Weight Loss Fluctuations on the HCG Diet

HCG Injections

Why does my weight fluctuate on the scale?

Weight loss fluctuation happens for a variety of reasons even on the HCG Diet. Well, because your body works in complex ways. This explains how some days you do not lose weight even when you did not cheat. Fluctuations are normal. No matter how much you adhere to the protocol, fluctuations happen and will happen. Here’s what Dr. Simeons got to say about weight loss fluctuation:

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 re-establishes 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. Then when 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.

What does it mean?

Weight loss fluctuation happens due to water retention. The fat you lose by adhering properly to the HCG Diet protocol is obscured both on the scale and in the mirror by the additional water your body is holding. As your body burns down those fats in the fat cells, it retains fluid in place of the fat that has rapidly been metabolized under the influence of the HCG hormone. Since water is heavier than fat, the scale may show no weight loss even if sufficient fat is finally metabolized and consumed to make up for the deficit in the 500 calorie diet. The calorie deficit will systematically reduce the body fat level but the overall reduction in body weight is counter-balanced by water retention. This process is normal as water acts only as a place-holder for the lost fat until the structural tissue is broken down and eliminated. When the tissue is finally broken down, water is released and there is a sudden flood of urine and a marked loss of weight.

This process may not show up in daily weight loss however, fat loss will show up in smaller measurements around your waist and other areas of your body. The fat you loss only becomes visible when the excess fluid is removed out of your body.

Why is this happening?

The answer has to do with the cortisol hormone, the same hormone that your body produces in response to stress. Research shows that prolonged calorie deficit can dramatically raise the cortisol level causing an unwanted effect in the body such as water retention. How to lose water weight?

  1. Don’t starve yourself– or you will lose muscle instead of fats. Maintain at least 20% to 25% calorie deficit when dieting to lose weight.
  2. Eat a large amount of food occasionally– Have a cheat meal when dieting but do it correctly
  3. Don’t do hours and hours of cardio every week– Do 1 to 2 hours of cardio exercise per week when cutting back on fats or no more than 3 to 5 hours of weightlifting. This is enough to burn a large amount of fats at the same time preserving muscle and minimizing water retention.
  4. Adjust your sodium intake-because sodium can bring water into cells causing water retention. Increase your potassium intake because potassium pumps water out from the cell.

Weight loss fluctuation: Dietary Error

Dietary error while on the HCG Diet can lead to weight loss fluctuation. If you eat a very high carbohydrate meal your body weight is likely to increase due to water retention because, for every gram of carb that you eat, your body retains about three grams of water so it can store the fuel source.

Weight loss fluctuation: Menstrual Cycle

Most women experience some degree of bloating from fluid retention before or after menstrual period. It usually peaks on the first day of the menstrual flow and at its lowest during the mid-follicular period. If you happen to have your menstrual cycle while on the HCG Diet, it is advisable to stop having your shot on heavy days and resume after 2 to 3 days.

 

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