HCG diet--anybody attempted this before?

Topics about HCG are not allowed on this site as it is considered an unhealthy and dangerous way to lose weight.

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/MedicationHealthFraud/ucm281834.htm

"5. Are prescription HCG products safe and effective for weight loss?

No. FDA-approved uses for prescription HCG products include female fertility and select hormonal treatment in males, and FDA has not approved prescription HCG for any other uses, including weight loss. Current scientific evidence does not support the claim that HCG is safe and effective for weight loss or for the treatment of obesity. In fact, FDA labeling for the approved HCG drug products requires the following statement about the use of HCG for weight loss:

“HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or ‘normal’ distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.”

FDA is aware that healthcare professionals sometimes prescribe prescription injectable HCG for unapproved uses such as weight loss. FDA understands that sometimes approved products are used to treat conditions that the products were not approved for (i.e., “off-label” uses). The “off-label” use of products usually presents greater uncertainty about both the risks and benefits because less information is available on safety and effectiveness. Unexpected adverse events may occur in this context. FDA has received reports of serious adverse events associated with the use of HCG injections for weight loss including cases of pulmonary embolism, depression, cerebrovascular issues, cardiac arrest, and death."

Don't know much about the HCG diet, but have done some reading on it. Seems to me that you could have lost the 36 pounds you talk about by just simply eating a well balanced diet and doing a lot of extra exercise. You could have also done a "fat fast" and dropped a significant amount of weight. I dropped 20 pounds in 10 days to jump start my weight loss by doing the fat fast. However, "dieting" should not be a goal. Changing the habits that caused you to gain the weight, eating healthy, adding exercise....those should be your goals. Either way you choose to go, I wish you much luck. However, I ask....what happens after the HCG injections stop? What then?

Bad idea on just about every level. HGC has no proven effectiveness as a weight loss support. The calorie and nutrition deficits are unhealthy at best and dangerous at worst and most important, people that do diets like this do not sustain their weight loss for any appreciable period after ending the diet. Most regain everything back within six months.

On a personal note: I am truly embarrassed to admit that I did this diet but I did. Eight years ago, I was desperately unhappy about how heavy I had become but I didn't want to do the work required to return to eating and exercising sanely (which I had managed to do for the prior fifteen years). I fooled myself into believing that I was disciplined enough to maintain any weight loss I managed and I let a doctor convince me that she would support me through the diet and after; that was another damaging delusion.

Net result: The forty pounds I lost in forty days, I gained back in the following six months. It took a year before my metabolism normalized and much longer than that to fix the binge eating I developed when coming off of the diet. I carried that weight, with all the attendant problems, until late last year when I *finally* figured out that there are no shortcuts and started rebuilding good eating and exercise habits. And I was lucky. I know people that did the diet at the same time I did and they have not recovered from it.

Please stop the diet now before you spend a lot of money, go through the heartbreak of regaining all weight lost and possibly cause yourself a great deal of harm.

Hello,

I'm writing to let you know that our Community Guidelines ( http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/guidelines ) prohibit the creation of any forum posts, groups, or posts in groups that encourage the use of Very Low Calorie diets (including, but not limited to, VLCDs that use the HCG protocol).

MyFitnessPal has always promoted a healthy, sustainable, and gradual path to weight loss. But HCG products are typically promoted in connection with a very low calorie diet, usually one that limits calories to 500 per day. Research has demonstrated that calorie intake at these levels can lead to increased risk of gallstones, hair loss, constipation, an irregular heartbeat, and many other dangerous side-effects.

Moreover, numerous medical studies have shown that the results of HCG-use in combination with a very low calorie diet are indistinguishable from the results of the low calorie diet alone. In light of this research, the FDA has required the labeling and advertising of HCG products to state:

“HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or “normal” distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.”

Our guidelines prohibit any use of Groups or the Public Forums to support the use of HCG.

Regards,
Ninerbuff
MFP Community Manager