Maintenance on the HCG Diet

Image via WikipediaAfter 30 days, I lost 16.5 lbs and 12.5". I am going for 40 days or until my hCG drops run out, whichever comes first. After I reach 40 days or no drops, I'll move into phase 3, or the maintenance stage. This is when you train your body and your brain to maintain the new (lower) set-point for weight. One of my mentors, Frankie Boyer of The Frankie Boyer Show, said that phase 3 is the key to total success and "makes or breaks the whole thing." I gave an overview last time, but I'll give more detail in this post. First of all, stop taking the hCG drops during the last two days of the VLCD (very low calorie diet) to ensure that all the hCG is out of your system. Then move into phase 3. No more counting calories; no more avoiding fat; no more limited fruits and vegetables. The main rules for this phase are: YOU MUST WEIGH YOURSELF EVERY DAY and STAY AWAY FROM STARCH (no sugar, flour, grains, bread, rice, potatoes, baked goods, etc). You can add fat back into your diet and you can eat until you're full - but don't overeat. This is a training ground to really get in touch with your body's hunger and satisfaction signals. Stay with organic, healthy food, but you don't need to weigh or measure it. Don't be afraid of adding calories. If you don't eat enough, you won't train your body to metabolize the appropriate amount of food. Introduce new foods slowly so you can assess if your body will react positively or negatively. If you eat a banana and gain a pound the next day, your body is highly sensitive to high-glycemic foods.

Continue on this maintenance program for a minimum of three weeks to make sure your weight has stabilized. You must stay within two pounds of what you weighed at the end of the hCG phase. If you gain more than two pounds, you must do a "correction day" to get your weight back within the two pound range so that your body understands it must maintain this set point. Dr. Simeon's traditional correction day is called a "steak day" but you may use an "apple day" or several other options.

Correction Day Options:

• Steak day: skip breakfast and lunch and drink lots of water. In the evening, eat a huge steak (12-16 oz.) with NO SALT and only one apple or raw tomato.
• Apple day: eat six apples through out the day and only drink enough water to quench your thirst.
• Protein Powder day:  skip breakfast and lunch and drink lots of water. In the evening, drink 5 scoops of whey, rice or pea protein powder made into shakes and only one apple or raw tomato.
• Egg day: eat only eggs all day as hunger dictates - about 8 to 12 eggs during the day. You can add mayonnaise, butter, cheese or coconut oil.
• Nut day: eat raw nuts with the highest fat content, about 2500 calories for the day. Try to eat some nuts every hour. 
• Chicken day: roast an entire chicken (don't use store bought which can have added sugars). Eat both legs and thighs with the skin. Take a break, then continue to eat through out the day as you're hungry, starting with the dark meat and working to the white meat, including the skin.

I've done an "apple day" to break a plateau on phase 2, but I have not tried any of the other correction days listed above. Personally, it's too hard for me to skip breakfast and lunch, so I'd probably pick one of the days that I can eat through out the day.

Once you have maintained your weight for three weeks, you can either go back to the hCG drops and 500 calorie diet to lose more weight, or you can move onto the the next phase, which is a transition to eating for the rest of your life. More about that later!