HCG Treatment, Phases & Rounds - What Does It Mean? ©Lynne, My HCG Journey, 2008 HCG Diet Terminology Explained  “The Mother of All Diets!” “Lose Almost a Pound a Day – Guaranteed!” “The Weight Loss Secret Only Pregnant Women Possess!” “Weight Loss Secret Used By Movie Stars Finally Revealed!” “Government Outlaws Cure for Obesity – Weight Loss Secrets Revealed!” Perhaps you saw one of the above headlines, maybe you’ve noticed a co-worker shrinking as she lost 40 pounds in 6 weeks.  Sick and tired of being overweight, you’ve finally decided to check out the rumors – can losing weight so quickly and easily possibly be true?  You’ve gone online and done some research but the information out there is overwhelming.   Treatment, phases, rounds, Dr. S, and funny abbreviations such as R1P2, R2P3, KT, P&I, HCG and more have your head spinning.  It does look complicated, but it is really quite simple.  The online HCG Community has adopted a language of their own where the HCG Diet is concerned, but that language is quite easy to understand.  Let’s begin with the basics:   What is HCG?   HCG or hCG is Human Chorionic Gonadotropin.  It is a natural substance, a glycoprotein hormone produced by a pregnant woman.  The embryo and placenta start producing HCG shortly after conception takes place.  A pregnant woman produces HCG in order to protect and nourish the fetus.   HCG is secreted in a pregnant woman’s urine.  The naturally derived HCG sold in the market today is extracted from the urine of pregnant women and is often sold under the brand names Pregnyl, Follutein, Profasi, and Novarel.  HCG is used primarily and extensively in the treatment of infertility, and can cause ovulation when given.     The FDA does not recognize or condone the use of HCG in any weight loss protocol.     Through his work with obese patients, Dr, ATW Simeons, MD, realized that using HCG and a specialized diet saw his patients drop tremendous amounts of weight – fast.  Previous health problems lessened or were resolved, and a complete reshaping of the body took place as the abnormal fat stores were lost.   Dr. ATW Simeons, MD   Dr. A.T.W. Simeons, MD is the English doctor who invented the cure for obesity.  Based on his medical research and study of obesity and other metabolic disorders, Dr. Simeons successfully combined the use of HCG with a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD), resulting in weight loss for his overweight patients.      “Pounds & Inches, A New Approach to Obesity”  - by Dr. A.T.W. Simeons is the only written authority concerning the use of HCG and a 500 calorie diet to lose weight.  For an original, scanned copy of this work, go to this link:  Click Here for an Original SCANNED copy of Pounds and Inches (large file - 30 megs) Click Here for a Digitized Version (small file and printable)   Dr. Simeons was a very distinguished and learned doctor with a very illustrious career.  He authored several medical textbooks and his writings were included in many medical publications.  The good doctor was born in London and graduated summa cum laude in Medicine from the University of Heidelberg. During a eighteen year tenure in India, Dr. Simeons discovered the use of injectable atebrin for malaria and also discovered a new method of staining malaria parasites, which is now known as the "Simeons Stain".  The doctor was awarded a Red Cross Order of Merit for his work with malaria.  Dr. Simeons held many important posts under the Government of India and conducted extensive research on bubonic plague and leprosy. Dr. S developed his weight loss protocol, perfected it over many years and used it successfully on many thousands of patients during the 1950’s and 1960’s...  The European clinics Dr. Simeons established during his career are still operational, and more and more weight loss clinics that use HCG for weight loss are cropping up in the United States. HCG has been used medically for many purposes, including asthma, gastritis, neurosis, heart damage, hyperlipemias, eczema, hypercholesterolemia, glaucoma, alcoholism and Kaposi sarcoma (a cancer-like tumor that appears in AIDS patients).  The FDA does not recognize or condone the use of HCG in any weight loss protocol. Phase 1 Dr. Simeons did not write about Phases, nor did he create or require Phase 1.  The term “Phases” was coined by best-selling author Kevin Trudeau (KT).  Phase 1 is explained in Trudeau’s book, “The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want You to Know About”.  Phase 1 is purely a Kevin Trudeau creation. According to Trudeau, we live in such a toxic environment and eat and drink so many toxic things, we can’t help but have a toxic body.  Per KT, Phase 1, when completed, would help with weight loss during the HCG weight loss protocol, in addition to establishing overall well being and health. Phase 1 lasts 30 days and should be done immediately before starting the HCG protocol.  