HCG diet?

supergal73

Has anyone here done the hCG diet. I hear it helps you lose a lot of weight? But does it keep the weight off? Thoughts?

VelociMama

It's a waste of money. HCG was actually banned by the FDA in all but injectable form so any drops or anything you can order over the counter is actually not HCG at all. The FDA has also issued a statement stating that injection of HCG for weight loss is not an authorized use of the hormone and that it's both ineffective and potentially dangerous.

The weight loss from HCG comes from the 500-800 calorie diet that is often prescribed alongside the HCG supplements, not the HCG itself.

Sources:

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm281333.htm

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/MedicationHealthFraud/ucm282465.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3609673

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2405506

Long story short, don't bother with it. Just stick to a reasonable diet and fitness program and be patient.

Also, there's been a lot of heated discussion on HCG here in the past, and MFP does not condone this diet due to its ineffectiveness and potential health hazards, so this thread will likely be shut down.

Good luck reaching your goals nonetheless!

alaskaang

Yes it can help you lose weight. And yes, you have to get the prescription version, although it is available in sublingual drops as well as the injections. The weight loss is from calorie restriction, but the HCG makes it easier and makes it so you are burning fat. The diet is very strict and not for everyone. No, it does not help you keep it off. You can't just go back to eating whatever you were before and expect the results to stay. You need a solid plan for afterwards. I've had success using it as a tool that is part of an overall weightloss strategy, but wouldn't recommend it as a quick fix. If you have questions, feel free to message me.

supergal73

Thanks! I was just curious.

graveflower316

It's a scammy type of diet. People might as well just take sugar pills and go on a 500 cal/day diet and and they'd get the same results, only they'd be saving at least 100 bucks.

darleyschroeder

You'll def lose weight, buuuuutttt the big question here, can you live like that the rest of your life? If you don't plan on living on 500 calories for the rest of your days then I wouldn't do it.

Helloitsdan

Mods will shut this down so ill post a funny.....




Try this!
It works!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Helloitsdan

Looking at your tracker it seem like you only want to lose a couple pounds.
Find TDEE and eat that daily.
Use exercise to create a deficit.

Shannon9308

I don't know about all the comments saying that it is a scammy diet because it is really the first diet that I ever really tried. It was very hard to stick with it but it did work for me. I lost like 50 pounds in 2 in a half months with little to no exercise. You have to really stay strictly to the diet or you will gain the next morning after a cheat. Each day that I followed it totally, I lost 1-3 pounds every morning when I weighed myself. After I did a couple of phase 2, I did phase 3 and still lost and/or maintained. However, I went back to old ways and stopped working out after starting a third shift job and I have gained a little back. I am getting ready to start the diet all over again but I just have questions as how to approach it reguarding the gorging and stuff. If anyone is familiar with this diet and can answer some questions, please let me know asap!!! Thanks!

Health_Gal

HCG in ANY for for weight loss is a complete waste of money!

The FDA is trying to get the stuff off the market because it has been proven to be absolutely worthless for weight loss.

The ONLY reason people lose weight so fast is the dangerously low calorie food plan they tell you to do with it.

And while you can probably lose weigh fast by starving on 500 calories a day for weeks, why starve your body and risk your health when nearly everyone that attempts that diet regains more than they lost?

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/truth-about-hcg-for-weight-loss

robin52077

I used the drops from that website the whole time and their strict diet guidelines, which are also listed on that website.

ever think that it was the strict diet and not the pretend HCG they scammed you into buying that helped the weight loss?

LovelyLifter

witchy_wife

Hey you can try my super duper sugar free gum diet if you like? Send me $50 and you will get 3 sticks of "special" gum. Chew gum 4 times a day, AND eat a very strict diet of 500-800 calories and you'll lose weight

Sorry, being sarcastic of course but that is pretty much how I see the HCG diet, you lose the weight through the tiny amount of calories you consume, nothing to do with HCG.

You produce HCG in pregnancy and most women I know gain weight in pregnancy

Cranktastic

PhilyPhresh

lizziebeth1028

Has anyone here done the hCG diet. I hear it helps you lose a lot of weight? But does it keep the weight off? Thoughts?

Seeing as it only allows you 500 calories a day...Yea you'll lose weight, fat and muscle. You will lose weight with any diet that restricts your calories that much. It's unhealthy and a hot topic on here. Lose weight the sensible and intelligent way through a healthy calorie deficit. It's slower but more sustainable.

toberdawg

Someone I know has been on this diet for MONTHS. She started the same time I started my "reduce calories and exercise" diet. We have lost the same amount of weight over the same length of time. She got a significant jump start on me when she was losing 1-3lbs per day.
But, now that she has realized that whenever she eats outside of the very strict diet she will also gain 1-3lbs per day I have caught up to her in wt. loss. And because I have ben exercising, my body is much firmer and without the weight loss lose skin. She still has the lose skin because she is unable to stop the HCG diet and severe calorie restriction, and cannot exercise. I thik that if she ever goes back to eating normally she will gain all that weight back and then some. I am waiting for the hair to begin falling out.

