NYCMatt
Newbie
Posts: 4
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« Reply #15 on: August 31, 2008, 01:38:49 PM » |
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Way to go, guys!
I'm 39 years old, started my first round in April. I'm 5'10" and I also have a muscular frame and did quite a bit of working out to buff up. My starting weight was 232, waist size 36 (a TIGHT 36). Got myself down to 202 by the end of the first round. I just started the second round two weeks ago, and I'm now down to 192, waist size 33. My target is 175, although I'm not sure if I'll reach it since over the years I have built up some substantial muscle mass, which I don't want to lose. After living north of 200 for so long, just breaking back down into the 180s is quite amazing for me.
I also credit my doctors. I'm not just doing HCG -- they did a full physical and blood panel to try to find out WHY despite working out like an athlete and eating like a bird I was gaining weight. Their findings: my "toxic" lifestyle had prematurely aged my body; they said I had the bloodwork of a *70* year old man! My thyroid was barely functioning, I had less testosterone in my system than some WOMEN, my adrenal glands were shot, and my cortisol level (the bad "stress" hormone) was literally off the charts. I was pre-diabetes (only 5 years away), pre-cancer (the cortisol, which sucks oxygen out of your system, makes the body a fertile ground for any kind of cancer that might develop), and that it wasn't a matter of IF, but WHEN I would suffer a heart attack or stroke, whichever came first.
What is my "toxic" lifestyle? I'm a network television producer who's been working late nights, overnights, and early mornings for the past 19 years. They've got me on a full male hormone replacement therapy, in addition to the HCG, since they wanted to address the underlying problems that caused the weight gain in the first place. Of course, the most important part of my therapy I'm still working on: I have to find a new job -- even a new career -- before these health gains are eroded. THAT is proving more difficult that anything!
Word to the wise: if YOU are working overnights or some similar schedule that doesn't allow you to sleep a full EIGHT HOURS at NIGHT, the way our bodies were designed ... you need to change that. Immediately. For your own health. You may feel good now, but eventually it will catch up to you.
I can't recommend my doctors highly enough. They are progressive, holistic and homeopathic.
And before I close, another tip: follow the diet exactly to the letter. NO substitutions, and if the diet doesn't call for it, don't use it. One day of using Dove soap instead of Ivory in the shower and I gained a pound during the first round of HCG. Using Chap-Stik gained me another pound. Chewing a piece of gum ... another pound. Our bodies are super-sensitive to everything, so while you're on it follow the rules to the letter.
Good luck everyone!
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