Thread: Not as new of a guy. But a new journey altogether

Okay, third day on VLCD-2.0 and all is fine. Down 6.4 pounds in the last two days. checked my spreadsheet from my last round and how much did I lose the first two days? 6.4lbs. Wow.

I am not hungry at all. Looking back at my last round's thread, i wasn't hungry at this point either, but with more protein in the diet, I feel that I will be fine.

This round, I am mainly trying to stick with seafood for the most part. Grilled tilapia is easy to get and tastes good. My grocer usually has yellowfun tuna steaks, and that totally rocks. I keep a container of grilled shrimp for mid morning and afternoon snacks. I will treat myself with a petite filet on weekends here and there. Total allowable calories from protein is 850 but I am trying to stay around 800 or just below to be safe. will adjust as needed.

I mainly want to track weight losses vs the last round to see the difference and effectiveness of 2.0. I did take measurements this time and will keep tabs of the "inches" part of the equation. I so wish I had done that the first round.

on I go

so far, the difference is well appreciated. 2.0 just makes more sense than OP. After 3 days of VLCD 2.0 I am down 10lbs. That is a little ahead of my last round's pace. But it is early and the jury is still out whether the weight loss is going to be better than OP. My suspicion is that my losses will be on par at worse. I don't want to get ahead of myself so for now will just report that I much prefer 2.0 to OP. It is way more sustainable. Eating two measly 3.5oz portions of protein per day simply isn't enough. Especially if it really isn't necessary to deprive yourself if there is a better way to get where you want to go. But we will see, and YMMV and all.

I played tennis last night and had no ill effects of lack of protein like I did in the last round. I am playing a singles match tomorrow morning where we are expecting triple digits heat so that will be a much better gauge on this.

checking in. Made it through my first weekend of VLCD2.0. Definitely easier than weekends on VLCDOP. Was very exhausted Saturday and spent most of the day laying around and napping. It is August in Houston so the heat probably has something to do with that. Played tennis yesterday in near triple digit heat. I could feel the lower calories in my body but nothing close to where I was in my last round. And the weather was much better then. My wife starting walking again and we go for a nice long walk with the dogs every night. No problems.

I love the expanded menu 2.0 allows. I have mainly been eating seafood. Not much craving for beef like in the past. Here is a sample menu:

breakfast: 2oz grilled beef patty (93%) 85 calories
snack: 3 boiled shrimp: 81 calories
lunch: 7oz grilled tuna steak with celery sticks: 271 calories
snack: 3 boiled shrimp: 81 calories
dinner: 7oz grilled tilapia with broccoli: 254 calories
total protein calories for the day: 772. total allowed calories:850. If I need, I can add an extra shrimp at snack time
Trust me, this is plenty and honestly feels like I am eating too much

Trying something different for my vegetable serving this week however. Hatch green chilis from New Mexico are in. Our local HEB had the pepper roaster set up and bough a few containers of roasted green chilis. Made a batch of green chili stew (no meat, with onions, celery, garlic, tomatillos, cilantro and low sodium chicken broth). A little bit goes a long way, but a small bowl (1 ladle) will be my serving. It should be under 10 carbs easy. Had a bowl last night with a grilled pork loin chop and lost 2 pounds this morning. will continue to monitor but man this stuff is tasty

Weight loss: I am at 14 pounds lost (from post load weight). At the exact point in my last round (OP) I was down 11lbs.

Factoring in all of the above it is safe to say that I much prefer 2.0 to OP. I am not saying it is going to work for everybody more than OP, but there is no reason not to try it, especially if you are burned out by the food choices on OP, especially if you want to be active during your round.

Okay down another 1.6lbs today. Compared to my last round, I have lost 3.2lbs more weight. My main concern is that I didn't lose less so naturally I am happy.

I did my first measurements since the beginning of this round and I am down 3 inches in both my hips and waist. Liking that.

