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HCG Diet: Weight loss miracle or recipe for disaster?
Page Last Updated: Thursday March 4, 2010 5:49pm PST
Is it really the magic bullet for weight loss, or a recipe for disaster?
Injection of a pregnancy hormone first used for weight loss in the 1970s is making a major resurgence. HCG is not approved for use as a diet drug in Nevada but local weight loss centers advertise it that way.
So is the hormone safe to use as a diet drug?
The Nevada Board of Medical Examiners will debate the issue Friday as the Healthline Team digs deeper into the controversy surrounding HCG.
"My family is a large family. I was always a heavy child, all the way up through high school."
19-year-old Diane Shapiro has been overweight most of her life. She’s tried just about every diet without success and was skeptical about HCG at first.
“I was like, is this even safe? Is it legal? What is it?”
Diane heard about the HCG Diet from an acquaintance in Utah who experienced dramatic weight loss using the hormone. So Diane went online looking for weight loss clinics offering HCG in Las Vegas.
She decided on Revive Weight Loss Clinic.
“I went in the first day and I met with the doctor, Dr. Azoulay. And what she did, she told me exactly what HCG does."
Diane says the doctor explained that for $550 she could get HCG shots to help her lose fat but not muscle.
“The first day you take a B12 shot. In those two first days you force feed yourself, you get your body used to more fat so when you start injecting the HCG on the third day, it recognizes that there's fat in your body. And then it starts to burn that and then you stay on a strict diet."
But that strict diet means only consuming 500 calories per day. Depending on your size, the average person needs between 900 and 2,200 calories per day.
Brett Fitzgerald with Las Vegas Athletic Club has a Master’s degree in health promotion, nutrition, and fitness. He knows and teaches the importance of proper eating and nutrition while dieting.
But this time, he’s stumped because his wife tried the HCG Diet and lost 25 pounds in one month.
“It surprised me to no end. The food intake is a little scary because they restrict your calorie intake to only 500 calories a day. I thought there is no way anyone can survive on 500 calories a day but, for whatever reason, the effect of the HCG made it so it suppressed her appetite."
Heather Avila of Weight Watchers says she has seen an upswing in the use of HCG as a diet drug as more weight loss clinics open in Southern Nevada and Utah.
"It’s not doing anything to your body other than what starvation would actually do. Starvation is never the way to go; it has a long-term, lasting health impact. When you starve yourself, your vital organs are losing fat and protein, so it's doing long term damage to your vital organs. Also hair loss, cardio vascular problems."
Fertility specialist Dr. Bruce Shapiro (no relation to Diane) uses HCG for exactly what the hormone was approved and intended for: fertility treatments. He too is concerned about the “off label” uses of some drugs.
“Whenever you give medication in a way that it wasn't intended for you can get unintended consequences that are unpredictable. With long term use pf HCG, it may stimulate the ovaries in some women to make more male hormones so they might get some effects of having an excess of testosterone - male hormone - and that would result in a poor complexion. In extreme cases it can result in some of those things that male hormones cause and some of that is hair loss."
But Dr. Ivan Goldsmith of TrimCare, a local weight loss center, says he has prescribed HCG for patients experiencing bone loss and has seen them lose weight without suffering any negative consequences related to HCG.
“I’ve done these shots personally. I’ve seen it in patients that are the most difficult, refractory, non-compliant people and I was astounded. They lose weight."
Dr. Goldsmith plans to ask the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners to authorize the use of HCG in weight loss.
“It’s been overlooked for a long time and scrutinized as being ‘some anabolic steroid.’ It's a protein; it's not an anabolic steroid. This drug is very safe. I can't site one literature reference where there has been any long-term side effect or detrimental consequence with anybody that's taken this drug."
Back at the gym, Diane says she didn’t know HCG as a diet drug is not approved for use in Nevada. She says she may now think twice about recommending it to friends, despite her experience.
Sue Manteris: Were you thinking this has got to be too good to be true?
Diane: Oh yeah, I was like this is insane. There's no way this actually exists. You know it's real, it can't be happening. But then the actual weight loss started to happen.
The Healthline Team tried to contact Diane’s weight loss doctor, who responded with a message saying she did not want to talk about prescribing HCG until after the hearing with the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners.
