I hear a LOT of people say this: “you HAVE to eat all 500 calories!!” Often typed with extra fervor by added exclamation points or things in bold or italicized. In doing this, people really just want to be helpful.
Do You Need to Eat the Full 500 Calories?
The truth is (and now it’s my turn to use bold and italics) you actually don’t have to eat all 500 calories.
There are some guidelines to follow of course, which we’ll talk about, but let me just quote Dr. Simeons, who wrote the original protocol himself on this topic first. In his manuscript Pounds and Inches p. 23, he states, “Those not uncommon patients who feel that even so little food is too much for them, can omit anything they wish.”
(Pin this post if you like to come back to it later!)
What I get from this is that Dr. Simeons, while administering the hCG protocol that he developed discovered that his patients truly weren’t even hungry for all 500 calories at times which is no doubt wny he included this passage in his manuscript, and he felt perfectly comfortable allowing his patients to do this. As a medical doctor, and from what I’ve read about the work that he did throughout his life that indicates the kind of caring, upstanding man that he was, I find the fact that he said this to be something that I can trust. He would not have simply made allowances for something that could prove to be dangerous or cause health complications later.
In a nutshell, if you have found the right dose of human chorionic gonadotropin for you, where you are seriously not hungry most of the day, you will find that if you let hunger be your guide to eating while on the protocol, some days you simply may not feel the need for all 500 calories.
Many days on the protocol, I found myself being so un-hungry (just pretend that’s a word) that I ate only maybe 300-350 calories. Other days, I did feel the need for all 500 calories, and in some cases, actually needed closer to 600 calories to feel satisfied, so on those days, I would eat 600 calories. I did always eat my two proteins for the day, but on the days I wasn’t hungry at all, I didn’t really eat much else aside from that- maybe a few grape tomatoes or half a cucumber with salt.
Don’t Fool Yourself
The important thing to be aware of if you are eating less than 500 calories on hCG is the reason behind it. I think you know what I mean.
I don’t put it past us ladies to use a blogpost like this and then kind of twist it up in our minds a bit and then purposefully try to eat 300 calories hoping to lose even more weight, even though in actuality we’re hungry for more than that and starting to feel crappy. Don’t use it as an excuse. And you know it’s true- many of us come from a background of at least 1 type of eating disorder, and it can be easy to trick ourselves and lead ourselves to believe our reasoning is logical, when in actuality it’s not and we’re really just trying to get skinnier even faster.
Let’s keep it healthy and think long term here. You want to work with your body not against it.
The Lowdown
So just be mindful that’s all.
- If you’re truly not hungry and you find yourself eating very little, in my experience, that is okay- this will most likely NOT be all the time- but more just a sometimes thing.
- If you need 500-600 calories a day to feel satisfied hunger-wise, then that is normal as well.
- If you are hungry for a lot more than 500 calories, that’s a problem and your dose of the hormone is most likely off. You can read my post on what you should typically feel like while on hCG as regards to hunger and how to find the right dose for you here.
What Should I Skip Then?
So if you really aren’t hungry for much some days on the diet plan, the one thing I’d suggest you NOT skip is your 2 proteins.
Please just always eat your 2 protein servings– in real and true meat form if at all possible. From there the fruit, melba/grissini and veggies can be negotiable on days like that.
If I were to knock things off in a certain order I’d probably go with: ditch melba/grissini first, ditch fruit, ditch veggies last. That’s just how I’d play it.
Is This Truly Okay?
Not only does 500 calories sound dangerously low to the outsider who hasn’t fully researched or tried the weight loss protocol, 300 calories sounds pretty crazy even to those of us seasoned hCGers.
But after being through this enough times, and having my hydrostatic body fat testing done before and after my rounds of HCG Injections in order to know my ratio of muscle and fat loss on this protocol, I am personally perfectly comfortable only eating 300-350 calories some days on the diet, as long as I’m truly not hungry.
Additionally, as I stated earlier, Dr. Simeons felt comfortable and safe recommending as a medical doctor, that patients were OK to do this without ill effect. He developed this protocol originally and treated countless patients with it, so the inclusion of his passage regarding omitting foods if a patient wasn’t hungry for them was not accidental.
That being said, I do find myself needing the full 500 calories for the majority of the days on the protocol. It’s probably like a twice a week type thing as far as how often it occurs with me.
Well, I hope that helps y’all.
