How many roundds should I do?
 

I have a few questions. I'm back on HCG and just started loading yesterday. I have 80-100 pounds to lose depending on how I look at 80 pounds lost.

How many rounds of P2 should I do?

How many long should I wait between rounds?

When should I begin P3?


Right now, I'm doing the drops, but I'm going to start the pellets and see how I like them and how they might work for me. Is it ok to switch from drops to pellets in the same round or should I wait until this first round is over? TIA!

Read this it will answer all of your questions..
http://www.poundsandinchesaway.com/w...manuscript.pdf

Thanks, I've read it. :shake: I guess I just wanted a personal point of view from someone who has lost this much weight and how they did it and if it was different from the protocol cause I'm lazy this morning and didn't wanna read through pages and pages on the forum :laugh:

I'm also confused about how long to wait between rounds and how many rounds of P2 to do. I'm going to go read some more :(

Some people say tuna is on the approved list, but Dr. Simeons says tuna is not okay during P2. Some things are just confusing :stars:

Star--it really depends. If your rounds are short then you need to do more of them. I only did the short rounds. That would be only 23 days. I then took the 3 weeks of P3 and the 3 weeks of P4 between each round. I never lasted longer than that on P4--wanted to get the weight loss going. I lost all I needed to in 3 rounds--I needed to lose 45 pounds. I think it took me about a year and a half. I know that C'Marie lost 100 lbs--she would be a good one to ask. I remember her posting how long it took very recently, but I have since forgotten. Tuna is definitely a no-no. Remember this, if nothing else, this diet is low calorie AND low fat. You want to eliminate your use of ALL fats and oils. So no oily fish! And no oily lotions/shampoos/makeup/etc too.

HTH!!

Having done only three rounds myself I can't say what's right for you. I can say you should do the first round as clean as you can and stay on as long as you feel is right for you. I did it for the minimum because I got so tired and bored with the diet. As the end approaches, you will know psychologically if it is time to quit. If you are not doing injections, you can go as long as you want, but psychologically it was easier for me to keep that first round short. You will also get a "gauge" from that first round of what to realistically expect from subsequent rounds. Here is the rub, however. You will probably not lose quite as vigorously again on subsequent rounds. Round 2 seems to be universally hard for almost everyone I have read posts from. I would do rounds as long as you can stand (that is what I am doing on my 3rd round) but at some point you will notice that your losses are slowing down. To some degree, that is normal and to be expected. If you think it is within the pattern you showed your first round (again why it is so important to do that first round clean), then keep going on each round as long as you can. Your body will tell you when to end it by either you being psychologically sick of the diet, your rate of losses will slow so it isn't worth it, or you will just feel tired and in need of break. Then you do a P3 and a P4. It is so important to do P3 correctly or you will gain again. I think ultimately it becomes a balance of how long you can psychologically stand a round of p2 versus taking a break then taking advantage of the more rapid loss at the beginning of each round. You have to take longer and longer breaks between the rounds as you progress, but the losses slow at the end of each round. So it becomes a game of taking more rounds (and benefit from the stabilizing effect of each) versus getting there all at once. It probably depends on your personality too. I am finding P3 a lot easier, so I am going to try and stick it out as long as I can because I don't want to wait for another P3 and P4 interval to lose the weight. I am planning to break it down into 3 or 4 more rounds, but ultimately I will pay attention to what my body is telling me and stick with it as long as I can as long as the losses are going at a rate of about 0.5 to 1 pound per day because that is what I think is the max per day I can lose. IF it slows to less than that, I will cycle and break it up into more rounds.

Thanks Dawn! I'll see if I can find her posts and see how she did it! I appreciate all the info you've given me on how you did it :)

Ok, so he said no to tuna cause it's oily. But, Albacore tuna isn't oily and if you get in spring water it really isn't. I would think that would be better than beef as beef is more fatty. I'll look more into that. Yes, I know about oily cosmetics. I use mineral makeup anyway. Thanks!

I don't try to rationalize--I just follow the rules. Like I posted before I do it by the rules. I don't do turkey or broccoli or blueberries because they are not on the food list. I eat only the foods on the list. But that is me. I think it is best to not question and just do it by the book. You get the best results that way.

