What is hcg Maintenance

The Maintenance phase begins once you have stopped using the HCG.

You will continue limiting yourself to 800 calories for 3 more days.  It’s very common to see even more weight loss during these 3 days. It takes about 3 days for your body to eliminate the HCG from your system. In that time, fat can be easily regained if you begin to eat too many calories too soon after discontinuing the HCG.

During the maintenance phase, that weight that you were the morning of your last injection is the weight that you use as a basis for your maintenance phase. Anything OVER two pounds from that weight calls for a steak day.

NOTE: The time period to begin this phase is not 3 days after your last injection, it is 72 hours! (For example, if you administer your last shot on Monday at 8 am, you will begin the maintenance phase on Thursday at 8 am.)

Second

Congratulations!  You can now begin the 3 week maintenance phase!  For three weeks following the diet without fail, weigh yourself every morning as you get out of bed, having first emptied your bladder. If you are in the habit of having breakfast in bed, you must weigh before breakfast and do the following:

1.  Avoid eating foods with refined sugars and starches (rice, breads, pastries, potatoes, etc.) for a period of 3 weeks - the maintenance phase. It takes about 3 weeks for the weight reached at the end of the HCG treatment to become stable. If carbohydrates are avoided, foods high in fat can be eaten very liberally. This step is one of the most important parts of the diet and, if followed, can prevent you from regaining the weight you lost during the diet.

2.  It is crucial to begin eating more than 800 calories during the next 3 weeks. Most people feel very good and adjust well to the 800-calorie HCG diet. However, it is important that you do eat more than 800 calories after completing the HCG diet, and especially, that you eat foods high in protein, high in healthy fats and high in fiber. Most people should be eating at least 1500 calories. Protein (meats, nuts and eggs) is very important in this stage and should be consumed liberally during the maintenance phase.

·      Protein: meats, nuts and eggs

·      Fats: olive oil, canola oil, meats and raw nuts

·      Fiber: fruits and vegetables

Refer to the Desirable Foods on the FOOD LIST page - get the book!

Third …

Weigh yourself daily. If you gain two or more pounds in a day… The morning you weigh yourself and see a two, or more, pound gain … skip breakfast and lunch (or substitute with one apple each) and eat a fair sized piece of steak or chicken with a tomato or apple for dinner. For many, this meal will result in a loss of the weight gained on the previous day.

Last …

One of the most positive outcomes of the HCG diet is the fact that most people do not crave the foods that contributed to their gaining weight in the first place. For a list of foods that will help you in maintaining your weight please see the Food List page.

Recommendations:

·      Try to eat the foods in the Desirable Foods column most frequently and eat the foods in the Foods in Moderation column less frequently. The goal is to avoid sweets as much as possible and minimize your intake of grains and dairy. This diet not only helps in maintaining a healthy weight, but also in balancing the hormones for the prevention of chronic disease and premature aging.

·      Many have found that the maintenance phase demonstrates a change in attitude toward food. For example, not getting a second helping of food, but just eating what is on your plate. People are not as hungry as they remember being pre-protocol.  Instead people eat because they need to eat, not because they have this overwhelming desire to stuff their mouths. People also find that they have ridden themselves of the emotional attachment to food.

·      Don't be afraid if the food you loved before if it no longer tastes the same or gives you the same feeling they gave you before. Sometimes, it can take almost 4 or 5 days to even start enjoying the food again. We believe it is because your body is so used to one way of eating, it takes a while to adjust to the new way of eating again.

·      Be careful of introducing too many new foods at once. Try to introduce foods one at a time, so you can determine if a certain food causes a gain or loss. Some people have trouble with dairy or nuts. Our suggestion is to go with lean protein, fruit and vegetables during the first few days to balance out. Then, GRADUALLY introduce foods like nuts and dairy one at a time, so that if you react negatively it is easily identified.

·      The other trouble which is frequently encountered immediately after treatment is again due to over-enthusiasm. Some patients cannot believe that they can eat fairly normally without regaining weight. They disregard the advice to eat anything they please except sugar and starch.  They try more or less to continue the 800-Calorie diet on which they felt so well during treatment and make only minor variations, such as replacing the meat with an egg, cheese, or a glass of milk. To their horror they find that in spite of this bravura, their weight goes up. So, not following instructions, they skip one meager lunch and at night eat only a little salad and drink a pot of unsweetened tea, becoming increasingly hungry and weak. The next morning they find that they have increased yet another pound. They feel terrible, and even the dreaded swelling of their ankles is back.  Please, please, please follow the instructions exactly - don't wing it.

·      If you plan on doing a second (or third) round to lose more weight, remember that Dr. Simeons recommends a 6 week break, followed by 8 weeks, followed by 10 weeks, etc. Some people have chosen to limit the break to 3 weeks (going from the maintenance phase right back to the  injections). Dr. Simeons recommends this break to prevent immunity, but it is ultimately up to you how long your break is; you will see how the hCG reacts to the amount of time you chose to break for.

Book, recipes and supps HERE!