HHCG without the diet?

[lucky_d]

I am having so many good side effects of HHCG that my husband is interested in taking it just for the side effects! Has anyone here had any experience with this? He doesn't need to lose any weight and would not be motivated to do any sort of diet, but he is interested in how much energy and clear-headedness I appear to have gained from it. I suppose the low calorie diet could also be a factor in giving me these effects, but I was wondering if anyone else had tried it. I wouldn't want for him to actually GAIN weight by doing this. Thanks!

[JeniferCA]

I heard (and could be wrong), that you can definitely gain if you eat normally while taking the hcg.

As a matter of fact, that is one of the very reasons that keeps me on the straight and narrow. LOL

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by JeniferCA

I heard (and could be wrong), that you can definitely gain if you eat normally while taking the hcg.

As a matter of fact, that is one of the very reasons that keeps me on the straight and narrow. LOL

If you gain it won't be from eating normally on HHCG. Don't know anything about RX HCG, but the hhcg drops, won't cause any gains by eating a normal amount of food. Tried and Tested by many.

[JeniferCA]

Originally Posted by Deb294evr

If you gain it won't be from eating normally on HHCG. Don't know anything about RX HCG, but the hhcg drops, won't cause any gains by eating a normal amount of food. Tried and Tested by many.

Ooh, good to know. I wonder why you have to stay on the 500 cal diet then while you're weaning from the drops? I thought it was because of the whole gain thing?

Anyone know?

[lucky_d]

Jen, that's what Dr. S said to do but he was doing the injections. There seem to be quite a few differences between the injections and the HHCG drops.

Deb, thanks for the input. Has there been any conclusion drawn from the experiments of HHCG without the diet? Like, do you still have the good feelings of HHCG? I'm wondering if it would curb your appetite. Right now, while on it and doing the 500 calories I can't imagine eating normally, but I wonder if that's from the HHCG or from the diet itself. I'm supposed to be going out this weekend and not sure whether I want to take the drops that day because I might want to actually ENJOY my meal!

I think I will get him some drops and let him try it. If it's not going to hurt anything, why not?

[emel]

Just wanted to point out that it could be that your hhcg has other homeopathic ingredients which could be the true reason for feeling good.

Check the label.

[lucky_d]

Emel, hmmm, that's interesting. It does have amino acids in it. Maybe I was deficient in something and didn't realize it.

[hollyree]

Originally Posted by Deb294evr

If you gain it won't be from eating normally on HHCG. Don't know anything about RX HCG, but the hhcg drops, won't cause any gains by eating a normal amount of food. Tried and Tested by many.

This is confusing to me because if eating off plan doesn't cause weight gain then #1 why stay at 500 calories and #2 why when I eat something off plan do I gain weight? Just wondering about this since I've ever heard this tidbit of information before.

[lucky_d]

Holly, you're right, it is confusing. I think it's a matter of whether or not you are following Dr. Simeons' protocol. He is the one who came up with the 500 calories, the sugar/starch-free phase after it, the certain foods to eat, etc. However, because he was using injections, it is felt by many that the protocol is not 100% applicable with the drops. However, it seems to be the general consensus that it is helpful to reduce calories while using the drops if you want to have weight loss. The degree to which people decide to stay on the protocol is up to the individual.

I was just wondering if you did NOT reduce cals if you would expressly GAIN weight or if you would have any other ill effects. I personally like the side effects of the drops and would take them just as a supplement whether or not they provided any weight loss. But not if they caused me to GAIN weight.

I'm sure that probably doesn't help at all. This is just a confusing topic and I am sorry I troubled everyone with it! Just trying to help my husband be more clear headed, that's all!

[hollyree]

Originally Posted by lucky_d

Holly, you're right, it is confusing. I think it's a matter of whether or not you are following Dr. Simeons' protocol. He is the one who came up with the 500 calories, the sugar/starch-free phase after it, the certain foods to eat, etc. However, because he was using injections, it is felt by many that the protocol is not 100% applicable with the drops. However, it seems to be the general consensus that it is helpful to reduce calories while using the drops if you want to have weight loss. The degree to which people decide to stay on the protocol is up to the individual.

I was just wondering if you did NOT reduce cals if you would expressly GAIN weight or if you would have any other ill effects. I personally like the side effects of the drops and would take them just as a supplement whether or not they provided any weight loss. But not if they caused me to GAIN weight.

