[Leaters]

After many a night searching this forum and experiencing the ups and downs, I thought I'd share some of my own thoughts now that I am on day 37 of a 40 day first round. I hope some of you find this helpful, encouraging, and validating:

• HCG seemed too good to be true and the reality is that 2 lbs every day is "too good to be true" for almost all of us.
• Women lose an average of .5-.75 lbs per day average throughout the round. At an avg of .7 lbs per day, I feel and look great and it didn't feel like extreme weight loss. Set your expectations appropriately and stay the course!
• I did this with a friend and that was so helpful as I was figuring out what I was doing. Then I discovered this forum and a whole wealth of information opened up to me. THANK YOU for all of your time and willingness to share and advise!
• I was shocked to find SO many women in my life who have done this, about to start, or recently heard about it and were interested. Pay it forward and pass along tips and guidance that you pick up along the way.
• It is AMAZING how creative you can be and stick to the original protocol! Enjoy the opportunity to be creative and share the yummy healthy finds with your family.
• Eat first before you make extra or different foods for your family so you are not tempted to taste and test. I was pleasantly surprised to find my family very interested in eating just my foods. Box couscous is a great easy fast way to add a starch side for your family in no time.
• I found that after 20 something days, I was starting to want other foods and specifically long for a glass of wine and pizza. I found that starting to research a little about P3 helped me to better understand what I might be able to try in the next phase. It kept me from cheating and helped me have hope and a realistic understanding of what I can do.
• I don't understand the psychology of cheating. DON'T cheat, not on purpose at least! If you cheat in the beginning when your body is dropping big pounds, it will be confusing when it comes to a halt in week 2. Stick strictly to protocol all the way through week 2 and then allow yourself, if you find yourself interested in it, in experimenting with some of the alternatives people share here on this forum. For me, experimenting with a protein powder helped me to stay the course when my schedule changed, during travel, or I got in a bind - just bust out my pre-measured baggy and make a quick shake.
• Traveling with this can be hard, but it is quite doable if you prepare. I made home-made beef jerky that my family LOVES too and it was my saving grace as I found myself traveling about 1/2 the weeks of this phase. I packed with my food saver in individual or double portions and froze. Grab and go! I used a small cloth lunch bag that I brought with me on trips - always had enough food for one full day and got myself to a store ASAP. HB eggs were also a critical travel food for me along with protein powders. For my first multiple night trip, I did pack my thin scale, but eventually felt comfortable just leaving it behind because I know why I can eat and I just need to stick to that. I think it will be even more critical to have that scale as I move into P3, so I'm prepping to lug the extra weight on my next trip! :-)
• I never tried an apple day because of what I read on this forum and bad experiences of friends. I just read yesterday about a mini steak day and just might try that. I started doing detox baths, shots of Bragg's ACV, up my green tea intake, and replacing one fruit with a protein powder often made a difference and got my losing moving forward again. I was shocked, this late in the game, to wake up this morning to a full 1 lb loss!
• They are not kidding when they say pounds AND inches. If you experience a stall, DO reflect and see what you have / not done. Try some of the tips mentioned above and what you find on this forum, but DO NOT get discouraged. Remember to measure and you just might be surprised! I measured every Friday and really look forward to it every week! Really? nearly 5 inches from around my bust line? WOW - just saying "back fat" grosses me out and now mine is disappearing - yeah!
• Use this time and this mindset to read more about detox, health, and wellness. I found myself really exploring about what makes food healthy and what strips the goodness from the foods we eat. I just might be trashing my very old microwave after my most recent research, for example.
• I did not start an exercise routine, but did do stretching, and started do some strength training towards the end as well as more walking. I let my body dictate what I felt like doing. This is NOT your new way of life, this is a REDUCTION program that will help to get your body to a place where it can work WITH you instead of against you as you proceed with wellness. By detoxing via HCG, your body will be better receptive to a healthy nutrition and fitness program as you are ready to go there! I will start with strength training and building more muscle mass to help keep my metabolism up going forward.
• Although there was significant research by Dr. Simeon, every person's body is different. Use this experience as an opportunity to become better in-tune with your body, to learn how to notice and respond to what is happening in your body. I look forward to continuing this as I experiment and gradually add different foods during P3. I look forward to discovering something that body is sensitive to that I never knew about before!
• I avoided temptation for a few weeks at the beginning, then found myself wanting to be tested and to retrain my pre-frontal cortex (the command and control center of the brain) on how to say NO, even when the waiter ignored me and STILL brought that cheesecake which was pre-ordered with the dinner. It is good to experience your daughter next to you saying "this is the best ranch dressing I have EVER had" next to you while you are picking out the tomatoes and asking the waiter for more so you can have an on-protocol veggie! These experiences will help you to build the mental strength to carry you forward into a new life. I started to follow "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body" by Dr. Amen before I learned about HCG and I look forward to picking it back up as I move out of P2.
• Whether or not this becomes a life change depends entirely upon you, but it's a pretty simple roadmap, if that's what you need. Stick purely to protocol and then there are many fewer questions.
• Be careful shaving armpits as you lose weight in your arms - I sliced a huge chunk of skin one time.
• I was very concerned about skin and I am quite pleased that things are staying pretty taught - look forward to 6 weeks before R2 to allow it to firm up more.
• Yes, You Can! drink all that fluid - I am now parched if I haven't had a good 100 ounces in a day and I don't seem to have to pee as badly all the time as when I first started.

I think I could go on and on and on. I wish you the best and hope you find my learnings and musings helpful in some way!