Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater! — Cheating on the HCG Diet
The very low-calorie phase, Phase 2 of the HCG Diet, can be a real exercise in willpower and self-discipline. Some of us will occasionally slip up or even plan to cheat. For example, sometimes people will call our support line and say something like, “It’s my daughter’s wedding (or whatever) and, although I’m not going to 'go crazy', I’m not going to stay on the HCG Diet one hundred percent at this event. Please tell me how to minimize the damage.” Our advice is to stick to protein and avoid carbs and sugars. Translation — eat meats and maybe even some cheese squares but no rolls, potatoes, desserts, etc. As for a vegetable, choose lettuce with a little bit of dressing. It’s also a good idea to skip your fruits and breadsticks for that entire day.
For those people bent on having an alcoholic drink at this sort of occasions, know that beer and wine are not good choices. The best kind to have is one shot of hard liquor with some sort of sugar free juice, diet soda, or, preferably, tonic or seltzer water. Sip it slowly and have only one!
Cheats happen and when they do, you have to recover both mentally and physically. Whether the cheat was planned or spur of the moment, you just have to get right back to it as if nothing happened. The absolute worst thing you can do is think, “I cheated so I might as well completely blow it and then start again tomorrow, or worse yet, start again on Monday.” The smartest, least damaging thing you can do is get back in the saddle immediately! A single cheat on the HCG Diet can result in gains of upwards of 3 lbs which can take several days to lose again. So, it can be really challenging to keep a positive mindset. However, attitude is everything. You just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on that wily horse, HCG.
If you cheat, keep in mind that your ultimate goal should be to complete at least twenty one, consecutive, non-cheating days on the HCG Very Low Calorie Diet Phase. This can be tough, but according to Dr. Simeons, is important in correctly resetting your metabolism.
To summarize, this blog is NOT meant to encourage cheating or present it as permissible but it is meant to present appropriate information that may enable dieters to achieve success on the HCG Diet Protocol even under less than desirable circumstances.