24lbs Gone in 31 Days with hCG + 5lb Weight Loss with P3toLife And Still Maintaining 5 Months Later
Jessica's Basic Diet Weight Loss Journey:
- Starting Weight: 150lbs
- Ending weight After phase 2: 126 lbs
- Weight after Week 7 of P3tolife program: 121 lbs
- Weight after 5 months following P3tolife program: 117 lbs
(talk about WORKING right! P3tolife seriously rocks you guys - this is WORKING for you gals). - Size change: Size 6 to Size 0
Lost 24 lbs in 31 days on the hCG Diet - She previously lost about 100 lbs on her own over a period of years with other things like running, insanity, P90x and traditional diets like Weight Watchers
Show Note Links:
- P3tolife Program - my fully structured comprehensive program for Phase 3 and beyond to stabilize and maintain your weight loss.
- stopthethyroidmadness.com - A good resource for thyroid and adrenal issues
Jessica's Experience with:
the P3toLife Program During Phase 3 of the hCG Protocol
Jessica had been looking for information online about P3 and she couldn't find what she was looking for. Being her rule-loving self, she wanted a step-by-step guide on it, particularly on how to add calories, fats, etc. She did not want to just go into P3 and just gradually add everything back in.
While on P2, Jessica used hCGchica periodically as a guide because for any questions she had, she said she could find the answer in the website. When she discovered P3 to Life, she just knew she had to have it.
According to Jessica, she had such a good experience with the P3tolife program and it turned out to be more than what she needed. It made her feel very confident and safe going into P3. As of our interview, she has been on the program for 7 weeks. 🙂
Jessica admits to not really being much of a cook and actually having a bit of a fear of cooking before. But now, she finds it simple because she just follows the directions in the P3 to Life program. She has learned a lot about flavors and flavor combinations. She now feels confident cooking for her husband and she knows she can cook for other people too and they will likely be impressed with the meals. The macros provided in the meal plan proved very useful to Jessica as well because whenever she would go out, she already had a basic idea of how many calories she would consume based on what she would order.Â
Like most P3toLifers I've interviewed before, Jessica did not have to do any correction days while following the program. She said that there were a couple of days when she would be up a few ounces or a pound. Although it sort of terrified her and it was a challenge to stop herself from doing a correction day, she always succeeded in controlling herself. One important thing she learned from the program is that the body has the ability to recover and bounce back. She knew the slight weight gain was not permanent and so she was able to teach herself how to be patient and let her body do what it should do on its own.
Some of her favorite recipes from the meal plan are the Deconstructed Egg Bowl and the Thai Curry Meatballs (and she didn't realize she liked curry until she tried this recipe 😀 ). She also loves the snickerdoodle smoothie.
Jessica admits that she used to crave starch and sugar all the time but that has changed after being on the hCG program. Not only does she have less cravings but she feels very good about herself. She has long accepted that her health is beyond her control so the feeling of being in control over her diet means a lot to her. Having found a way she can maintain/stabilize her diet, she does not feel powerless anymore.
"What is my priority? My priority is I want to feel good about myself and the decisions I make about my diet helps make me feel good about my body."
Having a lot of friends who are naturally thin and who can eat whatever they want, Jessica had to get over the fact that she was not going to be like them and that is okay. She knows she can feel as good as those people because P3 to life has taught her that she does not have to be restricted because she can make something that tastes good, is satisfying, and fills her up.
"P3 to Life is absolutely worth it, if you decide to make the investment in hcg, you are not spending on something frivolous, you are spending the money to set yourself up for success the rest of your life and purchasing P3 to life you have access to all the tools forever. Long term investment you're talking about your health your life"
Jessica's hCG Weight Loss Story:
At first, Jessica did not consider her weight gain a big deal until she met up with some friends from out of town. She was frustrated to find out she couldn't fit into their clothes anymore and they all used to be the same size! Jessica decided it was time to address her weight issues so when her husband left for ranger school, she took the time to dedicate herself to being healthier.
Among the things she tried were P90X and Insanity, but neither one really worked for her. It was weight watchers and running that helped her lose weight but she had to be very strict and committed to both. She ran 6 days a week and was very rigid with her eating. It was a lot of work and she found it exhausting. It actually took Jessica 4 or 5 years to lose the weight. She lost around 100 pounds and was able to maintain it for a little while but after some time, she gained weight again.
It was after she and her husband made plans to go to NYC over Thanksgiving, to celebrate and renew their vows after 10 years of marriage, that Jessica decided to try to lose weight again because she really wanted to feel good about herself. She was not afraid to workout, but she wanted something that would not be too taxing on her. Having Lyme disease made it difficult for her to be too physically active so she wanted to take it easy.
