HCG Diet?

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Jb27
Jb27 Posts: 71 Member
So my mom and a few other people i know are talking about this HCG diet, has anybody tried or know anyone who has done this diet? My main concern is that it is very low calories and does not require much working out? Is this too good to be true?
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  • nursee67
    nursee67 Posts: 503
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    If it sounds to good to be true...it probably is. Good nutrition in reasonable amounts and exercise are the keys to weight loss. This is done over time. Quick fixes turn into quick failures.
  • weaklink109
    weaklink109 Posts: 2,831 Member
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    The simplest way to answer your question is to suggest you utilize the "search" function above this post, and type in HCG. You will find there have been many threads and posts on this subject.
  • lovebrittnie
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    My mom was on it fro, feb 16 and she weighd 156 and on march 11 she was 143.... so she lost about 13 and she really didn't work out... however she pretty much stopped following it in march (last entry on march 11)... and she's pretty much gained all her weight back...
  • msrichmond
    msrichmond Posts: 18
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    If followed correctly, it works wonders. If followed incorrectly, it doesn't. I followed it correctly and lost about 50 lbs and have kept it off. I thought it was easy to do. This is fact, not "too good to be true". I've since gone into the maintenance mode and have stayed within 5-10 lbs of my lowest weight. I feel great and am extremely pleased with the results I obtained from it.

    People who gain weight back after doing the HCG program do so b/c they think they can go back to eating like crap after they lose weight. Of course you'll gain the weight back if you do this. If I lost 50 lbs using the traditional "move more/eat less" method, then stopped exercising & ate more and then gained it all back, would people think that "move more/eat less" doesn't work? Of course not, it'd be my own fault. But if somebody eats poorly after losing weight with HCG and gains weight, it means HCG doesn't work? That makes no sense to me.

    I eat better now than I did before taking HCG. It helped me change my eating habits for the better and I've stuck to them after I stopped taking HCG.

    HCG is not a quick-fix. It's Step 1 in the right direction.

    I suggest you search as well. You'll see many positive posts from people who have successfully done (or are currently doing) the program. You'll also find many posts from naysayers cutting it down, but none of them have tried it or even bothered to read the eBook that details it. You have to decide which of those sources is reliable.
  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
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    My opinion is this...why not do something that you can do for the rest of your life? HCG is a quick and rushed weight loss IMO and it is not realistic. Sure you can go get injected, eat 500 calories a day and lose 50 pounds in 3 months. What does that teach you about a healthy lifestyle though? Nothing.

    It has taken me FOREVER to lose these 39 lbs. I started on August 31, 2009 and to date have lost 39 lbs. I workout at least 3 days a week. I count my calories. I make mistakes. I go on vacation. I eat good. I eat bad. I drink a lot of water. I don't drink enough water. It's all a learning process so that you learn about what your body likes, doesn't like, what it wants what it doesn't want. You have to figure out who your body is and how to control it. My body was controlling me and now i'm controlling my body.

    I simply cannot imagine living off of 500 calories a day.
  • msrichmond
    msrichmond Posts: 18
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    The entire HCG plan IS a lifelong plan. The 500 calorie diet is only the beginning.

    I don't know about "teaching" me better eating habits, but I definitely eat better now than I did before HCG. Many more vegetables, and I now eat more organic food than before. Why? Because while on HCG, I was able to kick my addictions to high fructose corn syrup and MSG. I no longer crave the garbage foods I used to (ice cream, candy, soda, McDonald's, etc). Could I have kicked these addictions without HCG? Maybe, but I believe it would've been much more difficult.

    If you can't imagine eating only 500 calories/day, I can understand that. I know I was freaked out about it before I started. Here is why it's necessary. While properly taking HCG, it is releasing .5-1 lb of FAT per day! That's about 1750-3500 calories/day, sometimes more! You don't just pee this out, your body burns it as fuel. You don't need to eat as much when you're burning your own fat for fuel. It's simple math. Isn't that what we all want to do? Burn fat?

    Ask yourself WHY you can't imagine eating only 500 calories/day? Is it because you're afraid you'd be hungry? What if you weren't hungry? Do you just enjoy food so much you can't imagine not having as much? Those types of addictive feelings are most likely from chemicals in the food supply. I no longer have those feelings, thus making it much easier for me to eat better even after I stopped taking HCG.

