HCG Diet: Benefits, Foods, and Rules

The human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) diet is a fad diet that started in 1967 to help with weight reduction. It uses a hormone supplement often given to women to cause unnatural weight loss when paired with an extremely low-calorie diet. This diet is illegal in the United States since HCG is not FDA-approved. 

Thorne Partnership

NSF Certified Products

Clinically Backed

Supports All Health Needs

Get 25% OFF, Today!!

Although the HCG diet causes weight loss, it is not recommended by the FDA because it’s dangerous and has led to malnutrition and even death. Those considering the HCG diet for fast results should look for alternative and healthier ways to lose weight. 

Table of Contents

Toggle

What Is HCG Diet? 

An endocrinologist created the HCG diet in 1967. Albert T. W. Simeons wrote a book after he observed the weight loss caused by women on HCG medication. HCG was commonly prescribed to assist with fertility issues but caused an unnatural slimming effect in certain patients. 

Since then, several companies have taken this supplement and sold it, despite the FDA issuing several warnings against the drug. Along with a strict diet, the HCG medication is supposed to help the user lose several pounds in a short period. 

HCG is an expensive and strenuous diet to follow because the rules are extremely strict, and the medication can cost upwards of $100 a month, depending on the company. The official HCG diet company charges this much for products on sale. 

How Does HCG Diet Work? 

The HCG diet works by pairing a dangerous medicine with a perilously small amount of food. There are three phases, and each of them is difficult and stressful for the user. Despite the advertising, this diet is not an easy or quick way to lose weight.

What Are the Phases of the HCG Diet? 

Each HCG diet user is encouraged to complete three steps. These steps encourage the body to lose weight in an unhealthy manner, whether or not the illegal drug is involved. Here are the phases of the HCG diet. 

• Phase 1: preloading for several days on the high calorie/fat food to “prepare” the body for the diet
• Phase 2: beginning HCG supplements and a very low-calorie diet (3-6 weeks depending on weight loss goals)
• Phase 3: gradually eat more food while staying on the approved food list, and stop taking the HCG supplements

What Are the Health Benefits of HCG Diet? 

Unfortunately, there are no health benefits associated with the HCG diet. The medicine itself, human chorionic gonadotropin, naturally occurs in the placenta of pregnant women. It can be prescribed to treat infertility or low testosterone but is not an over-the-counter medication. 

HCG has no scientific effect on weight loss. Those claiming that it does often pair it with a very low-calorie diet, which causes rapid weight loss. However, that rapid weight loss is unhealthy and can lead to several health risks and conditions. 

What Are the Health Risks of HCG Diet? 

The number one risk of the HCG diet is malnutrition. Anyone eating less than 500 calories a day is not likely to sustain a healthy weight loss. Instead, muscles and tissue will decay, causing emaciation and other health risks, including near starvation and even death. 

Those who don’t eat enough food can suffer from these symptoms and worse.

• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Irregular heartbeat 
• Depression 
• Headaches
• Weakness
• Fatigue

Each of these symptoms is alarming, but a body in near-starvation mode will likely experience several of them simultaneously. Those following an HCG diet might see weight loss, but they will not feel well or be healthy. 

How To Do HCG Diet? 

To do the HCG diet properly, you’ll need a list of allowed foods and the HCG supplement. However, as that’s illegal and difficult to find, you’ll probably have to order it online or go to a health foods store. The diet consists of three phases, with the second phase being the longest. 

In each phase, you will eat certain foods and inject yourself with a syringe full of HCG diet injections. Some companies sell HCG as a diluted oral supplement instead of an injection, but they all claim that the medicine will quell appetite and increase weight loss. It must be taken once or twice a day, half an hour before eating. 

In the first phase of the HCG diet, there’s no need to watch what you eat. Instead, the diet encourages you to eat fat and calorie-heavy foods to prepare your body for the diet. Doing this primes your body for losing weight fast and can cause a body to go into shock once the next phase begins. 

In the second phase, the true diet begins. You must take the HCG supplements daily and are only allowed to eat two meals a day. The total between those two meals must not exceed 500 calories. Each meal must have a lean protein, a carb, a vegetable, and a fruit serving, which lasts for at least three weeks, but often more. 

