life after HCG = weight loss disaster, help!

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  • skinnybearlyndsay
    skinnybearlyndsay Posts: 798 Member
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    Figure out your TDEE (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ ) and eat at maintenance for a while.

    Thanks for posting this calculator!
  • TheBeerRunner
    TheBeerRunner Posts: 2,777 Member
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    You do know what HCG is, yes? Do you know where it comes from? It's a hormone that's isolated from the urine of pregnant women. Enjoy!
  • jennide
    jennide Posts: 41 Member
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    Who should I report it to??
    I had a similar experience. I did one round of HCG & lost 27 lbs. I continued to eat only the food that I ate while on HCG, got back to the gym & still gained the 27 back plus another 30 making me bigger than I was than when I was pregnant!! Grrrrr... I should have known better when the doctor's office I pulled up to was a dentist office that charges up the A** for the HCG shots in the back office. On top of that, they told me it would be an additional $200 to do a 2nd round but when it came time for it, they said oh, no, that was wrong, it's an additional $600 to do the 2nd round. No way! So, like I said, I continued to eat the foods recommended while on HCG, just bigger portions & I was going to the gym, despite all this I still gained. I hate the body I have now & am trying very, very hard to get the pounds off again. I feel like I was betrayed by the HCG diet & totally ripped off by the "doctor" that sold it to me. Good luck to you!

    I hope you've reported this!
  • kris4chloe
    kris4chloe Posts: 245 Member
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    You have to work on resetting your metabolism. Eat at or above your BMR filling your body with nutritious foods. No fast food, no junk foods. Protein, whole carbs, fruits and veggies and eat that way for a long enough time for your body to know it is ok and it is not starving. Then NEVER drop down calories that low again. You may gain initially but eventually your body will reset and it will come off SLOWLY but if done right it will stay off.
  • tonightokayalright
    tonightokayalright Posts: 289 Member
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    A girl I know has done multiple cycles of HCG and pretty much any other crash diet out there because she always gains it back. My advice is to use the calculators online to find our what your SHOULD be eating for maintenance and log everthing, find out what you're burning for exercise and EAT THAT BACK until your metabolism figures it self out. It might take a long time, but weight loss isn't meant to be fast anyway. After that, just stop eating your calories back after exercise.
  • mcdebbie
    mcdebbie Posts: 940 Member
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    I am so sorry for all of you that had this happen, how very discouraging it must be. I have a close friend who is now on round 3 and I am so afraid for her for what will happen after she finishes. I wished I would have tried harder to talk her out of it. Let me know if you do set up a "recovery" group. :wink:
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
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    To sum up what everyone has said, I would eat healthy, nutritious foods for the next few months and eat at your maintenance level instead of trying to lose weight. Give your metabolism a change to recover.
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
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    Hi

    If you're low carb and high protein, you're not eating an actual fuel source (the protein just contributes to muscular health and satiety), which means your body will never expend more than it has to and your exercise won't benefit you.

    If low carb suits you, try going low carb, high fat, medium protein - paleo lifestyle. Healthy, filling, natural foods and your body uses the fat as its fuel source. Then, when your dietary fat has run out, it will automatically switch to burning bodyfat.

    Lol
  • KittieLea
    KittieLea Posts: 1,156 Member
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    I really feel for you, OP. You fell for this fad more than once, pissed money away on it, and now it sounds like your metabolism AND thyroid might be jacked up. I hope you can see a doctor to get this figured out. Good luck and let this be a lesson learned. There is no "easy way out" when it comes to weight loss. You have to work for it.
  • heytherelameman
    heytherelameman Posts: 76 Member
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    Wow, this post has been great. I have read all of the responses. When I originally started my journey a short time ago I read about HCG. I only found good things about it. I considered getting it! I was discouraged and finally gave up after I learned that it's now banned and cannot be bought OTC. Now I'm glad I never got deep into that!
  • jorasims
    jorasims Posts: 75 Member
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    I have never done the HCG diet but have heard alot about it. What sent up a red flag for me was the 500 calorie a day restriction. In what universe is calorie restriction that low and taughts itself as healthy? It sounds like your body is trying to figure itself out.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,535 Member
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    I have never done the HCG diet but have heard alot about it. What sent up a red flag for me was the 500 calorie a day restriction. In what universe is calorie restriction that low and taughts itself as healthy? It sounds like your body is trying to figure itself out.
    There are doctor supervised VLCD's that are legit with the morbidly obese or gastric surgery patients. However these are programs that are for people who are pretty much in life and death situations with weight. Not for the average dieter.

    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
  • hottamolly00
    hottamolly00 Posts: 334 Member
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    You f*cked up your metabolism with that hcg crap-eating 500 cals a day diet.

