P3 TO LIFE INTERVIEW EPISODE 25

 To start things off, can you share with us your basic stats? Your age, height, and your size and weight changes when you went on the program.

I’m 58 years old, soon to be 59 in December 2017. I have done 5 rounds of hCG prior to trying the P3 to Life program. I’m 5’4” and my beginning weight was 75.95 kg or 167.4 lbs. By the end of P2, my weight was down to 67.7 kg or 149.7 lbs which is a loss of about 8.25 kg or about 18 lbs or so. I was a size 16 (AUS) before and now, although I fit into size 12 clothes, I don’t enjoy wearing them, I feel comfortable wearing size 14.

For some people that might not seem like a lot of weight lost, but I’ve dealt with a lot of issues with my hormones so gaining a small amount of weight really interferes with my health. That's why I decided to do hCG because I wanted to get rid of weight quickly since it was such a big concern for me. Even that small amount of weight was a struggle and losing it was an achievement.

Helga is the same as me, I can wear size 4 (US) clothing but I’m not comfortable with it. 🙂 Thanks for being prepared with the kg and lbs values conversion, Helga!

 

How did you come across P3 to Life?

The first time I did hCG was in 2015 and I just came across it. I don't remember how exactly, but I think I was online and I saw an ad about it or something. I thought it all sounded interesting and that I might have a look into it. Then I came across your site and I was really interested in your experience and what you have to say about it and how informative you were. I needed a coach because I was not sure it would be suitable for me to do. So once I found you, I went on hCG and I just kept following you. Over the next few years I did a total of 5 rounds. Each round I would go online and find you and see what else you have to say. I used your experience as a guide and it was so helpful to me. 

 

Did you have a get a prescription and did you use the actual hormone or the homeopathic one?

Yes, I got a prescription because I used the actual hormone drops which you cannot just go out and buy. Although, I have used both. For my first time, I used the hormone then on my second round I used homeopathic and all the other other rounds, I used the actual hormone

No one I knew had ever heard of the hCG diet, so it was not really something you’ll easily find in Australia. I did find one practitioner because I couldn’t just go online and order hCG. It was not allowed here. You’d really need a doctor’s prescription. So, I found a practitioner and she was the only one doing it that I had personal access to so I used her program so that I could get the drops, but I still followed your blog and used it as my guide.

 

Did you notice any difference between two?

Not really since I lost weight with both. But I remember you saying something about using the real thing. Not that I am against homeopathic, but I thought yeah why not just use the real thing.

 

So you already knew me and you were aware when I released the program?

Yes, I am on your listing so I saw when you said you were doing something new.

 

You’ve done several P3s now, what are the challenges for you? What do you feel like the challenges are when it comes to phase 3 in general, without a program?

Without a program or some sort of plan, I found it very difficult. In terms of not knowing what to actually go back to eating, and what to introduce to my diet. Like most of the rounds, I just sort of decided to eat what I thought was the correct food, what I thought was suitable to eat and of course it did not work out that way. I did not gain my weight back but I gained enough to have my symptoms come back and I thought no I can’t go back there again, it’s too unbearable.

When I started gaining weight to where I could not control the gain, I started back on hCG. But [when you get to P3] without a plan, without supervision or guidance, you tend to go overboard. There was that stress factor with the uncertainty - not knowing the amount of food to eat and sometimes being a bit too hasty, being impatient, wanting to get food, just feeling deprived of things you like, food that’s tasty and thinking about whether if you start to eat normally again is going to bring all that weight back.

 

You said when you gained weight after a round, your symptoms would come back? Would you mind telling us more about that?

Whenever I gained weight, even a little, it affected my hormones. I am now postmenopausal, but [even prior to that], I may have had hormonal issues already because I would get symptoms like hot flashes and a lot times, I had anxiety/panic attacks which caused me to not be able to sleep. It was something I did not want to go back to so I knew I needed to do something about it.

 

When you would gain like 10 - 15 lbs or something, your symptoms would come back and when you lost weight it would go away?

