HCG drops?

srrosenbalm
srrosenbalm Posts: 35 Member
edited September 27 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone!

I was just wondering if anyone had any good information about HCG drops? I was told through a friend of mine that I should try them out along with my clean eating diet, to increase my weight loss. So far, she's gone from 180 lbs to 135lbs, and she swears by these drops. Still, I'm a bit skeptical about all of these "lose weight fast" scams. And I'm not a big fan of putting stuff into my body that could one day hurt me (diet pills). I'm trying to lose the weight naturally, but would love to get a boost if it's not harmful.

I can't seem to find any side effects, or real information on them so I was just wanting to know if any one out there could give me some information? What are they exactly? How does it work? Do they even work? What are they made of?

Thanks in advance!!
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Replies

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/weight-loss-controversy-hcg-diet-pt-1
  • reyna99
    reyna99 Posts: 489 Member
    My mother in law took them and dropped 35lbs fast, then a year later she is back to where she was, if not more! I wouldn't do them, unless you know for sure you are going to be able to maintain which I haven't seen anyone do that....get in the habitat now of eating good/healthy and exercising :)
  • slp2112
    slp2112 Posts: 107
    HcG is a hormone naturally produced when women are pregnant. Recently, the use of HcG injections has caught on as a way to suppress hunger signals (there's a New York Times article on it that is probably easy to find - people eat 400 calories a day but take the injections to avoid feeling hungry). Not sure what the drops are like, though I imagine the logic is similar.

    Two things. One, I'm a nonbeliever in magic drugs/pills/other things you can take to drop weight and KEEP IT OFF. What happens when you go off the drops and have to figure out how to eat like a normal person? I'm guessing the weight comes screaming off because you haven't learned how to eat healthfully. Two, hunger signals are there for a reason. Your body is supposed to be able to tell you when it's hungry and when it's not (this is a key part, actually, in learning how to eat more healthfully). Why would you alter that with a drug?
  • dawnw30
    dawnw30 Posts: 270
    Yes, I agree. Any friends who have tried it did indeed lose weight quickly - but put it back on plus soon after. If you want to lose weight it has to be a lifestyle change - not a quick fix. It may work initially but it doesn't stay that way so you end up wasting your time and money. Good luck to you :flowerforyou:
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
    Any dietary aid is only available to make the company money, they really don't care about your health. These are gimics that will not teach you to live healthy and maintain a healthy weight . . . only your dedication to treat your body like a temple and only feed it correct amounts of clean and healthy food along with some activity will keep the extra pounds at bay.
    There are no shortcuts that will last, only gimics that will line the pockets of the corporation selling their chemicals.
  • ColoradoRobin
    ColoradoRobin Posts: 510 Member
    http://myphed.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

    There is no HCG in homeopathic HCG drops. It's been diluted to the point where nothing is left. They are a waste of money in my opinion.
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    I totally agree...once you stop the drops, the weight comes right back on. Really 500 calories a day, who can survive on that. I would rather have a healthy lifestyle change by changing my diet and working out. The slow and steady wins the race!
  • tchrnmommy
    tchrnmommy Posts: 342 Member
    You've gotten a lot of good advice about the HCG, however I will say - YOU CAN MAINTAIN IT....people who gained it all back did not follow the protocol...I don't care what they say. I've been on the HCG diet protocol for 16 days and have lost almost 8 pounds. Women average .5-1lb a day. You stay on a strict protocol diet (clean eating) for 21-40 days...you continue a clean eating diet adding in some fats and oils for the same number of days you were on the drops. This process resets your metabolism. You can then begin adding in sugars and starches in moderation with a good balanced diet and you will maintain your loss.

    The drops themselves act to release the stored bad fat into your blood stream making you feel not hungry...there are many factors why people fail on this diet..but it does work...I am really and living proof. Feel free to friend me and I will share my secrets and answer your questions. PS...I do NOT sell the drops or anything. Just a real person with real success.
  • MaryS910
    MaryS910 Posts: 348 Member
    That's how all homeopathic remedies are formulated and they have worked for millions of people and their companion animals as well. So while YOU may find them a waste of money, they work. I have friends who have saved their dogs expensive vet treatment and added years to their lives using homeopathy.

