Someone asked this question on one of the forums I visit. I posted a response and though I would duplicate it here:

I have wondered about this myself. When you think about it, the hCG is just the mechanism for getting the weight off and getting a new set point. From there the hCG disappears from our systems, and it becomes our responsibility to eat the proper things. If the body is presented with a constant barrage of the wrong kinds of food, it will start storing fat again.

So many times I read how people can’t wait to get back to the same foods that made them fat in the first place, like ice cream, cookies, etc. It is my opinion that our whole outlook on food must change in order to make this weight loss permanent. On P3 I ate what I was supposed to eat. I wasn’t looking for ways to cheat. In P4 I experimented with adding carbs back, but avoided the majority of desserts that were offered. It’s amazing how sugar is given away in our society. And, if you choose not to have some, people think you are being unhealthy in your thinking (the irony). If you say something like, “I’m not sure I want to try another Wendy’s Frosty because I’m not sure I want that temptation back in my head”, they look at you like you couldn’t possibly go your whole life without having another one, and that you are crazy to even think such a thing. “You mean NEVER???” That kind of thinking is what is keeping us fat.

I stopped drinking soda about 6 years ago, and even though I have still been overweight, that is one of the best choices I ever made. I’m sure I would be much fatter, and possibly diabetic by now. At first it was hard. I had to convince myself it was worth doing, even when major temptations would hit (grape soda was the biggest temptation, strangely enough), and people couldn’t believe I was serious. They would try to tempt me: “Here, just have one. You know you want one”. It’s unreal how friends can undermine healthy choices. Families put pressure on people too. We are supposed to eat what everyone else eats, or we are being unsocial: “You don’t want a piece of cake? It’s goooood! Well ok, it’s here on the table if you decide to come get it”.

So, I think there is a lot of social pressure to eat what society eats. If we give in, we are most certainly going to gain the weight back. On the other hand, if we can convince ourselves that we can actually be satisfied with eliminating a lot of what we ate before, we might have a chance. Our diet has to be different than it used to be, if we expect the new set point to stay put.

To me, P2 is like food addiction rehab. It makes me think about what we eat, and how food doesn’t have to be as social as we have made it in the past. When alcoholics and drug addicts go to rehab, we know their success depends largely on what they do AFTER they get out. If they are in a rush to pick up where they left off…well, that says a lot about their chances of success.

I have a dog that likes to run across the street if she gets a chance. If she thinks nobody is looking, she will bolt across the street and go exploring. If I call her before her mind is totally committed to running, she will come back. But, once she has a head of steam, she is deaf to my calls and she does what she wants. Human nature and appetite have some similarities to that story in my experience. Choosing not to eat something is much easier for me than choosing to stop once I get started.

In one interesting example, my sister used to correspond with a woman who had written a diet book, and had kept her own weight down for years. She was giving advice to my sister and once confided, “In my book I say that people can have sweets in moderation, but I don’t live my life that way. I have chosen to avoid them altogether because I have a hard time controlling myself once I get started”.

The hCG plan does what it says it will do. It takes the weight off, and fast – no question. It resets the body’s set point. I believe that too. I spent six weeks on P3 and P4 and didn’t gain any weight. But, how many of use are prepared to never eat french fries again? For those who feel defensive about that question, and quickly point out that we can eat things in moderation, I agree. But, it’s the moderation we have trouble with. Chain smokers can’t moderate their nicotine intake. Alcoholics can’t moderate their booze. Sugar addicts can’t moderate their sugar intake. Addiction is the lack of moderation. So, if you are addicted to something, how much can you safely have and still remain on the wagon? That is what I have been thinking about. What am I willing to give up to stay looking and feeling good?

If I end up gaining the weight back, I won’t blame the hCG. I will blame myself for taking the step to lose the weight but not committing to the sacrifices that will surely come over the long haul.

In one of the hCG forums I was reading about BMI (base metabolic index?) and started plugging numbers into a BMI calculator. It looks like I would need to get down to around 185lbs to end up in the “normal” category. Obesity is the new normal, so I guess healthy is a better word.

I’m around 254lbs now, recently down from about 285lbs. I’m guessing it was 1989 when I last weighed 185lbs. Twenty years later It’s hard to even imagine being that thin and wearing the same size clothes that mannequins wear.

I mainly started this protocol with the idea of losing enough weight to keep me from feeling like I was on the fast track to heart trouble. My last visit with the doc I was worried about my heart and he put me on a treadmill with an EKG. He said everything looked good, but I knew at some point it wouldn’t. I hoped I would lose weight, but I wasn’t sure it would happen. And, I was expecting the weight to come right back. Now that it hasn’t my outlook has changed to one that is much more positive. I am looking further down the road, wondering if 185lbs might actually be within reach.

