For successful HCG Diet Maintenance, it’s important to make the right choices and recognize that, while you lost all the weight with the HCG Phase, in order to maintain it requires a few shifts and life changes. Making smarter food choices and making changes gradually that make you feel good. Most of all, it takes commitment, remembering all your motivation for losing the weight in the first place. So here are a few helpful HCG Diet Maintenance tips to help you stay on track.
Choosing the right carbohydrates is the key to a healthy diet. I recommend carbohydrates that are high in fiber and in their most unprocessed and natural state. Good carbohydrates ideally have all the fiber and phytonutrients intact and are lower on the glycemic index. Some healthy carbs you can enjoy on the HCG Maintenance Phase are brown rice, whole grain corn tortillas, sprouted grain bread, quinoa and high fiber or gluten free pasta
Eliminate artificial sweeteners and Enjoy Stevia Artificial sweeteners have been touted as a substitute for sugar and calories for many years and yet they have many dangers to health. Too many to list here. The most common artificial sweeteners found in many processed foods are Aspartame, sucralose, Saccharine, and Acefulfame K. Stevia is all natural and comes in a variety of flavors and forms. That is why a lot of the recipes in my HCG Diet Gourmet Cookbook Series are made with Stevia. It is calorie free and cooks great! Stevia and other natural low glycemic sweeteners can be a great way to maintain your weight after the HCG Diet.
Enjoying minimum of 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables per day on the Maintenance Phase of the HCG Diet is a great way to get optimal nutrition. Fruits and vegetables have lots of fiber, phytonutrients (brightly colored fruits and vegetables are best) and natural enzymes. Consider eating your fruits mostly raw and your vegetables raw or lightly steamed to preserve the highest quality of the nutrients.
Exercise regularly
Adding some form of exercise to your diet 3 or more times per week can greatly improve your health, reduce stress, and keep you fit. You don’t have to be an athlete to enjoy exercise. Taking a walk, a hike, swimming, bouncing on a rebounder, or going to the gym are all wonderful and fun ways to get regular exercise. Great to lift your mood and.
I am in day 31 of Phase 2 and am very delighted with the results. I have followed the diet to a “T.” Now, I find myself filled with anxiety about how and what to make for meals in Phase 3 for maintaining my weight loss. In the diet phase it was very structured and I was good with that. I just don’t want to be clueless in this next important phase. Do you have a cookbook for Phase 3 or are there recommendations for Phase 3 revisions to your diet recipes?
Hi Julie – it’s so good to hear that you are delighted with the diet like I am! I’m still in the process of writing my Phase 3 cookbook and it will be out later this year. In the meantime, both my cookbooks do have Modifications for recipes during P3. You can also go here to get my sample Phase 3 cookbook: http://hcgrecipes.com/thank-you-phase-3 which should help you out. Also, in P3, it’s not so much about calories. I’ve moved away from calorie counting and am now focusing more on the kind of food and quality of food that I eat. I also eat a lot of healthy fat even now on maintenance. It helps with hunger and you actually eat less and are more easily satisfied. Olive oil, coconut oil, some nuts are fine. Real butter, Cream or half and half are better choices than fat free dairy or eliminating fat. I realize this will be controversial and even uncomfortable for a lot of people who believe calorie counting and fat gram counting are the way to stay slim. The other secret is just to eat clean, healthy, unprocessed, high fiber food and lots of fruits and vegetables. On Phase 3 and for life. Best of luck on the rest of your diet!