In need of a good reason to continue.

[dbunny]

Originally Posted by Zbunny

Okay, my fellow leporid, I am totally curious about just WHAT they sell in a P&I store! I'm imagining they sell hcg, but...what else? Scales? Grissini? 100g packages of proteins? Totally trying to get an image of this store in my brain -- it seems like a pretty limited inventory.

They didn't have much And yes, they did have grissini~ heh! Of course, you can sign up for different levels of the plan, which includes counseling, etc. Or you can just get the drops and bail out the door.

Originally Posted by sunday

Stevia in the Raw, Truvia and Erithytol? I have never had issues with any of these. I would love to know how many others on protocol are using any of these and what they report.

I haven't had issues with those on different ways of eating, just sharing the info..

[hikergurl]

Thank you for sharing your story, Shelbyla! Very motivational

[Zbunny]

How are you doing today, Snaggle? Any better?

[shelbyla]

Originally Posted by hikergurl

Thank you for sharing your story, Shelbyla! Very motivational

If you guys want motivation, you should check out this thread...

Any before/after pictures of those 200/250+ lbs

The losses and changes are amazing (and I'm in there too! ).

[snaggle]

zbunny-I am fine, although only back down to my previous days weight. I am sticking with it although last night, after my difficult day, I did have a couple mini cheat items: 4 almonds, 2 oz red wine (a friend brought a fabulous bottle to a dinner party and I really wanted to try it), and I had a few shrimp as well as a little lean beef for dinner. I couldn't weigh the food at my friend's house but I only had a little, probably well under my usual 100 grams. Anyway, I am feeling better today about sticking this out until at least day 21. If losses are good this week, then I may even continue until day 28, but I want to see how I feel. I fully intend to go through p3 and p4 because I would not want to risk not stabilizing. More importantly, I will be really happy if I can eat at a higher calorie level and not gain.

Thanks for the great link Shelbyla! Totally inspiring, and just what I needed. I haven't gotten to the ones of you yet, but so far, they are amazing.

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by shelbyla

So in short, does hcg wreck your metabolism--NO, at least not in my experience. Is resetting real? Oh, you betcha! (As my aunt from Minnesota says!) Sorry for the book but HTH.

I have to second everything Shelby said. I'd been Atkinsing for 4 years and was unable to lose anyweight after initially dropping half my weight and then stalling and bouncing. Anytime I ate more than 1500 calories, low carb, I gained weight.

After my first round, my calorie ceiling went to 2000 by the end of P3.

Definitely some magic happened!

I'm still a slow loser, slower than most. But nothing else worked. If I could lose weight some "easy" way, I'd definitely take it. I don't advise simeons for those who could just drop their soda and start dropping pounds. But for those of us (usually female) who have been dieting for years with little success...this has been a lifesaver.

[snaggle]

Thank you Paulabob for keeping me motivated. Clearly, daily drops on the scale are motivating, but to many of us long time dieters,(I am 50 years old and have dieted from the age of 13)the weight does not come off without great struggle and frustration. If there is ANY way that my metabolism can be improved, that alone is worth the sacrifice.
My high weight was 205. I did get as low as 146 a year and a half ago, but it came back on with a vengeance. Like Shelbyla, every successive attempt to lose has been more difficult.
Today, I feel great and am down another lb. I keep a calendar style weight chart and also a journal and when I put my daily weight in today's box and glanced back to when I started two weeks ago (pre-load), it hit me that I am at 6 pounds net of the load gain.
I NEVER can lose 6 lbs in two weeks. It may not be a lb a day like some of the hcg folks experience, but FOR ME, it is great.
I have to keep the faith and chug along.
Thanks everybody.

[myrna]

Originally Posted by snaggle

I NEVER can lose 6 lbs in two weeks. It may not be a lb a day like some of the hcg folks experience, but FOR ME, it is great.
I have to keep the faith and chug along.
Thanks everybody.

THAT IS AWESOME!!!

[TerriMM]

Hi Snaggle,
I too have been dieting the vast majority of my life. My high point was 180 (but I'm only 5'1"). I don't know if there is a diet out there I haven't tried. Although I've had varied success on different plans I've never lost as much as "most" or "most claims" and I'm completely healthy.

I think I'm like a lot of people here, what I had tried and been successful in the past no longer worked, but I wasn't willing to give up. It's been a rocky road for me. I've been on the plan for 40 days and am only down 6.8#. I have averaged .47 per day and at times .28. But with the help and support of the people on this site I didn't give up, although I could have easily justified it. And although 6.8 doesn't seem like much, I'm lower then I've been in 28 years and wearing clothes I never thought I would again. And I've learned a tremendous amount about myself and my body.

