HELP! HCG Diet opinions?

Sounds like you are not going to convince her to go off the drops. I would suggest trying to do all you can to make sure she will not go back to the habits that made her gain weight in the past. Make meals together that are healthy and will not be bad once she is back to normal calorie intake. Try to set her up for a little weight gain after the drops are done - but don't let her give up after a little weight gain.

Oh, she'll gain weight. This diet slowed my metabolism so much that you have to stay under 1200-1300 calories just to maintain and even then there are days you gain.

Hi guys,

So my sister has started the HCG diet (about a month ago, I think?). Now she has lost a LOT of weight from it. I'm proud if her for the weight loss and happy for her, however I can't help but be extremely concerned for her.

She only eats 500 calories a day! 500. And then takes little drops to "fill her up" and take away the hunger.

When she started I would say she was around 210/220 and now I think she's 170/180? Not completely sure on the numbers. She's 5'3''.

Anyhow, I'm just worried that when she "finishes" this diet, she'll revert to old habits and put all the weight back on. She claims its a "lifestyle change", but how is she training herself for a lifestyle change by doing a crash diet?

Any words of advice for when she finishes? Etc? Any comments at all. My sister has always been overweight and I can't help but want her to be tiny and feel beautiful.

Please help.

I was on that once--lost a lot of weight very quickly....Then I lost a bit more when they had to remove my gallbladder. :frown: It is a VERY unhealthy diet--quick weight loss is associated with various health problems but one of the most likely is gall bladder problems. By the way, after my gall bladder surgery, I gained all the weight back plus more. :ohwell:

I just have to ask and I hope this is okay to do, would people who have experienced this diet or know somebody who had side effects on it consider sharing their story? I put a page together because I was so frustrated by all the side effects posts being deleted on the Facebook hCG page to which I belonged. There were so many people posting about gallbladder, kidney, bladder problems plus things like hair falling out, migraines, etc... But, people don't know these stories because they get deleted. The forums seem like such happy, fluffy places because they only present the best side of this.

If you would consider sharing your story, it might help others not make the same mistakes we (or our loved ones) made. The page is getting longer by the day but if you scroll down about half way, you'll see a comments section "*NEW* Have You Tried the hCG Diet and had Side Effects?".

http://www.squidoo.com/unsafe_hcg_diet

You don't have to register. You can leave an anonymous comment. You don't even have to leave your real name. These stories of side effects are so important and I just want to help others! I have to approve comments so it may be a bit before you see it but I'll approve it as soon as I see it.

Thank you so much! I really think we can help prevent others from making this mistake!

I've done it twice. While its hard the quick results are extremely motivating. However I gained back more weight then when I started. I was so hungry & kept telling myself to just get through the 23 days. As I gained back I tried a few "steak days" but couldn't maintain over time.

I felt so defeated that its Aiken a year before even attempting to lee weight again. You sound like a caring sister, but you probably won't talk her out of it but try to be encouraging for health lifestyle habits after she finishes. She may really need a friend who won't say, "I told you so."

TL, question for you, I gained back more as well but have managed to lose five again. How long do you think it took before your metabolism was back to normal? My normal I mean where you could eat the same amount you could before the hCG diet without gaining.

It's been three months and I my metabolism is slower than molasses now!

There are lots of females out there who won't smoke, do drugs, engage in risk behavior (like skydiving), put themselves in situations of danger (walk alone at night), and help others ensure they stay same. But when it comes to losing 5lbs to 10lbs, it's like all the stop lights go off and everything is a green light even if it can compromise health.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Could I quote that on my hCG story page? It is so very true. I know I'm smart enough that I was really skeptical but the friend posting success stories relentlessly finally wore me down. Do you know, I found out, the friend who got me to do this really hasn't lost weight on this program. She'll do it and lose a bit and then stop just to get people losing with her. This diet is purely about making money. Even she knows it's not sustainable. I had to ask her so many times how much she lost before she sort-of fessed up. Honestly, if you're doing any version of this with distributors be careful. I really think many of them are scam artists.

I completely agree. But she'll never listen to me, especially with her success.

This is exactly the problem with warning people of this diet, as they are seeing instant results and won't want to listen to sense. Once this diet has got hold, it is hard to get anyone to stop. Sadly as others have said, anyone on this diet will need to learn the hard way. I hope your sister sees sense soon.

The breast cancer risks on the hcg diet were enough to turn me off it completely

Medical studies show that an HCG diet does not work and doctors & the FDA do not recommend it. Your sister is losing weight because she's only taking in 500 calories. If she does not learn proper nutrition, she won't keep it off. My brother's co-worker actually swears by it though-- he has to restart the diet every few months to keep the weight off.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hcg-diet/an02091

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-katz-md/hcg-diet-for-weight-loss_b_809660.html

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/the-hcg-diet-yet-another-ineffective-quick-fix-diet-plan-and-supplement/

The scary thing about this diet is people are contacting me and telling me that this either led to bulimia / anorexia or they were just drawn to it because they've bee bulimic or anorexic.

I like what one person pointed out online. 500 calories a day is a six-inch sandwich from Subway. Jared ate THREE of those a day and lost massive amounts of weight.

There are lots of females out there who won't smoke, do drugs, engage in risk behavior (like skydiving), put themselves in situations of danger (walk alone at night), and help others ensure they stay same. But when it comes to losing 5lbs to 10lbs, it's like all the stop lights go off and everything is a green light even if it can compromise health.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Could I quote that on my hCG story page? It is so very true. I know I'm smart enough that I was really skeptical but the friend posting success stories relentlessly finally wore me down. Do you know, I found out, the friend who got me to do this really hasn't lost weight on this program. She'll do it and lose a bit and then stop just to get people losing with her. This diet is purely about making money. Even she knows it's not sustainable. I had to ask her so many times how much she lost before she sort-of fessed up. Honestly, if you're doing any version of this with distributors be careful. I really think many of them are scam artists.

Standard tandem skydiving is not dangerous, fyi.

One of my side effects was a breast lump and I had found stories online from women who believed their cancer was caused by the hCG diet. That did make me a bit nervous. Fortunately, the results were benign. They believe that the very low calorie diet affected my cycle (made it heavier than it had ever been and more frequent) which in turn changed the tissue in my breast. Of course, we'll continue to monitor the lump but we know it was not there before I began the diet. And, seriously, while I was going though such an awful time with the diet. The response was to talk to my distributor (Omnitrition) and maybe there was another product she could give me to help. ARGHHHH!!!!

This isn't just a snake oil diet. This can be very dangerous!

you know they found the hcg DOES cause your benign cancer cells to develop. i've been going to a homeopathic doctor for this treatment and they did a cancer screening before placing me on the diet. you are also NOT supposed to take the HCG while you are menstruating. too many hormones. you're supposed to stop taking it while you're on your heaviest days. you really shouldn't be taking any over the counter HCG. Go to a doctor that will monitor your progress and assess your risks because they can actually give you the prescription for the HCG which are the shots or the sublingual drops.

You know there's no actual hCG in "homeopathic" hCG, right? First of all, it's illegal. So you're paying a whole bunch of money for what is essentially water drops. If you'd like to continue on that path, I have a fantastic deal for you - take whatever you're paying for the drops, cut it in half, and I'll sell you all the homeopathic hCG you want for THAT PRICE. You can't beat this deal.