You can only lose so much weight in a given period of time - this is ultimately limited by your daily metabolic rate.

Here is the TYPICAL amount of weight loss a woman will experience on the hCG Diet protocol: About a 1/2 lb a day AVERAGE.

Please see my explanation below about why this is normal and expected. Average means = some days you will lose .2, or ZERO, and some days you may lose 1.5 lbs, so that by the end of your round of hCG, your average (total lbs lost divide by the number of days on the diet) will usually be around .5lb per day.

Higher Weight Loss Average: If you are heavier (like 60+ lbs overweight) your average may be higher, more like .75lb per day, and
Lower Weight Loss Average: if you are leaner (like 20lbs or less overweight) your average may be lower, more like .3lb per day.

Example of Total Weight Loss for Average Person on hCG:
3 week round = 15ish lbs
6 week round = 20-30 lbs

Weight Loss Average Usually HIGHER on Shorter Rounds - WHY?
Typically on a 3 week round your hCG weight loss average will be higher than a 6 week round. Why is this and does it matter? This is usually because of water weight loss at the beginning making your weight loss average falsely appear higher.
Ie if you lose 6 lbs of water weight in 3 weeks, and 6 lbs of water weight in 6 weeks at the start of the diet, that 6 lbs when you average it out is spread over a longer period of time in the 6 weeks making it look like your losses are lower on a long round - but in reality, the fat loss during a 3 week or 6 week round should be about the same.
So don't let this discourage you from doing a longer round of hCG.

You MAY have heard promises of losing 1 lb a day on the hCG Diet.
First of all, YES it has happened. So you will definitely run into ladies on forums and such who may have lost 40 lbs in 40 days.

What isn't discussed however, is all of the various factors that contribute to that, and this is important because in learning about them you will see that this is not the generally to be expected results for MOST of us - and even if we DO experience this for 1 or 2 rounds when we are still very heavy, this type of result will NOT continue as you get thinner - and the thing is, it's perfectly normal - so please let me explain.

This is all stuff that I didn't know either initially so when I didn't lost 1 lb a day for my whole weight loss journey, I was like, what's WRONG with me? What's wrong with my body???? 😞 It's not responding!! Wah wah wah.

When you get all upset and discouraged like that, it makes you feel like giving up or cheating. I have a very detailed article on this in my workbook at https://hcgchica.com/workbook
I don't want this weird emotional head trip to happen to you guys.

Here's the scientific principle we must consider:
It takes about 3500 calories to burn 1 full pound of fat.

As women, we only burn so many calories a day in our daily activities. Most women's daily metabolic rate is going to be more like 1400-1800 calories a day, maybe 2000 if you have a great metabolism (which for many us ladies considering the hCG protocol, is not the case). So you don't need to be good at math to know that 1400-1800 calories is not 3500 calories. Thus right there, you can see there's no way to burn 1 full pound of FAT per day.

Add to that the fact, that you ARE EATING each day 500-800 calories on the hCG protocol.

So let's say you burn 1800 calories per day in general minus the 500 calories you ate = you have burned 1300 calories today. That's about 1/3 lb of fat that you thus burned (I'm simplifying this but you get the idea).

To burn 1 full lb of fat per day on the diet would require 4,000 calories expended - the 3500 calories per lb of fat + the 500 calories you are eating that day. That's just not what women experience.

So the real results that women usually experience on the hCG Diet protocol is about 1/2 lb of fat.

But you might be like,
RAYZEL!! This lady lost 40 lbs in 40 days! I saw it with my own eyes.

YES! This is true- it happens sometimes; so let's discuss the factors that contribute to that:
1. We all lose water weight on the diet especially at the beginning of a diet - so that gets ADDED to your total weight loss giving you a higher average, depending on how much water weight you lose. Typically as you get leaner, you have less water weight on your body, OR if you've been eating crummy/high carb SAD diet when you begin hCG, you may lose a LOT of water weight that first round. But by round 2 and 3, by this time you are perhaps eating really healthfully between your rounds, so now you just don't have as much water weight to lose, so it might seem like you're losing less weight on additional rounds but one factor is just that you have less water weight to lose as well.
2. If you are heavier, you have a higher metabolic rate than a smaller person, because it requires more energy/calories to move your body around. So a heavier person will typically have a higher average weight loss as a smaller person. So if you are 30 lbs overweight, you will not usually have the same rate of weight loss as someone who is 100 lbs overweight.
3. Differences in how MUCH water weight we carry. Women seem to carry varying amounts of water weight. Some women may have a lot more water weight they carry that there body sheds that in larger amounts than if you don't have as much to begin with.

