Today is my 3rd injection and first day of the 500 cal thing. I am not "overweight" but I could stand to lose 10-15lbs to be at the low end of my weight section. And according to my trainer's measurements, I tend to fluctuate between 18 and 20% body fat with my 5lb gain and loss fluctuations. I'm hoping to bring it down to 18% or less and stay there because I am short and I tend to look bulky because I lift weights. I've tried atkins but I don't lose more than 2lbs (of water) on it because it's actually similar to how I eat on a regular basis, minus the occasional candy binges.

The more I read about this it seems to be geared towards the clinically obese and I was wondering if this would even work for me? I'll continue on and complete at least a 23 day course to test it out but I was wondering about everyone else's experiences.

Also, is a goal weight the actual weight you hope to accomplish or is it just "out of the woods" overweight-wise. I guess I am confused because of the plateau warnings.

Glad to have you here! I'm afraid I'm not sure of the plateau warnings you refer to. Some people use this program to lose the majority of the weight they need to lose, with plans to transition to an exercise/modified eating plan to fine tune the final result. I've also seen others use the diet all the way to the finish line.

I think HCG holds alot of appeal and promise to those of us who have a substantial amount to lose because it does provide fast and steady results. For me personally, it's depressing to think of losing this at 5-10 lbs a month and would tire of the regimen before I'd make so much progress. I also like the feature that we cycle in and out of the 500-calorie eating.

But not everyone who comes here has alot of pounds to lose. I believe we've had people who joined to do just one round with a goal of losing maybe 20-30 lbs.

I hope this gives you some helpful information! You will find this to be a friendly, outgoing bunch with plenty of good advice and support to offer.

I'm not on my regular computer but from what I recall there was a mention that one reason for stalling is because you have reached your recommended weight range for your height. so I thought since I am already in my recommended weight range I would have a tougher time losing?

Hello. It sounds like you have a lot of good advice from your trainer already. As I am sure you already know as you sound pretty educated on this topic, weight ranges are wide specifically to accomodate the fact that people have dramatically different musculatures and frame sizes. Given that you already have a specific body fat % number from your trainer to work with, you have probably decided on your own what % body fat that you want to hit. I can tell you that if you want to get below 18% you have a very small window before you stop being able to get your periods (15%), so I would say IMO that 18% itself is already great maybe 17% at the lowest.

To answer your specific question about whether the HCG will work to get you where you want to be.. below 18% body fat as opposed to simply where your body believes it should weigh, you may want to consider doing further reading on Dr. Simmeons protocol. It all comes down to whether you truly have any abnormal fat deposits. For example, if you only have 10-15 pounds to lose but it seems to accumulate in a particular area or parts of the body resistent to lose, you may happen to have abnormal fat to lose. If on the other hand, you are very close to your ideal weight and generically have 10 lbs spread throughout your body that are actually normal fat stores, your goal to get the overall % down wouldn't be met with HCG per say.

I can tell you that I read a post on another HCG board from a gentleman. He lost a significant amount of weight going from a 42 to a 30 inch waist. Eventually his % body fat was too low and the HCG stopped working for him mid round descpite the fact that he could have in theory reduced his body fat % slightly overall, because all he had left were normal not abnormal fat stores. On the flip side, I came across a HCG medical clinic's website where a doctor tells a story of a patient who was a fashion model. She had been turned away by numerous doctors for HCG due to her weight being below the scale yet when the doctor looked at her body fat, she was actually obese from a body fat percentage range. She successfully used the HCG to lose the abnormal fat that she needed and then added some much needed muscle to her frame through weight training. She ended up two sizes smaller but at the same starting weight.

So it isn't an easy question for anyone to answer for you specifically, however, you may be able to figure it out yourself.