HCG diet??

[nelektroa]

A guy at work and his wire are taking this stuff called HCG, combined with a low calorie (he eats under 1000 cals a day) diet. Its been about 2 weeks and he's lost 15 lbs and says he isn't hungry and feels fine. I've never heard of this stuff before, and am kind of interested in it. I'm 160 lbs at 5'4" (i'm also female). I used to be 150 lbs but gained weight these last few months. Before, like in 2007 i was 195 lbs and lost a ton of weight just working out and eating healthy. Currently I go to the gym about 4 days a week and lift weights and do cardio and eat between 1500 and 1800 calories a day (except at barbecues and stuff cuz its summer and i need to live a little!). I just lost 5 lbs in the last 3 weeks.

I googled the shit out of HCG diet but thought maybe asking about it on a forum that isn't really related to weight loss could give me a more unbiased opinion about it. Has anyone here heard of or tried this?

I know low calorie diets make you lose weight but this stuff apparently makes you not hungry and targets fat. I would like to lose about 30 lbs, and i'd also like to gain muscle. I was thinking maybe doing a short round of this and then working my way back up to maintenance calories and exercising again. Thoughts? Or does this seem like a bad idea...

I'll link the facebook page cuz that's where i've been reading most peoples questions and looking at pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/HCGdietcom

 

[Legerity]

Slow and steady weight loss seems to be the most effective long-term solution. There are many ways to lose a ton of weight quickly.

IMO, if you're losing weight doing what you're doing, why not stick with it?. Unless you plan on taking a particular supplement for the rest of your life to suppress appetite.

Eating under 1000 calories seems unlikely to work for most people. Maybe if somebody is a yogi and can control their body with their mind they can live off of barely anything, but for the majority of people that would be a starvation diet.

 

[23536]

nelektroa, I used to sell hCG out of a clinic. I also have done a 21 day cycle of it. It is excellent! I wasn't really overweight (male, 68 inches tall, 195 lbs, mesomorph) but I did it just to know what the patients were going through.

I dropped 15 pounds, down to a very lean 180 lbs. During the cycle, I adhered to the protocol with exactitude. That included consuming 500 calories per day (after the 3 day gorging period). The obvious objection here is that I lost weight because I was starving myself. Well duh. That's exactly the point: the hCG helps you function on 500 calories a day for weeks. If you did that without hCG, you'd possibly begin passing out after a couple of days, and your hunger would be ravenous. But the hCG instructs your body to utilize its own fat stores as nourishment, so you do not hunger or tire. Hell, I was able to do aikido while on the cycle, and sweat like a runner, and still stick to the 500 calories a day.

The weight does not come back after the cycle. Your body essentially establishes a new normal..

You must do the injectable hCG. It's a peptide, so you must inject it, not to mention getting it from a legit source (it's a huge peptide that denatures easily). And you must stick to that 50-page protocol religiously.

 

[addictivepersona]

Anyone care to explain exactly what the HCG diet is for those of us too lazy to look it up? Injecting yourself with something to lose weight certainly does not sound like a healthy way to lose weight. Not to mention, eating fewer than 1400 calories put you into what's known as "starvation mode," which clearly explains why you wouldn't be hungry: Your body thinks you're starving. 8(

 

[23536]

Anyone care to explain exactly what the HCG diet is for those of us too lazy to look it up? Injecting yourself with something to lose weight certainly does not sound like a healthy way to lose weight. Not to mention, eating fewer than 1400 calories put you into what's known as "starvation mode," which clearly explains why you wouldn't be hungry: Your body thinks you're starving. 8(

(not "fewer than 1400 calories". It must be 500 calories. I've seen patients have no results when consuming, say 8- or 900 calories. I have only seen it work at or around 500 calories)

I realize this sounds sublimely unhealthy. Consider for a second that hCG is a hormone. I am not familiar with the precise mechanism of action, but the premise is that when the body perceives an acute calorie deficit, the hCG signals the body to utilize its own fat as nourishment. In essence, as long as there is fat to be burned, the body does not enter into the familiar starvation mode, and feels stunningly satiated even on such a minuscule caloric allowance. I remember, while doing it, constantly thinking "this is really fucking bizarre"; I couldn't understand how I could eat such tiny amounts and feel nourished, and even go into thrice-weekly combat and not feel famished or feeble.

(after the cycle is over, you can return to eating normally)

 

[addictivepersona]

I'm going to have to leave this subject alone for here on out, but before I do, I will say that anyone thinking of trying this diet to please consider the long-term health repercussions of starving your body of nutrition and taking hormones that have not developed inside of your body.

 

[23536]

^I should add that the regimen should be medically supervised. Sorry that I didn't say that earlier.

 

[addictivepersona]

^ My mom was under the medical care of a physician and was taking HGH to maintain a pregnancy. She developed the baby to term but also developed quite the sizable brain tumor that had long-term repercussions, including changing her personality drastically to the point where her own mother says that she's like a different person now.

Many medicines, even while taken under the supervision of a physician can carry harmful side effects.

Also, did some reading albeit on Wikipedia about this drug. Click here to see what they think about it. The part on the homeopathic drug are frightening since many people could only see the "HCG" part of it and think it's the same exact thing. While I don't agree with what the FDA approves, the majority of things it disapproves are not safe.

 

[modern buddha]

If you're going to not eat calories, leave it at that. Don't mess with hormones. The long term effects are astounding. Fast for a while, if you'd like to lose weight quickly.

