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

Checking in again. Weight loss has slowed a bit but I am close to my target weight. My pace has actually slipped behind my last 2 rounds. As I said, I am close to my target range so I am happy. But inches are coming off. Honestly, I could stop today and would be fine but I am seeing this to 23 days.

My last dose day is 9-8. Right now, I am at 221. If I had to guess, I will probably only lose another 3-4lbs. That will put me a little heavier than the end of my last round, but in far as inches go, probably exactly the same. I am looking really thin.

I hope to stabilize better this round and not gain like I did this spring and summer. Either way, my plan is for another round in January. I would love to stabilize around 220 through the end of the year, no more than 225 with creep weight and see how close I can get to 200lbs in my January round.

some observations:

1. Hunger: Really feeling empty. I was at my hungriest last weekend. Cheated a bit in that I allowed myself more protein calories than called for. But I felt my body needed it. Weight plateaud Sunday morning and was up slightly on Monday but I am back on track. I mentioned last week that this was my easiest round yet. Well, starting last weekend, that feeling has faded a bit. I wouldn't say things are difficult at all, just not on auto-pilot.

2. Food: really getting bored with food. The bunless burgers have gotten a bit old. Grilled salmon is still a great thing. My body lights up whenever I eat it. Grilled tilapia is ok. Had some seared scallops Sunday. Gained a pound on Monday. Not sure there will be a repeat of that item until P3. I made some turkey taco meat on Sunday for lunches. Very delicious which is a mixed blessing. One bite of this and all I want to do is overeat. Almost too good. I chop up some iceberg lettuce, throw on some pico de gallo, then the turkey taco meat and I have a great meal. Beyond the taco salad with turkey taco meat, vegetables are a struggle. Don't want any of it. Plain steamed broccoli makes me sad. VLCD compliant salad dressings are even sadder. I have yet to cook any frozen chopped spinach so will start mixing that in starting tonight. Grilled si****o peppers are good too. But I will probably ride out the rest of the diet with basic chopped celery. Going to boil up some shrimp tonight for some take-along meals. One more food on the go tip: Chik-Fil-A grilled chicken nuggets are very handy if you are on the go and need a quick 2.0 friendly meal. You might need to choke down a dressing free salad if you need veggies, but that is just how it goes.

3: more on exercise: Tennis is just tough right now. It is very tough to perform and play anywhere near my ability right now. Sports nutrition is just extremely important. I played Friday night. Disaster. Lost badly to a guy I would kill if I had the proper nutrition. Was feeling very weak and to the point of blacking out almost. My body was not stable and was making a ton of errors, especially on shots that I prefer. I have a very strong and consistent forehand and could not find the court to save my life. Horrible. Played doubles on Saturday. Felt a little better. But still lacking the proper nutrition to perform. Played a singles match on Monday. Weather was a little cooler. I played much better. There were still a fair amount of errors directly related to lack of nutrition. My right hamstring feels tight. I have to be careful not to push it and injure myself. I have a singles match scheduled tomorrow night. My goal is not to win. Just execute my shots and not go overboard. My last tennis until I transition to P3 will be Saturday morning. It is an informal session where I will most likely play doubles. It is easy to throttle the effort back in these sessions.

4: Transitions: The greatest thing about this diet is transitioning from phase 2 to phase 3. It is the best feeling. For one, you have achieved some great results in both pounds and inches. Secondly and most importantly, you are done with VLCD and can add some more interesting and tasty foods. Even though there are still many restrictions, in comparison, the world is opened up for you. It is such an awesome feeling to walk around the grocery store stocking up for P3.

Well that is my third week update. I will probably check in on the Lovely Losers thread as it seems to be the only active thread around here. This thread is mainly used as a diary for me to come back to. I also hope it will help other men who are interested in this diet.

Next update will be Tuesday, September 8 most likely.

Okay, well had some things pop up on the schedule this week and needed to end my round 2 days earlier than planned. Ended up not being too big of a deal because my last two days were plateau days. Ended up losing 17.4lbs on a 21 day VLCD diet + 2 day transition to P3 which began this morning. Very happy with my results. Basically, all of the Covid weight is gone so I am back to where I was after the January round. Fine with that. Still planning on another round in January to get down closer to 200lbs.

