HCG Diet - does it work?

N

njoyabl

New member
Okay, so I'm fairly new to this forum, and have one other thread. Here is the thing, I have been working hard, I have to lose this weight. After having a baby five months ago, and still not losing the weight, on Feb 26th, I decided, enough was enough. I never had problems shedding weight before.

Now I have been exercising, and eating healthy for a month. I admit, I cheated, very little though, and not often, but my main goal was to reduce my portions and exercise and not be so strict as where I cannot eat the foods I love. I eat the raw veggies, oatmeal, fruit, and drink tons of water. i don't know what I am doing wrong to gain a pound in a month. I try to eat protein with every meal. I'm lost here.

I read up on the HCG diet program today. I don't know if this is legit. They say that there are drops instead of injections. I was wondering if anyone has ever tried this and could provide more feed back. I would love to find a healthy jumpstart to my weightloss. I feel like I'm losing because I'm becoming discouraged. Positive and Negative encouraged as long as it is helpful information. Thanks.
 
You gained a pound in a month? Then you ate more calories than you burned. Sorry, that's what happened.

Now about this plan...DON'T YOU DARE

There is no scientific evidence supporting HCG injections as a weight loss strategy. In addition, these injections have not been approved by the FDA for use in weight loss. In fact, since 1975 the FDA has required all marketing and advertising of HCG to state the following: “HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or ‘normal’ distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.”

“HCG is a hormone extracted from urine of pregnant women. It is approved by FDA for treatment of certain problems of the male reproductive system and in stimulating ovulation in women who have had difficulty becoming pregnant. No evidence has been presented, however, to substantiate claims for HCG as a weight-loss aid.” via the FDA

HCG ban: The hormone was recently added to the list of “banned substances” in Major League Baseball, as it was becoming increasingly popular among steroid users. Athletes turned to this, among other “performance enhancing drugs” because it “mitigates the side effects of ending a cycle of steroids.”

Negative side effects: The common side effects include headaches, mood swings, depression, blood clots, confusion, and dizziness. Some women also develop a condition called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS); symptoms of this include pelvic pain, swelling of the hands and legs, stomach pain, weight gain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, vomiting/nausea, and/or urinating less than normal.



Sounds fun doesn't it?
 
Jericho said:
You gained a pound in a month? Then you ate more calories than you burned. Sorry, that's what happened.

Now about this plan...DON'T YOU DARE

There is no scientific evidence supporting HCG injections as a weight loss strategy. In addition, these injections have not been approved by the FDA for use in weight loss. In fact, since 1975 the FDA has required all marketing and advertising of HCG to state the following: “HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or ‘normal’ distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.”

“HCG is a hormone extracted from urine of pregnant women. It is approved by FDA for treatment of certain problems of the male reproductive system and in stimulating ovulation in women who have had difficulty becoming pregnant. No evidence has been presented, however, to substantiate claims for HCG as a weight-loss aid.” via the FDA

HCG ban: The hormone was recently added to the list of “banned substances” in Major League Baseball, as it was becoming increasingly popular among steroid users. Athletes turned to this, among other “performance enhancing drugs” because it “mitigates the side effects of ending a cycle of steroids.”

Negative side effects: The common side effects include headaches, mood swings, depression, blood clots, confusion, and dizziness. Some women also develop a condition called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS); symptoms of this include pelvic pain, swelling of the hands and legs, stomach pain, weight gain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, vomiting/nausea, and/or urinating less than normal.



Sounds fun doesn't it?
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Ouch.

Well, my one pound could have come from going to the doctor and getting weighed late in the afternoon after I had eatin already. I swear I have greatly reduced my portions, and changed the way that I eat, and exercise at least three times a week. I used to be a pro at working out and losing weight, and resculting my body, without even changing my diet except for not drinking sodas. I feel as that my body is under duress or something that is causing it not to respond. It is sort of like I'm maintaining my weight. It is both frustrating and infuriating knowing that I am working so hard! I've noticed a difference in my energy level which is very possitive and I believe that I notice a change in the stomack side area (seemingly smaller), but I feel like there should be more.
 
Ok, wait ... let's get some perspective here. ONE POUND in ONE MONTH.

Not just that, but one pound, weighed on a different scale than you usually weigh, at a different time of day, when you had just eaten and had food in your stomach.

Um... hello .. obsess much? :)

Seriously. Take a deep breath and gain some perspective.

Do you think that the food and liquid you put in your body weighs nothing? Or that it sort of floats around in there and doesn't "count" when you step on a scale? Do you think that all scales weigh the same? Do you think that the weights you weigh first thing in the morning is the same as the weight you weigh in the afternoon?

