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These are in-depth conversations one-on-one with hCG ladies where you get to hear their whole weight loss story and the tips that helped them succeed.
 
Read short written hCG testimonials
These are short testimonials of ladies who’ve written in their hCG diet results to me for quick motivation.

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In all my private emails back and forth with many of you hCGers, often someone will mention something to me about their journey, in passing, that I realize is important info to pass on to the rest of you. This woman, we’ll call her Laura, happened to mention that she did very well with Phase 3 of the hCG protocol and had been maintaining for 3 months.

Since we are ALWAYS needing more help for the volatile Phase 3, I pressed her for more details and she agreed to a written interview- I hope you find it helpful!

Interview with Laura – Phase 3 Success

Laura: You helped me to keep on track and I’ve kept my 30 pounds off from the hCG Diet now for 3 months!

Rayzel: Thats great that you’ve been maintaining for 3 months now! Would you mind sharing your basic stats with everyone – age/height/starting and current weight, your clothing size change?

Laura: I’m 60 years old, 5’8” and my starting weight was 195 and my current weight is 167. I’ve dropped 2 pants sizes going from a size 14 to a size 10!!

Rayzel: I’d love to hear how you are doing that- how do you eat now/what’s your life like that you are able to maintain your 30 lb weight loss?

Laura: I think my success was kick-started after Phase 2 when I VERY SLOWLY introduced new foods. I continued eating the same foods as in Phase 2, but increased the quantity. I would add one new food every 2 weeks and really watched my fat intake.

Rayzel: Okay can I ask for a few more details here? When you say you increased just your p2 food intake, did that include the P2 fruits? Can you give me an example of what you might have eaten on say day 5 of Phase 3 as far amounts of these foods go?

Laura: I started off with just my black coffee with 1 packet of stevia for breakfast. Lunch was typically a salad just like in P2, but I increased the grilled chicken or steak to 4-5 oz and used balsamic vinegar (no oil) and seasonings for dressing. Again, for dinner I just increased my protein from 3 oz to 4-5 oz. and added a salad (dressing as above) and a green vegetable. I ate apples and strawberries.

Rayzel: Then you mentioned you added a new food every 2 weeks- was this literally 1 new food, or 1 new food group? Could you give me examples? How did you decide if it was a success or not? Did you have any foods you add cause gains? etc.?

Laura: It was a food grouping. First I added dairy. I added cream (half/half) to my coffee. Checked next day for weight gain and all was good. So the next week I added cheese. Still okay. The following week I added eggs. Scrambled, hard boiled, any kind. I waited another week before adding oil. Everything was great…no weight gain at all. Then I added oatmeal to my morning breakfast. I was starving all day and even though I stayed on plan, I was up 2 pounds the next day. Several weeks later I decided to try again with crackers and I had the same reaction. Bread also caused a weight gain.

Rayzel: Awesome, thanks for that. Last question about that- so by the end of the normal 3 week phase 3 period, what new foods would you say you had you incorporated by that point?

Laura: Just to clarify I’d say my 3 week P3 was actually 4 or 5 weeks. During that time I added almonds, avocado, all vegetables except starches, and most fruits (no banana or pineapple). I added pork to my proteins at this point.

Rayzel: Wait I said that was the last question about this portion but now I have another one- so during the 3 week phase 3 period, how exactly did you find your weight stabilizing out? Did you do any steak days during that time? How soon before you started feeling like your weight was staying about the same on a regular basis each morning?

Laura: My weight was actually pretty stable, but as I said, I was super cautious. I did do a steak day whenever my weight was up 2 pounds, and the weight always fell right off.

Rayzel: Okay continue with your story!

Laura: I’ve managed to keep the weight off by limiting carbs and mostly focusing on protein. I work out 4-5 days a week….

Rayzel: Oooh interruption again! May I ask what your working out consists of? Duration and type of workouts?

Laura: During P3 I was doing the treadmill (45 minutes going from an incline of 1 and going up every 3-4 minutes to an incline of 12) on one day then a brisk 3 mile walk the next day and so on.

Rayzel: Okay continue ;)-

Laura: I eat good oils, dairy, fruits, eggs, and vegetables (no starches), and no grains or sugar. I discovered during phase 3 that grains do not agree with my system. I always gain if I eat them, so it was a pretty easy decision to omit them. I can get by with a little bit of sugar, but if I over indulge the scale will show it. I weigh every day and jump on anything over a 2 pound gain!!

Rayzel: When you hit that just over 2 lb mark, what do you do? Steak day or what? How often would you say you find yourself doing this? And what are the results of the corrections you do?

Laura: I still do a steak day, or an apple day. I think over the 3 month period I’ve probably done about 4-5 correction days.

Rayzel: When you say vegetables, no starches, which vegetables do you not eat, and what are some examples of ones you eat pretty frequently?

Laura: We have salad every night and they usually include bell peppers, onions, avocado, tomato, etc. All green vegetables especially asparagus, brussels sprouts and broccoli. Not green but I also eat a lot of cauliflower. I’m big on roasting vegetables in the oven at a hight temperature until they turn golden brown!!! Yum. Still don’t do corn or potatoes although I just recently tried sweet potato and I tolerated them just fine.

Rayzel: What do you do for a treat in Phase 3 life?

Laura: I treat myself to your fruit ice-cream (made in the food processor) or sugar-free crustless, pumpkin pie. I also will have a glass of white wine a couple of times a week. I recently made a flourless peanut butter cookie that was good oh and “cheesecake” type desserts sweetened with liquid stevia.

Rayzel: Another quick question – at what point in Phase 3 did you add pumpkin? There is some debate on whether or not pumpkin fits into the Phase 3 food list since it’s a higher starch vegetable. Just curious about when you started including that from time to time.

Laura: I didn’t add pumpkin in P3 only recently and it has been fine. No reaction.

Rayzel: Okay, continue….

Laura: I also try to limit my sugar-free intake to Stevia or Non GMO Erythritol. I’m just starting to introduce almond and coconut flour so we’ll see how that goes. I discovered if I keep some “legal” treats on hand, I don’t feel “cheated” when my husband is eating his desserts. Actually he likes my sugar-free desserts too!

Rayzel: So am I getting it right that you didn’t introduce nuts or dairy at all in the main 3 weeks of phase 3 then?

Laura: No I did have both nuts (almonds only) and dairy (half and half) in Phase 3.

Rayzel: Thanks so much for sharing all this – what’s next for you?

Laura: I’m looking forward to doing another HCG 60 day program after the first of the year. I’m happy with where I’m at, but would like to target some “fat loss” in specific areas. I love how HCG does just that! If I lost another 10-15 pounds I would be thrilled!

I love your website and wish to thank you so much for taking the time to educate all of us and offer support on the HCG program. Your website was an invaluable resource and I referred to it often…and actually still do! You made me feel like I had a friend to lend a helping hand throughout my journey. Thanks!

Rayzel: Thank you! I really appreciate the time you took to answer these questions and help everyone out in crazy phase 3.

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