HCG Alternative Plans week of 1/24/11

[phxheelgirl]

Just posting an update today...for some CRAZY reason I am so not hungry today. Its 2:15 here and I had to FORCE myself to cram in my raw veggies. Have zero desire to eat. Thats so rare for me...even on that plan! Yay! I'll take it!

[laceymichelle]

Originally Posted by droy

Ok ladies, I am not abandoning you but I am going to be better for the next 4 weeks. in the first 4 weeks I only lost 12 lbs and I am 17 from goal so time to behave! :P I know my weekend cheats are to blame (along with my sucky willpower). But I really don't want to think about doing another round. SO I am still here, just doing shakes and no more cheating

Droy, are you having shakes for meals? Did I misunderstand? If so, what is aloud?

[laceymichelle]

im also curious about taking hcg while doing a low calorie atkins style diet. HWC in my coffee a burger sans the bun for lunch or tuna with mayo/celery. has anyone had luck doing this?

[Deb294evr]

Originally Posted by laceymichelle

im also curious about taking hcg while doing a low calorie atkins style diet. HWC in my coffee a burger sans the bun for lunch or tuna with mayo/celery. has anyone had luck doing this?

Yes Ma'am! There are several who have posted in past weeks threads who do something exactly like this with great results. You may want to check out some older threads or they may pop in with an update!

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by laceymichelle

im also curious about taking hcg while doing a low calorie atkins style diet. HWC in my coffee a burger sans the bun for lunch or tuna with mayo/celery. has anyone had luck doing this?

That's pretty much how I do it, just limiting the fatty items so I can really get in plenty of protein and keep it under 600 calories or so. Not a coffee girl so don't use much cream. Been using sour cream as a condiment, along with the old hcg standby sweetened mustard.

[mermaid]

Originally Posted by laceymichelle

im also curious about taking hcg while doing a low calorie atkins style diet. HWC in my coffee a burger sans the bun for lunch or tuna with mayo/celery. has anyone had luck doing this?

So far so good for me. Instead of mayo, I used cottage cheese with my tuna. I use cream in my coffee, so I am trying not to add much more fat than that because it gets the calories too high. I'm still a newby, though, and plan to evolve my plan over time to what works best for me. I definitely will not be eating the fruit or bread, though. The first round I tried with that was awful.

[laceymichelle]

thanks! I think i will try this way. what I am confused about though is the fact that protocol says NO FATS! and even to change hygiene products or??? what's that about? guess Ill be posting on this board now thanks

[julieboolie]

Lacymichelle-We're not totally convinced that protocol is the ONLY way to lose while supplementing with HCG. I did 23 days on protocol and had great results, but was starving, miserable, dizzy etc. I am now doing my own plan, about 600-800 cals a day, low-carb. I do half/half in my coffee (my bfast), LC yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. I don't add fat intentionally, but I don't eliminate it. I will cook in broth if I have it, or a little butter if I don't. I haven't really had much cheese, no nuts, not much mayo or sour cream, b/c of the calories like the otherd said. We're all scientists here experimenting on ourselves . Generally speaking, since you're so close to goal, you'll lose more slowly than some of the others, and with the higher cals that'll slow you down a bit too. Keeping it in perspective it's a nice way to lose weight relatively quickly!

Made chicken divan for the fam. Smelled good, but I packaged the leftovers into little containers for lunches in the future. Cooking LC for the fam, since my dd's are gluten free now, gives me good frozen leftovers for when I'm in P3. It's a win-win. Dh hasn't even complained .

Better show a loss tomorrow. TOM is nearly out of the house, and I've been hovering at the same weight for a few days now. I need to lose this last 2lbs. C'mon body, give it up!!

[minimonkey]

I am starting some light workouts tonight... Lotte Berk method tapes -- I am sure it will be humbling, considering I was in pretty killer shape when I last worked out, but this is a good step. If I am gaining lean muscle, I will worry a lot less what the scale has to say!

[paulabob]

Hope everyone stayed strong today. I did good...feel some of the loading weight is already off (snuck a peek at the scale). I am so glad I found steaks on sale...so much more satisfying to eat on vlcd's than chicken or lowfat burgers!