    This is exactly what I was thinking...
  • Flora_k
    Flora_k Posts: 72 Member
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    Love all these new replies. Let's get the word out there. THE hCG DIET IS BAD NEWS!

    So, as I've shared, I was lured into the diet and it affected my heart and caused a great amount of problems. I recently finished three months worth of doctor's appointments (about $1,000 of my money AFTER insurance) to get better and figure out just what damage was done.

    As pointed out, until recently, if you did a search of the hCG diet, all the spammy pro-hCG sites and commentary rose to the top. There's a reason for that. Companies like Omnitrition (they sell the bogus hCG drops) recruit people who need to make money off you. While doing the diet and considering selling it (in my defense, honeymoon period after a quick loss), I found out that the top sellers and people in the company operate under multiple names and sites online. They make it appear far more successful and glamourous than it really is. They work hard to bury online stories and make sure to delete all comments on their pages that would hurt their sales.

    So, a plea, for those of you who have shared your hCG story, would you share it here too:

    http://www.squidoo.com/unsafe_hcg_diet

    I created this page to 'collect' side effect stories whether it is your own, a family member's or a friend's. I'm already having people contact me to thank me or to share their personal stories. You don't have to sign up to comment. You don't even have to leave a real name. While the page is about my experience with Omnitrition, it is for all folks who have been hurt in some way by this terrible diet. And, I know for a fact the page is making a difference. It is always ranking high in Google so it is a great way to get the word out there!

    Thank you so much!!!
  • Flora_k
    Flora_k Posts: 72 Member
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    And, yes, I agree, this would be a great thread to sticky here!
  • jess7386
    jess7386 Posts: 477 Member
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    Who should I report it to??
    I had a similar experience. I did one round of HCG & lost 27 lbs. I continued to eat only the food that I ate while on HCG, got back to the gym & still gained the 27 back plus another 30 making me bigger than I was than when I was pregnant!! Grrrrr... I should have known better when the doctor's office I pulled up to was a dentist office that charges up the A** for the HCG shots in the back office. On top of that, they told me it would be an additional $200 to do a 2nd round but when it came time for it, they said oh, no, that was wrong, it's an additional $600 to do the 2nd round. No way! So, like I said, I continued to eat the foods recommended while on HCG, just bigger portions & I was going to the gym, despite all this I still gained. I hate the body I have now & am trying very, very hard to get the pounds off again. I feel like I was betrayed by the HCG diet & totally ripped off by the "doctor" that sold it to me. Good luck to you!

    I hope you've reported this!

    Report it to the Board of Registration in Medicine for your state. This seriously should not be tolerated and other people are very likely in harm's way. You can call & file the report anonymously and the police will likely go check it out.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
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    I would suggest the following (it's counterintuitive but bear with me...)

    1. Forget about losing weight for the time being.
    2. Give yourself permission to put on a little bit more weight up to a maximum of 7-10 lbs
    3. Every week add 50 calories onto your current calorie total
    4. Don't freak out if the scale increases in the short term - it's part of the plan
    5. Do moderate low - medium intensity exercise for short periods of time (2-3 sessions is more than enough)
    6. Get to the stage where you get your calories are as high as possible so that your weight is maintained consistently for 6 weeks within that maximum range of 7-10 lbs more than your current weight
    7. Recommence trying to lose weight using a reasonable deficit (20 - 25% under maintenance will be fine)
    8. Be patient.

    This is a short term pain (the weight gain) for a long term gain (or loss should that be...)

    This is essentially reverse dieting. Not a huge amount of science to support why it works but it does work ;)

    This is really good advice!
  • maryluttrellaz
    maryluttrellaz Posts: 1
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    The research has been done by Curves. It's very similar to their Phase 3 which raises metabolism. Strength training is also very helpful in raising metabolism. Muscle = Metabolism
  • jorasims
    jorasims Posts: 75 Member
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    Thanks for that info! I imagine in these types of situations with doctor supervision it is safe...
  • Alethealeeb
    Alethealeeb Posts: 3 Member
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    I lost 40 pounds over 6 months using HCG (through a weight loss clinic), and have kept it off. Overall, it wasn't a bad experience and it really opened my eyes to healthy weight loss, and took me from a nearly obese, very miserable point in my life. I don't regret it, even if it wasn't the smartest thing to do.

    Anyway. I have had a lot of trouble losing again on my own. To the OP, you seem to be having the same problem. HCG supposedly "resets" your hypothalamus, so you can maintain at your weight at the end of a round, which it did for me so much that I was stuck at 140-141 for 5 MONTHS despite all my efforts. Until the last few weeks, when it seems I've finally been able to kick it up a notch and get things moving again, I hadn't been able to lose a thing. I'm still not convinced I won't just go right back to 140 somehow....

    Anyway. I don't know how to help other than to say you're not alone in your HCG boat! And I hope you have some progress soon, just keep trying.
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