Does anyone doing or is considering HCG??

You WILL lost a lot of weight if you engage in anorexia and eat only 500 calories a day for extended periods of time.

So yes, it "works"... but in general, you want to steer clear of anorexia in your weight loss goals.

I don't know anything about it but I would just remind everyone that fads, quick fixes and expensive "diets" and "plans" do not work! You will lose weight but there are so many stories of people putting it all and more back on. You must change your eating habits and lifestyle to lose weight and maintain weight loss

Here's my take on any "quick" weight loss product (HCG, Sensa, etc etc): If any of these things actually worked, they would be on the cover of the New York Times and the inventor would be a billionaire.

There are lots of us doing this. I've never had any problems with it - dropped quite a bit of weight quickly, and for the most part kept it off. What little I gained back was from poor choices in eating (i.e. soda instead of water for almost a week straight, overloading on carbs because it was convenient, etc), and when I went back to eating right again, that weight fell off quicker than I thought it would.

It's not a diet. It's a jump start, and a catalyst for change. As long as you understand that YOU are ultimately responsible, it will work well. I think what helped me the most was that it forced me to change my eating habits. I was a 2-2 liter a day pop drinker, and stopped on my way to work every day and got a 44 oz fountain Coke and pecan twirls, or a fried pie, or a candy bar, and after being on the protocol that stuff just tastes nasty to me! I know there are people who will say that alone would be enough (and it would, but I'm impatient) - I dropped 22 lbs in 21 days on the protocol, had WAY more energy than normal for me, feel great, and don't have saggy skin from rapid weight loss.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/354869-hcg-progress-updates-page-2-for-people-on-it-or-thinking-a

Good luck in your weight loss journey, regardless of the path you choose!!

I have a friend who's doing the HCG diet she takes it, but can only eat certain foods while on it or it won't work and its only about 500 calories a day but I guess the stuff makes you feel fuller. There is like 4 or 5 stages and you slowly start bringing more food back into your diet as it goes along. She has lost over 20 lbs in the first 30 days. It really worked for her because she has PCOS which makes weight loss very hard. So it def. works. my only concern for her is that it isn't teaching her healthy maintenance levels so she is liable to eventually start eating badly again and gain it all back. Also, they tell you not to do much exercise (if any at all) while on the diet. So she also isn't getting into a good exercise routine either, which will only hurt her when she's done w/ the diet.

Studies have shown that it's not the hormone that makes you lose weight...it's the 500 calories a day that makes you lose weight.

I have a friend who's doing the HCG diet she takes it, but can only eat certain foods while on it or it won't work and its only about 500 calories a day but I guess the stuff makes you feel fuller. There is like 4 or 5 stages and you slowly start bringing more food back into your diet as it goes along. She has lost over 20 lbs in the first 30 days. It really worked for her because she has PCOS which makes weight loss very hard. So it def. works. my only concern for her is that it isn't teaching her healthy maintenance levels so she is liable to eventually start eating badly again and gain it all back. Also, they tell you not to do much exercise (if any at all) while on the diet. So she also isn't getting into a good exercise routine either, which will only hurt her when she's done w/ the diet.

Just a comment about the exercise thing - it says not to start exercising while you're on hCG, but if you already are exercising it's okay (& recommended) to continue.

Basically, the foods you cut out are processed foods, starches and refined sugars, the cutting out of which would probably not hurt a soul in the world. I agree that it does not address healthy maintenance, other than 'gradually add back foods'. When the protocol was written, however, there weren't the processed foods that we take for granted today. I do agree that if one starts eating badly again, the weight will come back, as it will with any 'diet'. Sometimes, that's a hard thing to avoid, what with McDonald's & Wendy's on every corner!!

It worked well for me, I know that it was poor choices in food & beverage that put the few lbs (less than 10) back on, and they came off when I started making healthy choices again. That would have happened regardless of what 'diet' I'd chosen, and will happen again if I don't maintain healthy eating habits. I just had to have something to jump start me, and help break me of my addiction to Coca-Cola.

Good luck to you all in whatever path you choose!