HCG Diet

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  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Ok I'm gonna get hammered for this so let me qualify by saying that *I* don't think this diet is healthy or sustainable.

    But. . . my husband and his entire family lost 200 lbs collectively with the shots version, under doctor's supervision. It started because my FiL needed to drop some serious weight FAST for health reasons (his doctor said this and recommended HCG, and I don't know the exact details) and he lost over 70 lbs. His wife saw that and thought hey, that looks good, so she lost 30 lbs. My brother and sister in law lost 50 lbs each. My husband needed to lose weight so that he could join the Navy so he lost 60 lbs on it.

    Now that said-- as soon as you come OFF the diet you have no muscle tone because you can't work out while eating so little. They tell you not to. Also as soon as you add any type of sugar back into your diet you gain back exponentially. The ONLY reason it has worked for my husband is that he went straight from that diet to boot camp training. And it was very hard on him to do that, as you can imagine.

    My in-laws swear by HCG (in the form they used it, which had no flushes or drops-- it was basically a shot, 2 liters of water, 8 oz of lean protein, 8 oz. non-starchy veggies, and 2 apples per day) and say if you use it properly it's amazing-- personally I could never do it. I need real food, and a change in lifestyle not just weight.

    My husband would never do it again-- he was miserable the whole time he was on it, but it did make him lose a lot of weight. I have serious doubts about whether he would have kept it off had he not joined the Navy right after.
  • JerseyGirl5970
    JerseyGirl5970 Posts: 17 Member
    HCG Diet does work - I have done the homeopathic drops and pellets along with the real stuff. I lost 25 pounds in almost 3 weeks I weighed - 160 when I started them. WARNING - Please believe people when they say you will gain double the weight back! it messes with your hormones which for women can be a disaster waiting to happen. I have been on and off diets for years. My heaviest weight was 200 pounds - at 5ft. I lost over 60 pounds 20 years ago and only regained 15 pounds back with yo yo dieting over the whole 20 year period. Along withd trying to maintain a weight that my body will not realsiticly maintian without starving. But after doing HCG last year I gained the 25 pounds I lost plus 20 more on top of that (45) pounds that has never happened to me even during pregnancy I only went up 15-17 pounds. So I strongly advise agains HCG --- it's taking me months to get my body to finally respond to loosing weight . You will definitely loose the weight - but everybody that I know who has tried the diet has gained back more than they lost after a year or so on the diet. If they have not gained it all back they had more than a hundred pounds to loose and are doing the diet multiple times to shed the weight so there regain will not happen until a maybe 2 years after doing the diet.
  • Gigi_licious
    Gigi_licious Posts: 1,185 Member
    . I start a 40D and just got fit for a new bra this week - a 36DD.

    I'm just super curious now, since it's a pregnant hormone, did you your boobies grow because you're lactating? I'm really not trying to be a smart *kitten*, I'm just wondering if you're getting pregnant lady boobs to go with the pee.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,420 MFP Moderator
    Aneorexia is essentially the same approach as HCG. Both destroy your metabolism, both lead a chance of organ problems but both will make you lose weight.


    There are several healthy options. FAD diets can't last and generally cause issues. When you are serious about losing weight, then you have to work hard, in my opinion. If you want something that will help gaing some muscle and help you shred some weight quick, eat right and do a workout program like P90X or Insanity. They are proven to work and are completely healthy.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    My husband's family have kept their weight off so far (it's been about a year since they started) because they eat NO sugar at all. And I'm pretty sure my MiL still goes back on the shots occasionally for maintenance, which is a pretty expensive way to maintain if you ask me.
  • LisaKyle11
    LisaKyle11 Posts: 662 Member
    Try SEARCH button.... there is plenty of input for sure....
  • kapeluza
    kapeluza Posts: 3,434 Member
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  • I did HCG early in the year and lost 25lbs quickly and rather painlessly. It wasn't for the faint of heart.

    During which I had the worst mood swings of my life. And after, I've gained all the weight back and then some.

    Why? Because your starving yourself. And it becomes a sick obsession. I lived, breathed, and focused only on HCG and HCG forums and what I was eating when.

    Which lead to "mental" starvation and uncontrollable cravings afterwards. I'd never been a "binger" until after HCG. My relationship with food completely changed and for the worse.

    It's a sick mind game, partly because of what your doing to your body and natural reaction and I think also because it IS hormones. My menstrual cycle was ruined for months. I'm pretty ashamed I even did that to my body- and it's taken quite some time to return to normal. I have maintained a number for months and months but haven't been able to lose weight again. I think because my body is just so confused, tired, and not willing to release anything. Which I can't blame it for!