Getting enough to eat. Not hungry. I can do this for a while. That said, I will be jumping to phase 3 at the end of the month. I expect to be around 20lbs lighter than my LDW from last round. I would be very happy with that. Tentatively planning another 2.0 round in January 2020 to eat up whatever weight creeps up during the holidays and get closer to 200. Started this Journey in February at 262 preload. Finished the first round with a LDW of 239 and am aiming for 219 for this round. if the loss rate slows down and I end up between 200 and 225, then that is okay too as long as the inches are down.

checking in. Weight loss has slowed the last 4 days but I am not too worried about that. A couple of factors. I played tennis Tuesday evening and last night. Tuesday was extremely strenuous mainly influenced by 100 degree temps. I actually gained .8lbs the next morning. I am assuming it was directly related to inflamation and my body holding on to water. Also, I think I screwed up one of my bottles of HCG. Triumph has a buy one get one free deal on their site, so I end up with 2 bottles, way more than I need for a round. This works for me because I keep 1 bottle at home and another at work. On Sunday, I filled up my syringe for my post tennis dose before I left the house and for some reason left the HCG bottle open and sitting on the counter where it sat for around 5 hours. I closed it, but it back in the fridge and kept using it. I would use it in the morning and night doses. I started to notice being hungry late morning and at night even with the extra protein afforded by 2.0 so I am going to assume it went bad. I split the bottle at work yesterday and took half back home and will finish out the round with the work bottle. No hunger last night. I am assuming I am back on track.

Anyway, down to 231.8 this morning. Weight loss pace still ahead of my last round. Feeling and looking much thinner around my midsection. The inches part of the equation might be the bigger winner for this round. will pass the halfway mark this weekend.

update. Woke up Saturday morning to the exact same weight as Friday's weigh in, 231.8. Played tennis Saturday and Sunday morning. Very hot and humid August conditions. Good workout. Felt bloated and like I was carrying extra water Saturday. Down to 231 on Sunday's weigh in and down to 229.8 this morning. The weight loss has slowed down compared to the first week but that should be expected. First week weight loss is always dramatic but you are mainly dropping excess water weight. Second week losses are usually smaller but you are losing actual weight, not just water. As far as inches, the losses are solid. I have lost around 4-5 inches off of my hips and waist. This is in addition to what I lost in my first round so I am very happy with that.

Thoughts on HCG2.0 vs HCG original protocol:

First off, amount of weight loss is roughly the same. That is generally the first question that comes up. I am not going to say that one is better than the other because this is the only round of 2.0 I have done and it is not a good enough test to compare 1 round. Too many other factors at play. But compared to the last round, losses are similar. At the very least, it seems to me that you would not sacrifice much weight loss success by going the 2.0 route.

This is my forth total round of HCG diet in my lifetime. My first round was about 10 years ago. I lost 29lbs from 270 to 241. I did another round of OP a couple months later and got down around 220lbs. Both rounds were 23 days on VLCD. My third round was noted on the beginning of this thread. For me, it is tougher going back to the OP diet. The tiny amount of protein and limited vegetables is just too difficult for me to go back to after experiencing it already. I really struggled with it my second round. It was okay my third round because of the many years since my last round. Had I gone back to the OP on this round, I am certain I would have struggled mentally as well. The extra protein has been a godsend. More on hunger and cravings below, but I am in a much better place mentally than I would have been. Being on 2.0 works for me IN THIS ROUND. This is not an endorsement of 2.0 for EVERY round. Just take this as my humble opinion, but discipline is a key component to this diet and I am not sure if it is a good idea to begin this journey making exceptions or going off of protocol. Play it literal as originally planned in the first round and change up for sanity sake in subsequent rounds.

There is benefit to an elimination diet. it is difficult, but you break some harmful food addictions and poor eating habits allowing yourself a better chance to begin again with a much healthier game plan. That is why I will always be an advocate for the original protocol in some situations. If you are reading this and are going to embark on your first round and are on the fence of whether you should do OP or 2.0, my suggestion would be to do OP your first round. This is especially true if you plan on doing multiple rounds, or minimum 2. I think the cycle of OP, phase 3 (no carbs), phase 4 (mostly phase 3 diet with some healthy carbs mixed in) for a couple months, then back into next round HCG2.0 is a good strategy. FWIW, I am roughly planning on another round in January. My plan for that round is to go back to 2.0 again. I will/should be much closer to my final target weight so I don't expect a huge total drop in this round.

