -.6
VLCD 16: 129.4 -1.6
VLCD 17: 130.4 +.6 GAIN
VLCD 18: 130.4 0 ZERO
VLCD 19: 130.0 -.4
VLCD 20: 129.2 -.8
VLCD 21: 128.2 -1.0
VLCD 22: 127.8 -.4
VLCD 23: 127.8 0 ZERO
VLCD 24: 127.4 -.4
VLCD 25: 125.8 -1.6
VLCD 26:
A Note About BodyFat Percent: What Is a Realistic Body to Maintain
I wanted to mention something that came to mind based on a comment someone made on this post – and it was a great point!
What is a realistic body to achieve and maintain?
An average bodyfat percent for a healthy woman who is just doing regular stuff and maybe doing a couple light workouts a week is typically going to be anywhere from 21-30%.
I always refer to the chart in BuiltLean’s post for this. Take note of the first chart which shows you bodyfat percent of women based on various activity/fitness levels, but then ALSO the second chart which shows you bodyfat perfect based on AGE as well, which is also a factor in what is realistic and reasonable to maintain long term.
In the photo above when I’m in my jeans and mauve top on the left, I’m 29% bodyfat. And I think I look pretty average right? I don’t think I look really overweight – I feel like I look pretty average and certainly pretty healthy. Like I could stay at that body composition for a long time and not have any major health threats as a result of it. Now I know you can’t see my arms there, sorry, but now…..
Let’s compare that to me at around 16-17% bodyfat below – and I’m flexing here of course, but you can see, my muscle tone is no longer “average” or “everyday” – like there’s no way I could have gotten this muscle without some serious heavy weight lifting and pushups ;)- These pics are from 2017, after about 5 years of crossfitting, and about how I look today in 2018.
In that same bodyfat chart I linked to, you’ll see that 14-20% bodyfat for a woman is considered “Athlete” – so my bodyfat percent this is NOT in general, the type of bodyfat percent you will achieve doing a little stairclimbing and throwing a frisbee to your dog at the park with your fam on the weekends. And that’s OKAY!
I only pursue my current liftestyle of 3x a week of heavy weight lifting and intense exercise at Crossfit because I LOVE it. It’s literally one of my favorite things to do! It’s just a natural side effect that my bodyfat percent is what it is as a result of these activities.
If you get to between 20-30% bodyfat with the hCG protocol, this is a healthy level to get to and stay at!
Some of us may choose to try to achieve the lower end or even lower than that range, and that’s awesome. But you don’t have to have an athlete level bodyfat percent to be healthy nor should you feel you have to do that.
This is simply my journey with hCG and fitness and I kind of “tout” if you will my athlete bodyfat percent, not to brag or to make you feel you should do that same, but rather because there is SO much negativity out there about the hCG diet – so many people saying it’s a starvation diet, that it’s dangerous, that you’ll just gain it all back. So I’m over here like yoo-hoo! Over here! Guess what, I did get hCG 5 times to basically expedite my way to being an “athlete” by scientific standards! Lol.
I just feel like this helps prove that hCG can’t be these negative things people say when I can prove I’ve had the opposite experience and I can prove with my testing that I’m not only NOT skinny-fat (like naysayers would like to make you think are becoming when you do this diet, like you’re just losing a bunch of muscle and still have most the fat you always did- not true) but I’m highly fit as a result of my combo of fat loss with hCG cycled with fitness training as well.
So that’s purpose in sharing body composition level. It’s not to make you think this is the level you too should strive for.
Keep Your Goals In Line With What You REALLY Want
So not the want that comes from scrolling on an instagram feed and seein some super sexy skinny and/or built gal.
Like says my 5’1″ self:
‘Wow she’s 5’10” with legs for days…..how can I get that? Is there a diet for that?’
