Phase 4 is all about gradually adding back in some healthier starches and carbs while maintaining your weight. If you’ve followed Phase 3 and your weight has become fairly stable on the scale within a small range (and taking into account ovulation and menstruation caused fluctuations each month!), then gradually trying out some carbs and adjusting your body to eating them again is very possible for many of us.
Goal for Phase 4:
Find your “new normal” – how you will be able to eat in regular life, separate from the hCG protocol, while still maintaining your weight loss. Discovering what carbs your body handles welll, and which ones it doesn’t.
As time goes on, I plan on adding some more detailed specific articles related to Phase 4 of the hCG protocol- which is basically just maintenance – learning to eat a normal, healthy diet and still maintain your weight loss.
Until I GET to that, you can see all my current posts on maintaining weight loss and my own personal updates on maintaining here on this page:
Maintaining hCG Weight Loss – Tips and How I’ve Been Doing It for Over 2 Years
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I flew through phase 3 like a pro! I maintained my weight throughout and never had to do a steak day. I’ve now made it to phase 4, one week in, and still maintaining my weight and eating a healthy diet, which includes dairy, veggies and meat. The problem I’m having is I love popcorn and the first day I ate two handfuls of popcorn, the next day I gained two pounds. It was only .2 pounds over my LIW. I know it’s not “real” weight gain but I don’t know how to proceed. Does this mean I shouldn’t have popcorn or any carbs ever again…or do I fight through this and hope my body will adjust?
Hey Csmgrl! Have you already seen one of Rayzels’ blogposts about weight gain here: http://hcgchica.com/weight-gain-in-phase-3-2-no-fruits-in-phase-2-affects-p3/ I’m thinking of this one because I’m wondering if you have been really low carb this whole time, 1 factor could be that you are just refilling your glycogen stores with the popcorn if this is your first time having a full on carb in awhile. The other possibility is that you have a sensitivity to corn itself. So for instance, if you ate, say potatoes and did not gain, that might be an indicator that corn is the problem. But again, keep in mind, this is a little complex here because if the cause was the glycogen stores refilling, that won’t KEEP happening every time you have carbs, that’s just an initial response by your body until your glycogen stores are filled, and then the foods/carbs you eat after that, shouldn’t be causing you gains like that, and if they do, that’s when you can more reliably start figuring that your body is sensitive to that food. I’m sorry I’m not sure how helpful this is, without having all your personal details it can be hard to give exact guidance, but I hope that’s a step in the right direction.
How long does it take for your wight to stop fluctuating during phase 4 if you follow all the guide lines?
I started phase 4 a few days ago, only added in brown rice pasta, and gained 4lbs, I attempted a steak day but was starving and lightheaded by 2pm and had to eat, the next day I had lost 3lbs, putting me back into the 2lb range, however now Im scared to eat anything but p3 foods, what would you recommend
I’m on phase 2 just about to start phase 3 on my 1st round. Do I have to do phase 4 if I’m going to do another round, and do u recommend working out in these phases if u have not meet your weight loss goal.
I would say the most important thing to do to maintain your weight loss is to eat, yes it sounds weird, but you need to eat, and eat well to keep your weight off, not just eat anything but eat good food, and do not skip meals. In particularly skipping breakfast and lunch are bad ideas because it will cause your blood sugar to fall to such low levels that you will binge on food later on in the day.
Having a high protein breakfast with a good source of carbohydrates and a healthy fat is a smart way to start the day, a lot of people say they do not have time to eat breakfast, but smoothies are an easy way to consume some calories without taking up time and making a big mess in your morning rush. I myself make a protein smoothie, usually pea or whey protein mixed with oatmeal and dairy or almond milk with a frozen banana in a blender which does not take me more than a minute to prepare and make, its a quick meal that keeps me full until lunch. And also prevents me from eating too much at lunch time.
Exercise is important but do not overdo it, also you do not need to go to a gym and use fancy equipment to stay in shape, I do Tae Bo and body weight exercises to stay fit, and it works well. I have friends to work out at gyms, do cross fit, but still struggle with weight, some even suffer injuries, I believe that strenuous exercise is dangerous, particularly for people over the age of 30 and those who are not athletes. I think exercise should be moderate with an emphasis on safety.