That board made its ruling against the use of HCG as a weight loss drug in 1979; the board’s interim director said that decision was made due to a lack of scientific proof that HCG as a diet drug was actually safe.
The Food and Drug Administration has also not approved HCG for weight loss.
The Federal Trade Commission requires anyone offering or promoting HCG as a weight loss aid to disclose that it is unapproved for use.
COMMENTS
My wife is an excellent science project on this issue.
She limited herself to about 500 calories a day for several weeks, before she heard of HGC, and lost a total 3 or 4 pounds. Her body went into starvation mode and actually tried to hold onto every single calorie she took in.
Then she discovered HGC and lost significant weight (just over 30 pounds in just under 40 days). The literature says that HGC "tricks" your body into not going into starvation mode and go ahead and burn the fat stores.
I think I'll try it next!
Wow Brit do more reading or get older. I work out 1.5 hours a day. To have the kicking body I have, but most people don't have this time to do it.
Genetic Causes
Genetics play a major role in overweight and obesity. Scientific consensus is emerging that body weight is about 70 percent determined by inheritance. Adopted children, for example, tend to resemble the weight of their biological parents more than their adopted parents. Exactly how genes control body weight is not known, but the resting metabolic rate, which is the amount of energy we expend at rest, and the metabolic energy we expend after a meal are about 70 percent determined by our genes. Food and beverage intake, selection of specific food items, and how full we feel after eating may all be at least partially determined genetically.
Brit A doesn't get. Sure, we've made mistakes to get to where we are, DUH. The problem is all of these "healthy diets" get you know where and leave you where you were, fat.
HGC kick starts your body into burning fat so you can see ACTUAL IMPROVEMENT IN REAL TIME, not some vague promise that if you exercise and eat right for MANY weeks, you'll eventually lose 10 or 12 pounds.
If you've been suffering for years, what would you rather do? Lose 30 pounds in a month or 10 - 12 pounds in a year?
Brit A doesn't get. Sure, we've made mistakes to get to where we are, DUH. The problem is all of these "healthy diets" get you know where and leave you where you were, fat.
HGC kick starts your body into burning fat so you can see ACTUAL IMPROVEMENT IN REAL TIME, not some vague promise that if you exercise and eat right for MANY weeks, you'll eventually lose 10 or 12 pounds.
If you've been suffering for years, what would you rather do? Lose 30 pounds in a month or 10 - 12 pounds in a year?
First-time users:Been there and have done ALL the diets My cravings and wrong food choices never went away. Hcg diet finally allows both my husband and I a new life!! Not alone did the (drops) Hcg protocol create the major weight loss:45 for my husband and 25 for me, we ate from the huge food diary offered us.We both have been "off" the Hcg for 79 days and we continue to eat how we learned to eat: "smart", and we have continued to lose weight from our bodies hypothymus being jumped-started again.My husband has lost a total of 65 lbs and my total loss is 35.NOT eating as we did, before the Hcg, is now an everyday DELICIOUSLY wonderful happening!!
Our health has improved.We do not get exhausted at the end of the day. Our clothes are smaller :) and we are in our mid-50's! My husband's golf game has improved, he loves that!!
Hcg has been around since the '70s for a good reason... we BOTH love how we feel!!! If you can,do this for yourself and your family!! thank you.
This is just another stupid, yo-yo diet fad. Why would anyone want to take a pregnancy hormone to lose weight? Legitimate, long-term weight loss takes hard work and self-discipline, not some miricale cure-all. These people who lost 25 pounds in one month are going to gain back 35 pounds. This is an expensive lawsuit, at the taxpayers expense, waiting to happen.
You also failed to mention that numerous scientifically controlled studies have found this treatment to be ineffective when compared to a placebo.
I am not sure about all of the negativity. If a woman's body makes this hormone while she is pregnant then that may be why I always felt better than I do today when I was pregnant with my last 2 children. I also didn't gain a bunch of weight. My last child I only gained 16 pounds & he came out weighing 8pds 13 ounces. That's over half of what I gained & then you have to account for all of the other stuff that comes with child birth. So yes I was a few pounds smaller after having my child than before I was pregnant. So with that taken into consideration I don't see how an HCG protocol can't work. I am now about 50 pounds over weight & this is looking mighty nice for me. I NEVER had to worry about my weight as a child. I was always the "SKINNY" one!
