Below are questions my clients have asked.  Hopefully they will help clear up some of the questions you might have.  Please be aware that I am not a Licensed Medical Doctor.  If you have any concerns about your medicines or health, please consult your Medical Doctor.

1. Do the load days count as two of the days of the minimum 21 days taking the HCG? I know it can be confusing. Dr. Simeons Original Protocol called for a minimum of 23 days of injections. The first two being load days. Therefore the minimum days taking HCG was 3 weeks. However you need to remember that once you stop taking the HCG you need to stay on the 500 calorie diet for 72 more hours. That gives the HCG time to get out of your system so you won’t gain weight when you increase your calories. So actually the minimum you should be on the low calorie diet is 21 days plus the additional 3 days or 24 days total.
2. I have been hungry a lot on Phase 2. Then when I eat I am full so quick I can hardly eat all my food. What can I do to even it out? First of all make sure you are drinking your water, tea, etc. That makes an enormous difference. If you are getting full so quickly, if it were me I would divide some of my food and eat more often. Technically you can eat every 2 hours. You have 2 proteins, 2 vegetables, 2 fruits, and 2 melba toast that you can have during the day. Most people have a certain time of day or evening that they are more hungry. Save a fruit for that time or even a 1/2 a fruit. An amazing small amount of food can curb hunger and low energy. If you are still hungry (remember to distinguish the difference between hunger and wanting to just eat).  You can also try taking a few more drops of HCG and see if that helps. (See HCG Homeopathic Guidelines).
3. OK One more …. my friend said you can have 2 types of veggies from the list, per meal. Is that right or are you allowed only one type per meal? Dr. Simeons Original Protocol says to only have 1 vegetable per meal.  Since that time there has been continued research on Dr. Simeons Protocol and the Advanced Research allows for combining vegetables and additional choices of vegetables.  The Updated Grocery Shopping List can  be found  in the Advanced Research HCG Dieters E-Cookbook. I have done it both ways.  The advance list makes the protocol much easier and gives you a lot more options to keep from getting bored.  If I go into a stall for a few days, (which is normal)  I might limit combining veggies for a few meals.  The majority of my clients are fine combining.
4. Does the oral HCG have an expiration date? Do I have to do the binging for the first 2 days? I had my gallbladder out 2 weeks ago and my appetite is extremely finicky. The  Homeopathic HCG has an expiration date of 6 years.  So if you don’t use an entire bottle for a round just save it for another time.  My opinion is if you don’t have a huge appetite it would probably be a great time to start.  If you have recently had surgery, I do have so say you should consult with your doctor.  With that said load days are very important.  People seem to do better, are less hungry and lose more if they load.  I don’t load as much as I did the first couple of times because I get sick from sugar and I hate that super full feeling.  The important thing is you eat a lot of fat for 2 days and just eat as much as you possible can.
5. How important is the body cleanse that you start 7 days before the diet? I feel it is very important especially for people who have a lot of cravings. It makes the transition to the low calorie diet easier and helps your body prepare for processing a lot of fat.  Ideally if you did a cleanse for a month it would be even better. But I have found most people are like me and when you are ready to start you don’t want to wait a month.  Most people need to plan and prepare  for Phase 2 which is a great time to at least do a 7-day  cleanse. Will the diet work without doing the cleanse?  Absolutely! You have to remember that this is your health journey.  When I started I couldn’t afford anything but the HCG.  Am I glad I started?  Absolutely!  As you proceed on your health journey you are going to learn more and more, but if you never start you’ll never get anywhere.
6. Is it better to work out during phase 2 or to just relax and take it slow? Does it make a difference? Doing some moderate exercise is always good. We suggest people at least walk 1 hour a day, even if you have to break it up. Heavy exercise is not really appropriate for phase 2 for two reasons.  1.  You are not eating enough to sustain very intense exercise.  2.  If you exercise to much it will put your body under stress. If your body is under stress it tends to want to hold onto the weight instead of releasing it. If you are feeling exhausted and/or shaky when exercising you are probably doing to much or have high or low blood sugar.
