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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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We’re on episode 37! Read on for Diane’s amazing hCG journey.
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It started with her daughter and son-in-law deciding to do this thing called the hCG diet to lose their baby weight. Diane thought it sounded weird and told them they just needed to eat healthy. They decided to the protocol anyway.
Diane thought she would show them by doing the diet similar to them, with just a little more calories and no hCG – to show them there was nothing special about hCG. They lost about 40 lbs each with hCG and she lost…..2 lbs. She then decided there must be something wrong with her body.
She went on hCG herself to prove it and lost 102 lbs. It was the first time a diet had worked for her past the initial 20 lbs she’d always get to before she got stuck.
I love hCG journeys that start out like this, because it’s very common and normal to come from a place of skepticism with this protocol. Sometimes those who are against the hCG protocol because they know nothing about it assume that everyone who does this diet are just mindless diet-aholics who don’t care about health and jump onto any diet they hear of regardless of the guidelines.
Stories like Diane’s show this is not true. MANY of us who end up doing this protocol starting our leery of it ourselves. We did our research. In Diane’s case- she did it to kind of prove that it didn’t work! And yet here she is, 4 years after finishing the hCG diet, managing at age 62 to keep her body slim and light after losing over one hundred pounds when nothing else worked.
Diane’s hCG journey in a nutshell:
- Height: 5’9″
- Starting age: 57, now currently 62 years old.
- Starting weight 8/2011: 267 lbs
- Ending weight 2/2012: 165 lbs
- Total weight loss: 102 lbs
- Starting size: 24 in pants/skirts
- Ending size: 8/10 in pants/skirts
It’s been over 4 years since she finished her main weight loss journey and she keeps things in check with an occasional short round of hCG if things start to get out of control around 10 lbs or so. She said she has learned to continue to make better choices and recently went on a 28 day cruise to Tahiti and had not gained weight upon her return!
I asked her what her approach to this was and she said she didn’t eat the bread when they’d come by offering it and chose in advance to eat only 1-2 desserts for the duration of the 28 day trip.
Phase 2:
Diane ate around 700 calories on Phase 2 for the most part by adding a 3rd protein serving while on the protocol, and used homeopathic drops.
Tips and help on cosmetic surgery post weight-loss:
realself.com – reviews of different procedures, surgeons, before and after images, etc. help you check into things.
A few interesting tips when it comes to post weight-loss surgery:
- She mentioned having an enormous appetite- this is normal apparently due to the great amount of healing that your body is doing. The instructions from the weight loss surgery centers are to eat a lot more protein as this is important for healing. Diane said she managed pretty well- that she did find herself eating more comfort food than normal during recovery, but she also had a lot more protein and overall was able to keep her weight in check during recovery.
- You will often be up 5+ lbs on the scale right after surgery due to being swollen from inflammation while your body is healing – this is normal and is not fat and will go down as the swelling goes down.
- Diane suggests going to 2-3 consultations before making a decision about where to have a procedure done – she says you will get a feel for their bedside manner, if you feel comfortable, and even that pricing varies GREATLY from practice to practice- she mentions one comparison for a procedures she checked into where the pricing was 4x’s greater at one place over another, and the place she chose that was 4x’s less expensive was for a surgeon that has a great track record and whom she is very happy with.
- It’s very common to travel for having these types of procedures- it’s highly unlikely to find someone in your area to do the procedure you want, or to find someone that has an excellent track record – it’s worth traveling (she mentioned this might be a two week stint, where you get the surgery one and then spend time recovering, combined with a vacation) before then coming home.
- She mentioned that you really want to find a surgeon who specializes in post-weight loss patients – there are plenty of plastic surgeons that do a tummy tuck- but they don’t all have knowledge or specialize in doing these sorts of procedures on women who have the unique situation of doing this after a large amount of weight loss has taken place. So you don’t just want a general plastic surgeon.
Lipedema – How to Know If You Have This Fat Disorder
Diane mentions a disorder that she has that as many as 11% of women worldwide deal with called Lipedema – one description from curelipedema.org says of this condition, “How often have you seen a woman who appears to be a size 8 or 10 from the waist up and a size 18 or more from the waist down with unusually large, column-like legs? Women who have this body profile more often than not are exhibiting classic early stage Lipedema. As Lipedema progresses, fat will increase in the lower body.”
Here are a few resources to check into this to see if you have it:
One of the ways she mentioned to get rid of this is to remove these types of fat cells through Water-Assisted Liposuction – this apparently is the most effective method at this time. She says once they are removed, these types of fat cells do not come back. She just had this procedure done herself recently.
