Do you tell/plan to tell people HOW you lost the weight?

[jnaakins]

Im struggling with this. I have about 40 more lbs to go to goal and I know people are going to eventually start asking me how I lost the weight. Im afraid to say it was hcg because you get laughed at, people call the diet "stupid" etc.....you know what Im talking about! People are soooo uneducated about the protocol, and therefore very anti-hcg diet.
How have you guys handled it? Do you say it was the hcg, and then try to educate them? Do you just fib and say it was low-carb eating (which isnt a flat-out lie really), etc?

I dont want to have to explain WHY hcg works everytime I have the weigh-loss conversation, and only my closest friends/family know Im doing it (and they're all supportive).

[shelbyla]

I pretty much tell everyone who has the time to listen and truly is interested in knowing! If it's one of those "elevator" conversations, I just say something like "it was a lot of hard work" or "it's a long story but I feel great now"--all of which are true. I have had some people naysay it but I tell them that I totally get the skepticism and frankly, the proof is in the pudding, as they say. I am 60 pounds lighter, I look healthy (and not sick), I wasn't hungry during the rounds, and I am learning how to maintain beautifully.

[jnaakins]

Good for you!! That is a good way to approach it. I recently told a good friend of mine about it and though she was supportive, she started telling me about how her husband thinks all people who do it are idiots because (Im sure you can see where this is going) anyone who eats 500 calories a day can lose weight ......I just sighed and said that anyone who hasn't read the manuscript has no idea what they're talking about and until they read it, they have no right bashing it LOL.

The other thing I hear alot (especially from a friend of mine who is a nurse) is that everyone who does the hcg loses weight, but they gain it all back I just try to explain how and why people DO fail on the diet. It's not foolproof! You have to work the plan and plan the work to succeed!

[ellenalesa]

because people are starting to ask. But really, any diet, whether it's Weight Watcher or Atkins or anything else has a huge fail rate if you don't put in the effort to maintain it. And anyone who has any experience with dieting probably knows that.

I don't think there is anything that exists that lets you eat massive quantities of high calorie food and not gain weight, but that's what people are really looking for: the magic bullet.

[paulabob]

I tell them I've been doing a starvation diet.

After they laugh, if they are still curious, I go on to say that I'd stalled out doing weight watchers and atkins, and had to do something more radical to shift the weight.

Most people aren't really all that interested!

[dazygyrl]

a version of low carb.

'nuff said....

[ellenalesa]

I had a cheat meal yesterday, and am back on today. Up 1.5 pounds, but I don't LOOK any bigger, so I am hoping it's water weight and not actual fat.

Do you do a correction day? Is that really necessary, or is it enough to just get back to your protocol or rogue plan?

[Zbunny]

I usually say I ate a detox-type diet, and then tell them the things I eliminated and what I eat -- I just don't get into the calorie count with them. I have one friend who is desperate to lose weight and when she asked me what I did, I told her the specifics of the plan (overview of P&I basically), and then I sent her and email where I included my sample daily menus, a link to P&I, and another link to this forum; I took awhile to type it all out and at the end said call me if you have any questions. When I saw her a few days later, she said (loudly in our front office) "No WAY could I live on only 500 calories. That's INSANE!" So, clearly she didn't read P&I, clearly she ignored everything I told her and wrote to her about the plan, and clearly I will not be offering this type of information to her again -- actually, I don't plan on telling anyone else after receiving such a rude response -- I just don't need the aggravation. Totally annoying.

[Zbunny]

Originally Posted by ellenalesa

I had a cheat meal yesterday, and am back on today. Up 1.5 pounds, but I don't LOOK any bigger, so I am hoping it's water weight and not actual fat.

Do you do a correction day? Is that really necessary, or is it enough to just get back to your protocol or rogue plan?

You might want to post a thread for this because it's off-topic in this thread and you won't likely get many responses.

That said, I'll go ahead and respond (sorry OP!). I would not do a CD since P2 doesn't really include CDs (although some do them anyway). I would eat clean P2 foods and in 3-4 days you should be back to losing.

[nmbnancy]

Take a look at this old thread.
Glad I didn't speak up

[privatediva]

"thanks, been workin' at it" followed by an immediate and drastic change of subject

[metqa]

Originally Posted by jnaakins

Good for you!! That is a good way to approach it. I recently told a good friend of mine about it and though she was supportive, she started telling me about how her husband thinks all people who do it are idiots because (Im sure you can see where this is going) anyone who eats 500 calories a day can lose weight ......I just sighed and said that anyone who hasn't read the manuscript has no idea what they're talking about and until they read it, they have no right bashing it LOL.

The other thing I hear alot (especially from a friend of mine who is a nurse) is that everyone who does the hcg loses weight, but they gain it all back I just try to explain how and why people DO fail on the diet. It's not foolproof! You have to work the plan and plan the work to succeed!