After 3-6 weeks, a dieter moves on to phase three. By spending several weeks gradually upping food intake and decreasing the medication, the body will supposedly even out and not be hungry or gain weight. However, it simply holds the body in a starvation state. 

What Foods Can Be Eaten on HCG Diet? 

The list of HCG-friendly foods is very healthy. It focuses on lean proteins, vegetables, and fruits, and limits unhealthy foods like excessive carbohydrates and sugar. On the surface, it’s a very healthy diet. However, the serving sizes are much too small. 

Here is a list of the foods that you can eat on the HCG diet.

• Lean meats (without visible fat)
• Select vegetables 
• Oranges
• Apples
• Strawberries
• Half a grapefruit
• Most herbs and spices
• One tablespoon of milk a day 
• Stevia, saccharine, or another natural sweetener (not cane sugar)
• Coffee
• Tea

Again, it’s not the food itself that is unhealthy. Eating a low-carb diet is an excellent way to become healthier and lose weight. However, it’s not healthy to eat it in portions of 250 calories a meal. No one should have that few calories in a day, even if they need to lose weight. 

What Foods Cannot be Eaten on HCG Diet?

Of course, there is an even longer list of food that you cannot eat on the HCG diet plan. In addition to sugar or fat, skim milk is limited. Here are the low-fat meats, fruits, and vegetables that are forbidden.

• Salmon 
• Eel
• Tuna
• Herring
• Most fruits
• Many other vegetables
• Any dairy products
• Any meat products
• Anything with fat

The larger controlling part of the HCG diet is not the diet itself, although that is very limiting. Instead, it’s the amount of food available. At 250 calories per meal, it’s difficult to get more than a few bites of food. 

What Are the Scam Products of the HCG Diet? 

Unfortunately, the selling point of the HCG diet – HCG itself – is a scam. According to the FDA, it’s not only a scam, but it’s a dangerous and illegal one. Furthermore, there is no scientific evidence that HCG improves weight loss at all. 

What is helping the dieters lose weight is that they’re not eating enough food. By telling them to starve themselves and take this medication, the companies are tricking and scamming customers into buying their products. However, it’s not just unethical business. It’s illegal and can be deadly. 

What Is the Cost of Following an HCG Diet? 

The diet has several subscription and purchase options, depending on where you buy your medicine. The official HCG diet website includes options for $99, $139, and $299 depending on length. Each box gives the user enough HCG for a certain amount of time. 

The amount of HCG sold varies depending on how much weight one needs to lose. For those struggling with obesity, a larger amount will be sold, and the diet will last longer. Unfortunately, this is the same group that tends to look for quick diet solutions. Losing weight so quickly will put anyone at risk for shock and starvation. 

What Are the Facts About HCG Diet? 

Dietary experts don’t recommend the HCG diet plan. Additionally, People from the Mayo Clinic, the FDA, and many other hospitals and professional organizations encourage dieters to try a healthier and safer way to lose weight. 

What are the Facts About HCG Diet?

The FDA considers HCG to be a dangerous scam. The companies selling HCG as a dietary supplement or health aide are not selling anything of value. Instead, they are taking money from the people they actively harm by promoting a very low-calorie diet and Low-carb diet. 

Diets of less than 1,000 calories a day are considered dangerous unless specifically prescribed and monitored by a healthcare professional. No matter what supplements and medicines are available, it’s not safe to consume 500 calories a day for an extended period. 

How Effective Is HCG Diet for Weight Loss? 

HCG itself isn’t effective for weight loss. If it was a miracle tool, there would be no need for a diet so low in calories to accompany it. The drug was adapted from the first-trimester placenta to assist women struggling with infertility, not to cause weight loss. It does nothing to help people lose weight. 

However, those following the HCG diet plan do get results. These results aren’t from the HCG itself – as established, that has nothing to do with weight loss or gain. Instead, it’s from the restrictive diet that the proponents of this diet encourage. Eating only 500 calories a day will help you lose weight, but it won’t be in a healthy way. 

How Easy Is HCG Diet to Follow? 