Tammy- First, the whole genetics excuse is crap. So you're saying why we have have an increase in childhood and adult obesity is genetics? In the past decade? I'm in the medical field and, yes, genetics is a cause, but NOT a major one. It's one that affects a very SMALL % of people.
TeddyV- If you're overweight and you eat right and work out and you only lose 10-12 lbs in a year, you're lying and not doing what you say you are. Sure you can take a drug to drop 30 lbs in a month, but is that really healthy? No...it's not.
It boils down to this. Exercise and eat right. If your not doing this, your not going to loose weight. Stop drinking coke and limit carbs to 100g/day. Most of the overweight issues are DIRECTLY linked to increased carb intake, while still eating fat.
Eat lean meats, veggies and some fruits, work out may 30 minutes a day and you'll drop weight.
Stop with the excuses, set your mind to it and do it.
SteveP,
Congrats on the weight loss. You are the shining example of what to do. Do you know why you lost weight? Because you started eating right, but more importantly...you are STILL eating right. You starved your body and forced it to eat stored fat, but you did it. I bet if they gave you a shot of saline you'd of gotten the same results...as KELLI G. pointed out.
They key is not doing a "diet" but making a lifestyle change like these people did. Congrats and keep it up.
SteveP,
Congrats on the weight loss. You are the shining example of what to do. Do you know why you lost weight? Because you started eating right, but more importantly...you are STILL eating right. You starved your body and forced it to eat stored fat, but you did it. I bet if they gave you a shot of saline you'd of gotten the same results...as KELLI G. pointed out.
They key is not doing a "diet" but making a lifestyle change like these people did. Congrats and keep it up.
To all you who disbelieve....I have done this diet to suceession last April. I went from 155lbs on a 5'3 inch frame to 112lbs in June. Oh and by the way;....I have managed to keep the weight off since then without too much effort. You see I cannot work out due to spine surgery. My weight gain did not come from stuffing my face full of "bad carbs and fats". Mine came from all the cortisone shots and "pills" the doctors gave me . I choose to take control of my health; but let me tell you there is something to HCG. Nothing else worked to get off the weight on my midsection. So if it works for some;.....why all the judgement? Lots of other programs work on "controlled starvation" as well. Trust me the diet industry is only worried about the competition. It's cheap and it works long term. And by the way my blood pressure is down as well as my cholestrol which is a familial(inherited) condition. Remember people do your homework before anything you take or do to your body. I did...
I went on the HCG diet several Months ago after the recommendation of s few friends that had tried it. I was thoroughly amazed at the results. I went from 320 pounds to 279 pounds during the first 30 days. I stopped the diet 2 weeks before thanksgiving and in that time I've only put back on 7 pounds total. Do your Research and consult your Dr., but this works as a jump start to a healthier lifestyle and once you are done with it a proper nutrition and exercise regimen do the trick.
I'm a huge advocate of hCG .I'm on homeopathic hCG right now. It WORKS! I have hope to loose weight for the first time. Already down 50 lbs and can't wait for 50 more! "Pounds and Inches" by Dr Simmeons and hCG have been an absolute miracle. If you research, you'll learn that it is amazing + you feel great. Whatever you do, don't take a news reporters word for it. The diet was NOT explained properly here, especially from a Weight Watchers lady. THAT program is a starvation diet. Of course she is against it. It is putting her company out of business! I did Weight Watchers and lost 6 pounds in 5 weeks. On my first round of hCG... 30 lbs in 6 weeks. You do the math! When on hCG you only consume 500 calories, but are actually using the stored calories from your body to THRIVE since hCG sends a constant supply of stored fat into your blood. If you want me to share more, e-mail me morjulie at gmail dot com. I don't sell the stuff, just want to share w/ anyone who needs it. Cheers. Julie
Oh, and to all of you anti's who are putting it down, do some research before you act like you know what's going on. Read "Pounds and Inches." Great place to start if you are mislead.
Kudos to you Julie! I tried weight watchers and was constantly hungry no matter what I did. People need to read the protocol before they become experts. lol...It taught me a new way to eat and a healthier way to eat.
