The HCGers exercise thread

[DisneyPrincess]

I was able to get in my weights this afternoon as the kids I watch were picked up early. Yay! Shoulders are on fire.

I'm having trouble sticking to plan over the weekend so I'm going to spend some time tonight coming up with something. I keep losing and gaining the same few pounds over and over!

[minimonkey]

Disney -- I so hear you -- I can stick to clean foods, but I can't seem to make myself do the lower calories... I am up and down the same three or four pounds, and I can't seem to lose a bit right now. This is so hard when one is training any kind of seriously.

I think I am going to have to go tough-love on myself, and just do a protocol round...and if my workouts suffer, so be it. I'm taking a brief non-hhcg p3 break, and then am going to give that a try.

I am, however, starting to look genuinely buff... which is way cool, if I were just leaner as well. As it stands, I think I am looking a little bit beefy...lol.

It isn't the muscle that's the problem, though... it is the fat on top of the muscle.

I'm going to try the up day/down day zigzag while off the hhcg and see what happens... perhaps that is a better approach for me at the moment.

Tentative plan, though, is to resume the p2ing in a couple of weeks, and hit it hard and brutal. As long as I can exercise enough not to lose much muscle, I'll be happy about it... as it stands, I have enough muscle that I could probably spare a little bit if it is the only way to lose the fat.

[nola baxter]

On the subject of losing weight- I just cant do it fast without suffering,
about .5 pd a week is bearable beyond that, I cant tolerate the deficit.

I dont know if that would change if I wasnt training hard- I dont know.

The advantage of the slow loss is that muscle is more likely to be retained, and the metabolic rate stays higher, and the skin has time to adjust slowly.

[nola baxter]

I wowed myself yesterday by being able to bump up all my main lifts on my lower body workout.
straightlegged deadlifts from 85 kg- 95 kg
barbell lunges from 70 kg-80kg
deep squats from 65-67.5kg
ordinary deadlift- from 85 kg - 90 kg
walking barbell lunges from 57.5 - 60 kg.

I dont know if it will be a one-off good day, and whether I will be able to sustain it or not.
But I was truly surprised that I could fairly easily up the weights, and sometimes by 10 kg.

It could be the extra food I have been having over the past week- I have been eating a good 1000 more cals on my loading days..
It is too soon to see the pattern yet, and whether the extra food is the bit making a difference or not. But over time it should be more clear.

I am still watching my body to see if there is evidence of gain from the upping of calories or not.
Hard to tell right now- it is not obvious anyway;
and TOM came today.

[nola baxter]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

LOL about the food and the boyfriend, Nola -- I have no idea why that delights me so much, but it does!

The skiing sounds fun, and I am so excited for your son and you both doing so well -- I love skiing! I haven't had the opportunity to go in a while, but when I was skiing regularly (my ex had a cabin in Tahoe, and we went quite a bit) I had actually gotten reasonably good at it. I could do black slopes pretty well, as long as they were groomed -- I never did get the hang of moguls much, though.

Lol, well I didnt even want to go skiing to start with -I thought it would be too much hassle and too cold!
But I was going for everyone else's sake, and as it turned out, it was all good, and a fine sunny day.

It is funny to eat so much in a world where women are always trying to eat less.
At the gym yesterday I was talking to a male friend, and we were discussing what we ate before we came to the gym.
I said; "I eat masses of food!"
He said; " I bet you dont Nola, I bet you eat hardly anything!"
I laughed at him and said; "Your eyes would pop out of your head if you saw what I ate!!"

[minimonkey]

Wow, Nola -- your lifting just blows me away completely! Congratulations on a truly awesome workout!! I hope to have half your strength someday.

As for the guy at the gym... if he only knew what you eat, lol!!!

I was pretty happy with myself today doing weighted squats with a 55 lb barbell -- I could have squatted more, but I couldn't safely lift more over my head, even with my roommate spotting me. I definitely need to get some squat stands.

I feel fantastic after my workout -- now I have to head for the shower and go to a night class. Worked legs and shoulders -- I suspect my shoulders may be sore tomorrow -- I worked them all the way to fatigue. I am starting to get some nice shoulder definition, which is most evident right after working out.

I wish I could just relax and be patient about the fat loss-- it'll come. I know slow and steady is better in the long run... sigh.