Losing just 30lbs has made a huge difference in how I feel and get around. I feel happier and more optimistic. I was amazed how much interior fat I lost from my upper body. I used to feel so stuffed and uncomfortable, like there wasn’t enough room for all the fat I was storing inside. Tying my shoes was a chore. It is so easy now.

I can see why people want to jump right into the next round. Watching the scale go down most days is fun. It was a rush to watch my weight stabilize to six weeks, and I’m glad I waited for that. It gives me confidence that I can stabilize at an even lower weight.

This is my second day of VLCD and it hasn’t been too bad. I had a headache yesterday, but not much of that today. My load weight was mostly gone this morning – gained 4 lbs during 3 loading days – not too bad. Tomorrow I hope to be back on track.

Wherever I end up is going to be so much better than where I’ve been.

Today turned out pretty good as far as the diet is concerned. I haven’t felt terribly hungry, which is good. And, not much headache, which is great. I have a feeling it will be even better tomorrow. There seems to be a psychological reaction to not eating much. At first the body fights it and then finally gets used to it. At the end of my last round I remember thinking how easy it would be to keep going.

I’ve got 15 more minutes to wait, and then I will have my meager afternoon meal. This morning was easy. I wasn’t really very hungry, and at noon I ate an apple and some roast beef. That kept my hunger away until about 4:30. Since that time I’ve been watching the clock.

Well, I knew it was coming. The end of my six-week wait has arrived, and I started taking the hCG injections again.

The first three days are the “loading” days, so you get to eat whatever you like, although it should be food with a lot fat rather than sugar. Yesterday was my last day for that.

Today is VLCD, or very low calorie diet (that’s an understatement). I had a hamburger patty and some strawberries around noon. And later I had a cucumber and a single melba toast. Dad cooked up some tilapia later in the afternoon, and I ate before I really intended to: around 4:30. I had the fish, and some more strawberries. Since then I have felt hungry. I didn’t have another cucumber, so I ate an apple. I need to get to the store so I will have enough vegetables around to snack on. Apples make me hungry, and they aren’t a substitute for veggies anyway.

Looks like it’s going to take me a while to adjust again. There are people who report not having hunger during this diet, but I seem to have a little trouble. Last time I increased the dose, and the hunger became manageable. Headaches are common in the first few days. I have one right now. But, I will stick to the  program. Losing another 30 lbs sounds really good to me. It’s a huge carrot. Too bad I can’t eat it.

Now that I’ve lost a fair amount of weight, I have tried to think of all the benefits. Some of them were unexpected.

1. I can tie my shoes without effort. No more “reaching over a barrel” to tie my shoes.
2. My shoes fit better. This is most apparent with dress shoes.
3. Sleepiness during the day is rare. I used to feel tired all the time.
4. I don’t feel uncomfortably warm much anymore.
5. Simple chores like mowing the lawn don’t wipe me out like they used to.
6. Of course my clothes fit better and look better on me.
7. I don’t have the frequent gastrointestinal problems I used to.
8. Sleeping at night seems more restful.
9. I don’t have the “stuffed” feeling in my chest and stomach – probably from a lot of internal fat.
10. I don’t run out of air when I sing. Sustaining notes is much easier.
11. My legs are thinner so walking is easier. Not as much friction. More natural stride.

I can’t wait to see what benefits losing another 30 lbs will bring.

Through the years I have noticed something interesting when it comes to conversations about dieting and weight loss. No matter how fit, or unfit, a person may be, they will usually have a strong opinion about the best way to lose weight. With so much knowledge in their heads, it sure seems like more people should be losing weight.

In high school I wasn’t ever worried about weight. I was 6’1 and about 190 lbs as a senior. I participated in football, basketball, track, and wrestling, so I was always in shape.

My early college years weren’t much different. I was very active and constantly running from place to place. Intramural sports and pickup games of basketball continued to keep me in shape.

I’m not really sure when I started to put on weight. It was probably happening all along, but I really took notice when I started working at an ad agency around 1995. I gained about 20 lbs shortly after starting, and for the first time I felt I had little control over my weight. Trying to eat better didn’t seem to help. I would usually find later that my “health foods” weren’t as healthy as I had supposed.

My weight didn’t keep me from doing most things so there wasn’t a great sense of urgency to solve the problem. I eventually got used to being a bigger person. But, As time passed I got bigger, and found myself doing fewer and fewer physical activities. About five years ago I started to really feel the effects of being overweight. When you can’t sit down and tie your shoes without getting red in the face and huffing and puffing, something is really wrong.

I was getting dangerously close to 300 lbs, and I felt a strong need to change. I haven’t had any serious health problems, but I felt it was just a matter of time if something didn’t happen with my weight. That is why I was motivated to try the HCG program. I was highly skeptical and never really expected it to work. But, I was hopeful. Something needed to happen, and it seemed to be the best option available once I got looking into it.