So yes, there ARE times to actually ignore the 2 lb rule of stabilization in Phase 3 of the hCG Diet. I made these up, so you will not find them in the original protocol of Dr. Simeons okay? These are my observations based on my own experience with this diet and in communicating with thousands of others now.
There are 3 reasons total – the first two already discussed which you can check out here are:
And today we’ll cover…..
#3 – You’ve Done a Million Steak Days and Your Weight Is Simply NOT Cooperating.
Okay so this happens. I know that it can be very frustrating to let a few of the lbs you lost “go” when you think about how hard you worked to lose them- it’s possible that the last 3 lbs you lost took you a whole week and a half to lose right so at first you might feel resistant to the idea of not maintaining every last ounce you lost.
But there is a certain point where you might have to think to yourself, enough is enough.
Finding the Balance
Fasting constantly (which is essentially what a steak day is) is also not healthy. Fasting sometimes IS.
Everything has to be in balance. I love intermittent fasting. It’s a regular part of my life the past few years. But to find yourself having to not eat every other day for weeks is well….well let me ask you, what do YOU think about that idea?
In reality, many women end up stabilizing more like 3, 5, even 7 lbs above their LIW/LDW (last injection weight/last dose weight) depending on how much total was lost on P2 and how overweight you are. If you lost 30lbs in a round, this is STILL a great net result you guys!
Make the Effort
Should you endeavor to stabilize within the 2 lbs if you don’t fall into the #1 and #2 categories we talked about above? YES for sure!! But how stubborn should you be about it is the question. Only you can ultimately decide that.
Staying In A Place That’s Manageable for Happiness In Life
Just as an example of decisions we have to make and what matters to us most – a fellow crossfitter gal mentioned to me that she used to compete in one of the women’s fitness competition divisions. But she said the process of getting as lean and ripped as is necessary for these competitions not only made her miserable, she was tired and just didn’t feel good at all, so she stopped. She looks AMAZING still but she is not as lean as she had to be in order to compete, but guess what, she feels good, isn’t miserable, and is happy. In the end those things trump being 4% leaner just to win a trophy.
At some point you have to ask yourself how worth it is this 2-3lbs? If it’s possible for you to be truly stabilize much more easily 5lbs higher, perhaps that is the way to go.
If you’re body just needs a little nudging with a steak day here and there and then starts staying where you want it, great. But if you’re finding that you have to live a perpetual steak-day-every-other-day thing for life, you might need to concede to your body a little and let it go up just a few lbs where it may be much easier to stay the same without such constant drastic measures.
I eat much healthier now in general because of many reasons, but one is that it’s WORTH it to me to maintain my whole 50 lb weight loss. However, never being able to eat anything remotely carb like again in order to maintain 2 lbs lower would not be worth it to me. So you see how you have to weigh these things out in your mind and see what is most important to you in these scenarios?
In this case, like I said if you don’t fit into the first or second reason for ignore the 2 lb rule – the exercise in Phase 3 or the not eating of fruits in Phase 2, I would definitely give stabilizing in the 2 lb window a GO at least. Definitely try. Plenty of people are able to stabilize within this window.
But after 2-3 weeks if it’s proving to be impossible despite your best efforts (and I’m saying all this with the idea in mind that you are sticking to P3 rules, not cheating etc.), you may consider loosening the “rule” a bit, let go a little, and see if you notice your body actually stabilizing on it’s own just a little higher up.
The point is that you help your body find a comfy place to STAY right?
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