Congrats on your losses, fenix! I'm currently in P2 and have been using Zint brand hydrolyzed collegen for the past 4 days (I just got it from Amazon). It hasn't slowed my losses at all, for what it's worth, and I believe it's basically the same ingredient-wise as the Great Lakes brand.
Thanks for that, Mandy! I've looked at Zint in the past, but wound up ordering Great Lakes only because it was a little cheaper when bought in bulk. From my research at that time, they looked pretty interchangable. I'm going to try using the Great Lakes when I start my next round. I'm even more excited to get started.Originally Posted by Mandy_R
Man, hair loss....I shudder when I think about it. I lost a ton of hair when I did this back in 2011, and as noted by some of the other posters, it didn't start falling out until P3 and it fell out for several months. It was very scary and distressing, however, it did grow back and to be honest I think it fell out because of the weight loss, not because of the hcg. I've noticed that whenever I lose 30 lbs or more, I experience hair loss, whether using hcg or not. But man, would I love to find a way to prevent it. I took every type of vitamin that was mentioned on this forum to prevent it before, but sigh, it didn't help. I am taking grassfeed collagen this round...I'm hoping it will be different but I have 35-40 lbs to lose, so my history tells me I will likely experience hair loss again (sigh).
FWIW, I'm almost a month into P4, and have had no hair loss issues after taking the hydrolyzed collagen through my last round. I will admit, I've gotten pretty bad about taking it the past few weeks in P4 (I can only stand the powder in my coffee and have been forgetting. I don't care what anyone says. This stuff isn't "tasteless".), but I just found grassfed, hydrolyzed caplets at Costco the other day and will be taking it again daily. Good luck!
"Just for today, I can do anything! Tomorrow is another day!"
Good to know! I'm taking the "Bulletproof" brand collagen and I love the way it tastes! I either just eat it as is and chug water or put it in my coffee (makes me feel like I'm getting creamer). You can get on Amazon, at Whole Foods or on Bulletproof site (cheapest on Amazon). It's pricy. And in case anyone is wondering, I DO include the calories as part of my 500 count. I take 2 tablespoons daily. How much did you take?
I took 1 or 2 TB every day, depending on how often I remembered.Like on my other recent rounds, I had trouble getting in all 500 calories (BAD food aversions), so I didn't worry about the calories. I think it helped to have the extra protein though!
"Just for today, I can do anything! Tomorrow is another day!"
Hey Mandy! question- did you do the original protocol?
For the most part, yes. Having done multiple rounds over the years, I've tweaked things a bit. For instance, as I developed food aversions (which became extreme this last round), I incorporated Jay Robb shakes more often, and did the protocol-approved "egg whites with one yolk" as a protein more than once per week (2-3 times per week). I also started mixing veggies quite awhile back, but never did it for every meal, just for certain recipes. Despite occasional mixing, I didn't eat non-protocol veggies (or fruits), and aside from the Jay Robb shakes, always stuck to on-protocol proteins. So...I tried to stay OP as much as possible, with some changes so that I could stay on hCG, if that makes sense.
"Just for today, I can do anything! Tomorrow is another day!"
My update after completing Round 4:
I just started phase 4 this week. In Round 4, I did a modified Hcg 2.0. This is the first time I tried this protocol. The big difference for me coming from the original protocol for Rounds 1-3 was increasing my protein based on the Hcg 2.0 formula. My total allowed calorie count for protein was closer to 630. I did take the Great Lakes collagen and then Zint once I ran out of GL. I also counted the collagen calories in my total calorie count for the day.
I took a double serving of collagen twice a day. I have not experienced any hair loss from this round yet. I also noticed my skin looked really good during the round. Usually I get really dry skin, esp. on my face and hands. My face usually gets "sunken" around my eyes during the last couple of weeks of phase 2 (all of my rounds have been 40-45 days). I usually look really tired, even though I'm not. Then in phase 3 my face fills back out again. Slimmer still, but not the sickly look. This time with the collagen that did not happen. I really focused on keeping my protein as high as I could while staying within the calories. I too have developed food aversions while on phase 2 and my menu is very simple. For meats it was chicken breast, white fish, and shrimp and for veggies I had broccoli, asparagus, and cabbage (occasionally). I did not eat the full compliment allowed in Hcg 2.0, my protocol was more of Simeon's original protocol with tweaks: higher calories for protein (very satisfying BTW), Jay Robb protein shakes (1-2 daily), and collagen twice daily. I did not eat any fruit, for Hcg 2.0 that seems to be the trade for higher protein.
FWIW, this was a very successful round in terms of weight loss compared to previous rounds. I lost 25lb this round. For me, every round I've lost a little less than the round before (Round 1- 28lb, Round 2- 25lb, Round 3- 22lb). I had expected for losses be around 20 lbs or even less for this round. Unfortunately I started over the holidays and had gained 8lb during the week before I started. That is the first time I started a round higher then my previous round ending weight. The higher losses could be from the recent gain, or maybe the increased protein, or the added collagen, or a combination of any of these.
Other things I noticed different during this round was I did not get as cold as I usually do. Usually I'm constantly freezing by the end of a round. I was my normal level of cold, hands almost always cold and overall a littler cooler than others around me. I rarely experience any lightheadedness or feeling breathless. Both of these would occur if I exerted more energy like climbing stairs. During the last round, 7-10 flights of stairs 5 days a week was normal for me and without any symptoms. Overall, I have always felt good on Hcg, but this time I felt even better. I have 15-20lb more to lose to reach my goal. I'm adding in more activity and looking at trying a ketogenic diet (I eat low carb anyway, so this would not be a stretch). Hopefully I can lose this last bit or tone up enough that I'm happy with where I'm at, But if I decide to do another round, it will be a repeat of Round 4.
Flavor wise on the collagen supplements. I bought a can of Great Lake collagen from Amazon and it had only the slightest salty creamy taste. Then I ordered an 8 lb bag from GL website. That tasted awful! Hard explain the taste, salty and "dirty." The taste always reminded me it comes from hides. Then I went to Zint. Same taste as GL, but dialed back a little and more tolerable. I mix a double serving in a very small amount of hot water (3-4 big gulps) then chase it with water. In the past, my increased hairloss usually starts around weeks 4-6. I will update again if I experience this. I'm really hoping with all the extra protein I will sneak by this time.
ETA: I am stabilizing well. I've had no trouble staying within 2 lb of my ending weight. Stabilization has not been an issue after any rounds. I think this is likely due to adopting a low carb lifestyle.
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