HCG Diet? Thoughts?

TheNewStacie

I'm curious if anyone has tried this? I know it's supposed to be a hard diet to follow, but I have a friend following this diet with her Dr and in 9 weeks has dropped 58 lbs. All I can say is if I had a loss like that I'd be ecstatic. I'm open to any thoughts and opinions please, thanks!

dbanks80

Go under the link General Weight loss and there is a link "HCG is Dangerous"

There seems to be a heated debate on this. I have no opinion one way or other. I am just reading the posts.

Good Luck.

dbanks80

I mean the section is "General Diet and Weight Loss Help"

TheKitsune6

My friend went on it and she finally stopped when her DR. begged her to stop. It's really up to the individual and I don't begrudge anyone that does it - but I would never want to do it.

jamie1888

My opinion, since you asked.... if you lose the weight too quickly, as you would in this case, you are not just losing body fat, you are losing muscle as well! Less muscle = no bueno! When you lose weight on a fad diet, you are more likely to gain the weight back. Any diet that has you eating 500 calories per day = no bueno! Not only is that not enough fuel for your body, you aren't taking in the valuable nutrients that your body needs everyday! Any diet that tells you NOT to eat veggies for any period of time is rediculous! Everyone wants a quick fix to get the weight off. But, being skinny does not equate to being healthy! A strong, well nourished body is a healthy body! Why not learn to live a lifestyle that you can adapt for the rest of your life?
Wow, I love giving my opinion!

weaklink109

As someone who has successfully lost weight on HCG (I am doing so right now), I would suggest that before jumping to conclusions, try EDUCATING yourselves. It is not for everyone and requires a commitment to eating clean and following the dietary limitations. You don't starve because your body obtains energy from the stored fat that you burn as a result of the HCG and the accompanying low carb eating plan.

Done properly, and following the dietary rules AFTER the low calorie phase, many people have successfully lost and kept weight off. Obviously, anyone with medical issues should be under a doctor's care before they adopt ANY major change in diet. Injections are not necessary. I am using sub lingual homeopathic drops., and I am also taking appropriate supplements--just as I would do regardless of what eating plan I was following.

This program has enabled me break a plateau and lose 21 lbs. since July 19th, and I never felt better. I continue to do the walking I did before. I did my research before deciding to do this, and my DOCTOR was very pleased in an appointment 2 weeks ago with the progress I have made.

The protocol was developed by a DOCTOR and has been around for a long time. Since the information is in the public domain, the diet industry can't make money off it, so not surprisingly, a lot of people are just hearing about it.

I am about to end my first round of low calorie eating. Thereafter, I will stop taking HCG, but still be eating clean, up to 2000 calories per day, while limiting starch and sugar, and allowing my body to adjust to a weight I haven't seen in almost 30 years. In a few weeks, I will start another round of HCG and the low calorie protocol and lose the rest of what I want to lose.

If you don't want to try it, that is your choice, but don't make assumptions about the program, based on all the hysteria that is out there. You can read the original document that explains the science behind it by googling "Pounds and Inches." The full manuscript is readily available for free at several online sites.

If anyone is planning on posting anything along the lines of my heading for hell in a left-handed basket, remember it is pretty difficult to argue successfully against weight loss success and improved health, so let your fingers do the walking to the web and learn some facts instead.

EDIT : to add> The post above mine is typical of someone who really does NOT know the facts. Vegetables are a part of the low calorie eating plan.

RushinBruisette

I would just suggest cutting processed foods/sugars and upping the lean protein, water, fruits and veggies and exercise, good luck.

Galathea

I agree with jamie.

Everybody is looking for the miracle, the perfect solution to lose 100 lbs in 10 days. But it doesn't work this way. It's easy to forget that your body is a living thing. It will react on everything you do to it, good or bad. Maybe you don't see or feel the reation right away. But sooner or later it will happen.
I don't like my body at the moment, that's why I'm trying to change something about it. But I definitely don't hate it enough to endanger it or to do something like this diet to it.
Just my two cents...

xarrium

If you do decide to go ahead with it, make sure you do all your homework and find a physician with a brain to supervise you... just because a doctor says they'll supervise doesn't mean they're qualified to do so, you need to treat something like this as it should be treated: you'll be injecting a hormone which will really affect your body, and there's the potential for serious damage if you aren't careful. I also agree with the poster who said that not all weight loss is good... to maintain any given weight, you need lean body mass and an eating plan that you can stick with for the rest of your life, and I highly doubt that anybody is going to inject hCG forever.