[minimonkey]

I think you hit it right on the head about why your eating delights me, Nola -- I love it when women get to break those rules that society imposes on us. We are trained from day one, just about, that we are not supposed to eat much -- and I love it when someone can eat like you, and still have a totally killer body as well!

[gymbunnie1]

Hey guys! I am new to this site but I've read lots of threads on here to help me through my low carb life . I'm starting HCG tomorrow and I'm so excited, but I have a few questions first.

Actually, before the questions, I just want to give a little background history so you'll be able to understand my Q's better. Well I'm sure you guys can all relate - for the past 3 years been dealing with annoying eating disorders which have left my weight UP and of course down. And all that under eating and over eating and in between eatings has left my metabolism... zilch. So in March or so I decided that I would leave my eating disorders behind and move on with life, and lose the weight I had gained. I have about 20-30 pounds to lose. However, my body didn't really agree with me, and since then Ive been working out every day and eating so low, yet the weight still remains . Sorry more like >. lol.

So I was recommended hCG to help me correct my hypothalamus and get my weight loss going. However, I'm not too thrilled about the 500 calorie diet thing. I'm an avid gym goer (cardio 30-40 mins 5-6 days / week, weight lifting 60 mins 3x / week). Obviously, eating 500 calories and sustaining my work outs would lead to disaster... health wise and hunger wise and just psychologically wise.

So I'm wondering, what are you guys all doing? I don't want to give up my exercise, because its taken me years to get this routine going, and I feel really good when I do it (and when I look good in my spandex work out clothes ) lol. Before this weight crept on lol.

So I'm wondering, instead of the 500 protocol, can I eat my exercise calories back? So say if I burn 300-400 cals, can I have maybe 800-900 cals? And if I burn, we'll go on a whim here, 900 cals (just for example), then I can have 1400 cals? Just eating back what I burn really. But does it work like that, or will I just have stalls and not lose anything?

Also, did you guys stick to the protocol food list? Its SO restrictive. Right now, my diet is pretty much the same minus the melba toast stuff... lean proteins, veggies, fruits, low/non fat dairies, cottage cheese, whole grains (not very many... keepin it low carb Ummm OH and of course, healthy fats, PB, and the protein plus defatted peanut flour similar to PB2... greek yogurt, you know. So maybe I could eat these same foods, just 800-1000 calories of them. Keep my ratios around 50% protein, 25% fat, 25% carb. Will I still lose steadily on hcg?

Also, I read somewhere that exercise goers have a better chance of keeping off the weight after p2 and into p3 and p4. Do you guys find this to be true? the last thing I'd want is to lose AGAIN and regain AGAIN. I'm going to do it right this time.

Okay and lastly, when it comes to maintenance phase... how did you guys go about increasing your cals? Did you do it gradually like 200-300 cals / week from your starting cals on p2? So if I ate 800-1000 on p2, worked out 300-400 of it, net of 500, then in p3/4 continued work outs and raised 200 / week, up to my maintenance which I've calculated to be 2000-2200. Gradual increases + work outs?

Okay guys!!! I'm SO sorry for all these questions, I am just so inquisitive about this, and SO anxious to start ! ! ! Looking forward to reading your thoughts.

Oh and if you have any advice for p1/2/3/4 please shout out! I want to know everything I can about this! Thank you so much all of you. Take care now.

[gymbunnie1]

No answers...

[DisneyPrincess]

Originally Posted by gymbunnie1

No answers...

Sometimes we are on here very sporadically. I'm really busy so only check in when I can, usually once a day or so. People will come chime in

I'll tell you though that I personally eat more than what's on protocol, especially more protein when I workout. Most people on this thread in particular really do their own thing with the hHCG as a supplement. My advice is to read around and see what you think can work for you that you can stick with

[gymbunnie1]

Originally Posted by DisneyPrincess

Sometimes we are on here very sporadically. I'm really busy so only check in when I can, usually once a day or so. People will come chime in

I'll tell you though that I personally eat more than what's on protocol, especially more protein when I workout. Most people on this thread in particular really do their own thing with the hHCG as a supplement. My advice is to read around and see what you think can work for you that you can stick with

Gotcha. Thanks for the reply! Do you eat closer to 500 or 1000? And is it more of your own type protein - maybe greek yogurt or protein shake, or is it the protocol proteins?