That sounds ridiculous right? But honestly – that’s what we are sometimes doing to ourselves when we see a certain level of leanness in some women and WANT it and strive so hard for it when maybe, it’s not a realistic way to be from day to day. Some women are naturally very thin and waify and it’s relatively easy for them to stay that way from day to day. But that is not necessarily a realistic body for YOU to maintain. You might GET there with hCG, but is it a sustainable body? Meaning can you eat in a way that feels doable for you, where you’re whole life isn’t centered around calories and macros, and still maintain that body?
What’s possible for you will vary from person to person based on lots of factors. Since I love crossfit and heavy weight lifting, it has made it so that my current body at 17% bodyfat is very easy to maintain. If I weren’t crossfitting, I’m certain I’d have to settle with living at a higher (but still perfectly healthy) bodyfat percent. WHICH IS TOTALLY OKAY.
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Hello!
Need your urgent & honest advice as it’s been very frustrating & I am so glad I found your blog –
My first time to follows the HCG drops was last May – I followed the 20 days and I lost 18 lbs . it was fantastic. I kept the weight off from June till August 26th ( just gained 4 lbs during the summer).
I am after losing more weight for health reasons so I started a 40 days round on August 26th – to my surprise my weight is stalling and I only lost 10 Lbs in 5 weeks 🙁 I did the full day apples twice but nothing worked . – I haven’t lost anything for 12 days 🙁 I follow everything per the book. I drink 6 large bottles of water a day & hardly actually eat the requested amount on some days…
Is this normal to only lose 10 LBS in the 6 weeks /40 days round !!!! If I cheated it would be that some days I don’t eat the full 2 meals a day ( I skip some greens as I get so full).. I am truly very down at the moment., I must lose another 20 LBS asap for my health & before the fall/winter season again for my health too /
Hi Heather!
Here’s a helphub article that might help you: https://hcgchicahelphub.com/hardly-any-weight-loss-3-weeks-stall-hcg-diet-p2/
I love your stuff! Thanks for being such a huge inspiration to us!
I am getting nervous about getting back to another round (round 2 of injections). I have signed up for “healthy wage” and have 27 pounds left to lose in order to make my wager date. Is it possible to lose this much on round 2? So nervous that I have invested all this money, time, and effort to not lose enough for my goal date.
this is great info – thanks so much!
i have so so so much trouble following the diet. honestly, i’m better off mostly not eating. drinking lots of tea (no milk, no sugar), couple of cups of chicken bullion (better than bullion, this stuff is amazing), and two scrambled eggs.
if i try and follow the diet i get cranky – too much time spent on thinking about food, preparing food, looking at food. does the actual food matter or am i ok as long as i keep to the nutrient restrictions?
thanks,
kate
Hi Kate,
This is Li-an, Rayzel’s assistant. Nice to meet you! There are various approaches now to the diet and many ladies find success with different alternatives too. That being said, as long as your body is getting the nutrients required each day and you are still losing the fat, that won’t be an issue!
I really hope you don’t take offense, but I am having difficulty believing you are/were 15% bf in that picture. While you look fantastic (kudos) in those after pics, your arms are carrying way too much subcutaneous fat for you to have been at such a low bf%. Perhaps your scale of measurement was off. Some examples of women who typically carry around 14-16% bf are fitness models, fitness instructors, female professional athletes, track and field runners, etc.. I love your site, but I think women need to understand what they can realistically expect in terms of accurate bf% (for those interested in that kind of detail). You honestly look like your about 20-21% bf which is quite good.
