Monday, May 16, 2011

1 Week Results of the Un-HCG Experiment....

I finished one week of the experiment and here are the results:

Weight lost: -2.4lbs
Lost -1.5 inches off waist
Lost -1.5 inches off hips
Lost -.25 inches off each thigh
(Those were the only locations I measured, but I know I lost inches in other places as well.)
Avg fasting glucose: 74
Avg lunch 1 hr pp: 74
Avg lunch 2 hr pp: 74
Avg dinner 1 hr pp: 84
Avg dinner 2hr pp: 85

Overall I would say that is pretty good. The scale was frustrating. Now I remember why I got rid of it :) I lost for 3 days in a row really well. Then it went nothing, up, down, nothing. But no hunger or cravings at all. Energy getting back to normal levels. I also have to consider that before I started this I had been bedridden for 6 weeks, so using the muscles finally could be skewing the weight loss a little as well.

I fought headaches that were pretty intense and realized that this pain was the beginning of the pain that had put me in bed! I remembered how I promised myself I was not going to create that stress again, and that nothing was worth the pain I had been in. I said I would not be a freak and would just be sensible, and no scale. Well here I am weighing, counting and measuring everything. Stressing every time the scale said something I did not like. You give me numbers to hit and I will hit them. I follow everything to perfection. And I wonder why the pain was coming back???

So here is what I took from this experiment. I don't believe that HCG has anything to do with actual weight loss. I believe it is the composition of the foods we eat (at any calorie level) that determines if we lose or not. I believe that how easily we lose, under the right composition if food, is then largely affected by our own person levels of insulin and leptin resistance. I believe that on HCG, even though I lost ok, the hunger I felt tells me that much of the losses I had were at the mercy of my lean muscle. I can read back over the posts when I finished rounds that said I felt "skinny fat". Knowing that the HCG adds fat cells to my body that can now be filled, really bothers me. I also can't think of anyone who has really kept it off completely without eventually having to do more rounds to keep it there. (Myself included) Their hypothalamus did not reset, they just changed their eating habits enough to keep the weight stable. Then, if they start eating badly again, the weight starts creeping back on regardless of the new "setpoint". And for those who are not being really careful, they just gain it all back and then some.

Am I sorry I did HCG? No. Other than the fact that I made new fat cells :(, the rest is just a placebo in my opinion. But, it taught me how to break the sugar habit, to learn immense self control, to realize I really could lose the weight if I wanted to, and most importantly to realize that at the end of the day it was the choices I made of what to put in my mouth that made the difference, not HCG. It gave me confidence in ME.

So now I want to take all of the lessons I have learned so far, and put them all together. I want to make good food choices everyday. I want to keep sugar and processed foods to a bare minimum. I want to keep carbohydrates at a level that is effective for allowing my body to lose fat. I want to enjoy the food I eat and not be hungry. I want to be relaxed in my approach to weight loss and be able to flow with the ups and downs as they come. I want to accept that life isn't perfect and neither am I . Slip-ups happen, but I can be smart about them and get right back on track with little damage. I want to exercise because I enjoy it, and how it makes me feel. NOT to lose weight. I want to become the healthiest, best me, possible.

I am going to enter maintenance for a month and try to practice these principles. I am going to get the blood work done to see exactly how my metabolism is functioning, and where it needs help. Then in about a month I will do this program again for a week or two, and so on :) I am turning 40 this year in December, and my goal is to find that balance and start really living my life. Oh yeah, the scale is going back. My tape measure works just fine :)

12 comments:

  1. You go girl! I have averaged 0.5 lb releases daily with this experiment, I've got my energy back - which was zapped on the hcg protocol. Thanks for blogging about it, I was only on hcg for a week, I had no idea it created more fat cells. I know eating healthy will always be hard for me, but it's easier with friends!

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  2. you were Hungry on HCG? I have not been HUNGRY once. I have CRAVED food, but sat down and thought...am I HUNGRY? and not once.
    I'm sorry you had to go thru not being well.
    I hope you get to your Goal and find your balance. Everyone deserves to find what works for them and FEEL GREAT!

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  3. Chellie- congrats on the losses. I liked getting my energy back as well! I will continue to monitor your progress. Thanks for your support.

    Smaller MEHCG- I had different levels of hunger on different rounds some very little and some extreme. I also had cravings etc. But even if I wasn't starving, I was constantly looking to when my next meal was and often having to use a lot of concerted effort to decide that I am not really hungry :) After doing this experiment and eating in a way that controlled blood sugar completely, I now know what not hungry is. I have no feeling towards food at all. No cravings. No wishing it was time to eat etc. A very different feeling. And if you are not as insulin resistant then the composition of the foods on the diet might be working fine for you and releasing fat so that you are not hungry. Wether or not HCG is causing that to happen is the question :) I am not here to judge, just speaking for myself and my experience. I hope you are very successful! We all have to choose for ourselves :) Stay in touch and let me know how you do!

