The maximum amount of time one can be on the HCG diet using the HCG drops is 60 days plus maintenance. (When using injections, the maximum is 40 injections.) Those 60 days break down as follows: 2 days of fat loading, 55 days of VLCD, 3 days of transitional VLCD. The maintenance phase is 6 weeks long and is broken into two stages (M1 & M2), each lasting 21 days. The minimum is 21 days of VLCD and you can stop anytime up to 55 days on VLCD.
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The minimum amount of time one can be on the HCG diet is 26 days, plus maintenance. Those 26 days break down as follows: 2 days of fat loading, 21 days of VLCD, 3 days of transitional VLCD. The maintenance phase is 6 weeks long and is broken into two stages (M1 & M2), each lasting 21 days. You can stop anytime up to the maximum of 55 days on VLCD.
There isn’t a diet out there where you are able to eat whatever you want to excess and expect to never gain weight. However, when following our lifestyle recommendations after the protocol, and by using the tool of a Steak Day, you should be able to eat a normal diet and expect your weight losses to be permanent.
Your body will have a higher metabolism, which means incoming fuel is burned rather than stored as abnormal fat. So long as you don’t overwhelm your metabolism by prolonged over-eating, which would cause you to store rather than burn, your state of “obesity” (as defined by Dr. Simeons) will be considered cured.
How long will I keep the weight off after completing the HCG protocol? Is the weight loss permanent?
As long as Maintenance 1 is followed precisely AND necessary lifestyle changes are made, you may expect to maintain your new body with little effort, while still enjoying your favorite foods. (Don’t be surprised when you find that old favorites aren’t nearly as attractive or tasty as they once were – that happens ALL the time!) It is important to check your weight frequently and use the Steak Day tool on any day you reach a gain of more than two pounds over LDW (Last Drops Weight – the weight you were on your last morning of HCG drops).
Read Dr. Simeons Protocol manuscript titled Pounds and Inches: A New Approach to Obesity located here: http://www.ThinNow.com/P&I.pdf. Take notes, write down questions and contact us for a better understanding. The only 'dumb' question is the one that's never asked. In addition, when you place your order you’ll get a confirmation email with instructions on “How to Prepare for the HCG Protocol.” If you don’t receive your order confirmation email, log into your PCA (Private Client Area) and you will find a link for “How To Prepare…” on the home page.
Make sure you join our support forum at http://www.ThinNow.com/forum and check out our Facebook support page at http://www.facebook.com/myhcgplus. You will be surprised at how helpful this is.
Yes! The HCG protocol is very precise and the guidelines must be followed exactly or one cannot expect results. It is the combination of the HCG drops and the HCG diet guidelines that produces results – simply taking HCG drops alone is not effective for weight loss.
Think of the protocol as a treatment or a prescription, not as a diet. On regular diets, you can cheat without making much of a difference. On the HCG protocol, cheating even once means you have stopped the treatment and you run the very real risk of stalling for several days or gaining. You can recover from that, but you lose more ground than you would on a diet.
While it is true that someone can eat 500 calories and lose weight, this will not be allowed to happen for an entire three weeks. The body will only allow this to occur for 3 to 5 days at which point it will go into survival mode. This will be apparent by the lack of energy and an increase of hungry to the extreme. It will include hunger headaches and weight loss would stop. The body would then begin to turn everything eaten into fat stores. The body will not allow this situation to last for longer than 5 days without doing something to force the person to eat. In the event that the person refuses to eat, the body goes further into survival mode and slows the metabolism.
The body was not designed to thrive but to survive. When we use the "traditional" weight loss methods, (like extreme exercise and reduced calories), weight loss is indeed possible; however it often comes directly from lean muscle mass and the essential structural fat. That is why it is very common for people to regain the weight once returning to "normal eating". They will also gain a few additional pounds because the body is trying to create an environment for survival. The same is true when diuretics and other weight loss pills and powders are used.
Exercise is NOT required while using HCG for weight loss. We recommend that you do not incorporate NEW forms of exercise during the VLCD, although non-strenuous movement like walking, yoga (no hothouse yoga, even you have done this prior to starting the protocol) or stretching for up to an hour a day has shown to be fine.
If you have been on a regular exercise routine prior to doing the HCG Protocol, you may continue (with the exception of hothouse yoga). You may find that after a week or so you no longer have the stamina to work out at the same pace. This is normal and is not cause for alarm. At this point, we would suggest that you cut back on the duration and intensity of your routine.
After completing VLCD, we have found it best to not add new (or increase) exercise until you have completed your first week of Maintenance 1. Remember to increase your calorie intake accordingly to accommodate your exercise routine.
Supplements are not required while on the HCG diet because fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed through the intestinal tract with the help of lipids (fats). While on the HCG diet, the body is mobilizing fat stores and would still be able to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins because of the fat (lipids) released into the blood stream by the HCG.
Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body tissue while water-soluble vitamins are not. This means that one can reach toxic levels of fat-soluble vitamins more easily than one can with the water-soluble vitamins, as those are the ones that the body will expel via urine if they are in over-abundance.
Before beginning any supplement, please do some research – including talking to your doctor to verify that the supplement is right for you.
While Dr. Simeons states in Pounds and Inches that it is common for people to lose 1 to 2 pounds daily during the first week or so, this rate of weight loss does not continue throughout the protocol. He states this as well but most HCG companies work very hard to keep that quiet.
Here at ThinNow.com, we have chosen to make sure that people understand that weight loss slows after the first week and they can expect to see 1/2 to 1 pound AVERAGE daily loss over the VLCD phase. Men often lose closer to the 1 pound daily average; women tend to be closer to the 1/2 to 2/3 pound daily average.
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