    I'm glad you lost 39 lbs in about 10 months. I lost that in about 5 weeks and have kept it off since.
  • Barberoni
    Barberoni Posts: 7
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    I too tried the HCG diet. I used the homeopathic drops and lost 13.5 lbs. My goal is 55. I have tried to lose weight in the past and nothing was coming off even though I exercise and 'thought' I was watching what I ate. The HCG was like a jumpstart for me. It finally broke the barrier to start losing weight! I agree with the above poster. If you go back to your old habits NO MATTER WHAT DIET YOU'RE ON, you will gain it back. From HCG, I went to this site and logged in and this site truly helps me to monitor what I eat. My brother in law told me about this site because he used it to lose 45+ lbs! This site makes you accountable for what you do as far as eating and exercising. My husband did 2 protocols with HCG. The first time he did it for 42 days lost 30 lbs and the second time he did it for 1 week and lost about 14 lbs but has since gained about 10 back. He went off because things came up at his work and he couldn't continue that protocol. The diet is very restrictive but it resets your Hypothalmus in your brain and you burn your fat reserves for energy and not muscle. It takes a LOT of discipline but after you're done, WOW! It helps you eat better because you don't want to put "JUNK" back into your body. Your body needs the right kind of fuel to function. You wouldn't put a gallon of Coke into a car's gas tank would you? The same goes for your body. sorry to ramble on. thanks .
  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
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    In the past I have been very against the HCG plan, but my Naturopathic Doctor has me reading about it because it is supposed to reset you thyroid so that you can lose the weight naturally as you go through the phases.

    I think I was against it too because I didn't know anything about it.

    Thanks ladies for educating us on this plan. I am pondering telling her I want to do this, but it is costly...............$350.00 for the plan and the drops.
  • misslizz6958
    misslizz6958 Posts: 124 Member
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    I'm going on it here soon, I just need it for the last 20 pounds and it almost only targets fat which is what I need to look super thin
  • kicklikeaGIRL
    kicklikeaGIRL Posts: 867 Member
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    So my mom and a few other people i know are talking about this HCG diet, has anybody tried or know anyone who has done this diet? My main concern is that it is very low calories and does not require much working out? Is this too good to be true?

    In my opinion, this whole HCG thing is a crock, and yes I feel it is too good to be true. A co-worker was going to go on it recently and was reading material on it, so I read her binder of information Quite honestly, it sounds like someone is writing a sweet little book to get some cash. And the doctors promoting it are out to get some money too. People who use diet pills, injections and other short means of losing weight are setting themselves up for failure. When you lose weight over a longer period of time, I believe that people tend to watch and become more aware of what they eat. When it takes you that long and you work that hard, you want to make it worth it. Just like if my dad were to give me a brand new car...would I treat it as well as a car that I had to work hard to save and purchase on my own??? No, probably not. If its a quick fix, its likely to become a yo-yo diet. This is all my opinion based on what I've read. I also think that hey- if someone wants to lose weight that fast and only eat 500 dollars...skip the $350 for the cost of the injections/pills and just eat 500 calories/day. Its not healthy for you, but its just as unhealthy as the HCG injections combined with eating 500 calories a day and it would save money.

    Also, does your mom realize that this drug is supposed to be used to help women with fertility issues? Doctors at real hospitals use the hormone to help women get pregnant.

    So, in conclusion--- tell your mom about MyFitnessPal. Its a great place to learn how to incorporate healthy eating & exercise. It may be a hard journey, and a longer one. But, much more worth it. Doing it on her own, without some fad diet injection program, will help her to gain the confidence to live a healthy lifestyle.


    And FYI...Manny Ramirez, the pro baseball player for the LA Dodgers, was banned for 50 games for using HCG, which they caught in a drug test last spring. Now, tell me that doesn't sound like something to be worried about????? Obviously not good for you.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4148907

    Here's the article from ESPN.
  • misslizz6958
    misslizz6958 Posts: 124 Member
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    He was banned because hcg up's ones testosteron (sp). Please don't discourage people without knowing much about it.
  • kicklikeaGIRL
    kicklikeaGIRL Posts: 867 Member
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    He was banned because hcg up's ones testosteron (sp). Please don't discourage people without knowing much about it.

    I'm going to give my concerns and opinions to the original poster, because she asked. I'm not going to argue with you.
  • elmct57
    elmct57 Posts: 594 Member
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    :flowerforyou: :embarassed: :heart:

    well as usual, it's a controversial post and folks are on one side or the other.

    i am not using hcg as a miracle fat loss cure. i read Dr. Simeon's Pounds and Inches and believed there were connections to hormonal and metabolism changes occurring from my last pregnancy that needed to be corrected. I follow the original protocol, not the Trudeau bandwagon deal with its insane list of things to do before starting. I plan to only do one round and then go low carb and low glycemic. It's just a means to an end for me--I have to do the work.

    As for exercise, I began walking about 3 weeks in, got a hamstring injury and have just restarted with cautious optimism. I enjoy the foods listed for Phase 2--strawberries, celery sticks, apples, oranges and cherry tomatoes, for example and just made a game out of picking and choosing for each day's meals. I drink teas with an occasional drop of stevia and water with lemon. It hasn't been a hardship, except for the 2 loading days. I had changed my eating habits a bit and eating high fat foods was difficult. Made it with a couple milkshakes.