    I would NOT recommend it to ANYONE. Apart from the obvious health risks, think about what your doing to your mind and spirit. It's not a "diet". It's just terrible. Plus, what do you learn from it? Nothing about health or nutrition.
  • sandrinamsilva
    sandrinamsilva Posts: 651 Member
    . I start a 40D and just got fit for a new bra this week - a 36DD.

    I'm just super curious now, since it's a pregnant hormone, did you your boobies grow because you're lactating? I'm really not trying to be a smart *kitten*, I'm just wondering if you're getting pregnant lady boobs to go with the pee.

    I'm not on HCG and luckily mine have gone from a 42C to a 38DD
  • kimiel51
    kimiel51 Posts: 299 Member
    I have been told to NEVER do this diet....you are basically starving yourself because you can only have 500 calories...
    OMG!
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
    Please read this topic:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/338789-looking-for-peeps-who-did-hcg-diet-with-bad-results

    Also please take the time to read the following Blog.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MrsCon40/view/hcg-a-handy-reply-to-the-multitude-of-quick-fix-seekers-148860

    Below is the text of the blog
    So, here’s the bottom line on this “hCG Diet“.

    Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a hormone approved by the FDA for use in pre-pubertal boys to help aid normal sexual development, and in women to treat fertility problems. hCG is produced by the placenta and is also found in pregnant women’s urine. It is not approved for weight loss and has never been proven by credible peer reviewed science to cause weight loss. So how did hCG surface as a weight loss solution?

    Back in the 1930’s, a physician named A.T.W. Simeons was using hCG for the standard reproductive medical conditions for which it was approved. He observed that some of his patients dropped weight while on the hCG injections. Thinking that perhaps the hCG was the cause, he administered the injections along with a dietary plan to overweight patients and noted weight loss. Please note that subsequent researchers repeated his clinical study and were never able to replicate any association between hCG and weight loss.

    Since then, most independent, peer-reviewed studies have shown no difference in weight loss between subjects on a low-calorie diet who received hCG injections and subjects who received a placebo. In 1975, the FDA noted that hCG is not a weight loss drug. In 1995, the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published a summary of research showing no hCG related weight loss association. The American Society of Bariatric Physicians does not recommend hCG for weight loss as noted in a December 2009 position paper.

    Flash forward to 2007 when Kevin Trudeau published his book “The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About“, in which he concocted a weight loss plan which included hCG injections. Trudeau has no professional training in medicine, health or science. He is widely known as a controversial businessman who has tangled with the law regarding false health claims related to his books and products. You’d think that common sense would dictate running the other way when this guy hawks anything. But, people are desperate and when they are promised rapid weight loss and an end to their misery, they’ll often line up to sign up.

    What is involved with the hCG “diet”:

    1) Daily injections of hCG, with online prices ranging from $30 to more than $600 for a month’s supply. One side effect is pregnancy, as hCG increases fertility among women.

    2) 500 calories per day of highly restrictive food intake, including coconut oil. One tablespoon of coconut oil contains 13.6 g total fats, 11.8 g of which are artery clogging saturated fats, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.

    3) A range of body “flush and detox” regimens. Here’s my quote from a prior WebMD interview about this regimen. “All the flushes and cleanses are pure nonsense, unnecessary, and there is no scientific basis for these recommendations,” says nutrition and metabolism expert Pamela Peeke, MD, chief medical correspondent for Discovery Health channel. “Your body is well equipped with organs, such as the liver and kidneys, and the immune system, to rid itself of potential toxins and do an excellent job of cleansing itself without needing flushes or cleanses.“

    Here are other concerns related to this “diet”:

    1) You’re starving yourself. Your brain alone requires 600 calories per day to function optimally. By consuming only 500 calories per day, of course you’ll drop weight. But at what price? You’re cannibalizing your muscle mass, reducing your metabolism and consequently the effectiveness of your calorie burning. If I had you consume only 500 calories per day and then injected you with water, should I now call this the amazing water cure for weight loss? hCG has nothing to do with your weight loss. Starvation does.

    2) It’s impossible to do. So you blame yourself (and not the author) when you cannot complete his plan. This is a core element of the scam. People who are overweight already feel guilty and are often filled with shame. After having laid down a lot of cash and not being able to successfully comply for a month or more, they figure “Oh well, just another diet I’ve failed at”.

    3) It is unsustainable. This regimen is almost impossible to adhere to for more than a very short period of time. There are no healthy eating or physical activity behaviors to learn. Eventually you would have to enter the real world. And then, what do you do?

    4) It’s unsafe. You cannot meet your baseline survival nutritional requirements on a starvation plan. You can seriously alter your healthy intestinal bacterial flora with repeated “cleanses and detox” regimens. This can lead to altered bowel function and inability to appropriately absorb food nutrients, which can then impair immune function.

