500 Calorie Diet? Yes or No?

dancer4275

I'm thinking of going the HCG diet. You take drops of a natural substance which is supposed to help control appetite. You're only supposed to eat 500 cals a day when on it. Has anyone on mfp ever heard of it, tried it, or knows anyone who's tried it? Is this a good idea? (and please no "you would be stupid for going on this diet" comments! haha!) I'm just want to know if it's a safe, harmless diet before I actually start. Thanks!

Wait, you don't want to hear "you would be stupid for going on this diet" but you want to know if it's a "good idea," "a safe, harmless diet" and if "anyone on mfp ever heard of it"? I don't get it. Either you want advice (which can come in both pro and con), or you want people to tell you you have a good idea for going on this plan, in which case you don't want to know if it's "a good idea" or "safe, harmless" since some people on here will definitely caution you against it. You can't have it both ways.

Yes, I want advice. If yes, tell me why (only if you have valid proof). And if no, tell me why. But do it in a respectful way. That's what I was going for.

killagb

IMO, ballet dancers (because of the way the body is viewed) are some of the most notorious under eaters out there. There is no reasoning with a person who views their "normal" body as fat. At 5'8" and wanting to be 105lb is a body dysmorphia issue. So no using a 500 calorie diet to just get rid of a few pounds without approaching a sensible way isn't not the way to go.

Absolutely this. 105lbs at 5'8" is underweight. Going from a healthy weight to underweight via an extreme 500 calorie/day diet....very very bad idea.

JulieSD

My mom is doing the HCG diet now. I am doing it the MFP way-naturally. She goes to bed starving every night, i do not. She eats the same chicken, green beans and apples daily, i eat what I want in moderation. She has to give herself injections and I don't. She drank soda water last night with stevia and got sick. She is losing fast because she is starving herself, I am losing nicely too but I will keep it off.

I think I'm the winner here.

You are indeed the winner! haha! Thanks! That's more of the information I was looking for!

YOU ARE 100% the winner!

Gigi_licious

*headdesk*

AnitaMcKenna

I believe you knew the answer to your question before you even typed it, but were just hoping there were a few people on here who may vindicate a 500 cal diet.

Thankfully it seems everyone agrees with you - NO!!!

dad106

Uh no! Not at all!

You are a dancer! If you were to try and dance on that little of food you would get dizzy and collapse.. Not good!

Plus 130 is more then adequate for your height! I'm only an inch taller then you(and a former dancer mind you!) and I can only dream of weighing that.. I think 140 is the lowest I would ever go.

rainbowbow

THIS

Please read this topic:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/338789-looking-for-peeps-who-did-hcg-diet-with-bad-results

This article:
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/diet/articles/2011/03/14/hcg-diet-dangers-is-fast-weight-loss-worth-the-risk

And the following Blog.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MrsCon40/view/hcg-a-handy-reply-to-the-multitude-of-quick-fix-seekers-148860

Below is the text of the blog

So, here’s the bottom line on this “hCG Diet“.

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a hormone approved by the FDA for use in pre-pubertal boys to help aid normal sexual development, and in women to treat fertility problems. hCG is produced by the placenta and is also found in pregnant women’s urine. It is not approved for weight loss and has never been proven by credible peer reviewed science to cause weight loss. So how did hCG surface as a weight loss solution?

Back in the 1930’s, a physician named A.T.W. Simeons was using hCG for the standard reproductive medical conditions for which it was approved. He observed that some of his patients dropped weight while on the hCG injections. Thinking that perhaps the hCG was the cause, he administered the injections along with a dietary plan to overweight patients and noted weight loss. Please note that subsequent researchers repeated his clinical study and were never able to replicate any association between hCG and weight loss.

Since then, most independent, peer-reviewed studies have shown no difference in weight loss between subjects on a low-calorie diet who received hCG injections and subjects who received a placebo. In 1975, the FDA noted that hCG is not a weight loss drug. In 1995, the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published a summary of research showing no hCG related weight loss association. The American Society of Bariatric Physicians does not recommend hCG for weight loss as noted in a December 2009 position paper.

Flash forward to 2007 when Kevin Trudeau published his book “The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About“, in which he concocted a weight loss plan which included hCG injections. Trudeau has no professional training in medicine, health or science. He is widely known as a controversial businessman who has tangled with the law regarding false health claims related to his books and products. You’d think that common sense would dictate running the other way when this guy hawks anything. But, people are desperate and when they are promised rapid weight loss and an end to their misery, they’ll often line up to sign up.