So I have done 4 rounds total since February 2019. Started around 270 and am now at 218. Of course, some weight creep up (including a large jump this spring/summer) but overall I am down 50lbs from where I started. This diet works. But still got to be vigilant between rounds. My biggest issue? Beer. Everything was fine and stable until beer was re-introduced. Once that happens, all bets are off. Wine? no problem. I hate to give up on beer and probably never will, at least completely. But I really went off of the deep end this spring and summer and need to keep it down to a minimum.

hello everybody. Hope you guys are well. Okay I am back with an update.

Last round ended well enough but bad results in phase 3. Wife and I went on a vacation to Destin, FL the 2nd week of P3. Didn't bring a scale. For the most part ate clean but there were some cheat meals with some carbs mixed in. A fair amount of wine. Who am I kidding? a lot of wine. So when I got back, had a 5lb gain and from there it was off to the races (a second vacation in November + holiday season gains. No excuses, all my fault. It happens. Not going to beat myself up over it. Just get back on the horse.

Wife and I started a new round 2 weeks ago. Loaded super bowl weekend and started 2.0-VLCD Monday 2/8. Key notes below:

1. Weight was exactly the same as my starting point last round.
2. This time using Intermountain HHCG pellets instead of drops. No difference. I could really feel it during loading. Much more convenient.
3. Results are identical to past rounds on 2.0. Weight and inches coming off at same pace.
4. Food choices: staying away from land based protein as much as possible. Grilled shrimp, salmon, tilapia, cod, lobster have been staples. Only land based protein has been some homemade jerky I made.
5. New food items that have been a hit: homemade jerky as mentioned. Simple no sugar, no cure seasoning. Smoke at 180 on my pellet grill until dried. Store in fridge. I have also cured (salt only) salmon and smoked that. Both are delicious.
6. Skinny girl salad dressings have been a huge hit. Way better. I mean light years better than Walden Farms dressings.
7. 23 day round so last dose day will be March 2.
8. Really been an easy round so far. There have been some challenging external circumstances (I am in Houston - once in a generation deep freeze this week) but have plowed through without issue.
9. Oh, and I have not been on a tennis court this entire round. I really feel that helps keep things more consistent. In the next week, weather should warm up so I will start playing again. But hope to take it as easy as possible. That is the plan anyway.

I am considering a new wrinkle to the diet. Once I get out of phase 3, I am considering doing a quick clean load and jumping back into a short round (14 days) to carve off some of the last weight I want to lose. But I might feel way different about that plan once I come out of this round. I would like to lock things in better. Still envision a maintenance round in January or February 2022 however.

I love this diet. The elimination portion of it really helps me break bad habits and puts me back on a good path. I am concerned about how easily I put weight back on and will continue to try to do better in phase 4. As it is, my diet is mainly keto but my portions grow as time goes as does wine consumption. Of course once beer comes into play the pounds come back. I can simply cut out beer but honestly life is for living and I would rather keep things in balance.

thanks Dubbles. Yes, I am a believer with this diet as well and I am basically using it for maintenance. The finish weight for this round is about 10lbs towards my lowest goal. Honestly any lower and I need to replace my wardrobe. I cringe when people say "I need to lose weight, I am going to eat healthier" I know that doesn't work for me. I can lose a few pounds in the week but most likely will gain it back in the weekend or vice-versa. You spin your wheels. The thing I love about a HCG round is that it happens under a set amount of time. It has a beginning and and end date. You know you are going to buckle down for a month with P2 and from there a less strict P3 for another month or so. These open ended "going to eat healthier" diet plans are doomed to fail from the jump.

My wife is doing well. Her losses are not that big but she has lost a combined 100lbs or so since she had the bariatric surgery in 2019. She uses this as an elimination diet to break bad habits that creep in over time. With weight loss surgery, people find a way to eat enough to gain weight back. Plus, a lot of the early weight losses from the surgery are lean muscle. She really reshapes well when she does this protocol so the inches are a bigger deal than the pounds. With small portions and broken bad habits, she will continue to lose in phase 3 and beyond. Different deal with her than me but it works for both of us and it is good for us to be on the same page in terms of what we eat. But she can never remember to do her dose so she is a little dependant on me to keep her on task.