MY MAIN POINT:
Don't have unrealistic perceptions about weight loss - even on the hCG Diet. You WILL get great results with this protocol. Just don't expect a pound a day. If you are one of those rare people who experiences this, woohoo, I'm super happy for you! But you will be really doing yourself a big favor by not EXPECTING this. If you have unrealistic expectations for what you think your body should be accomplishing, you are setting yourself up for discouragement and failure.
You will STILL get better results with this protocol than most others for your time spent on a "diet". You will be surprised at how much your bodyshape and size changes even with 20-25 lbs gone - I personally believe that the hCG hormone preserves lean muscle on this diet while eating so low calorie, which means that, you will physically shrink visibly MORE with a 20 lb weight loss on hCG, than a 20 lb weight loss with another diet - that's just my opinion btw, not a medically backed claim. But I've seen enough before/after hCG images and gotten similar feedback from others as well as my own experience with it to really believe this is so.

What's so great about this is that you may end up finding you don't need to lose as many actual pounds total to get to a physical size you are content with! No joke. When I was in my late teens/early twenties I was about 110 lbs at 5'1" and a size 2. Now I'm 127 lbs and STILL a size 2/4. That's because my body lost FAT and not muscle with this diet. I didn't have to lose all the way down to 110 lbs to get to the same physical size I used to be.

My best advice is to just follow the protocol and really be pleased at your results - whether that's .2 some days (as it surely will be) or 1.0 other days (as you will likely experience at least a few times here and there).

What you DON'T need is a prescription from your primary care doctor. Yay right?

While you do need a prescription to get the real hCG hormone, you will actually get this ALONG WITH your order directly FROM these online hCG providers.
Each hCG provider listed her has their own medical staff and they will prescribe you your hCG and then your hCG kit will be shipped out from the pharmacy.

See how that works? So it's legit, but you don't have to go calling your doctor to tell them about this crazy diet you're thinking of doing. ;)

I understand you MAY really prefer to do hCG drops or hCG pellets (aka tablets or troches). You can do this. The companies here DO offer these alternate forms of hCG. But stick with me for a minute and hear me out on this will ya?

And this is coming from a scaredy cat person myself. I made my husband do my first few hCG injections! That's how scared I was too. I promise you, they do not hurt. It's not nearly as bad as you're making out to be in your head. And this is why I feel it's a more effective thing to do.

1). How your hunger is on the diet is DIRECTLY related to your dosage of hCG. Both too high and too low a dose can cause hunger. When you're eating only 500-800 calories a day, every day, that's a big deal. Non-hunger or very little hunger is super important on hCG, and this totally dosage related.

When you inject hCG directly into your bloodstream, you know EXACTLY what dose you are getting, you're getting that exact dose, none of it is getting lost. When you take drops or pellets, some of the hCG is getting lost - some is getting into your bloodstream but some is getting lost to swallowing it and then just getting broken down in your digestion. So it's harder to be sure of exactly what dosage you are taking in order to be consistent with the oral forms of hCG.

2.) Many end up needing to adjust their hCG dosage as they lose weight. When you are already having trouble knowing how much you are exactly absorbing on a daily basis with the oral forms, this makes it more difficult to then adjust that dosage to fix hunger issues, in a reliable manner. For instance, with the pellets, they typically come in 1 large 500iu pellet that you take for a single dose. When we inject, we typically only inject 150ius or so.

WHY is the pellet dosage SO much bigger? Because it's fact that you do not absorb nearly as much of it. But the pellet is still a pretty high dosage and may be too high for some ladies, and then how do you reliably change that dosage? You can cut off a piece of your tablet, but it's like, 'how many iu's did I just cut off with my knife?' you know? Not exactly scientific huh!