Hey Joyce! No offense taken- that particular post does not show a picture of me at 15% bodyfat- that was simply an update I added to the post later. The photos you see are at 27% bf on Left and 19% bf on the right- it’s written on the images actually. 🙂 So you are not too far off your 20-21% guess! When I got down to 15% BF briefly you are right, I was definitely leaner. Although not as lean looking as a 5’8″ person who is 15% – being only 5’1″ event at 15%BF an having a lot of muscle for my height, I still have a more muscular/stocky look to me. One thing I didn’t know is that the same bodyfat percent can look very different depending on how much your total weight and height is – ie if you are 5’8″ and weigh 150 lbs with 15% bf that would make you 126 lbs lean mass, and 24 lbs fat. If you were the same 5’8″ but had more muscle from say heavy weight lifting at crossfit (like I do) and weighed a total of 170 lbs instead of 150, but still 15% bodyfat, then now you are 144.5 lbs lean mass and 25.5 lbs fat. That extra 17.5 lbs of muscle still takes up plenty of volume space on a person’s body which makes them look more stocky and they have an extra 1.5 lbs fat. That’s the type of body I have- I have a LOT of lean mass for my height – 105 lbs of lean mass currently at my 127lbs-ish current weight now in 2018 when most ladies my height only have have 80-90 lbs of lean mass.
But you are dead on that the above photos are definitely not 15% bf! 🙂 Sorry for the confusion there. And I agree that it’s important to discuss what is realistic with bodyfat percent- I believe I cover that in a few places here on the blog – and I’m careful to usually add that my bodyfat percent is in the athlete category and purely from my crossfitting – for a normal everyday woman, 20-27% fat is perfectly healthy and easy to maintain. My current bodyfat now is 16-17% and has been so for about 4 years and is pretty easy for me to maintain with my lifestyle but again I believe that’s because I have put on so much muscle from crossfit. If my muscle were less, I’d have a higher bodyfat percent even if my lbs of fat were still the same, since have 10-15 lbs less muscle would thus change the ratio of fat/muscle in my body. Thank you for commenting and bringing that up, it’s a good thing to clarify! – Rayzel
Thanks for the clarification and taking the time to post the updates. You look amazing and YES, your current photos definitely definitely reflect the low bf%. I agree that reaching your personal goals should be something you enjoy doing. I’ve completed 3 rounds of HCG (homeopathic) and have been on the fence about doing one last round. I am also done with the 12 week maintenance period from my last round. I am 5’8″ and my weight is between 150-155lbs. Im a competitive figure skater and would like to get down to 135lbs which is super lean for me (prob about 14-15% BF. A weird thing happened to my body right after I finished P2 of Round 3 (last round). For the first time in my life, I skipped my period. It did not come again for nearly 50 days. Now I know your gonna say…perimenopausal much? I thought the same,but a trip to my gyro says no. Hormones all within normal range. I had really bad bloating and it seemed as it my body was struggling every time I ate fat or carbs. Well, 11 weeks into maintenance, my body has returned to normal, my weight has stabilized, and the bloating, gas ceased and my period has returned to the normal clockwork cycle it has always been my whole life. Any thoughts?
That is so funny that you are 5’8″! When I wrote the example I totally just wrote that height as my example completely random haha! I’m glad for the chance to update the post. Many minds make things comprehensive. 🙂 Wow a competitive figure skater, how neat! Re your question, you have probably already heard this suggestion, but personally I am very leery that homeopathic hCG is achieving the same fat loss vs muscle loss than using the real hormone. I have not seen testing to prove what type of weight loss is occurring on homeopathic hCG, vs. I have my own personal testing to prove what the real hormone with injections did, and I am concerned that it’s not the same. Only because hormones are so powerful – like you know how there’s no homeopathic birth control, or homeopathic testosterone that could increase a person’s muscle mass? I just feel like the real hormone hCG may be preserving more lean muscle than homeopathic while on the diet – which leads me then to the skipped period- if a person is on the diet without the role that the real hormone is playing in a person’s body, it seems likely that more negative side effects like that could happen – does that make sense? And then it could take more time for things to go back to normal. I could be TOTALLY wrong about this- but I’m just thinking if you are serious about getting to that low a body fat percent and maintaining your muscle mass for your lifestyle, if it were me I would use the real hormone myself. In the end I respect whatever you decide! Just sharing because you asked and that is my honest to goodness opinion. Just a thought. I hope that helps you decide what to consider for future! Love, Rayzel
Me again! I’m actually really glad you commented about this topic- I have now updated the post a bit to address this further. Might add more later. Thanks again!