Whichever road you choose, good luck!

skinnytayy

The HCG Diet is just another fad diet honestly. It's been deemed as "unsafe for weight loss" by the FDA and it's illegal to buy it online without a prescription. I reposted a blog which explains the hidden secrets behind it. And this is the thing, with any "diet", if you can't live that way forever then you'll gain the weight right back as soon as you lose it. Not to mention, 500 calories is EXTREMELY low for the human body and you'll do yourself more harm than good with it because if you only eat 500 calories daily, your body is not getting enough important nutrients used to function properly. So the best thing to do is eat right and exercise the old fashioned way. Enjoy a treat here and there as well. You might not lose 85lbs in 9 weeks but when you do reach your ideal weight you can look back and be proud of yourself for working so hard to become healthier. It's a major accomplishment. Good luck!

Skinnytime

Works great. Especially if you are over 40. It tells your metabolism to gett off it's a@@ and start burning fat! You are only on a vlcd for 20 - 40 days, depending on how much weight you have to lose. Then you eat normally, except for starches and sugars. Three weeks later, you reintroduce starches and sugars. It almost re-trains your metabolism.

For me, it was an excellent detox. I ate all organic. My skin is clear! My hair looks great. I can't say enough good things about it. My muscles are well defined. I can finally wear calf boots because my calves are finally thin enough to fit in them!

Of course, there are those who are uninformed and call it dangerous! The only dangerous thing is that it teaches you to eat properly and that you don't need empty calories in your life.

If someone wants to know about it, then read Pounds and Inches on the net.

If a person just wants to bash it - bash away, but those who have been successful with it know you're just bashing it outnof frustration or ingnorance.

MayberryMama

Well, I've done it FOUR times - twice with injections and twice with drops and I will tell you that it definitely works. The first time I lost 35 lbs in 40 days and each time after that I lost at least 15-20 lbs.

HAVING SAID THAT - obviously since I am still on these boards and still fighting the battle of the bulge - NO, it did not stay off. Anyone can starve themselves for a month and lose weight. The key is sticking with it and transitioning to a healthy diet and lifestyle after the HCG is over with.

I love HCG I would recommend it to anyone who has first read Dr. Simeon's Protocol and educated themselves on it - my Dr. is the one who put me on it in the first place and like I said, I did lose a lot of weight. But if your problem is food addiction, this is not the answer because it's not dealing with your habit.

lovetotrain

Heck no! Tell me how much of that weight your friend gains back, and then some, one year from now. There is NO quick fix. This is a lifestyle.

jamie1888

All of these fad diets seem to work if you follow them... you limit yourself to 500 calories or whatever per day, OF COURSE you will lose weight quickly. Whether it's calorie restriction, cutting carbs, injections, whatever...... these things will work and you will lose weight. But, unless you plan on eating the same way for the rest of your life, you will gain weight back. There are some that adapt South Beach or Atkins type diets forever, and will keep the weight off. Yes, because they stick to the diet. But, my thought is, if you don't want to eat this way for the rest of your life, why not learn to eat properly now, eat the foods you love, don't pay for injections or books or whatever else..... adapt a lifestyle that you can live with for the rest of your life and you there's no way that you can fail.

I eat healthy most of the time, exercise frequently and enjoy the occassional treats (pizza, cupcakes, whatever). I know that I do not want to live my life without cupcakes! What kind of life is that? So, I allow my self occassional taboo type foods and I don't feel guilty about anything. I know that my 1 week of healthy eating and exercise will not be "all for nothing" because I ate one cupcake or had 2 slices of pizza on Friday night.

Skinnytime

Also, all you young girls have no clue how really hard it is to lose weight after 40. Believe me at 18 and 20 and even 30 all I had to do was eat right and exercise - in fact, I didn't bother. I was 89 pounds of solid muscle when I was 30. After 40 it changes big time. You may bash now, but when you're 40 you'll be looking for this miracle.:devil:

weaklink109

The HCG Diet is just another fad diet honestly. It's been deemed as "unsafe for weight loss" by the FDA and it's illegal to buy it online without a prescription. I reposted a blog which explains the hidden secrets behind it. And this is the thing, with any "diet", if you can't live that way forever then you'll gain the weight right back as soon as you lose it. Not to mention, 500 calories is EXTREMELY low for the human body and you'll do yourself more harm than good with it because if you only eat 500 calories daily, your body is not getting enough important nutrients used to function properly. So the best thing to do is eat right and exercise the old fashioned way. Enjoy a treat here and there as well. You might not lose 85lbs in 9 weeks but when you do reach your ideal weight you can look back and be proud of yourself for working so hard to become healthier. It's a major accomplishment. Good luck!

You are entitled to your opinion, but let us be clear that purchasing homeopathic medicines online is NOT ILLEGAL in the US. (I am not addressing other country's laws because I don't care to take the time to find out if that is a true statement around the world or not.)

I have seen the blog post you refer to, and it is full of hysterical misinformation, because, amazingly enough, anyone can post anything they want to on a blog--regardless of whether the facts support their position. Sometimes freedom of speech is a two- edged sword.

