Life After Phase Two: Embracing Phase 3 of the HCG Diet

You have stuck at it! — The first two phases of the HCG Diet. Let’s recap quickly. Phase One where you front loaded as many calories as you wanted, was probably the best two or three days of the diet so far. Tainted only by your concerns regarding Phase Two; the caloric restrictions, and maybe the odd worry about how you would fare during this time.

But you got through it. By now, after several weeks on Phase Two you should notice more energy, and less craving for sugary foods and starches. Additionally, the headaches you might have experienced at the beginning of Phase Two, as your body adjusted to the caloric restrictions, may have gone now. Overall, you may be feeling more energized than you have felt in a long while.

So, you are about to enter Phase Three of your HCG Diet. This is where we begin re-introducing certain foods back into our food choices. Because we have cut out so many of the foods during the HCG Protocol, this is a great time to pay close attention to the way your body feels, i.e bloated, or less energy as you reintroduce small portions of the food back into your diet. After eating certain foods, any departure from an overall sense of wellbeing could indicate a food sensitivity, and one that may best be avoided as you move beyond the HCG Diet Protocol.

As always, whenever there are medical questions concerning your health or response to food, seek medical advice.

An Important Phase

Phase Three can be a volatile period simply because your body is now beginning to readjust to something closer to normal eating patterns. Think of this phase of as the start of eating for life. It is very important therefore to continue a disciplined approach to food choices. From this day forward you are committing to healthy food portions, and choices that reflect your health and wellness goals.

Think about it for a moment. Your body has just experienced profound weight loss over a very short period of time. You may have lost anywhere between 20 to 50 pounds! Now here’s the important thing to remember. With most extreme weight loss diets as soon as the dieter resumes normal eating habits, the weight piles back on, with likely even more on top.

Because during your diet, you incorporated HCG, or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, hormone into your diet plan, muscle loss will be negative compared with most diets following similar caloric restrictions. Muscle helps burn calories, helping to support a higher metabolism. In short, so long as you continue to observe the recommended food choices while on the Protocol, your weight should remain stable to within a pound or two.

Why a Third Phase?

As mentioned above, assuming you remained true to the Dr. Simeons’ protocol, you have lost a significant amount of weight. Phase Three is intended to accomplish three things:

  1. To help stabilize your weight after losing a large amount.
  2. Give your digestion a chance to adjust itself back to more normal eating habits.
  3. To help you pin down possible food sensitivities, any of which may have contributed to the weight gain, bloating, and lethargy that took you down the HCG path to begin with!

Size Does Matter

On-line searches fail to present a particularly united front on the amount of food or caloric intake on Phase Three, leading many to fear a return of the weight they worked so hard to lose. What is clear, is Dr Simeons, the founder of the HCG Diet Protocol, realized there were dieters who, having consumed only 500 calories per day for three weeks, were afraid to leave Phase Two for fear of weight gain.

What is clear is that portion size generally, has increased since Dr. Simeons’ day , so we may need to take a look at just how much food we are putting onto our plates. This is a good guide going forward anyway, since, particularly in America, there is a tendency toward filling our plates to the edge, leading to the inevitable consumption of more than we really need.

Aside from the obvious commitment to the removal of sugars or starches from our diet, consider putting less food onto the plate. To get used to this, place your food onto a smaller plate. A plate reserved normally for salads, for example would do fine. Purely from a psychological perspective, if your plate is full, your brain will think you have the same amount of food as a large plate!

This approach might also be a helpful tool in resetting your digestion. Generally speaking, following on from caloric restriction, the body is not particularly well equipped to consume large amounts of food straight away. By adding food back into your body in smaller portions, your digestive organs will be better able to cope.

Ask yourself. Would you immediately go from a 10 day juice cleanse straight to the fried chicken counter? The correct answer of course is, oh, no I wouldn’t. Of course not! Even if you did, I bet you might feel quite sick afterwards.

Counting Calories

The reality is, in one way or another, either literally, or through an educated guess regarding portion size; calorie counting is going to be part of your healthy eating and weight maintenance program going forward. During Phase Three there is the opportunity to create food choice and preparation habits that will last far beyond the HCG Diet Protocol.

Caloric additions over the Phase Three period last approximately three weeks. The guide below could be a useful tool when attempting to work out the appropriate number of calories to consume during each week of the phase.