[julieboolie]

Originally Posted by phxheelgirl

Just posting an update today...for some CRAZY reason I am so not hungry today. Its 2:15 here and I had to FORCE myself to cram in my raw veggies. Have zero desire to eat. Thats so rare for me...even on that plan! Yay! I'll take it!

Oddly enough, me too! I had to make myself finish my P2 chili at lunch, and my boss commented on how small my lunch was. I was so full! Very unusual. And for dinner I didn't really feel like eating, so I made a protein shake. I even had a lot of energy (having had very little sleep last night) and cleaned the house! That never happens (ask dh ). Maybe I'm in burning mode? that would be nice . I started taking EFAs and mag/ca/D the past 2 days. Maybe that's it? Just happy . I'm sure you'll be down nicely tomorrow .

Originally Posted by minimonkey

I am starting some light workouts tonight... Lotte Berk method tapes -- I am sure it will be humbling, considering I was in pretty killer shape when I last worked out, but this is a good step. If I am gaining lean muscle, I will worry a lot less what the scale has to say!

I am anxious to get back to eating more so I can start lifting. Been reading a lot and getting all revved up to do it, but know I can't start a weight training plan on 600cals/day!! You're doing great!! Not familiar w/ Lotte Berk, is it resisitance training?

Paula-sounds yummy! I tend to have portion control problems with steak , but am looking forward to this weekend on P3!! Enjoy!

[Tazcat]

Originally Posted by lucky_d

I just realized I should probably be posting here now instead of the P2 Newbies thread. I'm not really doing P2 anymore and I guess I'm not a newbie. I'm calling my plan P2.5, which entails taking the drops and doing P2-style meals as the norm, but I eat egg whites for breakfast and will have a "normal" dinner (portion controlled) a few times a week. I'm aiming for 3 weeks of P2.5 and hope to lose 2 pounds a week. I am also increasing my exercise to help spur my metabolism on and use up some of the extra calories.

I ended my P2 at 160.2 with a loss of 9 pounds over the 3 week period. Then I went out to eat this weekend and gained 1.2 lbs and am still there at 161.4 today.

Mini I can't believe that about the 1.2. That totally sucks! Was that right after the apple day or the next day? I am confused about which day and wondering about the effectiveness of the apple day. It seems to me that anyone would lose weight on the apple day with no water. You'd just be really low on water!

This is really interesting.

I did P2 last Feb-April with fantastic results.
Since then I've seen so much main stream in doctor's offices - and often with calorie intakes of around 800.

I decided that if i need to this round I will add egg whites for breakfast. I'd rather add a protein than cheat and go off plan.


I just completed VLCD1 for this round.

Nice to meet you all (i grew up in North Dallas btw)


I have to alternate my protein a bit as I cannot eat fish (allergies) and I am so totally burned out on chicken it's an occasional thing. So i have my little rubber meat patties (nom nom nom ) and cottage cheese - i pretty much lived on them last time.

[nori71]

So, I haven't been following Dr S protocol, not for 1 day, instead I've been upping protein, eating low carb and low fat, and staying at 800 calories with a couple high days at around 1000 ... I had lost 16 pounds in 18 days on vlcd (after loading).

I say HAD because today I had a TOTALLY off any sort of plan day. I tracked it in Livestrong, but still couldn't stop it even when journaling.

I ate 1692 calories today and feel awful. 228 gm carbs, 60 g fat! The problem was a bunch of Sabra pine nut hummus and pita chips. And I didn't even eat dinner. I am stuffed, feeling bad about messing it up, but owning up to it right away and taking my power back. I don't have another choice but to continue! :-) NO RETREAT!

Crazy thing is this wouldn't even be considered a *binge* on any other diet where a calorie is just a calorie. :-( I have no idea what this will do to the scale tomorrow.

Should I just end this round here - at 21 days including load and just go to p3? Or should I continue with the drops even though it will probably take me a week to get this off now?

Any advice is appreciated!

[minimonkey]

Julie -- Yes, Lotte Berk is resistance training... very much like the Bar Method/Callanetics/etc. if you are familiar with those. These tapes are easy by comparison to some of the ones I used to do, but I certainly felt it tonight! It felt great to be working my muscles again, but I am way out of shape

Of course, now I am starving, and just going to live with that for the night.

