HCG question...

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To clear the air... I am not taking or planning on taking HCG drops or injections I just have a question...

Will you lose weight with HCG if you don't eat less then 500 calories?

Replies

  • ashleey1000
    ashleey1000 Posts: 256 Member
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    Saw that on dr oz. very tempting.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    I seriously doubt it. I knew a girl who did the HCG diet (we were in the Navy and she was going to be kicked out because she had gained a bunch of weight when her thyroid quit working). She was given a few months to lose the weight. She was so careful to stick to the 500 calories. Now she did lose about 6 pounds/ week so I can't imagine that would happen with just a reduction to 500 calories so the HCG must have boosted the weight loss some but I don't think it would work at higher calorie levels.
  • Chichitas12
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    that makes sense... I thought about trying it once but 500 calories that is just wrong and cant be entirely healthy...
  • unicornhug
    unicornhug Posts: 68 Member
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    Where would you even get HCG drops??? Ive never heard of this!
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm282334.htm

    It's a scam. snake oil. the low calorie diet is what makes you lose weight (and not the healthy way either, expect loss of lean tissue and rebound fat gain) and the HCG has a placebo effect at best. The above article suggests that there are health risks from taking it.

    You don't need any potions or pills to lose weight. Eat less than you burn off. To calculate how much you burn off, and how much less you should eat than that, see the "in place of a road map" thread. No pills or supplements necessary, just a little maths and then sticking to the right number of calories for you, while exercising and eating mainly healthy foods (no forbidden foods, if you can fit them into your calorie goal, eat them).
  • michael7585
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    there is no data that supports weight loss with the hcg. also, eating 500 calories a day isnt healthy for anyone. you need around 1200 to 1600 to maintain a healthy diet
  • unicornhug
    unicornhug Posts: 68 Member
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    what if you are really overweight and you take them while eating 500 calories? You think youd still lose lean tissue and gain the weight back? What if you did it short-term?
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    what if you are really overweight and you take them while eating 500 calories? You think youd still lose lean tissue and gain the weight back? What if you did it short-term?
    3. No Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders
    a) Posts intended to promote potentially unsafe or controversial weight loss products or procedures, including non-medically prescribed supplements or MLM products will be removed without warning.
  • daytolive
    daytolive Posts: 106 Member
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    My friend took them and shes not even super over weight. Lost about 15lbs.
  • xtina1129
    xtina1129 Posts: 111 Member
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    I lost 50 lbs on hcg injections. It took me 2 months, I did the 800 calorie protocol. Kept it off for 2 years with a healthy diet and exercise. I did gain some back (25 lbs) when I get pregnant and was put on bed rest..... and I know several people who have lost 50-200 lbs and kept it off. But like with any diet, if you dont live a healthy lifestyle after , you will gain again. Just my input..
  • xtina1129
    xtina1129 Posts: 111 Member
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    Mine were rx grade, and prescribed by my doctor.
  • booksgiver
    booksgiver Posts: 149 Member
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    I agree with the folks that say it's the low 500 calories, not the HCG that causes the faster weight loss. Maybe someone with only a few pounds to lose a might have success, but after many years of drastic yo yo dieting, I've learned that such severe deprivation just made me much more vulnerable to cheating, triggering a binge, or falling off all together. Also there is evidence that the body may read 500 or less calories as starvation mode and that could cause a plateau or eventually slower loss. I've finally learned there are no quick fixes for something as serious a major weight loss.
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
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    like the above posters said it's a vlc diet. the hcg does nothing. I personally have tried the diet. Yes, i was injecting chinese grade bull**** hcg into my legs everyday. It was a gimmic. I lost weight because I was starving and I still couldn't stick to the 500 calorie thing i was at about 600-900 calories and would get mad at myself for even eating that much. I don't think i could live on 500 calories a day for the rest of my life. could you? Well it's probably not a very sustainable diet afterall.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    what if you are really overweight and you take them while eating 500 calories? You think youd still lose lean tissue and gain the weight back? What if you did it short-term?

    Are you serious?

    If someone is overweight enough to be on a very low calorie diet, then it should be done under a doctor's supervision. The extremely obese, as in if they don't lose weight fast they'll drop dead from obesity related illness, are sometimes put on crash diets because it's the lesser of two evils and it's done under strict supervision by the doctor.

    Crash dieting results in lean tissue loss, it's just a question of how much. The leaner you are already, the more likely you are to lose lean tissue. The more obese you are, the less likely it is and what lean tissue you lose will be less.

    If you're that obese, see your doctor.

    If you're not that obese, see the "in place of a road map" thread

    Ask yourself this, do you want to lose weight at any cost, or do you want to lose weight and stay healthy in the process?
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    Mine were rx grade, and prescribed by my doctor.

    As far as I'm aware, HCG is illegal in the USA unless it's prescribed by the doctor. Some health food stores sell fake HCG which is not actually proper HCG, otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to sell it.

    Doing VLCDs under a doctor's supervision is a totally different scenario to someone doing one at home, by themselves, with no medical supervision. And usually it's fairly lean people who try this, people whom a doctor would not put on such a regime, because the risks are much greater than the benefits for them.
  • xaMErica
    xaMErica Posts: 284 Member
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    Eating only 500 calories a day is what causes the weight loss.. I just don't understand how people are still falling for this.. =/ 'Special Drops'... '500 calories a day only'.....
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    People do not lose weight on HcG diets because of human chorionic gonadotropin...they lose weight because they are eating under their TDEE. The fact that they injected a hormone into their system at the same time doesn't change that fact. If you are eating 500 calories or 800 calories or even 1000 calories, you will lose weight.

    HcG is for healthy pregnancies, NOTHING ELSE. If HcG made you lose weight, then pregnant women wouldn't GAIN weight, now would they?

    Dr. Oz is a quack, plain and simple...
  • xtina1129
    xtina1129 Posts: 111 Member
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    They recently became illegal in the last year. I was on them a couple years ago.


    That was in response to neandermagnon .


    I do not promote the use of fake hcg, or hcg itself really. I used it as a jumpstart, since my body was not responding to medications,diet or exercise. But my issues are more related to haveing PCOS , glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance. It 'woke' my body up. But I then had to live a healthy lifestyle to maintain it. I do not advise people to do it on their own.
  • Health_Gal
    Health_Gal Posts: 718 Member
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    The HCG diet in ANY form is a SCAM. Please don't waste your money on it.

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/truth-about-hcg-for-weight-loss
This discussion has been closed.