I Need Opinions Please!!!

[Turk]

Hi Everyone,

I am on day 38 of VLCD P2 not including my 2 load days. I know my 43 day round is at its conclusion and I am very excited about how much weight I have lost so far.

I am taking homeopathic HCG drops and am still feeling great after 38 days of 500 calories. I have lowered my drops a little bit to adjust for the hunger this late in the round and have now up my protein .5oz for being a tiny bit more tired than usual. This seems to have done the trick.

My question is this: I have not reached my target weight, which is only 7.8 pounds to go. I would like to extend my P2 round to reach my target weight. The last couple of weeks I have been playing with the same pound for a few days and then lose it and so forth. My overall averages says I am still losing .5 - 1 lbs. a day . Do you all think I should keep going? Should I still be losing a little more faster than I am towards the 40 day mark or am I on target?

P.S. I know the overall average is good per week, but when you look at the scale everyday and you play with the same pound (up and down) it seems like it takes forever to drop the pound. LOL

I don't really want to do a second round for 7-10 pounds if I don't have to but want some opinions from all of you.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, to everyone who has posted. It has helped me through these weeks to just read everybody's posts and their journeys. I can't say thank you enough.

[LaraSuzz]

Originally Posted by Turk

Hi Everyone,

I am on day 38 of VLCD P2 not including my 2 load days. I know my 43 day round is at its conclusion and I am very excited about how much weight I have lost so far.

I am taking homeopathic HCG drops and am still feeling great after 38 days of 500 calories. I have lowered my drops a little bit to adjust for the hunger this late in the round and have now up my protein .5oz for being a tiny bit more tired than usual. This seems to have done the trick.

My question is this: I have not reached my target weight, which is only 7.8 pounds to go. I would like to extend my P2 round to reach my target weight. The last couple of weeks I have been playing with the same pound for a few days and then lose it and so forth. My overall averages says I am still losing .5 - 1 lbs. a week . Do you all think I should keep going? Should I still be losing a little more faster than I am towards the 40 day mark or am I on target?

P.S. I know the overall average is good per week, but when you look at the scale everyday and you play with the same pound (up and down) it seems like it takes forever to drop the pound. LOL

I don't really want to do a second round for 7-10 pounds if I don't have to but want some opinions from all of you.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, to everyone who has posted. It has helped me through these weeks to just read everybody's posts and their journeys. I can't say thank you enough.

P and I says that there is a 36 day cap on how many days in a round unless you have additional weight to lose you could strech it to 40 days but you only have 7 pounds to go. I truly believe that this "rule" I will call it it is set for a reason. Not sure what it is but knowing what others have done and the results they have had.... I would say that you might start feeling ravenously hungry soon due to the fact that you have no more fat in cirulation. I think your body needs to rest after 40 days of 500 calories. When I say it like that it makes sense. Many people will say go ahead but think about muscle loss and just being good to your body in general. On the other hand I could say go ahead and do it but since youre losing half a pound to a pound a week that would take seven weeks or longer to reach your goal. I say take a break you have done well. Some postings say that you can continue on p2 indefinately however it dosent say that on the original manuscript and I try to live by that alone.

[Turk]

Thank you so much for your quick response. I was thinking about ending on the typical 40 day round to give my body a rest too.

I do have another question I made a mistake in my post. I originally wrote "My overall averages says I am still losing .5 - 1 lbs. a week, and I went back to edit it. I actually am losing that much a day not a week. Is your opinion still the same or does that make a difference if I stay on another week or two? I am still doing great on the drops and they say that you don't get immune to homeopathic drops as you do the injections. I have followed DR. S's protocol this whole time with never a cheat and I don't want to hurt my body or screw up stabilizing in P3, yet my inner voice is like just 7 more pounds LOL. I value your input, so I thank you for your time answering my questions..

[SueQ]

I have been where you are, Turk, twice! My first round was 50 days, my second was 43. I do RX tablets and my doctor says that we can stay on HCG indefinitely and that immunity is not a factor with the type of HCG I take. Both times my intention was to stay on until I hit goal, but something happens for me around 40 days where the losses slow down a little bit and it is hard for me to stay motivated. I get a little hungrier, and start to feel deprived in my food choices.

There are people on this board who stay on longer and do well maintaining, so my opinion is that it can work. For me personally, I do better emotionally if I listen to my body when it is telling me I am done. Otherwise my mood is driven by the scale on a daily basis dealing with those set-points and slower weight loss. It is a big relief for me to move into P3 and stabilize. My body seems to breathe a sigh of relief and I start to feel replenished, and I get to to see what is it like to live in a new smaller body for a little while.

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, just what is right for you at this time. No advice, just sharing my experiences. And there are lots of us here to cheer you on and support you whichever way you decide to go.

Congrats on your weight loss! You have worked really hard!

[Turk]

Thank you so much for your thoughts and encouraging words. I am definitely leaning on going another week or possibly two to see if I reach goal. I am still feeling great right now so I think I'll ride it out for a little longer.

I am amazed at how well I have done with the P2. I was ready for it to be done by day 21 because I was sick of eating the same thing. I finally said this is the only thing that has worked in 12 years so stick to it. Now I don't think about what I am missing (unless I smell the cookies everyone is baking in the house LOL.) I refrain from it. I keep telling myself that one day I will have that chocolate chip cookie again. My biggest craving has been a darn Pizza Hut pizza.