No one on HCG continues to eat at 500 calories per day indefinitely, as I previously stated. And by the way, I don't recall ANYONE saying that anyone lost "85 pounds in 9 weeks." Even HCG can't work THAT quickly.

The proof is in my ticker. After spending 6 months waiting for conventional dieting methods to get me over my plateau, I took a different approach, HCG, and the results, as I previously posted, are 21 lbs. lost in 6 weeks. That is at the low end of the results I have seen others obtain.

TheKitsune6

If you don't want to try it, that is your choice, but don't make assumptions about the program, based on all the hysteria that is out there. You can read the original document that explains the science behind it by googling "Pounds and Inches." The full manuscript is readily available for free at several online sites.

You aught to be able to present your argument without being as rude as you just were. Your attacks are completely uncalled for and work against your argument (credibility is lost).

You attacked me for no reason - I specifically only laid out what I knew. There was no speculation. I said it wasn't something I would want to try and my friend's DOCTOR begged her to stop doing it. This is not hysteria I found on the internet and to jump to that conclusion is uneducated and rude.

lutzsher

Sorry Weaklink109 but you will likely not find a lot of people who support this "fad" diet. Anything that promotes you to eat fewer calories than your body needs each day, trying to tell you that your body will just automatically burn off your fat that way, is dangerous and misleading.
Any weightloss that is done any other way but through diligence to eat "clean" and healthy and exercise is just a farce, a money grab for all those people who don't want to put in the work to DO IT RIGHT.
I have a history of attempting all fad diets and know from personal experience that they are garbage. Someone who is overweight needs to relearn how to live healthy, how to not let food rule you, and how to get off the couch and move . . . any quick scheme is just that . . . a scheme meant to take money out of your wallet for their benefit, not yours.
For the first time in my life I know that I will live a healthy and strong life . . . because I have completely changed my life not "bought" a "quick get skinny" promise from some company that is in the business to make money, not to care about my health.

TheKitsune6

If a person just wants to bash it - bash away, but those who have been successful with it know you're just bashing it outnof frustration or ingnorance.

Again - unnecessarily rude.

Galathea

Also, all you young girls have no clue how really hard it is to lose weight after 40. Believe me at 18 and 20 and even 30 all I had to do was eat right and exercise - in fact, I didn't bother. I was 89 pounds of solid muscle when I was 30. After 40 it changes big time. You may bash now, but when you're 40 you'll be looking for this miracle.:devil:

Nope, I won't, because I learn now how to eat healthy and how to treat my body with respect. I learn the basic things again. And I know I'm able to stick with it... for the rest of my life. The weight I lose now (no matter how long it takes) will sty off, because I'm in for a life style change, not for a diet.
I'm really happy it worked for you. Honestly. And I know it's hard for a woman to lose weight after 40. But it changes nothing about my opinion. And you can believe me, I have done my homework about this. Everybody can do what they want. But I know it's nothing for me.

Skinnytime

Wow! are we "touchy" I didn't read anything (except all the hcg bashing) as being an attack or being particularly rude or uninformed. I guess as long as we follow the conventional 1200 calories and eat your exercise calories then we're okay. The minute people defend something else, we're suddenly "attacking"
I just love it.
Any HCGers forget this thread. People here don't want info. They want drama. I'm going home.

jamie1888

Sorry Weaklink109 but you will likely not find a lot of people who support this "fad" diet. Anything that promotes you to eat fewer calories than your body needs each day, trying to tell you that your body will just automatically burn off your fat that way, is dangerous and misleading.
Any weightloss that is done any other way but through diligence to eat "clean" and healthy and exercise is just a farce, a money grab for all those people who don't want to put in the work to DO IT RIGHT.
I have a history of attempting all fad diets and know from personal experience that they are garbage. Someone who is overweight needs to relearn how to live healthy, how to not let food rule you, and how to get off the couch and move . . . any quick scheme is just that . . . a scheme meant to take money out of your wallet for their benefit, not yours.
For the first time in my life I know that I will live a healthy and strong life . . . because I have completely changed my life not "bought" a "quick get skinny" promise from some company that is in the business to make money, not to care about my health.

I need a "LIKE" button here! :flowerforyou:

skinnytayy

LOL Some of you people are flat out ridiculous. While I am young, I know alot about weight. My mother is over 40 and struggles and has tried every diet under the sun so actually I know plenty.

& To the one who quoted my reply, First and foremost, that was the first bad thing that i heard about the HCG diet so after spending my time on google, I found lots of facts about it that are hidden behind many pro-HCG diet sites. I don't care what anyone thinks, it is COMMON SENSE that HCG diet is pretty ridiculous. I am entitled to my own opinion and you all need to learn to respect it besides trying to change it because it isn't going to happen. I am far more educated than most of you probably assume. Most of my family was/is in the medical field so I picked up alot in my day. Not your average 18 year old AT ALL.