Yeah, and because people gain it back later doesn't mean the diet didn't work AT THE TIME. That's like saying a person shouldn't have surgery cause they will die someday in the future anyway. The diet is only one part of a persons life, the maintenance is another. and so many things can happen to affect maintenance and that doesn't mean the weight loss part was worthless.

I haven't told anyone but my BF and my old buddy about HCG. i intended to do it as a personal experiment and then share it with my Dmom and Dsdad, but I realized that after years of basing my ideas with simpler diets like Atkins they weren't going to listen to me about something more strict like HCG.

I lost the weight and enjoyed myself. and kept it off happily. The reason I hate the "gain it all back" arguments against diets is that I was maintaining just fine until I got allergic to the BLACK mold that contaminated my apartment and my body I was eating perfectly to maintain and yet my body was going haywire with bloating and hives, jumping up 3lb in one day, and even the CD didn't work. In the time it took me to remove the mold from my life, I had suffered all sorts of symptoms one of which was weight gain. and that was NOT the fault of my previous diet. Same thing when I gained weight from Rx Prednisone and being sick.

I'm doing another round right now to get off this quick weight gain. People say "you didn't gain it over night, you should be patient" But I DID gain it quickly, and makes me feel awful and miserable. I want it gone quickly before my body gets used to being fat, sick and painful.

I'm still not telling anyone how I'm doing it, though my Mom, Sdad and Sis are now following a Low cal diet and asking me for advice. I'll share the recipes and the concepts but the key ,HCG, is my secret to quick weight loss and I'm keeping it for myself.

I no longer am sympathetic to closed minds. If people approach me and ask about HCG specifically I might tell them.

Originally Posted by ellenalesa

I had a cheat meal yesterday, and am back on today. Up 1.5 pounds, but I don't LOOK any bigger, so I am hoping it's water weight and not actual fat.

Do you do a correction day? Is that really necessary, or is it enough to just get back to your protocol or rogue plan?

Just follow the protocol. and realize that you might gain some days and not lose some days even if you don't cheat. Don't freak out and don't cheat. Just follow the rules.

Originally Posted by Zbunny

[...] I have one friend who is desperate to lose weight and when she asked me what I did, I told her the specifics of the plan (overview of P&I basically) -- [...]actually, I don't plan on telling anyone else after receiving such a rude response -- I just don't need the aggravation. Totally annoying.

ITA

[ColleenMA66]

I've told one person what I'm actually doing and the only reason I told her was because we were weighing in together once a week and I had to explain the big losses....if anyone else asks me ....low carb/ww. I don't feel like dealing with any of the remarks or trying to explain what it is and what it does...it's working for me and that's all I care about.

[Bobby_Boomer]

I tell them I eat like a diabetic SHOULD eat.

If they ask, I tell them I'm not diabetic but I want to avoid adult-onset diabetes.

Then if they ask more I explain about my low-glycemic WOE.

Bobby

[TerriMM]

I've only told a couple people I care about and trust, beyond that it's really no one's business.

Most of the time I just say I'm following a Low carb lifestyle, which is technically correct. Most people really aren't that interested, it's more of a "how are you" question.

[jnaakins]

Originally Posted by nmbnancy

Take a look at this old thread.
Glad I didn't speak up

Thanks for sharing that thread looks like alot of us are on the same page. I think Im just going to tell people that dont know Im doing hcg that Im doing the low-carb thing....way easier than explaining and defending myself to them.

[Solstyce]

When I first started this diet there was a thread just like this one. My answer at the time was, "No way I'll tell anyone I did HCG to lose weight."

Well, now that people are asking, not only do I tell them, but I put together an email that I send to people who ask. It has a link to the e-book, this forum, the pellets I use, etc. When I tell people I did the HCG diet I'll hear "Oh yeah so-and-so did that diet too and it worked for them."

So it's not as big of a deal as I first thought.

[ellenalesa]

Originally Posted by Zbunny

You might want to post a thread for this because it's off-topic in this thread and you won't likely get many responses.

Thanks, Zbunny,

I was half asleep when I posted this; I thought I HAD started a new thread. :blush: Sorry to all!

Ellen

[desifink]

Nobody knows other than DH and a friend who is doing it with me. Most of my friends are very overweight and they wouldn't get it. There's some pressure there to stay fat like they are...*sigh*

We have a game night planned this Friday. We do this a few times a year when one of us, who lives in another state, comes to town. It always involves lots of food and drinks. I'll be drinking my diet root beer and water, and not eating. I'm not looking forward to the questions I'm going to get about why I'm not eating or drinking...