 

[beamers]

hCG is not an effective weight loss drug, calorie restriction and changes in the diet are what make it work (much like other "miracle" drugs).

hCG is extracted from the urine of pregnant woman (which in and of itself isn't a bad thing, I'm just giving some background - although there is one company that synthesises it now), it mimics luteinizing hormone (LH), this stimulates Testosterone production (and E2, DHT and everything that flows from that). The T & E2 spike trigger the negative feedback at the hypothalamus and natural LH hormone release is down-regulated, this down-regulation is reversible (generally, if extremes are avoided). After you come off it there will be a T crash as your hypothalamus-pituatary-axis (hpta) re-balances. Side-effects are the same as with steroids although the T/E2/DHT levels that are achieved with exogenous steroids will not be achieved, likewise the extent and severity of side-effects and effects will not be the same. Please don't think that the T spike triggered by hCG will make you into a bodybuilder, it doesn't work like that. The T spike achieved from hCG is in the same order of magnitude as what can be achieved with many OTC phytopharmaceuticals (or even just 25g of basil per day) and an increase in T doesn't mean a linear response to training/diet. Steroids absolutely overrun all of the control mechanisms, you will not do this with hCG.

 

[Mehm]

I would do a juice fast instead. It is much more medicinal than calorie restriction alone.

 

[TINK]

A nurse at work did this diet and lost 30 pounds in 30 days and is still losing. She said that she spoke to the doctor that she worked for before she started it and he said as long as you do not do it long term you should be fine.

I dunno about the long range possiblilities of medical issues, but for me nothing has worked since my thyroid went wacko. So I am actually considering this. I don't eat mmore than one meal a day as it is, so I don't know how different it will be for me. Some times I will go days without eating. So if it isnt too expensive, I may try it.

 

[23536]

I dunno about the long range possiblilities of medical issues, but for me nothing has worked since my thyroid went wacko. So I am actually considering this. I don't eat mmore than one meal a day as it is, so I don't know how different it will be for me. Some times I will go days without eating. So if it isnt too expensive, I may try it.

You will have to eat 3 times a day when you do this; there is a very specific diet that accompanies it.

 

[TINK]

yeah but its not much food so I should be able to handle it. My friend said the first week is AWFUL. Because you arent feeding your body and the fat is not burning quick enuf to keep up your energy, but after that she said everything went great. I am wondering if it might help my hypothyroid condition as well. They cant get my levels under control and thats when i started gaining the weight.

 

[The Real Fatman]

U wanna lose weight fast, clenbuterol, T3 and a calorie deficit

 

[euphoria]

A nurse at work did this diet and lost 30 pounds in 30 days and is still losing. She said that she spoke to the doctor that she worked for before she started it and he said as long as you do not do it long term you should be fine.

Right, so if you're not doing it long term it's just like any other quick-fix diet in my opinion. Sure you lose the weight, but what happens when you stop taking the hormone and eat a normal amount of calories again? Seems as if you just screwed up your metabolism and you're going to be ravenous the second you eat normally again and gain all the weight right back.

I'm not trying to crush your idea, but I just worry when diets require you to eat less than a normal amount of calories. Your body, and especially your brain, need nourishment to survive, even if you are overweight.

 

[kengentry]

I have started my hcg drops and injection course weight loss. My doctor asked me to take it slowly as I am diabetic patient. I want to know if there is any side effects of taking hcg drops and hcg injection in body as this is my first time and I can’t bear any side effects. By the way I have read some positive things about hcg which inspire me to start this course.. any help.

 

[Libby]

U wanna lose weight fast, clenbuterol, T3 and a calorie deficit

These are seriously potent and dangerous weightloss tools, as such I have tried to get a hold of them but to no avail, I even ordered some from a website but was a scam and all i got sent were sugar pills ggrrrr..

Anyway the HGC diet works because you are only allowed 500cals per day, not because of the injections. Do you realise how little 500cals per day is? The average anorexic consumes 600-800 calories daily.

 

[thujone]

sounds like a hormone-assisted ketogenic diet from what 23536 is saying. works fine if you don't have a problem losing muscle tone along with the fat, but losing muscle tone just makes you look like a skinny fat person anyway so it makes more sense to just hit the gym hard every day and eat as much as you crave (while avoiding junk food, obv)

 

[bulldog08]

This is so so incredibly inaccurate info. I HATE people who try and sell this diet to people. There is a REASON why over 100 doctors Nation wide have been sued and ordered to pay over 47 million dollars in total damages to their patients, BECAUSE IT IS A SCAM. There have been DOZENS of tests regarding the HCG diet and on ALL of them, HCG has found to have NO influence on weight loss. If you take two people, side by side, put them at 800-100 cals, give one HCG and one placebo, the weight loss will be the EXACT same. Stop posting all these bs stories because the ENTIRE reason for the weight loss, is the extreme caloric deficit. And another thing...you think they weight dosent come back once you stop the diet? Thats so so misleading and untrue. YOU WILL regain the weight, plus most likely more, once you go back to a normal caloric diet.

HCG drops are absolutely fake. There is NO OTHER ADMINISTRATION ROUTE FOR HCG OTHER THAN INJECTION. Whatever drops you are taking, and probably spending a good deal of money on, are fake. Sorry to tell you that but its 100 percent true. You are getting scammed, plain and simple. HCG has shown absolutely no corralation between weight loss and administration.