hCg: miracle or myth?

akivi73

About a week ago I received a deal in my email for 50% off of an hCg diet plan. I didn't take the deal because I'm not entirely sure about the safety or reliability of the hCg diet, but I keep thinking about trying it out. Almost every review I read is a story of how someone lost 15-20lbs in a few weeks! The diet sounds difficult, but it's only a few weeks and supposedly you're not hungry because your body is feeding off your fat stores. I think I could do it, but I can't get past the feeling that it could be harmful.

Has anyone tried hCg that can offer me some advice?

tknuzum

From what I have heard, who wouldn't loose weight only eating 500 calories aday. And I have heard that it wreaks havoc after you stop. So I would say no, good old fashion diet and excersise is the best. And only 500 calories a day? thats just crazy personally.

JPod279

I was on it for three days and it jacked up my heart and put me in the hospital for three days and kept my heart irregular for a week . Now, I have prior heart problems but this was a side effect I never saw as a possibility and made my heart situation worse than it had ever been. I know people who have been on it and had success so it is right for some people. I wanted the quick fix. It almost killed me. Naturally, I would reccomend not doing it. If you do it, once you come off you have to be very careful what you eat in order to keep the weight off.

raelynnjordan

I haven't tried it but I have read tons of medical research that says it is a hoax. The only way that it might actually work is if you get the hcg injections. The drops contain very little, if any, of the hcg hormone. Also, it constricts you to a 500 calorie per day diet, which is harmful to your body! Like I said, I haven't done it. But if you are restricting yourself to 500 calories a day... you're going to lose weight, drops or no drops. Ya know? Do your research and make sure the research is credible. Stuff I read was written by doctors. I will try to find you one of the links.

However, it is up to you... Even after I told one of my best friends about all the medical research I read up on, she still decided to do the diet. So to each his own.... Good luck to you in your weight loss journey, whichever road you decide to take.

morganadk2_deleted

Any quick fix is not worth it! just eat healthly , move more and it will come off..

mrsdrews

I know someone who used and he looks great and he swears by it, however, I am also skeptical of it. The hCg is only a small part of the diet plan. The big part of it is that you only eat 500 calories a day. I am confident that anyone who eats 500 calories a day will lose a ton of weight really fast. Your body burns more than that just keeping itself alive. Of course your body will eat it fat stores, you would be starving yourself.

smitty328

I have done it a couple of times in the past. It is a STRICT diet and even after the inital drops phase then its phase 2 which was tough too and so on...would I reccomend it???? NO, each time I have done it the weight comes right back and it isn't something I could follow for the rest of my life. Good luck on your decision.

kellykaye_xo

I've heard so many conflicting things on this too. I've even heard you can't exercise while on it because your calories are so low (not sure if it's true, just what I've heard). 500 cals a day is not enough to function...

I just wonder what happens when you get off of it? I would think your body would gain it back quickly when you go back to a normal calorie level without the hormone. Permanent lifestyle changes are the key to success over the long haul (or so I'm hoping!!).

alliecore

As a student of fitness and nutrition, there is no way I could ever recommend this drastic approach to weight loss.

I'm not going to say a lot here, because I know that there are many on here that use this and advocate it, and I absolutely refuse to argue with anyone about their reasons, beliefs, or results. That is a personal choice.

I highly encourage you to do extensive research before trying something so drastic. Are people losing massive amounts of weight in a short time? Yes. Is this healthy? Like I said, research the hell out of it, and look for sources that aren't making a profit out of promoting the product. Good luck in whatever you decide!:flowerforyou:

amehrkens

I have a friend who has one it a few times and as soon as she goes off of it she gains all the weight back. I agree with those who say any quick fix can't be good! Losing weight is a lifestyle change, nobody can maintain a 500 cal/day lifestyle for the rest of their life.

RunHardBeStrong

So here's my story...sorry if if gets a little long lol I had previously lost 80 lbs thru good old clean eating and exercise. Got off track over the holidays and we have lots of birthdays thru November, December and January gained 15 lbs back, plus I still had 50lbs to go till goal. A couple friends of mine started HCG drops and were having marvelous results. I knew it was wrong and not healthy but I got impatient and a little jealous cuz here I was working so hard and had gained as they were just putting drops in their mouths and losing like crazy so I decided to try it. Yes you lose weight like crazy, I lost 12 lbs in 10 days but I felt HORRIBLE!! Like I was floating in the clouds, weak, tired, moody and started having chest pains yes I'm only 35 yrs old and thought I was having a heart attack. I stopped the drops immediately slowly upped my cals still choosing clean healthy food and started exercising again. I have kept the 12 lbs off and I'm still losing at the rate of 3 lbs a week as I did when I lost the initial 80 and I'm happy with that. Fast is not always best. Good luck with your decision, I realize everyone will react differently but my experience was bad and that it's just a low cal diet, a very dangerous one at that.

akivi73

I think you're all correct and I just needed some realistic opinions. I need to get back to the basics, but I'm not typically a patient person and I just want to my extra weight to be gone!