Yes. When I lost weight, I could sleep better. I think with stress and as you get older, it affects you more. Like, if you have extreme stress that can lead to gain weight and it makes it difficult to lose that weight. I was under a lot of stress. Like I said, it was not just about losing weight, it’s the other components - like why you are gaining weight, what your stress is about - that will determine if you’ll lose the weight.

Once I got on hCG, my body calmed down. Everything just seemed to chug along happily. That was another thing, once I stopped P2 I was so worried about gaining the weight back. That caused anxiety and I thought I’ll do anything to prevent that, if it means going back on hCG that is fine with me

Thanks for sharing all that, I’m sure we have readers who can totally relate.

Yes. It was not like I had a lot of weight to lose, but having the weight was uncomfortable. [It was not just about] Having to wear larger clothing, but more so the way it affected everything else: my hormones, stress level, anxiety, and sleep.

 

Before you did the P3 to Life  program you said you gained weight back. How long did it take before you would gain back like 10 - 15 lbs?

Around 6 months. It’s not like I’d wake up and it’s there.  It was sneaky, it crept up on me. It was like, “Oh, I got a bit on already, but that is alright.”. It was not. It was never all right. 

And that was what was so good about your P3 program. What I really appreciate about you is you’re REAL. You are actually truthful to us that things do happen to you and that you’ve had issues too and you try to fix them just like we would. You Sharing that is very important because then we know we can fix it and we shouldn't fret about it. We can fix it and P3 to life is the TOOL. It’s the TOOL for me.

I’m so glad to hear that. That is what I did want to convey and I’m so happy that it came across to you like that. There’s no way we can be perfect all the time. I mean, just because I’ve been maintaining does not mean I eat perfect everyday and that I don’t have to correct anything. The point is that there is always a way to fix it when it gets out of hand.

I used to be the “all or nothing” kind of person. I would give up so easily and just kind of go the other way. I would not even go normal, I would just totally blow it. I’d go all the way. And it made it so hard to bounce back when you’re back at square one. It took a while for me to make that mental shift and that is the goal of my coaching session, to help in getting past that.

I think your coaching was really helpful. We don’t have to travel the hard road. It’s already done. It’s already been explained to us and this is how we’re going to fix it. It is good in that even if you made mistakes, you learned so much, you learned a lot about your body - how it works, what it likes, what it doesn’t like - and that is what you want. You want to know how your body works so you can work with it.

It was really a learning experience. My second round was a total failure, but I learned so much. That is when I started researching stuff, asking what went wrong here. Why did I lose control and why was it so hard, why couldn’t I do this etc. And I learned so much.

That’s right. You learn that there are other things you need to address besides your weight. It is not just your weight. It’s why you have that weight and how you are going to address that and maybe change/heal things that are in your life that have caused it. It is complex that way because it might be your health and you're not addressing your health issues, you’re leaving it for a long time and just finally doing something when it’s out of control. That’s something I will not be doing anymore.

That’s true. For me, when I initially became overweight, part of it had to do with the reason that I developed a chronic illness and I could not do a lot of the things I used to do. A lot of things kind of got taken away from me almost overnight. I felt there was not so much left to do at that point that I could enjoy that filled my time and my life, so I turned to food.

Part of the healing for me was realizing that I needed to find new things I could do within my limitations that were fulfilling. You just need to keep adapting because you never know when there will be a new circumstance and you will have to figure something else out.

I think everybody comes to that point eventually. That is living, that is what life's all about.

 

Despite your personal challenges, how has P3 to Life been valuable and beneficial to you, following a structured P3 program?

That is exactly that. [The structure] It gave me boundaries, because I obviously had boundary issues. I had to have boundaries, a structure I could follow which you and your program provided. A lot of the questions that I had were answered, not just about hCG, there were a lot of things you addressed with your coaching that were really helpful. The coaching was good. I enjoyed it, I tried to follow it and do the same when I could.