    Further, many of you have a lot of weight to remove. You may also have associated medical problems, including high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and high blood sugar levels. You could also be on medications to treat these as well as mental conditions like depression and anxiety. When people buy into a diet scam like hCG, they usually don’t tell their medical team. Rapid weight loss, radically altered food consumption, cleanses and detox regimens can seriously affect your underlying mental and physical conditions and alter the clearance and blood level of medications you’re taking.

    Don’t turn yourself into a science fair project. Beware of these radical scam approaches as they can deleteriously affect your health and wellbeing. In the best of all worlds, you’re working with credible health professionals to remove your excess weight.

    5) You’re not breaking food addictions. The promise is that you’ll no longer be addicted to food and any abnormal eating behaviors. Credible research has clearly shown that starvation and useless injections are not the solution to food addictions. Behavioral modification, healthy eating practices and regular physical activity have clearly been shown to control food addictions.

    6) You’re broke. Take a moment and add up the total costs of the books and products required. That’s why I’ve renamed this “diet” the High Cost Game scam.

    Finally, there will always be an endless supply of frauds and scams created to prey on your desires to drop weight. To help guide you, here are the Food and Nutrition Science Alliances’ “Ten Red Flags of Junk Science“:

    * Recommendations that promise a quick fix.
    * Dire warnings of danger from a single product or regimen.
    * Claims that sound too good to be true.
    * Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex scientific study.
    * Recommendations based on a single study.
    * Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations.
    * Lists of “good” and “bad” foods.
    * Recommendations made to help sell a product.
    * Recommendations based on studies published without peer review.
    * Recommendations from studies that ignore difficulties among individuals or groups.

    Always remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Anything worth doing in your life requires time and effort to achieve and succeed. Run from false promises like the hCG scam. Stick with life-giving whole foods and physical activity. Now, that’s better living through your own chemistry.

    http://blogs.webmd.com/pamela-peeke-md/2010/12/diet-scam-101-the-hcg-con.html
    (Thank you MrsCon40 for this blog)
  • HcG success story.

    PM me if you want my personal opinion.

    It works.

    I am more healthy (and slim) at 42 than I have ever been.
  • HcG success story.

    PM me if you want my personal opinion.

    It works.

    I am more healthy (and slim) at 42 than I have ever been.

    If I'm reading your stats right, you gained some weight between round 1 and 2, that doesn't tell you something? )-:
    You are a "success story" b/c you lost weight while taking this "medication", the true test is to keep it off after you trash your metabolism and stop taking the HCG.
  • HcG success story.

    PM me if you want my personal opinion.

    It works.

    I am more healthy (and slim) at 42 than I have ever been.

    If I'm reading your stats right, you gained some weight between round 1 and 2, that doesn't tell you something? )-:
    You are a "success story" b/c you lost weight while taking this "medication", the true test is to keep it off after you trash your metabolism and stop taking the HCG.

    My metabolism was not and is not trashed. I put on a little weight in between and since - I am currently at a very comfortable weight and very happy with my results and the method I chose to achieve them.
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    bad news. google it or use the search button here. its a pretty hot topic


    oh gosh...what she said! use the search function and you'll find a gazillion threads on this...mostly negative. And my opinion is it's unhealthy. If you want to loose weight and keep it off there's no shortcut. Healthy lifestyle, that's the ticket!
  • What if it really doesn't have to be hard?

    Just because 'everyone' says it has to be hard?
  • BTW - lizziebeth - you look GREAT for 52 . . heck you look GREAT for any age!

    whatever you're doing is working !
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    BTW - lizziebeth - you look GREAT for 52 . . heck you look GREAT for any age!

    whatever you're doing is working !

    Omg thank you! you made my day:))))))
  • MrsRipdizzle
    MrsRipdizzle Posts: 490 Member
    My experience:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/338789-looking-for-peeps-who-did-hcg-diet-with-bad-results

    I post again on page two about some other things I had forgotten when originally posting.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,420 MFP Moderator
    What if it really doesn't have to be hard?

    Just because 'everyone' says it has to be hard?

    I am glad you didn't have any problems and succeeded with HCG, but how can you say 500 calories a day is good for a body.


    Also, I am curious, how you know your metabolism didn't take a crap? Are you eating normal again or still on HCG? Did you happen to take a body compositon reading before (before and after body fat)? Sorry, I haven't had time to read your story which I will try later. I am trying to figure out how you tested your variables. Or was weight the only improvement?


    What I am getting to though, just because you lose weight, doesnt' mean you haven't had adverse affects. it doesn't mean it's good for your body. People easily confuse weight loss with healthy. They can be completely different. There is a reason why you can be skinny fat. It's also the reason why my friend who is 20 weeks pregnant still hasn't gained much weight. She is a recoverying/still is aneorexic.

    Mostly what I am saying, there are much safer ways of losing weight.
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