Weather was bad here but nothing out of the normal for most of the country. Our infrastructure just wasn't ready for it. Houses have water pipes in attics so they are susceptible to freezing. Power plants are not winterized. Big mess but we fared as well as possible. Diet was easy to stick to.

I do think P3 is the truly crucial part, and I encourage you to keep a log here as you transition into that phase if you haven't before. I think that's one of the things that's most different for me with this diet--I'm even more committed to the stabilization phase because, as Yvonne says, it's where the magic happens. With the increased choice and flexibility, it's where we really put into practice those habits we've tried to develop in P2--and for life.

You have more experience with HCG than I do, so I don't want to pretend for a second I've earned any wisdom at this point; but as you know, I've really been using it to work on the deeper emotional eating issues that have plagued me for most of my life. I hope not to keep coming back to HCG for maintenance, but I'm starting to be real with myself. If i need a round every January, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. But I would much prefer to get to a place with my body and my eating I can sustain and maintain for the long haul. Who knows what the future will bring, so it's wonderful to have this as a very effective tool. However, I'd rather successfully transition to a long-term way of life (and eating) that helps me step off the roller coaster of dieting. I'm looking for health and wellness of the grandest variety. I wish that for all of us!

That is great advice, Divine. I really appreciate that. And once again, thanks for suggesting the book, weight loss apocalypse. It is a game changer. In my honest opinion, it should be required reading for anybody taking up this protocol. Doing this protocol without taking the time to confront your eating habits is a half measure.

Okay, settle in because this is going to be long. Here is my history with this protocol in 1 post. My very first post in my other new guy thread touched on this, but I feel it is helpful to put it all in one post with the perspective I have today and right now. This really is for me, but if it helps anybody else, then all the better.

My first round years ago was a life changing moment for me. I was in my early 40's, had gotten really fat. 6'1" 270lbs more or less. Wearing size 40 pants. Sedentary lifestyle where in the past I played basketball and golf most days of the week. Some friends of ours suggested the protocol. I was skeptical at first but once I read "Pounds and Inches" I was in, 100%. The protocol really made me take a hard look at how much food, especially how much bad food, I had been eating. I lost nearly 30lbs my first round and felt great and certainly looked better. I would tell everybody that this diet changed how I looked at food. But I didn't really take note or address eating habits. I have always been one who ate habitually. "You must eat breakfast or you are setting yourself up for heavy eating later, plus you need the fuel". "you gotta eat lunch". "What's for dinner, it is time to eat". Never listening to my body, just following the script. Oh and we were doing real HCG drops. We ordered it from a pharmacy in India. Mixed it up with a recipe given to us from a friend and dosed under the tongue.

Phase 3 in my early rounds was always a breeze for me. With the expanded menu, I could eat more. Now with new perspective gained from reading WLA, I simply slipped back into the pattern of seeking unlimited eating, just with a better choice of foods. Honestly, I didn't gorge myself but I certainly relished the new menu. But stabilizing was a snap. My weight magically stayed at LDW. Once out of P3, I ate more sensibly than before and the weight stayed stabile.

Months later, I did a second round. I lost another 20 pounds or so to get down to 219. But I was miserable. I wanted the weight loss but didn't want any part of this damned protocol. I hated every minute of it and resented not having foods I love (albeit not the same foods I was accustomed to before my first round, but still...) available to me. But in terms of weight loss, it was a success. I was physically back to my old self. I was now wearing size 38 pants loosely. My wife was of the opinion that I should be wearing size 36 but for some reason I couldn't trust myself enough to take that leap.

But I really had not confronted my eating habits. Yeah, I was not eating the same foods as before and not as much but everything else from before was still intact. Basically, I addressed the what, but not the where, why or when. Either way, I was done with the protocol and never wanted to go back.

