The hCG diet Australia program is comprised of 3 different phases of differing lengths:
- Phase 1 – Loading: Start taking hCG diet drops and eat plenty of high-fat, high-calorie foods for two days.
- Phase 2 – Rapid Weight Loss: Continue taking hCG diet drops and following the portion-controlled eating plan for 3–6 weeks.
- Phase 3 – Maintenance: Stop taking hCG diet drops, gradually increase food intake but avoid sugar and high carbohydrate foods for three weeks.
For those of you wondering why the program is broken up into 3 phases, and how long each phase is, let us take a deep dive into each of them.
Phase 1
Phase 1 is referred to as the loading phase as the concept behind it is to start taking the hCG diet drops and to increase your calorie intake and build up your body’s fat stores by eating higher calorie foods, with an emphasis on fat, rather than sugar every few hours. You are given the choice of whether you decide to choose good fats being foods naturally high in fat for example salmon, avocado, nuts, olives, and seeds. Or if you would prefer to eat more processed foods over the 2-day loading period that are high in fat like fish and chips, pizza, full-fat ice-cream etc.
Phase 2
Phase 2 or the rapid weight loss phase is, as I am sure you have guessed by now is the phase in which you switch to consuming a calorie-controlled diet, from a specific range of foods, while continuing with the hCG Australia diet drops. During the rapid weight loss phase, your food intake will be significantly reduced and the calorie deficit will come from unwanted stored fat. The positives to this are that you will notice significant shifts in weight loss and in our experience most of this weight loss will be fat not muscle.
The chosen foods and combinations are very deliberate to ensure that if you stick to the plan, you will get results as well as ensuring that your body is getting the required nutrients for your body to function optimally. There are no oils to be consumed during Phase 2 this includes fish oils and cooking oils. Depending on how much weight you would like to lose, this phase will continue from between 21 days to 40 days. The longer you stick to the plan, the more weight loss will be experienced.
Once you have reached your desired amount of weight loss it’s time to switch over to:
Phase 3 or Maintenance Phase
Believe it or not Phase 3 is probably the most important phase of the program as this is where your body consolidates and accepts your new weight set point and works hard towards preventing rebound weight gain. During Phase 3 you will eat from an approved list of foods and slowly build up the calories and variety of foods. There is little or no starch and sugars as these foods will prevent you from re-setting your new weight set point and you will soon find that your weight will start creeping back up again. The length of this phase is 23 days.
Once you have completed Phase 3 you should have the tools and confidence needed to continue to maintain the weight loss that you have achieved.
If you’re still a little nervous about setting off on your own we’ve produced a 4-week clean eating guide to give you some more meal planning ideas and confidence to consolidate your learnings and continue on your way to a lifetime of good health.
Liza Brunell
Adv Dip Health Science Naturopathy, Nutrition