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Dandee T Ajayi says
Hi everyone my name is Dandee, today is my third day in the HCG diet, my starding weight was 165 lbs Oct 14, 2016. I weighed myself this morning: 160.9lbs Oct 17, 2016, I loss 4.1lbs just in two thadys I still can’t believe it! I have been trying to lose weight for the pass 17 months now I have not been successful. Now I know I will be very happy at the end of p2.
hcgmenopausequeen says
Hi, I went into menopause at age of 38 with all the side effects you have mentioned from the hot flushes, allergies to fatigue. Hcg seemed to restore my body to its former state including, no hot flushes, no fatique, lots of sex drive and no more painfull sex due to dryness and thin skin. I am currently using it in place of HRT. HRT only helped with the hot flushes. I bought my hcg off the internet. I call it my miracle cure.
Kath says
Wow, it’s really inspiring to see women who are 50+ achieve lasting weight loss results. I’m strongly considering trying HCG, but I am hesitant for many reasons.
First, I had lap band surgery in 2009 and lost 135 pounds in about 18 months. I was 47, menopausal since 46. Life was great; I kickboxed and had the energy of a 20 year old sorority girl. The weight stayed off, and I was thrilled to be a size 4 at midlife.
Then, in 2015, I had a complete hormonal meltdown and the chronic fatigue set in. And an 80 pound weight gain, even with this lap band in place. I wasn’t sipping fattening shakes or downing junk food either. I’ve spent upwards of $30k for alternative medicine and functional medicine doctors, trying to find my way back, but have mostly been written of as another post menopausal nut case at age 54. Tried bioidentical HRT, but had side effects and couldn’t get the dosing right. Now I’m dealing with food sensitivities I never had before and am eating only four or five different foods. All of my labwork (except the low sex hormones) has been deemed “normal”.
For anyone past menopause who may be reading this, did you find success with HCG, even with concurrent issues similar to mine? I am a shadow of who I used to be (vibrant, full of life), even having fleeting suicidal thoughts (no plan, not going to do it) – I don’t want to turn into some crazy cat lady who only leaves the house to check the mailbox.
There are so many venues offering up this HCG miracle – one clinic near me wants $700 for 30 days worth of syringes. That sounds excessive. How do you decide who you can trust, and whether or not you can even tolerate HCG? I don’t want to wind up having a stroke or sudden cardiac arrest – something you definitely think about at my age.
Thanks for anyone who cares to respond.
Kay Buendel says
I had a full hysterectomy in 2011 and the last couple of years was fatigued, gaining weight and diagnosed as pre diabetic. Fortunately I started working for a chiropractor who is VERY much into health and he helped me turn things around. I did HCG last June and lost down to 133. My blood sugar was back to normal but I was still having some fatigue. After some testing for hormones, I started hormone pellet therapy and it has been great. I am about to do another round of HCG because I let myself get too off track and have gained 7 lbs back and my blood sugar is back up. But I know it is completely my fault. Before I started gaining the weight back, I could eat healthy during the week, cheat on the weekend within reason and had no problem maintaining. But I started pushing the envelope, and there you have it. HCG is great and does work if you get them from a reputable place. Hormone pellet therapy is great, but several doctors who do it want to give you A LOT of testosterone and not that much estrogen. You just have to find someone who listens to what works best for you. I find 25mg of estrogen to 75mg of testosterone is what works best for me. Hope this helps some. Good luck!
Constance Dent says
I’m sorry to hear of your troubles and even though I don’t share any of your conditions except being over 50 years old, I can truly tell you that the HCG diet is working for me at age 72! I’d first gone on it about 8 years ago (at age 64) and lost 45 pounds but I didn’t change my mindset or eating habits after losing that weight. So, you guessed it, I put it all back on and then some! This time around, I’m determined to let the Skinny Gal inside out once and for all! I began the last week in August and have lost over 20 pounds already with no bad side effects. So, trek on and try the HCG. It’s really the least painful way I’ve ever found to lose the fat I’m so good at collecting!
Sandi craddock says
After losing 65 lbs 5 years ago on hcg, I have unfortunately gained it back…im now trying it again but am suffering from lipedema in my butt and legs…i work out more than I ever have and nothing takes any inches from those areas.
Diane Bowman says
I have found HCG seems to be very helpful for those with Lipedema to finally lose their weight. Regular fat is mixed in with the Lipedema fat and for some reason, women with Lipedema have a greater tendency to gain regular weight than others. Losing the weight will help so much with the pain…
tracy says
Hi – I have just been diagnosed with Lipedema and I am amazed with the weight loss interview in the video. I am concerned about the hormone only in that lipedema is sensitive to hormones – i just don’t which ones. 🙂 so in reading the comment above – makes me feel confident but a little nervous. Diane, is there a facebook group or a place where I can ask for some women to share their stories? At the moment everyone is pushing keto and I cannot find much. If you have recommendations where I can read more lipedema stories for some women that would be great. thanks!