I just feel that on 500 calories I would go crazy trying to plan meals and figure out what i can and cannot eat.

[julieboolie]

I'm not working out as hard as you are, and I can usually be found eating around 700 cals/day on my workout days. I do get hungrier those days and imagine you will too. The other days I try to stick closer to 500-600cals.

I'd say experiment and see how you feel. The lower cals are key to losing scale weight for me, but others seem to do well enough around 1000cals.

If this is your first round of hcg I'd suggest trying to stick closer to the written plan. You may find you'll need to scale back your workouts while on the diet, but it's only 3 weeks and you can go back to your more intense workouts once you're through it.

Good luck!! It's worked well for me and I'm a long time LCer. Mini and Nola will likely chime in soon .

[gymbunnie1]

Originally Posted by julieboolie

I'm not working out as hard as you are, and I can usually be found eating around 700 cals/day on my workout days. I do get hungrier those days and imagine you will too. The other days I try to stick closer to 500-600cals.

I'd say experiment and see how you feel. The lower cals are key to losing scale weight for me, but others seem to do well enough around 1000cals.

If this is your first round of hcg I'd suggest trying to stick closer to the written plan. You may find you'll need to scale back your workouts while on the diet, but it's only 3 weeks and you can go back to your more intense workouts once you're through it.

Good luck!! It's worked well for me and I'm a long time LCer. Mini and Nola will likely chime in soon .

Yay! Thank you for advice Yes my first round of hCG. LOL. This WHOLE summer I've been dieting and working out but haven't shed a single pound... So I would say that I'm coming from dieting but then went on vacay this week end and got home today, weighed in 6 pounds over my weight before vacation ! ! !

So tomorrow is my load day and TBH I'm not so thrilled about having to eat MORE. You can imagine I'm just about sick of comfort foods and fatty foods right now from time off on vacation. But... just gotta do it I guess. It makes me want to do the VLCD even more lol.

Okay. I heard that as long as you keep a ratio around 50% protein, 25% carbs, 25% fats, eat under 1000 you should be fine (if you're a gym go-er). But you're right - I want to stick with protocol best I can so I don't deviate much.

I think that for the first week or so I will start with 600-700, and do my work outs. Maybe cut them in half length wise, or intensity wise. We'll see how my body responds. I just don't want to stall quickly, or lose slowly or something.

Do you think you can eat more and burn off the cals in work outs, or does it not work like that?

[DisneyPrincess]

You shouldn't use the workouts to burn off the calories, but I suppose eating so little it would be ok. When I did my first round I stuck close to protocol but really scalped back my workouts. When I moved to p3 I revamped and then my second round I did more my own thing

[gymbunnie1]

Originally Posted by DisneyPrincess

You shouldn't use the workouts to burn off the calories, but I suppose eating so little it would be ok. When I did my first round I stuck close to protocol but really scalped back my workouts. When I moved to p3 I revamped and then my second round I did more my own thing

Okay. Oh I think I'll do this. I'll do walks instead of heavy cardio, and eat 500 on those days. I'll do LIGHT lifting not heavy anymore, and add 100 cals more - a protein shake - to make 600 cals. I just don't want to gain weight on p3 - and maybe I'll revamp like you on p3.

By the way, LOVE your name Disney Princess. I love them all, and love to sing their songs. Who's your favorite? Mine's Belle or Ariel.

edit*** I'm starting to think that it is SO imp. to follow protocol with 500 cals... if you feel the need to work out intensely, maybe this diet isn't the right one. But I feel like the 500 cals + hcg is what makes it what it is. Increasing cals for work out needs, that's a whole new diet... I don't know, just me 2 cents!

[minimonkey]

This is a choice only you can make -- many people do okay on a modified protocol, but most of us who have experiemented have had some ups and downs along the way.

I do know that there is no way I could sustain hard workouts on strict protocol for very long.... good luck in making a decision.

[DisneyPrincess]

I guess basically it is a whole new diet if you dont follow strict protocol BUT, you are still using the hHCG so that will help.

Running tonight as Dh had duty overnight. I didn't want ti get up this morning at 6am so I'm glad I didn't have ti get up to run at 4am!

[gymbunnie1]

I think I will stick to protocol for the first week at least. If I get bored and think I'm going to divert from the plan, I will probably do some cardio and add in an extra protein. Thanks !