7. Do I have to move on to Phase 3 at three weeks or can I stay on Phase 2 because I want to lose more weight? You can definitely stay on Phase 2 longer. Based on experience, I would not stay on more than 5 weeks. At that point most people’s weight loss slows to 1 to 2 lbs a week. I find people do better to move on and do phase 3 and 4 and stabilize their weight loss.  Then they can go back and do another round where they will loose it more quickly. Your body will usually tell you when you need to move on. One of the things I love about this program are the changing phases.  You don’t have to stay on the same one for to long.
8. Hey, is crystal light considered an approved beverage and my other question is what is the portion you eat of the Spaghetti-less sauce? If you can do without the crystal light I would. Just like Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi it has aspartame and other additives. Most people have the best results without it. If your going crazy and need something to get you through it’s a better alternative than cheating. On the Spaghetti-less meat sauce I figure my serving by the weight of my meat. I think on the recipe it is 9. I just divide among 9 gladwares. I don’t worry about the vegetable amount just the meat.
9. Am I ok to use Agave instead of Stevia on phase 2? In Phase 2 and 3 NO! Agave syrup consists primarily of fructose and glucose. However, the extremely high percentage of fructose (higher than that of high-fructose corn syrup) will cause you to gain weight in Phase 2 and 3. Stevia is always the healthiest sweetner.  The next best alternative I feel is Xylitol, Erythritol, or Splenda.
10. I am currently taking a pre-natal Multi-Vitamin Supplement even though it’s been a couple of days since I stopped breast feeding. Should I keep taking them or switch to a different type of vitamin? Multi-vitamins are very good for you. The main thing you need to do on supplements is start reading labels. Your main concern is phase 2 and 3 is avoiding sugar and starch. Many vitamins have fillers in them that are made of these. Cellulose is a sugar. Most capsules have cellulose in the actual capsule so it doesn’t gum up the machines that fill them. Check out the One N Only multivitamin in the store.  One ‘n’ Only is the most potent, yet balanced once daily supplement, it’s safe, inexpensive and really helps people while on the low calorie diet.  If you are using your own just be aware of the ingredients. If you stop losing weight in Phase 2 that is one of the areas to examine.
11. Can you have vinegar in  phase 2. I know you can’t have balsamic but how about apple cider or wine? Apple cider vinegar is the healthiest for you and allowed.  I used white distilled vinegar because it wasn’t as strong.  Wine vinegar is also fine.  Just check to make sure there is no sugar in any of them.
12. How much veggies can you eat in a meal? It doesn’t say, Is it unlimited? No it is not unlimited.  Under phase 2 there is a post with calorie values of vegetables.  You want to keep it as close to 500 calories as possible.  With that said if you feel like you have to have something more it is better have a few extra veggies.  You do not want to have more fruit or meat.  I will marinate some cucumbers (Recipe in the Advanced Research HCG Dieters E-Cookbook) and keep them in the fridge so I have something to snack on if I am dying to have something. You can also use the marinade as a dressing on your salad.
13. I am looking at the Phase 2 recipes  and I was told you can’t mix your vegetables? Is this true or was that just wrong information from someone else????? Also maybe I am screwed up but isn’t phase 2 when you are doing 500 calories with the hcg? Dr. Simeons Original Protocol did not allow for mixing of vegetables.  Since then there has been a lot of research on his diet and additional food choices have been added to the original list.  You can find the updated list in the Advanced Research HCG Dieters E-Cookbook. The research shows you can now mix vegetables. I have done it both ways and they both work, but needless to say having additional choices and combining  makes a HUGE difference!  The continued research also acknowledges the fact that our diets are much different then they were 50-60 years ago.  For that reason Phase 1, which is detoxification, was added to prepare people for the diet.  For coaching I refer to taking the HCG and the 500 calorie diet as Phase 2.
14. When is it safe to start using lotions again? You do not want to use oil during the 72 hours after taking the HCG. At the end of that time which is the actual start of Phase 3 you can start using lotions and potions again.
15. Can I use mustard as a condiment in Phase 2? I used it all the time. Just make sure you are reading labels. There are some specialty mustard’s that have sugar, honey, etc. in them.
16. Is it ok to get your hair colored? I don’t let anything interfere with my hair color. Actually people can go to extremes if they want on shampoos and conditions but hair doesn’t absorb oil like your skin does. I haven’t had any clients experience a problem with not being able to lose for this reason.