    Homeopathic HCG works on the same principle.
    http://myphed.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

    There is no HCG in homeopathic HCG drops. It's been diluted to the point where nothing is left. They are a waste of money in my opinion.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/truth-about-hcg-for-weight-loss
  • MaryS910
    MaryS910 Posts: 348 Member
    For the record, once you stop any weight loss program, the weight comes right back on. How many of us know people who had gastric bypass or stapling and are now larger than they were prior to surgery? How many people diet and exercise and lose the weight then go back to their old habits and gain it all back plus more? This is certainly not unique to the HCG diet.
    I totally agree...once you stop the drops, the weight comes right back on. Really 500 calories a day, who can survive on that. I would rather have a healthy lifestyle change by changing my diet and working out. The slow and steady wins the race!
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    You've gotten a lot of good advice about the HCG, however I will say - YOU CAN MAINTAIN IT....people who gained it all back did not follow the protocol...I don't care what they say. I've been on the HCG diet protocol for 16 days and have lost almost 8 pounds. Women average .5-1lb a day. You stay on a strict protocol diet (clean eating) for 21-40 days...you continue a clean eating diet adding in some fats and oils for the same number of days you were on the drops. This process resets your metabolism. You can then begin adding in sugars and starches in moderation with a good balanced diet and you will maintain your loss.

    The drops themselves act to release the stored bad fat into your blood stream making you feel not hungry...there are many factors why people fail on this diet..but it does work...I am really and living proof. Feel free to friend me and I will share my secrets and answer your questions. PS...I do NOT sell the drops or anything. Just a real person with real success.

    16 WHOLE days? :huh:

    You do not need to ingest preggo piss to lose weight effectively. Check out my ticker. All I used was MFP, with 99% of the losses coming from food choices and truly only 1% exercising.
    MFP is free, safe, effective, and SAFE.

    Nuff said.
  • MaryS910
    MaryS910 Posts: 348 Member
    How do you know that a year from now you won't be in the same position as your mother-in-law? Maintenance and consistency is difficult, no matter HOW you lose the weight.
    My mother in law took them and dropped 35lbs fast, then a year later she is back to where she was, if not more! I wouldn't do them, unless you know for sure you are going to be able to maintain which I haven't seen anyone do that....get in the habitat now of eating good/healthy and exercising :)
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    It's called the placebo effect.


    Homeopathic HCG works on the same principle.

  • bethany611
    bethany611 Posts: 4
    what is mfp?
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    MFP is short for my fitness pal. Our lovely site :flowerforyou:
  • tchrnmommy
    tchrnmommy Posts: 342 Member

    16 WHOLE days? :huh:

    You do not need to ingest preggo piss to lose weight effectively. Check out my ticker. All I used was MFP, with 99% of the losses coming from food choices and truly only 1% exercising.
    MFP is free, safe, effective, and SAFE.

    Nuff said.

    Let me clarify...16 days THIS ROUND...I have done the proctocol and earlier round and lost 18lbs in 21day...kept it off for 40 days...and am now doing my second round to get to my goal weight...

    I'm not here to start a "fight" with you...it's just another viewpoint I'm offering.
  • MaryS910
    MaryS910 Posts: 348 Member
    I can accept that with humans, I guess, but how would a DOG know about the placebo effect? Veterinary homeopathy is becoming more and more widespread. People said the same thing about chiropractic treatments and accupuncture and now both are covered by most medical insurance.

    Look, I was as skeptical as you about homeopathy until I had a dog who was born with a heart defect and was given 3 months to live by two vets. A veterinarian homeopath put her on several remedies and she lived to be 5 1/2 years old. At age 3, we took her to Texas A & M Vet School for a consultation and they asked if she could stay for the entire day because they had NEVER seen a dog live to that age with her condition and they were calling in every one of their students to come and look at her, listen to her heart and see her xrays. She wasn't a sickly dog for the most part, either, and lived a very full and happy life.

    I had never even heard of homeopathy prior to that (it was 1992) and I have since learned to STFU about things I know nothing about, lol.
    It's called the placebo effect.


    Homeopathic HCG works on the same principle.

  • MaryS910
    MaryS910 Posts: 348 Member
    The HCG protocol, as originated by Dr. Simeons in Italy in the late 1950s, calls for 500 calories per day, not 400.

    You still feel hunger, at least I do.

    I am learning to eat healthily. The diet consists of meat, vegetables and fruit, drinking lots of water, and preparing your food in a healthful way.
    people eat 400 calories a day

    I'm guessing the weight comes screaming off because you haven't learned how to eat healthfully. Two, hunger signals are there for a reason. Your body is supposed to be able to tell you when it's hungry and when it's not (this is a key part, actually, in learning how to eat more healthfully).
  • TheSpicyMermaid
    TheSpicyMermaid Posts: 279 Member
    I tried those and had great success. But, probably like everyone, I didn't follow through with the "aftercare", so of course, I gained the weight back.
    As someone who normally struggles to even get close to 900 calories a day most of the time, the 500 a day wasn't hard for me. BORING, don't get me wrong. So I couldn't gaurantee that it was the drop sthat helped me lose all the weight. I HAVE given up on pills and such because, I believe, that even with their "help", it's just diet and exercise is was truley does the trick. I would love to take a pill that would really burn that fat while I'm working hard, but I still don't think it exists out there.
    What's funny is that I work in a vet's office and they have diet pills for dogs that work pretty good! LOL! No I haven't tried them, lol.
  • TheSpicyMermaid
    TheSpicyMermaid Posts: 279 Member
    I had never even heard of homeopathy prior to that (it was 1992) and I have since learned to STFU about things I know nothing about, lol.

