Weight gain during phase 3 of the HCG Diet is normal especially during the first week. Once you are off the 500 calorie diet, you must be cautious not to slip back into your old habits. No matter how successful you are during the second phase it doesn’t mean you already won the battle. You still have phase 3 where most dieters slip back and went above the 2-pound range most of the time for several reasons.
Reasons why you gain weight
Phase 3 of the HCG diet is easy but you need to be cautious because one simple mistake can lead to weight gain.
- Relaxing too much once you reach phase 3
Though easy, phase 3 is as important as the 500 calorie diet. Here, you still need to continue to limit your calorie intake so you can stabilize your weight and maintain your weight loss result. You are allowed to increase your calorie but that doesn’t mean you can now eat whatever is served on the table. Just like the very low calorie diet phase, there are specific sets of foods that you can and cannot eat and calorie limit per week. Deviating from these rules can throw your diet overboard.
- Starches and sugar
Starch and sugar can be dangerous on phase 3 particularly during the first week. That means to say you have to avoid starch and sugars at all costs. No cereals, bread, pasta, and anything starchy or sugary. In your second week, you slowly introduce starch and sugar but you do it very, very slowly. The thing here is, you start with starchy veggies and natural sugar from fruits if you don’t want to gain weight.
- Combining carbs with Fats
According to Dr. Simeon, the danger isn’t just eating starchy foods but combining them with fats. Fats plus carb are the biggest danger for weight gain during the maintenance phase. On your first week, no starch or sugar is allowed because of the healthy fats that you’ll be going to incorporate into your diet. Do not combine fats with carbs so you won’t have difficulty in stabilizing your weight. Once your weight goes above the 2-pound range of your last day weight, try doing the steak day.
- No fruits and carbs during phase 2
When you intentionally remove fruits and veggies during phase 2, I hope you didn’t, you will naturally lose much weight but you’ll have to stabilize your weight at a higher rate. Removing fruits and carbs on phase 2 will make your diet super low that your body will have to tap on the stored glycogen in your muscle and liver as a source of energy. As you enter into phase 3, your weight may increase. This happens because your body will hold on a certain amount of sugar and water to refill the loose glycogen once you increase your calorie intake.
What to do to avoid weight gain in phase 3?
- Gradually increase your calorie intake
Add calories back into your diet very slowly. Increasing your calorie intake too quickly can definitely lead to weight gain. Your weight will even be higher if you’ll introduce a lot of starchy and sugary foods back into your diet.
- Monitor your weight every day
It is very important to monitor your weight while you transition out of the 500 calorie diet into the next phase. Monitoring your weight is a protocol that you must not ignore while you are on the HCG diet. The goal of getting your everyday weight is to see whether there is a rapid fluctuation in your weight so you can correct it immediately. See to it that you do not go 2 pounds above your last day weight or 2 pounds lower than your last day weight. Remember also that the focus of phase 3 is not about losing but on stabilizing your weight.
- Have a steak day
Try this plateau breaker once you go over 2 pounds above your last day weight. Again, your last day weight is your weight on the last day of your HCG injections during the last day on the low calorie diet phase. Steak day is different from the mini steak day. Both steak day and mini steak day are plateau breakers. Steak day is a plateau breaker done during phase 3 while the mini steak day is applied only on phase 2. During the steak day, you eat nothing the whole day but you have a large steak for dinner with one medium-sized apple of tomato. You can use seasonings on the steak and don’t forget to drink plenty of water during the day.
- Add carbs slowly
Be cautious when adding carbs back into your diet. The type of carbs and the amount of carbs you add into your diet must extremely be limited. Do not eat anything that is considered carbs during the first week. On week two, start with 55 grams of carbs and continue adding another 10 grams each day. However, your carb option must come from veggies and not from foods like bread, pasta, oats, or cereals.
- Exercise
Exercise is one of the best ways to avoid weight gain during phase 3. If you find that you are still gaining more than 2 pounds no matter how hard you stick with the protocol then you should exercise. Start with a more intense workout since you can eat more calories. If you have not exercised before, start off more gradually. Do a minimum of 20-30 minutes of moderate to intense cardio exercise each day or every other day. Try jogging, running, swimming or hiking. You can also start resistance training to help build your muscle.