For years the weight stayed down. I stayed away from the scale. I took up tennis and became an avid player. Regular exercise was my life. Playing around 5 days per week, strenuously. Old eating habits snuck back. I love food. I love to cook. I am a really good cook. Slowly the weight started coming back. But my fitness level from playing tennis hid the weight gain and I mistakenly felt that I could offset any bad eating habits by exercising them away on the tennis court. Wrong. The weight came back. But I could still run for 3-4 hours with players half my age. I always jokingly referred to myself as the world's most talented fat man.

But I had to do something, but no way in hell I was going back to the protocol. I wanted to lose weight but I certainly didn't want to go through another round of deprivation like I did in my second round. I would normally refer to the protocol as "going to the whip" (horse racing term), in that it works but you can only do so much of it.

So I tried everything. Miami Beach diet. Keto. Weight watchers. Advocare 2 week challenge. I would lose some weight but never made the progress I wanted.

Finally the weight came all the way back. My body was different in that I was carrying it differently. My lifestyle wasn't sedentary as I was on the tennis court about 5 days per week. My pant size was still 38, the same size I was down to after my second round, just not nearly as loose (okay 38 was getting tight). It was now time to go back to the whip. My old friend Dr. Simeons. I really didn't want to jack with importing real HCG from India. In doing research I had found that the world of HCG had changed. I learned of HHCG and decided to give Triumph a shot.

I have read a lot of personal accounts of people who suffered from drug addiction. People who suffered from crack cocaine or heroin addiction always talk about chasing that first high. Basically the first time they smoked crack or shot up heroin the high was incredible. Life changing. But every time after that, they would light up or shoot up expecting to be blown away just like the first time, only to be slightly disappointed. Thankfully I have never gone down any of those roads, but I have gained an appreciation for that feeling with this diet. I wanted to be blown away again by the wonders of the protocol. I wanted that 30lb drop.

Well I didn't get the 30 lb drop on my first round. Hit 23, but was back in the right direction (pre load: 262, LDW: 239 23 days on VLCD). Was fairly miserable and as with previous rounds was basically counting down the days to phase 3 like a young child awaiting Christmas. I had to travel for the first 2 weeks of phase 3 so I bought a scale once I landed and stayed on top of the weight. I acted and ate like I did in previous phase 3's. I made sure I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, ate sensibly and stayed away from carbs and sugars. Weight stabilized at just under 2lbs above LDW. Once out of phase 3, I stayed on keto type eating for the most part but for one reason or another bad foods worked their way in. but for the most part I stayed the course and didn't dive all the way in to old and bad habits. A little weight crept back in.

So a couple months later, it was time for my next round because I wanted to get down to 220. But I was not excited about the severe (In my mind at least) limitations of OP and was not sure I could hack it again. Then I found 2.0. It fit me to a T and off I went. The round worked. The little bit of extra protein really helped. I didn't miss the apples or grissini and did well. Once again, using Triumph HHCG drops. Final stats were 242 pre load, 225 LDW only 21 days on protocol (not counting transition days after last dose). A new wrinkle on this round was that I took measurements of hips, waist and thigh. Started out at 45",42" and 24", ended up at 40",37" and 23". Now I am wearing size 36 pants and am working towards transitioning my entire wardrobe to that size. There is no going back to 38, let alone 40. I really didn't pay attention to myself in P3. But I ate sensibly and more or less the weight stabilized but around the high end of LDW. No thought was payed to eating habits. My only focus was to stay away from certain foods and to "try" to not eat as much. When my wife and I would go out to eat, we would (and still do) split entrees. Efforts were made but still routinely made sure that I ate breakfast lunch and dinner no matter if I was really hungry or not. Out of P3 weight did creek back on. I had intended to do a new round in early 2020 so a little weight gain wasn't an issue (a new trend is taking root at this time).

So my next round begins after new year 2020. Weight had creeped up to 232 pre load. Goal was low 210's. Triumph seems to be out of business so I go with Intermountain HHCG drops. Once again, following 2.0 protocol. Round goes well. Drop down to 215. My lowest weight in a very long time. My final measurements are 39-34-22. Very happy with the results. One new wrinkle towards the end of this round was the discovery of the concept "intermittent fasting". Blew me away. I always believed that skipping breakfast was a bad idea and could lead to weight gain because you would gorge in your other meals. Skipping breakfast was very liberating, especially during business travel. Hotels are not too friendly for phase 3 breakfasts because most of the food choices are heavy in carbs and sugars. So you either need to stay at a hotel with a full kitchen or go to a breakfast restaurant. A lot of calories and they don't exactly use healthy fats. So there was a little change in approach to eating as I have now freed myself from needing breakfast. But outside of that I basically ignored phase 3. I stayed away from the scale. I ate phase 3 foods but had gotten complacent because everything in past rounds was always automatic and easy for me. As long as I ate the right things I would be okay was my frame of mind. I ate mindlessly and didn't pay attention to what my body told me.

