Thread: new guy here - starting over on a new journey

I spent the last couple of days reading through a lot of posts and thought I would put my two cents in. This is a very good website full of very good and helpful information. It is sad to see the men's forum dry up, but that is the way it goes. I would be very interested to see how the men who were posting often from 2011 are doing today and what their attitudes are towards this diet. I might share more on that on a future thread, but for now, here is my story:

I started the HCG diet this past weekend after a 11 year break from the diet. I was 40 years old when i first tried the protocol. That was in 2008. At that time, you had to order HCG from an overseas pharmacy and hope it didn't get intercepted in route. My wife and I as well as a couple good friends did the diet at the same time. We had a recipe for under the tongue drops. I don't remember exactly what was mixed in, because my wife took care of it. We took one dose in the morning and that was to last the entire day. I did two rounds that year. Lost 30 pounds in the first round and 20 the second. Beginning weight was around 270 and ended up at 220. It really was difficult because I was hungry a lot. The hunger was mental as much as physical. In phase 3 the first time, I was very strict to the no carb thing and really locked he weight loss in. I took up a healthy lifestyle after that and started playing a ton of tennis.

11 years later and the weight has slowly crept back. For the most part, my weight has been stable between 245 and 255, but the last half year it has jumped up over 260. I am still playing tennis a lot but really feel the extra weight on the court. I am actually in good physical shape, can run for hours, but need to be lighter. I have tried keto, and many other diets, but they only work in small spurts and one lapse in discipline erases the losses. But overall, it is my eating habits that have worsened over the 11 years, to the point in where I am eating way more unhealthy than healthy these days.

I made the decision a couple of weeks ago to try the HCG diet. Not only to lose weight, but more importantly to hit the reset button in my body in how I eat and process foods. So here I am.

A lot has changed since 2008. I did some web searches and found HHCG. I followed the reviews and chose Triumph drops.

Load day was last Saturday. stepped on the scale with 262lbs. Second morning of loading saw a jump to 266lbs (heavy loading + lots of beer). Played 3 hours of tennis the second load day which led to a drop yesterday morning to 263.8 on the morning weigh in. today, I was at 260.4 so I am already below my first day's weight so I am officially losing weight.

Loading: let me say this about that: I know they say that loading is important because it fills your body with the fat needed so the first few days are no so difficult. I don't see it that way. I strongly feel the load days mentally turn you off to all of that food and really make you want to eat clean. At least, that is how it worked for me. with the HCG in my system, eating all of that bad food was not pleasant. But the mental part is just as important as the physical in this protocol, so I am all in.

My plan: I plan on doing 23 days of the protocol with 48 hours to allow the HCG to leave my system before starting on phase 3. I hope to lose anywhere between 25-30 pounds. Depending on how things go, I might do another round, but right now, I am only going to focus on this round.

I will be checking in every couple of days of so. For now, I will be following the protocol and looking forward to jumping on the scale every morning.

Meals: sticking to the protocol. Chicken breast, Cod, shrimp, buffalo and lean beef. I will keep the recipes simple at first. As I get into the diet, i will get more creative with the recipes in terms of spice and flavor.

Activity: I will continue to play tennis, but will focus more on doubles and will not play as often. That is the plan. If I am not feeling up to it, I might not play much at all. That is one of the great things about this diet. you can rest and you are still losing weight. No guilt about taking a day off from the workout.