I'm sure that probably doesn't help at all. This is just a confusing topic and I am sorry I troubled everyone with it! Just trying to help my husband be more clear headed, that's all!

I was more confused by the statement Deb294evr made about how eating normally and taking drops won't cause you to gain. Just wondering how this is possible because like I said earlier, if I eat off plan I tend to gain weight or not lose. And it seems a lot of others are that way as well. Just wondering...

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by JeniferCA

Ooh, good to know. I wonder why you have to stay on the 500 cal diet then while you're weaning from the drops? I thought it was because of the whole gain thing?

Anyone know?

I don't know his real reasons for saying this back then, I just know that it does not matter with HHCG if you eat more than 500 cals coming off the drops in MY Experience and many many others who do different plans.

I would say it was a fear factor.. but that may not be his intention and I certainly cannot speak for him.

Coming off the drops after eating 500 cals. the wise thing to do is slowly add things back in so you don't get a big water weight gain at first.. That is just natural after any low cal diet..

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by hollyree

I was more confused by the statement Deb294evr made about how eating normally and taking drops won't cause you to gain. Just wondering how this is possible because like I said earlier, if I eat off plan I tend to gain weight or not lose. And it seems a lot of others are that way as well. Just wondering...

If you have read my experiment you would see I had very much the same thoughts as you do.. It was only by accident that I discovered I could eat normally and still lose taking the drops.. the rest is history... I found many many others who never wanted to talk about it, but were actually doing the same thing.

The plan can be altered and weight loss is very possible. OF course you will lose better, faster, and all of that with lower calories... I just don't want it to be said as FACT that you can't lose eating more food while taking HHCG. You can check out the Alternate Plans thread here in this forum for ideas.

Also, like I said earlier, it may be different using HCG RX. Everyone please do what is best for YOU though, as YMMV!!!

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by lucky_d

Holly, you're right, it is confusing. I think it's a matter of whether or not you are following Dr. Simeons' protocol. He is the one who came up with the 500 calories, the sugar/starch-free phase after it, the certain foods to eat, etc. However, because he was using injections, it is felt by many that the protocol is not 100% applicable with the drops. However, it seems to be the general consensus that it is helpful to reduce calories while using the drops if you want to have weight loss. The degree to which people decide to stay on the protocol is up to the individual.

I was just wondering if you did NOT reduce cals if you would expressly GAIN weight or if you would have any other ill effects. I personally like the side effects of the drops and would take them just as a supplement whether or not they provided any weight loss. But not if they caused me to GAIN weight.

I'm sure that probably doesn't help at all. This is just a confusing topic and I am sorry I troubled everyone with it! Just trying to help my husband be more clear headed, that's all!

Yes, it is a result of many months of experimenting... and reading many others experiences with the same ideas.. HHCG to me is an appetite suppressant and a fat burner.. I have proven to MYSELF that it works this way. Will it work that way for EVERYONE? there is really no way to know. EXCEPT by experimenting, and most people are afraid to try.

[emel]

Originally Posted by JeniferCA

Ooh, good to know. I wonder why you have to stay on the 500 cal diet then while you're weaning from the drops? I thought it was because of the whole gain thing?

Anyone know?

.

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by emel

you stay VLC w/o hcg at the end because there is still hcg in your system. Thus, eating more on those last two days gives you the calories from your food AND the calories from the fat that's being released due to the residual hcg.

Homeopathic hcg may deplete quicker, but I wouldn't know how to tell when it's all gone, so the 500 cal for two days sounds like a safe bet to me.

Further, and this is me talking, not Simeons, even after the hcg is depleted, your body is still handling the fat released by the hcg. So you still have calories (meaning energy reserves, not dietary intake) released from the fat cells "floating around" in your system

Yes, this is the explaination from Protocol.

I just know personally I have eaten double, even triple that amount with hHCG in my system and lost very well. OF course it is not just ME, but MANY. We have discussed this in our weekly threads for months now.

So while that may be true for some, it is not true for everyone. There is no reason to be so fearful, which is my number one reason for even speaking about it. To each his own, of course!!!

[lucky_d]

Originally Posted by Deb294evr

Yes, it is a result of many months of experimenting... and reading many others experiences with the same ideas.. HHCG to me is an appetite suppressant and a fat burner.. I have proven to MYSELF that it works this way. Will it work that way for EVERYONE? there is really no way to know. EXCEPT by experimenting, and most people are afraid to try.