All I can say is it's worth it. Hang in there!

[CherylB]

I did not read all of the posts before I decided to reply. I wonder if you are at a long-standing set-point. Have you ever tried an Apple Day? They worked great for me and they might help you, too. Don't throw in the towel! You don't sound like you are suffering, just unhappy with the scale. Do an apple day and then see how it works for you.

[C'Marie]

Originally Posted by LilacBruze

Just as an FYI - Splenda totally messes with my losses. Hope the whoosh fairy visits you soon! Please hang in there!

Splenda not only messes with my losses in P2, it makes me gain in P3/P4. I don't like the stuff, don't metabolize it well at all. Glad to see you're doing better!

[snaggle]

Well folks, I think I am going to throw in the hcg towel when I hit the 21 day mark monday. I would really prefer to stop today, but am afraid it will really mess me up. I fully intend to go through with p-3 and p4, but will not go for the 4 weeks of P2 as originally planned.

Here is my logic: I started hcg at 177 on June 12th. It is now June 30. I am down 6.5 lbs. This is an average of only .36 lbs per day. This is not acceptable to me on two counts.
1) My bmr is "supposedly" 1900 calories, assuming light activity, so the deficit at 500 cal per day is 1400 calories, or .4 lbs per day, so I am not even losing at what I should be without even adding the hcg. Based upon my loss thus far, I am only burning about 1700 per day, with the hcg.
2) Given that I will need to add in 3 weeks each of p3 and p4 and maintain my LDW during that time, I will only show an average loss per week of .83 per week, and that number even assumes that I can drop one more pound in my last 3 days. Again, this is unacceptable to me because even with my crappy, menopausal, over dieted metabolism, I usually can lose 1.5 lbs per week with Juddd, protein power or atkins. The reason I chose to start when I did was because I hoped to get down to 162 before my August 5 vacation and figured I would be a week or two into p4 by that time and it would be easier. At this point, the most I can hope for is to get to 169, then stay at that for 6 more weeks (p3 and p4). If I were to have just stuck with strict low carb juddd, and lost my usual 1.5 per week, I would have gotten to 165 by that time. Granted, there are no guarantees that would have happened, but all I have to go on is my past experience.

Finally, I am really not feeling great on this. Granted, I do not have hunger, but I do not have much strength or stamina. I have curbed way back on my workouts and can still barely get through them. If I had any evidence whatsoever that my metabolism was improving, that would make it easier to justify, and hopefully, my p3 p4 time will bear that out.
I am still totally inspired and motivated by all of you here on the hcg boards and will be hanging around for sure, but I doubt I will do any more rounds. Thank you so much everybody and good luck with hcg.

[jabbok]

Originally Posted by snaggle

Well folks, I think I am going to throw in the hcg towel when I hit the 21 day mark monday. I would really prefer to stop today, but am afraid it will really mess me up. I fully intend to go through with p-3 and p4, but will not go for the 4 weeks of P2 as originally planned.

Here is my logic: I started hcg at 177 on June 12th. It is now June 30. I am down 6.5 lbs. This is an average of only .36 lbs per day. This is not acceptable to me on two counts.
1) My bmr is "supposedly" 1900 calories, assuming light activity, so the deficit at 500 cal per day is 1400 calories, or .4 lbs per day, so I am not even losing at what I should be without even adding the hcg. Based upon my loss thus far, I am only burning about 1700 per day, with the hcg.
2) Given that I will need to add in 3 weeks each of p3 and p4 and maintain my LDW during that time, I will only show an average loss per week of .83 per week, and that number even assumes that I can drop one more pound in my last 3 days. Again, this is unacceptable to me because even with my crappy, menopausal, over dieted metabolism, I usually can lose 1.5 lbs per week with Juddd, protein power or atkins. The reason I chose to start when I did was because I hoped to get down to 162 before my August 5 vacation and figured I would be a week or two into p4 by that time and it would be easier. At this point, the most I can hope for is to get to 169, then stay at that for 6 more weeks (p3 and p4). If I were to have just stuck with strict low carb juddd, and lost my usual 1.5 per week, I would have gotten to 165 by that time. Granted, there are no guarantees that would have happened, but all I have to go on is my past experience.

Finally, I am really not feeling great on this. Granted, I do not have hunger, but I do not have much strength or stamina. I have curbed way back on my workouts and can still barely get through them. If I had any evidence whatsoever that my metabolism was improving, that would make it easier to justify, and hopefully, my p3 p4 time will bear that out.
I am still totally inspired and motivated by all of you here on the hcg boards and will be hanging around for sure, but I doubt I will do any more rounds. Thank you so much everybody and good luck with hcg.