I think what you need is not injections or drastic plans, but a readjustment of your expectations and maybe some adjustment to your methods of judging progress.

Pick one scale and one time of day to use as your baseline for your weight. Ideally it would be first thing int he morning before you'd put any food or drink in your stomach. Also, keep in mind that your weight will fluctuate monthly depending on your hormones and how much salt you've eaten. Eating a little extra sodium, especially around that time of month, can cause you to retain several pounds of water. I personally can gain and drop up to 8 lbs in a matter of days right around the time of my period.

Be consistent in what you do - including how you measure your progress. And don't allow yourself to freak out over things that don't mean anything. Like weighing after eating.
 
It's possible that the problem was from weighing in the afternoon. Or maybe you had heavier clothing on, or had your shoes on, or are retaining water from eating too much sodium yesterday, or the scale has a fluctuation, or it was a different scale, or any number of things. It also could actually be one pound of fat gained, if you ate more calories than you burned.

I wouldn't worry too much about going up one pound at one weigh in. According to my scale, I can weigh two pounds more (or less) 15 minutes after I weighed myself the first time. o_O What you want to watch for is trends over time. If you are really, really sure you aren't eating more calories than you burn, than just keep up with what you are doing and see what happens next time you weigh.

Do you count calories at all? It's really, really easy to eat more calories than you think you are. You should also know your BMR, so you know how many to eat.
 
Totally agree with Kara and Mizzie
The trick to the scale is to be consistent. Use the same scale at the same time with the same types of clothes and just look for patterns to get an idea of where your weight really is.
 
I agree with Kara and Mizzie.

Are you nursing your baby or no?

I nursed my daughter and struggled to lose weight while breastfeeding her. 4 of 5 friends I met (all our babies were born within a 3-4 month span) from a mom group lost weight while breastfeeding, while myself and the one other mom did not. All of us went walking all the time together and were all eating well and conscientious of our weight because we all desperately wanted to lose our baby weight. Those first 4 girls lost all their weight before 4-6 months. My other girlfriend and I had to really fight hard to lose anything. Miraculously for me, 10 lbs disappeared at around the 9 month mark ( i still had 15lbs to go to be at my pre-preg weight, but still, a 10lb drop out of nowhere was very welcome). I really have no idea what happened, it literally just disappeared (meaning, I didn't change anything in my diet or exercise plan than I had already been working well at).

Anyway, not sure if you're nursing, but even if you aren't, our bodies are ridiculously more in control of us than we think during pregnancy and post-pregnancy. It is like another force says, "take a seat sista, I'm gonna drive!" LOL. I think a more realistic way of saying that is that I believe hormones during and after pregnancy have a lot more control of us than we know. Some say it takes 9 months to put that weight on, so expect 9 months to take it off. That is fine, but bear in mind that this logic varies with each individual. I did lose that 10 lbs out of nowhere, but I then had to work really hard to lose an additional 18 lbs, and I'm still trying to lose 15 more to be at a healthy weight for myself. IT is NOT impossible, and you're still only 6 months post pregnancy. Let yourself relax until you start getting some good sleep (yea, that TOO is a big part of weight not coming off, so is stress, two things that were crippling to my weight loss efforts at that time). IF you're eating well and exercising already, then try to wrap your head around the idea that if nothing else for now, you are doing a wonderful thing for your body and your mental health. If you weren't eating well or exercising, you'd actually have reason to be upset at yourself for not losing, or as you mentioned, gaining a pound.

One silly little pound :)

on a completely different scale from your own ;-p

at a different time of day LOL

Just don't stress yourself out about it or you'll get nowhere. Focus on healthy eating, exercising, and enjoying time with your baby. You'll get your body back in time!
 
KaraCooks said:
Ok, wait ... let's get some perspective here. ONE POUND in ONE MONTH.

Not just that, but one pound, weighed on a different scale than you usually weigh, at a different time of day, when you had just eaten and had food in your stomach.

Um... hello .. obsess much? :)

Seriously. Take a deep breath and gain some perspective.

Do you think that the food and liquid you put in your body weighs nothing? Or that it sort of floats around in there and doesn't "count" when you step on a scale? Do you think that all scales weigh the same? Do you think that the weights you weigh first thing in the morning is the same as the weight you weigh in the afternoon?

I think what you need is not injections or drastic plans, but a readjustment of your expectations and maybe some adjustment to your methods of judging progress.

