As many of you are set to begin the Loading Phase of my HCG 2.0 diet protocol this weekend, the timing of this blog could not be better.
It was written by a dear friend who has had varying degrees of success with the diet. She's never had more than 10 pounds to lose so the first time this did the diet, she relied primarily on her HCG supplement to do al the work for her. But if you've read my book, you're aware that the HCG is NOT what is responsible for your weight loss.
The HCG supplement does three critical things for you (among many others)...
It facilitates ketosis. It jumpstarts ketosis and allows you to remain in an optimal state of ketosis for as long as you keep your carb below 30 grams per day.
It targets your weight loss. It allows you to maintain healthy muscle mass while strictly losing from unwanted fat.
When combined with a properly executed Loading Phase, it allows you to bypass Starvation Mode so that you experience the most exaggerated weight loss in the early stages of the diet. It's not uncommon to lose 10 to 15 pounds in the 10-14 days of the diet. Men often lose even more.
So whether you have 10 pounds to lose or 110 pounds to lose, do yourself a favor and consider Lisa's advice. Not only does she have experience with the diet, her education and background is in medical psychology. And, she's one of the most supportive women I know. She's on your team.
No Pain No Gain
However, "A diet need not be the undertaking of a lifetime to yield life-changing results." ~Dr. Zach
The HCG 2.0 diet promises great results in a relatively short amount of time. The science is well established, as is the anecdotal data from so many men and women who have lost significant weight and experienced encouraging results early in the cycle. Sounds foolproof, right? Well, here’s why some people will fail on this diet—it requires that you go ALL IN. No cheating, no bargaining, no in-between meals snacking. Especially at the beginning. Sounds simple--yet for many people, this is the Achilles Heel.
Common Challenges and Solutions
The reasons for this are many. We have been programmed to eat a certain way—by our upbringing and family life; by our college and career habits and environments; by our current stress-ridden lives and workplaces. Our physical environment plays a big part as well.
Do you live in a place where the weather forces you to be inside and sedentary for a big part of the year? Or do you live in a region where it is bikini season all year round?
At the heart of it, it seems that the biggest barrier to compliance on this diet (or any diet for that matter) is our emotional attachment to food. So often, we choose the foods that we eat and the amount of food we eat because it feels good in the moment. This is called Emotional Eating. We eat to make ourselves feel better emotionally, to self-soothe, to drown out any negative feelings we might be experiencing at that moment.
Strategies for HCG Diet Success
But what happens when we want to make a change and start to self-regulate by altering the patterns of our diet and approach to food intake? If we just try to adopt a set of rules for our eating behavior without really addressing the root cause of our attachment to food, we may be doomed to fail at any diet we undertake.
So, what can we do to help ensure success on this diet and truly change some of our beliefs and behaviors around food? First, education is critical. Understanding the science and physiological mechanisms of the HCG 2.0 diet will help to crystallize why total compliance, especially in the initial phase of the diet, is critical for success. Without strict adherence to the parameters of the HCG 2.0 plan, you will not achieve ketosis in the body, which is the flip switch that spurs all of the great weight loss in the early stages and beyond. Even small cheats that involve sugar and carbs will interfere with the ketosis process.
Secondly, analyze your relationship to food! Do you tend to fall off your plan when you are upset? Bored? Lonely? Are you eating to feel good or placate some unwanted emotions or feelings? So many of us do! If so, then keeping a journal or discussing with a friend may help you to identify when and where you lose your focus and commitment to your diet. And then, try to replace that action of reaching for food with healthier behaviors. Go for a walk instead of grabbing a snack. Drink a big glass of water before reaching for the fridge. Meditate or journal to express your thoughts and feelings.
Setting Yourself Up to LOSE Big
Preparation is key. Keep yourself accountable and on track by following these tips: Get rid of the junk food and high carb ingredients in your home that might tempt you. Fill your pantry and fridge with healthy, low-carb alternatives that you can easily grab for on-the-go satiety and also for meal prep. Print a shopping list of the foods that you need to stock so you don’t forget at the market or run out of options. Post the dos and don’ts of the diet on your fridge or pantry.
Drink lots of water! Often times, we mistake the sensation of thirst for hunger. A big glass of water will not only lessen any food cravings, but it is also great for your general hydration and digestive system. And your skin and joints. The benefits of good hydration are endless. More water is better!
Create a low-temptation schedule for yourself. You may need to consider which dinners out, functions or events you can attend during the early phase of the diet. If your willpower is not yet established, then avoiding situations that may tempt you to cheat is advisable. It will get easier as you start to become habituated to the new tastes and sensations of healthy eating. Your healthy food choices will become more obvious and easier to identify. And the results themselves will be a great motivator to continue on your path.
Build a community! Start the diet with friends, your partner, family. Even if they are not on HCG 2.0, everyone can benefit from a low carb, healthy diet. Join our Facebook page for on-going support, links to recipes and information to help ensure your success on the HCG 2.0 diet. Purchase the book written by Dr. Zach. If you're more of a visual learner, join his Teachable class. You get all the information from his book in a 30 minute series of short videos.
Copy and Paste the List Below to Maximum Your Success
All of the steps below are important, but 1, 6 and 7 are absolutely critical. As Deepak Chopra says, "Success happens when people work together. Failure tends to happen alone." You gotta have support if you want to be successful.
Get rid of the junk food and high carb ingredients in your home that might tempt you. This is a great tip, but really tough if you have a family and young children. If you do, see step 7. Get the family on board with what you're doing. It's also a great way to educate the family on healthy eating. Make health a discussion. Discuss it over dinner. Find examples of cool celebs doing and eating healthy things. Celebs love the latest health trends. Make eating healthy cool.
Fill your pantry and fridge with healthy, low-carb alternatives that you can easily grab for on-the-go satiety and also for meal prep.
Print a shopping list of the foods that you need to stock so you don’t forget at the market and run out of options. As Dr. Zach says, the poor foods in our diet are not our foods of choice, but our foods of convenience.
Post the dos and don’ts of the diet on your fridge or pantry.
Drink lots of water! Often times, we mistake the sensation of thirst for hunger. A big glass of water will not only lessen any food cravings, but it is also great for your general hydration and digestive system. And your skin and joints. The benefits of good hydration are endless. More water is better!
Create a low-temptation schedule for yourself. You may need to consider which dinners out functions or events you can attend during the early phase of the diet. If your willpower is not yet established, then avoiding situations that may tempt you to cheat is advisable. It will get easier as you start to become habituated to the new tastes and sensations of healthy eating. Your healthy food choices will become more obvious and easier to identify. And the results themselves will be a great motivator to continue on your path.
Build a community! Start the diet with friends, an accountability partner or family. Even if they are not on HCG 2.0, everyone can benefit from a low carb, healthy diet.
Join our private Facebook group for on-going support, links to recipes and information to help ensure your success on the HCG 2.0 diet.
Purchase the book written by Dr. Zach that breaks down the HCG 2.0 diet and provides history and insight into why and how it works.
Life Is Lived at the Edge of Your Comfort Zone
Changing your habits to create a healthier body and feel better in your own skin is worth the
short-term adjustment discomfort and sacrifices that you will have to make on this diet. And after a while, it does not feel like sacrifice at all! The results and the way you feel are the greatest reward. And, you will develop a new taste and appreciation for high quality, low carb foods and a healthy lifestyle.
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