Newbiewith Questions
 

Hi all,

First timer to HCG and on VLCD day 4. So far I'm down 8lbs (2 gained from loading) and doing well managing hunger etc. Following STRICT protocol.

BUT, I have some questions and figured I'd try and post it all in one thread.
Will number to keep it simple.

1. Do I REALLY have to switch my toothpaste and Deodorant? My friend who did this changed out all beauty products including her toothpaste (most contain peppermint oil apparently) and deodorant and I hate this part. I can live without make up and even conditioner but the others I don't know. That said, I do NOT want to jeapordize a single lb so I'll do what I have to.

I have been using Spry toothpaste but I do not feel like my breath is fresh with it. (in fact I know it's not b/c Hubby told me so :sad:) Granted I've been eating a ton of garlic on this diet so that doesn't help but can someone tell me if I really need to make this swtich? What about Mouthwash? Also, anyone know about any Stevia gum or something that is safe in P2?

3. I've read that some people don't change any beauty products but for those who do, can you recommend brands of Shampoo, Conditioner, Lotion, Deodorant etc?

2. Is Bragg Liquid Amino REALLY ok on strict protocol? I keep reading about it so I bought some but if it could slow loss or stall me, I don't want to use it.

3. I sort of asked this in another thread, but has anyone found that they have slower loss or stall from too much Stevia? I'm afraid I'm using too much of it because yesterday I used a TON (was hungry and drank tons of tea) and I only lost 1lb. (I know 1lb is good but I was hoping for more since it's the first week)

4. My understanding is that each day you have 2 proteins, 2 fruits and 2 veggies and that you are not to mix them. But can you repeat two in the same day? i.e. Eat two apples, or double asparagus (at separate times)?

ETA:

5. If you come in under in your calories, say you have like 25 or so left, can you increase a portion of something to bring you to the 500? (a friend said yes but only for veggies or fruit not protein) Just want to make sure that is ok.

I know I have more questions but this will do for now. Any advice, help much appreciated! Thanks!

I'll throw in my two cents. But there are certainly others with more experience than me.

1. I didn't change my toothpaste or deodorant. That said, I normally use Crest Cinnamon (my fave, and no peppermint oil!) and Crystal Deodorant.

3. I would recommend any brand of crystal deodorant. I've been using them for years and thing they're great. They are not anti-perspirant, though.

2. Not sure about Braggs being on protocol. But a lot of people seem to use it.

3. I used Stevia every day in my tea and it didn't seem to affect me. Although, I guess you never know how much weight you COULD have lost. I think 1 pound in your first week is fantastic! 0.5 a day is average, so anything over that is awesome!

4. Yes, you can repeat. I had 2 apples almost every day. Now, I've read that some people can't do that because 2 apples would stall them. You may want to try some variations and see how you do, but it's not an exact science.

I hope you have an awesome P2!!

I can't really speak on most of the things you asked, but I can tell you that I was convinced my Diet Pepsi didn't affect my losses, and then when I finally cut it out, the weight started falling off...

That said, I still use sweet n low and splenda in both my coffee and tea.

I have not changed any of my beauty products. I'm a beauty industry professional so you can imagine the sheer number and cost of products I use, so there's no way I'm changing it.

First I am assuming you are doing sublingual homeopathic and not injections? Mint is only contraindicted for homeopathic. The oils are for all.

1. Do I REALLY have to switch my toothpaste and Deodorant?

Another Crest Cinnamon user here. It's yummy and is just like regular toothpaste. I used my regular deodorant.

2. What about Mouthwash? Also, anyone know about any Stevia gum or something that is safe in P2?

I used the yellow Listerine--the non-mint stuff. Tastes kind of yucky but works. Google for stevia gum but a friend used cinnamon gum during her whole round with no issues.

3. I've read that some people don't change any beauty products but for those who do, can you recommend brands of Shampoo, Conditioner, Lotion, Deodorant etc?

Look for shampoo and conditioners for oily hair. Those usually don't have oils. In fact MOST shampoos and conditioners, except for natural ones, don't have oils. Read the ingredients. As long as there are no injestible oils, you should be fine. Lotion, Lubriderm Sensitive skin and Neutrogena Oil Free.

2. Is Bragg Liquid Amino REALLY ok on strict protocol? I keep reading about it so I bought some but if it could slow loss or stall me, I don't want to use it.

Yes it's ok Watch the amount though. It has a lot of salt so you could retain water from that.

3. I sort of asked this in another thread, but has anyone found that they have slower loss or stall from too much Stevia? I'm afraid I'm using too much of it because yesterday I used a TON (was hungry and drank tons of tea) and I only lost 1lb. (I know 1lb is good but I was hoping for more since it's the first week)

LOTS of Stevia is fine. I use a ton and don't have issues. Your losses will naturaly go up and down. Don't worry about it.