I have two more weeks of p2, and then I can start doing some harder workouts. This is not a bad time to start working up to that, though.

[minimonkey]

Lucky -- the apple day made me lose a full pound, and then gain 1.2 the next day. I drank water/tea/coffee throughout it, so I don't know that it was dehydration... and the rebound gain may be PMS, as I am pretty sure I am about to begin TOM in the next couple of days. (Then again, who knows, with my cycle.)

I am going to try not to stress it -- on this little food, fat has to be coming off, even if it isn't showing on the scale right now. I know that working out will confound the equation, too, with muscles retaining water and all that... but if I am stalled anyhow, I may as well work out! It will certainly force me to be less hung up on the scale.

[Mimosa23]

Morning all! Again just a quick update, work is catching up with me!

I had a down day yesterday and was not hungry at all.
Maybe ate about 600 cals. Dropped 2.5lbs!!!!!!!!
Only 5.1lbs to goal!

Today I want to do an up day, but so far I've not been hungry at all. Tried to eat my scrambled eggs, only managed about a third and then felt full. I will just have to wait and see how the day goes on!
I'm not going to force an up day when my body is not needing the extra calories.

Well, have a great day today, everyone!
xxx

[minimonkey]

Great going Mimosa!!!!!!!!!!!!! Major congrats!

Nori -- I have no idea what to tell you -- I have had such a long stall that I am terrified of veering much off protcol at all. Hopefully one of the experts will come along and chime in.... and you are right.. that wasn't an actual binge -- it was eating pretty normally for a single day. Maybe the scale will be kinder than you think.... I hope so!

[fembomb]

Originally Posted by michaela*

Hey all! More of a lurker than a poster here but I am friends with droy! Hey girl!! Anyway, wanted to chime in regarding the Omaha Med Spa plan with Dr. Abbott, first of all that dude is a quack. I did went to his clinic, dropped $450 only to figure out the plan on my own.

Here is a basic recap of why he is a quack and why I would never follow his plan...The prefilled syringes he gave me were never a consistent dose, some would have .5cc and some would have .6 yet all were supposed to have 125IU.

The first day I went there he said they did IM shots but then he handed me a 1/2" needle to do my first injection there in the office. Um yeah not an IM shot for someone that weighed 242.2 pounds. He did get me a 1" needle but only because the HCG came out of the injection site and onto my leg.

The next issue was when I was very very hungry I called his clinic and his wife (the office manager who also did the diet) told me hunger was normal and whoever said hunger wasn't normal doesn't know what they are doing. I believed her and 3 days later I was so hungry that I called again to speak with the doc but of course he was "with a patient" and she said he would call me back. Each time I have been in that office there was never another patient in there. Never. Anyway, that afternoon I got a call back from his nurse who I had never met before and she asked if I was the one calling about the appetite suppressant. I was completely confused and said yeah the HCG diet because that is what I thought she meant by a suppressant. Nope, she said she wanted to put me on Phenetermine and when I asked her if that was the same thing as Phen Phen back in the day she said no it had nothing to do with Phenetermine. Well of course I am not dumber than a box of rocks and when there is Phen in the name I went ahead and google and found what it was. I am very sensitive to stuff like that and even asked the nurse if it would do anything to my heart and she said no. She told me to take half a pill each day and that my hunger would go away. I finally asked another HCG board that I am on and they said not to do that and hunger was not good and that my dose was wrong. So I called back and spoke to another person in their office and told them I wasn't taking the Phen as it made me hyped up and I only got about 4 hours a sleep because of it. It also made my heart race and I felt higher than a kite. LOL! Anyway, she put me on hold so she could talk to Dr. Abbott, she comes back and says "he wants you to double your dose so do one shot in the morning and one shot in the afternoon." WHAT?! Take 250IU of HCG because of my hunger? Again not dumber than a box of rocks so I asked the boards again and that is when I quit going to him. They told me the additional HCG would be $30 more per week so what I did was bought all the HCG, put the extra HCG into a sterile vial and drew it up myself so I knew I was getting a consistent amount.

I did lose weight on the diet but I only did his rogue plan for about 10 days.