[Millenia98]

I explain properly to whoever wants to sit and listen to the 5 minute explanation b/c if it's a quick conversation, I won't say hcg. I'll just say "very strict low carb." When people hear that, they usually get scared away. If they want to know more and have time to listen, then I explain everything so that they won't walk away thinking it's a gimmick or that it's insane.

[privatediva]

My observations on stuff:

Skinny people don't want you to succeed because it means they're not as special as they thought they were, and they will no longer have that reason to tell themselves they are superior to you. Heavy people don't want you to succeed because it means they could change their weight if they wanted to and they're more comfortable telling themselves they're helpless to change. I'm a bit older than most of you sweet ladies, and the sad truth is that the majority of people around us are stinkers. They are self-focused and motivated to the point where another's well being is something they can only appreciate in terms of their own ego. In other words, they care about other people, but only in terms of what those other people mean to their own sense of well-being. I think love is best defined as desiring whatever is best for the object of the love, whether that is what the one doing the loving likes best or not. Most are not so unselfish in their caring about others. That's sad, of course...but explains a lot about the way folks behave. Every once in a while you meet someone who has grown beyond that level of emotional self-apsorbtion. For example...this board has quite a few people who are able to encourage others at different levels of success, and even with different needs and philosophies about how to approach this WOE. It's quite a group really...in most other places, people fuss over minutia...they need to rigidly enforce their narrow view to make themselves feel that they are on top. Y'all rock.

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by privatediva

My observations on stuff:

Skinny people don't want you to succeed because it means they're not as special as they thought they were, and they will no longer have that reason to tell themselves they are superior to you. Heavy people don't want you to succeed because it means they could change their weight if they wanted to and they're more comfortable telling themselves they're helpless to change. I'm a bit older than most of you sweet ladies, and the sad truth is that the majority of people around us are stinkers. They are self-focused and motivated to the point where another's well being is something they can only appreciate in terms of their own ego. In other words, they care about other people, but only in terms of what those other people mean to their own sense of well-being. I think love is best defined as desiring whatever is best for the object of the love, whether that is what the one doing the loving likes best or not. Most are not so unselfish in their caring about others. That's sad, of course...but explains a lot about the way folks behave. Every once in a while you meet someone who has grown beyond that level of emotional self-apsorbtion. For example...this board has quite a few people who are able to encourage others at different levels of success, and even with different needs and philosophies about how to approach this WOE. It's quite a group really...in most other places, people fuss over minutia...they need to rigidly enforce their narrow view to make themselves feel that they are on top. Y'all rock.

Could not agree more! You got it sister!

[Zenngrl]

I'm really careful who I tell. But not for the same reasons. I put off telling my Aunt Gail because she has never been able to stick to anything. She begged me to teach her low carb years ago, I did and she would eat "just one slice of toast" or just a "few bites" of rice... I gave up and she of course claimed that it didn't work.

Fast forward.. I told her a few days ago that I'd lost 20lbs in three months and kept it off, I also wear a size smaller than she does and she weighs 40lbs less than me. (that is def. the hcg working on me!)

She immediately wanted to know what I was eating, etc. After showing her all the stuff, explaining ad nausem that it was very STRICT, no cheats, etc etc.. she asks.........do you have to take the hcg or can you just eat 500 calories of whatever you want?

I told her I would not be giving her any more info. She'd hurt herself, end up in the hospital and blame it on me and/or the hcg.

She also claimed that since she was over 50 and had thyroid issues, it probably wouldn't work for her. I ended up agreeing after awhile...... just to end the convo.

[Millenia98]

Originally Posted by Zenngrl

I'm really careful who I tell. But not for the same reasons. I put off telling my Aunt Gail because she has never been able to stick to anything. She begged me to teach her low carb years ago, I did and she would eat "just one slice of toast" or just a "few bites" of rice... I gave up and she of course claimed that it didn't work.

Fast forward.. I told her a few days ago that I'd lost 20lbs in three months and kept it off, I also wear a size smaller than she does and she weighs 40lbs less than me. (that is def. the hcg working on me!)

She immediately wanted to know what I was eating, etc. After showing her all the stuff, explaining ad nausem that it was very STRICT, no cheats, etc etc.. she asks.........do you have to take the hcg or can you just eat 500 calories of whatever you want?

I told her I would not be giving her any more info. She'd hurt herself, end up in the hospital and blame it on me and/or the hcg.

She also claimed that since she was over 50 and had thyroid issues, it probably wouldn't work for her. I ended up agreeing after awhile...... just to end the convo.

OMG!! This is the EXACT reason I am choosy as to who I tell. When I don't feel like investing my time, I skim over it and say "very strict low carb." Most people are like your aunt, who will ask you to explain, you'll go over everything in DETAIL - then they'll tweak it or try to quit after a few days.

Most of the time, I don't bother. Same thing with me years ago when I lost 110lbs. I taught everyone how to eat low carb and keep it off. NO ONE kept up with it.

