I'm SO confused.. :(

[AmandaKarrin]

Alright, so.. Anyone who responds to this & helps me, I will LOVE you! I just got my hcg drops in the mail yesterday and I want to start them but I am SO LOST for what I'm supposed to do. They didn't come with any directions or anything.. the bottle just says take 12 drops, 3 times a day. Okay.. got that. Now, I've been doing my reading and I read the Pounds and Inches thing and all and I came on here and read over a lot of threads, etc.. But I don't get all of these phases, etc. Basically what I'm asking is for someone to break it down for me.. these loading days or whatever, before you start.. what do you do for those two days? Just stuff your face? LOL and do you take the drops for those two days or not? Also.. I read that there's phases 3 and 4 where you don't do the drops and someone said you have to wait 6 weeks before starting up another "round" and taking the drops again? I don't want to wait.. I am at 220 and I want to be down to 140. That's 80 lbs.. I really want to do it all at once. Is that possible? Also, my drops are a 2 oz bottle so I don't know how long they will last. If anyone can help me, I'd be soooo grateful! Thank you so much!

[nmbnancy]

Go to the top of these threads and read the one that says "Tips for P2"
You will find good information there.
Yes you take your drops the first day you want to start loading. That day and the next you should eat high fat foods, you can eat as much as you like, but you will be surprised how fast the drops work on suppressing your hunger. Make good food choices, if you just eat junk food, it will be harder for you later on. On the 3rd day start your VLCD. You will find a sample menu on that thread I sent you to. You can do a 40 day phase and even some have done longer before going to P3. P3 is just a stabilizing phase you eat low carb. Then Phase 4 allows you to add starches and sugars back to your diet.
Don't become overwhelmed by the phases, just concentrate on Phase 2. You will have time to learn about the other phases.
You will get also great responses from others here that will answer your other questions

[LilacBruze]

ShelbyLA summed it up quite nicely in this thread:

Phases 2,3,and 4 in a nutshell?

My two cents, homeopathic hcg does not cause immunity issues, so if you can stick it out as long as possible (past even the 40 day long round), I think it is okay to do so. Personally I am going for 60 days. However, you NEED P3 and P4 to seal in the results, so to speak. Without doing so, you'll probably put the weight back on.

[nmbnancy]

Liliac How did you link that thread? I wanted to tell Amanda what ShelbyLA said, but didn't have a clue how to link it

[LilacBruze]

You copy the http address in your browser, and paste it in the "Insert Link" in advanced mode. It's the one with the globe and oval, to the right of "Increase Indent". HTH.

[mymy3377]

Originally Posted by AmandaKarrin

Alright, so.. Anyone who responds to this & helps me, I will LOVE you! I just got my hcg drops in the mail yesterday and I want to start them but I am SO LOST for what I'm supposed to do. They didn't come with any directions or anything.. the bottle just says take 12 drops, 3 times a day. Okay.. got that. Now, I've been doing my reading and I read the Pounds and Inches thing and all and I came on here and read over a lot of threads, etc.. But I don't get all of these phases, etc. Basically what I'm asking is for someone to break it down for me.. these loading days or whatever, before you start.. what do you do for those two days? Just stuff your face? LOL and do you take the drops for those two days or not? Also.. I read that there's phases 3 and 4 where you don't do the drops and someone said you have to wait 6 weeks before starting up another "round" and taking the drops again? I don't want to wait.. I am at 220 and I want to be down to 140. That's 80 lbs.. I really want to do it all at once. Is that possible? Also, my drops are a 2 oz bottle so I don't know how long they will last. If anyone can help me, I'd be soooo grateful! Thank you so much!

You do start dosing on your load the point of those day and while you are loading you want to focus on good fats that will help keep hunger away while your body is adjusting to the HCG in your system for the first few days or so. You can also use loading days to eat some things you normally wouldn't have or you think you will miss while your are on protocol but you should focus on fats.

You stop the drops for P3 and P4, each last 3 weeks after your first round.

P&I recommends not losing more than 34 pounds a round, you want to give your body a break from the rapid weight loss as well as an opportunity for your skin to bounce back. Even without immunity issues 80 pounds in one round is A LOT. I think you should probably think about doing a few rounds to get to your goal but once you start you can go for as long as you feel mentally and physically able to continue. A 2 oz. bottle of drops will last you approximately 40 days give or take a few days if you have to increase/decrease you dosage.

