Is HCGChica keeping off the weight lost with HCG Diet?
If so, then why does she seem to keep re-visiting the 120’s on the scale during multiple rounds of the hCG Diet?
Let me put your minds to rest- I am not re-losing weight, but let me explain my unique hCG journey.
I got a question from someone on youtube who was a little confused by my weight loss journey at first (after all I have 175+ videos!) so I wanted to make a video and blog post that gives you a synopsis of just what I’ve personally been doing with the hCG Diet protocol and why it could appear at first that I am re-losing weight (ie losing weight with the protocol, then re-gaining weight, then re-losing that same weight again with the protocol, and so on), when in reality, I’m losing new fat with each subsequent round of the protocol. I’d like to show to you here the unique way I’ve been using this weight loss protocol.
If you were to watch every single one of my 175+ videos it probably would all make sense, but let’s face it, I’m not that egotistical to think that most of you will have time or even want to do that!
So it can appear on the surface as if I can’t keep the weight loss off as I keep re-visiting similar numbers on the scale- ie. 127 lbs, 124 lbs, 122 lbs, etc. So let’s get started.
I Have Maintained Almost 100% Of All My Fat Loss from the hCG Diet…
aside from Round 2. I have done 5 rounds of the diet plan now, and 4 of them I have done well and maintained almost all the fat loss from them, without having to go back on the protocol to “re-lose” weight. So I have not gained back fat after doing the diet. Here’s a chart that shows everything in a nutshell. As you can see, how many lbs of fat I have has continued to drop with each successive round, despite re-visiting similar scale weights.
Comparison Chart of hCGChica Body Composition on each hCG Round:
(Round 2 was a wash so it’s left out)
April ’11/End of Round 1: 144.8lbs 34.5% bodyfat 49 lbs fat 95.8 lbs lean mass
Dec ’11/End of Round 3: 124.8 lbs 27.5% bodyfat 34 lbs fat 90.8 lbs lean mass
May ’12/End of Round 4: 127.5 lbs 23.91%bodyfat 30.5 lbs fat 97 lbs lean mass
No ’12/End of Round 5: 118.8 lbs 17.9% bodyfat 21.3 lbs fat 97.48 lbs lean mass
Dec ’12/Currently off hCG: 124.5 lbs 18.8% bodyfat 23.49 lbs fat 101 lbs lean mass
My 1st round of the weight loss protocol started in February of 2011 and it’s now December 2012. I take really long breaks between rounds of this protocol as well, and during that time I eat really healthy but I eat a pretty good amount of food quantity-wise, I don’t count calories, and I maintain my fat loss- I don’t gain back fat while on the protocol. I know this because I have period hydrostatic body fat tests done to show how much fat and muscle I have on my body (as shown above). I’m getting close to my 2 year anniversary since starting the weight loss protocol, and I’m happy to show you how far I’ve come, while spending the majority of the past 2 years NOT on a diet at all, hCG or otherwise.
My Journey with the hCG Diet Is Unique
My hCG Diet journey is a little bit unique I guess you could say because I have certain goals in mind that don’t necessarily have to do with being a certain scale weight or a certain size in clothing. I have in my nature that I love to do things that require being fit like hiking and doing pushups. I’ve always enjoyed sporty type activities, even as a little girl. I was a daddy’s girl all the way and I spent many a good hour biking, fishing, jet skiing and hiking with my dad. I was definitely the ultimate tomboy down to hating lace and the color pink. In high school I was 1 of 3 girls in the weight training class, and 1 of only 2 girls actually lifting weights (ie not just sitting around flirting).
So once I realized what this protocol could do now as an overweight adult in her 30’s with a chronic autoimmune illness, I’ve been trying to see how far it will take me. I’ve basically been trying to cycle my way down to a lower and lower body fat percent, not to a lower weight necessarily. This means I’m trying to achieve a high amount of muscle mass compared to fat mass on my body, which in turn makes doing things that require being strong and fit much easier.