None of your testimonials are dated. So I guess you don’t do follow-ups if it’s been years since you interviewed them? Interesting interviews. You could use an editor, though. 🙂 These people are losing so much weight(yay!) and the differences in how they are treated are incredible. It shows how prejudicial we as a society are towards overweight people. 🙁
Do you feel we should only use xylitol instead of other substitutes? What about the non-use of lotions and makeups that contain lipids? These xtra steps seem extreme and costly but if necessary I will abide. Also, I have a b-complex gummy I would like to take instead of the injections, it is only 5 calories but it does have 2 carbs and one is a sugar. Will this one little vitamin mess up my protocol? This is my third round, did one quite a few years ago then another after my first baby. Time to lose the fat from baby #2. Here goes nothing!
Hi Kelly,
I’ll do my best to answer your questions:
1) Xylitol could probably be used in moderation. Rayzel favors Erythritol though over Xylitol because the molecules are smaller and typically are digested much easier. A lot of people have digestive discomfort with Xylitol, and there’s so many Erythritol brands now, it just kind of seems to make sense (like Swerve, Truvia, Lakanto).
And of course Stevia – Rayzel feels Stevia is still the best/first choice for a sweetener on hCG – and then the sugar alcohols are something she feels should be used more in just one occasion and not daily. She’s just not positive yet how the sugar alcohols could possibly effect weight loss on hCG. It’s just something to be a little more cautious with and have in moderation.
2) As for the gummy – Rayzel is not sure about this, you could try it and see – if you’re just having 1 gummy a day, it seems unlikely that it would be an issue.
3) You also mentioned lotion and makeup that contain lipids. Rayzel said Corn Huskers lotion is ok or any lotion that just has mineral oil, just not other oils so be sure to check the labels. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful with this one!.
The main thing Rayzel made sure of when it comes to face makeup/foundation products, she buys the ones that says oil free, since she applies them all over her face. Same with lipstick. But when it came to things like eyeliner, mascara, or shampoo, she didn’t worry about it. Those items are hardly touching your skin at all, so she just didn’t see it being a big deal.
Hope that helps!
Gen 🙂
Want help with staying lean after P3 and doing subsequent rounds. Looking for an accurate body fat percentage choice.
Hi, Why is it not advised for people with BMI lower than 20? And does HcG still work if you were looking to lose 5-10lbs with a BMI that is under 20?
Girl, I love you! Like seriously. Your personality, your encouragement, and your love for fitness. I feel like I want to be on your journey. I want to be FIT not skinny. I am on Day 6 and I was curious…I want my fitness level to increase. Did you workout while on the VLCD? I am looking into join a Crossfit or kickboxing gym. I go to a regular gym now, but want to be toned. I have always worked out but not any major results, and the fat crept in. I want to be an athlete again.
Hi Rochelle!
hCGChica did not workout while on VLCD. For help with deciding on that for you Rayzel has a series on that here:
http://hcgchica.com/exercise-on-the-hcg-diet-possible-pros-and-cons/
Hope that helps!