Although the website and advertisements claim that HCG is easy to follow and you will lose weight quickly without being hungry, it’s difficult. Like many healthier restriction diets, HCG is taking away many of the foods you already eat. If your body is used to a certain eating style, it will be difficult to take that away. 

Eventually, your body can adjust to various diets, and it’s not impossible to break a sugar or caffeine habit. However, eating tiny amounts of food is incredibly difficult and unhealthy. A body needs more than that to survive, and the person following the diet will be hungry all the time. 

What Are the Best Practices To Follow HCG Diet? 

The best practices for the HCG diet are to avoid it entirely. Several other diets limit food intake to two meals and lower calories without being dangerous to the body. No one should follow the HCG diet.

The best way to lose weight is to lower calorie intake and exercise more. As long as you keep your calorie intake within a healthy amount for your body, you can lower it and continue to work out. But it’s essential to provide healthy fuel so that your body can function well and lose fat instead of muscle. 

Is HCG Diet Low Carb? 

The HCG diet is not low carb. Although there aren’t too many carbs on the allowed food list, the user is allowed a piece of bread, breadstick, or another major carb for each meal. Because of this, the diet isn’t considered a low-carb diet.  

HCG is also not considered gluten-free, vegan, or vegetarian-friendly. The list of approved foods is very small, and it would be nearly impossible to properly feed anyone with dietary restrictions on the calorie amount per day. 

Who Should Do HCG Diet? 

HCG diet fans say that anyone can do the HCG diet plan and benefit from it. However, the FDA and other health authorities recommend that no one partakes in this diet. It has caused many cases of eating disorders, malnutrition, and even death among its members. 

No one should partake of this diet, even though it promises quick weight loss with very little effort. In reality, the diet is difficult to manage, and the medicine is expensive. Neither will help you healthily lose weight, and it could cause your body irreparable harm. 

What Are the Best Recipes for HCG Diet? 

Although you shouldn’t follow the HCG diet, you can use the food for easy diets to follow. Without the medicine and ridiculously small portion sizes, the diet portion itself can be healthy for specific people.  

What Are the Best Recipes for HCG Diet?

A recipe that follows the HCG diet might include turkey meatballs, a breadstick, sauteed broccoli, and a small serving of strawberries. Recipes that follow the HCG diet menu are simple because the foods allowed are minimal, without much spice or flavoring. It’s possible to make complicated recipes, but it is mostly basic proteins, vegetables, and fruits. 

What Is a Sample Menu for HCG Diet? 

For an HCG diet menu, the user would eat two meals a day and take the HCG supplements or syringes. These meals can only total under 500 calories, a small fraction of what a healthy person should be eating. A menu involves two 250-calorie meals a day, with unlimited tea or coffee. 

Each meal would involve a few different foods but have to have protein, a carb, and a vegetable. Although it seems rounded, the amount of food available for the HCG diet plan is too restrictive for anyone’s health. Instead, it’s possible to eat the same types of food but increase the allowances.  

Approved Food List for the HCG Diet

New Life Chiropractic
(650) 598-5414

Second Location
(707) 343-1095

New Life Chiropractic
(650) 598-5414

Second Location
(707) 343-1095

Fruits & Veggies (2 fruits max per day & lots of veggies)
ANY veggie but NO starchy peas, corn, potatoes, or beans.   Should take it easy with carrots and beets too.

2 (two) servings of ANY fruits but NO bananas, pineapple or grapes!!!

Meats (No more than 8 ounces Per Day of lean protein)
Buffalo
Chicken (white meant only)
Cottage Cheese (low fat only) 
Crab
Eggs (3 whites & 1 yolk)
All white fish (non oily types–NO salmon) 
Ground Beef
Lobster
Lunch meats
Pork (lean) 
Shrimp
Steak
Tuna Fish (white, canned, packed in water)
Turkey (white meat only)
Veal

Snacks (2 Servings Per Day not to exceed 40 calories per day)
Brown Rice Crackers
Melba Toast or Rounds
Grissini Breadsticks
Gluten/Wheat Free Pretzels
or any bread or cracker that doesn’t exceed 40 calories per day

