HCG Diet Has anyone tried it??

I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist or anything, but any diet that restricts your calorie intake that drastically sounds dangerous to me. While 1200 calories/day is not a "magic number," most people say you shouldn't eat too much less than that, unless you're of really short stature (and if you're a tall/large-framed person, you'll likely need to eat more than that). Your body needs a certain number of calories to function, or it goes into starvation mode, which in the long run makes it even harder to lose weight - you may lose a lot initially, but once you started eating normally the weight would most likely come back.

As the previous poster said, slow and steady is the key to healthy, lasting weight loss.

Also, I'd recommend you read this "classic" post - it's a little long, but worth it!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

Don't be amazed, the first 10 pounds you usually lose is only water. That's why people gain back their weight so fast.
By taking 500 cal a day, not only will you lose fat but you'll also lose muscles wich is not a good thing.
Finally, you'll feel awful and it might encourage you to stop your diet sooner.

I've lost about 50 pounds of fat in 7 months (going from 26% body fat to 13%) taking between 1200 - 1600 cals a day without any form of training. I think it's already a big stress for the body. I'm not sure more then that is a good idead.

Wish you luck!

Most of the people who comment on this diet are not familiar with the details. It is a safe diet - my doctor recommended it to me. She said it has helped many of her patients over the last year with great success in weight loss and weight maintenance. It is not a magic bullet and it requires a lot of discipline, however the results are great and it truly helped me make better choices in food.

The hcg releases the stored fat in your body, generally from the most problematic areas. You are NOT living off of 500 calories, you're body is breaking down the stored fat for fuel AND you eat 500 calories of very lean meat, veggies, fruit, and a few carbs. It's restrictive in the caloric intake so your body will break down the stored fat. Does it work? YES!!! Is it easy, not always, but not any worse than any other restricted diet I've tried. The awesome part is that I get immediate results which is extremely encouraging.

I lost about 18 lbs in 28 days. At the end of June I weighed 205 lbs. I started P90X on 7/6/09 and followed it strictly for the first 6 weeks, then continued working out about 4 days a week until the end of September. I really struggled with maintaining such a rigorous work out routine. When I started hcg diet on Oct 19th, 2009 I weighed 190 lbs. After completing the first round (4 wks low cal diet, 3 wks maintenance) I took 6 weeks off before starting my next round on 1/2/10 and my weight remained within 2 lbs of my ending weight. I was mindful about what I ate but I still enjoyed the treats from the holidays.

The best advice I can give you is to do the research. Don't listen to people who don't know what they're talking about. There's plenty of research to support the results. I recommend Googling Dr. Simeons' book "Pounds & Inches". It's over 50 years old, but it has all the information, all the research, and it tells you what works and what doesn't. Then make an informed decision - that's what I did and it's worked for me.

Check out the recent discussion on MFP regarding this topic:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/75183-hcg-diet

Here is what I wrote then, and I still have the same opinion:
This injection diet has been around since I was in college, if not before, and I am 57. My lady boss used to give herself a daily injection before leaving the office (she got the product from a friendly doctor). Yes, she ate less while on the shots. Yes, she lost weight. Yes, she regained the weight due to not having learned new eating habits for long term maintenance. I thought at the time that it was a desperate attempt at a "fast fix" to her weight problem. Now, 35 years later, I feel the same about the product.

It sounds a bit scary to me... I believe in slow and steady winning the race. Its been about 106 days that I've been dieting and Ive lost about 0.45lb/day - all while learning how to eat properly and prepare healthy tasty meals - and I'm certainly NOT starving myself! In fact, I often feel like Im stuffing myself silly.

I also haven't even gone crazy on exercise - I was too fat to do a whole lot without hurting my body. I can only imagine what its going to be like once I start working out!!

It was important to me that this be the LAST time I diet - and I had to get over the "eat more to lose more" thing. But it works. It really does. 500cal/day makes me sceptical and frankly, my aunt did it and it did nothing for her - she lost it and once she was done it all came back because it was a quick fix that didnt impart any long term knowledge or give her time to develop proper eating skills.

Don't do it. What works is eating sensibly and working out and keeping track of both.

My co-worker and I are in a weight loss competition right now. He is using HCG, I am doing it the old fashoned way, diet and exercise. So far, I am beating him. He says his was a "easier" because he doesn't have to work out, but I would rather work out than starve myself.

Also, he has done this once before. He lost 50lbs, but gained every bit right back.

It is a great way to lose weight if you have hormone problems. I have finally been able to lose and it feels great! I have cheated on this diet and it has slowed my weight loss, but I'm still losing. I do believe you have to have a plan for keeping weight off, so that you don't gain it back. My appetite has shrunk so I no longer overeat. I still love chocolate, but since I have reduced my sugar intake to only natural from fruit, I can feel the immediate impact sugar has on my body and that is motivation to stay away from it. I absolutely love the inches that I have lost in my abs. The ab fat is very unhealthy and I am glad it is gone.

Good luck with your weight loss, but the HCG diet has done nothing but HARM to people I know that used it.

The only reason people lose weight on that plan is you are only allowed to eat 500 calories a day. HCG has been scientifically proven to do NOTHING to help with weight loss or to make it safe to eat only 500 calories a day. It will not protect muscle, reset your metabolism or do anything else the snake oil salesmen that sell it claim. Dr. Simeons was a quack doctor. His "HCG protocol" has absolutely NO scientific backing and is not worth risking your health on.

Any doctor that pushes the HCG diet plan should be stripped of their license to practice medicine because they are being totally unethical and giving advice that goes against the conclusions of all reliable scientific research on the subject.

The HCG diet has been studied by many scientific organizations, and they all concluded that HCG, even the "real" injectable version, is no more effective than a placebo, and eating only 500 calories a day for weeks, as recommended by that plan, can cause more health problems than it solves.

I know some people that put their faith in the HCG diet, and became very ill from malnutrition as a result. Then they regained more weight than they lost. Now they wish they never heard of HCG.

The Government is now in the process of getting all that fraudulent stuff off the market, and it's about time!

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm281333.htm

http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/hcg-diet-dangerous-1428

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hcg-diet/AN02091

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/truth-about-hcg-for-weight-loss

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/weight-loss-cure-dont-want-you-to-know

http://www.dietscam.org/reports/hcg.shtml

I'm down 30 pounds post-HCG diet. I continued to work out, lifting weights, some cardio and lost 10% body fat. My muscle mass stayed the same. I did not want to be flabby or with gross weird skin, so I busted tail in the gym (and swear by Goodbye Cellulite/Mederma products). You need to speak to your doctor about the risks and rewards and decide if you can handle a severely restrictive diet. It's something I could handle, but that was me and this is aboutyou.

I did this under medical supervision via my primary care doctor. I haven't gained it back (had a couple of fluctuations, but I get back to my new normal quickly).

For those who say that MDs don't recommend low calorie diets, you're wrong. My endocrinologist suggested that I stay under 800 calories to lose weight, not so very long ago, due to my Hashimoto's, and it worked awhile ago (and then my former marriage turned into a disaster, but that's another story).