Lucelle
What do you think about the protein shakes as a meal replacement like three times a day
Hi @Kitanya Sameer Pari – good question. 🙂 If I’m being perfectly honest, I wouldn’t recommend it. I can see using a protein shake as a protein replacement occasionally, but I have really come to believe in eating real food. I think this protocol is like a cleanse and eating these simple whole foods really helps train us to eat properly for the future to maintain weight loss. I also feel that the real meat protein is likely absorbed and utilized by our bodies much better than a processed powder replacement thing. I could be wrong, that is just my persona opinion. In the end, it’s your choice of course, but since you asked, I’m just sharing my current perspective. Hope that helps you decide! – Rayzel
I love your blog!!!! Its good to see that someone with a thyroid condition has had success w/ this program. Ive always been a bigger muscular 5’8in girl. At the age of 9 (when i had my 1st TOM) i went from 120lbs to 150lbs in a single school year. I noticed I was always fatigued, but thought it was from being overweight. Then, I had enough of the teasing In 7th grade, so during the summer before starting 8th grade i got so depressed and basically spent the whole 2-3months of summer in bed. I would get up get something to drink, and go back to sleep. According to the scale i lost 20lbs and my size 13 jeans were baggy. So at that point i started dieting eating more salads and less crap, and exercising for hours to keep at that weight/size. From ages 16 -18 (still had no idea i had a thyroid condition), i was struggling to stay around 150lbs. I would do up to 1800squats/lunges a night, and up to 400 situps/crunches and run 3times a week. I would eat maybe 2 or 3 meals a week and drank tons of water and coffee for energy. Then, when i was 19 i got engaged and myweight shop up to 180lbs my size 13s were feeling tight. That same year i got in a car accident and had a complete blood panel includ thyroid testing done, foundout i have hypothyroidism, so i began to taken medication along with eating whatever i wanted andexercising everyday i stayed between 180-190lbs size 12/13. Then in 2007 i got married, and got fat and happy,lol… Actually, its due to my husbands eating habits rubbing off on me (hes tongan, its like samoan or hawaiian- they eat huge portions). Then, i got pregnant in 09′, lost the baby, and my body never seemed to boiunce back. So in 2010, my hubby and i moved from az to ar to help family build a house. I had no idea i had gotten so big….until i started walking up the inclined driveway, i panted and huffed, which was strange cause i figured since i went to zumba 3 to 5 times a week, and went running that i was in shape and healthy. I had not taken my lbs in a few yes, so I finally did and omg (I was 246lbs)…that was the heaviest I ever was…. So i had my mom take photos of me, and i was startled at what i looked like. How could i let myself get this big?!?!?!?!? Soon after that (late November 2011) i was in town w/ my mom (age 50 something, 5’5, med frame about 200lbs) and my lil sister (age 22, small frame, 5’5, 160lbs) drove past a health clinic advertising hcg and weightloss, i figured ill try anything at this point. So, my mom and i went to the clinic (Jan 2012), got our mandatory labs done, took our vitals and weights. And the clinic gave us our hcg shots, along with a list of approved foods. We came in once a week and did oir weigh ins in the clinic, so during the 1st round i started at 246lbs) a sz 20/22, i lifted weights @ gym, did the eliptical, zumba, and kickboxing, as a result of all of my effort and the diet i got down to 219lbs. I felt so proud of myself, but I knew I needed to lose more to be near my right weight range, so I started my 2nd round 43 day round in April 2012 @ 220lbs, I got down to (189lbs) a size 14/15. I couldn’t seem to get below 189lbs….. So since my second round I’ve been doing insanity, t25, zumba, weight lifting, hiit workouts, and have been trying to keep my weight down… But….it slowly creapt up to 215 l/xl 14/15/15sz, so I ordered the hcg online and now I’m currently on round 3. In 28days w/ cheat days of (nachos and mexican food) I’ve only lost 12 lbs.if I wouldnt have cheated i wouldve lost more…..but the rounds is not done, and I’m determined to lose 25+lbs total for this round. Oh and I’ve noticed I’ve always been very busty but when from the last few times I’ve done the hcg diet, I’ve lost weight all over, but my boobs got bigger… I’m a 36dddd now , wonder if anyone else has that problem????
Hi, I an seriously considering this! I have a question about how this hormone interacts with birth control. I read somewhere that I should use a backup method. Any truth to that? My husband and I are not ready for number 5!
I was normal to most people after my first round, I started at 240 pounds on a 6’1″ feet tall frame and ended at 205 pounds, did a second round and ended that at 185 pounds, which would make me “healthy” under the BMI scale, but then gained 20 pounds, back, did third round, and lost 30 pounds, and had a final weight of 175 pounds, I currently weigh 180 pounds, which puts me in the normal range. So I guess for most people two rounds would be more than enough.
