HCG Testing and My Next Project :D

This week I finished up my last round of HCG with pellets. Wednesday was day 23, then 3 days of VLCD. Like I wrote in my last post about HCG, I said I would run some tests when I was at the end. These test were just out of my own curiosity, and for my information. Skeptics claim that you can do the 500 calorie diet with out drops and lose weight, which you can, and I tried and already reported about it(miserable, and no effect on TOM?). By doing just 500 calories, you would potentially put your body into starvation mode – or ketosis – which forces your body/brain to utilize ketones for energy instead of glucose (your brain alone needs 100g carbs to function). The Atkins Diet intentionally puts you into a state of ketosis to burn predominantly fat and not carbs. You want to be in ketosis vs your body eating muscle tissue. I was able to obtain a home urine test kit, and tested from day 23-27 for ketosis. Every day I actually tested negative for ketosis…

Skeptics also claim that any low calorie/low carb diet that puts you in ketosis will shut down or slow your metabolism and maybe harmful on the liver. By being in Ketosis, your body won’t want to let go of any energy it has, so, it will slow your metabolism down and cause you to store what little you are getting. To test this theory, I went to a local gym and had my RMR tested. This is tested first thing in the AM on a 12 hour, complete fast. If my metabolism were to have slowed, then it would show.

I went in first thing Friday morning, and got hooked up as pictured above :) When I worked at the Treehouse, we had this equipment, and would test ourselves all the time. I was heavier at the time, but I would generally test in the 1700-1800 range, which would be slightly slow to normal for my height, weight(at the time), age, and gender. After 12 minutes of breathing into the machine, I got my results. Drum roll .,.,.,.,.,., 1642!



I didn’t know quite what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised! Compared to all other women of the same height, weight and age, I tested 9% above average/normal. My RQ was a .72, which shows me burning predominantly fat for my fuel source. Hmmm… Interesting… the trainer that conducted my test was also intrigued by all of this. So, after being on hCG for 23 days and eating only 500 calories for the 23 days, my metabolism was higher than normal, and I was burning fat for fuel – not protein, not carbs, but fat… I am only 1 person, so it’s hard to validate my results, but after everything I have been through, it’s enough for me to feel comfortable using HCG.

I've helped well over 500 people so far, and always ask them them their numbers, how they are feeling, what is going on, and what their thoughts are. For me, there are too many factors that show that it works. It definitely isn't for everyone, but I know many are curious. If you are one of the curious, make sure you educate yourself first, and talk to your family doctor. There are a few categories of people that I feel could benefit from doing HCG; 1 - Those that are so over weight that exercise is just not possible. 2 - Those that don't enjoy/like exercising, won't make time for it, or just flat out won't do it. 3 - Those with knee/hip/back or other joint problems, or any other physical disabilities that won't allow them to work out properly. 4 - Those that are dieting and exercising, and have changed it up, but are still stuck at a plateau and just can't get through it(this was me). 5 - Someone who may have a slower metabolism and is looking to give it a jump start. I would recommend people that feel they fall in this category to first check with their doctor first and possibly have their thyroid tested.

If you are only looking to lose those last 10-20lbs, I would think twice. It is a difficult diet, more mentally than physically. Unlike drugs and alcohol addictions, we must have food. Everything evolves around food. Food is everywhere. You can't just quite food. You are supposed to stay on for a minimum of 23 days, so, you have to weigh if it is worth it or not. And remember, this is supposed to target abnormal fat, not normal fat. But our definition of abnormal fat, and our genetics definition of abnormal fat are two different things, and unfortunately, genetics win. I have always had a backside and thighs. While I did lose in those areas, it wasn't as much as I would have liked. I blame my dad for this. :P I lost most of my inches off of my bust, waist, abdomen, and hips, but I'm ok with that. :D

I am now done with my own personal HCG experience, but I look forward to helping others with theirs. Two things I can guarantee about HCG is if 1 - you follow the protocol, you will lose weight. But at the same, 2 - if you don't change your habits and you go back to your old ways after HCG, I guarantee you will gain the weight back, but it is that way with any diet. Check out this article about "Biggest Loser" contestants. (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28449267/ns/today-biggest_loser_on_today/
What the bottom line comes down to is that you have to be ready to make a life time commitment and change, no matter what path you choose. It won't be easy, but if you plan, prepare, commit, and execute your decision, you will succeed, and it will be worth it. Once you have gotten the weight off, take your new body and use it! Get out and have fun! Be active, move, dance, run, play, live! Do this for you, and you only, and you will have long lasting results.

