Just as Dr. Simeons says in "Pounds and Inches", eating off plan food, even in the proper calorie amounts, will result in rapid gains if hCG is in your system. The macronutrients breakdown of his food list is very important for triggering proper fat loss. I definitely don't regret that date Saturday night, now less than ever, as it taught me some really valuable this about the protocol and how my body reacts to it (very well!).

I am down a pound from yesterday, to 187.8. Back into the normal losing mode of the protocol, away from the food and ovulation related water retention, back heading toward virgin territory with my weight and where I want to be. More than ever, I am completely convinced that staying 100% on plan, as I have for every meal but one the entire last month, is the way to go for me. I lose well, feel great, look great, and food (though not particularly tasty) is simple enough and nutritious. If I want to make my goals of 170-something, or even the high 160's, I will do that the fastest and most reliably by being a paragon of dietary virtue for a few more weeks and then working on stabilizing for P3/P4.

That's exactly how the protocol works - rapid losses with the hCG making up calorie deficits in dietary fat by using fat stores instead, while consuming just enough protein to protect lean mass during this process. Then, the next stage of the diet adds back in lots of dietary fat and protein, plus nutrient-dense vegetables and fruit (but no starch or sugar) to replenish any deficiencies caused by P2 and encourage the body to stabilize at a new set point weight. The weeks following that reinforce the set point (not allowi weight to veer two pounds out of range on either side of it) while reintroducing starchy food as the body tolerates it.

Once that cycle is completed, another weight loss cycle may be started.

It is both effective and brilliant, if my mother is any indication. And it's working for me, too. But the metabolic forces the diet puts into motion are delicate and nutrient-sensitive, so playing fast and loose with the foods and quantities makes quite the unpredictable and likely unsatisfactory situation.

As for me, I'm happy to persist on plan for the last half of this dietary phase and am looking forward to P3 with much eagerness. But I will NOT be doing any more restaurant meals during this plan, until I can have dietary fat again. It was a nice break, but it isn't worth another one! If something comes up, I will transition off P2 and into P3 earlier than I originally planned, so I don't have any struggles complying to my food requirements for the event. At this point in the diet I can stop hCG at any time, complete an additional 72 hours of VLCD while the hCG is metabolizing out of my system, and then I am in P3. Voila :)

At this point I have no plans to complete less than 40 doses of hCG, but should the need arise it is nice to know I have the flexibility to stop at this point and have a slightly higher set point for this round than my initial goal.

I'm still 20 pounds down, at this point additional loss is just an incredible bonus I relish, I absolutely cannot complain about my losses on this protocol, and they are nearly effortless. No hunger, no weakness or fatigue, no strenuous or superhuman effort. And that the entire point of the diet is to establish a set point at the new weight, not just to lose with no plan of maintenance or easily followed permanent way of eating? Awesome.