    LOL!!!
  • crystal_sapphire
    crystal_sapphire Posts: 1,205 Member
    this diet works because you're eating at a very low calorie deficit for these rounds. nothing more.
  • tchrnmommy
    tchrnmommy Posts: 342 Member
    this diet works because you're eating at a very low calorie deficit for these rounds. nothing more.

    Crystal, I respectfully disagree...you are misinformed. It's just not that simple. Eating that low of calories without taking the drops would actually stall your weight loss as your body would go into starvation mode.
  • jewelzz
    jewelzz Posts: 326 Member
    ok im lost are we talking about people or is this an animal post?????? really!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    this diet works because you're eating at a very low calorie deficit for these rounds. nothing more.

    Crystal, I respectfully disagree...you are misinformed. It's just not that simple. Eating that low of calories without taking the drops would actually stall your weight loss as your body would go into starvation mode.

    This statement is explicitly false. Would your body go into starvation mode? Probably, or more likely the response from full blown starvation (the beginning stages of organ failure, vitamin deficiencies, immune system problems, skin/hair/nail problems...etc.) but it would NOT stall weight loss. It would ALTER weight loss, and much more would come from lean tissue canabalization, but weight loss would not stop.

    FYI, after years of studies, the results of multiple studies done on the HCG diet, and copius research into the human metabolism, I conclude the same thing as the original quote here, this diet works through placebo effect and the analogue of a VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) which is a clinical term used to describe a mostly liquid diet of between 500 and 800 calories for a 2 to 3 week period that doctors assign to patients who are not only morbidly obese, but also in real danger of immanent death from that weight. FYI in those situations, the patient is generally monitored either daily or weekly for blood nutrient levels and other signs that the diet can be causing harm.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    and just so everyone knows, while the feelings of hunger are real, they are controlled by hormones, and whether you use a drug or not, the body will (under normal conditions) alter these hormones to fit what it considers "normal" calorie amounts. After a few days of VLCD the body would consider much lower levels of calorie intake "normal" and thus a vastly reduced feeling of hunger.

    And addressing the idea that Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) will trigger fat release is speculation only, there's no clinical or researched-based evidence of this.

    We know from clinical study that HCG acts on "fast growing" cells and because of it's highly negative charge, it repels T cells, which keeps embryo's from being attacked by the human immune system, and that it elicits the increase in progesterone production, which helps feed the uterus. And we know that HCG is used as a fertility medication because it induces ovulation in women. We know of no benefits to fat cells or triglyceride extraction.
    At least nothing I've ever seen in my study (and I've studied a lot).

    If you have any medical research that shows this link, I'd really like to see it. Seriously. But I would request that it be medical research, not a website that explains the benefits of HCG (I've seen plenty of those already, none had any medical citation in them to back up claims).

    thanks,

    -Banks
  • tgh1914
    tgh1914 Posts: 1,036 Member

    16 WHOLE days? :huh:

    You do not need to ingest preggo piss to lose weight effectively. Check out my ticker. All I used was MFP, with 99% of the losses coming from food choices and truly only 1% exercising.
    MFP is free, safe, effective, and SAFE.

    Nuff said.

    Let me clarify...16 days THIS ROUND...I have done the proctocol and earlier round and lost 18lbs in 21day...kept it off for 40 days...and am now doing my second round to get to my goal weight...

    I'm not here to start a "fight" with you...it's just another viewpoint I'm offering.
    I don't think 16 days or even 40 days qualifies as "living proof". Come back & tell us about your success after at least a year.
  • srrosenbalm
    srrosenbalm Posts: 35 Member
    Sorry, I didn't mean to start any arguments! But thank you to everyone for giving me some answers!! I really appreciate it!
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member

    16 WHOLE days? :huh:

    You do not need to ingest preggo piss to lose weight effectively. Check out my ticker. All I used was MFP, with 99% of the losses coming from food choices and truly only 1% exercising.
    MFP is free, safe, effective, and SAFE.

    Nuff said.

    Let me clarify...16 days THIS ROUND...I have done the proctocol and earlier round and lost 18lbs in 21day...kept it off for 40 days...and am now doing my second round to get to my goal weight...

    I'm not here to start a "fight" with you...it's just another viewpoint I'm offering.
    I don't think 16 days or even 40 days qualifies as "living proof". Come back & tell us about your success after at least a year.

    Thank you for taking the words out of my mouth!!!
  • pittielover23
    pittielover23 Posts: 268
    As someone who has naturally screwed up horomones, I would NEVER EVER EVER mess with horomones just to lose weight. This can and has resulted in a a permant horomone imbalance in women, and that is something I would not wish on anyone.
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