Day 1 of HCG

It's 100% simple. You lose weight on the HCG "diet" due to the calorie restriction. The "hormone" (which if you take any homeopathic versions, has no hormone in it, if you think it does, then you don't understand what the term homeopathic means, it's a placebo,) has been proven time and time again scientifically to have absolutely zero effect on weight loss, or muscles loss, or fat burning, or anything else the HCG peddlers claim it does.

Now, for the hard facts. YES, it's possible to lose weight and stay healthy on such a severe caloric restriction over the short term. It's dangerous, and the risk of doing damage is high, and it CAN destroy your metabolism, but it's possible to do it safely and correctly, but you need extreme doctor supervision and perfect strictness to what you eat to ensure adequate nutrition on such low levels of food.

That said, VLCD's are generally not supported on MFP, as MFP is designed around a small, safe caloric deficit, and for legal and liability purposes the site doesn't condone any other method of losing weight. This is generally why you don't see much support for this kind of diet here, because it isn't what this site is based on, or meant for. It's kind of like joining an internet forum on classical opera and complaining that they don't want to talk to you about death metal.

Also, for people who say 500 calories isn't starvation, the average anorexic eats 600-800 calories a day. The Minnesota Starvation Study consisted of 1500 calories a day. 500 calories a day is definitely considered starvation. You don't feel hungry due to hormonal imbalances, not because it's an adequate amount of food.

It's 100% simple. You lose weight on the HCG "diet" due to the calorie restriction. The "hormone" (which if you take any homeopathic versions, has no hormone in it, if you think it does, then you don't understand what the term homeopathic means, it's a placebo,) has been proven time and time again scientifically to have absolutely zero effect on weight loss, or muscles loss, or fat burning, or anything else the HCG peddlers claim it does.

Now, for the hard facts. YES, it's possible to lose weight and stay healthy on such a severe caloric restriction over the short term. It's dangerous, and the risk of doing damage is high, and it CAN destroy your metabolism, but it's possible to do it safely and correctly, but you need extreme doctor supervision and perfect strictness to what you eat to ensure adequate nutrition on such low levels of food.

That said, VLCD's are generally not supported on MFP, as MFP is designed around a small, safe caloric deficit, and for legal and liability purposes the site doesn't condone any other method of losing weight. This is generally why you don't see much support for this kind of diet here, because it isn't what this site is based on, or meant for. It's kind of like joining an internet forum on classical opera and complaining that they don't want to talk to you about death metal.

Also, for people who say 500 calories isn't starvation, the average anorexic eats 600-800 calories a day. The Minnesota Starvation Study consisted of 1500 calories a day. 500 calories a day is definitely considered starvation. You don't feel hungry due to hormonal imbalances, not because it's an adequate amount of food.

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I don't understand why you think I care to know this at this point. I keep repeating myself, without being heard.

This is something I did under the supervision of my family practitioner who did not support my decision but still monitored me for my safety, and I was diligent enough to be successful and stay healthy.

These are the facts, regardless of your own personal opinions, or experiences.

So, are you saying that if my doctor puts me on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) temporarily due to the fact that I have Type 2 Diabetes and he's trying to help me save my own life, that in your view I am utilizing a dangerous method not endorsed by MFP and therefore I do not deserve to use this site to help me track my calories and weight loss as a tool for improving my health?

For the most part all I have seen cited in this thread are anecdotal non-scientific opinions - RachelSNO, you really need to do some research on how to decipher a real reputable source on the internet from all of the other garbage that pops up. Factoid is not a reputable source, and neither is any of the other links you posted. However, you seem to be partial to WebMD as if it is reliable, so here is a WebMD article you can check out:

http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20110624/very-low-calorie-diet-may-reverse-diabetes

And since I know you won't take the time to read it, here is an exerpt:
"Very Low-Calorie Diet May Reverse Diabetes
Study Offers Insight Into How Weight Loss Fights Type 2 Diabetes
By Charlene Laino
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Laura J. Martin, MDJune 24, 2011 (San Diego) -- A very low-calorie diet of 600 calories a day may be able to reverse type 2 diabetes, preliminary research suggests.

Eleven people who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the past four years slashed their calories for eight weeks, sticking to a diet of liquid diet drinks and non-starchy vegetables.

Three months after going off the diet, seven were free of diabetes.

Sound too tough to follow? Don't worry, the researchers aren't recommending the low-cal diet as a treatment for diabetes.

"We used the 600-calorie diet to test a hypothesis. What I can tell you definitively is that if people lose substantial weight by normal means, they will lose their diabetes," says study head Roy Taylor,MD, director of the Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre at Newcastle University in England.

The findings were published online by the journal Diabetologia and presented here at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA)"

If you want to convince me that HCG is a placebo, then fine, that makes no difference. But convincing me that a few weeks of VLCD will kill me is a totally other story, and for that you are wrong - completely wrong.

Also, just an FYI, pregnant women have a circulating HCG level of between 50,000 to 200,000 mIU/mL. That is hundreds of thousands of times more HCG than is given in this diet, so please stop comparing the miniscule amount of HCG consumed on this diet to a normal pregnancy. They are not even in the same ball park. However, there are some similarities, as I can attest to since having 4 children. While your body is under the influence of HCG if you vomit everything you consume your baby will still get the nutrients he/she needs because your body will release your fat storage and give it to the developing baby. Also, on the flip side of that coin, under the influence of HCG if you eat everything in sight you will gain weight at an unbelievably rapid pace and it will get socked away as storage (hence the reason I was overweight to begin with - thank you Sonic Popcorn Chicken for getting me through that horrible first trimester, but the extra 20 pounds was not worth it!).

I started using MFP when I was consuming 1600 calories and doing CrossFit. I lost 5 pounds in two months. In September and part of October I used HCG to lose 15 pounds in three weeks. I used my MFP during that time as well. Now I am maintaining at 1500-1800 calories and yoga/dance. Again, I use MFP to track my calories and exercise. Are you saying I should not be allowed to utilize this tool because I am an HCG user? I don't have the same right to an internet app? Seriously? That is really lame when you think about it. We can't be in your "club"?