Wow. this is a really volatile thread!
I haven't been on here in a dogs age; has it really been a year? lol
Against my better judgement, I'm going to wade into this discussion, if that's alright. Please humour me and allow me to elaborate on my history before I tell you my experiences with hCG.
I have been overweight-to-obese my entire life. Literally--my
entire life. I was the fattest in my kindergarten class, and I was the fattest all the way through, until I graduate high school.
The first diet I was ever on was Weight Watchers, way back in 1981. I was just 9 (nearly 10) years old. I think my mother got tired of trying to find decent clothes outside of the Pretty Plus section of Sears. (Pretty Plus was the girls answer to Huskies.) Back in 1981, WW was pretty brutal (no points, no tools, just the weighing in and the meetings), even for adults. It revolved around food exchanges, which I totally did not get. (I never could understand how milk could be considered a bread. Or potatoes. Milk was dairy and potatoes were vegies. Bread was bread. Of course, I now know that the exchange is based on the carbohydrate values.) Although my mother monitored every bite I put in my mouth, tracked every exchange and calorie, and made me run and play sports (even ones that I wasn't even interested in), it still took me over 3 years to lose 30 lbs. I rarely had the opportunity to cheat, because my mom was
always watching me like a hawk. Why? Because many weeks I wouldn't lose, or would even gain, so she, and the lecturers, just assumed I was eating everything I came across. But I wasn't. And who ever listens to a 9/10/11/12 year old? I couldn't convince them that I didn't know
why I didn't lose. The amount of time I spent being grounded for "lying"........well, let's just say I
still have a sore spot in my heart from all those years ago.
My weight was a constant discussion topic: how well or poorly I was doing with it; how much bigger I was than my peers and cousins; how my mom spent far more at the grocery buying the WW products and paying the meeting fees, only for me to "waist" her time and money by cheating. My parents and grandparents were always on me about my weight; the kids at school teased to the point of tears, and when I was older it came down to flat out bully tactics.
Needless to say, my self esteem and confidence suffered. I never felt like I fit in, that I was too fat to fit in anywhere. i never had a boyfriend in school. Whether that was actually due to my weight, or my self issues, I don't know. Looking back at pictures of me then, I wasn't so much bigger than a lot of the other kids--taller certainly, but not so much fatter. It's only in my adult years that I have turned the page into the obese category.
When you grow up with severely damaged sense of self worth, you tend to try pretty much anything you hear about, in the hopes of once and for all fixing it. The weight loss plans, diets, schemes, and gimics I done over the years to lose some weight.......it's mind boggling. Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Slim Fast, TOPS, LA Weight Loss Systems; The Blood Group Diet, The Paleolithic Diet, The Cabbage Soup Diet, The Grapefruit Diet, the Raw Food Diet,; The Zone, Atkins, South Beach, The Beverly Hills Diet; vegetarianism, veganism (very briefly!), removing glutens and casseins; I've had consultations with more dieticians, nutrionists, and naturopaths than I can count. I've been tested for food allergies and intolerences. I've done hypnosis, mediation, yoga, tried accupuncture, accupressure, Reiki, Bowen therapy, and other "natural" therapies. I've done cleanses and fasts of all kinds. I've also done pretty much every over the counter and prescription weight loss drug available, except Phen-Fen. thank goodness I never did that. Dexatrim, Accurtrim, Celebrity Trim-spa, Herbalife, Xenocal, Reductil, Phentermine (not Phen-fen, just the Phen), ephedrine, just to name a few.
I have even subjected myself to having a lap band implanted. I can eat probably 1/3 of what I used to, and I can tell you that it's not exactly the panacea the medical community is reporting. I lost 21kgs/46.2lbs, in about 14 months. that's just a little less than 4lbs a month. Or just a tad less than 1lb a week, which is considered a healthy and ideal weight loss. keep in mind that I only weighed when i went in for my scheduled medical follow ups, so I have no idea of whether it upped and downed. Then it just stopped, despite no change to my eating habits, but in fact,
an increase in my exercise, because I once again signed up at the gym and hired a personal trainer. She had me doing endless cardio--Biggest Loser type workouts, where I'd go home and nearly collapse. She insisted that I was cheating, that I was not journaling all my food being dishonest with her and myself, and that I was subconsciously allowing myself to eat more because I was working out.
That was not true. But it didn't matter. The weight wouldn't budge, so there could be no other explanation other than I was just being a hog, and lying to myself and to her. It got to the point that she became so hateful about it, telling me that I was wasting her time (hello?
I'm paying
you. Even if we stand around and talk for 2 hours, or I choose to eat a dozen baby-flavoured donuts, you're out
nothing lady!) We ended our contract. I took up swimming laps at the local pool instead, but the weight stayed the same.
When it got cold and the pool shut (not an inside pool, sadly), the weight crept up, and I gained back 8kg/17.6lbs. I have held steady at that weight for (until recently) the past 7 months, although I have begun riding my bike to/from work (even on my days off). Which I hate because I'm afraid I'll get creamed by a car or a truck--(No bike paths). Can't wait for the pool to open again.
Now, I admit to having food issues and disordered eating. I fully admit that I am not perfect and that occassionally I do go off the rails. But not on a regular basis. These are isolated incidents, and usually coincide with an event or a holiday (Christmas and Easter, for sure!) for the most part I eat pretty healthily, and certainly a lot healthier than many thin folks that I know and work with. Of course, I am also not as "good" as some people I know and work with. I would say, fairly and objectively, that I'm about in the middle. No saint, but no deadly sinner.