I always feel so bad for her when we eat meals together and I am eating something delicious and she has to sit forlornly, watching me while she eats her apples because that is all she can have for the day.

rrneal625

Has anyone here done the hCG diet. I hear it helps you lose a lot of weight? But does it keep the weight off? Thoughts?

Take the $ you would spend on these "miracle" dieting potions and redirect it toward healthy clean food and / or a gym membership.....nothing will "keep the weight off" like exercise and healthy eating.....consider permanent lifestyle change vs. "quick fixes".

AmberJo1984

I have never tried it. And, I never will. I had a friend who did this diet. She did lose. She lost a ton of weight. As soon as she stopped, though, she gained it all back and then some. It is better to lose steady with calorie counting and exercise. There's no quick fix for a healthy lifestyle.

MrsScheidt

I tried it and it made me weak and made my hair start to fall out. No one can survive on a 500 calorie diet!!

ilovedeadlifts

It's a waste of money. HCG was actually banned by the FDA in all but injectable form so any drops or anything you can order over the counter is actually not HCG at all. The FDA has also issued a statement stating that injection of HCG for weight loss is not an authorized use of the hormone and that it's both ineffective and potentially dangerous.

The weight loss from HCG comes from the 500-800 calorie diet that is often prescribed alongside the HCG supplements, not the HCG itself.

Sources:

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm281333.htm

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/MedicationHealthFraud/ucm282465.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3609673

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2405506

Long story short, don't bother with it. Just stick to a reasonable diet and fitness program and be patient.

Also, there's been a lot of heated discussion on HCG here in the past, and MFP does not condone this diet due to its ineffectiveness and potential health hazards, so this thread will likely be shut down.

Good luck reaching your goals nonetheless!

this sums it up

Jester522

It's flawed, stupid, and downright dangerous. No one can hold this diet and even if you did lose the weight yo're just gonna come off of it putting on that weight again plus 10lbs.

The human body requires minimal 1500 calories to carry out all basic metabolic functions each day. So why the *kitten* would anyone find it remotely intelligent to only eat 500?

Blossom59

I did the HCG diet under a doctor's supervision. It was very very hard and if you have a family it is nearly impossible. You have to be able to give yourself injections daily. You are on a very strict diet and there is a small list of food of what you can eat. I lived mainly on cabbage soup. The first week I got so weak that I thought I was going to pass out several times. I did lose very fast. I only did phase one and I lost over 40 pounds. Then I had some problems and ended having to have some cortizone shots and the two just did not mix. I ended up gaining back everything I lost. You will not lose as fast following a healthy diet but it is better for you. It is more about changing your life style and you are more likely to keep it off.

toberdawg

Also, I have wondered what makes these drops so awesome. If you need to resrict your cals to 500/day of course you will lose weight. You dont need drops to help.

CharleneExtreme

No. No. No. GOD NO!!!

I've heard nothing but bad things from people who have done this. One person developed fat in places she never had fat before.
I'm not a believer in using drugs for weight loss. I'm not a snob, its just, I've taken pretty much all the weight loss pills and "natural" supplements there are in my country.

Want to know what pills work without crappy longterm side affects?: None of 'em!!

I know HCG isn't a pill. Its an injection right? Still a drug. I'd advise against HCG if you value your sanity!
Honestly give something like Weight Watchers or Whole30 a go if you have the willpower.
I lost 6lbs on whole30 (i only did 25 days), and about 24lbs on Weight Watchers (over 2 years) - and i have hypotyroidism which makes weight loss nearly impossible!

TrailRunner61

DONT DO IT! My niece nearly died of kidney failure after using it. She was getting injections from a compounding pharmacy. She lost weight quickly, her hair started falling out then she started peeing black 'stuff'. She was in the hospital for days recovering.

THERE IS NO QUICK FIX. All hcg does is make you think the HCG is making you lose weight. IF you only eat 500 calories per day, you will do the same damn thing and you wouldn't have to pay for it either. NO, I don't recommend that either!

Do it the right way and maintain your weight loss by eating less, eating healthier and moving more.

emtjmac

^^^^^^THIS

scapez

You need nutrition to survive and thrive.

Under 500 calories ≠ proper nutrition.

Some of the most successful women here on MFP that have lost fat and gained muscle are those that eat 2000+ calories a day, exercise regularly, and lift heavy.

Just some "food" for thought!

emtjmac

Burn more calories than you consume and you will lose weight. There is no magic bullet that will painlessly melt the weight off of you. You must come to terms with the fact that your best tool in this fight is MFP. Log every bit of food you put in your mouth and burn more than you consume and you will lose weight. Please don't fall for a fad diet, it will not end well.

dp1228

for the love of GOD don't do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just eat well and exercise.

greeneyedKat

Well said alaskaang. Everyone is so quick to bash the diet and they know nothing about it. They just see the 500 calories. It's. A lifestyle change. You still have to eat healthy before and after the injection and diet phase. And yes you eat more than 500 calories after!! You dont continue eating 500 calories. That would be stupid and dangerous...I hate hearing about the FDA. They are quick to approve prescription drugs that kill people in drug trials. FDA are all crooks!!