Not new to HCG -- Need help, slow first week losses

**hcganonymous** · August 22nd, 2019, 09:35 AM

Hi, I've only been a non-registered lurker until today, but I think I might need some help/guidance/reassurance.

I'm not new to HCG, I did I think about 4 round of an alt protocol to lose about 100 pounds a 2-3 years ago, then did one late 2017 to lose another 15. I got to a pretty comfortable weight (142~145) and sustained it for over a year. Earlier this year (around Feb 2019~March 2019), I very suddenly gained around 35~45 (honestly, not sure how much since I had a surgery to remove a bunch of tissue prior to weighing myself again) in the time span of a couple of months and then it just as suddenly stopped. I very much noticed the sudden jump via my clothes, how I looked, and a sudden discomfort sitting and stretching.

I didn't weigh myself at the time, as I was working through a re-triggered restrictive eating disorder. I honestly have no idea why it happened. Nothing drastically changed, I was active via a horse training job, my diet was about the same, and I've been chronically stressed for years. I'm about to start working with a Rheumatologist to talk about that + a myriad of pain and unwell symptoms going on.

I have already been diagnosed with Hashimoto's.

So here's where I'm at now:

My sister is getting married in October, and I've carefully timed doing another round to help shed this weight. Obviously, I won't get all of it this round, but the number doesn't really matter so much as the way I look and where I fit into my clothes. I'm part of the wedding, so I'm obligated to be in photos.

I'm VLCD 4 and my weight loss has been... not good?

(I didn't weigh prior to loading)
VLCD 1: 187.6
VLCD 2: 185.2 (-2.4)
VLCD 3: 184.2 (-1)
VLCD 4: 184.0 (-.2)

The only time I had small losses like this in my first week was a failed round where I wanted to see if I could get smaller than the 140s. (Bad HCG, super hunger and dizzy, had to quit very early). I'm quite early into the round and want to catch anything now before waiting to see as I can't add extra days to this round if I want to be out of P3 by the wedding.

150iu hCG
Diet has been weighed chicken breast and cod, though I'm stopping the chicken due to it making me consistently feel bad (fatigue, bloating, burping, etc).
Veggies have been cucumber, iceberg lettuce, radishes, and red onion (and one stalk of celery).
I do use stevia.
I haven't been eating fruit until this morning where I ate half a grapefruit to see if it would help with my blood sugar symptoms first thing (sub-clinical hypoglycemic) (it did help).
I don't use any coconut oil (first round not to)
None of my cosmetics has oil (also first round not to)
Drinking plenty of water
I've had a bowel movement every day
I took measurements only today when I finally found my measuring tape.
Not hungry, though what I can only describe as an echoing emptiness in my stomach, but that's par for the course with me and HCG.

Other things to note:

I'm 23, 5'9~5'10 (depends on if I'm taking care of my posture).
I've never failed a P3, I always stabilised successfully without calorie counting
First time on injections, always HHCG before
The surgery was over 2 months ago, and I was cleared to do this protocol by my surgeon. (however, due to tissue necrosis post-surgery, there is an open wound healing on me)
Iodine and Vitamin D deficient (taking iodine, stopped vita-D until I can get a better supplement)
Hashimoto's
Insomnia (but better since starting HCG!) (taking 1mg of melatonin to help, too)
Active PTSD (and with all the fun depression, anxiety, etc to go with it) but being managed via therapy
+ a mixed bag of undiagnosed symptoms that are too long to list

I guess I'm just asking if this is normal, if I'm doing something wrong, or if it's possible I started at a set point.

Any advice???

(P.S. for anyone wondering, I got abdominoplasty + subcutaneous double mastectomy, so a lot got removed)

**Leez** · August 22nd, 2019, 09:57 AM

Sometimes the only indicator that a dose is off is poor losses. But we really don't know that you are having poor losses, because part of the week one loss includes loading weight loss. And whether or not you gain or lose on loading does seem to affect the rate of loss the first week. On rounds where I gained little or even lost weight, I did not have as large losses that first week as on rounds where I had a 3-4 pound loading gain. [The above paragraph has been edited for clarity]

I doesn't sound like you are doing anything off protocol that could be a problem.

An empty feeling is usually a good thing while in P2. It means the HCG is working.

You are far enough in that you can do a skip day to test your dose. If you skip tomorrow, and by late afternoon-early evening feel much better (more energetic, less hunger that normal) you could drop your dose to 125iu and see if that picks up the pace for you.

