Round 6….Really??

I was asked this morning about my experience, since I’ve been on the hCG diet for as many rounds as I have.

Yep, round 6 for me.  I have had to re-lose weight a few times, which is most of the reason for so many rounds.  I don't blame the diet or its mechanisms, it’s been the most effective at weight loss, and making the mental changes I’ve needed, oh, so badly needed, to make.

What I've found is that some of the reason for the weight gain has to do with low thyroid, food allergies based on that disease and carb intolerance.  I love the foods I’m allergic to, and I love carbs!  I’m getting better at managing both of those, but still, when did a piece of toast become a crime!?!  And then there’s the mental part.  Oh, boy, they don’t tell you that on this diet you end up dealing with your demons!

I started at 207.5 and I’m currently at 162.5, so I’ve lost 45 pounds.  The last round, my LIW was 151, so I’d lost 57 pounds, and my goal now is to get to a total of 60-65 pounds.  I think that’s realistic now that I’ve seen my body at those lower weights.  I detest the word “skinny” because it has connotations for me that mean “scrawny” and “powerless”, so I have to work on that because friends and associates will use that word liberally and I’ll go into a tailspin, mentally, which tends to lead to unhealthy choices.

I started hCG at the suggestion of my doctor, and I used a hormone cream preparation.  I “only” lost .5 pounds per day on the cream on my first round, which was a long, 40 day, round, for a total loss of 22 pounds.  I’ve had the best luck with injections and typically lose a pound a day with them.  I’ve never used homeopathic drops.

The mental part is the hardest when it comes to breaking habits.  All dieters have experience with eating smaller portions, or not eating certain foods, that’s fairly easy.  We must be especially conscious, though, not to taste as we cook, to snack as we watch TV, etc, and be especially mindful of ourselves and our habits, and it’s uncomfortable.  During those times, we have to find something else to do, and we realize that our minds aren’t quiet.  We start looking at the “why” of our habits, our feelings, our thoughts….and that’s when the “supporting” change takes place.  If you don’t change your habits, your mindset, then yes, you’ll gain the weight back.  That’s just life.

Another interesting aspect, something I didn’t expect, was that I had to mentally adjust with what I was beginning to look like.  My mental image of myself had to “catch up” with my physical self.  Those breaks in between rounds definitely helps that adjustment.

The difficulty increases when considering the concept of 500 calories, even if you aren’t hungry.  We frequently hear, or even think to ourselves, “How can you only eat 500 calories?  That can’t be healthy?”

The social aspect is equally difficult, because our society is centered around food in celebrations and nurturing.  Not just avoiding food at parties, which is hard enough, but feeling left out when everyone else is enjoying the spread.

Oh, then let’s not forget about “life happens”.  Divorce, babies joining our families, travel for work or pleasure, stressful days on the job.  These situations give us a one-two punch because we need comfort, not discipline, and this diet challenges both.

The reward is ethereal, especially at first.  It’s especially difficult to conceptualize when first starting on this journey because, frankly, NO, getting into a smaller sized pair of jeans doesn’t compare to that in-the-moment discretion.  The reward of smaller jeans just doesn’t even seem real, or realistic, in that moment.  It’s hard to change habits, it’s hard to fight social or family pressure, it’s hard to turn one’s life around when so many failures are there staring you in the face, proving that your situation is hopeless, and you aren’t sure about this crazy diet anyway.

I’ve always said that I don’t diet because “dieting” means that you go “off the diet” at some point, which means you probably will go back to your old habits and re-gain the weight.  That’s not healthy either!  But this is a diet, and if you don’t make the mental change, then you’re going to have problems afterwards.  One great side effect, though, is that your body changes, your taste buds change, and you don’t want the junk that once tasted good.  Yes, you can re-acquire the taste, but that goes back to mindlessness.

Can you slip?  Absolutely.  New habits are difficult to establish and maintain.  Do you keep trying?  I hope so.  I have, and I can tell you that, just before this 6th round I made a new discovery, an old belief, that I’ve based my life on, one that absolutely needs changing because it is fundamentally wrong, unsound, unproductive and, frankly, harmful to my sense of self.  No amount of exercise and “sensible eating” has been as powerful or effective at getting these types of issues to surface.  It’s up to me to deal with them.