3). Dosing oral hCG is FUSSY. With drops, you have to usually take the doses 2-3x a day, you can't typically eat or drink for 30 minutes before and after each dose, etc etc. There's just all these complications that with our busy stressful lives to me makes it difficult.

What happens is, you're busy, you're only eating 500 calories a day, many aren't eating breakfast on hCG, so by the time you're hungry and you need to eat a P2 meal, you need to eat it NOW because you've already waited too long and now you're ravenous....oh but not you have to take your hCG drops first and then wait 1/2 hour. It's like OMGoodness too hard. This is the type of stuff that causes cheating, seriously. When I get starving, I eat ALL the things. I scarf. So we want to avoid that. Contrast this with injections- it's 1 shot a day in the morning, no waiting to eat or drink before or after.

JUST some food for thought. Totally your choice in the end, but the injections really are less of a big deal than we ladies think, and I hope all my tutorials here also help you see that.

"Why do I have to mix my own hCG? Why can't it come already mixed? That seems like a SCARY PAIN IN THE PATOOTIE."

1st: The hCG providers WANT to sell hCG right? This is their business after all. And they KNOW you don't want to mix hCG - that's a mental block to purchasing. So IF there was no difference between pre-mixed hCG and unmixed hCG, you can Bet your britches they'd be selling you mixed hCG, so they could sell it to more people more easily. BUT THEY DON'T.

THIS IS WHY:
The hCG hormone is not stable once mixed. It will gradually start to degrade in the mixing solution, AND must be kept refrigerated to greatly retard this process so that you can effectively use the vial for a month. If they shipped pre-mixed hCG it's very likely a good portion of the active ingredient would get destroyed in transit with the varying weather and being unrefrigerated, and you could lose an entire week of potency or more with the processing time while it gets from the pharmacy to you.

The hCG in powder/tablet/not-wet form IS shelf stable. So that until you actually mix it, it won't be sitting their degrading.

So anytime you are getting a vial of "hCG" in a big liquid bottle mixed - it's either not the real hormone or it's something that is real, but who knows how much active ingredient is left by the time you get it.

If you'd like to research this further, I have a MUCH more lengthy/detailed post about Lipo shots at my Lipo shot on the hCG Diet Blogpost here. But here's some main pointers.
PLEASE NOTE: The main point here is this - there is NO scientific proof that using Lipo/MIC shots increases weight loss on the hCG diet or that the functions of the ingredients do what they say on a level that actually changes your experience on the diet. That said, many people as you will see below, have expressed they felt the shots did help them, and you can read these below. Just like there's no proof the hCG Diet works for weight loss, those of us who've done it know otherwise on a personal level. So there is no way to be sure. It's simply something to try if you choose. The ingredients are not harmful - they are basic vitamins and amino acids that we consume in smaller quantities in our food, so for most of us, it's not going to hurt anything to try them.

Why do Lipo shots and b12 seem to help some and not others?
To me, this is not based on the ingredients themselves working or not working - it's whether or not YOUR body needs those ingredients or not. And you probably won't know that until you just do a trial.

The short of WHAT exactly "Lipo" shots even ARE."Lipo" (from the greek word meaning "fat") is short for Lipotropic and Lipotropic means (also sometimes called MIC injections - same thing):
"having an affinity (love/affection for) for lipids and thus preventing or correcting excess accumulation of fat in the liver."
So basically, Lipo shots have ingredients that LOVE fat so much, that they help steal it away from your body for themselves.

Okay that is the most non-scientific definition I've ever heard! Don't forget where you heard it from first. ;)-
A little more scientific wording: A little more scientific wording: Lipotropic injections have ingredients that help your body, and more specifically your LIVER, to breakdown fat more efficiently - it aids fat metabolism.