When my husband and I were dating he used to call me a deer because of the way I would bound down the hiking trails on the way back- my quads were nice and firm and strong and my body fat was low enough that I didn’t feel heavy to myself so I could easily almost run along the steep downward trails. As I got overweight and out of shape, I could no longer do this and just walking carefully on a downward slopping trail would often feel scary as if my thighs weren’t strong enough to hold me up and that I might actually collapse under the weight of my own body.
hCGChica’s hCG Rounds Timeline- Sort Of
Round 1 of the hCG Diet
My 1st round of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin I lost about 27 lbs in about 42 days and I had no problem keeping this weight off for the next 3 months while I was off the protocol. I ate pretty much low carb during that time, went to Zumba a few times a week, and did not count calories.
Round 2 of the hCG Diet
Round 2- that is what I would call a failed round because after losing weight on round 2 I re-gained most of that weight in the following 9 weeks after that because I did not adhere to phase 3 nor did I eat healthy (ie. I was living on sugar again for that entire 9 weeks). So I did have to re-lose this weight. What can I say? I messed up that round, I think most of us mess up at one point or another on our weightloss journey. I think that just means I’m human like the rest of you.
So I re-lost this weight plus more with Round 3 of the diet.
Round 3 of the hCG Diet
December 2011 I finished Round 3 of the diet and lost about 21-ish pounds during this round. At that point I ended up at about 124.8 lbs when I went in to have my bodyfat tested hydrostatically. My results showed I was 27% bodyfat with 34 lbs of fat and 90.8 lbs of lean mass adding up to the 124.8 lbs total that I weighed.
4 Month Break
I took a 4 month break from the protocol after this. During that time, I spent 3 months trying out a new fitness thing called Crossfit, a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and heavy weightlifting type program. Which I love and still do regularly to this day. You can look for a Crossfit gym in you area by googling it. During my 4 month break and going to Crossfit regularly, I gained “weight.” However, almost all of this “weight gain” was muscle, not fat. AHA!!! The light is coming on now right?
When I went in to have my hydrostatic body fat test at the end of March, I weighed 132.5 lbs, a gain of 7.7 lbs in 4 months. Out of that 7.7 lbs, 7 lbs was muscle, so only about a half lb of my weight gain was fat. This put me at 25.91% bodyfat, which if you’ll notice is actually now a smaller bodyfat percent than at the124.8 lbs I was 4 months prior because of the high amount of muscle gain with almost no fat gain. So I actually maintained 99% of my fat loss from the diet plan during that 4 months, despite “gaining” almost 8 lbs, not to mention all the fat I lost from round 1 as well.
So during that whole 4 months, I was not counting calories, I wasn’t even eating low carb anymore- I was eating a healthy amount of fruit and some rice products, going to Crossfit 3-4 times a week for 1 hour each time, and I kept off almost all of the fat loss, no problem.
Round 4 of the hCG Diet
April 2012 I did Round 4 of the protocol. This was my first “short” round of just 3 weeks long on the diet. I only lost a little over 5 lbs this round, down to 127.4, but I actually have LESS fat now at this higher weight, than I did at 124.8 lbs at the end of Round 3. Let me show you the comparison here.
End of Round 3: 124.8 lbs 34 lbs fat
End of Round 4: 127.4 lbs 30.5 lbs fat
So here I weigh 2.6 lbs more but have 3.5 lbs less fat after doing Round 4. Since muscle is pretty much always a good thing, you can look solely at my pounds of fat to see if I was now in a better place with my body or not, and the answer if you look is decidedly yes! After Round 4 I was now 23.91% bodyfat, a loss of 3.1% bodyfat during that 3 weeks of the diet.
5 Month Break
I took a 5 month break this time from the protocol. During the next 5 months from all May through the end of September I again was going to Crossfit 3-4 days a week, not counting calories, eating healthy but a lot. I don’t eat no 1200 calories okay? I eat very liberally, and I eat a lot of fruit as well (after phase 3 of course). I eat a lot of fat, meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, and dairy. I probably take in at least 2000 calories if not 2500. I’m not saying anyone can do this, but I believe because since I was going to crossfit, my body was funneling this into muscle growth. During that 5 months I once again “gained weight” and went from 127.4 to 133 lbs. That’s a 5.6 lb “gain.” Out of that 5.6 lbs however, 5 lbs was muscle.
