HEATHER’S BASIC STATS:
- Age: 57 years old
- Height: 5'8"
- Current Hormone/Supplement protocol (prescribed by medical clinic) Amour Thyroid (natural t3/t4 compound), 60mg
- Bioidenticals - progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, Vitamin D3
- 1x monthly b12/Lipo shot
- Starting Weight: 236 lbs
- End of Phase 2 of hCG Diet: 149 lbs
- End of 6 Weeks on P3tolife: 139 lbs
- Weight loss on hCG Diet: 87 lbs
- Average weight loss per day on hCG: .54lbs/day
- Weight loss on P3tolife: 10 lbs
- Unique about her journey: She stayed on hCG for 23 weeks straight, no breaks.
- P2 Calorie intake: Between 450-850 calories
SHOW NOTES:
- hCGChica’s Dosage Article
- How Long to Be On hCG
- Mixing Veggies
- hCG Protocol
- Stop the Thyroid Madness
- Weight Loss Apocalypse
- hCGChica’s Phase 3 to Life Program – you can enroll anytime, but I recommend at least a week BEFORE P3 starts if at all possible so you have time to familiarize yourself with the program and plan ahead.
- Used in Phase 3:
- Garden of Life Protein Powder
- Jay Robb Protein Powder
- Dr. Axe's Multi-collagen Protein powder
- NeoCell's beauty Infusion with collagen + hyaluronic acid +Biotin & ALA - Heather felt her skin and hair needed a bit of support after no oils for so long and after such a rapid weight loss
- Heather started dry brushing for some of her loose skin
- T-Tapp workouts
- Fit and Fabulous in 15 minutes - a book and video by Teresa Tapp
Note about both her FAT loss and weight loss on hCG for a breakdown:
Weight Loss: She lost 87 lbs in 161 days on the hCG diet. That's a little over 5 months on the protocol straight (she was monitored by her weight loss clinic with lab testing every 4-6 weeks during this time). 87 lbs / 161 days = .54 lbs lost per day on average.
Fat Loss: Her bodyfat percent started at 45.3% - to give you some perspective, at 236 lbs x .453 (45.3%), this means that of her total weight, 236 lbs, 106 lbs of that was fat mass.
At the end of hCG, at 149 lbs and 28.6% bodyfat, that means of her 149lbs, 42.6 lbs of her is fat. That's from 106 lbs of fat to 42.6 lbs of fat- that's over 60 lbs of actual fat gone. Amazing.
Towards end of P3tolife, at 140 lbs, her bodyfat was 24.5%, which means that of her 140 lbs, 34.3 lbs of her is fat. A FARRRRRR cry from her original 106 lbs of fat on her body wouldn't you say?
ALSO, I'd like to point out that if her bodyfat monitor is correct, then the additional 9 lbs at this point in her interview she lost on P3tolife was almost entirely fat as well (meaning no muscle loss).
Is this an attempt to tell you that both the hCG Diet protocol and the P3tolife program are awesome-sauce? Ummmm YES. The proof is here you guys!
HEATHER’S HCG WEIGHT LOSS STORY IN HER WORDS:
In a nutshell, my history with weight is that I grew up on a farm in Minnesota riding horses - was always very thin. I didn't really gain weight until after babies so have gotten heavier over the past 20 years.
I have tried a lot of diets but saw a program on local tv for a medical practice offering a hormonal balancing kind of program to feel "25 again". It would be an investment, but at my annual checkup, my doctor had started me on an Rx for high blood pressure. This was very upsetting to me, so she also offered an antidepressant (which I declined) Anyway, I was determined to get the weight off to fix these issues, so I went in for initial lab work and evaluation at '25 again' and was found to be pretty depleted in everything. I started progesterone, estrogen/testosterone, DHEA, Vitamin D3, and Armour thyroid (t3/t4 compound) - all are bio-identical medications. They also offer a "buckshot" injection once/month which is B1, B2, B3, B6, methionine, inositol, choline, and L-carnitine. I could also switch them out for a B12 shot but usually, do the buckshot. I also started the HCG program and set a goal of losing 90 pounds and be in maintenance by Thanksgiving.
My loading days were the last 3 days of April 2017. (I did "dirty" loading as I didn't know any other way at the time) I officially started the VLCD on May 1st. I only did one very long round as the medical officer did not really recommend taking breaks, but felt comfortable with this due to being monitored weekly for weight/fat loss and lab work about every 6-8 weeks. They did recommend closer to 800 calories/day, but I tried to stick to the original protocol after finding your link and reading both Dr. Simeon's protocol and purchasing "Weight Loss Apocalypse". I would have loved to have found you earlier in my HCG journey, Rayzel!
I adopted a lot of your suggestions, though and "went rogue" as the office called it, for things like "skip days", which I did implement around week 11. I had hit my 50-pound weight loss milestone at 11 weeks. I used every 5th day to skip my injection - no hunger. My doses were about 220 and I played around with them and adjusted down to 175 as needed.
