---HCG Diet---

There are a lot of threads on this subject and my general idea is that people on this site don't like it. Some people are downright insulting about it.

Me, I've done it. I've had success with it. I was able to keep the weight off for a long time, before I totally derailed when my wedding planning got super stressful and I basically binged every day.

The diet is super strict and you have to adhere to it for it to work. There are 4 phases to it, and all are necessary. Admittedly, I didn't do phases 3 and 4 correctly (or really, at all) and I think that's why I even had the weight gain I did. It only works when you take the drops AND follow the restricted diet. It is NOT intended to be a lifestyle change, but if you stick with it, it is a huge jump start on a lifestyle change. You cannot do this diet for prolonged periods, it isn't intended for that.

Regarding side effects, I didn't have any. Some people talk about hair loss, but that didn't happen to me. And those people seem happy enough with the results that a little hairloss was worth it (their words not mine).

If you want or need a serious jump start to weight loss and are willing to put in the time and the effort (it's strenuous, but after the first week or so the restricted diet becomes second-nature - I had trouble eating 500 calories and didn't feel hungry), it can work for you. If you do it correctly, the weight will stay off. It's important, once the time period you choose is complete, to follow the stabilization and maintenance phases to ease you back into normal, healthy eating habits and don't just jump in the deep end after Phase 2 and eat like you used to. That won't work. But if you do all the phases, you'll find you have healthier eating habits, reach for much smaller portions, and rethink whether you want certain foods that aren't "clean" or good for you.

Good luck!

I have a colleague who has suffered from several side effects from this diet. It reminds me of the liquid diet craze my mother bought into in the 80's- and barely survived! If it seems too good to be true- it is!

I watched a television show a few weeks ago about different weight loss programs and the nutritionists and fitness experts on the show did not have anything good to say about the HCG diet because they felt the 500 calorie diet was not sustainable long-term. They said it can do terrible things to your body, including slowing your metabolism and that most likely those who do it will gain the weight back as soon as they stop taking the drops. The doctors on the show said it was a very dangerous "diet."

You know what is best for you, so I'm only relaying information I've seen and read. I don't have any personal experience but just urge you to be careful!

Best of luck with your weight loss journey.

I've done every diet under the sun, INCLUDING this one. I get really sick of hearing people in general and "professionals" who have no personal experience with something weigh in on it b/c of what it sounds like vs. what it actually is. Yes, I lost weight specifically in the really hard to lose weight places like my thighs and my muffin top. I was never starving. How do I know it wasn't because of the 500 VLCD? Because I've been in starvation mode before and your body loses NOTHING when in starvation mode. So eating below the amount of calories I was in when in starvation mode would have kept me in starvation mode if that's what my body was doing. It wasn't. As promised, it helped me burn abnormal fat. I didn't have any side affects or adverse reactions in my body.

That being said - do I think it's a good diet for maintainable loss? Absolutely not. I've never been a person who lost weight by diet only. I have always had to do exercise to see results. Before this diet, I had a very clean eating regimen - but had just hit and unbreakable plateau. After the diet, I returned to clean eating and daily workouts and that's how I've maintained. If you aren't employing clean eating and clean living habits - then with ANY DIET you do, the weight will come back. You have to make permanent changes for any kind of weight loss to be permanent.