Totally agree about the appetite suppressant part. I am not afraid. I'm going to try gradually increasing food intake and exercise. I'm more afraid of suddenly stopping it and following the instructions to start eating low carb (aka more fat). I know in the past the "more fat" thing has not worked for me at all. My body says "Hey! Looky here! Here's more fat I can use to replace what was just cruelly stolen from me! And, look! It's already in the correct format for me to store it. What a blessing!"

I'm not going to try to do anything complicated like JUDDD. I know from past experience that I will get confused by that and certain days will bleed over into other days and pretty soon it's all "up" days. I'm just going to stay on the drops and gradually add more variety of foods and more cals. With the appetite suppression effect it makes it much easier for me to be thoughtful about what I am putting in my body and making conscious decisions as to what to craft my diet from. It gives me enough patience to be able to eat something and wait a couple of days and see what the effect is. For once I will have the opportunity to know for sure which foods are causing the problems because I have more of a blank slate now to start out with.

As far as my hubby goes, I think I'm just going to give him the drops with no particular instructions and see what the effects are on someone who is NOT dieting. I wonder if it will make him less hungry too? If he lost a little weight that would be okay, he has a few "areas". But I cannot see putting him on 500 cals a day. He'd be a twig in no time. He's just one of THOSE people!

[hollyree]

Originally Posted by Deb294evr

If you have read my experiment you would see I had very much the same thoughts as you do.. It was only by accident that I discovered I could eat normally and still lose taking the drops.. the rest is history... I found many many others who never wanted to talk about it, but were actually doing the same thing.

The plan can be altered and weight loss is very possible. OF course you will lose better, faster, and all of that with lower calories... I just don't want it to be said as FACT that you can't lose eating more food while taking HHCG. You can check out the Alternate Plans thread here in this forum for ideas.

Also, like I said earlier, it may be different using HCG RX. Everyone please do what is best for YOU though, as YMMV!!!

Ah, that clears up some confusion. What is your definition of eating "normally"? Do you try to stay low carb, low fat and under a certain amount of calories? Just curious! Do you have a link to your experiment with this as I have not read/seen it. Thanks I'm definitely interested in this!

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by lucky_d

Totally agree about the appetite suppressant part. I am not afraid. I'm going to try gradually increasing food intake and exercise. I'm more afraid of suddenly stopping it and following the instructions to start eating low carb (aka more fat). I know in the past the "more fat" thing has not worked for me at all. My body says "Hey! Looky here! Here's more fat I can use to replace what was just cruelly stolen from me! And, look! It's already in the correct format for me to store it. What a blessing!"

I'm not going to try to do anything complicated like JUDDD. I know from past experience that I will get confused by that and certain days will bleed over into other days and pretty soon it's all "up" days. I'm just going to stay on the drops and gradually add more variety of foods and more cals. With the appetite suppression effect it makes it much easier for me to be thoughtful about what I am putting in my body and making conscious decisions as to what to craft my diet from. It gives me enough patience to be able to eat something and wait a couple of days and see what the effect is. For once I will have the opportunity to know for sure which foods are causing the problems because I have more of a blank slate now to start out with.

As far as my hubby goes, I think I'm just going to give him the drops with no particular instructions and see what the effects are on someone who is NOT dieting. I wonder if it will make him less hungry too? If he lost a little weight that would be okay, he has a few "areas". But I cannot see putting him on 500 cals a day. He'd be a twig in no time. He's just one of THOSE people!

FANTASTIC!! you sound like you have a nice plan without having to follow something!! I totally agree with you on this statement in bold.

I call what I am doing sort of JUDDD like, but no way can I follow it as it is supposed to be followed. So I just call it my way, and it really is.

Happy losing to you!! I love your idea for your husband too.. .a clean slate... I bet he does very well also!!!

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by hollyree

Ah, that clears up some confusion. What is your definition of eating "normally"? Do you try to stay low carb, low fat and under a certain amount of calories? Just curious! Do you have a link to your experiment with this as I have not read/seen it. Thanks I'm definitely interested in this!

Yes, here is my experiment, which is actually a journal which I kept as things were happening... come by and stay awhile...

My HHCG experiment..