Today was my first loading day. The pellets didn't dissolve, even after 30 minutes, no joke. I've read that people crunch them and let them dissolve more under their tongue. So I did that, and in seconds, they were gone... I hope I did this right

[minimonkey]

Gymbunnie -- I do that with my pellets --otherwise they literally never dissolve. I think it's fine... and your plan sounds good.

[minimonkey]

Nola and Disney --

OMG, I cannot thank you ladies enough for inspiring me to go heavier with the weights. That was EXACTLY what my workout plan needed.

(This next part is a cross-post from the alternative plans thread...)

I just took a good look at myself full length and naked, and I absolutely cannot believe what I saw.... I have dropped a lot of the systemic inflammation in the last few days (a good systemic enzyme complex, and cutting out the dairy did it, I think) -- and WHOA!

My abs have pulled way in, and I now have not only a flat stomach, but also a small waist, and a the beginnings of truly defined 4-pack, that is aspiring to be a 6 pack.

My glute and hamstring muscles are getting definition (WHAT? That has never happened before!) My butt is actually high on my body. My arms, my calves, my quads... everything is starting to show definition.

So -- I hopped on the scale... and guess what? It hasn't budged and inch all week... I am at 120.8. this morning.

HERE'S to 120.8, then. Yahooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

[minimonkey]

I am on my second day off the hhcg, and was planning to shoot for a "real" round of p2after my body had an hhcg break... but I may have to rethink that. It is visually clear that I am leaning out and losing fat, and that is definitely the goal here. It seems like a whole bunch of stockiness just dropped off almost overnight!

I will see if the leaning out continues off the hhcg... if it doesn't, I think I am going to go back on it, but just keep doing what I've been doing... clearly it is working. I don't want to tank my metabolism, and if this is what patience yields, then I can be more than okay with that.

In other news, I am pretty sore this morning I still hope to get a workout in this afternoon, but I think it will be something without much upper body action... my entire upper body is feeling the last couple of days' workouts.

I might... might... be up for the butts and guts one -- it is a super glute-fest, but my glutes really don't feel particularly fatigued, even after a lot of lower body work yesterday. Failing that, it'll be an isometrics workout, or rebounding if my roommate is up for that.

At the moment, cardio sounds fun... we'll see if I still feel that way after I get back from school.

[nola baxter]

Gymbunnie

I am with the others, you will have to experiment to find out what works for you in terms of calories and working out.

I am one who could not stick with low calories and still train hard. I absolutely cant do it, though some seem able to..

So see how you go, and if you are getting too depleted, ie, hungry , weak, starving exhausted etc. , then either back off the exercise or raise calories.

Good luck
Nola

[nola baxter]

Mini
Yay on the body improvements, and heavy weights!!
I had a feeling you might be leaner than what you thought- because you have talked about looking more buff, and seeing more definition ;
and those things usually only happen when fat is being lost somewhere.
If I was you I would keep carrying along as you are and go for the more gradual route.
It may be slower, but easier on the body and more sustainable, and your body will probably look better in the long term- ie, better tone and muscle.


Sometimes that whole "drop-off thing" - almost overnight - happens to me.
It is great when it does, although it is confusing beforehand when it looks like you are not losing weight, or even looking fatter.

At the moment I am looking leaner in the abs and hips and bigger in the butt.
I am confused as to whether I have gained fat, or am just going through some stage where I have leaned out but am holding swelling in the butt for some reason.
But apart from that, my body looks fairly static- my upper body does not seemed to have changed much that I can see.
I will see how it looks in another week.
My intense diet and bumping up the weights must be having effects on the body. It may need to adjust somewhat.

Interestingly enough overall GI function has improved for me over the last week...
My hypothesis is that intaking large amounts of food forces the body to adapt and get better and faster at processing food - in all kind of ways.
I am definitely getting better at eating more food! which may be a dubious benefit from some points of view..lol

[DisneyPrincess]

Yay Mini!!! I'm so happy for you

Serious weight training was and is the only thing that truly gives me a decent look. I'm glad you caught on and are seeing some awesome results

[minimonkey]

Thanks, both of you!

Yes, that sudden drop off thing is strange -- I suspect it is water retention that eventually goes away, revealing new leanness underneath.