Staples
Apple Cider Vinegar (Bragg brand is the best!)
Coconut Oil (Extra Virgin)
Lemon (1 per day in addition to 2 fruit servings)   
Coffee
Tea, preferably Green Tea or any Herbal Tea
MCT Oil (the only approved oil on this diet. Can be purchased with diet plan)
Any spices that do not contain sugar

Office Hours

Monday

9:00 am – 12:00 pm

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Tuesday

Closed

Wednesday

9:00 am – 12:00 pm

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Thursday

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Friday

9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Saturday

Closed

Sunday

Closed

Monday

9:00 am – 12:00 pm

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Tuesday

Closed

Wednesday

9:00 am – 12:00 pm

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Thursday

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Friday

9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Saturday

Closed

Sunday

Closed

Locations

Find us on the map

—mi

New Life Chiropractic

Address

1100 Laurel St. , Suite B

San Carlos, CA 94070, US

• — mi
  New Life Chiropractic

• — mi
  Second Location

CONTACT US TODAY

Please be very specific in the NOTES section with your service requests. Let us know if you are inquiring about Chiropractic or Massage services.

Hormone HCG Diet Review: 5 Facts You Need to Know – Health

Home >> Health >> HCG Hormone Diet: 5 Facts You Need to Know

This diet has been around for decades, but it has recently gained some popularity and notoriety thanks to sharp before and after photos on the internet. If you’re thinking about starting this diet, then here’s what you need to know.

1.

You will be taking hCG, a hormone produced during pregnancy.

HCG is a human chorionic gonadotropin that is naturally produced in a woman’s body during pregnancy. The presence of hCG in the urine makes the home pregnancy kit test positive. It is used as a prescription drug for reproductive problems and is not approved for over-the-counter use. HCG, however, is still sold illegally and is marketed by some companies for this diet. Proponents of the hCG diet say the hormone causes the body to lose fat, not muscle. People usually take the hormone as liquid drops, as a spray, or as an injection.

2. What can I eat on the hCG diet?

Very few. On the diet, you are limited to 500 calories per day for 8 weeks. You can eat two very small meals a day, consisting of one protein, one vegetable, one bread, and one fruit. An advertisement for the hCG diet claims that the hormone suppresses the cravings and painful bouts of hunger that you would normally experience on such a low-calorie diet. You cannot eat any dairy products, carbohydrates, alcohol or sugar.

3. Does the hCG diet work?

Many people have lost weight this way. People report losing up to a pound a day on the diet. Regardless of the addition of the hormone hCG, critics of this diet note that anyone will lose significant weight if they follow a near-starvation diet of just 500 calories a day.

4. What do doctors and health workers say?

HCG weight loss products are illegal and banned by the FDA. Brad Pace, Regulatory Advisor for the FDA’s Health and Consumer Fraud Office, says, “You can’t sell products that claim to contain hCG as an over-the-counter drug. It is illegal.

According to Professor Peter Cohen At Harvard Medical School, the hCG diet is reckless, irresponsible and completely irrational.

Is it possible to lose weight on it? Sure, but that’s mainly because you’re taking in almost no calories. And no benefit will last long.

When considering trying a new diet, always remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

5. Who invented the hCG diet?

This diet began with a study by Dr. Albert T. W. Simeons in London in the 1950s. From some of his work with obese patients, he determined that the hormone hCG promotes rapid fat loss on a strict diet without sudden bouts of hunger. You can read his original thesis, Pounds and Inches , here.

Sounds great, but all the research since his original theory showed that the hormone doesn’t redistribute fat or reduce hunger.

Learn more from Heavy

Paleo diet: 5 facts you need to know

signs, hCG, tests, stomach pulling, ultrasound

Table of contents

1. Mother
   1. 4 weeks pregnant
   2. Feelings
   3. General condition
   4. What to look out for
   5. Examinations and analyzes
   6. Useful information
2. EMBRYO
   1. Embryo implantation
   2. Dimensions
   3. Development

What happens to mom at 4 weeks pregnant?

4 weeks pregnant

At the 4th week of pregnancy in obstetric terms, an important event occurs: the implantation of the embryo. It was for this reason that the uterus was lined with a new endometrium every month: it is loose and deep so that the fetal egg literally sprouted into it. You may not yet be aware of your situation, but a new life is already emerging within you!