Thoughts on this round in terms of hunger/cravings:

Going from OP in Feb/March to Phase 3, to mainly no/low carb eating ever since, there are no real food items that I am craving. I can really go for an avocado right now or a spoonful of peanut butter but other than that, I am really not craving any certain food. Check that. I am looking forward to some Buffalo Wings. I will have some of that on P3 (as I always have done after past rounds with no harm done). And I am sure I will enjoy some fattier cuts of beef and pork but for now, not really craving it. But what I am totally craving is a glass of wine or two and a beer. It is going to be at least another 6 weeks before my first beer, but I do allow myself some wine on P3. I hit the wine pretty heavy my last P3 and it didn't hurt me. That is not an endorsement for everybody else, as this is a YMMV deal.

Hunger hasn't been a big issue. I am not saying I am completely devoid of hungry moments, but compared to OP, MUCH better. Weekends were always tough on OP. Not so much on this round. The extra protein helps carry those days. Yesterday, I was more hungry than usual, but my guess is that was related to playing tennis for 2.5 hours in the morning and I was just behind the 8 ball all day. I was very hungry yesterday afternoon and somewhat hungry last night. But nothing compared to some weekends on OP.

That is all for today. I will be checking in with some small updates during the week. Next week will be the transition to P3. My original plan was to have my last dose day be Wednesday 8-28 but I could shut'r down Monday if I want to. We will see on that. Mind not made up.

Until later...

update:

The weight loss has really slowed down to a crawl. The inches continue to go down. I need to buy new clothes as everything I own is hanging off of me at this point. I am not worried too much about the slowdown of weight loss. I have lost 13.2lbs from my starting point and nearly 20 lbs from post load weight so weight loss numbers are very much good enough. I had a weight goal of around 220 and it looks like I am not going to get there unless I wanted to extend the round. I don't want to do that. I am very happy with where my body is right now. I will probably get down to 225 which would give me a nearly 40lb weight loss total for both rounds this year.

Your body is different: I spend a lot of time comparing these two rounds with the two rounds I took 10 years ago. It is fun to compare, but not the best idea to get too hung up on it. My body was way different back then. I had really become sedentary and was fat and out of shape. I was wearing size 40 pants and was really fat. After 2 rounds, I got down to 219 and was comfortably wearing size 38 pants. I could wear 36 but it was snug and was just more comfortable wearing 38. This year, I am in very good shape from playing tennis, but I had started to gain the fat over the muscle. The extra weight was slowing me down on the tennis court and was starting to be an issue in most areas. I was still wearing size 38 pants though, just not comfortably. Now, nearing the end of my second round, I am heavier than I was 10 years ago, but I am smaller than I was back then. More muscle. Right now, my 38 pants are falling off of me. I have to belt them up like a hobo and all of my clothes are baggy as hell. I have golf slacks that go all the way back to my post HCG diet from 10 years ago that fit me fine then. They are very baggy and I can pull them down with the top buttoned.

I am in a good place. My plan is to have last dose day being Tuesday. I might just pull the plug on Monday. I will get through the weekend and see where I am. Unless something changes or there is something meaningful to report, I will not update until Monday.

Until then...

Update: Two really good days of weight loss reflected in Friday and Saturday morning weigh ins. A combined 4lbs between the two days to put me just below 225lbs at 224.8. Exact same weight Sunday morning. I decided last night to make Sunday my last dose day knocking off one day early. My body is in a good place but it is telling me it is time to move on. Hunger and emptiness was pretty intense this weekend. I really feel my body needs to add some fat from my diet very soon. Tennis has been very difficult the last couple of times on court. No fuel in the system and I feel depleted. I am going to listen to my body and move on. I really respect those who go 40 days on VLCD. I know I cannot hack that and have a ton of respect for those who can stick it out that long.

This has been a succesful round. I have lost just over 17lbs from preload weight. Lost 5 inches from hips and waist. But I look at this round as a continuation of the journey I began back in late February. Adding both rounds, I am down over 37lbs. That is a huge success. I am extremely happy with the results.

Final verdict of 2.0 vs OP? I like it. I still stand by my statement made on 8-19. For initial rounds, I feel there is benefit to original protocol. But in subsequent rounds, I think 2.0 is the better way to go.

Phase 3 begins tomorrow night after 5pm, which would be 48 hours since my last dose. Not sure what I am going to eat exactly, but am positive there will be some avacados involved. More thoughts on phase 3 later.