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Thanks for this great blog! I am currently preparing to start using Hcg. I was wondering if I could have protein (white fish) multiple times a day, as long as it doesn’t pass the 500 calories. Would doing this affect my ability to lose weight?
Hi Mary,
This is Lucelle, Rayzel’s assistant. Nice to meet you! 🙂
I’m not sure about this but in my experience, I can eat up to 300g of white fish per day while in Phase 2 and still lose weight. Maybe you can try that and see how it goes for you.
Hi, so this is my second round of HCG, the first one was done in 2014 and I had amazing results. I never ran into this issue of wanting less than 500 calories. However, today I had a family emergency and didn’t have access to food (well only fast food), I didn’t get home until now (12:48am) and am so exhausted and have an early day, so I want to go straight to bed. I only had one meal, an apple, coffee, and water today. I can’t eat this late or my stomach will hurt. Is this going to impede my weight loss?
I’m having a hard time reaching the 500 calories without an extra protein serving. I’ve been doing 3 servings of proteins and 2 of veggies, 1 fruit. Usual Proteins are, jay Robb shake around noon, and 2 regular protein and veggie portions s for lunch (3:30 or 4pm) and dinner (7:30 pm) I’m losing slower than I’d like. Just had a 4 day stall. I dont eat the breadsticks… dont crave carbs or sugar. Has anyone tried 3 servings of proteins before? Results?
Hi Caree,
There are others who do this and still lose weight. You can check out Rayzel’s blog post on stalls here: https://hcgchica.com/stalls/
Hope that helps!
Could I just eat once a day? Like skip breakfast and lunch and eat at diner. (Keeping it under 500 calories and 1 protein)
Hi there,
As written in this post, there could be no problem with skipping but eating 2 protein portions a day is IMPORTANT.
Hope that helps!
Li-an, Rayzel’s assistant
I’m gonna try this with silken tofu
What is the best protein if I’m a vegetarian?
Hi Brandy!
This is Cristel, Rayzel’s assistant. Nice to meet you! 🙂
Sorry! Rayzel don’t have more info regarding the diet for vegetarians – the reason is because she just have no real info to go on or share at this time. The egg whites is good, and vegans use the various vegan protein powders that are out there now that are also low in carbs. That’s all she can really suggest. Things like beans and such are much too high in carbs to work well on this protocol, at least that’s how it seems.
Hope that helps!
Cristel
I’m a vegetarian and I’ve had excellent results using HCG .
My proteins are
One vegan Boca burger
One cup silk soy milk
100 Cal protein powder like J Robb ( make sure it doesn’t have more than 1 %fat and only stevia for sweetner.)
But my absolute favorite which I have mostly these times is non fat GREEk yogurt like fage
Thank you for sharing this Cinmayi! I’ve actually been trying to arrange some interviews with vegetarians to discuss what they ate for other vegetarians to get ideas- would you at all be open to doing an interview with me on the blog to discuss that for me to use on the blog? If so, could you email me about it – [email protected] and we could discuss the details!
I’m a vegetarian and I use fat free Greek yogurt
J Robb protiein poweder is good
1 vegan Boca burger
1cup silk soy milk
100 calories quinoa
I have achieved very good results using HCG using these proteins but,
I think fat free Greek yogurt is the best choice myself and it’s what I use the most
Hi Angela!
This is Cristel, Rayzel`s assistant. Nice to meet you! 🙂
Unless you are juicing only greens, the carb and insulin spike you’ll get from the juicing since you’re taking in the juice without the vegetable fiber is too much for HCG purposes. Off HCG is fine, but on HCG your body will be really sensitive to sugar and insulin spikes and could really hamper or prevent weight loss. So you could certainly make some green smoothies- Rayzel have done this successfully- blendering up spinach with water and stevia is actually quite good! And as always moderation is key.
Hope that helps!
Cristel
Hi everyone! I am in the same boat! I am taking my full lunch hour to eat my 1st protein (I eat low fat cottage cheese and a fruit) everyday. Im just NOT hungry. I’m on my 1st round, day 6! Lost close to 10lbs so far. I wish I could drink my protein and veggies. I did start drinking my veggies since I’m not a big fan. But they dont have high calorie content. Is there any protein drink that is hcg approved?
Hi Michelle!
Some do use very low carb protein shake powders on P2. Rayzel still think that actual meat protein is the best choice for absorption and utilization of protein, but that is another possible option.