End of Round 4: 127.4 lbs 23.91% bodyfat 30.5 lbs fat 97 lbs lean mass
5 months later: 133 lbs 23.2% bodyfat 31 lbs fat 102 lbs lean mass
So once again almost all the weight gain was muscle, and I had kept off ALL but a half pound of fat that I lost with the hCG Diet. Keep in mind that not only am I keeping off the fat from the latest round of the diet, but pretty much all the fat from the previous rounds as well.
So hopefully you can see so far throughout this whole weight loss journey, except for Round 2- that one’s a wash- we’re tossing that one out of the window- I’ve maintained almost 100% of my fat loss with the Diet.
Round 5 of the hCG Diet
October 2012 I started Round 5 of the diet and finished it in November 2012. I’m writing this blog post some time after making the video so I can give you the full stats for Round 5. I lost over 9 lbs of new fat during Round 5, putting me at 118.8 lbs and 17.9% bodyfat with 21 pounds of fat at the time my hydrostatic body fat test which was a few days into phase 3.
End of Round 4: 127.4 lbs 23.91% bodyfat 30.5 lbs fat 97 lbs lean mass
5 months later: 133 lbs 23.2% bodyfat 31 lbs fat 102 lbs lean mass
End of Round 5: 118.8 lbs 17.9% bodyfat 21.3 lbs fat 97.48 lbs lean mass
1 month later: 124.5 lbs 18.8% bodyfat 23.49 lbs of fat 101 lbs lean mass
Now it is the middle of December 2012 and I “gained weight” again, but as you can see above, 2/3rds of it was muscle when tested hydrostatically. I did gain a couple pounds of fat at this point, but at 18.8% bodyfat which is getting fairly low for a woman, I’m very happy to be stable where I’m at and am very happy with the fat loss that I am keeping off, which is the large majority for it.
I’m basically maintaining a fat loss of 35.5 lbs out 37.7 lbs of fat lost. And this is all actual FAT my friends. Not water weight, not muscle, not glycogen, not just weighing less because I haven’t eaten yet and my stomach is empty.
Is 124 lbs the same as 124 lbs? Not Necessarily…..
The last thing I’d like to leave you with which is pretty exciting to me because I couldn’t have achieved this without hCG Injections is the following stats:
Dec 2011/End of R3: 124.8 lbs 27.5% bf 34 lbs fat 90.8 lbs lean mass Size 6
Dec 2012/ 1 mo. after R5: 124.5 lbs 18.8% bf 23.49 lbs fat 101 lbs lean mass Size 2
If you compare these two stats, you’ll see that my weight is almost EXACTLY THE SAME, about 124 lbs, yet now I have 10.5 lbs less fat and 10.2 lbs more muscle at the same weight!!!! Okay, sorry, I should kick the enthusiasm down a notch I guess, but this is huge!
Let’s break down just this past years’ results from December 2011-December 2012
- Lost 10% bodyfat and stabilized at 8.7% bodyfat lost- from 27.5% to 18.8% bodyfat
- Gained 12 lbs of muscle
- Lost over 10 lbs of fat
- Was on a “diet” for only 9 weeks of the entire year
- 10 months- the rest of the year- eating 2000-2500 calories (my guesstimate) NOT on a diet.
- Went to Crossfit just 3-4 hours a week
- Enjoyed my life
- Walked around in size 4 jeans all year long
- Almost all fat loss with protocol kept off with ease
This is not to say that after the diet plan you can go back to eating cartons of ice-cream and extra large fries 3x’s a week and expect to maintain your weight. But you won’t be able to maintain you fat loss if you do that after any diet. You must seek and find healthy replacements to your old comfort foods- that is what I have done and that is what the rest of those who are maintaining their hCG weightloss have done as well. It’s not as hard as you might think. Pinterest is a great way to find sugar free, gluten free, grain free recipes, and you will be more motivated to do this once you are happy in your thinner, fitter body.
Summary of This Mouthful of A Story
Anyway- this is a really long story to share a very short point which is that the weight I’ve “gained” this past year after doing the diet has been muscle, not fat. So even though I’m about the same weight that I was a year ago, I’m much smaller visually. I was a size 6 at this weight a year ago, and now I’m a size 2 at this same weight. Not to mention much stronger and healthier.
It was important to me to share this with you out there researching this diet, because the protocol has proven SO effective for me (as my results and statistics show) and I really want everyone out there to know what can be achieved with it’s proper use.