 

In the program, there was the original plan with the meal plan which has more cooking and more recipes then there is the simplified plan for people who are busier and don’t have much time to cook. Which plan did you end up doing?

I started with the simplified plan because I work full time. My time was kind of restricted, but I just followed what you recommended. I did not go off and do my thing. I do that more now [do my thing] because I’ve completed it, but at the time [I started it], I followed the plan’s structure, it was what I wanted and needed.

You did exactly what I thought people would do on the program where it would be kind of a structured framework for a time that would kind of almost intuitively or subconsciously give you a feel for the right amount and types of stuff to eat for your body so that later you’ll be doing it more intuitively, on your own.

Yes and that is what I found I can do. I’m not really a calorie counter eater. So you doing that for me is very good because then I did not have to worry about that sort of thing. I’d probably easily give up if I had to concentrate on that plus try to cook. You made it so easy for me. Now, I know how much calorie each thing has and how much I need to put in. That’s kind of what it was for me, it was like a training session where at the end you’re off and running.

That is exactly the point! I wanted to do the work for you because I am the same way, I don’t like counting calories. From my research, it’s good to gradually increase your calories as you stabilize your weight loss. It is good to kind of have a certain ratio and so that requires planning but I did not want you guys to have to do all that because it is a pain and when you focus on that sort of thing, you kind of end up just doing really boring stuff and you may end up not having tasty food to eat. And then you’ll just get sick of it.

You’re right. That is what I would have done. I would just have had cucumber and chicken or something like that. 

 

Since you followed this program using the simplified plan during your phase 3, in those 3 weeks did you have to do any correction days?

No, [not in P3 to Life]. In my past experiences in phase 3, I always had to do correction days. It was just a nightmare. I had a very difficult P2 round and I found it really hard to get the weight to go. I would lose a bit of weight, then 4 or 5 days later I would plateau and the only way I could lose more was do a correction day. Then I would plateau again and I’d have to do another correction day. I was thinking, oh please don’t tell me this is what I’ll keep coming back to. 

But with the P3 to Life program, that plateauing was to my advantage because my body was just happy to do what it was doing at that weight on the program. So I was really thankful for that because I had such a hard time in P2 - I would wake up, weigh myself and there it is, the same weight. But with P3, I’d weigh myself, there it is the same weight and I’d go ‘yay!’. So, yes with P3 to Life, I did not have to do any correction days which was a great thing.

 

I’m so glad you did not have to do any correction days on the program. That is awesome. Usually with P3, there is a little bit of weight fluctuation. Your weight does not stay exactly as it is.

 

What was your range of fluctuation during P3?

The lowest I ever went was 66.9 kg or 147.4 lbs and the highest I’ve gone, which I am at right now, is 68.10 kg which is a little above what my stabilized weight was. My LDW was 148.9 lbs or 67.7 kg

 

So you basically stayed within 2 lbs, maybe half a pound above your LDW or a pound, a pound and a half below it. 

Yes. My weight did not rise or fall too much, it was happy where it was. When it rises, it can also be due to fluid retention, that is the weight increase is not necessarily fat.

 

That’s true. Like for me, when I do crossfit in the morning or the evening, my scale weight differs. In the evening, I have a lot more water in my muscles because I’m sore so I weigh more.

I don’t crossfit but I have a personal trainer who trains me on Tuesdays and then I have spinning class on Wednesdays and fat burner on Fridays. I do only 3 days a week because I find that I can’t go to the gym everyday or I start to breakdown.. I’m not sure, but it might be my age. I’m looking into doing more yoga or maybe pilates, just workouts that improve strength but are not high intensity. I used to do a lot of high intensity workouts then I had a burnout session over it, so now I don’t push myself that way anymore.

I’m glad you talked about the frequency of exercise that is good for your body because this is something that is not talked about enough. I am the same way, I do best at 3 times a week or in a good week, a maximum or 4 times. I can never work out 3 days in a row. Every time I do, I regret it. If I do 2 days in a row, then I decide to throw in a third day, it leaves me feeling horrible. I feel totally rundown and exhausted. Even though I am younger, I’m only 36, I do have a chronic illness. So, maybe for me, my illness is the cause.