Now that I have gotten my weight off, time to tighten it all up! My next project is going to be ChaLEAN Extreme and Shakeology. I gave my self a free day today, and am going to start the 3 day Shakeology Cleanse tomorrow ( http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/candiceekberg ) along with ChaLEAN. I will take before and after pictures and blog about my experience. I want to get as lean as possible. I know this will mainly have to come from diet, which is my weakness, so if ya see me around food, keep me accountable ;) Wish me luck, and Happy Losing!

Know Your Health Numbers!!!

In health and fitness there are lots of numbers thrown around, but what do they all mean, and what ones are actually important? February is Heart Health Month, so I wanted to focus on some numbers that can make a difference in quality and duration of life. Important numbers to know will be highlighted in BOLD.

There are several "positive" risk factors that have been linked with heart disease and can classify people as low, moderate, or high risk.

These are from the ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription - 7th Edition

For every factor you have, that is 1 point, so keep track as you read along.

***
1. Family History
Myocardial infarction (heart attack), coronary revascularization (heart bypass or angioplasty) or sudden death (attributed to a stroke or cardiovascular disease) before 55 years of age in men considered immediate family (father, brother, son) or before 65 in women considered immediate family (mother, sister, daughter)

2. Smoking
Current smoking or those who quit within the previous six months

3. Hypertension - Blood Pressure
Systolic blood pressure >140mm or diastolic blood pressure >90mm, confirmed by measurements on at least two separate occasions or on antihypertensive medications

4. Dyslipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, or High Cholestrol
LDL >130 mg/dL, HDL <40mg/dL or on lipid-lowering medication
If serum cholesterol is all that is available, use serum cholesterol >200mg/dL
The HDL score has changed from 35 mg/dL to 40 mg/dL for 2006. Additionally, total cholesterol score is de-emphasized in favor of HDL and LDL scores, unless those two scores are unavailable.

5. Impaired Fasting Glucose - Blood Sugar Levels
Fasting blood sugar >100 mg/dl, confirmed on at least two separate occasions
The score has changed from 110 mg/dL to 100 mg/dL for 2006.

6. Obesity
BMI >30 kg/m2 or
Waist girth >102 cm (40”) for men and >88 cm (35”) for women or
Waist/hip ratio >0.95 for men and >0.86 for women
Due to varying opinions, use additional valid markers of obesity to evaluate obesity
The waist-girth measurement has changed from one previous score of 100 cm (39.4”) to individual scores of 102 cm (40”) for men and 88 cm (35”) for women. Additionally, waist/hip ratio has been added for 2006.

7. Physical Inactivity
Persons not participating in a regular exercise program or not meeting the minimal recommendations of the 1996 Surgeon General’s Report


The only Negative risk factor is HDL Cholesterol - you can minus 1 if your HDL is above 60 mg/dl
1. HDL >60 mg/dL

At this point you are assessed for each factor that you may have. From there, you are scored as follows.

1. Low Risk
Younger individuals (men <45 years, women <55 years) who are asymptomatic and meet no more than one risk factor
2. Moderate Risk
Men >45 years, women >55 years or individuals who meet the threshold for two or more risk factors and are asymptomatic
3. High Risk
Individuals with one or more signs and symptoms for cardiovascular disease, individuals with known cardiovascular (including peripheral vascular disease, cerebral vascular disease), pulmonary (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, cystic fibrosis) or metabolic (renal, liver or thyroid disorder) disease.

***

If you place in the Moderate or High Risk categories, it is important to check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

***

Some other great numbers to know are as follows:

Body Fat Composition

The risk factors above went off of BMI, waist girth, and waist/hip ratio, but failed to mention Body Fat percentage. Body fat percentage is a more accurate way to measure overall composition. The most accurate methods are hydrostatic or BodPod technology. These test can be done at the University of Utah for just $25 (http://www.health.utah.edu/peak/PEAK-Services/Health-Fitness-Testing/index.html). You can also use hand held calipers and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) tools. If you have calipers, this is a great site to calculate your measurements - http://www.linear-software.com/online.html.

If you don't have access to calipers, you can try this estimated BF% based on measurements. http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html

An average female should be between 21-31%. Anything above 32% is classified as obese. Anything below 21% is considered athletic, below 12% is dangerous. An average male should be 14-25%. Anything above 25% is considered obese, anything below is considered athletic, below 4% could be considered dangerous.

Your Basal or Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR/BMR):

Your RMR is measured by calories/kilojoules and is the amount of daily energy expended while at complete rest and fasting. It is how many calories your body needs to sustain just the functioning of vital organs. Your RMR can be altered by age, body composition, menopause, exercise, diet, environment, stress, and illness. Your metabolism is controlled primarily by the hypothalamus and thyroid. While you can't control all factors that effect your metabolism you can control a few such as diet, exercise, stress (to a point), and body composition. Weight lifting is a great way to increase your metabolism. By adding 5lbs of lean muscle mass, you can potentially increase your RMR by 200 calories a day! You need energy to move muscle, fat just hangs there for a free ride. More and more studies are showing that anaerobic exercise, like HIIT can increase metabolism as well.