So why is this a good thing?
Because all the fat that your body is breaking down - whether it's the belly flab you have been waiting to no longer hang over your jeans, or the fat on your thighs that make pulling up the pant legs from high school a non-possibility, has to go through the liver FIRST before then fully exiting your body in some way.
Think about that for a second. 15, 20, 30, 50, maybe one hundred POUNDS of fat. Something you might be able to picture with your minds' eye filling up part of a wheelbarrow, being processed by an organ that is not quite 6 inches wide. Can we first just take a moment to applaud how wonderfully our bodies are made to have this kind of capability? Back to facts. Liver: 6" wide. Fat loss. Myself? I lost almost 40 lbs of actual fat on my own hCG diet journey - not water, not muscle, FAT. Please see attached hydrostatic bodyfat test results showing this:
If your liver has excess fat accumulation, either from prior fast weight gain, or from suddenly losing so much fat in a short amount of time, this could potentially impede fat loss on hCG. I mean, picture yourself in a small room, with so many clothes all around you that it feels like you're on an episode of Hoarders. How much are YOU going to accomplish in a tight clogged space like that? I rest my case.

INGREDIENTS OF LIPO AND MIC SHOTS
MIC stands for the ingredients: Methionine, Inositol, and Choline. Lipo shots are typically these 3 same ingredients + b12.
ALL of the ingredients are things your body needs - so you aren't inputting something that wouldn't be in your body otherwise.
In a nutshell what each of these ingredients do:
b12 = energy. Energy increase is typically pretty noticeable IF you are b12 deficient.
Methionine = One of the essential Amino acids (protein building block) that has a fat-metabolizing effect and reduces the depositing of fat in the liver.
Inositol = part of the family of B vitamins. Studies have shown inositol can have quite an impact on insulin resistance - which if you deal with this, can be one of the main problems for not losing weight on the hCG Diet. May be especially beneficial for ladies with PCOS while on hCG. Additional info on Inositol here.
Choline = Helps metabolize fat in the liver. What I found interesting in my choline research is that it's important to neurotransmitters (important for serotonin ie mental happiness). Some report feeling mentally better on the hCG Diet taking these lipo shots and I wonder if this could be partially why. Additional research on choline.

REVIEWS OF PEOPLE WHO'VE ACTUALLY USED LIPO & B12 SHOTS
Results of my tallies - these are individuals who responded to my survey on the hcgchica blog:
2/3rds felt the shots helped significantly, while
1/3rd didn't notice a difference.
Some have done hCG both with and without these extra shots and said they felt different or felt their results were better with them vs. without.
Total feedback on Lipo/MIC/Ultraburn
59 replies total
13 replies felt no difference/didn't help
46 replied said helped them fairly significantly in some way
Total feedback on B12
49 replies total
14 replies felt no difference/didn't help
35 replied said helped them fairly significantly in some way

You can see MANY more reviews at my more detailed Lipo blogpost here.

Yep hCGer 1:
I am on a round right now. I've done the HCG program many, many times. I bought my injections with both b12 and lipo through NuImage thanks to you and your discount (Thank you Rayzel!). I’m hypothyroid so maintaining my goal weight is EXTREMELY HARD for me hence the repeated rounds. Plus, I’m a sugar addict. I tried Nu Image one time before but all my other rounds I used sublingual drops through hcgbodyshapers.com but the FDA recently shut them down (March 23, 2017). They were very effective drops and only $120.
Anyhow, BIG TIME difference with the added b12 and lipo. BIG TIME! More energy and no first week withdrawals from reduced calories and carb withdrawal!! Cost more but if you need the added help I highly recommend. I struggled in the last 2 years maintaining my weight and each time I started the HCG program in the last 2 years I couldn't get past the first week due to carb withdrawal and feeling very tired. The first time I tried NuImage injections I didn't get the added b12 and wow! What a difference if you struggle.
-Sarah

Yep hCGer 2:
Yes I have been using the b12 with lipo and I see a huge difference in energy hunger and losses. I'm in my fifth round and I think my body over the years (or maybe old age ) became used to this way of eating. This seems to have taken me back to almost the same as my first rounds. I don't see major losses on the lipo days but I do tend to see them the following day.
Its methyl - it stings! I take it every other day. That is to your awesome tracking journal I am seeing all those results. I did several rounds RX sublingual ( local Dr ) and I had good losses and energy levels too vs plain injections but still hunger.
It could been due to my body not being as used to Hcg then but now adding it to the injections I'm seeing those results again and even better losses
So something there I think?
-Susan-