What is involved with the hCG “diet”:

1) Daily injections of hCG, with online prices ranging from $30 to more than $600 for a month’s supply. One side effect is pregnancy, as hCG increases fertility among women.

2) 500 calories per day of highly restrictive food intake, including coconut oil. One tablespoon of coconut oil contains 13.6 g total fats, 11.8 g of which are artery clogging saturated fats, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.

3) A range of body “flush and detox” regimens. Here’s my quote from a prior WebMD interview about this regimen. “All the flushes and cleanses are pure nonsense, unnecessary, and there is no scientific basis for these recommendations,” says nutrition and metabolism expert Pamela Peeke, MD, chief medical correspondent for Discovery Health channel. “Your body is well equipped with organs, such as the liver and kidneys, and the immune system, to rid itself of potential toxins and do an excellent job of cleansing itself without needing flushes or cleanses.“

Here are other concerns related to this “diet”:

1) You’re starving yourself. Your brain alone requires 600 calories per day to function optimally. By consuming only 500 calories per day, of course you’ll drop weight. But at what price? You’re cannibalizing your muscle mass, reducing your metabolism and consequently the effectiveness of your calorie burning. If I had you consume only 500 calories per day and then injected you with water, should I now call this the amazing water cure for weight loss? hCG has nothing to do with your weight loss. Starvation does.

2) It’s impossible to do. So you blame yourself (and not the author) when you cannot complete his plan. This is a core element of the scam. People who are overweight already feel guilty and are often filled with shame. After having laid down a lot of cash and not being able to successfully comply for a month or more, they figure “Oh well, just another diet I’ve failed at”.

3) It is unsustainable. This regimen is almost impossible to adhere to for more than a very short period of time. There are no healthy eating or physical activity behaviors to learn. Eventually you would have to enter the real world. And then, what do you do?

4) It’s unsafe. You cannot meet your baseline survival nutritional requirements on a starvation plan. You can seriously alter your healthy intestinal bacterial flora with repeated “cleanses and detox” regimens. This can lead to altered bowel function and inability to appropriately absorb food nutrients, which can then impair immune function.

Further, many of you have a lot of weight to remove. You may also have associated medical problems, including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and high blood sugar levels. You could also be on medications to treat these as well as mental conditions like depression and anxiety. When people buy into a diet scam like hCG, they usually don’t tell their medical team. Rapid weight loss, radically altered food consumption, cleanses and detox regimens can seriously affect your underlying mental and physical conditions and alter the clearance and blood level of medications you’re taking.

Don’t turn yourself into a science fair project. Beware of these radical scam approaches as they can deleteriously affect your health and wellbeing. In the best of all worlds, you’re working with credible health professionals to remove your excess weight.

5) You’re not breaking food addictions. The promise is that you’ll no longer be addicted to food and any abnormal eating behaviors. Credible research has clearly shown that starvation and useless injections are not the solution to food addictions. Behavioral modification, healthy eating practices and regular physical activity have clearly been shown to control food addictions.

6) You’re broke. Take a moment and add up the total costs of the books and products required. That’s why I’ve renamed this “diet” the High Cost Game scam.

Finally, there will always be an endless supply of frauds and scams created to prey on your desires to drop weight. To help guide you, here are the Food and Nutrition Science Alliances’ “Ten Red Flags of Junk Science“:

* Recommendations that promise a quick fix.
* Dire warnings of danger from a single product or regimen.
* Claims that sound too good to be true.
* Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex scientific study.
* Recommendations based on a single study.
* Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations.
* Lists of “good” and “bad” foods.
* Recommendations made to help sell a product.
* Recommendations based on studies published without peer review.
* Recommendations from studies that ignore difficulties among individuals or groups.

Always remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Anything worth doing in your life requires time and effort to achieve and succeed. Run from false promises like the hCG scam. Stick with life-giving whole foods and physical activity. Now, that’s better living through your own chemistry.

http://blogs.webmd.com/pamela-peeke-md/2010/12/diet-scam-101-the-hcg-con.html

(Thank you MrsCon40 for this blog)

rainbowbow

THIS

Please read this topic:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/338789-looking-for-peeps-who-did-hcg-diet-with-bad-results

This article:
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/diet/articles/2011/03/14/hcg-diet-dangers-is-fast-weight-loss-worth-the-risk

And the following Blog.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MrsCon40/view/hcg-a-handy-reply-to-the-multitude-of-quick-fix-seekers-148860

Below is the text of the blog

So, here’s the bottom line on this “hCG Diet“.