There is testing available to determine your RMR, but you may need to go to a gym or doctors office to have these done (For those local, I have made arrangements at Crossroads Fitness in Ogden, Utah). If you aren't able to find somewhere, you can use estimates from formulas based on your height, weight, age, and gender. (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/). Once you figure your RMR (remember, it is your resting metabolic rate) you then need to factor in your activity level. If you do light activity through out the day, times your RMR by 1.35, moderate x 1.55, heavy x 1.75. Ex: My RMR is 1525 - I'm moderately active, so 1525x1.55 = 2363. I would need that many calories a day to maintain my current weight and activity level. If I wanted to lose weight, keep in mind that 1lb fat = 3500 calories. 1 lb a week weight loss would mean I would need to cut 500 calories a day. My goal would be to eat 1863 calories a day. :) Hope that makes sense. :)


These numbers are just to help you out. Just knowing is beneficial. Start out by going to your family doctor and getting a simple fasting blood test to find out your cholestrol profile and fasting glucose. Then, find your body measurements such as waist/hip ratio, BMI, waist girth, and body fat percent. From there, determine what direction your numbers need to go. If they need to come down, estimate your RMR and start counting calories. By losing just 10lbs of body fat, you can start bringing your numbers down and decrease your risk factors. If there are any other numbers you would like to know about, or something you don't understand, don't hesitate to contact me! I hope you are all doing well in your weight loss journey. Happy Losing!

Golden Globe Special Ends Today!

Today is the last day to take advantage of our 25% OFF Golden Globe Discount. Thank you to all of those that have already placed your orders! Stay tuned to my blog - my next article I am working on is "Knowing Your Numbers". It will be about important numbers to shoot for, for better over all health. Happy Losing!

GOLDEN GLOBE SPECIAL - 25% OFF!

Did you watch the Golden Globes? Our LocalHCG product was featured as one of the gifts in the Celebrity Presenter Gift Baskets! To celebrate this occasion, we are offering a special if you order from my blog! 25% OFF our already low retail price on our HCG - drops or pellets! This won't last long! Don't forget to check out our hCG Compatible Protein Powder which is now available! Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions! Happy Losing!
~Candice~
iluvtnf@aol.com




Look for the red and blue bottle on the lower right hand side. Tonight is the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards. Our products have been given to the presenters of the Awards show tonight some of which include...Tom Hanks, Chris Hemsworth, LL Cool J, Scarlett Johansson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Kaley Cuoco, Sandra Bullock, Julie Bowen, Jer...emy Irons, Milla Jovovich, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Warren Beatty, Tim Allen, Megan Fox, Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, Matt Bomer, Tilda Swinton, Sylvester Stallone, Geoffrey Rush, Renee Zellweger, Blair Underwood, Zac Efron, Olivia Wilde, Steve Carell, Andrew Garfield, January Jones, Alicia Keys, Eva Longoria, Julianne Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kevin Bacon, Helen Mirren, Kevin Spacey, Hailee Steinfeld, Vanessa Williams, Matt Damon, Garrett Hedlund, Jennifer Lopez, Leighton Meester and Robert Pattinson.

To hCG, or not to hCG?

The last time I blogged about what I was personally doing, I was attempting a week or so of the VLCD without actually taking hCG. Yea, that lasted a week! By the end of the week I was STARVING! I kept hoping it would go away, or I would just get used to it, but I never did. I was able to get down to 157.8, but again, it wasn't about weight. But once I started eating again, I obviously went up a little bit - back to my 159-160 range.

We finally got our hCG pellets and protein powder. I had a lot of people asking about the difference between drops and pellets, so I did decide to do a final round utilizing the pellets. I loaded the 4-6th and got up to 166.3. The day after I started the VLCD I got back down to 159.2 - I'm currently on day 12 and am at 154 - Almost to my lowest point ever.