I am really sorry you are having such a hard time, maybe try adding a little fat in your diet, my second round I added coffee back in with cream it didn't affect my losses they stayed the same, my average weight loss is usually .5 per day.

[CherylB]

It isn't for everyone, and I guess you are one of those people.

If I were you and I knew I'd never be doing hcg again, I'd stop now and skip P3 and P4. Just start your alternative plan after doing your two VLCD's off the drops or whatever you are doing for hcg. Then you can be sure that the hcg has "left the building."

Do what you like to do and what works for you. And do what you can live with while on vacation in August. There is no sense in prolonging your agony any further!

[Balance101]

Originally Posted by shelbyla

Snaggle, a lot of folks here have given you some great thoughts about the diet itself. I am going to talk to you about MY experience AFTER hhcg relating to your concerns about metabolism.

I was an Atkins girl for a long time and lost really well and kept it off for a couple of years. Of course, I gained it all back after a cheat here and a cheat there, thinking that I could just Atkin's the weight off again. Well, unfortunately all subsequent attempts failed miserably with me gaining back all my weight PLUS ten pounds so I started out in the next "round" (usually annually) 10 pounds heavier than the previous one. I did this for about 6 years and went from a chunky 170 pounds to an obese 210 pounds (I'm 5'9).

After it became clear that Atkins wasn't working for me any more, I started looking into alternatives. I tried South Beach (low fat). I tried Weight Watchers (low cal). I tried Intermittent Fasting (calorie restriction). I tried calorie counting (1500 calories a day with HARD exercise for 2 months). I tried HIGH calorie (didn't work either). I even ate meat and eggs for 3 months to diet off 4 pounds. 4 pounds in 3 months is 12 ounces per month and 3 ounces (or 0.25 pounds) per WEEK. In ALL of these attempts, as soon as I went back to my regular life--which is generally all home-cooked, whole foods, zero/low-carb meals--I gained everything back. After my 3 months of M&E, I ate broccoli one night. I gained 4.5 pounds the next day which wouldn't budge, no matter what I did.

Then a doctor suggested HCG to me. He wanted me to pay $100 a week to get the shots and I was like, "No way buddy! I eat more than that for breakfast!" Plus, he had already sold me $2000 worth of supplements...but that's another story! Anyway, fast forward a couple of months and I friend started hcg and had some limited success on it (she cheated a lot). I thought, what the heck? Nothing else is working and I've certainly done weirder things for 21 days. So I researched and jumped in with both feet. I didn't lose as fast as some people either--23 pounds in 32 days--but it was really the "resetting" thing that caught my attention. Could it be true?

So, as most people are, I was a LOT nervous going into my first P3. I took a lot of the great advice of the folks on this board, stabilized a little under my LDW on...and here it is...2500 calories a day!!! And I was eating fruit, grains, yogurt, all that stuff that I couldn't eat on Atkins. Round 2, I lost another 23 pounds, this time in 39 days. I have finally (after a bit of a bumpy start due to errors on my part--not the diet) stabilized about 3 pounds UNDER LDW and am pushing the calorie envelope as we speak. I THINK I will end up at around 2000 calories (because I'm 60 pounds lighter!) which is still a whole lotta food. And again, eating the great stuff that I couldn't even think about on Atkins.

So in short, does hcg wreck your metabolism--NO, at least not in my experience. Is resetting real? Oh, you betcha! (As my aunt from Minnesota says!) Sorry for the book but HTH.

Shelby your story gives me so much hope! I am going through the same thing with Atkins not working anymore. I can't wait to start. I finally have some hope again.

I'm sorry it didn't work like you wanted it to snaggle, but I'm happy that you have other ways that work for you. Good luck to you!

[sunday]

Originally Posted by CherylB

It isn't for everyone, and I guess you are one of those people.

If I were you and I knew I'd never be doing hcg again, I'd stop now and skip P3 and P4. Just start your alternative plan after doing your two VLCD's off the drops or whatever you are doing for hcg. Then you can be sure that the hcg has "left the building."

Do what you like to do and what works for you. And do what you can live with while on vacation in August. There is no sense in prolonging your agony any further!

I am sorry to hear this Snaggle. Since I am a slow loser also, I think I would advise to do at least 2 wks of P3 and then you could continue on with JUDDD or cycling. When you do JUDDD, I think it will get the metabolism moving again. I may have missed this, but did you say you are hypothyroid too?