So as far as results go? I went from 236 to 149 as my LIW in 23 weeks. Fat % went from 45.3 to 28.6 and lost about 85 inches. I went from a tight 18/20 to a 4/6 in pants and XXL to sm/med in tops. My energy is fantastic and I started horseback riding again (which was before I finished P2 but just adjusted my calories a bit. I ate 450-850 calories. I never had a weight gain on weekly weigh-ins and I never cheated on the protocol! Oh, btw, I'm about 5 '8 and 57 years old. I ride about 4 times/week for 90 min rides on average. And, I was off my BP meds in the first 2 months.
So...on to P3! Yeah!
The office told me I would need to bump my calories to 1200 by eating a list of foods similar to P2 just more of it and no real structure and keep net carbs to 5 gms! That was the scary part! I had been preparing for the transition and was so happy to have found your P3tolife program so had studied it and again, went rogue with the official plan, in order to follow your plan! So glad I did!! I am finishing my 6th week, just in time for Thanksgiving and have lost another 9 pounds (currently 140) 96 pounds total! My fat% is 24.5 and my BMI is 21 (started at 36.4)
I have been amazed and so happy with all the P3tolife recipes and the structure of the meal plans. I followed the original to a T the first 3 weeks...then would mix and match a tiny bit maybe with breakfast items, depending on how fast I needed to get out the door to ride...prep meals for lunch at home and dinner at work ( I work as a pharmacy tech in the evenings - about 25 hours/week) and if my kids and husband are home for meals, I would just double/triple them to accommodate everyone and they all love what I feed them! (my husband travels a lot and my kids, ages 17 and 20 are on the go with work and school)
I have been very amazed and extremely pleased with the amount of food that I am able to eat and I am still losing weight! I am very satisfied after each meal, but sometimes want a snack and if it's too cold for a dessert smoothie, I tend to keep a chia pudding prepped in the fridge. One night, I even had a double serving of chocolate chia at 10:30 at night and no gain! I even made a small snack of 2T coconut/2T unsweetened chocolate/2T pecans as a snack on occasion with my nightly tea. I was amazed the first time I ate sweet potatoes as well - no gain! And the zucchini fries dipped in breadcrumbs and parmesan - I made and ate an extra helping - again no gain! My family loved them too!!
So happy that my metabolism seems to have truly been reset! I think I also naturally do a bit of an intermittent fast most days because I used to be such a late night eater and that is one of the things I made myself not do during P2 (no eating after work) but my body can handle some snacks now.
This program has really helped me to learn to eat when I am hungry and your P3tolife has a BONUS of acting like a cooking class! Truly! It is teaching me to enjoy cooking again and how to combine spices and ingredients for some really yummy meals! (that I will definitely make again and again)
Favorite recipes? I truly love them all! Love all the mug muffins and chia puddings...LOVE the Banana Bread and overindulged a bit with that one - I tend to make a lot of banana bread (which during P2 would make for the kids) and now I have a healthy recipe that I can enjoy! Bacony egg cups and omelets, eggroll bowl, creamy garlic mushroom chicken, pad thai miracle noodles, pumpkin pie smoothie (I am going to indulge in that one for Thanksgiving instead of pie!) I am making your dressing for Thanksgiving as well - will let you know how it turns out!
Other favorites...there are so many - dark chocolate zucchini muffins, eggplant lasagna ( and I didn't even think I liked eggplant!), beef stew, jambalaya, and kale salad (though I may have gotten a bit of upset stomach from the edamame...first slight intolerance I have encountered) I truly could not have been this successful in maintenance without your P3tolife! A list of turkey, pork, broccoli cauliflower...and some prepackaged kinda unhealthy stuff like Atkins bars and beef jerky just would not cut it.
Coaching topics - All helpful! I think I had listened to them all before actually starting P3toLife and have gone back to some as needed for support - its been wonderful! SIS as well - truly "super important stuff!"
I do use protein powders (either Garden of Life or Jay Robb) and I have also started Dr. Axe's Multi-collagen Protein powder and NeoCell's beauty Infusion with collagen + hyaluronic acid +Biotin & ALA I felt my skin and hair needed a bit of support after no oils for so long and after such a rapid weight loss...I do have a bit of loose skin in areas. For that, I am going to also start dry brushing and T-Tapp workouts which I had tried before but now want to be more consistent with...Teresa Tapp has a book and video called "Fit and Fabulous in 15 minutes", which is a unique program designed to reshape your body while firing up your metabolism through a sequence of comprehensive compound muscle movements. No-impact anti-aging workouts. She also describes the proper dry brushing techniques.
Do I recommend P3tolife (and your P2 support!)? Absolutely! I am wholeheartedly impressed with and so thankful for your program! In fact, 2 co-workers are planning to start, probably in the New Year!