VENT! Mom is starting up with the HCG diet (AKA Starve yourself) diet AGAIN!

AngiesCookie

Just needing to vent! She's only 5'3" and I'd say 120 lbs.. so she's only got a max of 10 lbs on her, belly area mostly. she just turned 60 but works out and is in decent shape, but likes to diet every now & then to get back into her size 8 clothing instead of 10/12.
She tried low carb and just really didn't stick with it for too long. She loves her salty snacks and just didn't put her heart into it.

Instead she is going Back on the HCG stupid *kitten* diet again. Jesus save me. 500 calories a day for 24 days. I HATE watching her do it. and she is so stubborn, and I think she likes the "control" factor she has to do, sheer willpower.. she always looses weight on it, but she eats like nothing practically and I have to see her eat her 1 6 ox plain chicken breast for a meal,. and then she talks about how she is hungry. then she proceeds to tell ME that how is my "low carb" eating sustainable? UMMM.. excuse me? you only do the HCG diet for 24 days max, then you stop.. this is at least the 3rd or 4th time she's done it over the years, and that is obviously NOT a way of eating long term. and she also gains back her little belly after too.. but yet, somehow, that is better for her?? UUUUGHHHH. She suggested a bet with me on who can get to their goal weight first. I'm looking to loose probably 20 lbs. she needs 10, but I know those last 10 on her will take a while. I told her I would rather eat steaks drizzled in butter with sautéed mushrooms over it for 120 days than do her restrictive starvation diet for 24 days. she disagrees. So frustrating. this cant be healthy for her body. miracle drops my *kitten*!

http://www.webmd.com/diet/hcg-and-weight-loss#1

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/expert-answers/hcg-diet/faq-20058164

KnitOrMiss

All I can say is that my own doctor did the HCG, then swore she would never do it again... And (HUGS) because at least your mom is **trying** to fight back, just in her own skewed way... Would she pay attention to videos?

Oh, and ask her about menopause, because restricting fats in her diet is going to probably kick her fully into it or make it horribly worse. Sex hormones are driven my healthy fats in the diet...

But just (HUGS).

Sunny_Bunny_

I can't even imagine all the muscle she's going to lose!

At her age, her minimum recommended protein intake is higher to prevent sarcopenia and most, if not all of her dietary protein will go to filling the glucose need and then her lean body mass is next on the chopping block.
If she's working out too, I'd almost bet that 60% of any weight she loses is from lean mass. Which of course means that after the diet, she will need to eat even fewer calories to maintain the new weight.

Gamliela

500 caloris a day is so scary especially for a woman over 60. idk what I would say to her though, most people get set on some routine and are hard to shift away from that. Sorry for your frustration, I know its hard to see someone you love hurting themselves like that.

cstehansen

Unfortunately, even though you are now an adult, your mom may always look at you as her "little girl" and therefore assume she knows better than you. If she is going to be brought to her senses, it will probably need to come from someone who is in good health and in her generation (or thereabouts).

AngiesCookie

cstehansen wrote: »

Unfortunately, even though you are now an adult, your mom may always look at you as her "little girl" and therefore assume she knows better than you. If she is going to be brought to her senses, it will probably need to come from someone who is in good health and in her generation (or thereabouts).

very good point! I sent her 2 articles I found online about why it is NOT recommended- from WebMD & mayo clinic

mmultanen

ug. I hate that diet. Some of the people that report to me did it about 3 years ago. All dropped UH-MAAAAZING weight but it was all back by the holidays.

dono, if it would help but you could try just simply saying to each other that you will not comment, or discuss each other's ways of eating or weight loss methods. Sometimes, you just need that boundary with people.....moms.

cstehansen

AngiesCookie wrote: »

cstehansen wrote: »

Unfortunately, even though you are now an adult, your mom may always look at you as her "little girl" and therefore assume she knows better than you. If she is going to be brought to her senses, it will probably need to come from someone who is in good health and in her generation (or thereabouts).

very good point! I sent her 2 articles I found online about why it is NOT recommended- from WebMD & mayo clinic

I read those because I had never heard of this diet before. It seems like a ludicrous concept. I can't imagine even considering it. Of course, I'm a guy and the potential side effect of getting boobs is not appealing.

What I meant in my comment is someone else may need to give her that kind of information in a way that seems completely unconnected to you. Just the fact it comes from you may be a sticking point even though the links are from respected organizations.

Gallowmere1984

At her size, 500 kcals/day would work fine IF it were all from protein and EFAs. After reading what the people are told to eat though, yeah, lots of catabolism. Seriously, even PEDs won't save you when you cut that hard and include *kitten* like fruit and bread.

ETA: since she seems to want to run a vlcd anyway, for the love of god, tell her to at least do it right. Make her read The Rapid Fatloss Handbook by Lyle McDonald.

cedarsidefarm

OMG 500 calories for 8 weeks. Yikes, I'd be so hungry I'd start eating the furniture. And you get injections or pills of hormones? Jeez, talk about messing with your metabolism. It does not sound safe.
But what can you do, she's an adult?

kpk54

I commend your mom for only being about 10 pounds overweight and working out regularly at the age of 60. I don't recommend very low calorie diets or HCG so understand your concern but in the world of diets, there are a plethora of folks who don't agree with eating a fatty piece of beef slathered with butter. Nor do they think it is healthy.

Your mom and I are the same age. If not for "medically therapeutic keto", I probably wouldn't have moved to the dark side for maintenance. We were bombarded with "fat is bad" all of our 60 years and that is a bit difficult to forget and change.

wozy46

I'm 70 and have a long history of eating very low fat/calories in efforts to lose weight per doctor's instruction. My (former) doc suggested that I use HCG and I prob would have done it if I had had the $$$. When I do IF, I sometimes am full at slightly over 500 cals of nutrient dense food for the day. Too bad the HCG folks don't realize that IF would be a much healthier and less expensive way of achieving the same goal. Maybe not as quickly, but definitely more sustainable. I hope your mom seriously considers your input. She's blessed to have you care enough to advise her.