50 pound weight gain and I'm starting hcg

HCG does work, but it is not the best route to go. My mom knows a ton about how it works. You only eat 500 calories but the HCG does something to your body that makes it so your body doesn't go crazy. It's fast but it's hardly the best way to go. Even if you deviate once it can stop or you can gain weight really fast. Unless if you are spot on nutritionally your body can suffer. The first time I went on it I made some mistakes and I couldn't get my hands or feet to warm up for a few weeks. DO NOT do HCG if you do not know much about nutritional balance. I'm talking about vitamins, minerals, etc. also do not do HCG if you do not have lots of discipline. It sounds easy but it isn't.

The best way to go is to just exercise. I don't even need to diet because I make sure to get enough activity. I get a lot of help from my mom with the vitamins and supplements. It's not do much about how much you eat, it's more about your activity level and what you eat. You will feel a lot better about yourself if you do it naturally. HGC takes a lot of precise calculations and it's very restricting and if you mess up the post HCG maintanence you will gain weight very and I mean VERY fast.

Anyway, I hope this helps at least a little.

No, this is false. The research shoes that HCG does nothing that a 500 calorie diet alone wouldn't do. My relatives lost a lot of muscle (my father-in-law lost a large amount of heart muscle and is currently hospitalized), the women lost chunks of hair, and afterward none of them were able to lose weight in a healthy manner for a long time.

Wow, sorry to hear that. Did your relatives have prior health issues or tried this quick fix diet for long periods of time? I seen ppl fast for 30-40 days w/ no food & only water for spiritual/ faith reasons (not weight loss) & had no health issues before or afterwards.

There were a lot of blanket statements made about the HCG diet. First, you do not need to go with the strict 500 calorie mode. You can also choose the 800, or 1,000 calorie versions to get you started. Unless you a top tier athlete doing a quick weight cut, there is no need to start of with the extreme 500 calorie model. Second, people need to distinguish between injections and drops. If you under the care of a physician and can afford them, the injections are the most effective way to go. There is a reason the injections are banned by most athletic organizations, because they are very effective, especially for males in their late 30s & 40s. As for the drops, the jury is still out whether they have any actual impact on your weight loss. Another slight change that has been made to this method has been moving away from the liquid breakfast to something such as a low sugar oatmeal or boiled eggs to get you metabolism running for the day.

I would have a plan in place after the first 30-45 days to adjust your lifestyle because this is not a long term solution. As with all health decisions, you should go talk to your physician to get the BEST advice.

Good luck.

There were a lot of blanket statements made about the HCG diet. First, you do not need to go with the strict 500 calorie mode. You can also choose the 800, or 1,000 calorie versions to get you started. Unless you a top tier athlete doing a quick weight cut, there is no need to start of with the extreme 500 calorie model. Second, people need to distinguish between injections and drops. If you under the care of a physician and can afford them, the injections are the most effective way to go. There is a reason the injections are banned by most athletic organizations, because they are very effective, especially for males in their late 30s & 40s. As for the drops, the jury is still out whether they have any actual impact on your weight loss. Another slight change that has been made to this method has been moving away from the liquid breakfast to something such as a low sugar oatmeal or boiled eggs to get you metabolism running for the day.

I would have a plan in place after the first 30-45 days to adjust your lifestyle because this is not a long term solution. As with all health decisions, you should go talk to your physician to get the BEST advice.

Good luck.

OP has already made the wise decision to steer clear of supplements for weight loss and instead embrace a lifestyle that is sustainable there after weight loss.

HCG is an unneeded snake oil supplement that is dangerous. VLCD in themselves can cause long term damage. 800 and 1000 calories are STILL not enough to survive with. I'm sorry you honestly believe that this is a worthwhile thing to do but you are sadly mistaken. Also, metabolisms only stop when you die, they don't need starting. The best way to keep your metabolism is to fuel your body. ...not by starving it.

Maybe you should take some time to read my post again. I was not debating the merits of the program, I was just providing some additional information that other posters left out. As with all fitness/diet plans, not everything works for all people. And I think my last sentence provided the best advice, she should consult her physician and not rely on info acquired from posters (both you and I) on a web forum.