  1. Week 1: 900-1000 Calories per day
  2. Week 2: 1100-1200 Calories per day
  3. Week 3: 1300-1450 Calories per day.

These numbers serve for guide purposes only. A person experiencing above normal physical activity or stress as part of their job or family situation may find they need to adjust accordingly.
As always, if you have concerns or questions, speak to your family doctor.

Food Choices

Other than the obvious sensible eating, it is not the intent of this post to venture into the specific: Do’s and Don’t’s of eating this or that. The simple fact of the matter is, there are as many food choices and suggestions out there, as there are food sensitivities or preferences and opinions standing behind them!

I could encourage healthy fats through the consumption of peanuts, only to be told you are allergic to peanuts. The same with the excellent protein to be found in shrimp. Only to learn you’re deathly allergic to shrimp. Steak then? You’re vegetarian. See? I’m scratching my head!

Rather, independent research should be encouraged, and I suggest as much here. Check your HCG Diet Protocol provider for recipe ideas and downloads. The bottom line is, eat the food that is as close to nature as possible within the caloric range, and that you are able to physically tolerate. As mentioned earlier; you may find during Phase Three that you are not able to tolerate some of the foods you ate before. Or you may find that a particular food was the food, guilty of making you bloat.

The obvious caution where fats are concerned is to eat healthy fats. Fat found in a brazil nut is a far cry from the fats found in a bag of potato chips or oven fries. Sugars? Keep those to a minimum too. Your calories need to be healthy calories. The carbs and sugar in a bagel are better than those in a chocolate donut. But a banana beats both of those.

Be mindful of where your calories are coming from and adjust.

Your body is going to respond differently than the next body. Some combinations of carbs and fats may wreak havoc on one, and not another. Leading me back home to my original point.

Keep at it. Like every goal worth pursuing, it takes time, patience and the development of knowledge along the way. But you have made it this far. Congratulations. Be proud and celebrate the new version of you.

Still Unsure of How to Undertake the HCG Diet?

If you haven’t heard of the HCG protocol, then you ought to know that this is the ideal diet that will save you the stress of starving yourself to death for the sake of eliminating the extra fats that have been consistently killing your dieting efforts.

Do not despair. With the HCG diet, expect to engage in fewer workouts, and minimal or no muscle engaging fitness programs at all. This is because this diet will allow you to adopt the best eating techniques that will help you build the new body you that you’ve been longing for. HCG can help redistribute the fat to the proper places on your body; sculpting an entire new body in place of the old you.

Get this right; having such good eating habits will not only keep you healthy, but will also aid in maintaining the new body weight that you’ve acquired with the HCG Diet plan. Yes, we agree, there are tons of recommended diets online that could probably work for you, but who doesn’t love to associate himself/herself with the best available?

Beware that the HCG Diet is always divided into two parts: the HCG product and the very low-calorie eating. Be selective when choosing the type of food to include in your diet, and as you do this, ensure that do not go past the set amount of 500 calories in a day.

You should go ahead and weigh the quantity of your food on a food scale to ascertain that it is the right amount that you are about to consume. Be precise.

Before commencing to consume the low-calorie foods, certify that you have your HCG product. It’s one of the vital essentials in this diet, and its purpose is to boost your energy level by accessing your body’s fat stores, so that you can maintain your normal activities while undergoing the weight loss process.

Also, if you have cancer, diabetes, gallbladder disease, or blood clots in your family, the HCG Diet may not be right for you. Stop using the medication immediately and check with your doctor Pregnant or breastfeeding mothers are also exempted.

This means that everyone who is planning to use the HCG Diet should first go through a thorough, in-depth medical evaluation to determine whether they are fit for use of HCG.

HCG Diet Details

During your day one and two of using the HCG Diet, eat foods that have high fats contents. Eat between 3000 to 4000 calories of dairy products, nuts and fried foods in a day. Do not restrict yourself. Eating fatty foods is a vital procedure that will help you to control your cravings after you’ve started the next chapter of doing away with such kinds of food. This is called the loading phase of the HCG Diet.

The next few weeks are bound to be hectic. You’ve got this! On the third day, you have to restrict your diet and eat a maximum of 500 calories per day. This could be tough, right? You will also have to maintain this eating pattern up to the 26th day while you are also taking the daily dosage of the HCG hormone.

Your cravings could intensify, but you can suppress them and keep yourself fit by drinking more than 64 ounces of water per day. The HCG helps to deal with cravings and hunger.