Of course, I cannot attribute my strength and increase in muscle to the Diet, and going to Crossfit has been a huge part in re-shaping my body- the definition and solidness I have to my body now has a lot to do with Crossfit. But let me point out that not 1 single solitary ounce of my fat loss came from Crossfit. 100% of my fat loss was due to Diet alone. That is why I have really enjoyed cycling Crossfit and the Diet because they go hand in hand- crossfit is great for building muscle, at least for me, and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is great for losing fat.
I’m all about using the most effective technique to reach my goal. How about you?
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I am on round 5 and losing super slowly=( need to lose at least 12 pound and it seems impossible. =( can you tell me more about your journey! If it was hard to let go of the last pounds
Thank you!
Hi Sandra,
This is Li-an, Rayzel’s assistant. Nice to meet you!
Unfortunately, the last stretch to your goal weight is really the toughest 🙁 I know, I am also currently in the same position trying to get rid of the excess 5-10 lbs! Sometimes, it works for others to increase their calories a little bit by adding an extra protein/vegetable portion, but I cannot guarantee it will also work for you. I would also suggest having a look at Rayzel’s post here on losing a few pounds without the diet, she talked about intermittent fasting there which I also know helped many ladies achieve their weight loss goals while closer to their goal weight: http://hcgchica.com/lose-weight-without-hcg-diet/
Just keep going and good luck!
Hi Rayzel!!! thank you so much for sharing your experince. I am on round # 2 and currently I only need to lose 8 pounds. I read here that if you are on the ” leaner side”…(like me)….hunger is not a dose issue….
I got real injections from a Doctor ( endocrinologist) My dose is 125… but sometimes I feel very hungry,…I have been eating around 500 to 700 calories a day because some days it is just impossible to eat only 500 calories so I need to eat a little bit more…I prefer to eat more protein like 0% fat greek yogurt….but I am afraid of not been able to lose those last 8 pounds….How many calories did you eat on round 5 ? I ask this question because you were already fit when you did round # 5.
Thanks in advance for your response!!
Hi Ana!
Yes that is sometimes the case. Rayzel never really count calories before but here’s what she said in her dosing article:
“The best way to decide how much more than the 500 to eat is to go by your hunger – there’s no need to decide to eat a certain amount of calories each day and stick to that number. Instead, see how you feel each day and eat more as necessary when you are hungrier, and you may still find some days that you are not as hungry, which it then makes sense to go ahead and eat less those days- basically a play it by ear type deal.”
-Lucelle
Thank you very much for sharing your story. After 6 months of reading, and even contemplating a major surgery for weight loss I gave in to HCG. Skeptical at first, but I am so thankful for the provided information it helped me decide I for sure wanted to try it out. I am happy, and proud to share my starting weight was 261.4 at 5’7. with hormonal imbalances, and diagnosed with PCOS; today 1 week later i have lost 9.2 lbs…. can you believe that? I still cant. I’m blown away, I have yet started to exercise, I walk 4 days a week about 1 mile, but I’m still trying to adjust to the 500 calories a day. as soon as I get a handle back on my energy I will start some type of training so I can further assist my weight loss, and hopefully my muscle gain. as I have read the more muscle I gain the easier it will be to keep the fat off.
While on the VLCD, is it a good idea to cut back on exercising? I have heard that it isn’t a good idea to overextend your body when on such a low amount of calories.
Did you do the injections the whole time? have you tried the HCG pills? I am just curious if you have tried them and your opinion of them..or even the drops.
Hi Rochelle!
hCGChica only used the injections in all her rounds.
-Lucelle
I am in the middle of phase 2 of my first round and know that I want to do another after. I know I need to wait the 6 weeks. but when I start back up the injections, do I start back with gorge days(Phase 1) or pass straight to the 500 calorie, phase 2?
Hi! This is Lucelle, Rayzel’s helper. Yes you will have to load again. 🙂
Hello. I just completed a 40 injection day round and lost 30 lbs. Question: When the six weeks of P3 are over, can I do another 40 day injection round, or can I only do 23 day rounds after the initial 40 day injection round? Perhaps I misunderstood the “Pounds and Inches” protocol. but does 2 (or 3) 40 day injection rounds make HCG less effective because of immunity? What did HCG Chica do? Multiple 40 day rounds? Thanks, and waiting eagerly for your reply, since my 6 weeks of P3 end on March 12th. Love the info on this site. Liz P.S. I’m 58 years old and feel great after the weight loss; lots of aches and pains now gone.