Have a great day

HCG for Weight Loss
The Promise
Take a "natural" hormone the body makes during pregnancy -- and lose a lot of weight? That's the promise that's turned the hCG Diet -- named after that hormone -- into a craze that just won't quit. If you also go on an ultra-low-calorie diet, backers claim, hCG can “reset your metabolism” so you lose as much as a pound a day without feeling hungry or weak.

Here's what the science says: Any super-low-cal diet will result in weight loss. Most studies have found that hCG (stands for human chorionic gonadotropin) has nothing to do with it.

The hCG diet limits you to 500 calories a day for 8 weeks while taking hCG, either by getting a shot or by taking a “homeopathic” product, such as oral drops, pellets, or sprays, which you can buy at the store.

None of this is approved by the FDA for weight loss. The shots themselves are legal, as long as a health care provider gives them to you. (They're approved to treat fertility issues.) But over-the-counter hCG products are not. The FDA has sent warning letters to several companies that market homeopathic hCG products.

What You Can Eat and What You Can't
You won't be eating much. The diet lets you have two meals a day, lunch and dinner. Each meal has to include one protein, one vegetable, one bread, and one fruit.

You can broil or grill veal, beef, chicken breast, fresh white fish, lobster, crab, or shrimp as long you don’t eat any visible fat. No salmon, eel, tuna, herring, or dried or pickled fish are allowed.

Continue reading below...
Vegetables choices include spinach, chard, chicory, beet greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, and cabbage.

Bread can be one breadstick or one piece of melba toast.

For fruit, you can choose an orange, an apple, a handful of strawberries, or half a grapefruit. The diet allows as much water, coffee, and tea as you want. You can also have up to 1 tablespoon of milk per day.

You can use sugar substitutes but not sugar to sweeten drinks. Butter and oils aren't allowed.

Level of Effort: High
It's very hard to stick with the strict calorie limit. Not only is it uncomfortable to live on just 500 calories a day, it can be dangerous. It’s impossible to meet all your nutritional needs on so few calories. You may not get enough protein, either. If you're getting less than 1,200 calories a day, it's going to be challenging to get enough vitamins and minerals without supplements.

Doctors sometimes recommend a very-low-calorie diet (under 1,000 calories per day) if someone is obese and has a medical condition such as high blood pressure, but these diets are always carefully supervised by a doctor.

Does It Allow for Dietary Restrictions or Preferences?
Vegetarians and vegans: Its fans say anyone can follow the hCG diet. But that doesn’t mean it’s safe, especially for vegetarians. The diet's creators say that vegetarians would have to drink extra skim milk to make up for not getting protein from meat and other sources. Because it includes dairy, it's not a vegan diet.

Gluten-free: This isn't a gluten-free diet.

MayoClinic.com reports that consumption of HCG will not help you shed pounds, although some who follow HCG diets lose weight through severe calorie restrictions. You will typically gain the weight back after resuming a healthy lifestyle. Studies of the hormone concluded the supplement has no benefit to those who are obese, while the FDA requires those who sell HCG to include labeling that alerts consumers to the fact that the supplement does not decrease hunger or aid in fat redistribution.

Effects
Some people who consume HCG supplements experience irritability and fatigue, as well as severe headaches and in some cases male breast enlargement. Dr. David Katz, writing on Oprah.com, warns that consumption of HCG supplements may trigger unhealthy changes to your ovarian hormones and can potentially increase your likelihood for cancer. Calorie limitations of HCG diets raise your risk of nutritional deficiencies and gallstones.

History
The hormone HCG received national prominence in 1957 when an actor named Mario Lanza announced that he had lost 30 lbs. in less than two weeks after participating in a diet that included daily consumption of HCG. Lanza also consumed less than 500 calories per day during the course of the diet.

Warning
Some people who take excessive amounts of the HCG hormone experience thyrotoxicosis, a condition that accelerates your metabolism to dangerous levels and triggers an irregular heartbeat as well as sweating.

Potential
Avoid the risks of HCG supplements and other unproven remedies for weight loss by asking your doctor for a referral to a nutritionist who can create a healthy meal plan suited to your lifestyle. Regular aerobic exercise like brisk walking or swimming for 30 to 45 minutes on most days of the week also increases your ability to shed unwanted pounds.