Hello lovely hCGers. This interview is part of what is now a plethora of weight loss success stories with real everyday women (and men! There’s a few dude interviews in there) who have used either hCG injections or drops with the hCG Diet protocol to lose between 20 and 150 lbs.

See all the hCG interview episodes
These are in-depth conversations one-on-one with hCG ladies where you get to hear their whole weight loss story and the tips that helped them succeed.

Read short written hCG testimonials
These are short testimonials of ladies who’ve written in their Hcg Diet results to me for quick motivation.

Looking very youthful at the age of 43 years old, our interviewee Lori is a mother of 3 and a hairstylist by profession (as evident in her great hairstyle ). Last year, she did one round of hCG and lost a total of 32 pounds!

Since losing weight with the hCG diet last year, Lori has successfully kept the weight off and is at her most comfortable size. In this interview, we discuss how hCG has helped her improve her metabolism and restart her keto diet. Lori also talks about how having the right mindset is the key to making the diet work and ensuring permanent results.

When Lori did her 40-day round of hCG, she initially went from 157 pounds down to 129 pounds. She thought she would plateau at that point, however, she was surprised that after concluding the program in August last year, her weight went down further to 125 pounds. She attributes this to the hCG diet resetting her metabolism which helped her lose even more weight. She also went from being a size 10 to being a comfortable size 2. She has been successfully maintaining her weight for almost 5 months at the time of our interview!

Lori’s Basic Stats:

• Age: 43
• Height: 5’2”
• Weight loss: 32 pounds
• Before hCG: 157 lbs
• After hCG journey: 125 lbs
• Size change: Snug 10 to Comfortable Size 2.
• Health: Potentially in peri-menopause
• Maintaining: 5 months at the time of our interview.

Show Notes:

• hCGChica’s Dosage Article
• Rayzel’s Phase 2 Diet Workbook
• Being fruitless in p2
• The 1 Week Pre-hCG diet thing
• Potatoes not Prozac by Kathleen DesMaisons Ph.D.
• Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, MD
• Lori’s article on the Ketogenic Diet

Lori’s hCG Journey

“I am so grateful to you. I can’t remember how I stumbled onto your website but I just feel like every resource I needed was there. When I was on my hcg journey, it was great knowing I can go on my computer and go to your site. I am so grateful for your support in my journey.”

Lori has struggled with weight issues for most of her life. She remembers obsessing about her weight as early as back when she was in elementary. She recalls being obsessed with both her weight and food; she was always wondering what she was going to eat next. Now, whenever she looks back at pictures of herself then, she sees what a skinny little girl she was. Back then, however,  she always saw herself as being overweight.

Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, when Lori reached adulthood, she finally did become overweight.

Lori had reservations about trying hCG at first because she knew people who had tried the program and still gained their weight back afterwards. She wanted to try the diet only if she could make sure she would be able to keep the weight off. After making sure she had the right mindset that would help her succeed and maintain her results, she finally made the choice to try the hCG diet program.

Lori admitted to loading really dirty in phase 1 where she basically ate every crappy thing she craved. That was why she was prepared for P2 to be terrible thinking she would be very hungry when she transitions to it. When she did start P2, she felt the slump she expected but then she stabilized after only a couple of days after she found her comfortable, happy hCG dose of 125 IU (she used hCGchica’s post on picking the right dose :D) and her hunger ceased.

It’s normal to feel hunger in the first couple of days, but that does not mean that that is how you are going to feel the rest of the phase especially if you loaded with lots of sugar. You may feel very hungry during your first couple of days in P2 because it will be kind of a drastic switch. Once your body starts clearing itself of the carbs and sugar, your body will crave it, thus the hunger. Don’t forget, you do have the option to do clean loading, read more about it here.

As for her meals and calorie intake, Lori said she kept it really simple. She ate the same thing everyday: chicken breast, grape tomatoes, cucumber. Although boring, she found having the same meal day after day was a good structure and she liked that she didn’t have to think or fuss too much about her meal preps.

Lori tried incorporating fruits on her diet while in P2, however, she felt that it triggered a kind of insulin response in her body making her want to eat more. Besides, she felt less hungry when she didn’t include fruits in her diet. When she did eat fruits, she usually only ate berries which is very low in the glycemic index.

She also sticks to low carb veggies – grape tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, and asparagus. She stays away from potatoes or sweet potatoes which trigger her bowel issues.

In the past, Lori has tried very low-calorie diets (or near-starvation diets as she referred to them) similar to being in P2, but it was completely different. Unlike with hCG, she had a rough time with them. She felt hungry all the time and was usually in a bad mood. As opposed to being hCG and VLCD, she wasn’t cranky (or hangry :D) and her thoughts were clearer helping her keep her focus on her weight loss goal.

hCG definitely took the hunger off, according to Lori. there were times when she did not feel like eating because she was not hungry but ate anyway to keep her metabolism going.

Lori also feels like hCG has somehow corrected her metabolism so that her body knows at what set weight it wants to be at. Her food cravings were also more subdued, but she credits this more to her having a fixed mindset prior to starting the protocol. She was really committed to the diet and to not cheating or making excuses.