My plan has evolved over the months, and is basically low carb now, with lower cals on alt. days. Sort of JUDDD like, but not to that extent.

I am in the home stretch for me, as compared to where I started, so of course my losses are slowing down and that is ok for the most part. I MISS losing fast, but I am not in the mental place to go back to 500 cals again.

[Kiley2801]

Originally Posted by hollyree

This is confusing to me because if eating off plan doesn't cause weight gain then #1 why stay at 500 calories and #2 why when I eat something off plan do I gain weight? Just wondering about this since I've ever heard this tidbit of information before.

I think that can be attributed to the fact that your body gets USED to eating a very specific 500 cals a day, so then it rebels once you "mix it up."

Just a (very unscientific!) guess though....

[Tyl]

Originally Posted by Kiley2801

I think that can be attributed to the fact that your body gets USED to eating a very specific 500 cals a day, so then it rebels once you "mix it up."

Just a (very unscientific!) guess though....

this is my explanation as well. when i followed simeons if i ate off plan i gained. when i started experiment, i had just come off p3, and just kinda ate what i felt like (well over 500 cals) and suddenly i was losing. It was wacky but awesome knowing i could lose AND eat.

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by Kiley2801

I think that can be attributed to the fact that your body gets USED to eating a very specific 500 cals a day, so then it rebels once you "mix it up."

Just a (very unscientific!) guess though....

Very true Kiley!!!

Originally Posted by Tyl

this is my explanation as well. when i followed simeons if i ate off plan i gained. when i started experiment, i had just come off p3, and just kinda ate what i felt like (well over 500 cals) and suddenly i was losing. It was wacky but awesome knowing i could lose AND eat.

CHANTYL! miss ya girl! Yep, agree with all you both have said.

[hollyree]

Hmm. This is something I've wondered about as well. Just like both of you said, that possibly our bodies get used to the 500 calories and then "blow up" when we add in anything over that. That's equally disturbing when thinking about trying to stabilize in P3. To me, I've been thinking about the whole 500 calorie thing and wondering why I haven't lost more than I have. I wasn't a low carber to begin with so this is a drastic change in diet for me and I would think the weight would fall off. I've been bouncing around 2-4 lbs for a week now. Officially I'm only down 10lbs in 14 VLCDs. That bothers me a little bit. I'm just wondering what the best thing is to do here. This is my first round so I hate to tweak it but I also don't want to eat only 500 calories and not hardly lose any weight!

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by hollyree

Hmm. This is something I've wondered about as well. Just like both of you said, that possibly our bodies get used to the 500 calories and then "blow up" when we add in anything over that. That's equally disturbing when thinking about trying to stabilize in P3. To me, I've been thinking about the whole 500 calorie thing and wondering why I haven't lost more than I have. I wasn't a low carber to begin with so this is a drastic change in diet for me and I would think the weight would fall off. I've been bouncing around 2-4 lbs for a week now. Officially I'm only down 10lbs in 14 VLCDs. That bothers me a little bit. I'm just wondering what the best thing is to do here. This is my first round so I hate to tweak it but I also don't want to eat only 500 calories and not hardly lose any weight!

This is what I thought also, why am I eating only 500 cals and not losing like I think I should? Of course that was my second round so I really don't want to mess with your first round. You could hang in there for another 7 days and see if you get a good release, or you could mix things up.

Those on Protocol will advise you to stay the course, and I cannot argue with that, however if the frustration gets to a point where you want to throw in the towel, try some tweaking by adding in extra protein first. Just to shake things up.. and help your body.

Whatever you choose to do this round, know there are other ways of handling another round if you choose to experiment. I only chime in when I see questions like this. I hate people to think there is only one way and are too scared to try, or give up completely.

All the best to you and happy Losing!!!

[Tyl]

Originally Posted by Deb294evr

Very true Kiley!!!



CHANTYL! miss ya girl! Yep, agree with all you both have said.

miss you too! been super busy!

[lucky_d]

Originally Posted by hollyree

Hmm. This is something I've wondered about as well. Just like both of you said, that possibly our bodies get used to the 500 calories and then "blow up" when we add in anything over that. That's equally disturbing when thinking about trying to stabilize in P3. To me, I've been thinking about the whole 500 calorie thing and wondering why I haven't lost more than I have. I wasn't a low carber to begin with so this is a drastic change in diet for me and I would think the weight would fall off. I've been bouncing around 2-4 lbs for a week now. Officially I'm only down 10lbs in 14 VLCDs. That bothers me a little bit. I'm just wondering what the best thing is to do here. This is my first round so I hate to tweak it but I also don't want to eat only 500 calories and not hardly lose any weight!