Hi Liz!
So sorry for the late reply. I know this is too late but if you still need the info- Rayzel haven’t really seen the immunity thing happen, really, so not really sure about that. But you can do multiple long rounds (40days) when you take enough time to rest between rounds.
-Lucelle
I’ve done oral hcg in the past and had success, but that was back in 2011. Last year I attempted again, but obviously formulas/regulations have changed, etc. Your website (and my naturopath) has convinced me to give injections a try. I’m very frugal and would like to just do them at home but am worried about all the federal regulations now. Are the sites you have suggested to buy the hcg from still up to date/valid? I’m not sure how long ago you did the research on those, so I didn’t want to end up with a different solution……
Hi. I have been reading your blogs and all the information on your website. I have also been subscribing to your emails for about 6 months. I too, have Hashimoto’s and am so frustrated right now. I did 1 round last fall when I stumbled across your website. I lost 14 pounds and kept off about 10 of them until the past month. I am up 7 pounds and haven’t changed anything about the way i’ve been eating. I occasionally eat out and that is when I allow myself to have treats like dessert or maybe bread. I don’t know what happened, but I just ordered another round from one of your sources.
My question is: is this something I will just have to live with? It seems like you have your weight under control and don’t have to worry about calories or the scale. I am addicted to weighing every single day because with Hashimoto’s the weight can come on so fast and if you’re not watching, before you know it, you will be up 10 pounds. And that is where I am almost back to today. Any advice for keeping the weight off permanently? And not stressing out about what you eat and how much you weigh?
Thanks!
Hi @Gina
Nice to meet you. Let’s see- I have a few things that I can share that might help a little. First of all, I do still weigh myself every single day. Whether it’s from Hashi’s or just letting TOO loose too many days in a row, I find a quick step on the scale once each morning allows me to always know where I’m at and whether my eating that day will be freerer than usual or stricter than usual. This does not make me feel like a slave, rather for me it’s a quick way to be aware of where I’m at so I can make the right choices on a day to day basis. This greatly helps me to maintain my weight.
It is true however that I do not count calories whatsoever, and I do not eat low carb. However, I do not eat gluten (and most Hashi’s find gluten to be a problem) and I also don’t eat dairy much anymore either- I feel removing these two things likely makes it easier for me to maintain my weight. I do eat some grain in the form of organic corn tortillas and chips, but this is not every day- maybe every other day.
The other 4 things that I think play a big role in my ability to maintain are:
1. Intermittent fasting 1x a week
2. Crossfit 3x’s a week – has totally changed my metabolism and the way my body utilizes calories, especially carbs, in my opinion.
3. Optimized thyroid medication treatment – very few people are treated with what they need for this – best info on this is at stopthethyroidmadness.com
4. Checking other hormone levels- I found I have adrenal fatigue, and I actually did start gaining some fat despite not changing my health habits last summer. When I took a cortisol test and added in a physiological dose of cortisol (I take 20mg a day of cortisol, spread into 3 doses) I lost the fat I had gained (about 6 lbs worth) on my own, and have had no issue maintaining it since then and I’m still on the cortisol for my adrenals. So I don’t underestimate investigating and treating these other other hormone issues that almost always go along with chronic illness.
I hope this helps open the can of worms a bit to get you started. I know it can be frustrating and quite a web, but it’s worth researching and unraveling.
Rayzel
Did you see your regular doctor to have your hormone levels checked? I’ve been so far as to have seen an endocrinologist, and he just said “sorry, this is just the way you are” and apparently I’ll always be slightly hefty thanks to my genetics. Bleh – not what I want to hear.
