Thinking of HCG

[zathlon]

I have been a fan of low carb for many years now. My wife has tried low carb but she gets discouraged quickly when she doesn't lose weight as fast as she wants. Recently we went to a doctor and he recommended an HCG diet with the injections. Well my wife wasn't fond of the idea of injections, so a few days ago I found HCG tablets on netrition. I was wondering if these tablets are inferior to the injections? Also whats the best HCG diet to go on, from skimming this site I see a lot of people on Dr Simeons. I appreciate any help you can provide.

[katiesmemaw]

Originally Posted by zathlon

I have been a fan of low carb for many years now. My wife has tried low carb but she gets discouraged quickly when she doesn't lose weight as fast as she wants. Recently we went to a doctor and he recommended an HCG diet with the injections. Well my wife wasn't fond of the idea of injections, so a few days ago I found HCG tablets on netrition. I was wondering if these tablets are inferior to the injections? Also whats the best HCG diet to go on, from skimming this site I see a lot of people on Dr Simeons. I appreciate any help you can provide.

I think that Dr. Simeons was the "father" of the hcg protocol sorta like Atkins was for Low Carb. Dr. Simeons did over 25 years of obesity research to develop his "Pounds and Inches Protocol". If you haven't read that document please search on line and read to get the whole premise of his plan. Also read the sticky here by Shelbyla that gives a great overview of hcg!
I din't want to do the injections either and really couldn't afford the fees that it would take to follow this plan through a clinic etc.
I went online after hearing about hcg and researched the topic. It also helped that a friend who initially told me about hcg and I decided to follow the diet together. You can see my stats. My dh has completed one round as well now and he lost 39.2 in his first 42 day round. He still has additional rounds to do.
We both used sublingual drops. The website here does not allow us to link to other sites that sell the product. Netrition, the company that sponsors this site sells homeopathic hcg (hhcg) and lots of the folks here have success using this product. I used a sublingual drop that stated it was real hcg and in fact sent along a pregnancy strip to test the product to show that the product contained hcg.
This is not an easy diet nor is it a quick fix. It will take a full committment to following the diet. It is somewhat inflexible and unforgiving when ya cheat.
BUT, it is a great way to lose weight rapidly AND for me, more importantly, Dr. Simeons research showed that the hypothamus could be set if you followed the protocol and learned a different way to eat. I am amazed!!! It has worked for me and is working for dh. We are both BELOW our last dose weight!!
Whatever you both decide, this forum can be an invaluable resource. Good luck to you.
Betty

[Sunny7]

do you mean pellets from netrition---i use them and have lost a lot of weight, i have used the drops, but prefer the pellets, i know quite a few on this board use them---i'm sure some will chime in---i would use the pellets or drops before injections, the cost for one thing---good luck to her in whatever she decides, but this board is the place to be if she does hcg, a lot of knowledgable people here

[zathlon]

Thanks, I've downloaded his book and will take time this week to review it.

[C'Marie]

I do the injections through my naturopath and it doesn't cost much at all - he's not a gouging clinic like some, just charges me his office fee at the beginning and gives me the Rx. It is a diabetic thin and very short needle, pretty painless. Easy. I'm done in one dose a day. I find it easier.

[zathlon]

My wife and I are going on a cruise in march, and we are wondering if it would be wise to do P2 before the cruise? As the cruise would start when we should be starting P3.

[shelbyla]

Hmmm...I went on a cruise after my first round but I was in P4. How are you at eating low carb with no sweets or starches AT ALL during tempting times? I know that with the best of intentions, I DID eat sweets on my cruise. It really is important to keep to that rule in P3.

[MooMoo]

I used the pellets from this site on my round and did well I thought. I liked that they are stable and I didn't have to worry about refrigeration and such. I kept a bottle at work and one at home. Quite easy. I can't compare to the injections as I did not go that route, but I did at first dry Rxdrops - while I had success with those, I found they didn't fit well with my lifestyle, so I bailed on em and then later (much later) gave the pellets a try.

Originally Posted by zathlon

My wife and I are going on a cruise in march, and we are wondering if it would be wise to do P2 before the cruise? As the cruise would start when we should be starting P3.

Personally I'd wait till after the cruise, or even use the last couple days of the cruise as your loading days. I planned my first round so I would be into P4 for my upcoming cruise (SATURDAY!) And will be loading the last two days of vacation. For me, to be in P3 on a cruise would be a nightmare. I like to have a cocktail now and then and that's way too much sugar for P3. It is possible to eat fairly clean, but you also will still be learning how you react to reintroducing foods back into your diet. Personally, as tempting as it is to want to lose some weight quickly prior, if you want it to stay off, I'd wait till afterward.

[shelbyla]

Assuming you load next weekend, if you did a short round of 25 days, you could technically be in P4 by March 7th. (Not that I would necessarily recommend that because I agree with MooMoo's excellent post above but it's a possibility at least.) When is your cruise?

[zathlon]

We sail out on March 4th. The earliest we could start the diet is this saturday. My logic behind it is if we do this diet we should lose at least 20 lbs before we cruise, and most importantly shrink our stomach so we wont eat as much on the cruise. But chances are we wouldn't be eating low carb on the cruise. I'm just wondering if this diet would increase our sensitivity to weight gain during our cruise?

[shelbyla]

It would for sure. It's not a very good idea to cut P3 short. It really is a critical phase to this plan. You learn how and what to eat and how much and what your body can and can't tolerate.

It's also not a method to shrink your stomach. I ate MORE after my rounds, particularly in P3, because you should be trying to eat to BMRx (bmr x activity level) to reset your metabolism at as high calories as possible. On March 4th, you would be 3 days shy of P4. Could you eat low carb for three days then ease into the starches and sugars? I honestly wouldn't recommend it but that's what I'd suggest if you're set in doing a round before the cruise. If you know that you'll eat starches and sugars on the cruise, I would definitely NOT do a long round. You'll need to keep an eagle eye on your weight on the cruise or you will be bound to gain it back so be sure to take a scale.

Also, it's not guaranteed that you'll lose 20 pounds in a short round. POSSIBLE but not guaranteed.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[zathlon]

Thanks for your advice. I think we'll just do low carb until the cruise and start loading up on the last day or two of the cruise. Is there a certain brand of food scale you'd recommend, and also where it could be purchased?

[shelbyla]

I think that's a really good plan. And you'll have fun loading your last couple of days. Just don't forget to take your hcg WITH you on the cruise! I had planned exactly that after my cruise before my second round but forgot my hcg.

I have had two food scales. I like the digital ones as opposed to the old fashioned dial kind. I bought my most recent one at my local grocery store but I bought my first one at a store we have called "Tuesday Morning"--kind of like Big Lots. They should cost more than about $20-30. Any brand is fine.

[jujewbee]

My doctor gave me the choice of injections or spray (2 sprays under the tongue). I have just started the spray (wouldn't mind injections, but the spray was cheaper) and I feel good. No hunger at all. Won't know about weight loss until Friday Dr. appt. I will be getting a scale soon, but don't have one currently. As for the diet, I am following what my Dr. gave me, a somewhat modified Dr. Simeons with a few more choices.