Hey Michelle! Many protein powders are fine to use on P2 because most of them these days have no carbs or almost no carbs and are sweetened with a sugar free sweetener- so you can use anything like that! I’m so glad you’re so not hungry! It’s great when you can feel like that on hCG. Not everyone achieves quite that level of un-hunger- we all seem pretty individual with our health to begin with which seems to effect this (things like leptin resistance and such) but glad you are able to feel this way! Makes the diet much more doable.
Im in the same boat. If Im busy, itll be 5pm before I realize I havent eaten anything. And even then, I feel no hunger. Ill eat dinner, but with no enthusiasm lol. Im on R1 Day 12 with 12.2lbs gone. Ive stalled these past couple of days and am having to really crack down on the water intake. Good luck with the weightloss! Stay strong and keeo it up!
Hi Monica! I am on R1 day 16 with a total loss of 12 lbs and 8 inches. Thankfully my appetite has come back somewhat. I did find an approved protein shake by Jay Robb which is a way to effortlessly get protien. I don’t eat many veggies so I rarely reach the 500. Today I had a slight gain, prob from cheating when feeding my 15 month old ???? I will upping my water intake also. Thanks and good luck to you also !
I have been using My Fitness Pal to track all of my food while on HCG. I am also weighing all of my food. On days when I eat lower calorie vegetables, such as lettuce and cucumbers, or lower calorie proteins, such as fish and chicken, my daily calories do not add up to 500. I am not doing melba or grissini. What would you suggest I do to get to 500? Should I slightly increase the amount of protein I am eating on those day? Add in another vegetable? Please help!
Hi Angela,
As stated in this blog post, it’s okay not to reach the 500 calorie if you’re not really hungry. If your hungry then you can eat additional vegetables.
Hope that helps.
I have a question about my calories hopefully someone can answer.
I am eating the required amount of food for hcg, however when i enter it all on my fitness pal app it is not adding up to 500 calories, it’s more like 287. So do I add an ounce of protein to at least get to 500?
Hi hCG’ers!
I have been on phase 2 for 6 days now and have lost 10.9 lbs!!! 59 to go…everyday I wake up and weigh I can’t believe what I see!
My only issue is about day 3, I am not hungry AT ALL! Better than starving I suppose, but I have to make myself eat some dinner. Like hGC chica I’ll eat the some off the protein, not all of the 100gm.
Is this normal and/or ok?!?!
omg I’m having that exact problem today was my 3rd day on vlcd I can make myself eat the veggies, fruit but today I skept the Melba toast and protein for dinner and it’s not that I want to lose more weight it’s just that I’m not hungry at all plus the protein makes me gagg like I feel disgusting when I eat it and I’m not a vegetarian or nothing similar I don’t know why. Also all I want is something sour like lemon with salt I wish we could eat pickles.
You can eat pickles as long as they don’t add sugar. Check the ingredients:)
Hi LD,
I have only been on the HCG diet for 3 days and I lost 4 pounds. My biggest problem is that I have to drink coffee in the morning or I get withrawl symptoms (headaches, etc). I have to drink it with low fat milk. I did read that Dr. Simeons would allow vegans to eat low fat cottage cheese and was hoping that if I used only one tablespoon per cup I would be OK. I am using injections along with Lipo B shots. How much do you think this will effect my progress? I happen to be a person that is capable of skipping meals , but also want to exercise and have a goal weight of 103 lbs. By exercise, I mean run 6 to 10 miles. How will this effect me?
Thanks
Vegans don’t eat any animal products, so Dr Simeons wasn’t referring to Vegans. Vegetarians, perhaps.
Day 1 first round and I’m starving!! I keep reading that my hcg dose might be off but my prescription calls for 12.5 mg 1 time per day. How would that be tweaked?
Thanks so much for all of this info. I love your sweet demeanor and the way you clearly explain everything!
I had a bad cheat day yesterday & I was wanting to know how to recover & if I’m not hungry in the mornings and don’t feel like eating do I still need to take my hug drops if I don’t eat the morning fruit?
I mean my *hcg drops
Oh & wts a good breakfast??
Hi LD!
Rayzel didn’t eat breakfast throughout her rounds. She just drank lots of tea.
Hope that helps!
Lucelle
Can i drink powder meal replacements on this diet?
Rayzel thinks you can occasionally use a meal replacement possibly, as long as it doesn’t contain any sugar or carbs, but that in general, it’s important to eat real food on this diet- this is not only about losing the weight but teaching us how to eat on a regular basis long term from real food. We don’t want to miss out that lesson that it teaches us.
