In Depth: Phase 3

Continuing with my "In Depth" posts, I thought since I just finished P2 that it would be more than appropriate to talk about P3 now! So here we go!

Phase 3
Phase 3 is the phase of the HCG protocol often referred to as the "maintenance phase".

• Phase 3 lasts a minimum of 21 days. You can go for longer than that, but you have to do P3 for at least 21 days.
• Phase 3 begins 72 hours after your last HCG dose. For those 72 hours you must remain on the 500 calorie diet because your still have HCG in your system.
• You must increase your calorie intake to at least 1500 per day.
• You may introduce healthy fats back into your diet, but you cannot have any starches or sugars!
• The goal of Phase 3 is to maintain the weight that you lost, not to lose more weight. It is important not to go 2 pounds above or below your last dose weight (LDW). This is important because your hypothalamus is being reset, as is the body's base weight. Any weight lost during this time period is at the expense of your "normal fat" (See "The Skinny On Different Types of Fat" for more info on normal fat), which can be easily regained.
• It is important to continue to weigh yourself every day since it does usually take about 3 weeks for your weight to become stable.

There are some differing opinions on exactly how long of a break to take between rounds. I've read some places that you can resume Phase 2 right after you finish Phase 3, and other places say you need at least 6 weeks (P3 plus an additional 3 weeks to reintroduce starches and sugars) before your body will be ready (to prevent immunity to the HCG). I'll be studying this a bit more during my P3 to determine exactly when to start back on P2, as I have about 21 more pounds to lose.

Here are some helpful tips for Phase 3 that I've found:

• Continue to keep a food journal. While it is not required, some people also still like to count their calories to make sure that they are getting the required minimum amount.
• Try to eat 6 times a day. 3 meals, and 3 snacks.
• If you are having a hard time with maintaining the weight, here are some common things that might be to blame: (1) Not eating enough food, especially protein. It is recommended that you double your protein portions in P3 and be sure that you are taking in enough calories. Too few calories could actually cause you to gain weight. (2) Eating starches. While this seems like a redundant answer, sometimes everyone slips up.
• If you don't eat enough protein, your body could develop hunger-edema and retain water. To correct this you can do a Steak and Cheese Day where you eat two eggs for breakfast, a huge steak for lunch and dinner, followed by a large helping of cheese.
• To correct a gain of more than 2 pounds over your LDW, you can do a Steak Day where you eat nothing for breakfast or lunch, but get plenty to drink, and for dinner eat a huge steak with only an apple or a raw tomato. This must be done on the SAME DAY that the scale registers the gain.
• Finish your dinner 3 1/2 hours before bedtime

This is all I can think to talk about for P3. I'm excited to start soon and get to experiment with lots of different kinds of foods. And cheese! Yay!