Whether you have finished your two phases of HCG diet or you are just going to start your HCG diet, you must know what phase-3 is all about. Although all the phases of HCG diet protocol are important, you need to be more wary about phase-3 because it ensures the lasting success of your diet. We are emphasizing on the phase-3 because we don’t want you to regain the weight you lost after so much effort. Read on the list of facts you must know about the phase-3 of HCG Diet.
The diet is not over yet
A number of dieters stay actively involved in following the diet protocols given by the experts but start ignoring the protocols in phase-3 because they assume that the diet course is over. Just because you don’t need the HCG drop or injection anymore you cannot assume the diet programme to be over. You need to follow all instructions as religiously as you followed them in the first two phases.
You cannot decide the beginning of Phase-3
When you are starting your HCG diet for the first time; you choose it yourself when to start. But, you cannot do so with the third phase. Your Phase-3 of the diet begins after 3-days of your last dose of HCG. The HCG hormone that is given to you by drop or injection remains active in the body for 3-days. Once it stops working your body enters in the Phase-3 automatically.
You are not allowed to alter the time period
Just as you can’t decide when to start your phase-3 of diet, you cannot also decide when to end the phase. Dr. Simeons, the creator of the HCG diet technique has clearly quoted in his research work that the phase three needs to last for 21-days. It is the required time not only for the weight to get stabilized but also for the body metabolism to get reset. If you don’t allow this 21-days to your body metabolism, then the effects of HCG diet can get reversed i.e. you will find it more difficult to keep off weight-gain.
Weight-loss during phase-3 can be dangerous
Many dieters keep on following the protocols of earlier phases to shed more weight in the phase-3 too. If you wish to lose more weight you can restart your HCG diet after the required time gap but don’t try to lose weight during phase-3. You must know that you survived on 500-calorie intake due to the HCG dose you were getting. Now that you are not getting the HCG hormone dose in your phase-3 you should not try to stay on the 500-calorie diet. This can harm your body very badly. This phase is the stabilizing phase where you need to stabilize your weight at the lowest daily weight (LDW) you achieved at the end of the earlier phase.
Weighing yourself daily is mandatory
You can get demotivated to weigh yourself after knowing that you are not going to lose weight in this phase. But, weighing yourself daily in the morning is a must during phase-3 because you need to stabilize your weight at your LDW. A fluctuation of 2 pounds from the LDW is acceptable. Your weight should neither go more than 2-pounds below the LDW nor above it at any single day.
You need to stabilize your weight the day you see the fluctuation
If a fluctuated weight is not stabilized the day it is seen it would become very difficult to handle it later. So, the day you wake up with more than the desired weight you’ll need to go on a ‘steak-diet’ or you’ll find difficulty coming back to your LDW. Going on a steak diet means you have to fast the whole day and then have a large steak dinner in the evening. You are allowed to drink plenty of water the whole day. In case you see a drop in your desired weight you’ll just have to increase the protein intake on the day.
Phase-3 is a low-carb diet, not the low-fat diet
When dieting is in your mind, it is natural to avoid fatty diets. But, be wary of choosing a diet listed as low-fat diet as the low-fat diets are generally high in carbohydrates. During the phase-3 you are allowed only 150-grams of carbohydrate a day. As you don’t have a well-measured diet list to follow in phase-3 you need to get more conscious in choosing the right food for yourself. To know exactly what you are allowed to eat on the phase-3 you can visit the link https://hcgdiet.com/hcg-approved-phase-3-food-list/.
You can add more varieties of food but not abruptly
If you have visited the above-given link, you must have noticed, the food list has grown much larger than the previous phase. Yes, you can eat them all but don’t start eating everything at once. First, eat the foods you were allowed in the previous phase but in larger quantity. You can then add one or two new items to your diet daily.
Water should be an essential part of this phase too
You already have learned to drink a lot of water in the phase-2. Don’t break that habit. You need to drink as much water in phase-3 as you drank in phase-2. You can increase the amount if you wish but don’t decrease it. Now you are allowed occasional wine and some other fluids but don’t go crazy and drink a lot of them. Keep water as the major fluid in phase-3 too.
You are not allowed to eat a lot in one go
Although phase-3 is meant to increase your food intake you cannot go on gulping a lot in one go. You have to take 6 meals a day. Whatever you plan to eat in the entire day, divide it into 3 meals and 3 snacks. And, don’t forget to keep only the allowed food items in your meal plan.
Hope you manage your phase-3 well and get your weight stabilized at the ideal position you desire it to be.