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  4. Is there a chart some where that says what ratio to eat? I did read what you said to but I'll admit to some confusion but I have pco and insulin resistant for sure. I'm not really hungry on hcg but the fat cells bother me.

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  5. Dear Jen (& followers) --

    I'm _so happy_ that my new protocol for taking off pounds and inches safely and sanely has worked as well for you as it has the Experiment Participants! Two have gone on to Maintenance, based on their 2-week results, and 2 are staying on Protocol for another week.

    Jen, the fact that you've lost so many inches shows that what you lost was fat, not lean muscle mass, but given your overall profile I'm not surprised.

    Sorry my blog seems hard to navigate for some, but there is just so much information I needed to get out so that followers would understand that what I've created is the Anti-One-Size-Fits-All, and that includes Maintenance, as well. In the next day or so, look for a new thread (assuming you're signed up as a subscriber, in order to be notified) on this very important topic.

    I've been thinking about how to get the word out to more people, yet ensure that each person gets the ratios (P & M) that will work for *them* -- any ideas? The best thing I've come up with so far is editing all my information and putting it all in an easy-to-follow Kindle book (you won't need a Kindle to read it; just download the free app from Amazon to read on your PC) and charging a nominal amount -- maybe $4.49 -- but that will come with a free consultation via email that will review that person's stats and then provide their individual ratios. Do you think that might work?

    In the meantime, please feel free to ask questions on my blog; if I can answer, I'll be happy to do so.

    Best wishes,

    Sugarfree
    http://sugarfreegoodies.wordpress.com

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  6. Sugarfree- I love the idea of the Kindle book, and the fact that the email consultation would allow each person to get the individual info they need to be successful. In the meantime, I think we are all anxious to get the next thread and understand even more of the program. Thanks for all of your hard work :) For now, I think I am going to put up the exact links for each part of the series on my blog so that people don't have to navigate so much to find what they need.

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  7. Jen,

    Thank you for the kind words; I really appreciate them. :) And I'm glad you like the Kindle idea.

    I will get to the Maintenance thread as soon as I can. The two participants on M will only be posting once a week but have already let me know how well it seems to be working for them

    The reason for the delay is that we're finally up the recipe testing phase with the Boston-based dessert chain that is going to manufacture and sell my sugar-free desserts. I'm required to fine-tune each of five recipes: cheesecake, killer brownies, black bean and white bean mini-cupcakes with butter cream frosting, and my peanut butter mousse torte with chocolate ganache topping -- then bake them all this week -- and deliver the recipes and desserts to the baking facility on Friday. I'll be meeting with the Head Pastry Chef and her staff, and after everyone tastes everything, we'll talk about what's required in order to 'batch up' the recipes and bake hundreds of everything on their industrial equipment.

    I'll be going back and forth to Boston on a weekly basis for a few months until each recipe is tweeked to perfection, then my goodies will go into each of their three dessert stores for testing. Assuming all goes well, my goodies will finally be available in there, at their wholesale accounts, and on the website I'll set up so people can order nationally. And gee -- it's only taken me nearly four years to get here -- LOL.

    If all goes well I should be able to get back to writing the next thread this weekend. Wish me luck!

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  8. Sugarfree-

    You had me at cheesecake, and killer brownies.... :) That is exciting and sounds like a long time in the making. Now hurry up so we can order some of your goodies for ourselves! Can't wait for the maintenance thread because for now I am just guessing and eating some good food :)

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  9. I love the kindle idea, honestly I'm way confused on what to do. I'm pcos and hypothyroid this I already know, I have appt with endocrinologist in two days, I could use a list of what tests to ask for. I ordered a glucose moniter but I'm unsure of even what to eat.

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  10. Nicole,

    There is a list of tests right on the site, in it's own thread: Metabolic Blood Tests. You can print the page out and take it to your endo.

    Before changing your diet, get the results, and get the meter. Use it for a week and record your numbers (a good meter will 'remember' those numbers for you). If you're not sure about what a truly normal reading is on the meter, come on over to the site and ask. I'll answer -- and this way everyone can read it.

    Sugarfree
    http://sugarfreegoodies.wordpress.com

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  11. I just posted the direct link for the metabolic blood test thread so anyone can go right to it ;)

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  12. I must say to you it`s pretty good and just continue to work and lose weight when you once lose weight never fat yourself if you have will to continue to do something with your body.
    And one more thing hcg pellets
    is amazing

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