What is even crazier is I have only ate 4 different meals this entire protocol and just rotate them. It does get tiring sometimes but I am full after i eat. My job is very active and long hours(12 hrs) so I don't have time to cook the great recipes I see. For me I guess it is all about structure. I grill all the week worth of food and put them in their containers so I can grab-n-go. NO CHEATS to date.

Wow, 2 rounds of P2 is impressive to me. Once is enough for me. Where do you get the strength and determination to do multiple rounds? I just want to get to goal. I am so looking forward to P3 and the next challenge to stabilize. I can't wait to see what I can add and take out of my diet that will work with my body.

Question: when you transitioned to P3 did you lose inches while stabilizing your weight? I here a lot of people say there body reshapes in P3 while stabilizing. I sure hope so, I have tummy and saddlebag issues going on. LOL

Thank you again for all the support and cheers to our losses and may we reach or goals.

[SueQ]

I too, ate the same meals over and over again on P2. I need to not have to make a decision when it is time to eat Good for you on not cheating. It makes a huge difference and it makes more sense to stop the round if I am thinking about doing that - and that is where I got each time I decided to stop.

Two rounds wasn't hard as long as I got my head right and was ready to start again. 6 weeks of P3/P4 helped me get ready. I actually started a 3rd round and abandoned it; I didn't do a full P3/P4 in between. I have another 10-20 lbs left to lose but don't think I am going to do it on HCG. I totally understand wanting to get to goal and be done though!

I don't measure myself often in P3/P4, so I'm not sure about reshaping. I think a lot of reshaping happens for me during P2. It does seem that I lose a few pounds the days after I stop HCG and I definitely wear a smaller size at this weight than I ever have before. My waist is smaller proportionately to the rest of my body that it ever was. I do have a tummy, too that I want to shrink and am hoping some time of not dieting will give my skin and body a chance to catch up. I also think exercise is something I need to start for toning, and I didn't want to do that in P2. I also won't do it in P3 because I want to stabilize and not try to calculate what is water weight from exercise. It's on my P4 agenda for sure.

Cheering you on for the duration of your journey!

[Nicole T]

Have you thought of trying a few days of Fat Fasting? I have had great success with doing that and just lost 2lbs in 3 days doing it in the middle of my P2 round. It's also great to break up the monotony of all the fat free foods Check out the post here on the board--it should be close to the top.

[Turk]

I started reading about that. I think I might go back and take a look. It sounds like something I might try. I could use a change up from the same old stuff I eat. Will it affect me trying to stabilize in P3 since I am so close to the end of my P2? I sure would like to lose the remaining few pounds and move on to next phase.

FYI: Update this morning- First time I ever broke protocol was last night. I took my drops around 7:30 p.m. last night and was waiting to eat around 8:00 (I work long hours so I eat dinner on the late side). My twin sister lives across the street from me and she calls me to tell me her dog was not feeling well. She said that he tried to stand up and fell and she was concerned. Long story short, I grabbed my stuff ran over and helped her load him in the car and off to the Animal Emergency Hospital we go. Well Dusty passed away within the hour of cardiac arrest. My sister is devastated and distraught so needless to say dinner was never eaten. I spent the whole night with my sister and only managed to get my lunch in yesterday. Astoundingly I weighed myself this morning and lost 1.2 pounds. Not sure how that happened. hmmmm.....

Well I am going to eat my fruit this morning and get back on protocol. I am thinking about working a half day and going home to be with my sister. I might try to approach the idea of a new puppy and see what she thinks about it.

Thank you for the phenomenal support from everyone.

[Nicole T]

Originally Posted by Turk

I started reading about that. I think I might go back and take a look. It sounds like something I might try. I could use a change up from the same old stuff I eat. Will it affect me trying to stabilize in P3 since I am so close to the end of my P2? I sure would like to lose the remaining few pounds and move on to next phase.

FYI: Update this morning- First time I ever broke protocol was last night. I took my drops around 7:30 p.m. last night and was waiting to eat around 8:00 (I work long hours so I eat dinner on the late side). My twin sister lives across the street from me and she calls me to tell me her dog was not feeling well. She said that he tried to stand up and fell and she was concerned. Long story short, I grabbed my stuff ran over and helped her load him in the car and off to the Animal Emergency Hospital we go. Well Dusty passed away within the hour of cardiac arrest. My sister is devastated and distraught so needless to say dinner was never eaten. I spent the whole night with my sister and only managed to get my lunch in yesterday. Astoundingly I weighed myself this morning and lost 1.2 pounds. Not sure how that happened. hmmmm.....

Well I am going to eat my fruit this morning and get back on protocol. I am thinking about working a half day and going home to be with my sister. I might try to approach the idea of a new puppy and see what she thinks about it.

Thank you for the phenomenal support from everyone.

I did a Fat Fast in my last round and stabilized very well minus a run-in with a night of drinking. I can't promise it won't affect it but I don't think it will--especially if you only do it for a few days in the middle of a round. I went back to P2 protocol yesterday but stayed the same weight today. I'll be FFing tomorrow and Sunday again so we'll see.

So sad about your sister's dog! Losing a pet is SO very painful. I think today might be a bit too soon to talk about a new doggie but maybe in the upcoming weeks once the shock has worn off.