HCG Diet

Carbs are only cut because of their high caloric concentration; but unlike Atkins or other high protein diets everything is cut to include fats and protein, in fact the protocol recommends no more than I believe 18 grams of protein per day; additionally you can not use any lotions that are oil or fats based, as it will be absorbed into the skin and slow down the fat loss process...and if you dont think that is true read through some HCG forums where people have plateued or havnt lost as much as they expected. The first question is...What types of lotions are you using? More often than not an individual is using an oil or fat based lotion, once they cut that out their plateau ends and they achieve the results expected.

Phase 2 is the 500 calorie portion you are doing right now............

Phase 3 is eating anything you want, no sugar, no starch.........

Phase 4, slowly re-introduce sugar and starch in very small quantities.

The good news is, when you get to Phase 4, your body will be used to clean eating and you won't want processed foods any longer!!!

This looks remarkably similar to a low carb diet (like Atkins) without the hormone shot. Are you basically cutting carbs in the diet?

Court,

If you are still hungry after three days you may need to increase your dosage.

Is anyone trying the HCG diet? I started it on friday and it only allows 500 calories...its so hard! But, on the brighter side, I've lost 3 lbs in 3 days!

Court...the real fun will be after you lost your 27 pounds in 30 days! Woohoo! Look at all the stuff this will do for lucky you!

---You'll now be depleted of muscle (no way around this because of lack of enough kcal to maintain muscle, and your body using it for subsistence).

---You'll get the reward have a higher body fat percentage (no way around this as you'll be losing mostly lean mass with a small percentage of fat, and have a lower denominator...that equals a higher BF% than when you started!)

---Be in the worst cardio shape of your life (you can't do effective cardio with 500 kcals a day)

---Generally feel like *kitten*...at 500 calories per day, you get to feel JUST like an anorexic person...yeah!!!

---After that, you get to put all the weight back on at a record pace, because your body is ready to do just that, and almost all pure fat.

---Most rewarding, you get to look at yourself in the mirror after 3 months of spending alot of money and feeling terrible...and go into a depression becuase you failed, and are now worse off than you started.

---If you do convince yourself to start over on a SENSIBLE plan (i.e. eat cleanly, workout hard), you will get the bonus of it being more difficult (less lean mass, slower metabolism, less desire / drive) to achieve any substantial fitness level.


There are NO shortcuts. Work hard, eat clean, make your rewards small, while burning more than you consume....repeat. Repeat. Repeat. This is the ONLY way.

I was on this diet in the 80's under a Doctors care and lost a lot of weight. However, for me, the downside was not being able to have a BM everyday, constipation was a problem. But it does work and I can't call it a fad diet since it's been around for decades. Good Luck to anyone trying it!

So, do you think if instead of using this "diet", if you'd subscribed to healthy eating and workout out regularly...would you be where you are today? All diets are fads...because they do not work, it's that simple. It takes hard work, eating right, and discipline. No shortcuts. But shortcuts sell, so you'll see every diet in the world regurgitated over and over...just like this one.

Diets really are a short term tool and all of them come with trade off.
Very restrictive dieting can lead to binge / over eating and rapid return of weight after initial success.

A slight caloric deficit (10-20%) with resistance training is the ticket.
Yes, you need Carbohydrates... just get them from the right sources and combine them with a lean protein (Thermogenic effect of food).

Burn the fat but be sure to feed your muscles -- without them your almost doomed to balloon

Wow yet another person who just simply doesnt bother doing his homework before hitting enter on the keyboard....

-- Your body wont be using muscle for substinance because the HCG releases the fat to metabolized, in fact the HCG protocol causes the least amount of muscle to be metabolized by the body when comparing to even some of the best diets as prescribed by nutritionist.

-- Your body fat will absolutely be lower, and I highly recommend that you monitor it if for nothing else pure motivation. You will be able to do simple math determining that the reduction in your body fat correlates to the pounds loss...amazing.

--You can do effective cardio on 500 calories a day, I do it every morning (at least three miles) and wow I am still alive...here is something crazy...I lift too!! I should be passing out shouldnt I? Im not because the HCG is releasing stored fat into my blood stream for fuel!

--You will feel fine...in fact I have felt great...better than before when I wasnt on the diet...sleep better, more energy, happier.

--If you follow the protocol and change your diet to reflect what you need to sustain yourself, and not eat for emotional reasons or simply for taste, you wont put an ounce back on

--Great news...at the end of your first round, in fact at the end of your first week, you will be able to look in the mirror and see the remarkable changes your body is making, as it not only losing weight but resculpting itself. 6 months from then you can look in the mirror and be very happy you made the choices you did because your life has completely changed....just as thousand of other succesful HCG'ers have!

--After you finish up with your protocol you can then start hitting the gym and increase your aerobic and anerobic base.


--And finally never take advice from a guy whose profile picture is as tacky as his!

Court...the real fun will be after you lost your 27 pounds in 30 days! Woohoo! Look at all the stuff this will do for lucky you!

---You'll now be depleted of muscle (no way around this because of lack of enough kcal to maintain muscle, and your body using it for subsistence).

