Water, water, water

Dehydration

Water is essential to lypolysis (the breaking up of fat molecules for energy). If you don’t have an adequate water intake your body has a harder time burning fat. Most people do not drink enough water. The average person needs to consume half their body weight in ounces of water per day PLUS an extra 8 ounces for each 8 ounces of caffeine. Not only does water facilitate fat burning but it also helps move ketones out of your body. If you are in ketosis from eating low carb foods then you need to flush your system regularly.

Advertisement

Not Eating Enough

Believe it or not, starving yourself is counterproductive to weight loss. By depriving your body of food you signal a very basic response which tells the body to conserve energy. This lowers your metabolism and increases your fat storage capacity. You will actually lose weight slower when your intake is insufficient. For hcg dieters, eating less than 480 calories is also counterproductive to weight loss.

hCG Diet Stall Tips

• Weigh your food raw/uncooked. 100 grams of meat should be weighed raw, not cooked.
• Refocus your diet and make sure you are having foods in the right amounts.
• Do not eat more than 1 kind of fruit a day.
• Do not eat more than 1 kind of vegetable in a day.
• Discontinue the breadsticks or Melba toast.
• Decrease or discontinue use of artificial sweeteners.
• Increase Water intake. Water is another natural diuretic that is often neglected. Drink 2 liters or more a day.
• Decrease excess salt. Diet soda is a double culprit with AS and sodium. Try making your own hCG diet soda to control sodium and sweetener.
• Exercise — heavy exercise can cause water retention; walking, T-Tapp, Yoga and Pilates are good lighter exercises. Weight Training, Cycling; or Running may be too much while on the 500-calorie hCG diet and cause water retention.
• Make sure you measure your body, as well as hitting the scales. If you have stopped losing, the inches may be coming off.

Diuretic Foods & Seasonings

These foods listed are not only natural diuretics, but are hCG diet friendly foods. You may want to change your hCG diet menu after a stall, by incorporating these foods.

• Apple Cider Vinegar – great for a salad dressing
• Asparagus – improves waste removal
• Cabbage breaks up fatty deposits, especially around abs
• Lettuce – aids in metabolism and flushes toxins
• Tomatoes – aids in metabolism, release water and flushes waste
• Garlic – aids in breakage of fat
• Horseradish – aids in metabolism, breakage of fat
• Caffeine – aids in waste removal and suppresses appetite

Sodium?

Sea salt is allowed and encouraged on this diet but iodized or table salt, not so much.
Do you eat canned foods? Try to avoid these. Salt retains water. Eat fresh fruit and veggies whenever possible.

Sleep

Are you getting enough sleep? Not getting the proper rest can cause a stall.

Avoid eating within 3 hours of bedtime. Especially avoid any foods that are higher in carbs as this can trigger insulin production which in turn will inhibit fat-burning while you are asleep.

Limit beef

Limit or eliminate beef for a few days. Beef is high in fat and may stall weight loss. If this breaks your plateau you may want to restrict beef consumption to only a few times a week.

Increase protein/fat temporarily

Increase your protein intake by 0.5 ounces.

Increase your foods to 550-600 calories for one day. Don’t cut your caloric intake to less than 500 calories per day. Increase the amount of protein in your meals. Eat small to moderate amounts of cheese or almonds for snacks. Use coconut, olive or for cooking and a little cream or eggs to make sauces for meat and vegetables. Keep your carb level down. Avoid most fruits and starchy vegetables.

Apple Day

A way to break up a plateau of this kind is to do an “apple day”. The dieter drinks minimal water for the day and consumes 6 apples over a 24 hour period. This procedure usually resolves the plateau and a weight loss usually occurs the next morning.

or
Apple day consists of eating nothing but apples for one day. You eat 6 large apples and drink water all day. That’s it. No other fruit, no vegetables, or protein.

Be careful doing an apple day. They will give you a great loss one day (a type of water weight), but gain the day(s) after that. This may also bring your body out of Ketosis (fat burning mode). Remember, apples have a diuretic effect!

Plateau on phase 2

You can count on hitting 4 to 8 plateaus during your weight loss depending on how much you have to lose with at least one significant plateau typically occurs in the second half of the protocol that often lasts 4-6 days. This is normal and will resolve itself in time so don’t be alarmed when this occurs. These plateaus are just your body’s way of adjusting to the new composition. Some plateaus of this type can last a month so don’t be alarmed. Just stick with your diet plan and don’t panic.

Often you lose inches if not pounds, I recommend keeping a set of tight clothes to try on regularly to see if they are fitting better. This will help give you a better reference than just using a weight scale.

If you begin to gain weight (more than a few pounds) then you need to reevaluate things. Many people believe that there are such things a metabolic setpoints. These are like memories your body holds onto of where you maintained a weight in the past. For example, if you once spent a few years around 180 pounds, then your body retains a memory of this weight and will create a setpoint at this weight. It’s theorized that when you are losing weight and hit one of these metabolic setpoints, your weight loss may plateau or even stall at the setpoint in an attempt to maintain this weight again. But there is no concrete evidence to support this theory. So if there is any truth to it, you might use this info to prepare in advance for these points and up your diet regime at these setpoints to prevent a stall from happening.