HCG Diet

[VMAAG]

I would love to get everyone's imput on the HCG Diet. The good, bad and the ugly. I did a search to see if I could find a discussion on it and I couldn't which is surprising. All comments welcomed.

[gbrice75]

I did a search to see if I could find a discussion on it and I couldn't which is surprising. All comments welcomed.

Probably because it's about the furthest thing from a diet conducive to bodybuilding in existence.

To me, it's all bad. Extremely low calories - do we even need to go into why this is a problem? I know the diet has phases and it doesn't stay this way forever, but IMO it's long enough to damage/slow metabolism, considerably.

HCG injections - I've personally seen no evidence of HCG having any kind of effect on lipolysis.

Even the other phases of the diet that start to incorporate more 'regular' foods - they don't seem long term sustainable IMO. Most people will inevitably abandon the diet, and will gain fat faster than ever due to their newly lowered TDEE.

[falco21]

This was just on Dr. Oz's show. They had tons and tons of research done on this diet and have done numerous studies on over 600 different people. The effect was exactly the same with all 600 of them. Of course they lost weight, eating 500 calories a day is obviously going to make everybody lose weight, but 100% of them gained all their weight back when they started eating normal diets again. Studies all showed that the hormone actually did nothing in helping the weight loss. Many people actually reported very negative effects such as hair loss, fainting, insomnia, etc. The list goes on. The end result was that it was a harmful and very dangerous strategy to try and lose weight. Stick to a strict healthy diet and lose it at a steady even pace and believe me, the results will be much healthier and much more beneficial for your body.

[SlimmerMe]

Been there done that....and back again.

Welcome to the diet forum VMAAG!

Hope you turn pink soon~

[VMAAG]

I saw part of the segment on Dr. Oz. And what was interesting was while he did not approve it he also did not disapprove of it either. I worked at Life Extension for several years and we had one of our weekly mtgs on the lack of research so I know there is no solid evidence that it works and I am a firm believer in the diet and exercise routine however you cannot ignore how many people are having success with it. But like you said all 600 people gained it back because they didn't change theri lifestyle.

Not sure what turning pink means but it must be good as I've seen it mentioned a few times. Looking forward to it.

[gbrice75]

I saw part of the segment on Dr. Oz. And what was interesting was while he did not approve it he also did not disapprove of it either.

I've watched a few Dr. Oz episodes and it seems like he really doesn't take a strong stand on either side of a 'controversial' topic, i.e. he doesn't want to put off the guests he's brought on from either side, as well as the audience participation.

I worked at Life Extension for several years and we had one of our weekly mtgs on the lack of research so I know there is no solid evidence that it works and I am a firm believer in the diet and exercise routine however you cannot ignore how many people are having success with it. But like you said all 600 people gained it back because they didn't change theri lifestyle.

And changing ones lifestyle/eating habits to follow this diet long term is unrealistic, IMHO. So, it's great for people who are looking for fast weight loss (i.e. 2 months before a wedding for instance) with no regards to body composition (fat vs. LBM), but it doesn't promote healthy/realistic eating habits for somebody looking to actually change their life, and correct years of poor eating habits.

Not sure what turning pink means but it must be good as I've seen it mentioned a few times. Looking forward to it.

As a female member, you can have your named color changed to pink and will get access to the female only forums. Slimmer must think you're a female for some reason, sorry if that's not the case!!!

[SlimmerMe]

I agree for a quick fix or perhaps a jump start but the key would be to have the rest of the lifestyle plan lined up and ready to go otherwise could end up worse than where ya started.

And yes Mr. GBrice.....WE HAVE A NEW GIRL ON THE BLOCK! HIP HIP HOOOOOOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAAY!

[VMAAG]

Of course I'm a female. If my picture doesn't look like a woman than I don't know what does. How long does turning pink take? Does anyone know?

[gbrice75]

Of course I'm a female. If my picture doesn't look like a woman than I don't know what does. How long does turning pink take? Does anyone know?

^^^ Done!!!

[pcazares]

I did the diet and had great success with it. I did not follow it exactly but pretty close. Instead of 500 cal id eat like 600 a day. Instead of staying on it for minimum of 26 days or so i believe i was on it for only 3 weeks. I lost around 12 pounds in them three weeks and about 12 more in the month following it at 1200 cal a day. The only negative i noticed while on it was major strength decrease, which after i got off it took a couple weeks to come back. I noticed allot of fat loss, particularly in hard to lose areas (my gut). Unfortunately i did notice some muscle loss but not much (of which ive gained back, but without the fat this time).