The HCG Diet is a 500 calorie-per-day diet combined with daily injections or sublingual drops of humane chorionic gonadotropin. During the diet, heavy exercise is discouraged. Once you have finished your round of HCG injections or drops, you move into the maintenance phase of the program, a phase lasting three weeks during which you can add more foods to your diet and begin increasing your exercise. Do not embark on the HCG diet without your doctor's approval and supervision.
HCG Diet Phases
The HCG Diet is divided into three phases. The first phase, the loading phase, comprises the first two days of the diet. During this phase, dieters actually eat foods high in fat and calories to bulk up their normal fat reserves in preparation for the 500-calorie diet phase. The second phase is the actual 26- or 40-day, 500-calorie diet. In this phase, dieters eat 500 calories from lean proteins, vegetables, certain fruits and very limited whole grains. In this phase, light exercise is permitted, but a 500-calorie diet does not support heavy exercise. After the HCG injections or drops are complete, dieters move into phase three, the maintenance phase. It is in this phase that dieters reintroduce certain foods to their diets and resume normal exercise habits. Phase four begins after three weeks in phase three, and is a long-term healthy diet to help you stay at your ideal weight.
The Maintenance Phase
According to Dr. A.T.W. Simeons, the doctor who founded the HCG Diet after experimenting with HCG in the 1930s, dieters enter the maintenance phase slowly. For three days after completing injections or drops, you will stay on the strict 500-calorie diet as the HCG leaves your body. On the fourth day, it is time to begin adding foods back into your diet to increase calories, with two exceptions: You must continue to abstain from sugar and starch, meaning most carbohydrates except for certain fruits. You may also begin increasing the intensity and duration of your workouts. Dr. Simeons explains that even though dieters have abandoned vigorous exercise for a month or more while on the diet, the weight that they have shed makes it easy for their bodies to pick up where they left off. You will stay on the maintenance phase for three weeks.
Restarting Your Exercise Program
After being on the HCG diet for 26 to 40 days and keeping calories and exercise low, it's important to reintroduce exercise slowly. Rather than jumping back into your previous exercise routine, gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workouts. Dr. Simeons also cautions against trying to stick to the low-calorie diet from phase two of the program once you've completed the HCG injections or drops, as this is unsustainable without the HCG. Increasing calories to about 1,500 per day is important in phase three, especially if you're exercising regularly.
Exercise Recommendations
To maintain your new weight, the Centers for Disease Control suggests performing at least at least two hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or at least one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity each week, in addition to strength training twice per week to target each major muscle group. Regular exercise becomes increasingly important as you move from phase three into phase four and begin reintroducing sugars and starches to your diet.
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