A month into phase 3, we all know what happens next. Covid. Lockdowns. World turned on its ear. For us, it gave us something else. A great excuse. A scapegoat to shove all of our issues on. So my weight came back. Was it because of covid? Uh, no. It was because I had gotten complacent and felt that as long a I stayed away from certain foods, and kept on playing tennis, everything would be good. But it wasn't. Weight was creeping back quicker than before. I was asleep at the switch. And why not? If I gained the weight back I could always just do another round and the weight would come right off. And there it is!! A new cycle was born. Protocol-weight gain- another protocol cycle. Just justify things as a maintenance round. The whip is out and it will stay out. Poor horse.

So on to late summer 2020. Time for a new round because that is just what I do now. This time, I have a passenger with me. My wife, who had bariatric surgery a year earlier wanted in. She had done well with herself. She was eating tiny portions and had lost around 80lbs. But bad habits were sneaking in. She loves to snack and was working in some bad foods and was pressing her luck. She needed an elimination diet to break those habits. HCG was going to be an interesting experiment. And having an accountability partner would be great for me. A word on my wife. She is not interested in reading pounds and inches. She doesn't want to get into the details of why and what. Just rely on me to tell her what she can eat and not eat. But her own journey had helped her with some of her eating habits and the strict nature of the diet would really help her.

Once again, we are both doing Intermountain HHCG drops. I start out at an embarrassing 235 preload. All of that weight loss I had fought for in January was gone and I was even heavier than where I started. Good job, dude. So back on the horse I go. It was covid's fault anyway. Certainly cannot be my doing. The round goes well enough, but final results are not as good as the previous round. Pre load: 235 to LDW: 218, measurements: 38-35-22.5. Not bad. It was a fairly easy round thanks to having my wife along for the ride, but once again the same base emotional circumstances and habits remained intact. Still mindlessly eat lunch and dinner at set times just because. Still want to snack when I am bored. Social situations I want to celebrate with food. Still love to cook and cannot wait for phase 3 foods. Could go for a glass of wine or a beer.

I get to phase 3 and the horse is out of the barn. I am not sure I stepped on a scale more than twice. And why would I? I got this. I know the drill. As long as I eat the correct foods, I would be fine. But I was wrong. And the weight came back again, this time a little more. I had always planned on doing a maintenance round early 2021 so if I gained weight, no problem. The answer was always waiting in form of a new round on protocol. Okay, but if that is the answer, then what exactly is the question?

So early 2021 arrives and it is time for a new round. I dutifully load and begin my round. Honestly it is routine by now. I am an old hat at this and I can do this in my sleep. I know what foods to eat and how much. But something is missing. Yeah the pounds and inches are coming off as before. But I am still missing the ability to snack and am starting to look forward to phase 3 wondering if I will convince myself to end the round a day or so early. Then I find the book (through the help of a timely read thread from DivineMissM) that really opens my eyes, titled Weight Loss Apocalypse. It makes me take personal account to my eating habits. And as I did with my very first round, I have found a new awakening. With my first round, the great awakening was my relationship with food. The what. By that I mean what I eat and how much of it. Okay, carbs are bad for me. And eating a bunch of them is worse. Stay away from the center of the grocery store and shop around the perimeter. Okay that is a great start but not the full deal. My new awakening is that not only do I need to come to grips with the food I eat, I also need to do the same for why I eat, when I eat as well as how. Do I really need all of these meals? Why am I eating to a schedule instead of when I am hungry. When do I stop?