Just so you guys out there know, you don’t have to work out 5 or 6 days a week to maintain your weight. If you do that, you’re starting to make it inflammatory for your body because it’s too much. Based on who you are, your health, and other things, you may have to adjust the frequency and intensity of your workout.

One of my favorite things to do is look into the health side of things, like health summits they are really informative and a lot of what I have recently listened to addresses what we just talked about workouts. As you get older, you need to look at the type of exercise you do. You cannot be doing the same exercises that you did when you were 20. Like you said, what you are doing is you are getting your body to produce an inflammatory response by doing what causes it stress which then affects everything in your body. That is another component of weight loss. You have to look at what you are doing. You have to ask if you are doing the right exercise for your age. 

 

I’m really glad you shared that. Were you doing your every other day or 3 times a week exercise while doing P3 or is that something you just started recently?

No. I have always exercised. But while in P2, I just stuck with yoga and walking. Just slow activities which will not interfere with my weight loss, but would support it more.

It’s great to hear that you were doing your 3 times a week exercise in P3 and it sounds like it fit into the program.

It definitely did.

 

Did you feel that you needed to add any kind of food to the program during exercise days or did it feel like it was already sufficient?

As far as the program, there was more than enough food to eat. I think the only thing I did add was a fermented green drink which I would have in the morning. It’s a powder mix made up of fermented grains and greens which I’d add to some water. It wasn’t something I drank everyday, just during exercise days.

That sounds great. I’ll include that in the shownotes because I’m sure our readers would love to know more about that drink. It’s one of those things that a lot of people say give them more energy.

 

What did you think of the meals and the portion sizes on the P3 to Life plan?

The meals are just like normal meals to me and the portion sizes were very generous. Once I ate, that was it. I didn’t have to worry about food anymore. You know how sometimes you’d eat dinner and then you’d go back to the kitchen hunting for food. I did not have to do that. But you know what, I have not gotten to try your dessert smoothies yet. It was winter when I did the P3 to Life program and I just kept thinking I must try those smoothies. Now that summer is coming, I’m really looking forward to trying them.

I was such a sweets addict before that I would have them even in winter then I’d have to take a hot shower after having one. Or I would have a hot water bottle handy to warm me up again. 😀

 

What were some of your favorite recipes on the program?

 

I really like the Bacony Egg Cups. They were quick to do and you can make a lot of them. I enjoyed eating them so much I’d even take them to work and have them for breakfast with my coffee. Everybody would go, “Oh what do you have there?” and I’d tell them it’s really good.

I also love the Rosemary Butternut Zoodles and Chili Lime Shrimp, they were really good combinations. I live with my husband and my one of my daughters and the meals I’d prepare for dinner, I make for all of us. They love the meals I prepare. They’re really nice and tasty, plus they last a long time. A lot of the time I had leftovers, usually the sauces, and they’d last a day and we could use it on other things. That was a really good thing about it.

That is one of my favorites also (Chili Lime Shrimp). I remember when we were doing the photography session and I was like, “I don’t understand, how can this be so fast and taste this good?” 😀

My biggest favorite, because I’m a real mushroom fan, is the Cream Mushroom Chicken. That is my favorite, favorite one and I have that like once or twice a week. Not only for dinner, I eat it for lunch as well.

 

In terms of cooking schedule-wise, did you do any batch cooking or did you cook as you went?

The only batch cooking I did was for the Bacony Egg Cups. But in general I did as you suggested. Cook enough for one meal then for lunch the next day. That’s how I managed it. I had to cook for the rest of the people in the house anyway, so I did it that way.

Then you just preheated it for lunch like in the microwave the next day?

Yes, I did.

Since you had to make the recipe servings a bit bigger to include your family, did you have to use Copy Me That to increase the amounts in your grocery list or you just manually figured it out?