    You have to plan on this protocol, which has been around going on 60 years now. Weekends I cook my meats for the week and portion them out. I use spices liberally now--Cajun, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, etc. Flavorful foods are not dull meals. This site helps me log my progress. You need to research it and decide if you can do it for 45 days and continue with a lifestyle change as far as your eating habits go.

    Hope you find a plan that works for you, but there are no miracle cures for obesity.
  • ampalomba
    ampalomba Posts: 6 Member
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    HCG is the best thing I have done in my whole life as far as weight loss. I have done about every possible diet out there and have never been very successful. I am currently down 39 lbs. and feel absolutely great. I have plenty of energy and my skin looks great. No saggy skin. I am currently at the beginning of my 3rd round. After my first 2 round, I stablized great. I was eating about 2600 cals and maintained my weight within 2 lbs of my lowest weight. First 2 rounds were shorter rounds. This one will be a long one to get the remainder of my weight off.

    I have learned a new way of eating that make me feel much better. I basically follow a low carb way of eating, but was able to indulge on occasion with no problems.

    I am currently doing my hopefully final round and have lost 15.8 lbs. in 15 days. I can't tink of any other weight loss plan that I was able to do that and feel this great and also not have the skin sagging issues. Don't knock this plan until you do the research. I researched for 3 months befor I decided to give it a try and have never regreated it.
  • fivefatcats
    fivefatcats Posts: 368
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    Just a few comments:

    HCG does not help women get pregnant. It assists in maintaining a pregnancy after implantation has already occurred.
    http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio105/sexual.htm

    As for the money . . . I spent less than $35 including shipping for a 2oz bottle of sublingual homeopathic HCG. The only other expense has been food, but since I am only buying DIFFERENT food, the expense is not an increase from my usual grocery budget. I have done tons of internet research and book reading before deciding to do it. Also, I read Trudeau's book - and I think he is an extremist and made a bunch of money off Simeon's protocol - his book convinced me NOT to do it until my sister was successful following the original protocol. I do not consider his book a valid resource for the Simeon's protocol.

    I completely agree with msrichmond saying that if you go back to the old eating habits that caused the problem in the first place, then it makes no difference how you lost the weight. Staying fit after a weight loss will require discipline regardless.

    Have you ever said or heard someone say "If there was a magic pill, I'd take it!" ?? I think this is pretty close. I appreciate the hesitancy to believe it or doubt it, but I keep reading case after case of individuals who stuck to the plan and were successful.
    (I mean, if you try it and cheat and are not successful, that isn't really a flaw in the plan).

    All I know for a fact is my own personal experience, and I am seeing numbers on the scale I haven't seen in 20 years.
  • jenniferlynn
    jenniferlynn Posts: 3 Member
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    I have been reserching it for a couple of weeks now, and I keep hearing people talk about the ebook for HCG. Can you tell me where to find these?
  • Dive_Girl
    Dive_Girl Posts: 247 Member
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    . I spent less than $35 including shipping for a 2oz bottle of sublingual homeopathic HCG. .

    Where did you order this from?
  • fivefatcats
    fivefatcats Posts: 368
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    My sister and I ordered it from evitaminmarket.com. We ordered the D140 2oz homeopathic drops.

    Please keep in mind that they sell several different choices for hcg and I did not read up on which one to get. My sis chose this one and I didn't ask why I just did what she did. She is currently on phase 4 and will be doing a second round starting sometime in August. (her first round she lost 28 lbs in 45 days and has kept it off for 4 weeks so far)

    Also, she purchased some other teas and supplements which I did not. My total including shipping was $30.12.



    Good luck!!

    Traci
  • rob1976
    rob1976 Posts: 1,328 Member
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    Brian Cushing of the Houston Texans was suspended for testing positive for HCG. HCG has many uses, one of which being that steroid users use it to help their body start producing testosterone naturally again. Athletic associations test for HCG because it usually implicates that an athlete has been using anabolic steroids. The test they use for HCG testing? A pregnancy test. HCG is the hormone that common over-the-counter preg tests look for. Other uses for HCG include prescribing it to women with ovulation problems, to young boys whose testicles haven't descended in a timely manner and to men with testicular cancer. There's thousands of medications and homeopathic remedies that have off-label uses, so I don't see why everyone is so up-in-arms about this. We order ours from AllDayChemist and the mixing supplies off eBay on the advice of a family friend that ordered hers there. She's lost 36 pounds in her first 43-day protocol. Her husband has lost 42 lbs in the same time period.
  • rob1976
    rob1976 Posts: 1,328 Member
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    I have been reserching it for a couple of weeks now, and I keep hearing people talk about the ebook for HCG. Can you tell me where to find these?
    www.thehcgdiet.com/pdf/pounds-and-inches-by-dr-a-t-w-simeons.pdf