March 28, 2024

Have you heard about the HCG diet? This is a diet that Kevin Trudeau made famous again (it was famous once before years ago) in his book “Natural Cures They Don’t Want You To Know“. First off I hate that there is supposed to be some secret that the “Diet Industry”  is trying to keep from people. If there was you can bet I would be exposing it.

What is the HCG Diet?

Anyway the HCG diet is actually a shot and a low calorie diet. You take a shot everyday for a few months and this shot of HCG is supposed to help you metabolize your fat easier. Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is expected to burn fat when you are starving yourself instead of burning both fat and muscle.

I have now seen that you can buy drops to take orally instead of shots for the HCG diet but not sure if this is just a poor mans alternative

The diet part of the HCG diet is what makes this diet very hard to take. The diet is the lowest that I have ever heard of and that is 500 calories a day. 500 calories a day is not very much and this is designed to make it so that you will easily lose weight. Trouble is you are starving yourself.

HCG Diet
HCG Diet

The other part of the diet is that you are not supposed to exercise. As you exercise your metabolism rises and at the same time you are burning a large number of calories. when you are only consuming 500 calories a day you are bound to get sick exercising in such a calorie deficient state.

There are a lot of people for and against the HCG diet and I have to admit that in researching this diet I have found many people that have lost a lot of and at the same time I have found a lot of people that are against the diet because it is at it’s core unhealthy and the effects of HCG are really not all that well known (except for some biased independent studies)

What Does the Science of HCG Say?

The loss diet proposed by Albert Simeons is a ultra-low-calorie -loss diet (less than 500 calories). Simeons, while studying pregnant women in India on a low calorie diet, and people with pituitary problems were treated with low-dose hCG, claimed that both lost fat rather than lean (muscle) tissue. He reasoned that hCG must be programming the hypothalamus to do this in the former cases in order to protect the developing fetus by promoting mobilization and consumption of abnormal, excessive adipose deposits. Simeons later published a book entitled Pounds and Inches, designed to combat obesity.

Simeons, practicing at Salvator Mundi International Hospital in Rome, Italy, recommended low-dose daily hCG injections (125 IU) in combination with a customized ultra-low-calorie (500 cal/day, high-protein, low-carbohydrate/fat) diet loss of adipose tissue without loss of lean tissue. After Simeons’ death, the diet started to spread to specialized centers and via popularization by individuals, such as the controversial author Kevin Trudeau, famous for promotion of alternative therapies and treatments.

AMA is against HCG Diet

The controversy proceeds from warnings by the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that hCG is neither safe nor effective as a -loss aid.

A meta analysis found that studies supporting hCG for loss were of poor methodological quality and concluded that “there is no scientific evidence that HCG is effective in the treatment of obesity; it does not bring about -loss or fat-redistribution, nor does it reduce hunger or induce a feeling of well-being”.

Should You Try the HCG Diet?

So should you try the HCG diet? I am going to probably take some flak for it but I would definitely say no.

I have to be opposed to the HCG diet even if it does help people lose for the simple reason that you are staving yourself and not getting any exercise. This sounds like a terrible way to live and the health benefits without exercise are not going to help as much as losing using proper diet and exercise.

Just don’t do the HCG diet.

18 thoughts on “HCG Diet Info

  1. Metaformin is a drug commonly prescribed to individuals suffering from type II diabetes, according to the medical website. Metaformin acts to improve the body’s insulin sensitivity, helping you to control blood sugar levels, thereby keeping diabetes in check. Thanks.

  2. Well I am on the hcg diet day number 29. I have lost 28 pounds and have never felt better! I was not hard to do because the hcg hormone curbs your hunger. I eat clean food and do yoga and drink plenty of water and get my sleep. I beg to differ that this has not taught me about food. I have a different relationship with food now. I have realized the benefits of clean food and smaller portions. I know that I can eat healthier now and feel better. It was hard to convince me of that 28 days ago. 28 days of changing the message to my brain and my self talk has empowered me. Oh yes, My doctor recommended this and is monitoring me.

  3. I am currently on this diet. I feel fine. Some times I am a little tired, but hey it has been 1 week and I have lost 17 pounds. You are not starving yourself as long as you take the drops.

  4. I know that some of you have try out the HCG drops, HCG diet protocol personally. I would like to know how is the program goes? How to consume the drops? What else is needed to be consume to male the diet program successful? I’m seriously interested, i would like to online purchase it to try it out, btw I’m from Malaysia. My country does not sell any of this at drug store. I’m trying hard to look for doctor in my country to get consultation.

  5. I just finished the 43 day protocol of the HCG diet and I’ve lost 27 lbs. since Thanksgiving. The idea behind the HCG diet is to help one’s body reset their metabolism, thus ending the need to diet further. One should never attempt to go on a 500 cal. diet without implementing these drops/injections as your body would greatly suffer and most likely not lose anything at all. It would actually shift into starvation mode, negating any possibility of potential loss.

    In essence, what HCG (human chorionic gonadtropin) does, is it chemically induces the body to consume it’s own body (bad) fat, in addition of course to the 500 cal. diet. If you were to consume more, gain would more than likely be the end result.