[smardie]

Shelbyla's story and some of the others were my inspiration to start and did convince me to stay on for 5 more days after I started this thread. I eliminated the little splenda I had, and did get another pound off, but am back stuck again.
I cannot seem to shake my fear that I am further damaging my metabolism at this calorie level. The way I look at it, the fast weight loss is the proof that the hcg is working, and without it, I am extremely skeptical.
Clearly, there are many around here who have had great success and I think it is definitely worth a shot.

[smardie]

sunday, I am not hypothyroid, although I have often wondered if I could be. My dr. has tested a couple of times and insists I am not. I have only had the basic test however. I also do not seem to have too many other symptoms.

[LilacBruze]

I am sorry to hear that hcg did not work for you.

[Lildrew]

Originally Posted by shelbyla

Snaggle, a lot of folks here have given you some great thoughts about the diet itself. I am going to talk to you about MY experience AFTER hhcg relating to your concerns about metabolism.

I was an Atkins girl for a long time and lost really well and kept it off for a couple of years. Of course, I gained it all back after a cheat here and a cheat there, thinking that I could just Atkin's the weight off again. Well, unfortunately all subsequent attempts failed miserably with me gaining back all my weight PLUS ten pounds so I started out in the next "round" (usually annually) 10 pounds heavier than the previous one. I did this for about 6 years and went from a chunky 170 pounds to an obese 210 pounds (I'm 5'9).

After it became clear that Atkins wasn't working for me any more, I started looking into alternatives. I tried South Beach (low fat). I tried Weight Watchers (low cal). I tried Intermittent Fasting (calorie restriction). I tried calorie counting (1500 calories a day with HARD exercise for 2 months). I tried HIGH calorie (didn't work either). I even ate meat and eggs for 3 months to diet off 4 pounds. 4 pounds in 3 months is 12 ounces per month and 3 ounces (or 0.25 pounds) per WEEK. In ALL of these attempts, as soon as I went back to my regular life--which is generally all home-cooked, whole foods, zero/low-carb meals--I gained everything back. After my 3 months of M&E, I ate broccoli one night. I gained 4.5 pounds the next day which wouldn't budge, no matter what I did.

Then a doctor suggested HCG to me. He wanted me to pay $100 a week to get the shots and I was like, "No way buddy! I eat more than that for breakfast!" Plus, he had already sold me $2000 worth of supplements...but that's another story! Anyway, fast forward a couple of months and I friend started hcg and had some limited success on it (she cheated a lot). I thought, what the heck? Nothing else is working and I've certainly done weirder things for 21 days. So I researched and jumped in with both feet. I didn't lose as fast as some people either--23 pounds in 32 days--but it was really the "resetting" thing that caught my attention. Could it be true?

So, as most people are, I was a LOT nervous going into my first P3. I took a lot of the great advice of the folks on this board, stabilized a little under my LDW on...and here it is...2500 calories a day!!! And I was eating fruit, grains, yogurt, all that stuff that I couldn't eat on Atkins. Round 2, I lost another 23 pounds, this time in 39 days. I have finally (after a bit of a bumpy start due to errors on my part--not the diet) stabilized about 3 pounds UNDER LDW and am pushing the calorie envelope as we speak. I THINK I will end up at around 2000 calories (because I'm 60 pounds lighter!) which is still a whole lotta food. And again, eating the great stuff that I couldn't even think about on Atkins.

So in short, does hcg wreck your metabolism--NO, at least not in my experience. Is resetting real? Oh, you betcha! (As my aunt from Minnesota says!) Sorry for the book but HTH.

SUCH an inspiration!!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!!

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by snaggle

Based upon my loss thus far, I am only burning about 1700 per day, with the hcg..

I'm going to hope you get a nice metabolic boost by the end of P3...keep track of your calories and see how it goes (and it always goes slowly at first).

I did some rogue JUDDD hcg rounds, but did not find my results any faster than hcg. I am rooting for you and hope you get some fantastic results when you return to it.

[Buttercup]

Snaggle, if I were losing 1.5 lbs a week avg. doing Atkins, I would have stuck with it. I am going to do HCG because I have tried EVERYTHING else without any losses. This is my last resort, as I cannot exercise 2-3 times a day; I just don't have the time.

I respect that you tried it when you were having respectable losses! You are braver than I. I am really kinda scared of not being able to have HWC. That is totally freaking me out, but hey, maybe that's my problem too many calories from low carb foods. It's a journey and it doesn't really matter how you get there, so long as you reach your destination, right? Chalk it up to a learning experience.