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o you have lost 20-30 pounds on P2 and you are feeling GREAT! Your clothes are loose, some of you might have went down a size, and now you think, OMG what do I do now? P3 is SCARY!! I don't know what to eat, or how much, OR can I just please have a glass of wine!?
If you've completed the HCG diet plan with success, the last thing you want to do is waste all of your hard work and perseverance by immediately resorting to old eating habits. The first 3 weeks following the low calorie phase are absolutely critical to maintaining your weight loss. This cannot be stressed enough. Don’t waste all your hard work by immediately resorting to old eating habits. There are two things you need to understand before beginning maintenance.
Your body is not accustomed to its new weight.
Take a second and ask yourself how long it’s been since you’ve been the weight you’re currently at following the low calorie phase. Months? Years? Decades? As a result, your body will be determined to restore its fat reserves and return to your old, heavier weight that it is accustomed. Again, remember what Dr. Friedoff says, “The more weight you'd like to permanently lose, the more of your lifestyle you'll need to permanently change.” HCG will certainly help you maintain your weight loss, but it cannot be unrealistically relied upon. If you’re asking whether you’ll gain the weight back, the answer is up to you and how closely you follow the maintenance recommendations below.
The decision you make following your diet will determine your sustained weight loss.
Immediately following completion of your protocol, it’s best to continue on the low calorie phase for three days after you discontinue your HCG supplement. During the first three weeks of maintenance you’ll still want to stay away from carbs and sugar. It’s during these first three weeks that your body will be most determined to replenish its fat stores and return to its old weight. Avoiding carbs is the best way to prevent this. You may begin to add dairy back into your diet, but carbs are your enemy during these first three weeks
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The previous paragraphs were from Dr. Zach’s book, but here is where I tend to digress just a tad from his book. As someone who has been there, done that, and have the t-shirt to prove it, I believe the following to be a better approach to P3. I have had this discussion with Dr. Zach, and I believe it will help you maintain or get you ready for your next round.
For P3 you should refigure your BMR from the 2.0 app
. You want the BMR number. That is the total calories you should consume for the day.
DO NOT
multiply your BMR times 1.25.
I would keep my carbs at 50 net (that is Total carbs minus fiber) and the rest is fat and protein. I would keep those at 40/40. This gives you unlimited meal choices. Keto diets work great for P3. There are so many recipes online for keto meals.
For the first three days after your last injection, drops or patch you want to eat very low calorie. On day 4 begins the real P3.
Caution: Do NOT start eating all those calories at once
. I usually add no more than 50-100 calories a day until I reach my BMR. I also refrain from fruit or dairy while slowly adding back in the calories. I also refrain from alcohol. Those first two weeks are pretty critical.
After I have added those calories back in, I start adding a few more carbs a day. I watch the scale (yes P3 is the ONLY time I weigh daily). I added one food a day such as cheese and I watched the scale the next morning. If I didn’t gain, I left it in my list of foods I could now eat. Carbs were an absolute no-go for me. I actually left mine at the 30 total mark. I suspect a lot of us are carb sensitive. Only you will know what you can and can't eat to maintain this weight loss by diligently testing new foods.
Intermittent Fasting makes P3 a easier, by the way. It keeps your hunger low and calories lower. I plan on doing IF the rest of my life. I do 18:6 two-three days a week and 23:1 the other days. I am very hard pressed to reach my full BMR calories most days, so when I do have a special meal, or date night with my hubby, it will not effect my scale.
THIS IS IMPORTANT: Use P3 to determine just what foods affect your scale and which ones don’t.
I discovered dairy really bloats me and makes my arthritis flare up. I do eat cheese, but sparingly, and usually it is feta or other softer cheeses. Avocados are a great food to add back in at this time. Bacon is another great food that is healthy fat and lots of calories. Some of you might find lots of foods you used to eat, that your body just doesn't like. My husband and I discovered just how much better we feel eating keto. We still have cheat meals every once-in-while, I'm not going to lie, but the next day I feel miserable and they are few and far between.
I have learned that moderation is the key
. If I want ice cream (and I adore ice cream), I go get a tablespoon and dip it in the container and eat one bite. I have found if I don't deny myself the taste of what I am craving, I can have the mental satisfaction of the flavors, without making myself miserable or feeling deprived.
P3 is the mental part of the HCG 2.0 plan
. The scale keeps you motivated on P2, on P3 you have to change your mind. 98% of weight loss is mental. I firmly believe this. I had to change the way I viewed food and my relationship with it to keep the weight off. I had to learn WHY I shouldn't eat all those carbs and find out for myself that I could never go back to eating that way and how much better my body responds to the low carb lifestyle. I also discovered my body likes more healthy fat that it does protein. I used to crave donuts, and cake and cookies, and I ate them all the time. Now my cravings are for cashews and avacados--if you learn to listen, your body will tell you what kind of nutrition it wants once you remove the addiction to carbs.
Tracking is still important in P3
. Make sure you keep logging all of your food. This keeps you accountable to yourself. Nothing worse than having to lose weight you already lost!!!
On 2.0 it is OK to lose weight on P3. The one rule you need to follow is you MUST eat all of your BMR calories at least once a week. The way to do this is to subtract 10-15% off of your BMR. Stay at 30 total carbs a day. You will lose 1-2 pounds a week. I would not lose anymore than that. You want to reset your hypothalamus, so make sure your hit those BMR calories at least once a week. Exercise is also great to add in on P3. I walk 10-15000 steps a day.
Alcohol - If you count the calories and don’t go crazy, P3 is the time to imbibe. Make sure you choose low carb mixers.
Sustain is a great product I begged Zach to make for P3. It will help you control your appetite and give you the time to help curb those cravings you get from time to time. I also use it after those cheat meals, when I've had way too many carbs, to get those carb cravings that inevitably come after eating junk. The maintenance package of Sustain and Garcinia (which you take after too many carbs to keep it from turning to fat) are a great addition to your P3.
Kylene - standing in for:
Dr. Zach LaBoube
Author of HCG 2.0