[LilacBruze]

Originally Posted by mymy3377

P&I recommends not losing more than 34 pounds a round, you want to give your body a break from the rapid weight loss as well as an opportunity for your skin to bounce back.

The 34 lbs a round was with rx hcg, but I do agree about giving your body a break. This is my 27th day, and I have lost 19 lbs.

Oh, probably best to state here and now, you will no doubt (like many of us did) need to adjust your expectations from the get go. You read in a lot of places that you can lose 1-2-3 lbs a day, but THAT IS NOT EVERY DAY! Realistically, aim for .5 lb a day on average.

[mymy3377]

Originally Posted by LilacBruze

The 34 lbs a round was with rx hcg, but I do agree about giving your body a break. This is my 27th day, and I have lost 19 lbs.

Yeah I guess I wasn't clear, I was just using as an example of a guideline the OP might want to use in deciding how many rounds to do, my fingers don't type as fast as my thoughts pop up

[CherylB]

YOU MUST READ POUNDS and INCHES before beginning this program. If you try to just "wing it" you will be sorry. Those drops will keep just fine for a few days while you do some serious research. Google "Pounds and Inches" and download the free pdf. Read it! Then read all the stickies at the top of the HCG Forum.

Seriously. Don't go into this like it's some magic potion for weight loss. This is complicated stuff! It works, but you have to know what you are getting into first. OKAY???

[C'Marie]

Let me add my humble opinion. I do know exactly what it feels like to hope that something can work - and to have a lot of weight to lose. I've lost over 100 pounds using hcg. BUT - you have to work with your body. It is alot of work on the body to lose weight! Simply asking your entire body to get with you on this program is a lot of strain on your system - your body is pulling fat out of storage, doing essentially a commando seek and destroy mission, processing toxins, chemicals, extra stuff that is even stored in that fat, and using fat for fuel. You switch over from burning basically whatever your body has access to fastest - ie glucose - and switching to a fat-burning system. That alone is a lot of work for your liver and gallbladder.

You HAVE to give this time, hon. You HAVE to work with your body. The good Dr. who devised this system had 40+ years in clinical practice to observe first-hand what does and does not work, not only the losing phase but the keeping it off part.

Yes, with hhcg, the drops, you CAN be on it longer due to no perceived immunity by the body, but you STILL should strongly consider doing it by the book, following Pounds & Inches protocol, and not extending past 34-40 pounds or 40-60 days. After that, your body may just get tired of it and rebel. We see people end up cheating or not having the results they want sometimes because of it. You need also to set incremental setpoints, so that if you slide, it's not all the way back up, but only part way. You also need to learn to keep that weight off, and maintenance cycles p3/p4 are the perfect way to do that.

You also need to let your skin shrink! Seriously! that takes time. You don't want to lose it all in one big batch.

READ READ READ - and then set your mind and your will to do this thing right

[shelbyla]

Wow that "Phases" thread is getting a lot of play today! Thanks for linking it Lilac!

One other thing... I think someone said that a 2oz bottle of drops lasted for 40 days? I definitely went through mine a LOT faster and I only took the recommended dosage. I ended up using about a bottle and a half (3oz) for 30 days in my first round so I averaged about an ounce every 10 days. I have read a lot of other stories of people running out mid-round. (Also dropping bottles, accidentally deactivating the drops by touching the dropper to their tongue or mouth, etc...) I would strongly encourage you to buy a backup bottle or get some pellets and mix and match.

[LilacBruze]

Pardon me for momentarily hijacking here, but Shelbyla, while I have another unopened bottle in my linen closet, I have been wondering about my existing bottle. I am on VLCD27, and I carry mine around from home to work 5 days a week. I have never dropped it or touched the dropper to anything, but I was wondering if I am de-activating my drops by the subtle movement of going from my closet to my purse to my desk drawer (away from electronics) and back again on these days?

BTW, I have a little less than 1/2 left of my 2oz bottle and (to me) it looks like it will hit right around 40 days.

[shelbyla]

Lilac -

Hmmm...well it's possible that you could have inadvertently deactivated them. If you can afford more for subsequent rounds, you could try opening that bottle. BUT...if you're not hungry, it's probably not the drops. You are recovering from a off-plan deviation last weekend and that can seriously set you back a full week, if not more. JMHO Also as you get closer to the end of a round, your losses can slow considerably. Sometimes, it's week 2, sometimes week three. For you it's looking like week four! Some people's losses pick back up after a stall, some don't. As a reference, my last week of my 38 day round I was perfectly on plan and actually GAINED 3 pounds the last two days. Never cheated or went off plan AT ALL. That's when I decided P3 was calling my name!