Yep hCGer 3:
I did use the mic/lipo during the shots from Nu Image and the ultra burn afterwards. I did notice more energy and also feel like I had more fat loss.
A lot of days I didn't even eat 500 calories and In previous rounds I would have no energy at all and feel really lethargic. When I did the lipo/mic along with the HCG, I never felt that way and I woke up each morning with huge amounts of energy. I lost more inches during Phase 3 when I used the Ultraburn than other rounds.
Also I did want to note that my rounds were usually 40-42 days not 21.

Nope hCGer 1:
I used the Lipo/B12 combo, and I have to say I didn't notice any appreciable difference. If I go for another round I won't be spending the extra money for these extras.
I was expecting SOME kind of improvement esp with B12 AND the lipo....but....nothing.
-Brenda

Nope hCGer 2:
I tried both the Lipo and the B12 with my injections purchased through Nu-Image. I could tell absolutely no difference. I wanted to, but nothing, nada, zilch. Wasn't worth the extra money for me personally.
-Lisa

Yep hCGer 4:
I use the Lipo injections each time I do HCG. They are definitely worth it. About one hour after my injection, I have a TON of energy which lasts about 4 days. I generally take 2 shots weekly and have energy from the time that I rise (around 6 am) to around 10:00 pm. I am more alert as well.
-Jana

Yep hCGer 5:
I used them (lipo and b12) in my first two rounds and felt like they made a huge difference in energy.
I did not use them for rounds 3 and 4. I would definitely recommend it.
-Nisa
-Kim

OPTIONS FOR BUYING/ADDING LIPO/B12 TO YOUR HCG DIET PROGRAM:
The companies listed on my blog that offer hCG kits + these add ons have various ways to do the lipo/b12
You'll see a few various options:
b12 can be added to your hCG mixing liquid
Lipo and b12 can be added to your hCG mixing liquid. In this case, no extra shots are needed.
Lipo/b12 can be ordered and taken separately- in these cases you typiclaly aren't taking another shot every day- usually it's more like 2-3x's a week in a higher dosage for the lipo.

You can also get separate vials of lipo and/or b12 to take as a separate shot and in this case, often will only be taken a few days a week in a higher dosage.

Lastly, some companies offer a lipo shot for Phase 3 (like Nu Image Medical's "Ultraburn", not just Phase 2, and some of the ladies who wrote in to me felt this was very helpful to them in stabilizing and feeling good during Phase 3.

I polled my hCGchica email audience to get their feedback and there were both many who Love and swear by lipo shots, and there were also a number who felt it didn’t really make a difference.

The results of my tallies:
2/3rds of those who responded to my question about the Lipo/MIC/Ultraburn type shots felt the shots helped significantly, while 1/3rd didn't notice a difference. Some have done hCG both with and without these extra shots and said they felt different or felt their results were better with them vs. without.

I little over half,
Total feedback on Lipo/MIC/Ultraburn
59 replies total
13 replies felt no difference/didn't help
46 replied said helped them fairly significantly in some way

Total feedback on B12
49 replies total
14 replies felt no difference/didn't help
35 replied said helped them fairly significantly in some way

Why do Lipo shots and b12 seem to help some and not others?
To me, this is not based on the ingredients themselves working or not working - it's whether or not YOUR body needs those ingredients or not. And you probably won't know that until you just do a trial.

