Phase 2 Questions: WHY did I GAIN?? or WHY didn't I lose ANY weight today?

No, not me personally, but these are two of the most frequently asked question by folks, particularly women, on the yahoo groups and with the people I coach. Most people begin this protocol with the idea that they will lose weight EVERY SINGLE DAY! That DOES happen for some, but most of us have some days during phase 2 where we lose very little to nothing, AND sometimes we gain! Yes, even during the VLCD you CAN gain.

I am going to break it down to the most common 6 reasons people lose very little, stall, or gain. Read this over every time it happens to you so you can put your mind at ease. There are two others that I will not cover in great detail so will address here. Stress and lack of sleep can cause slow losses, gains, or stalls. Do some research on how important sleep is to weight loss, just google it and you will be shocked to discover that those who lose weight most consistently get the most rest each night. Stress is another factor because of what it does to our bodies at a cellular level. So, when you do gain, stall, or lose very little the very best thing you can do is relax and get a good nights rest! Now, to discuss in detail the other factors that CAN contribute to a gain, stall or very small losses. I say CAN because you will discover in the readings below that many times you will do absolutely NOTHING to "cause" a gain or stall. Sometimes it is just how your body is responding to the rate of fat reduction. I do find it helpful though to understand what could have happened so I can make the appropriate changes.

Water flow: other wise known as Urine Output

Here is a direct quote from the Pounds & Inches Manuscript by Dr. Simeons:

"Fluctuations in weight loss

After the fourth or fifth day of dieting the daily loss of weight begins to decrease to one pound or somewhat less per day, and there is a smaller urinary output. Men often continue to lose regularly at that rate, but women are more irregular in spite of faultless dieting. There may be no drop at all for two or three days and then a sudden loss which reestablishes the normal average. These fluctuations are entirely due to variations in the retention and elimination of water, which are more marked in women than in men.
The weight registered by the scale is determined by two processes not necessarily synchronized. Under the influence of HCG, fat is being extracted from the cells, in which it is stored in the fatty tissue. When these cells are empty and therefore serve no purpose, the body breaks down the cellular structure and absorbs it, but breaking up of useless cells, connective tissue, blood vessels, etc., may lag behind the process of fat-extraction. When this happens the body appears to replace some of the extracted fat with water which is retained for this purpose. As water is heavier than fat the scales may show no loss of weight, although sufficient fat has actually been consumed to make up for the deficit in the 500-Calorie diet. When then such tissue is finally broken down, the water is liberated and there is a sudden flood of urine and a marked loss of weight. This simple interpretation of what is really an extremely complex mechanism is the one we give those patients who want to know why it is that on certain days they do not lose, though they have committed no dietary error."


This means that you will be able to see the amount of weight lost in comparison to how many times you visit the bathroom. This recently happened to me. On day 8 I only lost .2, on day nine only .4. During day 9 I was running to the bathroom all day, so it was no great surprise for me to see a drop of 2.2 pounds today.

Dr. Simeons also warns us that if we do not drink enough water we will not reduce as well. I recommend that people drink 1 gallon minimum every day while on the VLCD. Here is what Dr. S says:

"Water
Patients are usually hard to convince that the amount of water they retain has nothing to do with the amount of water they drink. When the body is forced to retain water, it will do this at all costs. If the fluid intake is insufficient to provide all the water required, the body withholds water from the kidneys and the urine becomes scanty and highly concentrated, imposing a certain strain on the kidneys. If that is insufficient, excessive water will be with-drawn from the intestinal tract, with the result that the feces become hard and dry. On the other hand if a patient drinks more than his body requires, the surplus is promptly and easily eliminated. Trying to prevent the body from retaining water by drinking less is therefore not only futile but even harmful."

Hormone Fluctuations

Many women who are still of menstruating age find that they can have gains, stalls, or very little loses around the time of ovulation and their monthly period. I always tell women to expect to gain stall or lose very little around their TOM and ovulation so they are not surprised when or if it happens. There are also many women that end up conceiving while taking the hCG.

Here is what Dr. Simeons says about it:

"Menstrual Interruption
The fourth type of interruption is the one which often occurs a few days before and during the menstrual period and in some women at the time of ovulation. It must also be mentioned that when a woman becomes pregnant during treatment - and this is by no means uncommon - she at once ceases to lose weight. An unexplained arrest of reduction has on several occasions raised our suspicion before the first period was missed. If in such cases, menstruation is delayed, we stop injecting and do a precipitation test five days later. No pregnancy test should be carried out earlier than five days after the last injection, as otherwise the HCG may give a false positive result."



Touching Fat

Many struggle to believe that simply by touching fat they can throw the delicate balance of fat burning off. You can encounter fat by preparing your own meat servings, serving butter or coconut oil to your other family members, using lotion, or other hair skin and body products that contain nutritional oils.

When preparing food I have chosen to be cautious and wear gloves. You can pick up a box of medical gloves at any pharmacy. Wear them any time you are preparing food that has fat in it. I know it is a pain, but if it keeps you consistently losing fat is it worth it?