So, after having put in serious effort, invested countless hours/days/weeks/years to losing weight--only to find myself still in the same boat--I just decided to accept myself the way i was and learn to enjoy life anyway.
and then I saw it. Nexus, an alternative(?) magazine, caught my attention with one of it's article titles on the cover: The Obesity Cure? Ever the sucker for a weight loss plan that just might work, I decided to skim the article. i skimmed it alright. Then bought the magazine for the first time ever, took it home and devoured the article. then devoured it again. Naturally I was totally skeptical, but hopeful. It just sounded too good to be true. so I jumped on the net and started to research it. To be honest, I found a mix of opinions, and a broad range of "facts and proof" that it was a hoax, the latest scam. But i'd never heard of it before--if this was the latest and greatest and had been around for so long, why hadn't I heard of it? Miss Endless Search for the Great Loss. So I kept looking, researching, reading. I have to say overall I have found more positive feedback than negative. Vlogs on youtube have been very informative for me.
Thinking back to just 3 months ago, when my local GP actually suggested I go on a 60 day water fast--just water. No vitamins, no supplements, and no food. Not reduced food, or certain foodds.
NO FOOD.
JUST WATER--I thought, well how much worse could doing hCG be than that? I've done everything else, and more often than not at the suggestion of a physician. Why not give this a go? What have I got to lose but money and time?
Speed bump--can't get it in Australia. Not the prescription stuff anyway. Lots of homeopathic hcg products out there, but having gone homeopathic on other things (colds, flu, allergies, dry skin, etc) with absolutely ZERO results, I shy away from that. I wanted the real deal. After a lot, and I mean A LOT, of research and detective work, I managed to secure the purchase of some rX hCG and actually get it into the country. this was a private purchase through a friend.
I'm doing the hCG injections. My doctor doesn't know I'm doing them; she just thinks I'm low carbing and portion controling like mad. But she is monitoring my blood pressure, blood sugars, and weight and measurements. She is extremely pleased with my numbers and is extremely happy that I have finally listened to her, and that her endless harping has finally changed my thinking, and that I'm finally doing it right! hahaha Little does she know. Actually, I'm not sure she'd even
care. I get the impression that with us fatties, she doesn't care
how we lose the weight, just as long as we lose it. I mean, c'mon....a 60 day nothing but water fast? Tell me
that isn't completely dangerous and haphazard. At least on hCG you get 500 calories. On a water fast, you get NONE!
I personally am documenting everything with photos, videos (known as vlogs) a journal and recording everything: weight, measurements, skin fold tests, food and water journal, exercise journal, ketosis strips, glucometer tests, and my bathroom scale, which is meant to measure percentages of fat, muscle, bones, and fluids. Whether or not it's accurate, I couldnt' say, but the stats change in my favour daily, so I'm sticking with it.
i've been doing the protocol for 26 days now (which include the 2 loading days, which I gained 1.83kg/4.03lbs) and I've lost a total of 27.3lbs (which includes that 4.03lbs I gained during loading.) I have lost a total of 20.5 inches total, and the weird thing is that it shows in all my real trouble spots: lower abdomin fat roll, back rolls, arms, neck and double chin. In fact, my double chin is
almost totally gone. I actually am starting to see a the evidence of a jaw bone! I rarely lose weight up top; usually it's all in the butt and legs. I am a classic apple shape, or inverted triangle.
I have OSA and use a full face CPAP mask--it is far too large and leaks terribly because the seal is so poor now. I've ordered a new smaller one, but I actually feel great, like I don't even have OSA despite the leaky mask.
The first couple of days, I wasn't hungry physically, I just wanted to eat. that subsided a bit more everyday and at the end of the first week, I was fine. Of course, every morning the scale shows me some progress, so it keeps me inspired and on track. (have had progress from as little to .1 loss to as high as 4.2 loss) A couple of days I have stayed the same, and I did have one day where I gained .3. the next day it was gone, plus another .6 lbs. For the past few days I've been getting .3-.5 losses, so it could be slowing down, which is to be expected. I'm fine with that; .1 or 1., it's all a loss.
I can also report that I have fantastic energy levels, and I honestly feel as good, or maybe even better, than when I was in my mid-20's.
Look, I know this is very......unconventional, and definately controversial. I'm not in any way trying to imply that eating right and exercise don't work, because I know a LOT of people for whom it does work very well. It just never worked
for me. The losses are great, but this plan is not by any means easy. If you need variety in food, then this will be something very hard to stick to. I pretty much eat the same 3 meals on a rotational basis, with the occassional change, but that doesn't bother
me. In fact it's very helpful, because it takes the guess work out, and I can prepare meals ahead of time. I like predictability!
I am not saying I think anyone/everyone should do hCG. I'm not saying that fat people should just throw in the towel and be fat. Ultimately, every
body is different; no 2 people are exactly alike. I can only say that, so far, I personally have had
fantastic results, the best results I've ever had of all the plans I've been on it my 29 years of weight loss efforts. It works
for me, that's all I know, and that's all I'm saying. Having been on extremely low calorie diets multitudes of times, and failing every time, I think that there must be something in the hCG that does it. I don't believe it's the Placebo Effect; I don't believe it's all in my head, and down the track, if I development some sort of complication or illness, who's to say that I didn't actually start the chain reaction years ago by taking the over the counters, or the prescriptions, or trying this or that?
So anyway, thanks for reading my EXTREMELY long winded tale.
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