yeah, the HCG thing is pretty hairy. 500 calories is starvation, even the geneva convention demands more nutrition than that.
you may have knocked your metabolism for a loop, but you certainly haven’t destroyed it. i’m afraid there isn’t anything better than to eat and exercise in a healthy fashion, but don’t worry that doing this WON’T work. you’re not permanently broken!
khairete
suz
Hi Jessica. First of all, don’t be so hard on yourself! I don’t see it as you making a terrible mistake, you were trying something and it didn’t work out- that’s all! And whoever said you tried taking the ‘easy way out’ is way off base. Living on 500 calories a day doesn’t sound easy to me at all! Just think of this as a big lesson, and maybe the wake up call you need to just start again in a healthier way.
You’ve got great ideas so far in terms of tricks and things to try. I’m a big fan of little things adding up. You already said you are walking at lunch and not eating the candy available at work- give yourself credit for those, both big helps!!
I am not usually a big eater at breakfast, but find that I really am hungrier all day when I don’t eat it. Do try a healthy, protein filled breakfast. Hopefully that keeps you on track more during the day. And I second (or maybe thrid!) the grazing idea. I tend to eat little meals 4-5 times per day, and don’t ever feel like a huge dinner. This has helped me. My husband doesn’t eat much all day, and is STARVING at dinner and always eats way too much.
Do keep on top of your medical stuff, making sure that hormones or thyroid issues are not complicating things for you. Once you feel confident that you are healthy, just keep working on the rest.
Again, I hope you don’t beat yourself up for the HCG experiment. It just wasn’t for you, as it hasn’t worked for lots of other people. Live and learn, you were trying to do something for yourself, that’s the point. So try something else now! And remember, you are already doing some healthy things, just add more. You’ll get there!
Good luck!
roflmao…that WHOLE question…all that dieting info…
And almost at the very end (and in the SWH even) you say you eat a lot of candy at work, and apparently JUST started exercising. A sweat breaking 15 minutes per day.
Whew…
Reminds me of people with credit card debt complaining about the system’s unfairness and then only pay the minimum each month.
Your body will change when you change.
Yep, I’m the problem. I made you gain weight. I made you eat candy. I made you not exercise. And I put you on some crazy fad diet.
While your PM to me was fairly crude, I’ll respond here. You are seeking a solution to a problem. I pointed out that your problem isn’t on the outside. There is no outside force making you gain weight. The problem, and hence the solution - are inside of you.
But you don’t want to look there. You don’t want to commit to exercise. You can’t even put down all the facts in your original question.
Did you send a nasty PM to everyone else that recommended you end the fad diets and move?
But no, you didn’t hurt my feelings. You just confirmed that you aren’t really looking for a solution - you only want sympathy. And I’m sorry, I have none for you.
So much drama! And now you have stopped even talking about the subject of weight loss (I notice you keep avoiding the mere mention of the word exercise) and are focusing solely on me.
Am I going to be your excuse as to why you don’t exercise tonight? Is that why you want to make this about me? Some internet meanie posted their own opinion to a question I asked of ANYONE, so now I’m going to pout?
Let’s get back to your question, shall we. Nobody cares about which diet you were on. You’re off of it. Nobody cares whether you ate candy yesterday or MONTHS ago. Old news.
All of us. Even myself - only care about one thing. What are you going to do now?
I want you to take a walk. 30 minutes - none of this mambo-pamby 15 minutes. And your job/hobby/chores DO NOT COUNT AS EXERCISE.
Get your butt moving, and the rest will take care of itself. You’re a smart woman - you can choose healthy food. Asking for a list of what to eat is called procrastinating. Posting on the internet instead of just walking is procrastinating.
So I do hope you’re mad at me. Mad enough to go take a walk! 
I am so sorry! You are right - I hadn’t read your questions closely enough. You asked:
“Any suggestions besides increase calories to a higher amount with healthy foods and exercise?”
Sorry, I don’t have any other suggestions.
Your metabolism will recover, but it might take a little while.
I highly recommend the book “Stop Counting Calories and Start Losing Weight”. There are no gimmicks and no other products to buy.
This is the method I used to lose 31 lbs and get back to my pre-kids size. It took 5 months. It has been just over 2 years since I met my goal and the weight has stayed off.
Have you looked into Juicing, if not look into it. I was having such a hard time losing the weight after my third baby. And the juicing help kick those pounds. Good Luck the more you stress the more you will gain, so just relax and you well reach you’ll goal before you know know it !! Good Luck and keep going!!!
To answer some of the questions below. I did do the HCG injections through a Dr. When I was still starving and gaining weight, she increased the HCG, told me to add a protein breakfast like egg beaters or a whey protein shake (breakfast is not on the protocol), and move my fruit to the afternoon or after dinner. She also prescribed an appetite suppressant. Doing all this, it still didn’t work, so I quit the HCG. I was depriving myself to 500 calories a day and not cheating at all. It wasn’t worth it. I have eliminated virtually all carbs and sugars from my diet and mostly ate lean meat and veggies with 2 fruits per day. When I started the HCG, I had blood work done including my thyroid, and everything came back ok, except I was low on vitamin D and iodine. So I’ve been taking supplements. As far as things changing in my life, during the course when I gained all the weight, I stopped doing in home daycare, where I was on my feet all day, to a part time desk job. I will admit, my boss has an abundant supply of candy, and I often ate it. No more though. I also, started walking for 15 minutes at lunch, just to get off my butt. And now that I’m off the HCG, I will begin using my eliptical.
Aileene P- Wow, you are a real piece of work. I haven’t had candy at work in MONTHS! When people were concerned why I gained so much weight in 14 months, I was explaining that my thyroid is fine, but I HAD had some issues eating candy at work. I had a lot of changes from being on my feet all day to sitting at a desk and yes, having candy from time to time. Also, if you knew anything about the HCG diet, you would know that you aren’t supposed to work out while on it. I was simply saying that since I am not doing the diet anymore, and am trying to go the traditional route, that yes, I am working toward bigger goals with exercise. Yes, I am walking 15 minutes at lunch since I now have a desk job, which I’m sure has attributed to weight gain. And now that I am off the HCG, I am going to begin using the elliptical to begin an exercise regime. I don’t need your criticism or your nastiness.
Once again, you are making assumptions and you clearly didn’t read my original question. I know my mistakes. I know why I’ve gained weight. I’ve spent months soul searching and I tried a diet out of desperation that was too good to be true. Some people have had good success on it, as one poster has below. But for me, it didn’t work. However, I have heard horror stories about how the HCG messes with your metabolism and it becomes virtually impossible to lose weight on your own after using it. My original question was for people who had HCG experience or knew someone that did. My original question was asking if anyone had experience losing weight (the right way) after HCG. My original question was not meant for someone as sarcastic as you that has no experience with the stuff. If you paid attention, I already ended the “fad” diet, and am doing it the right way. And to answer your question, no one else posted as rudely and sarcastic as you, so no, I did not pm anyone else. Only you deserved that.