You all can do your own research and decide what you want to do but just wanted to warn you about this doctor and his way of thinking. He isn't the brightest I can tell you that.

Heya

i think you related your experience on another forum..
bc this is the second time i have read it..
so sorry you had to go thru all that
BUT..
i dont think that discounts the information gathered..
bc all that is said in that link makes
Far More sense to me ..
than the original ..

the info i read at the link..
basically put into words what i am seeing all over the internet
with those HCGers off the beaten path ..
so i think the info is pretty good stuff..
dont know if you were saying it isnt..
But wanted to add that some quacks have Very Accurate..
Even the Most Accurate information..
they are just whacked and cannot execute anything properly

[Danceruk]

Checking in for the morning

Wiped out... such a bad headache the past 3 days... erk! Moving house is so stressy! Glad my sis is coming to help me at the weekend

Menu for today
1 pack of Quorn beef slices
Loads of tangerines
Eggs
1 rice cake

Weigh in later..was late out the door again lol Have a good day all

Julieboolie.. I am gonna go back to my usual 3 day split for weight training from Thursday! Really miss it!

TTFN x

[Deb294evr]

So good to see so many new faces here! The famous Tazcat! ( hi Becky! ) You don't know me from a hill o beans, but always enjoy reading your posts in the PG. Glad you are here! Adding extra protein was the only way I could get through round 1 ! Still had a pound a day loss!

Julie, you put everything into words beautifully on how the alternative thread works.. It is whatever experiment WE as individuals want to try. It is through trial and error that we figure it out for US.

So many folks here have done tremendous amounts of research... I love being informed, and everything all of you are adding to the discussion is helping someone else! I wish I had time to do some individual posts, but I must get to the salt mines here soon.. ( Accountant in Tax Season is busy)

Down 3.6 pounds today, since I got more serious yesterday! I will update my stats at the end of the week, but this is weight I already lost... BOOOOOOOOO... Oh well, new attitude, new week, new ME..

[laceymichelle]

i think i will do protocol without fruit and without melba. I am going to add HWC in my coffee in the am (one cup) to replace. We will see.

[Sun_Luvin]

Welcome Taz!! Good luck!!

Originally Posted by laceymichelle

i think i will do protocol without fruit and without melba. I am going to add HWC in my coffee in the am (one cup) to replace. We will see.

I continue to have a SF Vanilla Latte from McDonalds every single day. Today I have officially lost 20 pounds since December 4th. That was having my "cheat" meals every now and then, eating what I wanted to through Christmas and New Years. I find that I lose better on days I eat more than 500 calories (but I don't count, I just "know" what I'm eating) and I don't lose on days I restrict myself.

It is all very individual, but I think once you find your "groove" you will be very happy with this plan. Good luck!!

[minimonkey]

Out the door early after an all nighter (due to a tight deadline) -- eschewing the scale this morning. If there's a loss, I can find out about it tomorrow

Happy day to everyone... Lacy, hope this is easy and smooth for you!

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by Deb294evr

Down 3.6 pounds today, since I got more serious yesterday! I will update my stats at the end of the week, but this is weight I already lost... BOOOOOOOOO... Oh well, new attitude, new week, new ME..

Me too...but so glad to lose it quick! I'd down 3.4 pounds from yesterday...yesterday I was up 3.2 pounds! Still 1.6 above my low on Saturday. Hope it will come off just as quick. Looking at it as progress from the last week...I am .8 down from 7 days ago. I'm hoping my loading Sunday is doing something good for my metabolism.

I find it very interesting that my body hits the same #s, down to the .2 pound, so often.

I can't wait to get out of the 140s. I've been in the 140s since December 17th. LONG ENOUGH! The same upper 5 pounds of the 140s too, and I'm ready to move to the lower 140s for sure! Today I'm at 145.8, day 16 vlcd, week 4.

Hope we all blast thru these weights. Really hope to see mini and Julie move down too.

[Gremom]

Morning everyone!

I was down .5 this morning so that puts me at 40lbs!! That is crazy to think that I have lost all that! I am very excited. And this is my pre prego weight before DS, who will be 3 next month.

