Looking Good And Feeling Great On The HCG Diet

Stabilization Phase
After being on the HCG diet plan for 28 days now, I have lost 20 pounds and am ready to go into the next phase of the plan. I can actually start eating more food again, yeah! I just finished the strict 500 calorie a day phase. This latter phase of the HCG diet plan, which is known as the stabilization phase, let's you increase your caloric intake. This phase usually lasts for 21 days before you can return to a normal and healthy diet.

I am going to discuss the foods that you can eat while transitioning into the stabilization phase. At this point, your body should be used to eating less food, but now you get to add more variety, albeit slowly.

1500 Calories!!
You need to increase your calorie intake to at least 1500 calories a day, but I had to do it gradually because my stomach had shrunk. Now that you have lost the weight, you need to maintain it, or possibly lose a bit more. I will discuss what worked for me in this stabilization phase, also known as Phase 3.

The last 3 days of the 500 calorie diet phase, I stopped the HCG drops. I continued staying on the 500 calorie regimen, but did no drops for the next 72 hours. I was then able to eat anything I wanted except starches and sugar. This phase is extremely important to the success of the HCG diet protocol. I kept my carbohydrates extremely low, while aiming to eat at least 1500 calories a day. By doing this, you can add a bit more fat if you'd like. I kept my diet primarily high protein. Once you start eating more carbs with more fat, you are asking for trouble, because the weight will start to come back fast.

You Need A Scale
Another thing that is very important is to weigh yourself every morning before you eat. Your weight must remain within 2 pounds of the weight that you were when you finished your last dose of HCG drops. This is the weight that you want to maintain.

Read Labels
I had been on the Low Carb Diet in the past, so I was already familiar with a lot of the foods that you can and can't eat. You just need to read labels. Any sugar is bad. Pastas, bread, rice, potatoes - these are all high in carbs and must be avoided.

High Protein - Low Carbs
Steak, chicken, pork, and fish with lots of vegetables are the main things that I ate. I also had some fruit, but there are sugars in fruit so you want to be careful how much you eat. Cheese and eggs are high protein as well, so I included those. Also, if you choose to drink alcohol, beer and wine have a lot of sugar as opposed to distilled liquor like vodka or whiskey. I personally did not drink any alcohol while in this phase, but use your best judgment if you do decide to indulge.

Monitor Closely
I was lucky that I was able to maintain my weight without going over 2 pounds. If you do find that you have gained more than 2 pounds, you must go on a "steak day". You are not to have any breakfast or lunch but drink plenty of water. Then for dinner you are to have a large steak and an apple or raw tomato. This will help get you back in your maintenance zone. Also, make sure you are getting enough calories; too little calories will contribute to weight gain as well.

Hopefully, you will follow this regimen carefully and maintain the weight you lost while in the 500 calorie phase. Do this for 3 weeks and your hypothalamus will be reset, and your weight will not yo-yo and fluctuate like it did before embarking on this HCG Diet journey.

Stay tuned, and I will let you know how I do with the next phase, Maintenance!!