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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.
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These are short testimonials of ladies who’ve written in their hCG diet results to me for quick motivation.
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The HCG Diet Reviews – Episode 3!
I had the delight of interviewing Bonnie today. A lovely woman to meet, low key and pleasant, her story will be one that I have a feeling many of you will identify with and that will give you confidence and motivation that you can make a success of the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Diet protocol as well. Her success is absolutely amazing- she went from a size 12 to a size 2, dropping over 50 lbs with the HCG Diet protocol from 180ish to 125ish and has been maintaining a healthy weight range of 125-129 lbs since the fall of 2012, several months now. She is actually smaller now, at 50 years old, then she’s ever been in her whole life. Watch the interview if you’d like to see a real live bodyshot of Bonnie today.
20lb Weight Gain from Menopause
Bonnie went into surgical menopause about 4 years ago when she had a hysterectomy. She was already overweight up to about 175ish pounds or so (being 5’5″ tall) at the time of the hysterectomy, but following the surgery and entry into menopause, she put on another 20 lbs in the span of a few months, putting her close to 200 lbs. She was a healthy weight for her size, in the upper 120’s, earlier in life until she got pregnant and had two children 18 months apart. She found herself eating more because she was not feeling well, and eventually wound up in that 175 lb range (not to mention most of us women gain weight from having kids regardless right??) At the time that she has the 20 lb weight gain from menopause, she also went to see a thyroid doctor who diagnosed her with hypothyroidism and prescribed her a small dose of T4 thyroid medication, Levothyroxine (also known as Synthroid).
2 Rounds of HCG Injections Leading to Over 50lb Weightloss
At the start of her first hCG round, she had managed to lose about 20 lbs on her own through other diet and exercise, so after loading for the protocol she was about 180 lbs. She lost about 35 lbs her first round of 60 days (she did an extended round with real homeopathic drops). She then did a 2nd 40ish day round following that where she started out the round on another homeopathic drops brand that she didn’t feel well on and felt hungry, so she switched to HCG Injections halfway through. This led her to dropping another 20 lbs or so putting her at 125 lbs from her starting weight around 180 lbs.
Same Weight, Different Smaller Size
One of the most interesting things I gleaned from our conversation was that in her 20’s she was around this same weight- 127-129lbs or so- but she wore a size 7-8 at that time (which is still totally healthy of course). Now she is once again in the 127-129lbs range, yet she wears anywhere from a size 2 to size 4. This shows that she certainly lost a high amount of FAT while on the protocol, for her body composition to have changed so much that she is wearing 2-3 sizes smaller at the same weight. And it’s obvious just looking at her that she’s definitely lost her abnormal fat. I really hope that by showing those who are unsure about this weight loss protocol what indicators to look for, they will discover for themselves that the protocol works. Bonnie is not the only person that I’ve seen this “phenomenon” with. It’s happened to me personally as well, and others. Just this one little tidbit of knowledge- that those doing the diet plan are finding themselves wearing smaller sized clothing at weights they previously wore larger clothes at, shows major fat loss is happening.
Maintaining hCG Weightloss- How Is She Doing It?
Bonnie mentioned two key ways to maintaining her new weight from the diet plan- with one key standing out the most:
KEY: Eat to Hunger
This idea has been pioneered by Robin Woodall in her book,Weight-Loss Apocalypse: Emotional Eating Rehab Through the hCG Protocol, and both Bonnie and myself HIGHLY recommend this read. I’d even go so far as to say it’s a necessity to do so. I won’t go into all the details, but basically, if you eat to hunger (Robin has a very simple and easy to use hunger scale to use to help you know when to eat when to stop based on how you feel), you will not gain weight (assuming of course that you don’t have some major health problem causing weight problems like unresolved thyroid issues, adrenal fatigue, etc). Much more than just telling you to eat to hunger though, Robin’s book addressed the mechanisms behind why we eat when we’re not hungry and why we eat past hunger and how to deal with the emotional side of getting our eating habits in tune with what our body actually needs. The 2nd key was that Bonnie has found that limiting her sugar intake, while eating mostly proteins, veggies, and full fat foods to do best with her body. So overall she is eating a lower carb diet. Please let it be noted however (because I get this question a lot) that eating low carb for life after the protocol is NOT mandatory for everyone. Bonnie has found this to work best for her. But many of you will find that you can include a healthy amount of carbs and still easily maintain. I am pretty active at Crossfit myself, and am able to consume a normal amount of healthy carbs- refried beans, fruit, etc, even white rice which I guess you wouldn’t say was super clean, while still maintaining my weight range.
Do You Have to Be Eternally Deprived to Maintain Your Weight?
