The HCG Diet Plateau in a Nutshell
A plateau is simply a period of time, lasting up to several days, where your weight loss stops. You can normally expect a loss every day of up to a full pound from the previous day. This is why it is important to keep track by weighing yourself every morning, even if you travel during the protocol.
If your weight loss stops over a few days or a week, you are on a plateau that is usually caused by one or more common problems. Here are the five strategies that have often been helpful in breaking through a plateau. The first one is the best, although you may require a combination of two or more of the following steps to completely break through your plateau.
1) Best Way: The Simeons Apple Day Strategy
In his book, Pounds and Inches, Dr. Simeons recommended an apple day on the very first day that you find yourself on a plateau. An apple day has two components. The first is to eat nothing but six apples all day long. The second is to drink as little water as possible. His explanation involves getting sludgy food moving again and reducing excess fluid retention. It is a challenge to make sense out of this explanation in a physiological way, so just rest assured that it almost always works.
Since this method involves the reduction of excess fluids, you will typically see a weight drop of two or more pounds the day after an apple day. Then you should be on your way to your expected weight loss rate once again.
2) Get Bowels to Move Better
Infrequent bowel movements and constipation are also a common problem that can lead to the hCG diet plateau. This makes sense. You must be able to eliminate properly at least daily during the protocol. Two or three bowel movements every day would be even better.
The easiest and most effective way to increase bowel movements is simply to drink more water. However, if this doesn't work, you can help things along by simply drinking a glass of water containing soluble fiber mixed into it. The best soluble fiber is psyllium powder, and it is easy to find in supermarkets and health food stores. It is the active ingredient of Metamucil, although that product contains too many unnecessary additives (e.g., aspartame or sugar, artificial colors, etc.) to be good for you. Just get pure, unadulterated psyllium powder. Besides, the pure powder, without additives, costs less than any other product.
3) Stick Closely to the Original Protocol
Many people succeed by substituting lean ground beef as one of the sources of protein, or by mixing vegetables at a single meal instead of one vegetable at a time. These modern modifications of the original protocol may or may not work for you. If you are stuck on a plateau and the first two steps above are insufficient for getting you back on track, then make sure you are sticking closely to the original protocol, without any of the newer modifications of it. If anything, you can change things up by cutting out one piece of Melba toast, just to reduce the carbohydrate impact of your meals.
4) Change Up Your Foods
If you prefer eating chicken breast at every meal and reach a plateau that isn't stopped by any of the above strategies, then vary your meals more. Substitute a different protein from lunch to dinner. Do not just eat the same foods twice every day. This goes for the fruits and vegetables, too. Vary them a bit and see how this might help you break through your plateau.
5) Eat Plenty!
It is a common misconception that cutting down on what you eat on this protocol will accelerate your weight loss. It is more likely just the opposite. You can cause a plateau by not eating enough. You have to consume at least 500 to 550 calories per day to keep your metabolism from slowing down. If that happens, burning abnormal fat, which is the goal of this protocol, also slows down. When the rate gets too slow, a plateau ensues and you stop losing weight. So eat all the foods in the right amounts!
About the Author:
Get Dr. Dennis Clark's experienced advice on the hCG diet at BestHCGWeightLoss.com, including where to order hCG.
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