Thread: So discouraged. Suffered a .6 gain with no cheat. ?????????

Ovulation, stress, inadequate sleep, and TOM are all things that could cause a slight gain. Be patient grasshopper, it will happen.

sometimes not eating all your calories can cause this also, I've heard..maybe try to stay on 500 and it may help?

Ahhhhh...it could be any one or more of those things. I'm perimenopausal, so TOM comes when it wants...or doesn't. LOL! I am finding it soooooo hard to stay on track today! Seeing everyone post pound+ per day losses while I'm averaging .4 a day has me wondering how that can be when I'm eating so little. How can that be? And even though my measurements show a 11-inch loss, no one has noticed it! I feel like I look better, but I guess not!

Nancynutrition,

That's so disappointing. This is my first round, so I don't know how much help I can be, but did you complete the round? From what I've read, the most important part is p3, when the real resetting of the hypothalamus/metabolism is being reset, and then you have to wait a certain amount of time b4 you can start another round. I might be wrong, but that's just what I gathered from all the reading I did before starting this voyage.

No matter what, that is disappointing and I can see how you started down that slippery slope. I'm trying to stop myself from sliding, but it's so darn hard.

dsha1,

Is that true? In the protocol it says for those that don't want to eat all 500 calories, that's fine, but that you should definitely eat your roteins. I don't do it on purpose, tho, cuz I eat all the things I'm supposed to, but my calories are always 100 to 180 short of 500. I use calorieking.

hey!
my doc said to eat all the calories, and a lot of veterans on here say that also...my doc said only that if i must go over go over with protein..i guess if you go under , your body starts to store fat instaed of burning it...if you ask "grammy" she will know all the details!

I don't always get all the veggies and fruit in, either. I seem to have the best losses when I am closer to 500 calories, tho - like 475-500. If you are short more than 100, you could be sending your body into starvation mode and that will mess up trying to stabilize in P3. If you shared your menu, it might be easier for someone to help.

How much water (tea and coffee count, too) do you drink?

There are also certain foods that some people have trouble with and make them stall or even gain.

What sweeteners are you using? Some have trouble with Splenda or other sweeteners besides stevia.

Here's a handy check list:

Most Common Errors During 500 Calorie Diet Phase

1 Using the wrong spices. Spices must be used with extreme caution.
Check all ingredients for any unallowable foods (shredded orange peel),
any form of sugar (brown, white, maltose, dextrose, etc.), starch (modified
corn starch), and/or any kind of oil i.e. ‘Garlic Salt’ can have sugar and
modified cornstarch – not acceptable! Make sure and read all labels.

2 Not loading enough fat during load days (first two days of HCG). This
might explain hunger and associated moodiness during the first week of
HCG low calorie phase.

3 Make sure you are not mixing vegetables at a meal. Dr. Simeons clearly
states that only one vegetable per meal is allowed. While many people
lose quite satisfactorily when mixing vegetables, it is a place to review if
losing slows.

4 Chewing gum, mints, etc. These items are not allowed during the very
low calorie diet. Again, some lose quite well when violating this
directive, but it is a place to review if losing slows.

5 Drinking unallowed diet drinks including Crystal Light, diet soda or other
diet drinks – only water, coffees, teas, and mineral water should be used.

6 Eating too much American beef, which is noted as significantly more fatty
than the beef Dr. Simeons refers to. Buffalo, elk, and venison are less
fatty than American beef if you wish to try those alternatives. Many
clients can quicken weight loss by eating less beef and more chicken or
allowable fish/seafood, in particular.

7 Weighing 100 grams of protein after cooking. Weight of protein is to be
based on PRE-COOKED weight – this can make a big difference in
the prescribed serving.

8 Eating the same protein for both lunch and dinner. Food selections are to
be varied.

9 Not drinking enough fluids. You should be drinking at least 2 quarts of
the liquids per day.

10 Weighing in significantly different clothes or at different times each
morning (before eating or drinking) can cause undue concern and
confusion or false appearance of weight gain/loss.

11 Eating out at restaurants. To a large degree the meats have been ‘juiced’
or manipulated to be more flavorful, tender or juicy, with a multitude of
processes that could easily slow your weight loss, particularly chicken.

Gracedancer,

Thank you for that. Very informative. The only culprits that could possibly be holding me back are 1 and 9. I find it very hard to reach my water goal everyday, but I do try.

As for the spices, I've been using granulated garlic as well as Tony Chachere's creole seasonnig. The nutrition facts say 0 everything except sodium, which is 350mg. I read somewhere that even if there is sugar in the seasoning, if it's not enough to register as a sugar or carb then it's okay. But I just noticed as I was checking again that at the very end it says: May contain wheat, soy, or milk. WTH? Do you think this could be my problem?

Originally Posted by SilvaReporting

Gracedancer,

Thank you for that. Very informative. The only culprits that could possibly be holding me back are 1 and 9. I find it very hard to reach my water goal everyday, but I do try.

As for the spices, I've been using granulated garlic as well as Tony Chachere's creole seasonnig. The nutrition facts say 0 everything except sodium, which is 350mg. I read somewhere that even if there is sugar in the seasoning, if it's not enough to register as a sugar or carb then it's okay. But I just noticed as I was checking again that at the very end it says: May contain wheat, soy, or milk. WTH? Do you think this could be my problem?

If it's sodium and you aren't drinking enough - it could be water retention. I don't like sucking down a lot of water, so I use this in my water - http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-74602-...range-10-packs You can find them different places - and there are other flavors. I like the orange in water (if you put enough in, it tastes like Tang) and I like the lemon in my tea (sweet tea drinker, here). I have a big water bottle with a straw and I know that I need to get that down every afternoon. Drinking thru a straw can actually help, too.

I think that it is the starches in spice mixes that are a big culprit. They are added to keep the spices from sticking to each other. Check for starches - and they have different names, too. I don't remember what they are, but you might be able to Google them.

I'd try getting in the water, first - and watching the sodium. See if that helps.

How about sleep? There are those that will stall or gain if they don't have enough sleep, too.
Also, eating later at night will affect some.