The solution has been right under my nose the whole time. When you feel that you really want to eat something, just stop for a moment and listen to your body. I ask myself "Are you really hungry". The answer is always "no". Since this awakening, I have no desire to snack. Or at least that urge is severely diminished. I am paying attention to hunger and eating even less. I am not looking forward to phase 3 as I know that once I get there the real game will begin. I have mastered losing weight. There is no problem there. But my next challenge is mastering everything that comes next and that is going to happen by addressing my relationship with eating and the habits that come with it. If I have to do a maintenance round in the future, so be it, but it is not in the plan. I must trust myself and learn to let go and burn the boats at the waterline and head inland with complete faith. I will pay attention to my body. I will eat when hungry not just because of some arbitrary pre-set meal time. More to come. I plan to be active on this thread during to P3 to outline my progress. Most of that progress will not be measurable on a scale.

Oh and currently here is my stats for this round: Preload 236. I am currently on day 18 of VLCD I am at 222 with measurements of 39.5-36-23, which is identical to where I was in past rounds at the same point. Weight loss just a hair behind pace. My size 36 pants fit great. Maybe a bit loose but not to the point where I want to size down. 220 suits me well. 215-210 would be fine too. I have no desire to get below 200. But frame of mind is way better. I do not feel like I am depriving myself. I am not hungry. I do not long for phase 3 foods. I am not feeling empty. I feel so good I am considering extending this round another week. My mind is not made up yet on that. I will see how I feel come Monday. But the thought of doing a 30 day round to get my weight to 215 sounds appealing. Especially now that I feel that I have the roadmap to perform much better in Phase 3 and 4 than I had in previous rounds. Things are different. But there are no guarantees so it is all up to me to change or continue the cycle. To be continued on that.

p.s.: Tennis is still the same. The lack of fuel doesn't affect my stamina on the court. I move well and can play for long periods of time. But it does affect the consistency of my shots. My forehand is not as reliable. As soon as I have more fuel in my system it will come back.

Sorry for the long post. As I said, it is more for me than anybody else but felt it was important to get my overall thoughts on my entire journey up to this point in a single post. I will come back to this post from time to time. Hopefully it will help others on their journey as well.

Never stop improving. Never feel you have all the answers. Continue to learn, grow and challenge yourself. There is not standing still. You are either moving forward or backwards.

Grateful you shared your experiences with HCG and to have read your story up until this point. You're definitely making me rethink that glimmer of mindset that said, "If I need a maintenance round every January. . . . " Yeah, it's a slippery slope, isn't it?

And from what I've read, subsequent rounds after the first can be challenging for a lot of folks. I think my second round is a bit more difficult than my first in some ways. I really do hope it's my last.

Funny thing, though, that even with getting to goal and achieving our dream bodies, we're still left with all our habits if we haven't dealt with them. Reading your story helps me want to double down on addressing mine.

In addition to WLA, I also strongly recommend The Beck Diet Solution. It has nothing to do with HCG specifically, but it works beautifully with it in using cognitive behavioral techniques applied to dieting. I return to it again and again and pick up and solidify practices I aim to sustain for life. Because this is for life.

DivineMissM,

I am out of the guarantee game. And I want to be careful making a bunch of promises that are easy to make while on protocol only to have them unravel once regular life starts again. All I can say is that I am going to attack this and do my best to address habits towards eating and see if I can do better in phase 3 and 4. I honestly believe my frame of mind is in a much better place and my game plan is sound enough where I should see improvement. At the very least, my eyes are open to some new areas that I did not focus on in the past, so there's that. I think that is a great start and will use it as my compass point.

But an annual maintenance round in January or February isn't a bad thing, and very likely something I will continue to do. At the very least I am not ruling it out. And to your point, I have found that subsequent rounds, at least on the 2.0 protocol are quite easy.
I would strongly recommend you trying that. I am not sure I can sign on for another OP round regardless of frame of mind or circumstance. But I really like this protocol and see no issue doing a short round once per year. I just want to stabilize things enough where I am not doing 2 rounds per year and get off of my current cycle. I think I can do that. But there is always going to be room for a single annual short maintenance round for many reasons. I am happy with my weight but do have room to lose a little more. Goal posts can always be moved. Just don't want to lose too much that I have to update my entire closet.