HCG...what do you think?!

I don't have much of an appetite. I thought this might be a good way to jumpstart my weight loss. Do one or two rounds so that exercise is not so hard on my joints since I will weigh less. I am NEVER hungry for breakfast and I usually have to talk myself into eating lunch and if I do, I am normally not very hungry for dinner.

Any suggestions/advice?!?!

FYI...I currently weigh 191 pounds and am aiming towards a healthy weight of somewhere between 125-145.
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Replies

  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
    I don't have much of an appetite. I thought this might be a good way to jumpstart my weight loss. Do one or two rounds so that exercise is not so hard on my joints since I will weigh less. I am NEVER hungry for breakfast and I usually have to talk myself into eating lunch and if I do, I am normally not very hungry for dinner.
    Any suggestions/advice?!?!

    Do NOT take this the wrong way, but on your profile you said you wanted to loe 50 pounds. If you really eat the way you say you do, and have gained weight from it, perhaps you should try eating 5 tiny meals a day. If you are eating that small and not losing weight, taking a pregnancy hormone won't help you to lose weight either, since you are on 500 cals a day.

    edit: eating so few of calories WILL put your body in starvation mode, so everything you eat gets stored and doesn't burn off. So people who wait til the afternoon or dinner to eat, most that food just gets stored as fat
  • spammyanna
    spammyanna Posts: 871 Member
    Eating the way you have to on that diet is not healthy.

    You will not keep the weight off long term.

    I have friends that have tried it, found it really hard to stick to, and the weight came right back.

    Maybe you need to look at what you are eating, and when. Maybe your body is already in starvation mode, and thinks it's not hungry....

    I like the idea of eating small meals frequently, that might really help!

    Good luck!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    And here we go...
  • I think HCG is rubbish. 500 calories is not sustainable. I suggest not taking the "fad diet" route.

    Just follow these three rules.
    1. Control your calories (1200 minimum)
    2. Healthy food majority of the time. Occasional indulgences allowed.
    3. Follow exercise routine.

    Voila.
  • Skyoctober
    Skyoctober Posts: 71 Member
    My boss lost 20 lbs in a month with those drops. I lost 20 lbs in 2 months the "right" way and feel great about it...with hard work a healthy diet and determination you can loos the weight with out the drops!!! Good luck with your weight loss!
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    Read this article and you will have all your questions answers about HCG!!!!!


    http://rebeccascritchfield.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/thinking-about-hcg-diet-look-elsewhere-for-weight-loss/
  • I don't have much of an appetite. I thought this might be a good way to jumpstart my weight loss. Do one or two rounds so that exercise is not so hard on my joints since I will weigh less. I am NEVER hungry for breakfast and I usually have to talk myself into eating lunch and if I do, I am normally not very hungry for dinner.

    Any suggestions/advice?!?!

    FYI...I currently weigh 191 pounds and am aiming towards a healthy weight of somewhere between 125-145.

    Are you already taking drops? I have been on them since July 25 and lost 21 lbs... so far...
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    It's a good way to kill your metabolism and other bad side effects. Do you really think at any point, it is healthy to eat 500 calories a day? I eat moer than that eat meal.
  • jlazzar10
    jlazzar10 Posts: 3 Member
    My sister did that and lost 12 lbs. Within a month after going back to regular eating, she gained back 9. I agree with others that you should have at least 1200 calories a day and more if you exercise.
  • jlazzar10
    jlazzar10 Posts: 3 Member
    Sorry, I double posted. Is there a way to delete messages or can you only edit.
  • jrcox520
    jrcox520 Posts: 130 Member
    You don't have much of an appetite because you don't know how to feed your body properly, and it is responding to what you have trained it to expect. If you want weight loss to be permanent you're going to have to forget about jump-starting your diet and start thinking about how to become healthier overall - the weight loss will follow. Good luck.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    I don't have much of an appetite. I thought this might be a good way to jumpstart my weight loss. Do one or two rounds so that exercise is not so hard on my joints since I will weigh less. I am NEVER hungry for breakfast and I usually have to talk myself into eating lunch and if I do, I am normally not very hungry for dinner.

    Any suggestions/advice?!?!

    FYI...I currently weigh 191 pounds and am aiming towards a healthy weight of somewhere between 125-145.

    Are you already taking drops? I have been on them since July 25 and lost 21 lbs... so far...

    Can people posting negative thoughts please stop. It looks like she is trying to start a support thread.
    Thanks!

    There is countless information about how bad this diet is for you, your metabolism, your body in general.. We are just warning her.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    I don't have much of an appetite. I thought this might be a good way to jumpstart my weight loss. Do one or two rounds so that exercise is not so hard on my joints since I will weigh less. I am NEVER hungry for breakfast and I usually have to talk myself into eating lunch and if I do, I am normally not very hungry for dinner.