Congratulations, you are having a baby! Kabrita® will support you in this exciting and joyful period. We have collected on one resource all the most necessary and, most importantly, verified information that will help prepare for happy motherhood.

Encyclopedia for mothers

Mom School

Feelings

Many expectant mothers want to see an impressive belly as soon as possible, but at the 4th week of pregnancy you may not even be aware of your situation – after all, the expected menstruation has not yet come. However, some early signs may already be present.

General condition

Theoretically, at a gestational age of 4 weeks, you can already detect some symptoms that you will become a mother:

– increased fatigue

– breast engorgement

– pulling pains in the lower abdomen

– sudden mood swings, irritability, tearfulness

– change in taste preferences

– increased sense of smell

At least half of these symptoms can be associated with PMS. For about a week it will be impossible to determine for sure whether your condition is a harbinger of a new cycle, or whether it is the pain of the 4th week of pregnancy associated with the beginning of the restructuring of the body to carry the baby. So be patient.

What to look out for

Implantation bleeding occurs about a week before the expected menstruation and differs in nature from them: the discharge is scanty, spotting, they disappear in 1-2 days. However, implantation of the embryo into the uterus is not always accompanied by bleeding. The nature of the vaginal discharge may simply change slightly: the secretion becomes more abundant and dense. Some mothers immediately after conception have “classic” signs of an interesting situation: appetite changes, nausea in the morning, pulls on the lower abdomen – but at 4 weeks of pregnancy this is more an exception than a rule.

Examinations and analyzes

Implantation takes about 5-8 days. Only after the embryo takes its place in the uterus, the production of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) – a specific hormone of early pregnancy – begins. The obstetric counting method takes as its starting point the first day of the last menstrual period. Thus, the obstetric period is always 2-3 weeks more than the actual age of the embryo.

It is impossible to determine exactly when fertilization occurred and how long it took for implantation. Therefore, at the 4th week of pregnancy, the production of hCG may not yet begin, respectively, household tests and laboratory tests will not be able to detect it even when the pregnancy has already begun. In this case, you just need to be patient and repeat the tests regularly. The results will be more reliable when the period of the next menstruation approaches.

Useful information

If you are planning a child, it is important to give up bad habits (smoking, strong drinks) as soon as possible and switch to a healthy diet.

When there is even the slightest suspicion of pregnancy, heavy lifting and exhausting physical activity are strictly prohibited. It is also undesirable to be near sick people and take medications without a doctor’s prescription. For preventive purposes, even before pregnancy, you can take multivitamin complexes in consultation with your gynecologist. A particularly important vitamin for expectant mothers is B9(folic acid) – it plays a key role in the development of the child’s nervous system. A natural source of this trace element are green leafy salads. At the stage of pregnancy, nutrition becomes the basis for the healthy development of the unborn baby

What happens to the baby at 4 weeks pregnant?

Embryo implantation

At the intrauterine stage of development, the baby receives everything necessary for growth and development from the mother. In the future, the placenta will take over the function of nutrition. And at a period of 4 weeks of pregnancy, it is provided by the chorion – the outer shell of the embryo. In the villi of the chorion, blood vessels are formed through which nutrients are supplied from the mother to the unborn fetus and the excretion of its waste products in the opposite direction. Inside the chorion, such an extraembryonic organ as the yolk sac is formed. He will be in charge of nutrition for up to 7-8 weeks. Also at the 4th week of pregnancy, an amnion is formed, inside which amniotic fluid is produced. It will protect the embryo growing in it (later – the fetus).

Dimensions

Now the embryo looks like a poppy seed, its size is about 1 mm. Therefore, it is impossible to see it even with the help of very powerful ultrasound equipment at the 4th week of pregnancy. At this time, the diagnostician can only confirm the presence of a fetal egg in the uterus.

Development

It is incorrect to talk about how the fetus looks at the 4th week of pregnancy – after all, this is how the future little man is called from the 11th week. Now it’s an embryo. And it is developing very rapidly: germ layers begin to form, which will then be transformed into the organs and systems of a new little man. The outer leaf (the so-called exoderm) will become the skin, nails, hair and teeth of the baby in the future.