I have determined that I just can't do very low cal days. I am doing a low carb/low fat type diet. I am not tracking my cals either. I get super obsessive and that just doesn't work. If I can lose 3-4lbs a week until I reach goal, I will be super happy. I find that I am not super hungry either so I don't eat a lot at meals. And I need to eat breakfast so I don't eat late at night. TOM is coming in a week or so and I am totally pms'ing. Poor DH has the week off and has to deal with my grumpiness. :blush: Oh well, he's dealt with it before!

Paula- I can't wait to get out of the 140's either...been here waaaaay tooooo loooooong!

Hope that everyone has a great day!

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by Gremom

I was down .5 this morning so that puts me at 40lbs!! That is crazy to think that I have lost all that! I am very excited. And this is my pre prego weight before DS, who will be 3 next month.

Congrats on 40! That is fantastic!

[laceymichelle]

Originally Posted by Gremom

Morning everyone!

I was down .5 this morning so that puts me at 40lbs!! That is crazy to think that I have lost all that! I am very excited. And this is my pre prego weight before DS, who will be 3 next month.

I have determined that I just can't do very low cal days. I am doing a low carb/low fat type diet. I am not tracking my cals either. I get super obsessive and that just doesn't work. If I can lose 3-4lbs a week until I reach goal, I will be super happy. I find that I am not super hungry either so I don't eat a lot at meals. And I need to eat breakfast so I don't eat late at night. TOM is coming in a week or so and I am totally pms'ing. Poor DH has the week off and has to deal with my grumpiness. :blush: Oh well, he's dealt with it before!

Paula- I can't wait to get out of the 140's either...been here waaaaay tooooo loooooong!

Hope that everyone has a great day!

Gremom- I like your plan and your way of thinking

[Gremom]

Originally Posted by laceymichelle

Gremom- I like your plan and your way of thinking

This is kinda what I did the first round, but I obsessed about calories and then I got sick and couldn't continue, but I lost about 7lbs in just over 2 weeks. That works for me. I say join me and we can do this together! Everyone here has great plans, you just have to find what works for you and I really like eating LC. Good luck to you!

[julieboolie]

Stacey-yeah!! Congrats sweetie!!

Paula and Deb-don't knock re-losing quickly. One time I couldn't get that weight back off so easily and it was really scary . Keep going, you're doing great!!

Paula-thanks for the hope

Mini-I think a day off from the scale is a good idea. Get some sleep ! You're likely a bit sore and using some water to repair those muscles!

Sun-good way to look and it and congrats on your losses!!

laceymichelle-sounds like a good plan. Hope it works well for you!

dancer-you need a break!! Moving, headache, you poor little thing! Hope you get some relief today and feel great in the morning!

fembomb-nice to see you. Come share your results with us. Love fellow guinea pigs. I have made similar conclusions through my reading as well. The real "x" factor is that all our bodies are different and react differently to different things: carbs, fats, calories, variations, etc. Finding what works for *you* is key. still working on that but def gotta' skip the fruit/bread - just too hungry w/ it!

nori-you may just get better results in a few days b/c of the reset. Hang in, great job getting right back to it!!

mimosa- Way to go!! nice loss!! Yeah baby!!

Taz-glad to have you here. I'm sure you'll do well!

I was up for almost 2 hours on a work call last night . Even with that, and drinking at 3:00am, I am down 0.6 lbs to 151.6 today ! I'm happy with that at this point, but doubt I'll be all the way down to 149 by Friday morning. That's ok, it's all unchartered weight territory for me and I'm celebrating each little victory. I can actually see the difference. I can see the bones/ribs in my chest now (just noticed that this morning) and my "goal" jeans fit. So even if the number on the scale isn't where I hoped it would be, I'm still proud and happy. But, not done yet . 2 more days!!

Have a good one all!!

[phxheelgirl]

Great job on all the losses girls! So exciting to see some of you so close to goal! I am envious!

I am, however, down 2.2 today for a total loss of 17.4 so far this round! I'm very happy with those results. This is my lowest so far this round. Woo hoo! I'm still 8.8 lbs away from my LDW from R1. So not willing to say its truly uncharted territory...but it is for this round. I've just been lingering in this decade for long enough! I'm SOO ready to cross over 3.6 more lbs into the new decade. Baby steps!