    I have stopped taking the drops three days ago and today is my last day on the VLCD. I will begin my 6 week maintenance course (PhaseIII) tomorrow and I must tell you, I am actually feeling hunger pangs again which of course I hadn’t felt since I started the program. So thank you for your thoughts regarding HCG however, I must also disagree with you.

  6. I have never heard of this diet but I believe that it is not what you eat but how much and when. 500 calories a day it a bit low though. If you only eat once a day but are binging you will never lose . Also if you eat sweets late at night before bed you will gain . But if you eat less at each sitting 3 time a day and don’t eat after 8 pm you will slowly begin to lose pounds. However this is not a lose fast approach but it works

  7. Im on it, I lost 30lbs on the diet. I rarely felt hungry and when i did i would eat a little more than the 500 cal. and I still lost . My diet instructions require you to work out. I worked out 6 days a week and i feel great. Even after I’m done I will continue to work out and just adjust my life style now that im used to a low carb low fat diet. I’m thrilled with this diet and would recommend it. My whole family is on it and it has been a miracle for us to get into a healthy life style.

  8. By the way, the end goal is to change your habits, that’s why you spend the whole time with minimal carbs, reasonable protein and meat portion sizes, unlimited green veg, and fruit. They also advocate continuing to monitor your food (though normal amounts of calories) forever and weighing yourself to keep track of it so you don’t let your get up again. It is also said to reduce sugar and carb cravings once you have completed the whole round.

  9. The diet doesn’t put you in starvation. It is designed to put you on the edge. If you go into starvation mode, your body will try to retain all fat/calories that you are trying to burn. That’s why it’s important to eat the recommended diet (called protocall), even if you don’t feel hungry enough for the 500 cal, which I often don’t. The point of approaching what your body thinks is starvation mode is that your body will access the “abnormal” fat (the bad stuff, not the stuff to provide structure and other necessities that fat does provide) and burn it for food energy, instead of relying on all of it from your immediate intake. I can understand why a lot of people are so critical considering all the nonsense on the web. A lot of people are doing HCg, but have changed it to suit their purposes from what was intended, so it does sound unhealthy in some cases. The best way to do HCG is through a doctor or clinic so you can be supervised and informed of the correct way to do this diet. The clinic I have used, they have turned some people down that didn’t need to lose much , as it is much harder for them to complete the diet as they don’t have as much abnormal fat. It isn’t for everyone. I am using it for a jump start to lose 20 or 30 pounds in the course of 40 injections (about 43 days), then will enter a maintenance phase of 3 weeks in which I closely monitor my and consume healthy foods, no carbs. After that I will probably do watchers to lose a little bit more, as I will be out of the range of really needing HCG again. Ok, hope this helps to give a little insight.

  10. Interesting article as I don’t know of anyone who has tried the HCG diet. I agree that any diet that puts a person in starvation mode cannot be healthy.

    The only true way to lose is to change your eating habits for a healthier you. This can’t be done on a starvation diet. I have no doubt you’ll lose on this diet but if you lose this week and put it back on the next two – doesn’t make sense to me.

  11. Vital Solutions MD uses hCG to facilitate rapid loss. We combine hCG with a customized diet, nutritional counseling, weekly weigh-ins, exercise counseling, medical supervision and support and care from our knowledgeable staff and medical professionals.

  12. I have to say that I used the hcg diet and it was very successful. I do not agree with you saying you are starving yourself. If you have excess body fat then that is what you are living on. I was never hungry and I would go hiking three nights a week and feel great! I was put on the diet for only 24 days and was able to lose 13 pounds and I am now in my range. I have never heard of people going on it for months at a time! I was told by my Dr. that it is from 24-40 days and then you have to wait six weeks to try it again. I will not be doing another round but I am SO HAPPY that I did it. I did it with a group of 62 people and it worked for 60 of us.

  13. Informative article on the hCG diet. I think a lot of people misunderstand that the original protocol which called for 500 calories, was designed for the seriously obese and not for individuals who simply want to lose a few pounds. There are many healthier options now, that insist on more calories than this and far more balanced to actually include healthy fats rather than cutting that out as described by Dr. Simeons.

  14. Interesting article, I have heard of this diet but haven’t known anyone who has tried it. I personally think there are better ways to lose and other vitamin and mineral supplements that can be used to help lose and improve health.

  15. I was very skeptical about the HCG Diet at first as well. I did not think I would be able to do the 500 calorie diet. Luckily I the lady that sold it to me is a nurse, and a family friend. Because I live an active lifestyle I could not do the 500 calorie diet, nor would I ever want to restrict myself that much. She told me that it was not designed to starve myself and that I needed to make sure I was getting enough nutrients throughout the day. In 1 week I have lost 7 pounds on the diet and I feel better than I have in a long time. The 500 calories pertains to meat and fruit, I eat as many vegetables as I want in a day. I will have 2 portions of meat and 2 portions of fruit a day, then I will have a lot of salad and vegetables to make sure I am getting enough nutrients.

    I think if I completely cut back to 500 calories I would lose a lot more than I have, but I can’t complain about losing 7 pounds in 7 days while eating a healthy diet. I don’t view it as restrictive, it has trained my body to eat healthy and watch what I am eating better than I have ever been able to do.

    I appreciate your post, it did provide some valuable insight. I think with any diet you need to manage it according to what your body requires.

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