Nola, could it be that your butt only looks bigger in comparison to your leaning out in other areas? That is definitely happening to me right now. My butt is actually smaller, but it isn't losing as quickly as my abs and hips, and so it looks bigger by comparison.

You know, what has always stopped me from lifting much in the past is that I get to a certain point, start looking bulky, panic, and quit -- and that was with much more moderate weights than I am using now.

This time, I have enough faith in the process to trust that a bizillion bodybuilders can't be wrong in saying that I will lean back out once I gain more muscle -- and that really seems to be true.

I've also embraced the idea that my body wants to build muscle, and that is a gift...so I am going to let it build, and work with that.

[minimonkey]

Cathe's Butts and Guts completed .... That is a darn good glutes workout, and pretty great on the abs as well.

I am hungry today, and just going ahead and eating -- I will shoot for a low calorie day tomorrow.

I do hope the crazy hunger is not going to come back now that I am off the hhcg, though.... it was very nice having that be quieted.

[minimonkey]

Well, I ended up doing another 20 minutes or so of that tape last night -- a bonus section that I used as a break from the couch-sitting of writing a paper... and I am SORE today! It takes a lot to make me sore, but nearly two hours of concerted exercise seems to have done it

Perhaps against all good advice, I am going to do one last round of p2... and going protocol at that, with the exception of dropping the grain, and adding a little more protein to compensate for workouts.

This is my last shot at hhcg, before I put it away for a long break .. so I am going to give it all I've got. I hope my workouts don't suffer unduly... I want to at least maintain my current muscle mass as much as possible.

Will keep you all updated... I'm back on the hhcg, and p2 begins in earnest tomorrow.

I have three weeks off school before the next semester starts, and it seems the ideal time to do it.

[nola baxter]

Originally Posted by minimonkey

I think you hit it right on the head about why your eating delights me, Nola -- I love it when women get to break those rules that society imposes on us. We are trained from day one, just about, that we are not supposed to eat much -- and I love it when someone can eat like you, and still have a totally killer body as well!

Yeah, I love breaking the rules! lol

I have been thinking about it , and I think we are trained to "corral" our bodies, to contain and restrain them according to some acceptable mold. And this ends up corralling a lot of our energy too.

If women have a better sense of their power and worth, based on who they are;
and not based on whether or not they conform to some ideal or idea's of society,
life could be a whole different ballgame.

And thats why right now I am looking at this idea of being skinny, and pulling myself back from it and thinking : deep in myself, what do I really want?!
I like the lean and muscular look, and I will still go for this, but not by restraining food in such a way that I dont have energy and pizazz.
Right now i am seeing that I have the potential to increase my strength beyond anywhere I have been before, simply by eating more food, and should I sacrifice that for skinniness?!
Food for thought..
Maybe I can get both; simply by following the body's cues.

[nola baxter]

Mini

I still dont know what is happening with my butt- it is actually bigger- one of my commonly worn skirts was tighter yesterday.

But funnily enough, my son watched me pose yesterday, which he hasnt done for a little while - and he gave me an in-depth critique of my body.

He said my butt looked smaller?! And that I had more bobbles in my back (muscle definition), more muscle in my right arm, and some musclier bits in the legs, and that my stomach was flatter around the bottom half (something I have noticed myself)..
lol - all from an 8 yr old boy!
He has a good eye though, because he correctly sees that my right arm has a better bicep than the left.

But like you , I have decided not to panic, regardless of what is happening;
but to accept whatever is going on with my body , keep doing what I am doing, and re-evaluate after another week or two.

I really like your idea of embracing the muscle growth, and accepting it as a gift.
It does seem you have this big potential,
and could far outrun where I am at!

If you can do a low-calorie P2 go for it!
If you cant, you cant..

[minimonkey]

Yeah, I am battling with this whole push/pull, too - part of me is kicking myself for giving in to the "must be thin" part of the game -- but here I go attempting a "real" round of p2 (as opposed to the half-@ssed business I'd been doing.)

I do want the muscles... no doubt about that! But, I also want the serious leanness... and I am willing to corral myself and my needs and desires for a finite period of time to achieve that.

I am hoping I can maintain my current level of strength while I do this-- even if I have to drag myself through my workouts, I am going to try to keep them up.

Hoping this isn't an exercise in disaster....