Trudeau’s Phase 1 contains a plethora of cleanses, from a colon cleanse to a Candida cleanse to a heavy metal cleanse; the use of numerous supplements, vitamins and minerals; the use of colonics, saunas and exercise; eating only organic food, eating six meals a day, eating a salad with every lunch and every dinner, drinking plenty of water, using water filters and meditation to the use of half a dozen different types of tea – and much more. There is a list of 60 different things in his book that KT either requires or recommends during Phase 1.  Some are easy to do, some are not.  Some are good ideas; some are laughable, depending on the reader.  Phase 1 is a personal choice. Is Phase 1 required for success on the HCG diet?  No, it is not.  Thousands of people in the HCG community have never read Kevin Trudeau’s book and have gone on to lose weight just fine while on the protocol.  Other people have found that doing some or all of the required cleanses, particularly the Candida cleanse, helped immensely during Phase 2.  There are other people that have done everything that Trudeau suggests for Phase 1 and swear by the results. Phase 2 Phase 2 is the core of the Simeons weight loss protocol, the time when you are using HCG + VLCD to lose abnormal weight at a tremendous rate.  Dr. Simeons didn’t write about phases, he wrote about treatment, courses, and duration of treatment. Kevin Trudeau came up with the term Phase 2.  In the HCG Community, there are many people that have read P&I but have never read Trudeau’s book.  We use terms from both Dr. Simeons and Trudeau and have developed our own universal slang, if you will, that anyone can understand.  It makes it easier to keep track of what everyone is doing. Dr. Simeons had his treatment phase, and the duration of treatment lasted either a minimum of 26 days or a maximum of 43 days.  In the HCG Community, the 26 days of treatment have come to be known as a short round or short phase, the 43 day duration of treatment is known as the long phase or long round. Phase 2 begins with two days or loading, or gorging.  During these two loading days you are taking HCG, either by injection or sublingually, and eating as many high fat foods as you can force down.  The idea behind this forced feeding is to stock the fat banks of the body, which will make it easier to adapt to the 500 calorie a day diet. On the third day of taking HCG, the patient begins the 500 calorie a day diet, or the VLCD.  No more than 500 calories a day should be eaten, and Dr, Simeons had a very specific list of foods that could be eaten – no deviations are to be made to the food list or the calorie count. On the day of the last HCG injection or sublingual dose, a person still needs an additional 72 hours to clear the HCG from their system.  It is very important to stay on the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) during this 72 hour period, because adding in additional calories while you still have HCG in your system will see you gain weight rapidly. The number on the scale the day you take your last HCG dose is also very important.  This is known as your Last Injection Weight (LIW) and is a benchmark number you will use to maintain your weight during the following phases. Phase 3 Phase 3 consists of a three week period of time.  Phase 3 is a Trudeau coined term; Dr. Simeons called this three week period “Concluding a Course”.  During this three week period, anything can be eaten that you would like, with two exceptions:  NO starch and NO sugar. Dr. Simeons advised his patients to up their calories, add back in good fats and avoid carbohydrates in the form of starch and sugar.  You are to weigh yourself daily, every morning after you have gone to the bathroom but before you do anything else, and keep your weight to within 2 pounds of your Last Injection Weight (LIW) – if by chance you gained more than the 2 pound limit, Dr Simeons asked you to do a “Steak Day”. Phase 4 Phase 4 is the period that begins once that 3 week no starch, no sugar phase ends.  Sugar and starch can be added back into the diet slowly, but you must watch the morning weigh in number.  Dr. Simeons was insistent that no more than 2 pounds could be gained without measures being taken to lose it. A lot of people think Phase 4 means going back to eating how they ate before they lost the weight, and you soon see them back in the online community complaining that they are gaining the weight back.  Phase 4 is a maintenance phase, and the way you will eat for the rest of your life.  Good eating habits must be adapted and used.  A person has to make lifestyle dietary changes during the entire treatment phase in order to be successful and maintain with their weight loss. Rounds and Phases When you hear HCG users talk about rounds, it simply means how many times a person has used HCG + VLCD.  Round 1, of course, is a newbie using HCG for the first time and is noted as R1P2, Round One of Phase 2.  Once a person has gone through the entire Simeons treatment time table and is ready to use HCG again, they are on R2P2, which is Round 2 of Phase 2, so on and so on.  Someone that has stopped taking HCG and is in the Concluding a Course phase will say they are in R1P3, or Round 1 of Phase 3.  If they have finished a second round of HCG, it is known as R2P3, Round 2 of Phase 3, etc., etc. ©Lynne, My HCG Journey, 2008