    Any suggestions/advice?!?!

    FYI...I currently weigh 191 pounds and am aiming towards a healthy weight of somewhere between 125-145.

    Are you already taking drops? I have been on them since July 25 and lost 21 lbs... so far...

    Can people posting negative thoughts please stop. It looks like she is trying to start a support thread.
    Thanks!

    It looks like she's asking for advice on this horrid fad diet. People are giving it. If you have to do weird things that you can't sustain over time for weight loss...it's destined to fail MOST times.
  • And here we go...

    LOL ing ... this should be interesting.
  • I don't have much of an appetite. I thought this might be a good way to jumpstart my weight loss. Do one or two rounds so that exercise is not so hard on my joints since I will weigh less. I am NEVER hungry for breakfast and I usually have to talk myself into eating lunch and if I do, I am normally not very hungry for dinner.

    Any suggestions/advice?!?!

    FYI...I currently weigh 191 pounds and am aiming towards a healthy weight of somewhere between 125-145.

    Are you already taking drops? I have been on them since July 25 and lost 21 lbs... so far...

    Can people posting negative thoughts please stop. It looks like she is trying to start a support thread.
    Thanks!

    Its not negative it is the truth. Its unhealthy. I am glad you have lost weight but you will gain it all back the second you eat more than 500 calories. There is not a quick fix that will last forever. You need to eat healthy and exercise and do a lifestyle change. Best of luck to both of you.
  • I've done the HCG diet, and honestly it works really well, a pound a day just like they said. HOWEVER, what they don't tell you is that you is that it's extremely hard to keep off the weight even with the maintenance program. I've known 8 people that have done it, and they all gained back the weight (or more) in less than 6 months. Which means goodbye skinny jeans, hello stretch marks!

    I think the reason you gain the weight back is that you really didn't work all that hard to lose it. Yeah 500 calories a day is hard, but you get used to it, sometimes even have a hard time eating all 500, but you didn't sweat it out, You didn't have mental fights to get your butt on that treadmill. It's the easy way out.

    I've done it both ways, and I'm sad to say all 32lbs I lost on HCG were found right away, and now back on my butt where they started, but the 9 I've lost so far are gone for good because I WORKED to lose them. I WORKED 1hr a day to drop them. I know 100% that I will never go back.

    So my advice, if you really and truly want to lose weight and keep it off, skip the HCG and head to gym. It feels so much better to exercise the weight off than it ever did to starve it off.

  • spammyanna
    spammyanna Posts: 871 Member
    Good luck to everyone who blows off maitenance on their current diet! That's what people do with HCG and that's why they gain it back. All diets require a life change, there is other phases to the diet other than 500 cals... do your research before you form an opinion.


    Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It is called an opinion, not fact. And just because it doesn't agree with yours, you don't have to attack it.

    No one on here is condemning anyone for asking questions, we are giving our opinions, which is what she asked for.
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
    You probably feel like you're 'forcing' yourself to eat because your body doesn't know when to signal hunger, or expect that it will be fed. Just think about basic psychological conditioning.

    As someone who formerly suffered from an eating disorder, I can relate to disordered patterns of eating - however before you even consider doing any form of 'fad' diet, I'd start by trying to get your eating in check. Just take baby steps - even starting to have a pot of yogurt in the morning is better than nothing. Pretty soon you'll be wanting more than that. Then why not step it up to a banana and a yogurt... your body needs the calcium and the nutrients to function properly.

    As for lunch, you don't have to eat a whole big meal in one go - I break my meals down into 5 smaller ones usually (time dictates otherwise sometimes). Say if you make a sandwich have half, and then have the other half a few hours later. You'll find you actually mentally and physically feel much better as your blood sugar isn't having major peaks and troughs.

    I guess try not to make a mental block about eating, and don't obsess about calories or weight loss at first. Take the time to get into regular eating and then work on specifically what it is you're eating, and what you'd like to change within those meals.

    I'd stay away from things like the HCG and other fad diets as there really is no quick fix. It's not healthy to lose weight that quickly. You'll probably find you'll lose weight really quickly anyway just be reorganising your eating patterns and eating wholesome, 'clean' foods.

    Hope this helps, feel free to friend me :)

    H
  • jamja
    jamja Posts: 190
    Well the FDA has outlawed it, taking it can awaken cancer cells and accelerate their growth.
    Hmmm what do you think you should do?
  • ambermichon
    ambermichon Posts: 404 Member
    If you havent lost weight eating nothing already I dont think trying HCG will help. Not being hungry is a sign of an already slowed metabolism. When I first started I couldnt eat breakfast either....but slowly I added a little until now, I cant live without it. It may be a challenge for you to eat 1200 cals a day but weight loss is always challenging. Wouldnt you rather actually eat and do it the healthy way? Plus exercise is good for you...there are many you can do that are easy on your joints. You dont have to wait to lose weight to exercise.
  • I've done the HCG diet, and honestly it works really well, a pound a day just like they said. HOWEVER, what they don't tell you is that you is that it's extremely hard to keep off the weight even with the maintenance program. I've known 8 people that have done it, and they all gained back the weight (or more) in less than 6 months. Which means goodbye skinny jeans, hello stretch marks!