When choosing your bath, body, and facial products simply make sure there are no nutritional oils listed in the ingredient panel. We are fortunate because most of the products the average person uses consists of chemicals and mineral oil. Back in Dr. Simeons day they used nutritional oils in their body products and make-up. You will most likely be able to continue the use of all your bath, body, and facial products if they contain no nutritional oils. Remember, if you wouldn't eat it, it is fine to use!

Here is what Dr. Simeons says about how the absorption of fat through our skin effects our weight reduction:

"Cosmetics
When no dietary error is elicited we turn to cosmetics. Most women find it hard to believe that fats, oils, creams and ointments applied to the skin are absorbed and interfere with weight reduction by HCG just as if they had been eaten. This almost incredible sensitivity to even such very minor increases in nutritional intake is a peculiar feature of the HCG method. For instance, we find that persons who habitually handle organic fats, such as workers in beauty parlors, masseurs, butchers, etc. never show what we consider a satisfactory loss of weight unless they can avoid fat coming into contact with their skin."

Exercise and The "Common Cold"

Many of us start to feel so energetic as the blubber flees forever that we think we can take on the world. For some of us, it is the first time in years we actually FEEL like exercising. It is not wise to start a new exercise routine while on the VLCD. You can try some light walking from time to time, but adding an exercise routine will undoubtedly cause gains and stalls. If you are already exercising regularly you can continue your normal work out routine. However, you may find that you do not have the energy or endurance to do as strenuous of a workout as you are used to. Be willing to stop when you feel tired or you will also experience gains and stalls.

The same water retention occurs when we get a cold. You usually do not realize that when you get sick you have inflammation in your body. That inflammation causes you to gain weight. Most of us don't ever realize it because until we started hcg we NEVER weighed ourselves daily. We avoided the scale when we were overweight or obese. So be prepared for gains and stalls even when you get a common cold. Severe infections will cause more trouble to the releasing of weight. Make sure that any medicines or cough drops you use are sugar and starch free.

Here is what Dr. Simeons says about it:

"We encourage swimming and sun bathing during treatment, but it should be remembered that a severe sunburn always produces a temporary rise in weight, evidently due to water retention. The same may be seen when a patient gets a common cold during treatment. Finally, the weight can temporarily increase - paradoxical though this may sound - after an exceptional physical exertion of long duration leading to a feeling of exhaustion. A game of tennis, a vigorous swim, a run, a ride on horseback or a round of golf do not have this effect; but a long trek, a day of skiing, rowing or cycling or dancing into the small hours usually result in a gain of weight on the following day, unless the patient is in perfect training. In patients coming from abroad, where they always use their cars, we often see this effect after a strenuous day of shopping on foot, sightseeing and visits to galleries and museums. Though the extra muscular effort involved does consume some additional Calories, this appears to be offset by the retention of water which the tired circulation cannot at once eliminate."


Salt

I am a big fan of REAL mineral rich salt. If you used the white salt, or white sea salt I would highly recommend that you go to your local health food store and find some Redmond REAL salt. This salt will nourish your body! It is loaded with minerals and it will have no negative effects on your blood pressure. Dr. Simeons does say that sometimes patients will notice a stall or gain due to a change in their salt habits. Our family uses a LOT of REAL salt so it is never a problem for us. But if you are not used to salt in your diet and all of a sudden increase your intake it could throw things out of balance for a day or two.

Here is a quote from Dr. Simeons about salt intake while on the VLCD:

"Salt and Reducing
While we are on the subject of salt, I can take this opportunity to explain that we make no restriction in the use of salt and insist that the patients drink large quantities of water
72
throughout the treatment. We are out to reduce abnormal fat and are not in the least interested in such illusory weight losses as can be achieved by depriving the body of salt and by desiccating it. Though we allow the free use of salt, the daily amount taken should be roughly the same, as a sudden increase will of course be followed by a corresponding increase in weight as shown by the scale. An increase in the intake of salt is one of the most common causes for an increase in weight from one day to the next. Such an increase can be ignored, provided it is accounted for. It in no way influences the regular loss of fat."

Constipation

Dr. Simeons warns us that we might not see our bowels move often during the VLCD. That is because we are taking in so little food that our body is using it optimally. If you struggle with constipation consider using magnesium. Magnesium will naturally get the bowels moving, start with about 1000 mg and increase by 400-500mg every few hours until you start to cleanse. If it continues to be a problem you can figure out what your daily dose should be by taking however much is needed to get the bowels moving, then the next day reduce the dose by 1 pill and continue this pattern until you are having regular movements daily.

"Constipation
An excess of water keeps the feces soft, and that is very important in the obese, who commonly suffer from constipation and a spastic colon. While a patient is under treatment we never permit the use of any kind of laxative taken by mouth. We explain that owing to the restricted diet it is perfectly satisfactory and normal to have an evacuation of the bowel only once every three to four days and that, provided plenty of fluids are taken, this never leads to any disturbance. Only in those patients who begin to fret after four days do we allow the use of a suppository. Patients who observe this rule find that after treatment they have a perfectly normal bowel action and this delights many of them almost as much as their loss of weight."

One more topic must be covered but I think it merits its own post........CHEATING. I will write a separate post on cheating, how and why it effects our losses and some tips on how to avoid the temptation.