Contemplating HCG Program

misstanyamarie

Hello all,

I have a few friends who have done the HCG program. I'm not sure I would last on 500 calories. I briefly read something about HCG Activator that Dr. Oz supports from GNC, but haven't had time to research. Can anyone help?
Where do you buy the drops? What brand?

jrich1

Go with your gut feeling, do you think its heathy to only eat 500 cals a day. I wouldnt go by what TV "doctors" promote, they get paid to endorse stuff and just like Bob and Jillian from the BL, everyone has their price.

Heather75

You will discover that few people on this site are in favour of this method of weight loss. I hope you get good advice.

dayzeerock

A diet full of nutritious, whole foods and exercise is so much better for your body, inside and out. No starvation, just hard work and dedication. You'll feel better about yourself in the long run, too...

katheern

Dieting should be a lifestyle change. You may lost a bunch of weight, but as soon as you stop doing it you will gain it all back really quickly. You should aim to do it the correct way by eating clean and healthy and exercising. Either way 500 calories a day is TERRIBLE. You should eat at LEAST 1200 (and even that I think is too low, in my opinion).

akaugher

I'm definitely not for something like this, but talk to your doctor about what they think.

paacr

I would strongly suggest doing more research, my coworker was going to do it with his wife and then after a week in they both changed their mind. I don't think 500 calories a day is healthy and you my have other health problems from it not to mention lack of nutrient.

Schwiggity

Another HCG thread....

Driagnor

Please read this link before you embark on the HCG diet. There is absolutely no scientific evidence that the HCG injections have any effect on weight loss.

http://www.tomvenuto.com/asktom/HCG_diet_is_it_a_scam.shtml

jrich1

Another HCG thread....

LOL

katheern

Another HCG thread....

Fellow Redditor?

SummerLuvR

A diet full of nutritious, whole foods and exercise is so much better for your body, inside and out. No starvation, just hard work and dedication. You'll feel better about yourself in the long run, too...

YEP!! Love this answer

dlpnrn2b

Everyone I know that did the HCG diet via a weight loss clinic or Dr. office, lost a lot of weight and lost it fast BUT within 1-2 years they have all gained the weight plus more back... I tried using the HCG drops from GNC and I tell ya what, I did lose about 5 lbs in 4 days but felt horrible, my stomach was torn up and the diet is too strict!! there is no one that can eat like that forever...so IMO.. a life style change is the way to go... just choose wisely what you eat and get a routine workout going!!

Gigi_licious

I vote DON'T DO IT!!! I've tried it twice. The first time, I lasted a little over a week, lost 15lbs, but was still starving all the time so I quit....gained back 30lbs in 3 wks! 2nd time I tried it I used a different brand that DID stop the hunger, BUT I was bad dizzy all the time. Advice from friends was "eat an apple" advice from real friends was "get off the stuff!" I would not recommend it unless the hot paramedics in your area are worth the ambulance ride when you pass out at work, but that's just my personal opinion.

Bertrole

Well just from my experience I wouldn't recommed doing anything but the shots. The drops, and the pill form is not a true form, and does not work. The shots go directly into the muscle, and overall provide the best results. They can be more expensive and you may need to find some type of physician that does the program. I recently did the program with the shots and lost almost 40 lbs, in the 40 days.

Regarding the 500 calories, honestly once your on the program the first week can sometimes be a little tough, but after that your not even that hungry during those periods, because the HCG is providing your calories for you, and you can drink all the coffee and tea you want which are natural appetite suppressants. It's just a matter of your own will to not give in to the temptations of food not recommended in the program. If you follow the program exactly, then you should be fine. If you stray away, even after your cycle, it could get you into trouble. Some people have been know to gain back the weight plus more in a short period of time when they didn't follow it correctly.

Now is this the most healthy way to lose weight, definetly not, but like I said if you follow it right you will lose the weight, and your body will in a sense reset itself to your new weight. But like I said, my thoughts are the shots are the only true way to administer the HCG. Either way you go, good luck with it!!

Driagnor

Well just from my experience I wouldn't recommed doing anything but the shots. The drops, and the pill form is not a true form, and does not work. The shots go directly into the muscle, and overall provide the best results. They can be more expensive and you may need to find some type of physician that does the program. I recently did the program with the shots and lost almost 40 lbs, in the 40 days.

