Top 4 Asked Questions Before Starting the HCG Diet
As a customer service representative for DIY HCG, I receive questions from prospective HCG Dieters on the daily! Read on to see the 4 most popular questions I get from people getting ready to do the HCG Diet along with the answers.
Can you tell me about the HCG Diet in a nutshell?
Day 1 and 2: Take HCG diet drops and eat foods with lots of fat. Eat your favorite foods but be careful not to make yourself sick by eating too much. We also suggest eating healthier fats such as avocados and nuts. By eating these types of foods, you will feel better while you transition to the 500-calorie phase of the diet.
Day 3 - Day 23 or up to Day 40: Take HCG diet drops and follow the 500-calorie diet as outlined in Dr. Simeons’ manuscript or in your Loser's Manual.
Exit days: After the last day of taking the HCG diet drops, you must keep following the 500-calorie diet for three days after stopping the HCG drops. Otherwise, you will gain weight since it takes a couple of days for the HCG to exit your system.
1st 3 weeks of Maintenance: No more HCG diet drops! You may start incorporating more foods into your diet. But remember during these first 3 weeks, sugars and starches are not allowed. It is a good idea to keep a log of everything you are eating.
2nd 3 weeks of Maintenance: No HCG diet drops! You may slowly add sugars and starches back into your diet. If you have been keeping your food journal up to date, keep logging everything you eat. It is even more important to keep a log now.
What can I eat while on the low-calorie phase of the diet?
You are allowed two meals each day consisting of 1 serving of protein (3.52 oz), 1 vegetable, 1 fruit, and a grissini breadstick. Your protein serving can either be chicken, lean beef, fish etc. While measuring your protein, you must weight it raw, it can be measured as 100 grams or 3.52 ounces. An example of your fruit could be an orange or a handful of strawberries. Your vegetable serving could be a whole cucumber, an onion, a tomato, or a big plate of lettuce. The grissini breadstick is optional. It should be about the size of a pencil (and have about 10 calories per grissini stick). Since the HCG Diet is more restrictive than other diets, the list of allowable fruits, vegetables, and proteins is rather short! Click here for a complete list of allowable foods on the low-calorie phase.
Is exercise required?
You are not required to exercise on the HCG Diet Protocol. However, if you’ve been doing some type of activity regularly for at least 2 months prior to starting the HCG Diet, you should be able to continue that exercise routine as long as it doesn’t include heavy weight-lifting or extreme exhaustion. Just pay attention to how your body reacts AND watch the scale. If your weight loss is slowing or stopping all together, you may want to stop all exercise except walking. If you have not been working out and want to start something new, you can start walking. Just don’t start walking 10 miles on the first day!
Do you recommend any products to make the HCG Diet easier?
When people call in about starting the HCG Diet, many of them ask me about the other products we carry. They want to know if anything helps make the diet easier. We offer a variety of salad dressings, BBQ sauces, and seasonings to add flavor to bland foods. Our products were designed specifically for the low-calorie phase of the HCG Diet and contain no sugar. We also carry the grissini breadsticks as well as a gluten free option. We offer stevia to help sweeten and flavor your water, coffee, or tea. Besides food products we have personal hygiene items, body lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and face cream that were designed for oil-free diet plans. The HCG diet can be tricky, so we offer books including The HCG Weight Loss Cure Guide and the 101 Worry-Free HCG Diet Recipes book. All these products are available for purchase through DIYHCG.com.
Take a look around our site. We have FAQs, customer reviews, and tons of blogs with helpful information. We understand this diet is probably way different than anything else you have ever tried, but it works for many people that have struggled with weight loss for much of their lives. If you have questions that you do not see answered on our website, feel free to give us a call, send us an email, or participate in an online chat. Good luck on your weight loss journey!