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Phases of HCG Diet Program
In my clinic, I have four phases of the HCG Diet Program. Most other programs will only have three and group the first two phases together. However I feel that every stage is extremely important and needs to be considered individually. I separate them into Loading Phase, HCG 500 Calorie Phase, Maintenance Phase and then Life Phase.

HCG Diet Loading Phase I
Now this phase is usually grouped with the 500 calories phase. But I feel this does a disservice to you by not showing the importance of this phase. When done correctly, this phase will set you up to lose the maximum amount of weight. The loading phase it the first two days on the HCG. You start taking your HCG, but instead of only doing 500 calories, you load. You eat everything in sight. You want to eat foods high in fat and carbohydrates. You are getting your body set to lose the maximum amount of weight. The way this works is simple. Your body always wants to stay “normal” without any drastic changes. Your body’s “normal” is your current body weight. Your body has held this weight for a while and tries to maintain as close to this weight as possible, with only slight loses or gains. Now this is why most diets do not work. Most people’s idea of dieting is to eat a lot less and essentially starve your body. So your body does start to drop weight, but with the sudden weight loss and the decrease in food intake, your body panics and puts itself into a “Starvation” mode. Then what happens is that the moment you stop your diet and go back to normal eating habits you start to gain weight. Since your body is in a “starvation mode” your body tends to overcompensate and you not only gain the weight you lost but also a few pounds more. It will eventually come out of the “starvation mode” and your body will eventually settle into it new, usually heavier, “normal.” So what we are trying to do by loading is trick your body but in an opposite way. We are changing your body’s “normal” by having it gain weight quickly, thus forcing your body to try to compensate for the quick weight gain. When this happens it will overcompensate and cause you to have maximum weight loss in those first few days. This is the time to over-indulge yourself with all those foods that you love but feel guilty eating. You really want to eat so much that your stomach is overly full. You should be able to gain between three to five pounds if done correctly. Remember it is only for the first two days while on the HCG.

HCG Diet: 500 Calorie Diet Phase II
The 500 calorie diet portion of this diet is the best known part. Here is where you stick to a strict diet eating two meals a day equaling 500 calories total for the day (not per meal). This is where you will lose most of your weight while doing the HCG Diet. For each meal you get a choice of one protein, one vegetable, one fruit and one bread. A few important similarities are to cook your meals without oils, lard or spam. Use only water and the foods natural juices. Also do not mix vegetables, you only get one per meal. So if you choose lettuce for your lunch, it is only lettuce, not lettuce and onions. But a good thing to point out here is that if you do choose lettuce for lunch, try to choose a different vegetable for your dinner meal. A lot of my patients ask why we only get one vegetable at a time. It is because we are training the digestive system how to break down our foods we are eating. We are trying to get what I like to call a “clean burn.” Most people who eat a salad for example not only have lettuce in their salad, but also have cucumbers, croutons, cheese, salad dressing (usually high fat) and cherry tomatoes. Well your body will break down the high fat and high carbohydrates first before breaking down the healthier vegetables last where you get the least benefit from them. Another tip I would like to mention here is to separate your fruits from your meal. I advise my patients to eat their fruit before or between meals. For example have an apple in the morning before your lunch and have your orange between lunch and dinner. The reason for this is two-fold: in the beginning it will help you with your hunger because you are splitting up your calories throughout the day and keeping your sugar levels maintained. Then as you get into about the second week of your 500 Calorie HCG diet, you will notice that it is harder to eat all your calories at each meal. So if you get yourself in the habit of separating the fruit from the beginning, it will make it easier to eat your 500 total calories in one day.

HCG Diet: Maintenance Phase III
The Maintenance phase of the HCG Diet is the most important phase of the diet. This is where all your hard work pays off and you maintain the benefits of your weight loss. With most diets you will lose weight, but the moment you stop the diet you tend to gain your weight back and then some. With the maintenance program we are now resetting your bodies “normal” weight to your new weight. Your weight must stabilize. Once reset, your body will want to maintain this weight without any drastic changes.

The maintenance phase is a three week phase so you can maintain your body weight within two pounds of your final weigh in. During this phase you are still restricted on your diet, but your menu does open up quite a bit. A few of the thing added are your dairy products, certain nuts, and you now get to mix some of your fruits and vegetables. We do another body analysis on our patient to determine their BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which will determine the amount of calories they can eat without gaining any weight. So it is required to still count your calories during this phase, but you will quickly learn the proper amount of food to eat at each meal and be able to get away from having to count all your calories. This is the time where you come mindful of your body and it’s needs. When eating you will want to eat until you are satisfied not full. Feeling satisfied is fairly easy to do since you have been eating 500 calories for several weeks. It takes your brain around 10 minutes to realize that you are satisfied and then tells your stomach that you are full.

It takes around 21 days for your body to stabilize and accept your body’s weight. The reason that this is the most important phase, is because if done properly you will benefit from all your weight loss and be able to maintain your weight loss with very little effort.

HCG Diet: Life Phase IV
Life phase is the best and easiest if all the other phases when done correctly. Now it’s time to enjoy the new healthier you and indulge in the foods you love without feeling guilty. In Life you now take what you learned in Phase III of the HCG Diet and apply to all your foods and your new lifestyle. You can now eat all foods within moderation. Just listen to your body and watch the amount you are eating. Don’t go back to old habits and eat everything on your plate and eating till you feel full. Instead enjoy your foods, don’t feel guilty having desserts and sweets but do all this within moderation. Still weight yourself every other day if not daily to keep an eye on your weight. The biggest secret to life is to indulge and enjoy your foods once or twice a week and just watch what you eat the next day or two.

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