I think sometimes the idea of changing our eating habits long term can be scary at the outset. In fact I will be making a video and blogpost about this soon. But the truth is, you don’t have to never have something that tastes sweet again. However, in general, you do need to make healthy replacements for the old comfort foods you used to eat- but you can do this in ways that will still leave you feeling satisfied. So I asked Bonnie to give us a couple examples of what she might eat now when she wants a little somethin’ sweet. Here’s her favorite thing to do: After each meal she likes to have a spoonful of almond butter with either some chocolate Delight or a large bite of Sugar Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake. You can find recipes for making Chocolate Delight (almost every hCGer’s favorite thing) in either my Chocolate Delight hCG Recipes Youtube Playlist, or my Chocolate Delight hCG Recipes Pinterest board. And here is the recipe Bonnie uses for the Cheesecake…. Mshcggirl’s Sugar Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Recipe:
The Most Important Keys To Success While ON the hCG Diet Plan
Bonnie’s recommendations are fully researching the diet by reading both Pounds and Inches and Robin’s Weightloss Apocalypse books, not just once, but multiple times to really get a feel for how the protocol works. It really pays to be fully aware of how it works, because the diet plan is not like other diets where you can cheat without much consequence. This is not really a “DIET” in the sense of the word- it’s really a protocol that does much more than just cause you to lose weight, and that’s why in order to create a long term change in your body, it’s important to get informed. Thanks for being with us today!
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Debra L. Bates says
Hi!
I have done the HCG diet a couple of times with success, always using the drops. I was just wondering if anyone has used the pellets with success?
Li-An says
Hi Debra,
Rayzel’s latest blog post actually discusses the hCG pellets in depth. You can find that here: http://hcgchica.com/real-hcg-diet-pellets-complete-guide/
Hope that helps!
Li-an, Rayzel’s assistant
Susan says
What is the optimal HCG dosage for a menopausal women, age 45, 160 lbs?
Gen, hCGChica team buddy says
Hi Susan,
The majority of people on hCG will find a dose somewhere between 125iu-175iu for hCG injections to be their sweet spot. On a rare occasion, a woman may need as high as 200iu. Typically 125iu is the lowest dose a person would ever take on the diet, however I have also read on a rare occasion that menopausal women may need a dose as low as 75iu in order to not feel hungry- please keep in mind this is not normally the case though. By and large, the majority of females do best with the least hunger on a dose between 125-175iu. Typically the leaner you are, the lower the dose you need. If you are have only 15 lbs or so to lose, you will most likely feel best on 125iu.
Have you had a chance to see Rayzel’s detailed article on hCG dosage yet? If not, that’s the very best place to start: http://hcgchica.com/hcg-dosage-how-should-feel-on-the-hcg-diet-when-you-are-on-the-right-dose
Gen
Maria says
I started taking Prempro for menopause 17 days ago. Can I start the HCG injections tomorrow?
HCGChica says
Hey Maria!
First of all, I’m SO sorry for the delay in responding to your comment. 🙁 Sometimes we get behind.
Rayzel is not sure if there is a direct impact or interference of taking HCG injections while on Prempro. Rayzel really doesn’t feel qualified to give advice on topics with medication and hCG. One extra thing while I have you is that Rayzel gets communication from time to time that menopausal women will occasionally have some spotting while on hCG, even if they haven’t had a period in years – but things go back to normal once they get off hCG. So just wanted to throw that out there.
Hope that helps!
Grace
Zaida Pfrommer says
HCGCHICA, thank you for your very informative you tube videos. I have learned so much!!!. I ahve been on HCG 6 weeks now and have lost 20lbs. Sorry to say I have stalled 10lbs short of my goal. But my reason for this post is the fact that I had a full blown period even tho I have been menopausal for 10 years. Should I be concerned?
hcgchica's helper says
Hi Zaida!
What I hear with hCG is that sometimes does strange things with a woman’s period and for menopausal women I have had occasional reports of spotting and such. I haven’t had anyone say that their period came back as in regularly from hCG though. I hope that helps. once they are off hCG, their cycle goes back to normal, whatever that was.
– Lucelle
Zaida Pfrommer says
Lucelle, thank you for your response. Hopefully my experience will help anyone else having the same experience. I have been on HCG 8 weeks now and no more periods. I have also broken my stall. Yea!!!
Cecile says
I do accept as true with all the concepts you’ve presented on your post.
They’re very convincing and will certainly work.
Nonetheless, the posts are very quick for novices. Could you please prolong
them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.
Jenna says
I an 54 and have not had a period for around 9 months. 3 weeks into taking the shots I am full blown menstrual cycle started today. Is this going to be a problem once I stop the shots? I was so happy when I finally didn’t have to deal with this every month (sometimes 2 times a month) now I’m bummed. Hoping this doesn’t continue.
hcgchica's helper says
Hi Jenna!
What I hear with hCG is that sometimes does strange things with a woman’s period and for menopausal women I have had occasional reports of spotting and such. I haven’t had anyone say that their period came back as in regularly from hCG though. Once they are off hCG, their cycle goes back to normal, whatever that was.
Hope that was helpful!
Lucelle