Scheduled Meals on the HCG Diet

You are to eat lunch and dinner and two other separate snacks each day during the HCG Diet. The recommended snacks should either be a melba toast (Alternative for a piece of bread) or one yummy fruit (choose one among a handful of strawberries, one medium-sized apple or orange, or a half grapefruit).

It is preferable if you divide your snacks between the two meals. Have the melba toast for lunch and consume the remaining selected fruit during or after dinner.

In the HCG Diet plan, it is also helpful to take vitamins to boost your system. Take a Vitamin D and Potassium supplement. The Potassium supplement should have a minimum of 99mg in it while the Vitamin D supplement should possess 1000 units. Ingest the Potassium supplement three times and the Vitamin D once in a day.

The HCG Lunch and Dinner

The proportion of the meat, vegetables, melba toast, and the fruit in your HCG Diet should be balanced. The chosen meat should be approximately 3.5 ounces with no added fats or bones. Include either skinless chicken breast, cold water fish, lobster, buffalo, or crab in the diet.

The meat should also not be fried with oil or butter, just grill or broil it. Add a little pepper, vinegar or salt to spice it up. Pickled fish, salmon, canned tuna, and deli meats aren’t fit for this diet. Avoid them as much as possible!

The rule still stands; no oil or butter should be added when preparing your vegetables and do not eat just one type of vegetable for all your meals. You can eat three cups of raw spinach, green salads, or beet greens. Red radishes (a cupful), onions (half a cup) and tomatoes (one medium size) are also ideal.

The HCG Phases

Dr. Simeons, the founder of the HCG Diet, divided the diet patterns into the three phases below.

  • Phase 1- This is the cleansing phase that can speed up your weight loss. It is a bit expensive and consumes a lot of time. (This phase was actually added by Kevin Trudeau in his book about the HCG Diet called “The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want you to Know About”.)
  • Phase 2- This phase is divided into three parts: the loading, the core diet, and the taper-off phase. This phase is meant to create awareness so that those on the diet can know its purpose. In the loading phase, you’ll have more intake of fats to replenish your fat reserves. In the core phase, you’ll continue the 500-calorie diet with the HCG hormone injections, and this should last up to 40 days. In the taper phase, you won’t take any of the HCG, but you will continue with the 500 calorie diet for three more days.
  • Phase 3- This is where the maintenance diet comes in. You will go back to eating a low carb diet and do away with the HCG Diet and the HCG Hormone. Eat as much as you want while maintaining your new weight within 2 pounds of your weight of the day of your last injection. You can proceed to start over again after 6 weeks off of HCG. If you need to lose more weight, this is called doing another round of HCG.

Conclusion

The HCG Diet plan is simple, but if you miss out on the little details then you will probably struggle on the plan. You won’t achieve the optimum results that you badly want. Abide by the scheduled meals to stay healthy and active. It can be done, just do your part by sticking to the plan closely to succeed.

HCG Hormones and Your Weight Loss Regimen

Referred to as HCG, Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin is a hormone. The basic function of this hormone is to nourish a fetus during the early stages of pregnancy. Our body produces HCG naturally from a component of the fertilized egg. However, synthetic HCG powder is made by extracting it from the pituitary glands of a pregnant woman. A wide range of HCG products are created by using this powder.

Dr. ATW Simeons, a British endocrinologist, first identified the connection between HCG and weight loss. He suggested that this hormone renders unbelievable results when it comes to losing an enormous amount of weight. Initially, only the injection form of HCG hormone was available in his protocol. However, at present numerous other forms like pills and drops have been formulated in an attempt to add more convenience to the consumer.

Comparing the Effectiveness of HCG Injections with Drops and Pellets

While differentiating between the efficacy of injections, pellets, and drops, it is essential to know the procedure and steps associated with each of these methods. As far as HCG injection is concerned, it is usually injected into the abdominal area. Nevertheless, upper arm, buttocks, or thigh are some of the other places where you can inject the dose. Any minimal side effects felt eventually minimize after a few hours.

Using drops and pellets appears to be a relatively simple process. However, it is not as effective as the injections. Since you need to place them beneath your tongue, chances are there that you may not absorb the complete dosage. This may happen when you drink something within a few minutes of taking HCG pellets or drop or even if you do not hold them under your tongue for a long enough period of time. This is considered as the major drawback of HCG drops and pellets. In fact, the dose takes some time to completely dissolve and enter into the bloodstream. Hence, it is advised to stick with injections for the most effective HCG protocol possible.