-Lucelle
Hi im new to this, im completely confused!!!, please help!!!! Im goin to start my loading phase this weekend, & so on Monday i will be strictly on the diet, but im not sure exactly wt to eat & exactly how mch to inject????, also i ordered hcg protein drink, has anyone ever tried it????
Rayzel’s detailed article on dosing is here: http://hcgchica.com/dosage
You can also check about clean loading here: http://hcgchica.com/loading-low-carb-clean-hcg-diet/
-Lucelle
Good afternoon everyone, so I’ve been on the hcg diet for a little over a month now and have lost quite a bit of weight but have noticed lately a fiew stalls. I would like to continue for at least another month before going to the next phase. Is there any advice/suggestions you can give me on why I’m having so many stalls, how long they usually last or what I can do. I appreciate all the feed back I can get. Have a wonderful day.
Rachel
Crap – I’ve stuck to this beautifully and gone from 87.10 to 79.65 in 3 weeks and I’m coping really well – loving it in fact BUT & I don’t know why – instead of my “legal” fruit for phase 2 ( doing 43 days) I had prob 15 big fat grapes – I just had to & can’t explain y I did this cheat after spending the entire weekend away watching everyone eat and drink party and I didn’t falter but today I had to have those grapes – how much damage do u think I’ve done & how long to recover from it ? Xxxx
Hey @Toni Neylon sometimes we just do random things without thinking first. :)- Of course I can’t say for sure, but this is my little method for recovering from cheats here: http://hcgchica.com/how-to-fix-cheat-on-hcg-diet/ Hope it helps! Biggest thing is don’t worry- you are doing great, it’s just a small blip, time to move onwards and upwards! – Rayzel
The last three days, I have not felt hungry enough for all 500 calories. So I’ve been skipping items (not protein) but now I’m not losing. Could my body be going into “starvation mode?”
Hi Jennifer! I am having the same issues….I am not hungry. I don’t skip my proteins, only eat 1 apple a day and probably half the veggies. I actually feel bloated and uncomfortable after eating. Discouraged this morning, I gained almost half a pound. I follow Dr. Simeons protocol and don’t try shakes or anything else that isn’t on his diet. I’m not sure what I can do differently… 🤔
on p2 I am very exact about the 100 grams of protein, but I never meaure my vegetables. I only use vinegars or steam for vegetable and I eat as much as I want of allowable vegetables per the protocol. So I am not counting calories on the 500 calories I am micro managing my portion of protein, and sticking to what is a very strict elimination diet. In the past 270 days I have kept my diet clean, organic grass fed not grain finished air dried pastured raised did the cheese come from a cow that ate grass and was pastured raised plus lots of time at the farmers market. Who knew there are so many questions about food? Not organic but no pesticide? I am enjoying buying directly from farmers at the farmers markets and splurging at the fancy gourmet store for my p2 proteins, where. $$$$ meat can be cut up into a ten 100 gram servings, I still do not recognize all the vegetables at the farmers market but they are all so beautiful.
Ziplock bags and sharpies now are a central part of my kitchen. And I am almost restaurant free. It’s been A life’s dream to spend one entire year eating only food I have prepared myself. I think it’s not only possible but the only true way to regain optimum health. I know how to make an omlette sort of by flipping the pan…
I promised myself not to cut my hair until I reach my goal weight. My hair is scary long and as a fat old lady many find it inappropriate. But I am excited. I can’t wait to see how’v long it can get as I get healthier and healthier. I get it trimmed 3 times a year..so my hairdresser sees me every time I lose 4 inches around. This is the slowest fastest way I have ever lost weight.
Hiya @fatoldlady:disqus Thanks so much for sharing! Would love to hear more about your story as it continues to unfold. I love seeing the changes that people experience not just in weight but everything else as well as you mentioned here.
I’m gonna try this with silken tofu
We make omelettes in Quart size Ziploc freezer bags. Crack 2 eggs into the bag, add whatever you want to your omelette…cheese, meat, veggies, etc. Zip the bag and squish it to mix the ingredients. Put the bag in a pot of boiling water and leave it for 13 minutes. It just rolls right out of the bag on to your plate when you open the bag. A nice feature of this is that you don’t have to use butter or oil and you can cook up to 8 in a pot at a time. Hope you like this idea.
What an amazing idea!! LOVE it!! can’t wait to try this!!