HCG and thinking primal now. Have you lost weight going primal? page

[tinacristina]

I have been doing the VLCD called HCG. I have had great success on it and I am close to being done with it and moving on to what they call Phase 3 and phase 4 which is very much like Primal eating. I have lost 24 pounds and I am about 13 pounds from my goal now. But I am hitting a plateau for almost 3 weeks now. I am starting to lose interest and not sure I can make it another 4 or 6 weeks on this program. I want to continue to lose and successfully.

I have been reading the primal blueprint and wonder how successful are you on the program? I see that if you can keep it under 100 grams of carbs a day you can expect to lose. Funny thing is I do that now and I am still at this plateau. Maybe I need to go sprint or something.. But I am also getting hungry and just want to begin the journey of weight loss and without hunger as much as I am feeling...OH PLEASE don't bash me about the HCG diet...I know it's extremely low calorie but at the time I was depressed and feeling frustrated. I wanted to do something and this was the direction and I went. I feel a ton better, look way better and now I am ready to make the next step into better ways. That's why I am here and I still want to lose weight...I am seriously considering the Primal blueprint and looking for positive input.

So how much weight have you lost?
How many carbs do you eat a day?
How many calories are you eating a day?
Do you incorporate MCT or CO in your diet? If so, how much:

Thanks in advance for your input. I really appreciate it!

[Lawyerchick12]

Well First Off, Congrats on losing 24 lbs, which is no easy feat!

So how much weight have you lost? 15 lbs total since I started I think 5 months (I am 10 lbs away my goal)
How many carbs do you eat a day? I eat avg 30-60 depending on day) (I am using the optimal diet macros to stay in nutritional ketosis most days of the week)
How many calories are you eating a day? 1100-1400 depending on day. I am 5 feet tall though
Do you incorporate MCT or CO in your diet? If so, how much: I use a CO every now and then. Not a daily thing

[tinacristina]

Thanks Lawyerchick12. Congrats on your 15 lb loss. That's fantastic! That truly gives me some hope. I realize that there is no easy weight loss cure and in fact it took me a long time to lose that 24 pounds. It took 2 rounds of HCG because I tend to lose slow and recently found out that I was also hypothyroid...Now I am medication and it takes about 6 weeks to kick in. I am about 4 weeks on thyroid medication.

I am excited to read your results. That gives me some hope and I can easily do that. I am 5'7" myself/female. I weighed in at 158 and my goal is 145.

[Miss Understood]

There is good science behind the HGC diet if carried out according to the original specifications by the doctor who created the program. It isn't just low cal. I haven't done it but am familiar with it through a family member. That said, I am more comfortable with primal eating. Unless you have severe hormonal issues the primal blueprint should work for you. I lose about five pounds per month and am down around 40 pounds. My current weight and goal weight are similar to yours.

[JoanieL]

I'm a little superstitious about posting specific numbers, but I've lost a large percentage of my original bodyweight. I'm also not great at following rules, so I eased into some stuff. I used frankenfoods (vegan mayonnaise, nondairy, and butter replacement) until just recently. Those are gone now in favor of real food.

In the last month, I've used 75 gms of carbs as an upper limit. Since I plan my meals first thing in the morning, I can adjust what I'm going to eat if my original plan is too high in carbs. So, in the last month, my daily intake of carbs ranged from ~20-65 grams.

Here's something counterintuitive. I track calories also, trying to keep 1200/day as the (flexible) upper limit six days per week. I find that plateaus often can be gotten through with a day of eating more calories (not more carbs). So, if I'm the same weight for more than 10 days, I plan about 1700-1800 calorie day of lots of beef and butter and greens. This almost always works for me - I'm not putting it out there as a tried and true option for everyone.

The last time I had to lose substantial weight, I only counted calories, but I'm pretty sure I was fairly low carb because I just naturally like meat and eggs better than bread and cake. I found that both then and now with Primal, I lost about 65 pounds in the first four months. After that, losing slowed down, but remained pretty even.

I don't really consider this a diet per se because I eat anything I want. If I want a big honkin' potato one day, I compensate with fewer carbs on other days. If I want a couple of slices of sliced sourdough bread to house my grass fed burger, I do it and move on (a loaf lasts about 2+ months in my freezer, so this doesn't happen that often). I have no urge for pasta, rice, store bought sweets, etc. I eat more cheese than primal recommends.

I've learned a lot from the Blueprint, especially about organics, grass fed, and pastured food that I didn't know before. However, I didn't come to PB looking for a magic bullet. I was doing my own journey back to health because I had slippery sloped back to a sloppy, unhealthy lifestyle, and my searches led me here. This way of life resonated with what I already thought was healthy, so I use the blueprint as a guide.

The guidelines that don't have to do with food - I'm getting there. I'm sleeping more even if it means taking naps. I really don't like sun, but since I walk often, I get the recommended dosage. I don't sprint yet. I don't eat processed foods, so that is avoiding poisons. Play and using my brain are often the same thing as I like both word and number puzzles (though the examples of play that Mark gives are physical). I lift heavy (for me) things. I think I want to live this way the rest of my life.

So, that's it. More than you asked for, but it's not just losing weight for me. Once I got my blood pressure down, I was content to just lose slowly and enjoy exploring new foods, new exercises, etc., and doing my life.

Good luck to you.

[quelsen]

So how much weight have you lost?
188

How many carbs do you eat a day?
Less than 30g

How many calories are you eating a day?
about 1800 - 2200

Do you incorporate MCT or CO in your diet? If so, how much:
yes, dunno, it is my primary oil

[Tercio]

I've been primal for just over 3 months now and have lost 54 lbs. I've another 50 or so to go. But the funny thing is if I graph my weight loss, it looks like a staircase. A week or 2 flat followed by a week where I lose 4 or 5 lbs. All by eating the same, more or less. My carbs average about 50-60 a day. My calories, on a day with no IF, average about 1750. I do use coconut oil and butter as my main fats. My fat calories, from all sources, is around 1k a day. While the weight loss is great it is not my primary goal. That is to be healthier and feel better. I just had my labs done, and while I don't remember the exact numbers my Dr. said lipids were excellent. I've had bad hypertension and I've been able to reduce dosage in 2 meds. I hope to be able to stop them altogether eventually. I've also become addicted to movement. My strength and Flexibility have improved so much. Not bad at age 60.

[Danielle5690]

So how much weight have you lost?
When I started this way of eating, my goal was to lose 25 lbs and increase my fitness. I met that goal in about 6 months, and since then I have built enough muscle/tone that other people are commenting on it. And compared to when I ate SAD foods all the time, my general mood is fantastic.

How many carbs do you eat a day?
It fluctuates quite a bit. I'd say anywhere from less than 50g to 150-200g depending on what I'm doing. Some days I eat mostly meat and green veggies, and some days I gorge on potatoes and strawberries. After a year primal, I trust my body to tell me what it needs.

How many calories are you eating a day?
Probably 2000-2400, I'd say. I'm pretty highly active most days. But sometimes I skip lunch or even fast through to dinner, and those days could be as low as 1200 calories or less. I believe in an irregular eating pattern. I don't think we should eat the same amount every day.

Do you incorporate MCT or CO in your diet? If so, how much:
I've never used MCT, but I use CO and coconut milk from time to time. My go-to fat for cooking is butter.

[tinacristina]

This is fantastic to read. I am amazed at how many more fats grams over protein and of course carbs that is consumed on Primal. It's interesting and obviously really works.

I'm defenently going to move over to the primal way. There is no question it works. I am impressed with all of you and your success and really appreciate reading these. Thank you so much for your input!! You are all having incredible results.