jvmd10's Journal, 08 September 2010

There's a vast amount of information out there. It's just a matter of finding it. Also, keep in mind, that there are doctors who do prescribe this method. And, it's not too different from what someone eats after a lap-band surgery. Huge difference between hCG and anorexia, lapband, and everything else? It's only for a short period of time. 3 weeks or 6 weeks. After the hCG phase, you maintain. This is not meant to be taken forever. And, when you are down losing what you wanted to lose, you do eat normally. Phase 2 (which is vlcd) is when a person is on hCG. Phase 3 is NOT vlcd. You go back to eating a normal amount of calories (I eat 2200+ typically). It is more like Atkins. No sugar. No starches. Phase 4 is when you slowly add sugar and starches. Note: I do not condone anorexia. This is not anorexia. And most people who do this diet are actually supervised by doctors. After their first round, they do it without purchasing supplies from clinics and doctors. I checked in with my doctor after my first round... and will check in again with him next week... and will check in again after my next round in September. So, yes, most of us are being supervised by doctors. What's interesting about the guidelines of the protocol is that there are consequences to both "cheating" (eating more than allowed) and being "over-enthusiastic". During VLCD, if you cheat, you gain weight. If you don't eat enough, you stall or gain weight. During the no sugar/no starch phase, if you don't eat enough, you gain weight. If you cheat, you gain weight. Same consequences during the next phase. For example, I cheated on the first day of Phase 3. Hoisin sauce has molasses. Scallon pancakes have starch. I gained the next day. During my last Phase 3, I didn't cheat, and I didn't run into this problem. Are eating habits changed? Yes. If the person is looking at this diet with full motivation to really lose weight and keep it off. Just like every diet. I went into this wanting to get back into my active lifestyle. Before I gained weight, I was active and ate poorly because it never affected my weight. I broke my foot twice, and being active was put to an end. Now, I can go back to my activities. Now, I do eat healthier. I still eat yummy things since I'm a foodie, but I make better choices. I do worry about some that do the diet and think it's a one time deal and they can go back to eating poorly without consequence. I worry that my boyfriend doesn't understand that he will have to eat better to maintain the loss... and that typical diet food is a problem. I worry that he will think he can just eat 1000 calories a day and fix a gain... because that's not how it works. But, like every diet and end result of the diet, it's about where that person is mentally -- if that person is willing to get to the root cause of the problem and change it. Eat better, exercise. We're not kids anymore where eating a burger, milkshake, and fries everyday is okay. Why not just skip the VLCD part? Bottom line? Rapid weight loss. My friend struggled for years trying to eat right and exercise. And she was a marine. Her weight didn't budge. A pound here. A pound there. Her doctor prescribed this. And that was it. 5 months later, she's at the weight she wanted. She back running around and being active. She's back to how her lifestyle was. As for me? I couldn't go back to combat martial arts until I lost the weight. I could go back to rock climbing until I lost the weight. And, I tried. I couldn't. The rewards were few. This is what worked for me. And, I get to start my training again next week. You can make your own food choices after VLCD. There are no lists to go off of during Phase 3 and Phase 4. Phase 3 is just no sugar and no starches. Phase 4 is when you slowly add them in. What's interesting about Phase 3 and Phase 4 is that you learn what your body likes and doesn't like. For example, while I may love chocolate dusted cashews (check out YumNuts... soo good), my body doesn't agree with me on it. I gained 1.5lbs the day later and had a horrible stomach ache.... And then there's my friend who learned that bananas aren't for her... as she ate one and gained 1.4 the next day. What I do on the foods I like that my body doesn't? I eat them in moderation. If I want the cashews, I'll only eat a handful. My friend, she'll only eat half a banana. Phase 4 only last 3 weeks... or when you have successfully added everything you wanted, learned on what doesn't work... and your weight doesn't fluctuate 1 - 2 lbs above. You know you're stabile when you can indulge in food and wake up the next morning with only a .2 - .4 gain or with no gain.... and you thought that you would have gained 3lbs from eating double fried chicken wings and cake. (I did eat these glorious buffalo wings and delicious cake during my last phase 4... and didn't gain the next day... but!! That does not give a person license to eat like that all the time! Just like in life, there are going to be events where you just enjoy all the food around -- birthdays, holidays -- ahem, Thanksgiving --, celebrations, etc.) So, the shortest about of time to when you can eat whatever? 9 weeks. Oh! Someone posted that hCG probably should be restricted to those that are grossly obese and are looking at lapband... I'm not going to disagree with it. In a broad point of view, yes. That makes sense. But for the people that do have a good head on their shoulders and know this isn't a fix and just want a boost, this is great for those people. The rapid weight loss is great to get people motivated to be healthier. I don't go around recommending the diet to everyone. Every diet has its own pros and cons. Atkins works for some. Nutrisystem works for some. Calorie counting works for some. hCG works for some. None of them are perfect. It's about finding what works for the person looking.