There was a huge difference in how strangers treated me before the first round and after the first round, I was kind of happy and sad at the same time, happy that people were nicer to me, but sad that people judge others based on how they look and now how they really are as human beings.
The true reason for my weight loss was not cosmetic but for health reasons as a visit to my physician showed that if I did not lose weight and improved my cholesterol numbers I would be headed to serious health problems, my father who is still around had two heart attacks and has been hospitalized in the past two years, and despite the advice of his doctors to lose weight and take better care of himself he continues to ignore that advice, my father is 76 years old, I am in my 30s, I have a wife and two young sons, so I need to be around for them.
Nice story @Joseph Dickerson – one of my interviews recently – with Janie, episode 18 here: http://hcgchica.com/episode-18-hcg-diet-interviews-120-lb-weight-loss-injections/ she too mentioned how differently she was treated pre and post weight loss. It was pretty astounding to her. My husband is about 5’11” and 180 lbs too and looks pretty normal too so good for you! So glad to hear that you have been able to make this protocol work for you both for yourself and the good of your family. – Rayzel
Well its true but the first thing people notice about a stranger is how they look and we live in a world where people judge others by their appearance and other superficial measures of value such as how much money they have, what they do for a living, the car they drive, etc. Its sad but true. I have a relative who his much shorter than me, does not have a weight problem but yet has much difficulty with the opposite gender and I suspect it has something to do with his height. Its sad we live in a society that judges people on things that they have no control over, I only went on the diet because I failed at numerous other attempts to lose weight, I tried Atkins, the old fashioned low fat and exercise routines, and then got a note from a doctor saying I was on route to winding up with heart disease. It had absolutely nothing to do with cosmetic benefits although people tell me I look good now, I think this is the “Wrong” reason to do lose weight or to do HCG, not to get others to think better of you, but for you to feel better and to improve your own health and longevity. I prefer to be healthy than one of the many who wind up sick and then sacked with thousands of dollars in medical bills.
So like the first week chica did u lose anything.
Hi @Ebony I’m not sure what you mean exactly lol, yes I lost weight the first week. :)-
Congratulations! Do you have dr Simeon’s the pounds and inches manuscript on the website?-
Yes I do! You can find that here: http://hcgchica.com/what-is-the-hcg-diet/
I am just curious, you mention that the last 2 rounds were for fat loss. Did you lose additional weight or was your weight the same during those last 2 rounds? I don’t quite understand. Also, what types of exercises did you use?
Hi @drmurrell:disqus sorry if I confused you a bit! 😉 Yes so what I meant was, when I originally reached 127ish lbs or so, my body composition at that time was about 27% bodyfat- which means I Had a certain amount of fat on my body and a certain amount of muscle on me right? So after my 3rd round of hCG what I did was alternate crossfit with hCG twice- so I did crossfit for 4-5 months and bulid several lbs of muscle, then did 1 round of hCG to lose several lbs of fat, then did crossfit for 4-5 months to build muscle, then final round to lose more fat- so that at the end, I weighed about the same, 127 lbs, but now my bodyfat percent is 17% instead of 27% which translates into about 12 less lbs of fat on my body and 12 more lbs muscle, at the same weight- so while I’m the same weight, I much more muscular, less of me is fat, which also translates into me being a smaller physical size at this lower body fat percent than when I weighed the same at a higher body fat percent- does that clear it up a little? Sorry I know it’s confusing! So I did definitely lose weight during my last 2 rounds of hCG and I gained weight between in the form of muscle from crossfit.