I just calculated from the amounts in the recipe. And you know, if it was not exact, I did not worry about it. If it had extra calories, to me it was not an issue. As long as I hovered around the weight that I was at, even if I was up a bit the next day, it did not worry me. I’ll just think, maybe I had a little too much of coconut milk or something, but that did not worry me.

I’m glad you mentioned that. Even if it is a structured framework, you’re not so concerned with being so exact that if it is slightly different it will mess everything up. The recipes are designed that, in general, you're not going to get in trouble even if you have an additional 2 ounces of shrimp or an extra cup of onion or a half cup or mushrooms. These are such healthy ingredients. So don’t worry, unless you’re adding a half cup of butter, which I do not think you’re going to do, then you are not going to get in trouble. And if you overdid it a little, you can just eat less the next day.

‘Hunger is your guide’ is the point. I couldn’t design this in a way that is tailored to each person specifically - some people may find themselves a little hungrier than others on the program and they might add a little more calories which is easy to do. For others, they get full quickly and they wonder if they have to eat the whole serving because the program says you can have as much as that amount. Of course, you should not stuff yourself. If you are full, stop and save the rest. Your body is letting you know when it is time to stop. 🙂

 

Especially as your body gets healthier and you’ve lost weight and you’ve hopefully dealt with the insulin resistance and it starts getting fixed, your body actually lets you know when you need to eat more and when you don’t. Like with me when I do more weight lifting, especially when I do some heavier weights, I will actually be hungrier than usual. I tend to eat the same things a lot and in those instances I’d feel like it is kind of not filling enough for me. So I will listen to that cue and I will eat more. I do not gain weight, it’s just that my body needs it at that moment.

I am like you too. I am very habitual and once I found these things I do it every day and it is like you are just chugging along, you don’t worry about it, you don’t think about it. It is all done and you are doing it. That is what I like about the program. You don’t wonder anymore, what am I going to have? Am I allowed to have that? Thinking like that is so stressful.

For example, I love Pinterest (Helga does too!) but I find that sometimes it can be overwhelming because of the choices. For instance, I want to find a low calorie chocolate muffin recipe, I would see 20 different ones and I’d think, “Wait. Which is the wisest choice?”, “Which is the most low carb?”, “Which is the best one?”. Sometimes I end up not doing anything.

Or you collect the recipe and you don’t do it.

Exactly! Boards full of stuff that I’ve never actually made.

And you usually do that on P2 when all you think about is, “What am I going to have?”

Like, I can’t eat so I’m just going to look at food. 😀

I know. I guess I’m not alone in that.

There were times when I can handle it. And I remember one time when I got towards the end of P2, it felt kind of therapeutic. I remember thinking, “Oh this is exciting!”.

 

People kind of wonder about the whole cooking thing and having the time for it because of their work and their family, so tell us a bit more about your responsibilities and how you managed.

Yes, I work full time and I have already raised a family. I only have my second youngest daughter living with me and my husband. So, I’m not responsible for like 6 people anymore.

So it worked for you to cook each night larger portions where they could eat and then you’ll have your lunch the next day ready for you.

Yes, it worked for me. So, that is all I do and I am not stressed out. Sometimes, if I had the time, I would cook 2 meals so that the following day I would not have to worry about it. I usually work within that kind of realm because I go to bible study twice a week, so on Mondays and Wednesdays, I need to have something prepared beforehand. I get all that done and then the next day is sort of a free day for me.

You just have to look at what is available to you and you just try to fit in. Don’t stress if you can’t do it.

We all have different personalities. And I’m reading this book right now called “The Four Tendencies” and it’s about how there are 4 different types of people. We all have a tendency to be a certain way. Like, some of us get overly worried about details and then if it seems we cannot do things the exact way, they kind of panic. And for others, just like you, you have an easier time. You get the gist of it and you just do what you can do.