While I'm excited to be losing, that was not my purpose. I wanted to see what differences I could find between taking drops or not, how pellets compared to drops, and experiment with different recipes with the protein powder. The biggest differences I found between hcg and no hcg were hunger, TOM, and weight fluctuations. As I mentioned previously, I kept getting hungrier without the drops. While on the drops, I found with in a couple of days the hunger started going away. By day 8, I was just fine, and still am. TOM - I have an IUD and don't have a regular period, if ever. I realized the other day that every time I have started a round of hCG, I've started spotting. When I did just the VLCD, nothing. (Sorry if TMI for my male readers;). When doing just VLCD, I lost consistently every day. I even put on my heavy BBW body cream, and still lost. While on hCG, I've fluctuated between losing and gaining. I tried putting on BBW body cream again, and had a stall. During my very first round of hCG, I put on BBW cream with out even thinking about it, and had a gain the very next day - my only gain during my first round. I've also observed on days that I had to wake early for training sessions, I didn't lose near as much as on days that I didn't. Sleep makes a huge difference! I've also been lifting heavy this round, and am enjoying that. I'm sore and it feels good. I've been keeping track of my body fat % with a hand held BIA, and have gone from 22.7 - 20.3%, so I am losing fat, and not muscle, which is very desirable. To me, there were definitely observable differences that leaves me very confident that the hCG is in my system and works! At the end of this round, I will take a ketosis test, and will also have my RMR tested to see where it is at. A month after that, I will repeat these test to see what changes occur.

As far as differences between pellets and drops - I haven't noticed anything too different other than convenience and shelf life. We had a stronger formula created after my last round of doing drops, so I don't know how they compare to that, but compared to my last formulation used, it feels about the same. If anything, I don't feel as tired as I was last time - even with my early hours.

Recipes - still working on that one. I've been adding 1 TBSP and a packet of stevia to plain, fat free Greek Yogurt, and have done well with that. Tastes good to! I plan on going the full 23 days or until my body doesn't want to let any more go. In that time frame, I will come up with some recipes. Extracts are safe to use - mint is my favorite :)

So that is what I have been up to the last couple of weeks. As soon as I am done, I plan on giving P90X my full dedication! I've stocked up on Shakeology and Results and Recover Formula! I'm excites to see what this will do for me and if it will get me where I finally want to be. If not, then I'll reconsider the "Final Phase Fat Loss".

Always a plan, and sticking to it - what's yours? Hope you are all doing well in your resolutions and know that I am here to help in any way I can. Don't hesitate to contact me. Happy Losing!

Shakeology Cleanse

If you have been curious about Shakeology like I am, here's a great site with lots of info. :) If you want to try it, I have a great cleanse you can do with it. It's 3 shakes a day, then a well balanced, healthy dinner each night, for 3 days. Great way to start off any diet or exercise program. Just email me if interested! iluvtnf@aol.com

Info Link: http://shakeology.com/web/shakeology/the-science

Cleanse Link: http://www.shakenutrition.com/shakeology-cleanse/
(or listed below)


Cleanse Info:

"Recently, many people have been seeing excellent results with the Shakeology cleanse. In this short article we’ll discuss the popular “Shakeology fast” in detail and explain exactly how you can do it as well.

Shakeology is a complete meal replacement shake that was designed to be used once a day. For the Beachbody Shakeology cleanse however, it will be taken once a day for 3 days.

The goal with Shakeology cleansing is to flush all of the junk from your system and regulate hydration levels. While this cleanse definitely restricts you when it comes to calories, you shouldn’t experience any negative side effects as you’ll be getting all the right nutrients in those calories. A person eating an average American diet would have to eat twice as many calories to consume the nutrients you’ll receive while on the Shakeology detox program. It’s the perfect program for anyone who wants a 3 day jump start to looking and feeling better.


How to Do the 3 Day Shakeology Cleanse: Directions

1.Drink 3 Shakeology shakes a day (mix with water only)
2.Have a salad in the evening for dinner with 4 ounces of protein, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and vinegar dressing, and 1 tablespoon of flax seed, chia seeds, or hemp seed
3.Drink plenty of water. Coffee, tea, and herbal teas are okay, as long as no sugar or cream is added."


A regular 30 day(bulk), 24 day(individual packets) supply goes for $119.95 plus shipping and tax. You only need 9 packets to do the cleanse. I have the 9 cleanse packets for $50. This lets you try Shakeology enough to see results, with out commiting to the $119.95(+S&T). Just email me! :)

New hCG Product and Lower Prices!!!

For the New Year we've dropped our rates! We wanted to bring you the best product on the market for a great deal. You can find cheaper, but it won't compare to our quality and support system. Our hCG blend is the highest available on the market, and what other companies do you know of that you can text or email at 11:00 at night and get an instant reply? (I've had it happen several times, and am always happy to help!) We have a great support system, as well, on our Facebook page 'Localhcg'.

While I don't feel hCG is for everyone, I have seen awesome results in myself and in my clients. Before beginning the hCG protocol, I recommend talking to your doctor, and educating yourself as much as possible. I do have a "friends/family/locals" rate for my Facebook friends - just email me at iluvtnf@aol.com for pricing, and I will send you a paypal money request at that rate. :) Happy New Year, and Happy Losing!