Wow, I stumbled on this site a week or so ago and bookmarked it because I didn’t have time to read through it all. Today when I went back to check it out what sold me was that you have thyroid disease. I do as well, though it began with Graves disease (autoimmune hyperthyroid) that was later treated with radioactive iodine, leaving me now hypothyroid. I am optimally treated now (after 20 years of searching for the right doctor), but still struggle with weight. I did a very low cal plan 5 years ago, doctor monitored, and lost 70 pounds, but then was stuck…for over a year and was still 30 pounds from my very reasonable goal weight. I did one round of HCG, doctor monitored, year ago and did lose about 25 pounds and would have been ecstatic to stay there, but I had no after instructions really and gained that 25 and more back in a few months. Low cal and hard-core exercise (with a trainer) doesn’t shake any off of me any more. I was considering HCG again and found this site. I think I will go with it because of the support and information particularly after (phase 3?). My question is, in your opinion is there a drastic difference in the injectable versus oral? The round I did was oral drops, and the clinic said they had done a test with 2 staff members, one doing oral and one injections and saw no major difference (they were different people of course, so with only 2 test subjects they were not sure is one was superior or not). Thanks!
I’m wondering the same thing – are they the same? Lots of research I’m doing is showing that pills don’t work the same way.
HI there..What is the difference between the omnitrition system and the HCG system?
Thanks for explaining why you’ve done so many courses. I’ve got a little more weight to lose than you did and figured I’d need 3 rounds, so I was confused! If it takes me 4 or 5 that’ll be fine. And I’ll definitely look into crossfit so I can maintain muscle as I get older.
Thanks for doing all this for us!♥
Hey @cookiegordon:disqus you’re welcome! Yes I can understand how on the outside it would sound really confusing. Oh man crossfit is the bomb!! My entire physique has changed and I feel it’s a huge part of my ability to eat pretty well/higher calorie intake for my size (I don’t actually count, but I’m a fairly generous eater). Take care! – Rayzel
I’m thinking about doing the hgc diet and I believe you have just sold me on doing it!
Hey @disqus_BhsmMlRhAr:disqus hehe – well glad I was convincing! It’s all true. I can give you a little update as well since this post is pretty old now. It’s been over 2 years since I’ve done hCG now and I’m still around 126 lbs, with 105 lbs of lean mass and 21 lbs of fat, 16.5% bodyfat. After hCG I hope you get on the Crossfit bandwagon- it’s really effective for strength and a great metabolism too! I eat quite a bit and I eat carbs and I maintain well. Take care, Rayzel
I have an appointment here in about an hour to talk to a weight loss consultant about the hcg diet. I think I’m gonna pay the (large amount) money and do it. You only live once right. I just reactivated my gym membership also. I keep telling myself to just give it my all for 30 days..I know I’ll love the results. We so have a cross fit in my hometown so after I get back in the gym routine I will be checking it out. My only concern is the food part. I don’t want to get stuck in a rut on what to eat. Any suggestion
You mean food on Phase 2 @disqus_BhsmMlRhAr:disqus ? I tend to eat the same things over and over, but for those who need variety Tammy Skye’s gourmet hCG cookbook has a lot of good reviews, it’s an excellent book: https://tskye.infusionsoft.com/go/CkBk/hcgchica
that’s my affiliate link to her book or you can purchase it on amazon and see all the reviews just by searching “hcg diet gourmet cookbook” – it’ll pop right up. Hope that helps! – Rayzel
Thanks for the blog. After searching the net I find your approach is very balanced, informative and honest. I have just started yesterday. Today is my last load day. Tomorrow my first 500 cal day. I have had a DEXA scan done to measure my body fat which is 30%. I want to be under 20%. I have a lean mass of 115 pounds and 48 pounds of fat. Wish me luck!
Hey @disqus_FtWcfPapfK:disqus SO glad to hear you had a DEXA done! That is fantastic. Would love if you email me your results when you’re done. And thank you for your compliments, I’m glad that I come across as you said – I guess I’ve just realized for me to actually lose weight and have it work and keep it off it has required a blend of making big changes while at the same time allowing for sanity to be kept in various ways, keeping it real. I hope your round goes well!
Hi there, thanks for the reply. Going well so far. Day 3 Phase 2. Have lost my load day weight plus a little extra. Feeling fantastic as I am forcing myself to drink 3L of water a day (which I never did before).
Just 2 quick questions if that’s OK….
1) Is it possible to have one of my meals with the protein/Veg in the morning? I usually do weight training at 6am which I am continuing to do to maintain my muscle mass. I am used to having protein after weight training to assist muscle growth. Happy to skip lunch or dinner instead. Would this be acceptable do you think?