I have lost 20 pounds
I’m struggling in phase 2 I’ve been on phase 2 for 26 days did great until now
I’m craving or wanting foods I can’t have
I’m continueing on in phase 2 . I feel
I want to eat other foods
do you take the shot daily
Hi , I did the same thing! I was so glad to read this. I had an excellent first Round 28 lbs and 6 jeans sizes from a 14 down to 8! I was doing good in maintenance also and having some great gym trips, did a 5k and a Mudderella! However, I let myself succumb to anxiety eating and although my body felt like I put on more by being swollen and bloated the numbers on the scale were less than I felt I looked like. So I started another round at the beginning of this week and looking for some more tips and tricks for meals or snacks. I was wondering, did you do the cross fit in between rounds? I had a friend continue to maintain her running habits even while on a round and lost like 80 lbs.. However, its mostly all back again for her.. At least I am not starting this round back at my beginning weight but wanna kick myself anyways. Thanks for the inspiration!
You do realize you're getting your advice from a blog that first and foremost says "Buy HCG"… this is a sales blog. So the salesman is saying… "Oh you're doing fine, buy more!", not exactly impartial advice. And I'm not even saying it's wrong advice, but you might consider getting something from someones who's goal is not to sell you more.
This is one of the best articles I have read~ I'm on Day 39 (45) and have lost 22lbs~ I'm just kinda stuck.. For like 3 weeks.. But it's nice to know that I'm not alone~ that doing more rounds is the right thing to do~ I was feeling like I was failing this PH2 ~ thanks for being so awesome !!
Ok. So I'm totally inspired by what you have done. My starting weight was 187. I was wearing a size 16 also. I saw your blog and it reminded me so much of myself. I would love to get down to 120s-130s. I am so impressed that you did it an have kept it off. It definitely motivates me. I am currently on day 28. I decided to do the extended round after watching you blog post. I have lost 17 pounds so far. I am thrilled to loose that much but I feel I should be making better progress. Am I doing something wrong? I have only cheated one day and I was attending a banquet so it hurt my weightloss and I stalled but since then I have followed protocol perfectly but I usually only have .2 losses. It's getting discouraging. Any advice you have would be appreciated. Thanks.
Hi. I am in the exact same boat as you were. I started at 185 after my load days. Now I am down 13.5 pounds. I’m really wanting to get to 120s-130s. At the very least drop some pant sizes. I’m at at 16 now. I just got to day 20 and I’m trying to figure out if I should do 40 days or do a few rounds of 20. What do you recommend to get me to my weight loss goals. I am so inspired by what you have done. Thanks for sharing. It reminds me of myself and I hope I can be as successful as you.
This post was really encouraging for me. I did 2 rounds last year and lost 60lbs and was feeling better than I ever have. But then life got in the way and I gave up control of a lot of things, what I was eating included, and I put back on 20lbs of that. So now I’m beginning round 3 and I feel like its just to get back to where I was after 2! So frustrating…but to read that I’m not the only one really helps. And your pictures are so encouraging. I’m debating on sharing my weight loss journey on my blog with pictures… I want to encourage other too, but its scary to put myself out there like that.
So thanks for the post and for your whole blog and for putting yourself out there. You’ve helped me a lot already and I’ve just discovered your blog. 🙂
I did it and lost 80 lbs and put 70 lbs back on. I just started it again lost 26lbs so far, I would like to get where I was before and try to work it down further,
Love this! Great message Rayzel. And the photos are really helpful. Thank you!
Your blog is fantastic!! I am on the fence as to which protocal to order…23 days or 40 days? I’d like to loose about 20 lbs. and so I’m leaning towards the 23 day protocal unless you feel I would benefit more from the 40 day…HELP?!!
Hey Kelli- thank you! If you have 20lbs to lose and want to lose it one round, most likely the 40 day protocol will be what you need- the average weightloss for women on hCG is .5-.75 per day, and when you are only 15-20 lbs overweight, weight can sometimes come off slower. Additionally, you will have loading weight to lose on top of the 20lbs- so if you do the 40 day round you may lose the full 20 or close to it- I hope that helps!