I tried HCG for the first time a year ago. I was amazed and astonished at my results! I have been semi-overweight my whole life. What I mean by that is, I could lose weight but only in the upper portions of my body. I am shaped like an 8. So I could never lose my thighs and derriere. So, being very frustrated through my life and trying everything posibble to lose weight, I had given up... Until HCG. I had absolutely no side effects and no problems. I lost weight everywhere, instead of just my upper body. The HCG is NOT a method of starvation, if you actually read the manuscript it clearly tells you that the HGC gives you about 2500 calories each day, then you consume the 500 calories of actual food. What the purpose of 3000 calories a day does is retrain your body to burn a lot of calories efficiently. I have lost a total of 48 pounds and have kept it off for the last year. I eat appropriately and exercise. I have found a new lease on life. HCG has been a true blessing for me.
This video has such a negative outlook on HCG. It has saved so many people and helped as the doctors and patients in the video said. And IT IS BEING APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS!!!!! This lady is so wrong.
www.revive-weightloss.com
Anyone who is considering the so-called HCG diet should first research all the accredited and well-substantiated websites reporting that it is utterly a fraud. There is NO scientific evidence whatsoever that the HCG hormone does ANYTHING to help anyone with weight loss, it has nothing to do with weight loss in the human body. Double-blind experiments have shown that patients using a placebo also lost weight on a 500 calorie a day diet -- DUH who wouldn't. The entire HCG weight loss plan is a complete scam and was created by a lowlife convicted felon with no medical knowledge whatsoever. Of course you will lose weight on a 500 calorie a day diet - as well as needed fats and proteins for brain function and muscle health. I find it appalling that women hate themselves so much that they are willing to let a con artist use and abuse them this way. it is a VERY SAD STATEMENT about women and how they see themselves indeed.
P.S. Many of the people here who report seeing results from the HCG diet are HCG promoters themselves -- and liars. They did not lose the weight themselves, and are in fact scam artists. Be smart, people. HCG is a total and complete scam. Don't be stupid. Eat right, exercise, and indulge in good fatty food once in awhile, and you'll be perfectly healthy. Don't fall for this bull crap!!
for the record it is LEGAL in Nevada now for weight-loss and the effects are saving/changing lives every day. I was so happy with my treatment at this site www.revive-weightloss.com that I recommend to close family and friends. I also heard Dr. Goldsmith was good too, but a little expensive. At revive the whole program cost me about $500, and then my wife, and family from back east came out and all did the treatment. we sat down for easter lunch and were all about 30 pound lighter! we felt great. thank you HCG!!!
for the record it is LEGAL in Nevada now for weight-loss and the effects are saving/changing lives every day. I was so happy with my treatment at this site www.revive-weightloss.com that I recommend to close family and friends. I also heard Dr. Goldsmith was good too, but a little expensive. At revive the whole program cost me about $500, and then my wife, and family from back east came out and all did the treatment. we sat down for easter lunch and were all about 30 pound lighter! we felt great. thank you HCG!!!
I am very concerned about the possible hair loss. Have any of you who have had positive comments here experienced hair loss? Any idea what percentage of people actually do lose hair?
I understand the issues both pro and con on this issue, but there are some of us out there that are not fat because of eating too much or genetics. I have no thyroid after having thyroid cancer removed in 99, since then, I have been on replacement therapy but it is never enough to really make any difference in my metabolism being effective. As a result, I end up taking more medications and other things. An opportunity to lose weight in spite of my limitations and lack of metabolism would be a blessing and something that a full yr working out with a trainer, 8 grand and being on a restricted diet did not accomplish. Not everyone is fat because they are pigs - some of us have no choice in the matter whatsoever medically. I take medications after a car accident that does nothing but add to the problems -so if this is a chance for be to get back to the 128lbs I was before my thyroid went out of control - I would take it!
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Home»News Home»Healthline 3»HCG Diet: Weight loss miracle or recipe for disaster?
TROY W.
March 4, 2010 5:37pm PST
Mark as Offensive
My wife and are finishing up the HCG protocol and found it to be a lifesaver. My wife and I did HCG for very different reasons however the one thing that we shared was weight loss. After going to my doctor for several months and unable to get my cholestoral under control with pescribed medicine and diet, I went on HCG as a last resort. Not only did my bloodwork show an unbelievable improvement, my overall health has improved so much that I tell all of my friends. Make no mistake, HCG has a protocol that MUST be followed to work. Do your research. My wife and I did before embarking on this journey. I recommend it as does my wife.