    I think the reason you gain the weight back is that you really didn't work all that hard to lose it. Yeah 500 calories a day is hard, but you get used to it, sometimes even have a hard time eating all 500, but you didn't sweat it out, You didn't have mental fights to get your butt on that treadmill. It's the easy way out.

    I've done it both ways, and I'm sad to say all 32lbs I lost on HCG were found right away, and now back on my butt where they started, but the 9 I've lost so far are gone for good because I WORKED to lose them. I WORKED 1hr a day to drop them. I know 100% that I will never go back.

    So my advice, if you really and truly want to lose weight and keep it off, skip the HCG and head to gym. It feels so much better to exercise the weight off than it ever did to starve it off.



    GREAT advice!!!!
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
    Rapid weight loss IS NOT BAD! There are many advantages including incredibly improved glide times when you jump off the house!
  • bry_all01
    bry_all01 Posts: 3,100 Member
    so, one of the trainers at my gym was telling me that one of his clients did the HCG (Hungry Crazy Girl) Diet and trained with him and worked out regularly and ended up in a coma. So..... there's that, if you're into that sexy stuff. Then, by all means...
  • btw it doesnt kill your metabolism it makes it faster like it did to mine and you learn so much from this diet

    What, exactly, did you learn? How to starve?
    And please tell me how eating so little doesn't kill your metabolism.
    Sorry if I'm being harsh, but I strongly oppose fad diets.
  • i_love_vinegar
    i_love_vinegar Posts: 2,092 Member
    I saw stuff about this on Dr Oz and The Doctors (~Doctors, Doctors, Give me the news~!).

    From what they said, it isn't the safest idea...But it's your choice obv. >_< Make sure you do your own research, only you can decide what is right for you!
  • ursy87
    ursy87 Posts: 287
    I never used to eat breakfast or lunch sometimes, most days I would be hungry by about 3 or 4 in the afternoon and would binge. For the past couple of months I have forced myself into eating both breakfast and lunch and the weight has started to come off, nothing fancy,complicated or expensive, just eating. Who would have thought it. I have retrained my body into needing food in the morning now and am feeling hungry if I have been up for half an hour and not had my breakfast yet.
  • angtodaycounts
    angtodaycounts Posts: 24 Member
    Thanks for all the replies. I know alot of people that have done this diet with success long term. I have not thought of it as healthy but I was just looking for opinions. I will NOT be doing it just because I want to say it did it the "healthy way" and I want to learn to eat healthy and properly on the way through the weight loss journey so that I can maintain it on the other side of this battle.

    Thanks so again for all your replies!!
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    there is a real and distinct probablity that this will not work for you, if you're already eating low calories I would suspect that continuing to eat low calories will continue your issue. My mom has been overweight for as long as I can remember, no appetite. I started making her log and reach 1200 calories per day. Since then she's lost 5 pounds, I'm very proud of her. Her metabolism was so low from eating so little. There are many theories about how much time it takes to hit starvation mode, and no matter what resource you look at she'd been eating like that for so long that there is little doubt in my mind that was her issue. If this has been the state of your food plan for a long time I would suggest trying to slowly up those calories and see if you can't get that metabolism kicked into high gear.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    the HCG actually doesn't do anything, you lose weight due to restricting calories

    in case you were wondering...

    Stein et al Ineffectiv­eness of human chorionic gonadotrop­in in weight reduction: a double-bli­nd study American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 29, 940-948

    "HCG does not appear to enhance the effectiven­ess of a rigidly imposed regimen for weight reduction"

    Lijesen et al The effect of human chorionic gonadotrop­in (HCG) in the treatment of obesity by means of the Simeons therapy: a criteria-b­ased meta-analy­sis Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1995 Sep;40(3):­237-43

    "there is no scientific evidence that hCG is effective in the treatment of obesity; it does not bring about weight-los­s of fat-redist­ribution, nor does it reduce hunger or induce a feeling of well-being­.""

    also see; JAMA 236:2495–2­497, 1976, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 29:940–948­, 1976, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 12:230–234­, 1963, S Afr Med J. 1990 Feb 17;77(4):1­85-9, West Journal of Medicine 127:461–46­3, 1977, Archives of Internal Medicine 137:151-15­5, 1977
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