Loading – Phase 1 or P1
Beginning – The first two days that you begin taking your HCG supplement, it’s necessary to overload on fatty foods. This may seem counter-productive, but it serves three purposes. First, the sudden fat overload causes your hypothalamus to spring into action by alerting the body to begin attacking fats, essentially jump starting the diet. Secondly, the excess fat provides an immediate calorie reserve to mediate your hunger during the early stages of the diet, allowing the HCG ample time to tap into your fat stores, which can take up to 5-7 days. Finally, as we discussed earlier regarding Set Point Theory, keep in mind that human physiology exists for our long term survival and any sudden decrease in calories can alarm the body into “starvation mode.” During starvation mode, your body actually becomes more efficient with its calories and more determined to store away fat, assuming that there is a scarcity in food supply. This is why dieting is so difficult. Not only are we battling our own poor eating habits, but a physiological pre-disposition to retain fat. Loading on fats for two days causes your liver enzymes to spike which is theorized to prevent the body from entering this starvation mode. By the time your liver enzymes return to normal levels, the HCG has already tapped into your fat reserves and is providing you with supplemental ketone calories, thus bypassing starvation mode, which facilitates more rapid weight loss.
It’s quite possible to gain 2 to 3 pounds during the loading phase. Don’t let that discourage you. It will be lost quickly. To Summarize…
The sudden fat overload causes your hypothalamus to spring into fat burning mode, essentially jump starting the diet.
The excess fat provides an immediate calorie reserve to mediate your hunger during the early stages of the diet, allowing the HCG to tap into your fat stores, which can take up to 5-7 days. .
Overloading on fats fools the body into bypassing starvation mode thus accelerating weight loss.
If you can keep the emphasis on fats, you’ve got the green light to get after it. A sweet desert certainly won’t hurt you, but focus on fats. Get your dairy and cheese fix in because you won’t get any on the low calorie phase.
If you’ve had a cholecystectomy, or other gall bladder issues, DO NOT attempt the loading days without first consulting your physician. I’ve worked with patients in the past with these issues and we’ve typically extended the two heavy loading days to 3 to 4 moderate loading days and most have had little complications and success, but don’t attempt this on your own.