How I Recently Lost 23 Pounds

Maybe one day if I'm brave I will post before and after pics. But I think for now I will just spare everyone. For now I'm happy sharing my story so far and my stats.

Feeling chunky at an Epica concert just after starting hCG in November.

 For a whole year I worked out consistently, ate chicken and salad and protein shakes. At the end of that year, I had not lost any weight or fat! I actually weighed MORE. I did gain some muscle but there was nothing to show for it. All my clothes were tight and I was pretty depressed and embarrassed. For whatever reason my body was not ready to let go of the fat. I did feel healthier in general, but all my hard work amounted to nothing in terms of size and fat loss. I tried counting calories, specialty meal-replacement shakes, eating gluten free, weight watchers, the "primal" type diets, and a range of other things. I did that in addition to working out faithfully 5-6 days every week. I did high intensity interval training (cardio) and weight lifting. I am glad I did all that, but in the end, I still weighed more because I didn't lose the fat. In fact I was at my postpartum weight. As in.... just had a baby and came home from the hospital.

Not cool.

Then my mom started this crazy diet last October. I was skeptical. I did research on it before, and though I was intrigued I did not really believe that it would work or was healthy. And then she lost 10 lbs in 14 days. And magically I was curious again! I did some more research and decided to do it too.

And thus began my journey on the HCG diet!

Picking my outfit for my concert.

I started at the beginning of November. I had a serious goal because I had my debut CD release concert on Dec. 12. That gave me about 6 weeks leeway. I did reach my goal! I lost a good 18+ pounds! And I felt pretty fantastic on stage :)

I maintained my weight over Christmas. I gained about 2 lbs in total. I also did my weight lifting for four weeks after I was off HCG. So some of that weight was probably water and muscle. I think that's pretty good!

I have just started a new round, which began on Saturday the 5th. That gave me a good four week break, which is recommended at the very least. The more rounds you do, the longer break you need in between.

About the hCG diet

 

Many people who hear about the HCG diet are pretty skeptical at first, and I think that's a good thing. It's always a good idea to do your due diligence and research the heck out of any diet.

The first time I try telling someone what I'm doing, they usually have a bunch of questions.

Well, here is a quick summary by one girl I've been following on YouTube. She's very informed and she's a researcher. I have been watching her videos from the beginning since I started my first round because I found her quite inspiring.

Part 1 & 2:

The important thing to remember is that you are NOT living off of the 500 calories that you eat every day. You are living off of the calories in your fat which are being released for fuel.

1 pound of fat = 3500 calories.

If you lost one pound every day, that means the HCG is telling your body to use 3500 calories of abnormal fat storage for energy!

And this is the coolest thing.

Your body doesn't know or care if you ate those calories or if it pulled them from your fat stores. It just wants energy so you can live.

That is the very basic concept of the HCG diet. There is so much more to cover, including the maintenance and long term results. But I am so happy I did this. It was the jolt my body needed to lose the fat.

I have just started my second round. I have lost over 7 pounds in 9 days. Woot! Great start! Clothes are getting loose again :-)

More later...