[LilacBruze]

Thanks! I didn't know if you would see this so I actually made another thread.

Yeah, I don't have any change in my hunger, and I would think for sure if the drops weren't working, I'd be ravenous!

[shelbyla]

I'd hang in there then with the current drops. See if losses pick back up. If they don't your body may just want the resetting rest of P3. Just something to consider. Why kill yourself with 500 cals if you're not losing?

[AmandaKarrin]

Girls, thank you alllll so much for all of the help and kind words. I'm just so eager to start this diet, that's why I was like oh man, I don't wanna do p3 & p4 but once I start losing weight, I'm sure I'll be more open to doing those phases. I'm just so ready.. I'm almost 24 and I've been struggling with my weight ever since I can remember.. Middle school. Maybe before even. I am just SO ready to kick this weight to the curb. Thank you again, all of you!

[AmandaKarrin]

And Lilac, you think it's okay for me to do 60 days of P2? I think I can stick it out. As long as I can find some recipes & stuff.. I think I'll be alright. I want this more than ANYTHING I have ever, everrrr wanted! Haha

[C'Marie]

Yes, you can do up to 60 days on homeopathic drops as long as you don't go past 34-40 pounds in one round.

Establish a NO CHEAT rule, to make it just outside of your thinking - not one lick, bite, taste or swallow..... Stick to the protocol like glue.

Have you loaded yet? My favorite loading foods:

Avocado, cream cheese, cheesecake, olives, full-fat ritz cracker, pepperoni baked into "chips" with which to scoop more cream cheese etc.... Mexican food with guacamole and sour cream.... and anything really that you want to say goodbye to for 60 days - especially drinks - those go bye-bye too (noticed you are over 21 LOL).

I'm glad to see you are taking control of this when you're half my age. Go Girl!

[AmandaKarrin]

Aww.. thank you girls. You're so supportive! And I haven't loaded yet.. I'm just waiting for my food scale to come in the mail & then I'm going to start. I went grocery shopping today and bought the melba and strawberries and all that stuff. I'm going to print out some of the recipes that are posted on here so that I can get the things I need for those and make more interesting foods so that I don't get bored! Boy, I'm going to miss pasta! I'm Italian.. LOL. I don't think I'll really miss too many other things.

I was reading about watermelon and someone was saying it's okay to eat for one of the fruit choices.. Anyone know if that's true?

[torister]

Originally Posted by AmandaKarrin

I was reading about watermelon and someone was saying it's okay to eat for one of the fruit choices.. Anyone know if that's true?

No, you can't eat watermelon on P2.

[LilacBruze]

Originally Posted by AmandaKarrin

And Lilac, you think it's okay for me to do 60 days of P2? I think I can stick it out. As long as I can find some recipes & stuff.. I think I'll be alright. I want this more than ANYTHING I have ever, everrrr wanted! Haha

I hope it's okay, because that is what I am doing! I have some vacation timing issues and just decided it was better to stick it out for 60 than to try and juggle restaurant food and travel!

It's VLCD 30 for me... halfway there!

[AmandaKarrin]

Alrighty, no watermelon then! That's alright I guess. It's one of my favorite foods.. But I want this (to lose) more than any food!

Lilac, you're doing a great job! I'm happy for you & I hope I can have some good results. I'm determined & I really do want this more than anything! I think I can do the 60 days. My birthday is August 9th so I said I want to do it until my birthday.

[nurseypoo5]

Originally Posted by C'Marie

Let me add my humble opinion. I do know exactly what it feels like to hope that something can work - and to have a lot of weight to lose. I've lost over 100 pounds using hcg. BUT - you have to work with your body. It is alot of work on the body to lose weight! Simply asking your entire body to get with you on this program is a lot of strain on your system - your body is pulling fat out of storage, doing essentially a commando seek and destroy mission, processing toxins, chemicals, extra stuff that is even stored in that fat, and using fat for fuel. You switch over from burning basically whatever your body has access to fastest - ie glucose - and switching to a fat-burning system. That alone is a lot of work for your liver and gallbladder.

You HAVE to give this time, hon. You HAVE to work with your body. The good Dr. who devised this system had 40+ years in clinical practice to observe first-hand what does and does not work, not only the losing phase but the keeping it off part.