---You'll get the reward have a higher body fat percentage (no way around this as you'll be losing mostly lean mass with a small percentage of fat, and have a lower denominator...that equals a higher BF% than when you started!)

---Be in the worst cardio shape of your life (you can't do effective cardio with 500 kcals a day)

---Generally feel like *kitten*...at 500 calories per day, you get to feel JUST like an anorexic person...yeah!!!

---After that, you get to put all the weight back on at a record pace, because your body is ready to do just that, and almost all pure fat.

---Most rewarding, you get to look at yourself in the mirror after 3 months of spending alot of money and feeling terrible...and go into a depression becuase you failed, and are now worse off than you started.

---If you do convince yourself to start over on a SENSIBLE plan (i.e. eat cleanly, workout hard), you will get the bonus of it being more difficult (less lean mass, slower metabolism, less desire / drive) to achieve any substantial fitness level.


There are NO shortcuts. Work hard, eat clean, make your rewards small, while burning more than you consume....repeat. Repeat. Repeat. This is the ONLY way.

Wow yet another person who just simply doesnt bother doing his homework before hitting enter on the keyboard....

HCG protocol is a fad diet - with a quick fix mentality.
Nothing more to say.. good luck.

How much money do you spend a month on GNC supplements that have not been scientifically proven to do anything except cost you money...dont lie...I know you have, I have been in your shoes...hell I was probably in even better shape. Things change, people change, what works for some doesnt work for all...and really unless you have the proof to back it up...dont post ridiculous things.

So, do you think if instead of using this "diet", if you'd subscribed to healthy eating and workout out regularly...would you be where you are today? All diets are fads...because they do not work, it's that simple. It takes hard work, eating right, and discipline. No shortcuts. But shortcuts sell, so you'll see every diet in the world regurgitated over and over...just like this one.

I was on this diet in the 80's under a Doctors care and lost a lot of weight. However, for me, the downside was not being able to have a BM everyday, constipation was a problem. But it does work and I can't call it a fad diet since it's been around for decades. Good Luck to anyone trying it!

Speaking of proof, I would really love some links to reliable, peer-edited research papers backing up all these scientific claims about HCG you bring up. There are dozens of articles disproving it, and I've found only one showing a near negligible difference between a 'regular' 500 calorie diet vs and a 500 cal diet used in conjunction with HCG.
There is a lot of misinformation around, so without 'proof', its hard to take your claims seriously.
Edit: Not meaning this aggressively, so please dont get offended! Internet tone is hard to convey. But if theres reading I can do on it, it'd be nice.

Really? So 50 years is a fad? Thats a long fad. I disagree with you, but that is pretty obvious. Enjoy your creatine monohydrate, nobody has determined what the long term negative effects of that are either.

You seem to be disagreeable in general
My diary is public - did you even bother to look at it?

Your comments seem to be as myopic as the hcg diet. Congrats on finding something that fits your style of thinking.
Good luck.. I think you'll need it.

I'd be interested in seeing some well designed double blind studies that prove the long term efficacy of the HCG diet. And no, the thousands of anecdotes you speak of are in no way proof.

Ill put some stuff together. In the mean time, I think the thousands of people that have experienced nothing but positive sustained results, is proof enough. I have seen countless posts of people who have experienced success, to include a significantly lower BF% that correlates with pounds loss...and not so many, (actually none) that have said they had a bad experience with it. Im going to give a couple Doctors here a call, and Ill hit up a couple internet folks I know and see what they have stashed in their back pocket...then Ill include the links for what I find. I highly doubt there will be any peer reviewed clinical studies conducted in the US that back HCG's claims, alot of it is due to pressure from politicians and keep the pockets of the drug companies lined. Nevada just cleared it for use as a weight loss drug to be administered by a physician, so Ill start there in looking for peer reviewed stuff.

How much money do you spend a month on GNC supplements that have not been scientifically proven to do anything except cost you money...dont lie...I know you have, I have been in your shoes...hell I was probably in even better shape. Things change, people change, what works for some doesnt work for all...and really unless you have the proof to back it up...dont post ridiculous things.

So, do you think if instead of using this "diet", if you'd subscribed to healthy eating and workout out regularly...would you be where you are today? All diets are fads...because they do not work, it's that simple. It takes hard work, eating right, and discipline. No shortcuts. But shortcuts sell, so you'll see every diet in the world regurgitated over and over...just like this one.

I was on this diet in the 80's under a Doctors care and lost a lot of weight. However, for me, the downside was not being able to have a BM everyday, constipation was a problem. But it does work and I can't call it a fad diet since it's been around for decades. Good Luck to anyone trying it!

Speaking of proof, I would really love some links to reliable, peer-edited research papers backing up all these scientific claims about HCG you bring up. There are dozens of articles disproving it, and I've found only one showing a near negligible difference between a 'regular' 500 calorie diet vs and a 500 cal diet used in conjunction with HCG.
There is a lot of misinformation around, so without 'proof', its hard to take your claims seriously.
Edit: Not meaning this aggressively, so please dont get offended! Internet tone is hard to convey. But if theres reading I can do on it, it'd be nice.