Pick one scale and one time of day to use as your baseline for your weight. Ideally it would be first thing int he morning before you'd put any food or drink in your stomach. Also, keep in mind that your weight will fluctuate monthly depending on your hormones and how much salt you've eaten. Eating a little extra sodium, especially around that time of month, can cause you to retain several pounds of water. I personally can gain and drop up to 8 lbs in a matter of days right around the time of my period.

Be consistent in what you do - including how you measure your progress. And don't allow yourself to freak out over things that don't mean anything. Like weighing after eating.
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Lol, okay you may have a point, but I didn't mention that I have weighed myself on my on scale, and the **** thing is not moving! I do think my hormones are out of whack, and I wish that I could make that move to wake up 5 o'clock in the morning to workout, but the baby isn't allowing that yet. He doesn't sleep through the night because he itches terribly due to eczema.

You can say, I'm a little obsessed. I'm going to Jamaica in 3 months, and I would be ecstatic just to take of at least 10 pounds, at least I'll know it's gone, and can feel better waltzing around on an island where I'll never see people again in my cute bathing suit! Thanks for the advice, I'll try not to freak out.
 
Mizzie,

You make some great points. No, I really don't count my calories. The worst I do on any day is drink one of those starbucks cold coffees. You may be right, but I move around twice as much even when I don't have to. I do mini exercises at work. I don't know.
 
Lizabell,

I chose not to nurse, although, i really wish I did, but my son is kind of wild, and very advance so I don't really know. It did not work out well with my first son, so I was really a little scared this time around, so I chose the formula. I think you are absolutely right about the hormone thing, and I have been researching on methods to try and reach a heathy hormonal level, via vitamins, and less stress. I do not get any sleep seemingly due to my son's eczema and itching. I'm just in the air about it all. Thanks for you suggestions and support. It isn't easy, I know.
 
The worst I do on any day is drink one of those starbucks cold coffees
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Do you know how many calories a starbucks cold flavored coffee has? Some of them have over 1000 calories - that's nearly 2/3 of your daily allowance of calories.

If your scale isn't moving, then you really shoudl start counting your calories. I suspect you're eating far more than you think you are, which is the problem.
 
KaraCooks said:
Do you know how many calories a starbucks cold flavored coffee has? Some of them have over 1000 calories - that's nearly 2/3 of your daily allowance of calories.

If your scale isn't moving, then you really shoudl start counting your calories. I suspect you're eating far more than you think you are, which is the problem.
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Well, I don't drink the ones you buy from Starbucks counter. I drink the ones you buy in the store which are 240 calories. I guess that is enough of drinking calories though. I wanted to avoid doing a food diary on here, but maybe I should :eek2:

Just didn't want to be on the critical side of the food thing.
 
jelani4u said:
Hey there,
I have a friend that used the HCG diet recently. She got the drug from her doctor and it was a patented sublingual formula. The usual way of taking it is by injecting it. Now here's the skinny, she did lose weight. She went from a size 16 to a size 8 and boy is she happy. She's had a few issues with her wardrobe because nothing fits. So the answer to your question is that it works and works well. The only problem is that it isn't a healthy way to lose weight. The drug comes with some pretty nasty side effects. Now it isn't guaranteed that you will experience any side effects but then you never know. As for my friend the side effects that she experienced was ovarian cysts. The sad thing is that she says she doesn't care, she would rather by thin and deal with the cysts than look and feel like she did. I would suggest you find a different alternative to taking the HCG. How about you try to find a personal trainer to really analyze what your doing and try to identify what the issues are.
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Hello, I spoke with someone from Reveal yesterday before I started this thread to get information. I was told that there were very little side effects if any. I guess that doesn't mean much when someone wants your money. Ovarian cysts are something to be concerned about, and I am sorry your friend feels that way. I may be overweight, but I actually look quite healthy, and eat pretty healthy, the best way I know how anyway. I really cannot afford a personal trainer at this point, and it wouldn't do much good with a new baby and all; have to maintain my schedule, and of course costs and bills have gone up. I am considering going to the doctor and having my thyroid checked. My mother has thyroid problems. I hope it hasn't trickled down. I really want to do this the healthy way, but I don't feels as my weightloss goals is unreasonable and it is like I said, discouraging.
 
jelani4u said:
Now here's the skinny, she did lose weight. She went from a size 16 to a size 8 and boy is she happy. She's had a few issues with her wardrobe because nothing fits. So the answer to your question is that it works and works well.
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As I understand it, the HCG diet involves eating 500 calories a day. There may be some variations of that. So, if it works, it works by restricting calories. Now, the purpose of the HCG is to supposedly keep you from getting hungry. It doesn't do that when tested in a scientific trial, and that has been proven a number of times. What it might do is to have a placebo effect; i.e., if you are convinced you are not supposed to be hungry, maybe you aren't. That's about it.
 