I think it was a good decision to have that grapefruit. Having one of your fruits in the morning is also good to keep cortisol levels even, and since you deal with stress, that would be important.

Its a little concerning that you are doing this while trying to heal a wound. P2 doesn't really have enough protein for proper wound healing. You might consider adding in a cup of fat-free bone broth each day to help with that. (You would need to fit it into the allowed calories)

**hcganonymous** · August 22nd, 2019, 10:09 AM

Hi Leez, thank you for the reply!

I'm sorry, I must have not have been clear: the 187.6 is what I woke up with on the first day I began P2. What I meant was I didn't weigh before starting to load, so I can't tell you what I gained from it. 187.6 is post-load weight. So this morning, what I stated at VLCD 4, was a -.2 loss. Totalling at 3.6 this morning. Is that not how people usually count it when writing it down?

I could try skipping a dose tomorrow. If I feel better in the evening, it should be lower, but if I feel worse, it needs to be higher, right?

Thank you for confirming the grapefruit, haha, I forgot to mention I got tested and showed too little cortisol (good in the morning, tanks mid-morning) at the end of 2017. I don't know if that contributes anything since I only read about it being a problem via weight if it's too high.

**hcganonymous** · August 22nd, 2019, 10:17 AM

Oops, I missed your last bit about my wound.

I was concerned too, that's why I asked my surgeon if it was okay.

A caveat is that I've had barely any appetite since the surgery (normal for me to have a small one, but a lot worse since post OP), so I've barely been eating as is. My healing has been great, even not considering that. The hole is closing nicely, still.

Part of my motivation for going on HCG was, I thought, if I can't eat anyway (severe nausea, near vomiting at food, overstuffed at small snacks) (loading was rough), I might as well do something to save my health/organs/muscle in the meantime. I've been down starvation before (former anorexic/orthorexia), and I don't want to dig up that damage again. It's notorious for going after muscle first, and I don't want that. Nor the organ damage. I want the weight loss anyway, so it's kind of a win-win-- or more, lesser of two evils-- for me.

**Leez** · August 22nd, 2019, 12:02 PM

Yes, sorry, I did not quite get what was going on the beginning of your P2. I'll adjust my comment so it doesn't confuse anyone else reading.

So your loss after 3 days on P2 is 3.6 pounds. While that might be considered low by some, it might not be. And this is why.

If you did not gain during loading, or if you actually lost (which is not uncommon) what often happens is that you don't get a really big drop after the first day of very low calorie eating. So since we don't know what happened on your load, this could very well be the case.

I think that since you are not having hunger issues, there is not a strong reason to be concerned just yet on that account. And not having hunger issues, a skip day may not give you a clear indicator, so any signs may be subtle or even indiscernible. I actually think your progress is fine losing 2+ pounds after the first day, and 1 after the second. Generally you do one skip day a week anyway if on a long round. You might want to consider giving it a couple more days before skipping, since no hunger issues are manifesting.

I could try skipping a dose tomorrow. If I feel better in the evening, it should be lower, but if I feel worse, it needs to be higher, right?

That is correct.

Your reasoning for doing the round now because of your low appetite and concern about muscle wasting is something that would go through my mind as well. I encourage you to stay aware of progress on that wound and adjust accordingly if it stops healing well.

**hcganonymous** · August 22nd, 2019, 12:25 PM

Thank you again for your reply!

So just so I'm clear, it would be a good idea to wait a few more days and watch what the scale does, and THEN decide if I should adjust my dose?

Thank you for such a comprehensive reply. I appreciate it a lot.

My wound-- I am keeping an eye on it, don't worry! I texted the nurse hotline this morning with another weekly update (surgeon's office is 7 hours away) and they're very happy with it. They told me it should heal in soon, and it's significantly smaller from last week's photo. If it starts slowing a lot, I'll add in some more protein to help.

**Leez** · August 22nd, 2019, 01:29 PM

Waiting a couple days to see how things continue before skipping to see if dose should be adjusted would be my recommendation. It is almost never a good idea to adjust dose without doing the diagnostic skip day. The problem is that hunger and poor losses can be caused by a dose too high OR too low, and the only way to know which way to adjust is to do the skip day and judge by your hunger and energy levels in the evening.

Unless you are having strong hunger, a skip day in the first few days of VLC might not give you any worthwhile information, as it is normal to have some hunger fluctuations the first week.

I'm glad they are monitoring your healing. I hope it continues to go well.

**hcganonymous** · August 22nd, 2019, 07:16 PM

Okay, I'll do that. Thank you for your help, it's very appreciated!

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