HCG diet

That has to be one of the most unhealthy diets I've come across.

Is a pound a week worth the amount of trauma your body goes through?

Agreed.
It must be so tempting to see someone lose 1 pound a day. But most people forget how much stress something like this puts on the body. People are impatient and want the quick fix. But it's anything but healthy in the long run.

whats the maintenence u r speaking of??

if you are serious about trying this out, make sure you read the Pounds and Inches manuel. it explains the method behind the madness. you have your loading phase, your diet phase and your maintenance phase. basically the maintenance phase is similar to the adtkins diet. you can eat more food than the diet phase, but you can NOT eat ANY carbs/sugars PERIOD. if you do, your weight will gain. like my friends, when i entered the maintenance phase, i ate more than i should because 1 - i deprived myself of foods for the past 40-days, and 2 - i had the wrong mindset....its just a little animal cracker, what harm is that gonna do? well, that one animal cracker can seriosuly eff up your day!

Here is a link to Pounds and Inches - http://www.healthyhcg.com/Dr-Simeons-Pounds-and-Inches.pdf
It's kinda long, but you really need to understand the effects of this diet.

and i had no odd ball side effects when i did it. i was healthy, had energy, normal life style. wasn't hungry.....none of that. but i had some friends who had gotten bad headaches and stomach pains and had to go off it.

People tell you what you want to hear to get your money. I dont know enough about this diet to comment weather its safe or not, but I wouldnt think loosing 2 pounds a day could be to safe on your body.... unless you are on the Biggest Loser Ranch and exercising 8 hours a day. Even then its hard for some of them to do that. The way I see it calories in calories out. If you put your self on a low calorie diet, drink tons of water and exercise daily you will get the weight off in a healthy manner. I have set myself a goal on here and I just try to stick to the calories, fat, carbs, and protein they set me up with. I exercise 1 hour a day, and try to drink 100 oz water a day. so far Ive lost 7 pounds. However you choose to loose weight I wish you luck :-)

hmmmm try how long it takes for the weight to come off... I am sick of only loosing 1 freakin pound a week and working for it.... Its almost not even worth it. I am killing myself here and the weight is hardly coming off...

just be patient...losing weight or better yet "fat" is not a sprint, it is a marathon. when people tend to lose weight extremely fast they lose muscle mass as well as fat. yes you will weight less but you just be a smaller version of your current self. the chances are your bodyfat percentage wont drop that much.

I have lost about 100lbs and losing 1 to 2.5 lbs a week is a healthy rate to lose weight. Another benefit of losing weight slowly is that it gives your skin time to adjust to your new body so you wont have as much loose and saggy skin once you get to your goal weight.

just stay with what your doing and your hard work will pay off.

I agree with most of everyone else's comments : it IS NOT healthy.

If you lose a pound a day it is very, very bad for your body. First off-when you lose weight that quickly, your body will not have time to make the necessary changes. You could end up with extra skin because if the weight goes that quickly then your body will not have time to make the proper adjustments. Would you really want to have loose skin hanging off your body? I have seen it happen-it is not pretty. Second- when you lose weight that fast it will be just as easy to gain it back just as fast. When you lose weight slowly it is more effective and you have a much greater chance of keeping it off permanently.

Losing weight can take time, but the healthy way pays off so much more in the end. I know- I lost 50 lbs and did it by dieting and exercise. No pills, no starving myself, no HCG diet.

Trust me on this one!

It's tough when you lose slowly and you are working your butt off to shift it! I lost weight quickly a few years ago and it came off quickly and lo and behold, it all came back and more. I'm trying to just be patient and diligent this time and be happy with 1lb a week.

I do agree with the consensus of replies though, that any "diet" which focus isn't healthy eating and exercise, isn't good for you! You also have to think, if you went with this diet and lost 40lb and felt great... then WHAM.. all the weight (and maybe more as is often the case) came flooding back. Not only will you be back to where you were before but you may have put back on the precious pounds you lost working your bum off by healthy eating. I know you are frustrated right now, but sometimes the things you work hard for have so much more meaning than you realise when you are on the journey. I know it's hard but stick with it!

I have a couple of questions for you too though. Have you done the maths? Have you worked out what your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is and what your calorie deficit would be at the end of each week factoring in the calories you burn through exercise? It takes a calorie deficit of 3500 calories to lose a pound so it's not easy. Give yourself some credit. Also have you considered the type of foods you are eating? Counting calories is all well and good but you have to consider the nutritional value of what you are eating as well.

Apologies if I'm preaching to the choir but thought I should check as there might be a few tweaks you can make to your existing routine that can maximise your results (although it will never be a pound a day as that is wicked unrealistic and unhealthy!). However if you are doing everything right and you are just a slow loser (like me) then why don't you do what I have done?

I made a chart which plots my 1lb a week weight loss all the way to target. Don't get upset by the final date on the page, I doubt it took you a month to put the extra weight on, so it'll take a while to get it off again. However I find my sheet (which is pinned up by my computer) is added motivation. I know, when I look at it if I'm frustrated, that if I stick with this, that even at my slow rate I could be down 30lbs by my birthday and 45lbs by my mothers birthday. It does help! Haha and check me out! I'm 2 weeks ahead of schedule at the moment!

Sorry for going on a bit but as a slow loser, I wanted to try to highlight the bigger picture. Quick fixes are so tempting but at the end of the day, you are worth the extra effort for a long haul. Its like a relationship. Do you want to be dating the guy who is a whirlwind of expensive dates and snazzy hotels who leaves you after a month for something more exciting? Or do you want the guy who pursues you slowly, patiently and is supportive and adoring who is still around to give you flowers on your 70th birthday? Ok, a slightly stupid analogy but I think it does come down to self worth and you are definitely worth the effort.