As a whole, each of the above-mentioned methods of administering HCG can seem to have their plus points. Some people are comfortable with the drops and pellets. Others who are determined to lose their weight quickly prefer the tried and true method of injections.

VITAMIN B12: An Essential Component of HCG Diet

The Vitamin B12 supplement plays a pivotal role to enhance the efficiency of the HCG diet. This is the reason Vitamin B12 is sometimes sold along with HCG kit. During weight loss protocol, it is consumed in a liquid form. Although there are numerous health benefits associated with this vitamin, its positive impacts as a part of the HCG diet are simply amazing. Vitamin B12 enhances the absorption of HCG and provides desired results within less anticipated time. Apart from this, Sublingual Vitamin B12 is observed to provide an extra boost, which some people require to sustain perfect physical and mental health, while following the strict HCG diet protocol.

Things to Consider while Purchasing the HCG Hormone

Since different companies manufacture HCG hormone, there are various brand names available in the market. Some of the leading brands include Corion, Ovidac, and HuCoG. We have found most of the brands to be essentially equal in effectiveness on the HCG Diet Protocol. Hence, you should try and experiment, as to what brand works best for your body. Besides this, the most essential aspect while purchasing the HCG supplies is to look for a trusted provider.

Buying HCG is not a big deal, as there are various options including pharmacies (require a script from your doctor) and online providers. Make sure to do your research prior to choosing a product. By doing so, you can find the best product suited to you both in terms of price and quality.

Following are the aspects that you should keep in mind before purchasing HCG hormone.

Quality and Quantity: Both the quality and quantity of HCG hormone should be your concern. Look for superior quality pharmaceutical powder composed of HCG in pure form.

Dosage Information: The product must offer clear information, as for how to administer the dose. This will ensure that you get the best possible outcome after taking the required amount of this hormone.

Avoid HCG-free Drops: If you are thinking about choosing the homeopathic version, make sure that the product contains actual HCG hormone, as in most of the cases, these drops are HCG-free. They even brag about the fact that they contain no HCG hormone like that is actually a good thing. This really means that you wouldn’t get the desired results with this type of product.

Specific Diet Information: In fact, if you don’t follow a particular diet plan while taking HCG, it would not yield any positive results for your weight loss regimen. So, choose only such a protocol, which provides specific diet information. The company must share all the details regarding what foods you can eat and what precautions to take. Something like the original HCG Protocol by Dr. ATW Simeons is a long-time proven method.

Homeopathic Vs Pharmaceutical HCG Hormones

Pharmaceutical HCG comes in a powdered form. The solution is prepared by mixing the HCG powder with bacteriostatic water. The solution is then injected under the skin as per the prescribed dosage in the protocol. For optimum results, you should know the recommended method of mixing the HCG powder and creating a solution that is right for you. Apart from the injection, there is another alternative method known as sublingual HCG. It involves placing a few drops under the tongue 2 times per day.

Whereas, homeopathic HCG is available in the forms of drops, pellets, and patches. It has been observed that homeopathic drops contain no HCG hormone. The only thing present in these drops is the memory of such a hormone. Although this type of medication works to some extent, scientists are still unable to explain the reasons for any such effectiveness.

Apparently, the method of injecting HCG appears to be difficult at first, but you will get used to it. In fact, HCG injections are the most effective method to administer HCG for weight loss protocol. This is so, as you intake a measured amount of this hormone with each daily dose.

Has Your Weight Loss Journey Become Stagnant?

Working out for weight loss

The weight loss journey is a thrilling one that has its share of ups and downs. At the beginning it seems like the pounds just melt off and it is thrilling to step on the scale, do your measurements, and put on old clothes that haven’t fit for years. Friends and family start commenting on how fantastic you look and they are full of positive reinforcement. During the middle part of your journey the differences start to slow down and the rewards start to stagnate but you still see positive changes. The end of the weight loss journey is by far the most difficult. You may feel like you are stuck in a holding pattern. The final ten pounds are going nowhere and you are beginning to wonder if you will ever have the body that you dreamed of.

You begin to wonder if it was all worth it and begin to fantasize about eating the foods that you have avoided during your journey. Don’t do it! You have invested so much effort into this and it is so easy to slide back into old habits. Try to find new things to occupy your time instead of just worrying about the fact that you are not losing any weight.