TheKitsune6

Wow! are we "touchy" I didn't read anything (except all the hcg bashing) as being an attack or being particularly rude or uninformed. I guess as long as we follow the conventional 1200 calories and eat your exercise calories then we're okay. The minute people defend something else, we're suddenly "attacking"
I just love it.
Any HCGers forget this thread. People here don't want info. They want drama. I'm going home.

Calling people jealous and ignorant is not being informative or helpful. Just so you know.

Skinnytime

Nope, I won't, because I learn now how to eat healthy and how to treat my body with respect. I learn the basic things again. And I know I'm able to stick with it... for the rest of my life. The weight I lose now (no matter how long it takes) will sty off, because I'm in for a life style change, not for a diet.
I'm really happy it worked for you. Honestly. And I know it's hard for a woman to lose weight after 40. But it changes nothing about my opinion. And you can believe me, I have done my homework about this. Everybody can do what they want. But I know it's nothing for me.
[/quote]

I wish the same for you. I hope you are steadfast and strong. I can honestly say I said those same things. For you, I hope you are able to do as you say:flowerforyou:

jamie1888

Wow! are we "touchy" I didn't read anything (except all the hcg bashing) as being an attack or being particularly rude or uninformed. I guess as long as we follow the conventional 1200 calories and eat your exercise calories then we're okay. The minute people defend something else, we're suddenly "attacking"
I just love it.
Any HCGers forget this thread. People here don't want info. They want drama. I'm going home.

It's not that we don't want the info... it's the fact that fad diets are a hot topic. It's like debating pro-life vs. pro-choice; you aren't going to change anybody's opinion and the discussions ALWAYS get heated! :devil:

To each his own, I guess. What works for some, may not work for others. Good luck to anyone that tries anything to make themselves healthy; whatever method you choose! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

dbanks80

Well, I've done it FOUR times - twice with injections and twice with drops and I will tell you that it definitely works. The first time I lost 35 lbs in 40 days and each time after that I lost at least 15-20 lbs.

HAVING SAID THAT - obviously since I am still on these boards and still fighting the battle of the bulge - NO, it did not stay off. Anyone can starve themselves for a month and lose weight. The key is sticking with it and transitioning to a healthy diet and lifestyle after the HCG is over with.

I love HCG I would recommend it to anyone who has first read Dr. Simeon's Protocol and educated themselves on it - my Dr. is the one who put me on it in the first place and like I said, I did lose a lot of weight. But if your problem is food addiction, this is not the answer because it's not dealing with your habit.

Well said

TheNewStacie

Wow, I definitely didn't mean to start a debate :-) But thank you everyone for your comments. I had only read a little bit on it and didn't know as much information about it, now that I've gotten more info I don't think this is the way to go for me, but I want to thank everyone for helping me with information and resources.

Jennyzfit

I googled it and read about it. Seems un-natural to me. I think it may have long term effects. :grumble: Just use MFP and do a bit of exercise and you'll be fine. It's better to lose weight slowly than to quickly. Just my thoughts but I would definately stay away from that diet.

ppatchell

I have personal experience with HCG. I did it on a Doctor supervised plan. I did it for 3 months at a cost of $700.00 a month plus $20 per B-12 shot you had to get 2X a week

I can say It worked, I lost 40 lbs...

BUT...I was always hungry and I got so sick of the same bland food every day plus I was going broke. As soon as I stopped taking the HCG my weight went back on in 2 month's time plus another 16 lbs.

I'm also a breast cancer survivor so when I did the research and found out that there weren't enough studies to prove that the HCG hormone WASN'T going to cause a reoccurance (because it's a hormone) I quit taking it.

I think this diet is just that 'a DIET' it's a temporary fix to a much more permanent problem... unhealthy choices, lack of exercise and lack of portion control.

I'm not saying that it won't work for you because it worked for me... it's just... at what cost??

rob1976

I'll throw my $0.02 in here and dispel some myths. First, the HCG protocol has been around since the 60's, so it's NOT a fad diet. Second, $700/month for the HCG protocol is highway robbery. My wife and I are both on the diet and our expenses are ~$150 for a 2-month supply. Third, before you open your mouth to say that "500 cals a day are not enough", please understand that you are NOT living on 500 cals a day. Anyone that says that has no idea what they are talking about. Read the specifics of the diet before you start spouting off untruths. If you are considering the HCG diet, search the forums here. There's a thread for people that are on the diet or considering it. Go there. Read the testimonies. Ask your questions. Consider the answers. Form your own opinions. Make an educated choice. But most importantly, don't let someone else's opinion sway your own. Opinions are like buttcracks - everyone has one and they all stink.