I do want the best results, so I'll be a good girl and follow the rules. At least for this first round :)


On another note, I have not had a migraine yet! :clap: I hope that continues. I'm so pleased with the energy and appetite suppression too! :jumpjoy:

Thank you SO much!!! I really appreciate your help :)

HIYA.... C'Marie here :)

Yes, 100 pounds with hcg is possible. I lost 32 pounds first round, 22 on the 2nd, 18 on the 3rd, so just about 75 within the first 8 months of 2010. Then I have been slowly inching my way down the scale from there. The most dramatic of it will be your first 2-3 rounds. I did the required breaks, 6 weeks between round 1 and 2, and 8 weeks between round 2 and 3 and 12 weeks between 3 and 4 etc... it gets longer.

I have a thread that is buried somewhere that chronicles some thoughts on that journey, something like advantage of being a multi-rounder, I can go see if I can search to find it and link to it. I'm not very good at that stuff.

Think this'll get you to it:
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/hc...rounder-7.html

My main advice is to follow the protocol. Nothing else. Don't let anyone deter you. It's such a short period of time, I don't care WHAT Dr. S said to eat, if it was tuna/oatmeal/dogbiscuits every single day I'd probably do it. I was desperate to lose the weight. You have to ask yourself, "Am I desperate/committed enough" to do it ? I don't say that to be all preachy or harsh, I'm not like that. I encourage everyone, even if they don't do it to protocol. But my advice is to follow what he said. After all, he did it for 40 years. Why mess with success? Life's too short to stay fat. If for some reason you do the first round and just utterly hate it, then you can see what the differences would be if you made a tweak or two in your next rounds.

OH - DO NOT CHEAT. On this plan, it has fairly large consequences - weight gain quickly, increased cravings, and possible trouble with maintenance. Just.say.no.

C'Marie--I was at the point where I said "If I have to eat dirt I will to lose this weight". Little did I know that some people are actually eating dirt to lose weight LOL. Have you seen the DE thread on the JUDDD forum??? :hyst::hyst: but yes, I totally agree with you, if he wanted me to eat dog biscuits I probably would :hyst::hyst::lol::lol:

Yes, I take DE too but not for weight loss - silica for joints :)

Thanks so much for your help! I'm going to process all of this :)

Ok fair enough...

How many rounds of P2 should I do? You can loose this weight in 3-4 rounds if you keep it tight in between meaning dont gain over 2 lbs from last dose weight

How many long should I wait between rounds? you can do the standard 6 weeks, 9weeks, 12 weeks or wait 3 weeks and go right back into phase two which I've done and it works.

When should I begin P3? after at least 26 days od very low calorie phase you can go to phase 3

On switching during a round I personally wouldnt cause I would be afraid it would take longer to absorb and youd be really hungry and or weak.

Thanks so much! If the 3 weeks works then that may be what I do. I've read where others have done the 3 weeks. I'll just go by what my body does and works for me, but hearing what has worked for others helps me :)

Personally I think that's the best way, to try to not get too into numbers for how many days/how many pounds per round.

I'm not super experienced, took off 50 pounds in one short round and two long ones, 23 days and about 45 respectively. My last round, I should have cut it off a week sooner, as I had a weight in my head and was just a few pounds shy.

Personally I did at least six weeks between rounds. For me stabilizing was not that difficult, but I also felt it important to do at least three weeks of maintenance with adding in a few carbs.

I finished my last round the end of March, three months ago. I'm actually four pounds lighter than I was then, but I've been doing brisk walking three to five times a week.

I wish you well. My daughter is currently finishing up her first round, about six weeks with a planned one week interruption in the middle. She's lost 34 pounds, about a third of what she wants to lose. BUt listen to your body and mentally, if you're just "done", you're better off to cut it off as a short run rather than stay on the drops and start cheating.

Bevvy, thanks for your help :) Congrats on your weight loss! Also, congrats to your daughter on her success!

sorry for the silly question- but what do you do during the 3 weeks before you go right back into phase two?

If you're going to do a short 3-week break you would do P3 only - no starch no sugar and watch it so you don't start gaining any at that time.