Regarding the 500 calories, honestly once your on the program the first week can sometimes be a little tough, but after that your not even that hungry during those periods, because the HCG is providing your calories for you, and you can drink all the coffee and tea you want which are natural appetite suppressants. It's just a matter of your own will to not give in to the temptations of food not recommended in the program. If you follow the program exactly, then you should be fine. If you stray away, even after your cycle, it could get you into trouble. Some people have been know to gain back the weight plus more in a short period of time when they didn't follow it correctly.

Now is this the most healthy way to lose weight, definetly not, but like I said if you follow it right you will lose the weight, and your body will in a sense reset itself to your new weight. But like I said, my thoughts are the shots are the only true way to administer the HCG. Either way you go, good luck with it!!

Of course you'll lose weight eating 500 calories a day. You're at a huge calorie deficit, but it is by no means healthy. The HCG injections also have no proven scientific benefit. An extract from one of the scientific studies done on HCG states the following:

----
Chorionic gonadotropin in weight control. A double-blind crossover study.Young RL, Fuchs RJ, Woltjen MJ.JAMA. 1976 Nov 29;236(22):2495-7.

Two hundred two patients participated in a double-blind random cross-over study of the effectiveness of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) vs placebo in a wieght reduction program. Serial measurements were made of weight, skin-fold thickness, dropout rates, reasons for dropping out, and patient subjective response. There was no statistically significant difference between those receiving HCG vs placebo during any phase of this study
---

And another

---

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) in the Treatment of Obesity
A Critical Assessment of the Simeons Method. Frank Greenway and George Bray. West J Med. 1977 December; 127(6): 461--463.

Injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) have been claimed to aid in weight reduction by reducing hunger, and affecting mood as well as aiding in localized (spot) reduction. We have tested these claims in a double-blind randomized trial using injections of HCG or placebo. Weight loss was identical between the two groups, and there was no evidence for differential effects on hunger, mood or localized body measurements. Placebo injections, therefore, appear to be as effective as HCG in the treatment of obesity.

---

dnthaveasn

If you do the diet make sure you exercise. Alot of people think that you don't need to exercise while on this diet, and they end up losing muscle instead of fat. I would go through a clinic or something. Someone that will monitor you. The 500 cal is not that hard, because the shot you take (if you are doing shots) have 900-1000 calories in it. You are really eating 1400-1500 calories a day. You might get some headaches for the first week. Please don’t cheat and don’t forget to EXERCISE. The diet worked for me. It was hard at first, becuase I was used to eating like over 3000 cal a day. Yea I was knocking on 400lbs with every health problem in the world.This diet actually taught me how to eat right. I didn’t go back to getting hamburgers and fries, and I didn’t gain the weight back. I actually love eating healthy and exercising now:happy:

Research the diet and see if you like it.

klabeau

You won't feel hungry. Just remember, the 500 cals is only the begining. It's a small part of the diet. After your 23 days of drops, you have six weeks of slowing adding more cals of the right food. Do some reading on it and if you decide to do so, good luck!

MrsCon40

I would not recommend it unless the hot paramedics in your area are worth the ambulance ride when you pass out at work...

Hmmm... suddenly considering going on HCG... :smokin:

girlinahat

Hello all,

I have a few friends who have done the HCG program. I'm not sure I would last on 500 calories. I briefly read something about HCG Activator that Dr. Oz supports from GNC, but haven't had time to research. Can anyone help?
Where do you buy the drops? What brand?

I know nothing about the HCG diet, however, would you normally consider taking some form of drug into your body that you had briefly read about and hadn't had time to research?

just a thought.

brandiuntz

There have been plenty of threads on this. I don't have the links with me, but the drops/pills are a scam...they do not contain real HCG and they do NOTHING for weight loss.

The shots have been proven in multiple studies since the 1950's to NOT promote weight loss. The weight loss is from being on a 500 calorie starvation diet. Don't waste your time and money on it.

If you want to lose weight, the only true proven method is to permanently change what, and how much, you eat. Plus, exercise. It's really that simple. There is no such thing as quick permanent weight loss.

Bertrole

Of course you'll lose weight eating 500 calories a day. You're at a huge calorie deficit, but it is by no means healthy. The HCG injections also have no proven scientific benefit. An extract from one of the scientific studies done on HCG states the following:

----
Chorionic gonadotropin in weight control. A double-blind crossover study.Young RL, Fuchs RJ, Woltjen MJ.JAMA. 1976 Nov 29;236(22):2495-7.

