Maintenance?

Maintenance would have to be the biggest key to this diet.  You have to be extremely careful as you come off from each phase of this diet and not go "hog wild."  One of the most important purposes of this diet is to learn how to eat right and exercise, to listen to your body and understand what it really needs, not what it wants.

After the 3 days or 72 hours of 500 calories after the hCG part of the diet with no more hCG being taken into your system (drops, injections, powders, tablets, or whatever you used), you will need to have a scale handy and you will need to make sure and eat a lot more than 500 calories.  1200-1400 calories is recommended for women and 1500-1700 calories is recommended for most men, sometimes a little more depending on your height.  I considered my calories as a bank account, but you might find a different way to use yours.  I would start the day with my 1200 calorie bank account and spend my calories wisely, paying attention to how much of the day I had left and if there were any particular items I would like to splurge a few calories on at the end of the day.  I would start my day with a pear or a bowl of cottage cheese and mandarin oranges and then eat as I felt hungry every couple of hours (kind of a grazing affect), but making sure what I was taking into my body was something that would sustain me for a couple of hours, not just a couple of peanuts here and a piece of celery there, but actually having 3 pieces of celery with peanut butter or a whole raw tomato sliced with cheese melted on top or a sweet carmelized onion chicken patty (costco Amylu brand) with a little extra cheese on top, or a salad with hard boiled eggs and veggies and dried cranberries, or... well, you get the picture...

Keep in mind, the goal during this phase is to maintain your new weight loss, NOT lose more weight.  If you have more weight to lose, you can do another round in 6 weeks (or more if this is not your first round).

Following is a summary of Dr. Simeons' maintenance phase: 
Eat what you want, when you want except no sugars and no starches (no starches includes potatoes and corn and some beans, so be wary even though vegetables are allowed).  Weigh EVERY DAY!  If you are 2.1 pounds over your last injection (hCG) weight, perform a steak day* or a 6 apple day**.

*Steak day:  "Skip breakfast and lunch, but take plenty to drink.  In the evening, eat a huge steak with only an apple or a raw tomato." - Dr. Simeons

**6 Apple day:  Eat 6 apples through the day and nothing else.  Eat an apple at breakfast, mid morning, lunch, afternoon snack time, dinner and after dinner snack time.  Make sure and get plenty to drink too.

You should review advice from Dr. Simeons' manuscript (Dr-Simeons-Manuscript.pdf) as you near the end of the 500 calorie phase, particularly the following paragraphs:  Concluding a Course, Skipping a Meal, Trouble after Treatment, Beware of Over-Enthusiasm, and Protein Deficiency.

If you find that you are stalling, a steak day or apple day can be used during the 40 (or 21 day) phases when you are still taking the hCG, with the exception that you would only eat a 3.5 ounce steak at the end of the day. 

Stay motivated to stick with the diet through the completing of both the 3 weeks adding back everything BUT starches and sugars and the 3 weeks adding back everything INCLUDING starches and sugars.  Be very careful not to overindulge.  I know this may sound easy after having just eaten only 500 calories for 40 days, but believe me you will get hungry on these next phases... if you are hungry eat a protein or a fruit or vegetable first even if it doesn't sound as good as a donut or a bag of Doritos.  If you eat the protein, fruit, or vegetable first you will find that you won't eat as many donuts or Doritos because your body got what it needed - nutrients.  There have been many times that I ate a handful of grapes or an apple or a handful of cherries not because they sounded good, but because I knew I was hungry and I needed something to eat and if I went for the junk food first, I was going to eat way too much of it.  A lot of times when your body is craving sweets, it really just needs a fruit.  When you are craving something salty, most likely you need a vegetable or protein.  If you are just hungry because it is time to eat, eat a protein first.  You will learn what your body really wants because of doing this diet, and even though I am not exactly certain why this idea of eating what your body needs not what it wants works well, I know it definitely works because I have been able to keep off the weight. 

The phrase "everything in moderation" is very important in maintaining your weight.  Your body will have reset itself after the second 3 weeks of adding back everything including starches and sugars, and you will maintain right around that weight for as long as you want, but it is a matter of getting to the end of that second 3 weeks without gaining any extra, or if within a couple of pounds. 

Exercise is also a huge key in the success of this diet.  Exercising at least a 1/2 hour every day makes your new weight stay more stable and you can eat a few more calories without fluctuating your weight much.  We did the power half hour series from www.beachbody.com as soon as we started in the 3 weeks of adding back everything BUT starches and sugars.  We kept on doing the power half hour series through the second 3 weeks of adding back everything INCLUDING starches and sugars.  We stopped doing the series as often once we completed that second 3 week phase of the diet and did more things like running outside and rollerblading with our sons and walking the dogs and still found that we could have a bowl of ice cream as a treat every now and then because we were exercising.

During the first 3 weeks of adding back everything BUT starches and sugars you can have in very mild amounts, sugar free items including candy and ice cream and sugar free syrups, however, be careful when eating these and make sure to eat the fruits, veggies, and proteins first still.  I also bought almond flour and coconut flour in 5 pound bags for the first 3 weeks when sugars and starches aren't allowed as these two flours are allowed in moderation.  I found ways to make pancakes and pizza crust and muffins and even cookies that were sugar free but taste amazingly good.  I also have a recipe to make a pudding pie that I will share in upcoming posts.

Literally watch what you eat and make sure it is what your body is really needing and you will be a much happier, healthier, lighter you! 

-Melinda :)