Holly this is exactly where I am. I've lost 8 pounds in 18 VLCD days on P2. A few days ago I started feeling really blah, like my metabolism was shutting down. And I was like "why am I lagging so much in the loss department?" So I decided to supplement my protocol with some egg whites for breakfast. I also started taking my green foods supplement and some omega 3 oil at breakfast. Now I feel awesome again! I did stall a bit the first couple of days afterward, but today I had a loss again. I look at it like I'm in it for the long haul and I want to keep my mind and body happy rather than get really frustrated and weak and give it all up. There are aspects to this that work really well for me so I am focusing on that and less on the absolute "rules". Now, in contrast to others who may move on to P3 without the drops, I am going to keep taking the drops and stay more P2 but with a bit more food. So I think of it as a tradeoff. Mine's going to be more like "P2.5".

If you're still feeling good but just haven't lost as much as you'd like, I would stick with protocol and see if it catches up to you. But if you start feeling bad and want to give up maybe it's time for a tweak or 2.

[julieboolie]

Originally Posted by hollyree

This is confusing to me because if eating off plan doesn't cause weight gain then #1 why stay at 500 calories and #2 why when I eat something off plan do I gain weight? Just wondering about this since I've ever heard this tidbit of information before.

The majority of us who have dosed and eaten higher calories have done so low carb. I did a weekend away and ate about 1500cals (all LC) while dosing and didn't gain a lb! Others have really indulged, fries, cake, etc. and only gain a few lbs. When they go back to protocol they lose right away.

The losses on such low calories set your body up to gain very quickly when carbs are readily available again.

Sorry you're not losing as quickly as you hoped. You're still beating that 0.5lbs a day Simeon's says is average. How much do you have to lose? The closer you are to goal the slower it goes!!

I played it by-the-book my first 23 days, but I'm more rogue now .

[BusyMomOf4]

Originally Posted by julieboolie

The losses on such low calories set your body up to gain very quickly when carbs are readily available again.

This is not necessarily true (at least not for everyone). My first round was 40 days (Simeon's protocol). I lost 25 pounds (an average of 0.62 per day). I did P3 by the book, and did P4 (slowly easing into it) for about 6 weeks through Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had plenty of good carbs in P4, and around Christmas even some not so good ones. I was able to maintain in my 2 lb window. I believe that it (the protocol) truly re-set my metabolism.

I am on day 20 (VLCD18) of R2, and I have lost 10.2 (an average of 0.57 per day) from my pre-load weight. I am losing slower this time, but I believe that is because I have a cold that I just cannot get rid of (might even be a sinus infection by now). Plus, yesterday I woke up to a 0.6 lb gain, but I had gone to the stock show which meant walking for about 3 1/2 hours (carrying my 27 lb son for about half of that time).

I have done LC before - Atkins, South Beach, Carb Addicts. Also, I am hypothyroid and on meds, so the gal/company I bought my drops from said I might lose slower than most.

We have to remember that everyone is different. I've been amazed at that by seeing how certain foods affect me, but affect others differently (one example... I can't do cottage cheese on P2. It makes me gain, and I'm hungrier the next day).

Well... I hope this helps someone.

[lucky_d]

Eventually my hope is to be able to eat a Mediterranean style diet, which includes whole grains. So I will be slowly adding these foods during the time I am on the drops and monitoring the results. My goal is to learn moderation, which I have had a problem with on certain foods. I'm only about 6 pounds away from an easy maintenance weight for me so I am going to use this time to re-train my eating habits, with the assistance of the drops of course!

Once I am at a happy maintenance weight for awhile (stable), THEN I will go back and try the protocol again. If by some miracle I am able to get to 145 during the learning moderation phase I will be at my ultimate goal weight and will strive to maintain there. I don't want to try to get lower than that because I start looking like a bobblehead

I don't know how long all this will take or how long it will be okay to keep taking the drops, but I would like to just stay on them until I get to 145, then wean myself off them. I don't want to go off them, change my diet, then get back on them, change it back, etc. That's too complicated for my poor brain!