What Is HCG?

Fat2FitArmyWifey
Fat2FitArmyWifey Posts: 51
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
I've heard good things & bad things about this "miracle weight loss drop" & i'm just curious what the heck is it? I'm worried about a friend who has lost weight really really fast & she says she used this but now she is just going crazy to lose more with this "hcg"...can someone explain this to me please...

Replies

  • HeatherShrinking
    HeatherShrinking Posts: 776 Member
    All I know is from Wikipedia (I cut out the overly techy bits to make it easy to understand-link is below if you want to see the whole thing):

    "Human chorionic gonadotropin or human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) is a glycoprotein hormone produced in pregnancy that is made by the developing embryo after conception and later by the syncytiotrophoblast (part of the placenta)....

    A controversial usage of hCG is as an adjunct to the British endocrinologist A.T.W. Simeons' ultra-low-calorie weight-loss diet[12] (less than 500 calories)... Simeons, practicing at Salvator Mundi International Hospital in Rome, Italy, recommended low-dose daily hCG injections (125 IU) in combination with a customized ultra-low-calorie (500 cal/day, high-protein, low-carbohydrate/fat) diet loss of adipose tissue without loss of lean tissue. After Simeons’ death, the diet started to spread to specialized centers and via popularization by individuals, such as the controversial author Kevin Trudeau, famous for promotion of alternative therapies and treatments."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_chorionic_gonadotropin
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
    Basically you limit yourself to 500 cals per day and take this miracle drop (a naturally occuring hormone in developing fetuses). Personally I don't think it's healthy or safe. Slow & steady is the way to lose weight.

    IMO, you're starving yourself using this product, and fooling your body into thinking that a non existent baby is eating all the fat off of you. That doesn't seem healthy at all.
  • mandijo
    mandijo Posts: 618 Member
    It's typically taken orally, but also have friends who inject themselves with it daily. I don't know "what" it is, but it's a kind of diet supplament that only allows about 500 calories a day of certain types of foods. From what my friends who have used it have told me, you can only exercise very little because you are on such a low calorie restriction. You are supposed to lose weight quite rapidly, but in ALL of the cases I've seen, if you don't take yourself off it slowly, you gain it all back very quickly. I have never used this, but I personally don't find it to be the healthiest way to lose weight. I know others will disagree with me, but I am sticking to my guns that you are starving your body of the nutrients it needs to survive. Hope this helps a little!
  • Fat2FitArmyWifey
    Fat2FitArmyWifey Posts: 51
    Thank you ladies! I agree 100% that the best & safest way to lose the weight is the good ol' fashioned way! I'm just worried for her as she is started to become more obsessed with this drug and I'm serious thinking "intervention!" lol. Thanks again girls!! :)
  • mariapuhl
    mariapuhl Posts: 529 Member
    My friend has become obsessed with HCG, so I'd watch out for your friend.

    He did lose 120 lbs on it... then stopped it, and also stopped the insane 500 calorie a day diet, and went straight back to his old eating habits and no exerscise. He immediatly gained back about 10 lbs, then slowly just kept gaining. So after gaining about 50lbs back (in pretty much just as fast time as he lost it) he decides to do HCG again. He lost it.... back to the old eating habits.. gained it back... back to HCG.

    It's a horrible endless cycle, at least in his case, that is wrecking havoc on his body.... so I really don't like it.... and also because of that I'm biased against it lol.
  • ashlee954
    ashlee954 Posts: 1,112 Member
    Thank you ladies! I agree 100% that the best & safest way to lose the weight is the good ol' fashioned way! I'm just worried for her as she is started to become more obsessed with this drug and I'm serious thinking "intervention!" lol. Thanks again girls!! :)

    I think with ANY weight loss there is a chance of becomming obsessed, no matter how it was done. When there is success with something then we tend to want to do a lot of that something. If she is at a healthy weight I would just let her do her own thing and only intervene if she takes it too far. Just my opinion though. Good luck to YOU on your weight loss journey. :)
  • jimmydeanbakker
    jimmydeanbakker Posts: 333
    I hope that you do everything in your power to stay away from this product. Using this site, counting your calories, and logging your meals is the best way to lose weight.
  • elizbarrett
    elizbarrett Posts: 3
    My husband has used this diet successfully. In fact, it is the only time he has ever lost weight and kept it off. The HCG protocol is very popular among the people we know. However, this diet only works if you follow it properly and I would not suggest someone try it initially without a doctor's supervision. You are injecting yourself with a hormone and it's important to get a blood workup, etc. to establish that you are healthy enough to proceed. Here you can see the protocol: http://endthefat.net/simeonspi.pdf

    I was very, very skeptical of this diet at first. I have always believed you have to lose weight the way you gain it - over time. However, after seeing so many people successfully lose weight and keep it off I cannot argue with the results of those people who have correctly followed the protocol.

    Let me try to answer your question on what it is (and I really do suggest you look through Simeon's manuscript - it should answer remaining questions. BTW, don't be thrown off by his use of the word obese - it is used as we would say overweight). Anyway, the purpose is to reset the hypothalamus gland in the brain that regulates how our bodies process and stores fat. Along the way, a lot of unhealthy fat is lost and a pretty rapid rate. Are there any specific questions you have? Hope this helps a little -
  • Fat2FitArmyWifey
    Fat2FitArmyWifey Posts: 51
    It's her life & she can choose to loose weight however she feels but she has had a history of eating disorders and i've known her since I was in diapers...I just don't want to see her in the hospital again with tubes all in her! I'm thankful for all your responses though & no don't worry I will NEVER choose that road to lose weight. I understand why someone would do it though. I've thought about it when I was at my heaviest at 210 but now at 183 i'm happy with the way i'm doing it! :)
  • SandraMay1982
    SandraMay1982 Posts: 328
    Someone suggested it to me the other week. I googled it, thought it looked shifty and kind just go "40lbs in 2 weeks" get stuffed. ha.

    yeah. not healthy.

    don't know about intervention though. That can mess friendships up, it almost always will.

    Just be there for her if / when she finds out it's not the best thing in the world.
  • skyley
    skyley Posts: 60 Member
    I don't think I would try it especially loosing it that quickly and only eating 500 calories! I wouldn't like the fact that you can't workout also
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