Yes, with hhcg, the drops, you CAN be on it longer due to no perceived immunity by the body, but you STILL should strongly consider doing it by the book, following Pounds & Inches protocol, and not extending past 34-40 pounds or 40-60 days. After that, your body may just get tired of it and rebel. We see people end up cheating or not having the results they want sometimes because of it. You need also to set incremental setpoints, so that if you slide, it's not all the way back up, but only part way. You also need to learn to keep that weight off, and maintenance cycles p3/p4 are the perfect way to do that.

You also need to let your skin shrink! Seriously! that takes time. You don't want to lose it all in one big batch.

READ READ READ - and then set your mind and your will to do this thing right

WELL SAID C'MARIE!!!!! I cant agree more! I too came to think i could lose all 80lbs in 2 or 3 rounds. I did lose 25lbs but only did a 21 day round (my other 5lbs came from p3...long story)...I just stopped losing very well, infact i've accidently lost more on p3 then i did my last 2 weeks on p2. That being said YOU MAY NOT GET IMMUNE TO HOMEOPATHIC hcg, but MY BODY DIDNT WANT TO STARVE ANYMORE...so i stopped losing! I'm happy to know i can probably get 60 to 70 off by xmas. I think my body will appreciate me for it.


To the OP, you will soon feel this out for yourself. Most of us have grand ideas for doing this longer than we end up doing it. Its not failure to finish at 23 days or go 60, but for some our bodies asked us to stop and take a break, and its fine to listen. P3 AND P4 are important parts of this process!!!

[nurseypoo5]

Originally Posted by AmandaKarrin

Alrighty, no watermelon then! That's alright I guess. It's one of my favorite foods.. But I want this (to lose) more than any food!

Lilac, you're doing a great job! I'm happy for you & I hope I can have some good results. I'm determined & I really do want this more than anything! I think I can do the 60 days. My birthday is August 9th so I said I want to do it until my birthday.

good goal go for it, but remember we are here if you need us! Please stick around here during your loss, this is THE PLACE TO BE

[LilacBruze]

Nurseypoo... what happened to you was just AWFUL and you were smart to not continue. I have to admit I was a bit worried for you when you were posting that you were so weak and dizzy and am happy that ended.

Amanda, make sure you pay attention to your body and if you need to cut it short, by all means please do so! I have P3 on stand-by if I should start to feel less than stellar and would not view it as a failure in any way. I am glad that I still feel great though!

[AmandaKarrin]

Thanks so much again, ladies! I will definitely go to P3 if needed.. I definitely want to make it the 60 days but if I can't, I can't. I know I can do this.. I lost 50 lbs in summer 2009 and all I did was cut back on unhealthy foods and drink lots of water. Also went for walks almost everyday but I did all of that WITHOUT hhcg so I think with hhcg I can definitely do that again and hopefully lose more! ...since I gained almost all that back.. But yeah.. I got my scale today so I'm going to start loading tomorrow. What did you ladies eat for your loading days?

Oh and also, I wanted to ask.. can I eat broccoli for my veggie? & when I take my drops, is it okay to put them on a spoon so that I can actually watch and make sure I do the correct number of drops? Or do I have to put them directly into my mouth?

[C'Marie]

Originally Posted by AmandaKarrin

Thanks so much again, ladies! I will definitely go to P3 if needed.. I definitely want to make it the 60 days but if I can't, I can't. I know I can do this.. I lost 50 lbs in summer 2009 and all I did was cut back on unhealthy foods and drink lots of water. Also went for walks almost everyday but I did all of that WITHOUT hhcg so I think with hhcg I can definitely do that again and hopefully lose more! ...since I gained almost all that back.. But yeah.. I got my scale today so I'm going to start loading tomorrow. What did you ladies eat for your loading days?
I went pretty low carb for my last loading day - but you can eat anything your little heart desires that will help you say "buh-bye" for as long as you are on P2 and P3 - my favorites are:
Olives, full-fat cream cheese, cheesecake, Full-fat Ritz crackers topped with said olives and cream cheese, pepperoni slices baked on a pan to make "chips" to scoop in more cream cheese or sour cream or guacamole, full-fat real ice cream (I used Clemmy's which has no sugar-didn't want to eat a bunch of sugar and have bad detox flu like the first time) Mexican food, Italian food, double stuffed pizza - if you're over 21, then liquor!