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a hormone approved by the FDA for use in pre-pubertal boys to help aid normal sexual development, and in women to treat fertility problems. hCG is produced by the placenta and is also found in pregnant women’s urine. It is not approved for weight loss and has never been proven by credible peer reviewed science to cause weight loss. So how did hCG surface as a weight loss solution?

Back in the 1930’s, a physician named A.T.W. Simeons was using hCG for the standard reproductive medical conditions for which it was approved. He observed that some of his patients dropped weight while on the hCG injections. Thinking that perhaps the hCG was the cause, he administered the injections along with a dietary plan to overweight patients and noted weight loss. Please note that subsequent researchers repeated his clinical study and were never able to replicate any association between hCG and weight loss.

Since then, most independent, peer-reviewed studies have shown no difference in weight loss between subjects on a low-calorie diet who received hCG injections and subjects who received a placebo. In 1975, the FDA noted that hCG is not a weight loss drug. In 1995, the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published a summary of research showing no hCG related weight loss association. The American Society of Bariatric Physicians does not recommend hCG for weight loss as noted in a December 2009 position paper.

Flash forward to 2007 when Kevin Trudeau published his book “The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About“, in which he concocted a weight loss plan which included hCG injections. Trudeau has no professional training in medicine, health or science. He is widely known as a controversial businessman who has tangled with the law regarding false health claims related to his books and products. You’d think that common sense would dictate running the other way when this guy hawks anything. But, people are desperate and when they are promised rapid weight loss and an end to their misery, they’ll often line up to sign up.

What is involved with the hCG “diet”:

1) Daily injections of hCG, with online prices ranging from $30 to more than $600 for a month’s supply. One side effect is pregnancy, as hCG increases fertility among women.

2) 500 calories per day of highly restrictive food intake, including coconut oil. One tablespoon of coconut oil contains 13.6 g total fats, 11.8 g of which are artery clogging saturated fats, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.

3) A range of body “flush and detox” regimens. Here’s my quote from a prior WebMD interview about this regimen. “All the flushes and cleanses are pure nonsense, unnecessary, and there is no scientific basis for these recommendations,” says nutrition and metabolism expert Pamela Peeke, MD, chief medical correspondent for Discovery Health channel. “Your body is well equipped with organs, such as the liver and kidneys, and the immune system, to rid itself of potential toxins and do an excellent job of cleansing itself without needing flushes or cleanses.“

Here are other concerns related to this “diet”:

1) You’re starving yourself. Your brain alone requires 600 calories per day to function optimally. By consuming only 500 calories per day, of course you’ll drop weight. But at what price? You’re cannibalizing your muscle mass, reducing your metabolism and consequently the effectiveness of your calorie burning. If I had you consume only 500 calories per day and then injected you with water, should I now call this the amazing water cure for weight loss? hCG has nothing to do with your weight loss. Starvation does.

2) It’s impossible to do. So you blame yourself (and not the author) when you cannot complete his plan. This is a core element of the scam. People who are overweight already feel guilty and are often filled with shame. After having laid down a lot of cash and not being able to successfully comply for a month or more, they figure “Oh well, just another diet I’ve failed at”.

3) It is unsustainable. This regimen is almost impossible to adhere to for more than a very short period of time. There are no healthy eating or physical activity behaviors to learn. Eventually you would have to enter the real world. And then, what do you do?

4) It’s unsafe. You cannot meet your baseline survival nutritional requirements on a starvation plan. You can seriously alter your healthy intestinal bacterial flora with repeated “cleanses and detox” regimens. This can lead to altered bowel function and inability to appropriately absorb food nutrients, which can then impair immune function.

Further, many of you have a lot of weight to remove. You may also have associated medical problems, including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and high blood sugar levels. You could also be on medications to treat these as well as mental conditions like depression and anxiety. When people buy into a diet scam like hCG, they usually don’t tell their medical team. Rapid weight loss, radically altered food consumption, cleanses and detox regimens can seriously affect your underlying mental and physical conditions and alter the clearance and blood level of medications you’re taking.

Don’t turn yourself into a science fair project. Beware of these radical scam approaches as they can deleteriously affect your health and wellbeing. In the best of all worlds, you’re working with credible health professionals to remove your excess weight.