Two hundred two patients participated in a double-blind random cross-over study of the effectiveness of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) vs placebo in a wieght reduction program. Serial measurements were made of weight, skin-fold thickness, dropout rates, reasons for dropping out, and patient subjective response. There was no statistically significant difference between those receiving HCG vs placebo during any phase of this study
---

And another

---

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) in the Treatment of Obesity
A Critical Assessment of the Simeons Method. Frank Greenway and George Bray. West J Med. 1977 December; 127(6): 461--463.

Injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) have been claimed to aid in weight reduction by reducing hunger, and affecting mood as well as aiding in localized (spot) reduction. We have tested these claims in a double-blind randomized trial using injections of HCG or placebo. Weight loss was identical between the two groups, and there was no evidence for differential effects on hunger, mood or localized body measurements. Placebo injections, therefore, appear to be as effective as HCG in the treatment of obesity.

---

But those tests state nothing about the after affects. I've found that those who were on the HCG and followed the program properly after did not gain any weight or not as much weight as the people who used the placebo. Yes the 500 calories is the reason you lose the weight. One of the reasons for the HCG shot is to have your body take the fat from the proper areas, and not to take the fat that covers your vital organs. Like I said I did it, followed it exactly as told. Lost 40 lbs, and have maintaned it. Would I recommend this to everyone, or will it work for everyone. . . probably not. Is this a healthy way to go, hell no! For me it was a jump start, I lost my weight, then got back back into the gym, am working hard, and keeping to a strict diet. If someone does the HCG then when they are done go back to their old habits, of course they are going to gain it back, and probably quicker then normal too. Now I'm not preaching for anyone to go and do it, but for me and the people around me that have done it, and did it correctly, it did work for us. And who knows it may work for you, but like people have said, do your own research. And for the prior post about exercising while on HCG, I would not do so. If you do, it's light excerise. One of things with that is, it speeds up your heart rate more than normal when you excerice too much while on HCG, and could cause issues like heart attacks. So that you have to be really careful of too.

Driagnor

But those tests state nothing about the after affects. I've found that those who were on the HCG and followed the program properly after did not gain any weight or not as much weight as the people who used the placebo. Yes the 500 calories is the reason you lose the weight. One of the reasons for the HCG shot is to have your body take the fat from the proper areas, and not to take the fat that covers your vital organs. Like I said I did it, followed it exactly as told. Lost 40 lbs, and have maintaned it. Would I recommend this to everyone, or will it work for everyone. . . probably not. Is this a healthy way to go, hell no! For me it was a jump start, I lost my weight, then got back back into the gym, am working hard, and keeping to a strict diet. If someone does the HCG then when they are done go back to their old habits, of course they are going to gain it back, and probably quicker then normal too. Now I'm not preaching for anyone to go and do it, but for me and the people around me that have done it, and did it correctly, it did work for us. And who knows it may work for you, but like people have said, do your own research. And for the prior post about exercising while on HCG, I would not do so. If you do, it's light excerise. One of things with that is, it speeds up your heart rate more than normal when you excerice too much while on HCG, and could cause issues like heart attacks. So that you have to be really careful of too.

Again, there's no scientific evidence that HCG has any beneficial effects. If you look at the link that I put up earlier in the thread, it shows the results of 9 scientific studies conducted since 1973, only one of which shows any weight loss improvement with HCG injections. In that study the researchers suggested that this may be as a result of the placebo effect. I also haven't seen any peer reviewed studies which prove that HCG makes you lose fat from specific areas. Conventional knowledge says that targeted fat loss isn't possible.

I am an advocate for people doing what works for them. However, to spend a bunch of money on something which has no proven beneficial effects and puts you on a severely restrictive diet, is both a waste of money and unhealthy.

I applaud you on keeping off the 40lbs though - most people can't maintain their weight loss, and that's something to be proud of. You seem to have gone back into maintenance mode in the right way.

klabeau

I've spent $45.00 a month for drops. After two weeks of of hcg, my regualr doctor took my off my blood pressure meds of 11 years. That to me made it worth it right there. I've lost 39 lbs since April. I have lots of engery and am healthier than I have been in years. If it's the placebo effect, bring it on! It's helped me get healthy!

stefraab

Another HCG thread....

Fellow Redditor?

don't go to reddit. it gave my computer like, a really bad virus.

misstanyamarie

I've decided against HCG and going to do the Eat Clean Diet

stefraab

good call! eating is better than not :-)