I got a good tip from someone. She was able to do some batch cooking. What she did was, she grilled all the meats for all the P3 recipes for the week. So, even if some recipes called for a different type of cooking method, she just decided to grill all the meat and throw it in each dish to make it quick. I thought that was a great tip.

Yes. Everyone finds their own little niche. I never used to be this way. If I find a recipe and I did not have the ingredient, well I was not doing that recipe. I used to be quite hard on myself. But as you get older, you sort of mellow down.

 

Like you said earlier, since you’re in Australia, when it came to the ingredients, there are some that are not available or maybe are pricier there. Do you remember those ingredients and how did you handle that?

The only thing that is coming to mind right now is the vanilla bean powder. I have yet to find that so I  just used the paste that I had. But, I’m trying to find it. I’m probably going to have to purchase it online.

That is the other point, even for those in the United States. I try to make it so that overall, for most of the ingredients - like 90% of them - you can find it at your local store. BUT as part of having an alternative eating lifestyle training, I did use a few specialty ingredients here and there each week just because they can add so much flavor and texture to eating in a different way. I’ve linked to where you can buy them online in the documents.

You guys know how sometimes when you make a recipe and you try to lower the calories so much, especially if it is something sweet, it can be very challenging to make it taste the way it used to taste. So that was my goal there. When I came across the vanilla bean powder, I found that it was a lot more potent. Half a teaspoon or a teaspoon of that in a smoothie and it already explodes with the flavor.

But of course, you can always find a substitute for the ingredients depending on what is accessible to you.

I don’t have an issue with buying online but, especially if it is coming from America, I find that sometimes it costs more to get it to me than the item itself. Another thing is for the spaghetti squash, I use zucchini instead. It might taste a little bit different, but it works. I also couldn’t find the fire-roasted tomatoes, I just use the regular canned tomatoes and I add a little bit of smoked paprika. But, you know, if I’m missing a small ingredient and I can’t get it, I’m okay with just leaving it out.

The smoked paprika is not very common here. 🙂 You’re right. Part of the recipe creation process is that there are so many variations. These are all just one way to do it.

How long has it been now since you finished P2?

I’ve finished the maintenance and now I am out of it. It’s been about 5 or 6 weeks since I finished P2 and so far my weight has been pretty stable. I must admit, I am not being very good. I ended up getting the flu and after that I got thrown off a bit, but not to the point where I’m being bad.

But you still have not needed to do any corrections so that’s great! That’s fantastic. I think when you take P3 seriously like you did and actually stabilize your weight, I think it gives you more freedom. I feel like when you get your body comfortable at a certain place for a period of time, you usually can have a little more flexibility.

Another thing I found very helpful is your talks on intermittent fasting. That is another thing I am trying as well. I find that that is something my body likes. I feel better on the day after I’ve done it, like there’s a slight improvement. Especially since I’ve been sick, it has taken me a while to get the energy back. So I did that, one or 2 fasting days and the day after, I felt really good.

That is really good to hear. So how are you doing your fast?

What I attempt to do is what you recommended, the 18 hours. Like I finished my last meal at around 8:30 and I have lunch the next day.

I’m kind of the same, but I feel really good on my actual fast day. I find that fasting brings me more brain clarity and energy when I fast. One thing I’ve learned from my research is that the process of digesting is a very energy consuming process for your body. When you are constantly digesting food, it takes a lot of energy and I haven’t got too much of that.

Not only does it take too much energy, it sort of stops your body from repairing itself. When you give it a rest, then you let your body do its job of getting rid of waste and toxins. That was another thing that was an issue for me, I had a lot of toxins that my body could not get rid of which also contributed to my bad health. That’s why when you are in P2, it is like a detox.

It’s Like Helga said, I have a lot of videos where I talk about fasting. How it has been beneficial for me and its different aspects for women, in particular. I feel like a lot of the recommendations for fasting works better for men and of course the level that men feel comfortable doing it at not the same for women, from what I have seen. We have to do it a bit more delicately.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do the interview with me and for sharing your experience with us! 🙂