Oh and also, I wanted to ask.. can I eat broccoli for my veggie
Broccoli is not on the list of protocol veggies. Where are you looking? Have you read a copy of Pounds and Inches?

? & when I take my drops, is it okay to put them on a spoon so that I can actually watch and make sure I do the correct number of drops? Or do I have to put them directly into my mouth?

Best to look in the mirror and drop them exactly under your tongue behind your teeth until you get the hang of it-count them and watch to be sure

[AmandaKarrin]

Thanks C'Marie.. I'll try to do that with the drops! And yes I've read pounds and inches. I was on this other forum, I forget what it was called but they were saying you could eat broccoli. I want to stick to protocol.

The list I have now & am looking at says:

"1. 100 grams of veal, beef, chicken breast, fresh white fish, lobster, crab, or shrimp. All visible fat must be carefully removed before cooking, and the meat must be weighed raw. It must be boiled or grilled without additional fat. Salmon, eel, tuna, herring, dried or pickled fish are not allowed. The chicken breast must be removed from the bird.

2. One type of vegetable only to be chosen from the following: spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage.

3. One breadstick (grissino) or one Melba toast.

4. An apple, orange, or a handful of strawberries or one-half grapefruit. "

I just was not sure if there were any other foods, not on this list, that are allowed. I'm trying to understand everything.. I really am. I'm sorry if I seem foolish as far as all of this goes.. And yes, I am over 21.. I'm 23.

[RedsSkinnyJeans]

Amanda, in the beginning, before I settled at this forum, was reading all over the internet about HCG; I had some questions that....well...sounded a bit silly because it looked as if I had not read Pounds and Inches at all! (I think some people read a few paragraphs and move on). I didn't! I read it twice! In the end, I came to call this home, and the answers are clear, and I am invested. I stuck with what's there. Exactly in your list above. No watermelon. :-) (And I learned....YES....I can have avocados in P3!) :-)

Not only is there reliable information here, I find that there are some really smart, well informed people, not to mention several with a medical back ground!

Glad you're here!

[emel]

Amanda, there are a lot of newer plans out there.
Some allow different veggies. Some allow different fruits. Some allow higher calories.

What you just posted is the original protocol from Dr. Simeons. If you stick to that list, you'll be doing a protocol plan. If you choose to include some of the additions from other plans, you'll be doing an alternative, or "rogue" plan. Folks here have had success both ways. You just need to choose what you plan to do, and then follow through. Most folks would suggest that you do Dr. Simeons protocol for your first round.
There are a couple additions to the Simeons protocol. I'll paste them here, but you can find them in Pounds and Inches shortly after the part you pasted above:

While this diet works satisfactorily in Italy, certain modifications have to be made in other countries. For instance, American beef has almost double the caloric value of South Italian beef, which is not marbled with fat. This marbling is impossible to remove. In America, therefore, low-grade veal should be used for one meal and fish (excluding all those species such as herring, mackerel, tuna, salmon, eel, etc., which have a high fat content, and all dried, smoked or pickled fish), chicken breast, lobster, crawfish, prawns, shrimps, crabmeat or kidneys for the other meal. Where the Italian breadsticks, the so-called grissini, are not available, one Melba toast may be used instead, though they are psychologically less satisfying. A Melba toast has about the same weight as the very porous grissini which is much more to look at and to chew.
In many countries specially prepared unsweetened and low Calorie foods are freely available, and some of these can be tentatively used. When local conditions or the feeding habits of the population make changes necessary it must be borne in mind that the total daily intake must not exceed 500 Calories if the best possible results are to be obtained, that the daily ration should contain 200 grams of fat-free protein and a very small amount of starch.
Just as the daily dose of HCG is the same in all cases, so the same diet proves to be satisfactory for a small elderly lady of leisure or a hard working muscular giant. Under the effect of HCG the obese body is always able to obtain all the Calories it needs from the abnormal fat deposits, regardless of whether it uses up 1500 or 4000 per day. It must be made very clear to the patient that he is living to a far greater extent on the fat which he is losing than on what he eats.
Many patients ask why eggs are not allowed. The contents of two good sized eggs are roughly equivalent to 100 grams of meat, but fortunately the yolk contains a large amount of fat, which is undesirable. Very occasionally we allow egg - boiled, poached or raw - to patients who develop an aversion to meat, but in this case they must add the white of three eggs to the one they eat whole. In countries where cottage cheese made from skimmed milk is available 100 grams may occasionally be used instead of the meat, but no other cheeses are allowed.