4. My understanding is that each day you have 2 proteins, 2 fruits and 2 veggies and that you are not to mix them. But can you repeat two in the same day? i.e. Eat two apples, or double asparagus (at separate times)?

Yes you can repeat them. A lot of people try not to, but there is nothing in protocol other than a recommendation to not have beef twice in a day (too many calories).

ETA:

5. If you come in under in your calories, say you have like 25 or so left, can you increase a portion of something to bring you to the 500? (a friend said yes but only for veggies or fruit not protein) Just want to make sure that is ok.

Use up the extra calories in veggies, not fruit or protein.

Thank you all for the responses so far.

Shelbyla - I am doing injections. Does that make a difference? (is that frowned upon here?)

Also, I have been using my extra calories mostly to add another oz or two in strawberries. I also had extra asparagus once. Sounds like I need to stop that! Thanks for the heads up.

Yes, if you are doing injection it does make a difference for toothpaste, gum and mouthwash. Mint and camphor and tea tree are only contraindicted for homeopathic (interferes with absorption). You should be fine with mint anything if you are doing injections.

I always ate the following and it landed me exactly where I needed to be daily:

200g total of protein (7oz)
300-400g total of veggies (10.5oz-14oz--usually 100-150g lettuce at lunch and 200g cooked veggies at night for dinner)
400g total of fruit (14oz)

I didn't eat grissini often. I also ate a slightly larger portion of fish or shrimp (4-4.5oz) if I had them because the calories are so low that I had trouble getting 50 in if I didn't.

HTH

It makes me sad when people say that the oil-free stuff might just be superstition, and that there's really not a lot of conclusive evidence to suggest whether or not oils in cosmetic products will effect the diet, because as soon as I found out about the no oil thing, I started weaning myself off of oil products to get ready for this round of HCG.

I live for oils normally. I moisturize my face with pure jojoba. I moisturize my body with extra virgin olive oil. I moisturize my hair with pure argan oil and wash my face with argan oil. My shampoos and body soaps are handmade with saponified olive oils, and I even brush my teeth with a saponified oil.

Literally my entire life is OILS OILS OILS!! So a few weeks ago I start phasing those products out and have been washing with johnson baby wash and moisturizing with baby lotion and baby oil, as well as neutrogena oil free cleanser and moisturizer for my face.

My face is OILIER than usual because without my usual oils, it's producing more oil to make up for it, along with my skin being flakier and peelier than usual, leading to mass amounts of breakouts and blackheads, which is rough because my skin was doing so well at healing from my past acne problems, and I know these massive zits are gonna leave me with more scars and hyperpigmentation to heal over the next year.

The pads of my fingers and palms of my hands are so dried that the skin cracked and is bleeding. I don't know what I can do for my hands but literally everything I touch causes pain.

And lastly... I switched to the Crystal deodorant and I may as well just not use deodorant at all cause I stink to high heaven lol. I baby wipe my underarms every 3-4 hours and reapply, and lord I am just so embarassed to even go out in public.

I've spent the past couple years of my life steadfastly AVOIDING anything with mineral oil or silicone in it and now it's about all I can "safely" use, and boy is my body suffering for it :(

My hands are cracked and bleeding now too. And pre HCG I had this very expensive ointment from my Dermatologist that I used for things like that but it's definitely not safe if avoiding oil topically. I also have this deep crack in my toe that I can't address so I'm just keeping it in a bandaid so I feel your pain!

I've been breaking out too. Not sure if it's pending TOM, the HCG Hormone, or the change in products. Probably all of the above :(

I did find a decent lotion option you may want to check out:

It's Alba Oil Free Facial Moisturizer. I'm using it everywhere though. They carry it at my Target.

Also, try AquaPhor for hands, feet and lips. It weaned me off of a nasty lip balm habit that I've had for about 20 years. A lot of lip balms actually contain drying ingredients like camphor which is why I had to apply--and re-apply--and re-apply. Now I just do it once per day in the morning and I am totally fine all day long.

my lips are a little bit chapped but I'm quite lucky that I've never been much of a lip balm user, so slight amounts of chapping is totally normal and tolerable for me :)

I'm gonna look into the aquaphor and alba moisturizer!

I'm tempted to start wearing some cotton gloves to protect my hands. Sure it's summer and I'll look a little silly going around town with gloves on my hands, but if it helps my poor raw hands I'm all for it. Plus the cracked dead skin is a bit embarassing, I try to purposely keep my hands palm down when paying for things at a cash register so that it won't be seen!

Come day 1 of p3 I am going to slather myself up in jojoba and shea and all those lovely nut butters and oils and just soak it in!!