5) You’re not breaking food addictions. The promise is that you’ll no longer be addicted to food and any abnormal eating behaviors. Credible research has clearly shown that starvation and useless injections are not the solution to food addictions. Behavioral modification, healthy eating practices and regular physical activity have clearly been shown to control food addictions.

6) You’re broke. Take a moment and add up the total costs of the books and products required. That’s why I’ve renamed this “diet” the High Cost Game scam.

Finally, there will always be an endless supply of frauds and scams created to prey on your desires to drop weight. To help guide you, here are the Food and Nutrition Science Alliances’ “Ten Red Flags of Junk Science“:

* Recommendations that promise a quick fix.
* Dire warnings of danger from a single product or regimen.
* Claims that sound too good to be true.
* Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex scientific study.
* Recommendations based on a single study.
* Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations.
* Lists of “good” and “bad” foods.
* Recommendations made to help sell a product.
* Recommendations based on studies published without peer review.
* Recommendations from studies that ignore difficulties among individuals or groups.

Always remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Anything worth doing in your life requires time and effort to achieve and succeed. Run from false promises like the hCG scam. Stick with life-giving whole foods and physical activity. Now, that’s better living through your own chemistry.

http://blogs.webmd.com/pamela-peeke-md/2010/12/diet-scam-101-the-hcg-con.html

(Thank you MrsCon40 for this blog)

shonasteele

Eat a healthy balanced diet and spend your money on a therapist to help you deal with your body and food issues.

dancer4275

I believe you knew the answer to your question before you even typed it, but were just hoping there were a few people on here who may vindicate a 500 cal diet.

Thankfully it seems everyone agrees with you - NO!!!

To clear some things up about my post, I really didn't know how people would respond. I was just welcoming any helpful information on it. I feel like generally exercising and eating healthy is better than a "diet"...however, there are many people who have used diets like this and been able to successfully keep off the weight. Someone mentioned HCG to me and it peeked my interest. Before I did my own research I wanted to throw it out there. Of course, the website claims it is a great diet...I was looking for more personal stories about it. But with all of the negative feedback...I'm thinking it might be a NO afterall! haha!

AnitaMcKenna

IF YOU WANT IT FAST
IT WILL NOT LAST.

Ladies take note of this!!!!

Naughty!!!

rbryntes

There are a LOT of personal stories, some have posted links to threads. If you search the forums you can find positive and negative.

And FWIW, it's piqued, not peeked.

BondBomb

IF YOU WANT IT FAST
IT WILL NOT LAST.

Ladies take note of this!!!!

Yeah cause having a vag makes us all stupid.

dancer4275

There are a LOT of personal stories, some have posted links to threads. If you search the forums you can find positive and negative.

And FWIW, it's piqued, not peeked.

ahahaha! I realized how I spelled it after I posted!

TluvK

IF YOU WANT IT FAST
IT WILL NOT LAST.

Ladies take note of this!!!!

Yeah cause having a vag makes us all stupid.

I think he was going more for some sexual innuendo there. It was a stretch.

BondBomb

IF YOU WANT IT FAST
IT WILL NOT LAST.

Ladies take note of this!!!!

Yeah cause having a vag makes us all stupid.

I think he was going more for some sexual innuendo there. It was a stretch.

"It was a stretch"...Thats what she said! (sorry lol)

Juleeroch

OMG - You're 5'8" and you want to get to 105 lbs !! I wouldnt imagine you need to lose weight. I'm so glad this "diet" isnt in England. It sounds dangerous.

mmmichelle8486

IF YOU WANT IT FAST
IT WILL NOT LAST.

Ladies take note of this!!!!

Yeah cause having a vag makes us all stupid.

I think he was going more for some sexual innuendo there. It was a stretch.

"It was a stretch"...Thats what she said! (sorry lol)

Bahahahahahahahha....:laugh:

c2sky

IF YOU WANT IT FAST
IT WILL NOT LAST.

Love that quote!

c2sky

My mom is doing the HCG diet now. I am doing it the MFP way-naturally. She goes to bed starving every night, i do not. She eats the same chicken, green beans and apples daily, i eat what I want in moderation. She has to give herself injections and I don't. She drank soda water last night with stevia and got sick. She is losing fast because she is starving herself, I am losing nicely too but I will keep it off.

I think I'm the winner here.

You are indeed the winner! haha! Thanks! That's more of the information I was looking for!

