Original email for context: I am wondering if it is common to not lose any weight for days? Or not much at all for the whole 3 weeks? Basically a continuous stall. Do some people just not really lose on this protocol? I am wondering what percentage I fall into here?
These are my thoughts for you if you are just really and truly, not losing weight on this diet. Many of us will experience a few days here and there without weight loss- this is normal and expected. I have a couple posts for you to check out related to stalls:
The Number 1 Reason for Stalls
But if you are person where literally, it’s been 3 weeks and you’ve lost practically nothing- like 2 lbs in 24 days or something crazy sounding like that- that’s what we’re here to address.
Do keep in mind “losing nothing” or almost nothing is different from losing say, 4 lbs in 2 weeks – please see my post on that type of scenario here.
I will just make a list of possible issues:
Are there any foods you are having every day on the protocol? If so, it would be worth removing them and changing it up a bit- sometimes people have a sensitivity to a food and it does indeed stall them- weird- cabbage, tomatoes, and beef are common stall causers for some on hCG.
If this 3 week period of almost no weight loss is at the beginning of your round that seems abnormal- however, if you’ve been on hCG for say, 8 weeks already, and you are continuing to stay on it and experiencing this, this suggests to me that you’re body is getting worn out and starting to resist your efforts in order to preserve itself and maybe you need a break. Please see my post on extended rounds of hCG. Although Dr. S did describe long 2 week stalls at times when people reached previous set points- not sure if that could possibly be the case there.
Trying to continue exercise or too much exercise. This is a known stall-causer. Please see my full comprehensive article on hCG and exercise. Again it seems to have do with demanding too much of your body at one time. Many who have a long stall when exercising, find that if they drop it, within a couple of days they will start to lose weight again.
What calorie protocol are you on? I have heard now that there are higher 1,000 and 1,200 calorie protocols people are doing with hCG, and while I’m sure this will work for some who have a high enough metabolism, for others, there’s not enough of a calorie deficit there to produce much weight loss. Some women if they are getting older and sedentary may only be burning around 1200 calories a day total or just slightly more- this means that if they are on a 1200 calorie protocol, they either will not lose weight because they are not in a deficit, or it will be so slow as it will take a lot of 100 or 200 calorie deficit days to add up to 3500 calories (1 lb of fat). Example. If you were in a 200 calorie deficit, it would take you 17.5 days to lose 1 lb.
Hormone imbalance. From time to time, when someone is in this situation where for such a long time, they lose almost nothing, barring these other reasons above, it seems likely that there is a deeper issue going on, involving some other hormone imbalance. I say this because with such a low calorie diet, even without hCG in your system, a body that’s functioning properly should lose weight on that low a calorie amount. So the fact that it’s not seems to me to indicate something else- whether that’s thyroid, adrenal, or one of the sex hormones fighting your efforts in some way – I have a post to help you begin to research this topic:
How to Find Out If You Have A Hormone Imbalance
I often get the question about whether it’s the hCG’s fault. As I mentioned above, the weight loss happening on the hCG protocol is caused by the calorie deficit, not by hCG. hCG has a different role and one of those may that it could be protecting your metabolism and lean muscle, which may allow your body to respond to the very low calorie diet much better than trying to follow such a diet without it. However, ultimately, it is still the deficit causing the weight loss. If you purchased your hCG from a U.S. source, all batches of hCG made in U.S. compounding pharmacies are potency tested and can only be sent to patients if they fall within the parameters of sufficient potency. So when it comes to the question of whether or not your hCG is “bad” – from these sources I think it’s highly unlikely because of this third-party lab testing done on every single batch of hCG made, that’s legally required. Usually your body will tell you if you are on the wrong dosage by having extreme hunger as well- my post on hCG dosage here.
I hope this helps you. I’m really sorry that you are struggling with this, I know it’s extremely frustrating, but I also really do believe you can get to the bottom of this. It just takes some research and experimenting with different possibilities.