This past year had also been very difficult for her and her eating was not as controlled as before. She usually ate to relieve emotional stress and thus gained weight. She told her mom how frustrated she was because in her mind, the only effective way to lose weight was to work really hard and be really strict with herself and she just didn't want to live that way anymore. There were many aspects of her life (particularly her health) that were already very restrictedÂ
Jessica's mom told her to look up hCG online. She found out that both her mom and dad had done the hCG diet through the recommendation and guidance of their osteopath (the same osteopath Jessica consulted). Knowing it was a controversial diet and because of her health issues, Jessica started researching about hCG. She wanted to make sure it was not going to negatively affect her health, specifically her thyroid condition.
During her time researching, hcgchica was the only website she found that had actual information on thyroid test results which finally gave her the confidence to try the program. Jessica followed the hCG Triumph plan and took hCG drops for 31 days. The drops from hCG triumph was the only one with ingredients she was not allergic to and she also found it much cheaper than going to a doctor.
Used to being strict with herself especially when it comes to her health, Jessica rigidly followed P2 and did not do any modifications to her VLCD. While on P2, Jessica ate a lot of fish and chicken and also had beef a couple of times. Although beef did not affect her weight, she did not feel as good when she ate it so she only had it a few times. The reason for this, she believes, is her blood type does not do well with red meat. As for her vegetable intake, she tried rotating her veggies but mostly ate onions and spinach. She stuck to the same fruits, mostly eating just strawberries and occasionally, apples.
One thing Jessica finds great about the hCG program is that once you take stuff out of your diet and then start introducing or adding them back in, you become aware of what works for you and what doesn't. This proved very beneficial for her because when she started adding dairy back to her diet, besides bringing her weight up a little bit, she also found out she has dairy allergy so she now avoids it.
After finishing her drops, Jessica ended up losing 24 pounds over 31 days, going down to 126 pounds from her starting weight of 150 pounds. She has since lost a little more since doing P3 to Life. Currently, on any given day, her weight falls between 121 and 123 pounds.
Jessica's Health Struggles
Several years ago, when Jessica's husband was still in the military, they used to live in California. They had been married for only a couple of years then and had been trying to get pregnant. At the time, Jessica was also dealing with weight issues and has had several tests done, including thyroid exams, which kept coming back normal. The test results frustrated her because a thyroid problem was what she suspected to be the reason for her inability to lose weight.
When they moved to Alabama, Jessica began having debilitating anxiety and panic attacks. She would leave their house and end up in the hospital because of them. Her attacks got so bad that, considering she was a very social person, it got to the point where people gave her so much anxiety that she just preferred to stay and sit at home by herself.
Jessica's mom told her about a doctor back in their hometown of Virginia who is an osteopath. She went to see this doctor who ran several tests which finally gave her the results she had been expecting before. It was found that she did have a thyroid problem - her T4 was not converting to T3. Her osteopath also ran a Lyme disease test which came back positive for which she immediately started treatment.
Most people have a thyroid conversion problem. It is sad, but true that more often than not, your doctor or general practitioner is not going to do the type of thyroid test you need to find out if you have a thyroid problem. I have had same thing happen. I had all these horrible symptoms and I finally got so sick that the abnormal levels finally showed up on my test. A good resource for thyroid and adrenal issue is stopthethyroidmadness.com.
Shortly after finding out about her thyroid problem and getting diagnosed with Lyme disease, Jessica discovered a big tumor in her neck. At just 25 years old, she was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer after her biopsy test result showed a malignant tumor. When she underwent surgery to remove her tumor, it was found that the malignancy had spread to her lymph nodes and her lungs. Her neck lymph nodes were also removed and she had to undergo radiation.
"You have to advocate for your health. Nobody knows your body better than you do."
About a month after finishing her radiation treatment, Jessica started experiencing episodes where "pieces of time" just went missing from her memory. It happened regularly at about 5 to 6 times a week for 2 and half years.
At first, Jessica had no idea what was causing her memory episodes. She just kept eating sweet and sugary stuff to feel better. Eventually, she started to suspect that they might be related to her insulin and blood sugar levels so she kept insisting to her doctor to test her insulin. However, her doctor was so focused on her cancer that they did not take her request seriously.
Determined to advocate for her health, Jessica finally convinced her doctor to test her insulin and they found out that her episodes were indeed related to low blood sugar because she had an insulin-secreting tumor on her pancreas. She had so much insulin being produced and it was lowering her blood sugar beyond the normal level.
Before her treatment, which involved the removal of the tumor and part of her pancreas, Jessica went into a coma for about 26 hours. She did not have diabetes but her condition was similar to a diabetic coma and she slept for more than a day. Her husband, mom, and everybody prayed for her until she finally came out of it.
To add to her list of health woes, about a year later, Jessica was also diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
As someone who struggles with a number of health issues as well, I can definitely relate to Jessica's struggles and I find it amazing how strong and positive she has been and continues to be despite everything she has experienced so far.