[TerriMM]

Originally Posted by Millenia98

OMG!! This is the EXACT reason I am choosy as to who I tell. When I don't feel like investing my time, I skim over it and say "very strict low carb." Most people are like your aunt, who will ask you to explain, you'll go over everything in DETAIL - then they'll tweak it or try to quit after a few days.

Most of the time, I don't bother. Same thing with me years ago when I lost 110lbs. I taught everyone how to eat low carb and keep it off. NO ONE kept up with it.

Yep! A girl at work said she ordered the HCG drops and was going to try it (not knowing that I already am). I asked her if she had downloaded P&I and was going to follow the 500 calorie diet. She said she didn't think she needed to go down to 500 calories, she only needed to loose 10lbs. I started to explain it to her and then I remembered my favorite saying:

Never try to teach a pig to sing,
It wastes your time,
And annoys the pig!

[privatediva]

Truer words were never spoken, Terri!

[NeekoM]

Originally Posted by Solstyce

When I first started this diet there was a thread just like this one. My answer at the time was, "No way I'll tell anyone I did HCG to lose weight."

Well, now that people are asking, not only do I tell them, but I put together an email that I send to people who ask. It has a link to the e-book, this forum, the pellets I use, etc. When I tell people I did the HCG diet I'll hear "Oh yeah so-and-so did that diet too and it worked for them."

So it's not as big of a deal as I first thought.

I put together an email too! I have had three people at work who have been genuinely interested in the last week - awesome!

I am more than happy to share what I am doing with those who are truly interested but if they just ask in passing I tell them "very low carb and no sugar". It's not at all a lie and appeases most people's curiosity.

[verbqueen]

Heck no, I don't plan to tell them SQUAT. Maybe I'll go so far as to say, "very, very strict dieting." Because that is CERTAINLY the truth!

[verbqueen]

Originally Posted by privatediva

My observations on stuff:

Skinny people don't want you to succeed because it means they're not as special as they thought they were, and they will no longer have that reason to tell themselves they are superior to you. Heavy people don't want you to succeed because it means they could change their weight if they wanted to and they're more comfortable telling themselves they're helpless to change. I'm a bit older than most of you sweet ladies, and the sad truth is that the majority of people around us are stinkers. They are self-focused and motivated to the point where another's well being is something they can only appreciate in terms of their own ego. In other words, they care about other people, but only in terms of what those other people mean to their own sense of well-being. I think love is best defined as desiring whatever is best for the object of the love, whether that is what the one doing the loving likes best or not. Most are not so unselfish in their caring about others. That's sad, of course...but explains a lot about the way folks behave. Every once in a while you meet someone who has grown beyond that level of emotional self-apsorbtion. For example...this board has quite a few people who are able to encourage others at different levels of success, and even with different needs and philosophies about how to approach this WOE. It's quite a group really...in most other places, people fuss over minutia...they need to rigidly enforce their narrow view to make themselves feel that they are on top. Y'all rock.

WELL said, indeed.

[LilacBruze]

Originally Posted by privatediva

My observations on stuff:

Skinny people don't want you to succeed because it means they're not as special as they thought they were, and they will no longer have that reason to tell themselves they are superior to you. Heavy people don't want you to succeed because it means they could change their weight if they wanted to and they're more comfortable telling themselves they're helpless to change. I'm a bit older than most of you sweet ladies, and the sad truth is that the majority of people around us are stinkers. They are self-focused and motivated to the point where another's well being is something they can only appreciate in terms of their own ego. In other words, they care about other people, but only in terms of what those other people mean to their own sense of well-being. I think love is best defined as desiring whatever is best for the object of the love, whether that is what the one doing the loving likes best or not. Most are not so unselfish in their caring about others. That's sad, of course...but explains a lot about the way folks behave. Every once in a while you meet someone who has grown beyond that level of emotional self-apsorbtion. For example...this board has quite a few people who are able to encourage others at different levels of success, and even with different needs and philosophies about how to approach this WOE. It's quite a group really...in most other places, people fuss over minutia...they need to rigidly enforce their narrow view to make themselves feel that they are on top. Y'all rock.

This. Ohhhhhh this!!

But ya know what, I tell everyone who asks, and I really don't care about their opinions. I am still not speaking to my co-worker who told me 2 months ago that I was hurting my body doing HCG. Not MY choice, mind you. She is jealous and SHE chose to not speak to me after hearing me relay the stellar results of my blood tests and doctor visit to another co-worker. Turns out I am most definitely NOT hurting my body, according to the VERY thorough tests I had done. Also turns out that I am now smaller than she is, looking great and feeling better!

I chuckle to myself every time I hear something negative about HCG. Especially from those who fail on other diets.