2) I tested my HCG liquid (I do the injections) with a pregnancy test as it was left out for around an hour when I first got it, and I also just wanted to check it was the real deal. On the pregnancy test, it did show up with 2 lines, but the test line was fainter than the other line. Does this mean it may have less potency? thanks and I look forward to sending in my before and afters and DEXA results after this round!
Hi Rayzel, first of all thank you for all the information 🙂 I was curious to know how you measure your body fat?
Hi @disqus_KMrboQiHyb:disqus – I have my body fat tested in a hydrostatic tank – it’s one of the most accurate ways to measure – you can do a search with hydrostatic body fat testing or bod pod plus your area on google to see if they have something similar in your area. Hope that helps! – Rayzel
OMG, THIS. I’ve been really enjoying your blog. While we have a few differences in personal experience and perspective, THIS entry is just so full of wonderful perspective.
I personally find that the traditional fat loss methods don’t make a dent in my body fat %. But, I *LOVE* heavy lifting, bicycling, hiking, taking epic long walks with my Husband and Dog, and being overall strong and capable. hCG gives me a powerful tool that is effective for my particular physiology and psychological makeup.
Last year, after an epic error in judgment and method application, during which I gained back nearly 40 pounds of a 60 pound hCG loss, I restarted hCG. Between September and October of last year, I lost 20 of the regained pounds, and have been lifting heavy barbells since. I tried a January round, but that was a “failed” round. I lost only 10 pounds, which I gained back within 3 weeks (!!!!!!!), but, since March, I’ve been steadily 20 pounds above my goal. During that time, I’ve been doing heavy lifting, eating to hunger, taking walks and doing fun active stuff, and not gaining.
Right now, I’m on a round, hopefully to take off all of those 20 extra pounds in 40-45 days. And, after I finish, I will return gradually to my heavy lifting, applying the lessons I learned last year during the epic regain of 2013, so as to NEVER DO IT AGAIN.
Your blog has become one of the first resources I share with anyone considering hCG.
Hey again @disqus_IrS8P552AA:disqus! 🙂 Thanks for all our comments- I love getting comments on the blog. And thanks so much for recommending my info to others! It’s nice to hear you feel it’s valuable in that way. Thanks for sharing your story. I love that when we mess up at least we can learn lessons from it right? Lessons we’ll never forget. I love lifting heavy too! In fact, I feel like learning proper technique for the various lifts is actually fun because it requires quite a bit of skill and moving multiple body parts properly at the same time lol – overhead squat and snatch are two of my favorites. Deadlifts I love too. I hate back and front squats, but they are my weakness so I try to work at them.
That you for this enlightening thread! A lot of people talk about HCG but don’t give you the stats to really see what is happing. Thank you for being so precise! I did one round lost 23 pounds (I am 5,2 and R1 LDW was133.6lbs). I started training first day of maintenance. I gained back 8lbs over the holidays had a lot of sugar. Started eating clean again worked of 2 pound with training in one week and started my R2 (break between R1 and R2 2,3 months). Now did my second round. Did not loose any weight really on R2 (23day round) (also cheated 4 days with chocolate delight) yet I have smaller size even though I am 4 pound heaver than my end R1 round HCG. Your 4th round is very similar to mine. Doing a lot of strength training,kettle bells and last week stated running(made sure I had extra protein this round so actually ate more like 600kcal! Today is my LDW of round 2 137.6 lbs yet leaner than before. First I was a bit bummed out about the result now seeing your round 4 I see that I did make a lot of progress and learned a lot why a second round is so much different and requires a lot of determination!!!! thats so much for your wonderful blog!!!!!!!!!!!!
Still not at my goal weight which was 120pound and 20% body fat seeing your charts is will probably reach my goal more at like 125pound. Don’t want to be to low in body fat!
I seriously have to consider If I will train more with Kettlebells like Tracy cause I don’t know I I can stand another 3 month of strict diet. Still want to eat basically very clean yet at social occasions (have a some bite just to be social) I do not always want to say no!
I live in Suriname South America and people do not have a lot of health foods here. The traditional dishes taste great contain lots of sugar and MSC. So I am going to focus on making my own traditional dishes yet with clean ingredients like stevia and almond flour.