The right dose varies from person to person, so if you feel hunger while on the protocol, check your dose. Also, remember that once you lose weight, you also have to adjust your dose. As you get smaller, you may feel like you’re more comfortable with a lower dose. And, as I always say, I am not a doctor. I’m just sharing what works for me and most hCGers.

Having the right mindset

Lori credits much of her success with hCG to her mindset. Her mental aspect was the absolute key to her decision to do hCG and her success with it.

When asked how she developed her negative view about her weight when she was very young, Lori recounted a conversation she had with her father back when she was only 6 or 7 years old. Quoting her father, Lori recalls him telling her, “When you stand up and walk, you should put your shoulders back, hold your head high, and suck your stomach in so you don’t look fat.”

Thinking back to their conversation, Lori isn’t sure if her dad had implied that she was fat, but that was the idea that stuck to her. Her father’s words and the idea it left her grew into a sort of monster that hounded her for decades and brought about her views about her weight.

Lori’s obsessive behavior about food persisted for a long time. She had a habit of taking online quizzes and usually the results would point to her being a food addict or having a binge eating disorder. It also didn’t help that the therapist she was seeing at the time for her weight issues told her that maybe she should just accept that she was always going to be chubby. Lori refused to accept that.

Lori has done a lot of research in neuroscience and has used what she has learned to help rewire her brain similar to what her mentor has done. Before she started her hCG journey, Lori got to talk to her mentor who told her how he used to struggle with his weight and this surprised Lori because she never saw him as someone who had a weight problem. Her mentor had used hCG before along with different techniques from neuroscience that helped him reprogram his mind and body so that he eventually saw himself as who he really is; someone who is not overweight. He gave Lori tips which she used to work on her own problems.

While on the diet, Lori gave her 100% focused and dedicated effort to changing herself mentally to build a new relationship with food and with her body. Her new mindset became her driving force during her 40-day round. It also helped a lot that she had guidance from her mentor (and hCGchica :D).

Another thing that Lori says helped her tremendously was keeping a journal. In one of her many research, she has read that it has been scientifically proven that when writing helps us access different parts of the brain and enables us to think in different ways. Through journaling, she was able to access that part of herself that already had the answers to her problems already and put it in writing. Keeping a journal has been transformational for Lori and she considers it her friend in need because she turns to it whenever she struggles with something or she needs answers.

Within the last year, Lori has experienced tremendous growth in so many areas of her life. She feels that hCG has been the catalyst for a lot of them. Her time on the program was a time of clarity for her. Being an introvert, she decided she would reach out to more people and will do her best to foster more relationships. This decision has greatly benefited her because she got to hear a lot of different perspectives that helped her learn more about herself.

Her mindset shift and successfully lost weight with hCG

Having battled weight issues her whole life and having given birth to 3 kids, there was a point when Lori felt that her pregnancy and her weight struggles destroyed her body and her self-esteem really took a hit. However, whenever she looks at her body now, she genuinely feels love for herself.

Before her mindset shift, she was always putting her happiness and self-love on hold and was always looking towards her goal of reaching her target weight thinking that once she reached it, she can then truly love herself and be happy. She eventually realized that it was more important to have a healthy viewpoint of herself first.

Her hCG weight loss has also positively affected her outlook, but she believes that the change in her perspective even before she went on the program is what truly allowed her to be happy with herself.

Feeling Amazing on the Keto Diet

Lori has followed the ketogenic diet for about 5 years now. She got into it after reading Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, MD. Dr. Perlmutter, a neurologist, presented tons of scientific data in his book that showed how sugars and grains act upon the brain.

Lori recounts how the ketogenic diet transformed her life and helped her overcome her chronic depression which she has had since she was very young. Within 2 weeks of shifting to the keto diet, she had gone from chronically depressed to chronically happy and bursting with energy.

She also had bowel issues (she was never sure if it is IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome) that sometimes caused her to be doubled over in pain. As soon as she transitioned to the keto diet, her bowel problems went away. She also slept more peacefully and even her dreams were better when she was on keto.

However, before going on the hCG diet, Lori admitted she had kind of fallen off the wagon and was feeling depressed again. Doing the hCG protocol helped her kickstart her keto diet again and she was reminded of how great she felt when she was not eating grains and sugar.

Lori’s Recommendations and Factors That Play a Role in People not Succeeding in hCG

Lori attributes her weight loss success mainly to having the right perspective before making the decision to go on the hCG diet.

She believes that most people fail because they see hCG as a quick fix and they don’t think about the way the program can really affect their life. Most people also do not set their intentions and expectations properly from the beginning. While on the diet, they keep thinking, “I just need to go another x number of days and then I’m done! I can have whatever I want again!”

Lori strongly believes that most people set themselves up for failure this way. When they constantly lust over what they are going to eat as soon as they are done with the program

“It’s okay that I’m never going to be able to pig out on brownies again but that’s alright, that’s not a part of my life anymore and it actually has been very liberating for me.”

Set the correct expectations which includes mourning the loss of not being able to pig out as much as you want or did before. The diet is indeed a challenge, but thinking about and focusing on the results you will achieve and how you will change your diet for the better to maintain your results is what’s more important.

Lori’s article on the Ketogenic Diet

The post Size 10 to Size 2 with Mindset Change – hCG Diet Interview Episode 71 appeared first on The HCG Diet Plan with HCGChica.