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There are a few things that will have a bearing on stabilizing:

1. Are you trying to stabilize the correct LDW weight?
2. Did you eat fruits and or melba/grissini on P2?
3. How exercise can affect Phase 3
4. Fats on P3
5. Adding calories full throttle or easing into it?
6. Can You Stabilize A little Higher more easily?

This post is all about Reason #2

Did You Eat Fruits and/or Melba or Grissini on Phase 2?

This is a biggie. More people are trying out the P2 portion of this protocol without eating the fruits – something I’ve done myself on 2 of my rounds. The reason I like it is I found the protocol much easier to stick to because I had far less cravings. And I’m glad I did and do support this idea when needed. You often lose weight at a higher rate as well when you do this – HOWEVER……..

How No Fruits in P2 Affects P3

It’s VERY important to note that if you did this, you will HAVE to stabilize at a higher weight – the 2 lb stabilization window really can’t apply in this scenario, and here’s why. When you remove the fruits and grissini from the protocol, it makes the diet super low carb – what this means is that your body will end up tapping into your glycogen stores for energy as well, something that wouldn’t end up happening as much when you leave the fruits in. Glycogen is basically just water and sugar that’s stored in your muscle and liver. Glycogen isn’t fat, and when your body is in it’s normal state, it will naturally hold a certain amount of glycogen (how much depends on your own body and how much muscle you have etc).

When you have been fruitless in P2 and then transition to Phase 3, your body will naturally re-fill these glycogen stores as quickly as possible – it’s just what the body does – there is no point in trying to prevent this.

No Fruits in P2 Causes Artificially Low LDW/LIW – Purposefully Stabilize Higher

So what I’m basically saying is that if you do P2 without fruits and or melba, you will most likely have an artificially low LDW. That is why I wouldn’t recommend doing it this in order to lose more weight because in the end you are actually losing the same amount of fat as a person who keeps the fruits in. The reason leaving them out can be advantageous is for the benefits of making the diet mentally easier – like I said, for me, cravings disappeared when I removed these items and made P2 much easier for me mentally.

When I compare my fat loss from Round 4, where I did eat the fruits, and Round 5, where I removed the fruits, my actual fat loss was about the same, even though my total weight loss at the end appeared to be higher on Round 5 – I regained several lbs pretty quickly after Round 5, most of it water/glycogen stores.

If it helps further as a comparison, out of my 4 successful rounds of hCG where I followed P3 strictly each time, the 2 rounds I stabilized MOST easily (rounds 1 and 4) and within the 2lb window were the two rounds I DID eat the fruits (still no grissini). My body was able to retain it’s natural glycogen stores because of this so there was no need to recover this in P3. As a result, there was the initial little bit of weight fluctuation the first week of P3 but it quickly started stabilizing out and becoming pretty consistent each morning.

In contrast, the 2 rounds that I gained several lbs in phase 3- about 7lbs actually each time, were the 2 rounds that I DIDN’T eat the fruits (3rd and 5th round) – my body fat testing showed the majority of the weight gain each of these times was indeed “muscle” which also includes the glycogen stores the muscles hold. It can be really hard to know what’s what without the bodyfat testing, because the added lbs of glycogen and muscle do cause increases in measurements as well because there is no fat loss happening at the same time at this point to compensate.

I’ll try to make a more detailed post about this in the future, but we discuss this topic specifically in my chat with B from Episode 7 of the hCG Diet Interviews

So essentially, the thing is this. If you choose to eliminate the fruits and grissini during Phase 2, be mentally prepared in advance that your LDW is not really accurate – it’s artificially low – and be already prepared to purposefully stabilize at a higher weight and measurements. This is NOT failure, which is why it’s so important to address this because without this knowledge you’ll feel you’re overeating or that your body is not working properly etc which could really get you down.

You have to accept this as part of your own hCG process if you choose to go about a round of the diet this way or you’ll go crazy with yourself.

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