How do you do it at parties I am curious!
Thanks again so much for you amazing blog!!!!!!!
Hi Arienne- thanks for your lovely comment! I’m so glad it helped you not be too discouraged over numbers on the scale but to focus instead on your size in clothing and your strength and body fat percent. It really is better to weigh more but be smaller! Muscle is never bad (well almost never- unless we looked like dudes or something lol). Good for you to being determined to cook healthy meals at home- it’s true- even here in america all restaurant food in general is pretty unhealthy and contains tons of sodium and msg too. I love my stevia- it’s a bit of an acquired taste, but once you do, you’re forever happy with it. Almond flour is soo delicious too- especially in cookies. Have you seen this recipe yet? It’s really good- I miss eating it myself but found out I’m allergic to almonds so sad! But maybe you’ll enjoy it: http://hcgchica.com/flaxseed-almond-flour-cookies-gluten-free-low-carb-low-sugar-high-fiber/
Oh re the parties- you know, I’m kind of a home body so I don’t go to a whole lot of parties- but when I am around gatherings with food I shouldn’t eat, I’ve tried to kind of find something to do that keeps my interest that doesn’t involve eating- for me thats taking photos at parties and gatherings- requires two hands and keeps me busy! The other thing I’ll sometimes do is plan a fast day on the day I plan to splurge at an event- that way the calories pretty much balance out. There’s lots of info out there on the benefits of intermittent fasting- I’ve done it quite a bit the last year and really like it. That might work for you too.
Hi Rayzel,
Thanks for the recipe I will try that one! Looks great! Thanks for the tip on party’s That is cool I gonna find something to focus on beside the food or drinks! I also like the idea of fasting. Before I did HCG i was on the slow carb diet by Tim Ferris (you have on off day from any diet rules I call it “Sabbath day”). Which worked the first 10 pound but after that I got stuck a bit. I realized that I only now understand the importance of enough protein,and eating the right foods at the right time, cause I was working out regularly and intensively!
I think I will keep my sabbath day after p4 (clean eating during the week anyways). Yet will try to make the Sabbaths bit by bit cleaner and more paleo. All the things I crave like cakes, cookies, donuts I can all make clean, even pasta!
I now also realize that the mistake I made in my first stabilization was not having enough protein and more dairy product. Did not have any sugar. Yet not enough protein I was not feeling full enough and wanted to eat less clean afterwards.
Protein is my mantra! Thanks again so much! Looking forward continuing my journey. I already feel great right now, how my body feels and looks! The difference in energy with 3% less body fat is amazing.
I have alson been struggling for years with my weight actually ever since I was 10 year old. The part I realize now more than ever before is the physical addiction you can have to food beside the emotional side (I only recently fully understood the effect, sugar carb and glucose have on the body) before I always though I was just weak but there is a definite physical component to these products you have to be aware off.
I also noticed that only sabbath days when I do eat sugar I keep craving it and keep eating it even though I already eaten a lot. Lately I discovered that if I drink a protein shake after a larger amount of sugars the craving stops.
I am going for 20% body fat (I am now around 30%) and lots of STAMINA! : )
Keep up this amazing blog! : )
I loved the 4 hour workweek book Tim Ferriss wrote- I haven’t read his book on slow carb but I did read up on it on his site awhile back. I too need a good amount of protein to both feel well and do well in my workouts. Not too long back I increased my carbs and ate less meat, and I actually dropped a couple pounds on the scale but I felt HORRIBLE at crossfit! It was like I had absolutely no energy the whole workout that whole week- as soon as I added the protein count back I felt back to normal- it was interesting.
You’re right- all of our old fav comfort foods can be streamlined with alternative ingredients and products- it’s nice there’s so many options now- between almond flour, coconut flour, flaxseed, and all that.
I’m so glad you came to the realization about the physical addiction to sugar and food not being just mental- I plan to hit on that topic more on my blog in the coming months because I think it’s crucial to understand.
I’m the same as you- if I eat sugar- I just want more and more and more and there is never any final satisfied “i’ve had enough sugar” feeling. So I just stay away from it. You will totally get to 20%. I’m maintaining 19.5% bodyfat right now VERY easily- no counting cals or anything.
Best wishes!
Rayzel
Can you use coconut flour during phase3?