Leez

I'm at goal now after following the HCG protocol. I waited the suggested times between rounds and followed protocol as exactly as I could. I'm wearing 4's and 6's at a weight which previously had me in 12's. That is so amazing---HCG produces a different kind of weight loss than other diets and you end up smaller than you expect.

Every part of the protocol is important to your success, but I am blogging this post because so many people are tempted to rush the mandated waiting times. What follows are my thoughts about those waiting times, and why they are so important.

As to immunity, if you are planning multiple rounds, you really don't want to risk immunity by not waiting long enough in between. You could be fine in that respect, but what if you were one of the ones that became immune? You would have lost HCG as a tool to get you to your goal. Or at the least have to wait up to a year before trying again.

But there are other benefits to the waiting times:

• Your skin has a chance to shrink up. This is super important if you don't want hangy skin and need a tummy tuck and arm flap removal. I've lost over 100 pounds and I have very little loose skin now. (I think dry skin brushing helps too)
• Your liver gets a rest from processing all that fat.
• There is a reshaping that takes place in the waiting time. Sometimes not till the end of or after P3. Its worth waiting to see how your body will react. You may find you've made more progress in inches than you thought.
• And maybe most important---you have the opportunity to practice maintenance and find out what works for you. If you ignore the waiting times, you lose those opportunities that will help you find out how to keep your losses. That is huge. I didn't start to really figure it all out until after my 6th round when I had to practice for 8 months. But I did and I started round 7 at my LIW from round 6. After all other rounds, I had regains.

The waiting times between rounds are outlined in P&I :

Further Courses
Patients requiring the loss of more than 34 lbs. must have a second or even more courses. A second course can be started after an interval of not less than six weeks, though the pause can be more than six weeks. When a third, fourth or even fifth course is necessary, the interval between courses should be made progressively longer. Between a second and third course eight weeks should elapse, between a third and fourth course twelve weeks, between a fourth and fifth course twenty weeks and between a fifth and sixth course six months. In this way it is possible to bring about a weight reduction of 100 lbs. and more if required without the least hardship to the patient.

On extending the length of your rounds:
On my last round, I did extend an extra two injections. But I knew I was at goal, so it wasn't much of a risk. If I had more rounds to go, I would not have done that. However, what the manuscript says is that about the time of 40 injections, immunity can be reached. So that means it might be 38 injections or 48 or more for some....its not an exact thing. You would be taking a gamble that you were one of the ones that could do more. Incidentally, I've had to adjust my LIW up the 2 pounds to where I would have been on my 40th injection. So it was basically a wash for me.

The hardship he talks about is not about whether you can stand staying on it for a super long time...its about the hardship on your body. We've punished our bodies so long with the crazy diets and yo-yo-ing. HCG give us the opportunity to be be kind to our bodies, and let them shrink down without unnecessary extra stress. Wanting to force even more results out of the program can be tempting, but my advice is to trust the process if you can.

I know that impatience is always a factor, but try to look at the long picture. A lifetime of revised eating tailored to your body that keeps you at goal. That takes trial and error to work out. Thats what the waiting times help you do.