So if it's more anecdotes that you're after, here's mine. I have had clients (I"m a trainer) try this. Because my code of ethics require me to limit my nutrition advice to very general guidelines, I have voiced my concerns, but I can't reccommend anything else. EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE I've known that has tried this, has gained the weight back!!!!!!!!! And I've known at least 20 people who have tried (who would dare tell me) EVERYONE swore to me, at first, they felt better in the beginning. (Well, yes because they were eating too much sugar and fat before) And EVERYONE I know who has tried this quit exercising or drastically altered what they did. I am not exagerrating. This is not a good idea!

dancer4275

My mom is doing the HCG diet now. I am doing it the MFP way-naturally. She goes to bed starving every night, i do not. She eats the same chicken, green beans and apples daily, i eat what I want in moderation. She has to give herself injections and I don't. She drank soda water last night with stevia and got sick. She is losing fast because she is starving herself, I am losing nicely too but I will keep it off.

I think I'm the winner here.

You are indeed the winner! haha! Thanks! That's more of the information I was looking for!

So if it's more anecdotes that you're after, here's mine. I have had clients (I"m a trainer) try this. Because my code of ethics require me to limit my nutrition advice to very general guidelines, I have voiced my concerns, but I can't reccommend anything else. EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE I've known that has tried this, has gained the weight back!!!!!!!!! And I've known at least 20 people who have tried (who would dare tell me) EVERYONE swore to me, at first, they felt better in the beginning. (Well, yes because they were eating too much sugar and fat before) And EVERYONE I know who has tried this quit exercising or drastically altered what they did. I am not exagerrating. This is not a good idea!

Thank you! Yes, I was wondering about whether or not people were able to keep it off. This info helps.

SexSeaCow

Please don't do this diet.
Aside from the dangers of eating only 500 calories a day, and aside from the fact that a crash diet like this will only give you temporary results, look into what HCG actually is. A fertility hormone?!?!?! Ugh. I don't know, maybe it's worth it to you, but there is no way I'd want to put something like that into my body to lose a few pounds.

Thomasm198

Thank you! Yes, I was wondering about whether or not people were able to keep it off. This info helps.

To the OP: I posted a link to a topic on MFP about people who have had bad experiences with HCG, a link to a news article and a link to a blog here on MFP.

Please, if you haven't done it already. Go and read those links. You will get all the information you want (particularly in the topic about people who have had bad experiences). :flowerforyou:

CoraGregoryCPA

You will be tired and crabby. No one will want to be around you and you will look like a balloon that lost its air. It will be horrible. Good luck! My dad, brother-in-law, uncle and aunt did it. They've gained it bag and they seriously look like a balloon that losts its air.

CoraGregoryCPA

Have you heard of Dr. Oz? Go to his website and look up this topic. He had a whole episode dedicated to it.

Personally, I think Dr. Oz is an idiot.

313telenurse

Your body actually goes into starvation mode if you eat any less than 1200 calories per day. I always wondered how I was so chubby when I hardly ate any food, that's why. During starvation mode, you will hold onto the fat making it harder to lose.

313telenurse

... not to mention you cannot possibly continue with that sort of diet, so once you start to eat more again you will gain it all back if you do lose anything.

Justkeepswimmin

just want to know if it's a safe, harmless diet before I actually start. Thanks!

No. Of course, there are people out there who have managed to starve the weight off without getting sick. Um, yay? You might be one of them or you might be the one who has half her hair fall out and collapses in the middle of the grocery store. I'd prefer not to take that chance myself.

Not to make light of this seriously deranged diet plan but.... if you're eating 500 calories a day WHY would you need to go to a grocery store?

dancer4275

Thank you! Yes, I was wondering about whether or not people were able to keep it off. This info helps.

To the OP: I posted a link to a topic on MFP about people who have had bad experiences with HCG, a link to a news article and a link to a blog here on MFP.

Please, if you haven't done it already. Go and read those links. You will get all the information you want (particularly in the topic about people who have had bad experiences). :flowerforyou:

Thank you! I have not seem them yet, but I'm checking them out now!

maidentl

Not to make light of this seriously deranged diet plan but.... if you're eating 500 calories a day WHY would you need to go to a grocery store?

:laugh: Maybe she had a family who actually ate food! It was a woman's story on Dr. Oz. I think it was the grocery store, anyway. Perhaps she was picking up her apple for the day!