Phase Two Choices

Answering a Popular Question – What Foods are Permitted in Phase Two?

One of the most popular questions customer ask is is in reference to what foods are permitted in phase two, often asking for explicit guidance.  We do outline guidelines in our Quick Start Guides and recipe guides, but many times people wonder about more exotic vegetables, fruits or want a complete list.  We don’t supply such a list, primarily because it’s far too difficult to include all that are permitted and all that are not.  However, there are far fewer things not permitted than are permitted.  Dr. Simeons on his original protocol had a much more strict regimen for the diet in phase two.  Phase two differs considerably on the modern 700 calorie per day approach and the original Dr. Simeons designed method.

Apples in Phase 2The HCG diet is designed around keeping your metabolism up, and carbohydrates are particularly bad for this.  This is why phase two does not permit you to have much carbs, they are converted into glucose in your body and as a result are often stored as fat cells.  There are certain foods that are permitted as a result, and none of these will be high in carbohydrates to prevent this problem from cropping up.  In addition to this, starch is also bad in the second phase.  Starches make it much more difficult to free up stored lipids which are the proteins found in fat cells.  Starches prevent them from being sent into the bloodstream to be consumed for energy.

Phase 2 – Permitted Vegetables and Fruits

So there are many fruits and vegetables that a person can eat in phase two, but you still want to follow the overall guidelines of this phase.  You need to have one or two servings of vegetables and fruits with both lunch and dinner.  With the 150 grams of protein you’re allowed on the modern OWL approach, you also want to have 100 calories of vegetables (ideally two servings, 100 calories each) as part of the meal.  Vegetables that are permitted are those with low carb content.  Examples of these types of foods are celery, carrots, cabbage, squashes, broccoli, and asparagus.  Some are not permitted however, such as corn, rice, avocados, and potatoes because they have such a high carbohydrate content.  These vegetables are not a comprehensive list, so when you select a vegetable you want to check the nutritional facts to ensure it fits within these guidelines.  Each serving should have less than 15g of carbs.

Phase two is where the bulk of your weight loss will occur, so it’s important to get it right.  If you are on the higher caloric intake, which we recommend, you are much more free to select vegetables and fruits to your choosing.  Fruits that aren’t permitted are things like mangoes or most berries, due to similar issues as with vegetables.  HCG Plus works with both methods, so on Dr. Simeons protocol you need to follow the descriptions and limits as set out in Pounds and Inches.  There are only a handful of vegetables permitted originally, things like cabbage, celery, cauliflower, etc.  This doesn’t allow for much variety, and the results are typically similar for our clients if they’re on this method as the much easier OWL modern method.  As a result, we do recommend people use our Quick Start Guide and follow that, if they are unfamiliar with the protocol from previous regimens.