What Is the HCG Diet, and Does It Safe?

Weight Loss On HCG Diet

        The HCG diet has been in vogue for many years. This is an extreme diet, it is claimed to cause rapid weight loss of up to 1-2 pounds (0.5-1 kg) per day. What's more, you shouldn't get hungry in the process. However, the FDA calls this diet dangerous, illegal, and cheating.

Here's what science says: Any super-low calorie diet will result in weight loss. Most studies have found that HCG (abbreviation for human chorionic gonadotropin) has nothing to do with it.

The HCG diet limits you to 500 calories a day for 8 weeks while taking HCG, either by injection or by taking "homeopathic" products, such as oral drops, pellets, or sprays, which you can buy over the counter. None of these are approved by the FDA for weight loss. The shot itself is legal, as long as a healthcare provider provides it to you. (They are approved for treating fertility problems.) But over-the-counter HCG products are not. The FDA has sent warning letters to several companies marketing homeopathic HCG products.

What is HCG diet?

The HCG diet developed by Albert T.W. Simeon MD, based on obesity research and apparently extensive experience using hormones successfully. HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, is a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy—the same hormone that is used as a marker in home pregnancy tests. Its function is, at least in part, to support fetal development by ensuring that energy is maximally mobilized so that it is available to the growing fetus. It seems to do this by influencing the structure of the diencephalon, the part of the primitive brain that controls automatic functions in the body. Its main function is metabolism and fat storage. (healthline)

One theory of obesity is that the diencephalon can be overwhelmed by an excessive stressor or imbalance (such as sedentary lifestyle, hormonal imbalance, overeating, psychological stress, or emotional stress, etc.) and as a result, become less effective when used properly. and storing fat in the body. This can lead to weight gain especially in your late 30s or early 40s, when perhaps your caloric intake remains unchanged but your daily exercise level decreases. This dysregulation of the diencephalon can also occur as a result of changes in your hormone levels that begin to diminish since your mid-30s.

HCG diet plan Dr. Simeon aims to promote weight loss by addressing this internal balance in some way. First, by asking the patient to follow an ultra-low calorie diet of about 500 calories per day and second, by giving daily injections of the HCG hormone. The theory is that injections of dietary HCG supplement a low-calorie diet by reducing hunger and allowing individuals to successfully maintain a low calorie intake for a longer period of time. Through a mechanism that is not yet fully understood, HCG is thought to make abnormal fat, the kind that builds up in the abdomen (in men) and hips (in women), more accessible and usable by the body—a major reason why it is produced. during the gestation period.

In this way, HCG acts as a key that unlocks access to energy in the inaccessible fat stores and therefore provides additional energy for the growing fetus; or, in the case of the HCG diet, enabling individuals to access and burn their abnormal fat by increasing their metabolism. The diet works by getting the body to use this now accessible energy (anywhere from 1400-7000 calories per day) where it burns stagnant and persistent body fat while simultaneously maintaining normal and structural fat and muscle.

How Is Diet HCG Prescribed?

The HCG diet is an extremely low fat, very low calorie diet. In general, it is divided into 3 phases:

Loading phase: Start taking HCG and eating lots of high-fat, high-calorie foods for two days.

Weight loss phase: Continue to take HCG and eat just 500 calories per day for 3-6 weeks.

The maintenance phase: Stop taking HCG. Gradually increase your food intake but avoid sugar and starch for three weeks.

People looking for minimal weight loss may spend three weeks in the middle phase, those looking for significant weight loss may be advised to follow the diet for six weeks - and even repeat all phases of the cycle several times.

During the weight loss phase, you are only allowed to eat twice a day – usually lunch and dinner.

HCG meal plans generally suggest that each meal should contain a serving of lean protein, vegetables, a slice of bread and fruit.

You can also get a list of approved foods to choose from in particular amounts.

Butter, oil and sugar should be avoided, but it is recommended that you drink plenty of water. Mineral water, coffee and tea are also permitted.

Can HCG Make You Lose Weight?

Proponents of the HCG diet believe that it increases metabolism and helps you lose huge amounts of fat – without feeling hungry. Various theories have tried to explain the mechanism of HCG weight loss.

However, several studies have concluded that the weight loss achieved by the HCG diet is caused by very low calorie intake alone and has nothing to do with the HCG hormone.

This study compared the effects of HCG injections and a placebo given to individuals on a calorie restricted diet. The weight loss was identical or almost identical between the two groups.

Furthermore, this study determined that the HCG hormone did not significantly reduce hunger.

Facts About the HCG Diet Plan

1. The HCG diet plan might help you lose weight, but there's a problem.

What can you eat while following HCG diet plan? As it turned out, not much. It's dubbed the HCG 500 calorie diet for a reason, following the rules set out in Pounds and Inches: A New Approach to Obesity, a recognized diet protocol, meaning you only eat 500 calories a day. (To put that in context, the average active adult woman needs 2,200 to 2,400 calories a day, according to the National Institutes of Health.) 

And those 500 calories are restricted to certain types of animal protein (chicken breast, beef, veal, fresh fish). white, crab, lobster, or shrimp), and certain vegetables, fruits, and grains.

One real thing you can't eat on an HCG diet plan: oils—even if they are healthy cooking oils like avocado and EVOO. With all the strict diet and energy intake, it is easy to see how the results of the HCG diet include weight loss. But, FYI, cutting calories to lose weight will almost certainly backfire.

2. What's more, these HCG diet injections, supplements, pills, and drops are not really "homeopathic". 

To be considered a homeopathic remedy by the FDA, it needs to appear in the United States Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia (HPUS), which is basically the official list of active ingredients that can be used in homeopathic medicines. To be included, a product must meet very specific and comprehensive criteria, which this HCG supplement does not have. HCG is not on this list and cannot be sold as a homeopathic medicine for any purpose.

3. HCG diet side effects are dangerous.

Besides being cranky and drunk, taking illegal HCG injections and pills can cause headaches, fatigue, and more irritability. Severe calorie restriction can give you gallstones, an irregular heartbeat, or even an electrolyte imbalance that keeps your muscles and nerves functioning properly.

4. Hardly any HCG supplements actually contain the HCG hormone.

Even if the HCG hormone or the HCG diet plan does work to suppress appetite, true HCG requires a doctor and a prescription to issue. In fact, the FDA clearly states that "HCG is not approved for commercial sale for any purpose" and that HCG products are illegal. Are you confused? Most supplements that are over-the-counter to the public are labeled and sold as "homeopathic," which means they have some leeway about what's actually in these products, because supplements aren't regulated and controlled by the FDA.

5. There are no rigorous clinical trials or studies to support the HCG diet plan.

There is no science-backed evidence that says the HCG diet plan works, or that HCG should be used as a weight loss tool. In fact, the hormone HCG is more often used safely to treat fertility problems, because this hormone is produced by the placenta during pregnancy. In the case of homeopathic HCG remedies, people think that if they lose weight, HCG must be working. But the data don't back this up—any weight loss comes from severe calorie restriction. It's not HCG.

Summary 

HCG diet plans only add to the weight loss confusion out there. Quick fixes can be tempting to anyone trying to lose weight, but you should skip this extreme diet and opt for good nutrition and regular exercise. BTW, it is called an anti-diet, and it is the healthiest diet you will ever go on. It's not exciting, but your body will thank you—and if you lose weight the traditional way, you'll be more likely to keep it off for good.