Yep hCGer 1:
I am on a round right now. I've done the HCG program many, many times. I bought my injections with both b12 and lipo through NuImage thanks to you and your discount (Thank you Rayzel!). I’m hypothyroid so maintaining my goal weight is EXTREMELY HARD for me hence the repeated rounds. Plus, I’m a sugar addict. I tried Nu Image one time before but all my other rounds I used sublingual drops through hcgbodyshapers.com but the FDA recently shut them down (March 23, 2017). They were very effective drops and only $120.
Anyhow, BIG TIME difference with the added b12 and lipo. BIG TIME! More energy and no first week withdrawals from reduced calories and carb withdrawal!! Cost more but if you need the added help I highly recommend. I struggled in the last 2 years maintaining my weight and each time I started the HCG program in the last 2 years I couldn't get past the first week due to carb withdrawal and feeling very tired. The first time I tried NuImage injections I didn't get the added b12 and wow! What a difference if you struggle.
-Sarah

Yep hCGer 2:
Yes I have been using the b12 with lipo and I see a huge difference in energy hunger and losses. I'm in my fifth round and I think my body over the years (or maybe old age ) became used to this way of eating. This seems to have taken me back to almost the same as my first rounds. I don't see major losses on the lipo days but I do tend to see them the following day.
Its methyl - it stings! I take it every other day. That is to your awesome tracking journal I am seeing all those results. I did several rounds RX sublingual ( local Dr ) and I had good losses and energy levels too vs plain injections but still hunger.
It could been due to my body not being as used to Hcg then but now adding it to the injections I'm seeing those results again and even better losses
So something there I think?
-Susan-

Yep hCGer 3:
I did use the mic/lipo during the shots from Nu Image and the ultra burn afterwards. I did notice more energy and also feel like I had more fat loss.
A lot of days I didn't even eat 500 calories and In previous rounds I would have no energy at all and feel really lethargic. When I did the lipo/mic along with the HCG, I never felt that way and I woke up each morning with huge amounts of energy. I lost more inches during Phase 3 when I used the Ultraburn than other rounds.
Also I did want to note that my rounds were usually 40-42 days not 21.

Nope hCGer 1:
I used the Lipo/B12 combo, and I have to say I didn't notice any appreciable difference. If I go for another round I won't be spending the extra money for these extras.
I was expecting SOME kind of improvement esp with B12 AND the lipo....but....nothing.
-Brenda

Nope hCGer 2:
I tried both the Lipo and the B12 with my injections purchased through Nu-Image. I could tell absolutely no difference. I wanted to, but nothing, nada, zilch. Wasn't worth the extra money for me personally.
-Lisa

Yep hCGer 4:
I use the Lipo injections each time I do HCG. They are definitely worth it. About one hour after my injection, I have a TON of energy which lasts about 4 days. I generally take 2 shots weekly and have energy from the time that I rise (around 6 am) to around 10:00 pm. I am more alert as well.
-Jana

Yep hCGer 5:
I used them (lipo and b12) in my first two rounds and felt like they made a huge difference in energy.
I did not use them for rounds 3 and 4. I would definitely recommend it.
-Nisa
-Kim

CHOICES FOR ADDING LIPO AND/OR B12 SHOTS TO YOUR HCG DIET PROGRAM:
The companies listed on my blog that offer hCG kits + these add ons have various ways to do the lipo/b12. You simple decide which you'd like to do and add those your order when you are checking out.

YOU'LL SEE 3 MAIN OPTIONS:
1. b12 can be added to your hCG mixing liquid
1b. Lipo and b12 can be added to your hCG mixing liquid
In this case, no extra shots are needed. You take your 1 daily hcg+lipo+b12 combo injection each day.

2. You can also get separate vials of lipo and/or b12 to take as a separate shot and in this case, often will only be taken a few days a week in a higher dosage.

3. Lastly, some companies offer a lipo shot for Phase 3 (example, Nu Image Medical's "ultraburn" shots, not just Phase 2, and some of the ladies who wrote in to me felt this was very helpful to them in stabilizing and feeling good during Phase 3.

IS IT WORTH IT?

To me, it seems like one of those things that would be nice to try at least once for comparison, IF you have the funds. However, do not be fooled into thinking you HAVE to have these additions to do well. I did my entire hCG journey with hCG only. You will succeed either way. There is just potential for slightly faster and healthier weight loss with the addition of the lipo shots. The b12 as many know is geared more to energy so for someone low in b12 they would have noticeable energy increase. If you don’t have energy issues, the b12 won’t help you.