On a list of the biggest questions we’re asked here at HCG Plus, one of the most frequent is in regards to phase one. Many new people to do the diet have questions about how to achieve the best results, and how to start out with the diet. Our guides and information do supply significant assistance in this regard outlining phase one and what foods to eat, but there are still many lingering questions that vary from person to person.
Phase one of the diet is designed around boosting your metabolism by increasing your fat intake. Yes, this would typically make you gain weight, but on the HCG diet this period is critical in enabling the person’s metabolism to stay elevated during phase two. Without phase one, your metabolism will drop significantly faster in phase two, and be much lower at the start of the reduced calorie phase. The HCG diet is designed to lock your metabolism in place at whatever level it is prior to beginning the reduced calorie phase (Phase 2). This is why phase one is so important, it sets your metabolism level.
Foods During Phase One
One of the most common questions about this phase is what foods are you supposed to eat. We give a lot of examples in our guides about what foods are ideal for Phase one, however, the main thing to keep in mind is that you want to eat foods that are high in fat and low in carbs. This does not include things like “Chocolate Cake” or other super high carb sweets that many fake, hormone-free suppliers recommend customers eat. All this will do is complicate your phase two transition later. What you want instead is to limit your intake of carbs, and eat foods high in fat. This will help boost your metabolism without causing other body issues, such a cravings and low energy once phase two begins.
Foods that fit into this category are numerous, but include foods like steak, chicken, pan fried fish, avocado, eggs, some vegatables like olives, and natural oils such as rice/olive oil/sunflower seed oil. How you actually mix and match these foods as part of your diet is up to the individual, since there’s no set meal plan for this phase. You also need to ensure you are taking your HCG dosage each day, a minimum of 150 IUs per day (fake drops will have no HCG, so this phase will likely cause problems on them). The HCG during this period helps lock in your metabolism and keep you burning calories at a high level during phase two.
Duration and Time in this Phase
Another common concern is whether to spend 2 or 3 days in phase one, as the original protocol by Dr. Simeons, and the modern approaches recommended by doctors, leave the door open for either. Typically the way you make this decision is by your body weight prior to beginning the diet. HCG takes a certain period of time to make its impact on your body once you begin taking the hormone, taking up to 3 days. The higher your body mass (or the more weight you need to lose) the longer you’d want to stick to phase one to ensure your metabolism rises to the levels it needs to for the next phase. As such, if you’re out to lose a bit less weight than typical (say 20 to 30 pounds only) then 2 days should be sufficient, otherwise you’d want to consider doing up to 3 days.