@JPod279: I can't believe you ended up in the hospital! That's really scary...I had a slight hear murmur at birth...no complications with that ever and it probably corrected itself, but that does make me reconsider things.

Thanks for the input! I think I'll just be doing things the old fashioned way...

SheliaN1960

Well said everyone! About 4 years ago I lived in NC and they will use your medical insurance for weight loss, sooo I tried the shots. The diet was so strict that I had a couple of heart exams to see if my heart was stable enough for it since I was in my 40's! Okay, I got the shots, 20.00 a month and the diet was given to me. I worked two full time jobs so there was no way that I could survive on 500 calories a day. I did not follow the diet and I gave myself the shots and never ate alot of food because Iwas always working. I did not lose 1 pound. So even with the shots and little food I still did not suceed in the weight loss and they continued to give me the shots anyway. I stopped taking them after a several months and cut my carbs and the weight started to come off.
I think that anything that is "too" good to be true...is!
I would never tell anyone what to do with their own bodies, but as I get older I get more concerned with what goes into my body and at my age I need to be sure that what goes in is good for me!! Happy Thursday everyone!

diaryoffatdad

Listen people, i posted a thread about this a few days ago.....I will put it out there plain and simple

HCG is the biggest scam in weight loss period. EVERY STUDY EVER DONE SHOWS THAT IT IS NO BETTER THAN A PLACEBO.

you spend an *kitten* load of money for complete crap.

the reason you lose weight is the 500 cal diet, not the drops or injections.

YOU WILL GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK.

HCG is an approved treatment for infertility, 30ish years ago someone thought it would be brilliant to see if it worked for weightloss, it has been debunked for weightloss over and over and over for the last 30 years. dont get caught up in it, do not listen to a friend of a friend who says they did well on it. IT IS A SCAM

New research has even found that it increases your risk of transmitting MAD COW DISEASE, no joke,

Coco_Puff

You will lose alot and fast, but it's easy to gain it all right back. Also I've read that your body takes muscle from your heart because you eat so little. This can't be healthy.

alliecore

Listen people, i posted a thread about this a few days ago.....I will put it out there plain and simple

HCG is the bigges scam in weight loss period. EVERY STUDY EVER DONE SHOWS THAT IT IS NO BETTER THAN A PLACEBO.

you spend an *kitten* load of money for complete crap.

the reason you lose weight is the 500 cal diet, not the drops or injections.

YOU WILL GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK.

HCG is an approved treatment for infertility, 30ish years ago someone thought it would be brilliant to see if it worked for weightloss, it has been debunked for weightloss over and over and over for the last 30 years. dont get cought up in it, do not listen to a friend of a friend who says they did well on it. IT IS A SCAM

New research has even found that it increases your risck of transmitting MAD COW DISEASE, no joke,

I think I love you!:laugh:

lisamn26

I have never tried the diet but work in a hospital where there are a ton of nurses on this diet. The weight loss is remarkable. One lady said she has lost 40 pounds in 30 days. Thats just crazy. Anyway many of the women there have lost the weight and kept it off. However I personally am very skeptical of this diet. I just think that losing that much weight that fast could cause serious health problems. So I don't recommend it, but it does seem to be working. The Hcg Hormone is suppose to help you with the hunger part so that it is easier to restrict your calories. I would think though with so many nurses on the diet that they would be more cautious about their health. But perhaps they know more than I do.

blackhawkgirl91

I have done the HCG diet twice. It was hell (mentally) because I couldn't eat anything but vegetables and the leanest of meats. No fat, limited sugar. I lost 18-ish pounds both times in less than thirty days, and both times I gained it all back. It's a short-term solution that works only if you allow it to work. When you are done, you are supposed to build off of what you had lost. Instead, I went directly back to old habits, which is why I gained it back. If I had continued to work at it when I was done, I probably would have continued to lose.
So, based on experience, it could be a miracle or myth, depending on how hard you work afterwards. It's meant to be a jump-start, not a long-term thing. It's not harmful (as in I had no negative side-effects at all) and you are actually supposed to do it under doctor supervision.