I hope you've come a long way from your initial post about the HCG diet...my take on all of this is that your body is already out of whack hormonally, so why add more (external) hormones to your body which do not belong there?

I forgot to mention in my above post that when I did go to my doc to have my thyroid checked (he did it initially at around 5-6 months post-partum, and then again for me to rechecked my cholesterol--I think I was then 7-8 months post-partum) and I was venting my frustrations at not losing anything while I was eating well and exercising etc, he did say to me to A. analyze better what I'm eating (hence, keep a food diary) and B. to cut myself some slack. He believed that my stress and sleep were a large enough factor coupled with the fact that even though my baby was 7-8 months old already, it didn't mean that my body was back to original self inside. This, THIS coming from a male doctor. NO offense to male docs, but as females, we kinda feel like some things only a woman could understand best (like a woman doc who has had a child over a male doc). The other part, too, was that originally, my cholesterol at that first testing was high (bad cholesterol was high, good cholesterol low), but at my next testing it was way, way lower and good cholesterol was high again. The doc was super impressed and believed me that I was really exercising and eating well. So, all I want to put out there is that your body is probably still not back to its normal self inside yet, so you can't really demand so much of yourself for what you're seeing on the outside right now. Also, if you're body does finally let go of some weight, maybe you'll be like me and lose it at around 9 months PP, which *poof* is magically right around the time you're going to Jamaica! Wouldn't that be perfect!!

Hang in there, get some really good laughs to help offset the stress of being a new mom and not getting the sleep you need. Stick with eating well and exercising when you can (the weather will be getting much better for daily walks with your baby, short but effective weight lifting while the baby naps, etc)

Good luck to you.
 
Lizabell said:
I hope you've come a long way from your initial post about the HCG diet...my take on all of this is that your body is already out of whack hormonally, so why add more (external) hormones to your body which do not belong there?

I forgot to mention in my above post that when I did go to my doc to have my thyroid checked (he did it initially at around 5-6 months post-partum, and then again for me to rechecked my cholesterol--I think I was then 7-8 months post-partum) and I was venting my frustrations at not losing anything while I was eating well and exercising etc, he did say to me to A. analyze better what I'm eating (hence, keep a food diary) and B. to cut myself some slack. He believed that my stress and sleep were a large enough factor coupled with the fact that even though my baby was 7-8 months old already, it didn't mean that my body was back to original self inside. This, THIS coming from a male doctor. NO offense to male docs, but as females, we kinda feel like some things only a woman could understand best (like a woman doc who has had a child over a male doc). The other part, too, was that originally, my cholesterol at that first testing was high (bad cholesterol was high, good cholesterol low), but at my next testing it was way, way lower and good cholesterol was high again. The doc was super impressed and believed me that I was really exercising and eating well. So, all I want to put out there is that your body is probably still not back to its normal self inside yet, so you can't really demand so much of yourself for what you're seeing on the outside right now. Also, if you're body does finally let go of some weight, maybe you'll be like me and lose it at around 9 months PP, which *poof* is magically right around the time you're going to Jamaica! Wouldn't that be perfect!!

Hang in there, get some really good laughs to help offset the stress of being a new mom and not getting the sleep you need. Stick with eating well and exercising when you can (the weather will be getting much better for daily walks with your baby, short but effective weight lifting while the baby naps, etc)

Good luck to you.
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Thanks so much Lizabell, you really lifted my spirits tremendously. I will continue to eat well and exercise, and have faith that my body will definitely improve in time as long as I keep it up.
 
you should probably have your thyroid tested as a standard test anyway, many women can develop temporary thyroid problems after having a baby.
 
heatherisadork said:
you should probably have your thyroid tested as a standard test anyway, many women can develop temporary thyroid problems after having a baby.
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I've thought about that. If that is a problem, I really hope it is temporarary. I can't imagine what it is like going through life always having issues losing weight because of a thyroid problem.
 
njoyabl said:
Lol, okay you may have a point, but I didn't mention that I have weighed myself on my on scale, and the **** thing is not moving! I do think my hormones are out of whack
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Maybe you just have to poop. You could just have a big ol' poo festering inside of you, waiting to get released into the wild. When was the last time you made a BM?
 
ChefChiTown said:
Maybe you just have to poop. You could just have a big ol' poo festering inside of you, waiting to get released into the wild. When was the last time you made a BM?
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Lmao! Good one. Na, I am actually very regular. LOL!

On the plus side, I shed 4 pounds, magically!
 
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