Focus on positive things in your life. Your health is better now that you have made a real dent in your weight. You have come so far and sabotaging it now is the last thing that you should do. Instead try to figure out what made you gain all of the weight in the first place. Do you have an eating problem? There are weight loss support groups that you can join that will help you change your relationship with food. Maybe you were simply eating out of boredom. Find new activities on which to focus your energy.

Try finding a new form of exercise. If you were walking before, now might be a good time to give running a try. There are always 5km and 10km runs going on in the community for which you can sign up. If you are feeling ambitious, you could start training for a half marathon. If you are looking for an individual sport there are many different options like karate, judo, mixed martial arts, swimming, weightlifting, or cycling. If team sports are more your thing you could try soccer, basketball, baseball, or volleyball. The key is to focus your energy on something fun instead of just weighing yourself and being frustrated by the lack of change.

You will get there! You will lose that last ten pounds, and you will have the body that you have always dreamed of. Keep focusing your energy on the positive aspects of your weight loss journey. The Dr. Simeons HCG Diet works and you have already seen such a positive transformation. Keep following the diet, step up your exercise game, find new areas of interest to focus on and you will be at your goal weight before you know it!

What Can I Eat on the HCG Diet?

Salad for weight loss

What can I eat on the HCG Diet?

Eating only 500 calories a day might seem difficult to maintain. And having limitations on what you can eat to make up those 500 calories can seem nearly impossible. Planning and being clear on what you can have is key. Consider having just coffee or tea for breakfast and concentrate on getting much of your nourishment during lunch and dinner. You can also prep some of the meals at the beginning of the week if you don’t think you’ll have time to cook and plan during the week.

Below is the list of foods that you can have on the HCG low-calorie diet without ever worrying about feeling hungry.

Fruits you can have

  • Oranges
  • Apples
  • Lemons
  • Strawberries

Proteins you can have

  • Veal
  • White Fish
  • Lobster
  • Crab
  • Shrimp
  • Extra Lean Beef
  • Buffalo
  • 3 Egg Whites
  • Scallops
  • Chicken

Vegetables you can have

  • Celery
  • Spinach
  • Fennel
  • Chard
  • Onions
  • Beet Greens
  • Cucumbers
  • Green Salad
  • Cabbage
  • Mixed Greens
  • Red Radishes
  • Shallots
  • Asparagus
  • Tomatoes

Beverages & Extras

  • Tea, Coffee, Water
  • Stevia
  • Spices & Dried Herbs
  • Grissini or Melba Toast

Chicken & Tangy Sauce for Phase 2!

Yes, I said SAUCE!

Ok, it’s not gravy-type sauce, but it is yummy flavor for your chlicken. Here’s what to do:

-Cut your chicken breast into cubes. (Remember to weight your chicken before starting. 100g if you’re following Dr. Simeons Protocol)

-In a medium saucepan, add the following:

-1/4 cup water

-2tbs (ish) Vinegar (Pick your favorite – I like white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar for this)

-1 packet PureVia or Truvia (if you use them), or a pinch of pure Stevia. (I use just a little bit on the end of a teaspoon.)

-Salt & Pepper to taste.

Cover. Cook over medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Stir occasionally. Remove lid, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook uncovered until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. STAY WITH IT! This dish will go from delicious to disaster in seconds.

Once the water has almost completely evaporated, let it cook a little longer (30 seconds or so) until the liquid looks thick and coats the chicken. Serve Immediately.

This recipe can also be done with beef. Just use balsamic vinegar for the lighter vinegars.

Feel free to add different spices and seasionings to make the dish your own!

Enjoy!!!

Do HCG Injections Hurt?

Dr. Simeons’ HCG diet protocol uses HCG Injections on a daily basis so if you’re a bit put off by the idea of having to give yourself injections daily, read on:

“HCG Injections can be quite painless. The whole theory behind HCG is that it helps you to lose weight using only your fat reserves, while at the same time keeping your brain out of “famine” mode and sparing critical fat and muscle.”

The needle gauges we offer are very small – 27g or 28g. Many people have reported barely feeling anything at all when giving themselves the injections, especially with the 28g needle. Of course everyone is different but if you’ve come this far, go for it!

WE ARE NOT DOCTORS. HCGSupplies.com and it’s blog (site.hcgsupplies.com/blog) does not offer or provide medical advice. All statements are for informational/entertainment purposes only and are the opinions of the blog author. If you have questions about your health and/or your medications, please contact a medical professional.