Living Fitness

When people consider hCG diet injections vs drops, there doesn’t seem to be much compelling about sticking a needle in themselves for 43 days in a row. As anyone can intellectually appreciate, hCG shots wouldn’t be offered if they had no advantages. HCG injections can be applied directly to trouble spots of accumulated fat, such as the buttocks or the upper arms, and burn fat more quickly than drops or pills.

Because the hormone is a direct intra-muscular application, the body needs 40% less of it than would be the case for oral versions. After their first injection, hCG dieters almost always discover that, like insulin shots, hCG shots are essentially painless. In fact the shots are applied with the very same fine-gauge insulin syringe. Many users prefer to go to a weight loss clinic, where the 23- to 43-day program can be supervised, but it’s also possible for users to purchase the hormone themselves after receiving a prescription.

HCG Products

HCG for use with a syringe is prescription-only, in contrast with hCG drops which come in homeopathic and pure (non-homeopathic) versions. Where a daily dose of pure hCG taken orally might be 175 to 225 International Units, a standard 6x dilution of homeopathic hCG (HHCG) is only .0001 UI, meaning that it contains almost nothing but water. On the hCG injections diet, dosages as low as 125 IU per day can be used, though 150-175 IU is the norm.

Most hCG injection kits sold through online resellers do not include hCG itself, which must be purchase separately. Some hCG resellers get around the prescription requirement have routing fulfillment through a distributor with a doctor on staff. The protocol is to have the customer submit a request to the distributor in the form of a questionnaire where “weight loss” must be specified as the reason for the request. As long as the customer agrees to purchase directly from the distributor, the in-house doctor will provide the prescription.

The contents of these kits, which usually come in 23-day and 43-day versions, typically include the following: 23-43 single use syringes (either combination syringes, or a single syringe with a supply of multiple needles), two sterile vials, two mixing syringes, two mixing vials, a supply of daily alcohol wipes, and a set of instructions. Some kits also come with a vitamin B12 supplement. 23-day kits tend to cost between $25 and $45, while 43-day kits are generally between $40 and $80.

Prices of hCG drops vs injections tend to favor drops. A 30-day supply of injectable hCG costs 50-100% more than sublingual drops. Prices can vary greatly between online resellers, but a somewhat common range for hCG drops is $100-150 for a 30-day supply compared to $250-300 for the same supply of hCG shots. For customers who would rather not hassle doing the work of mixing hCG with bacteriostatic water themselves, many vendors offer it premixed.

Should You Try the HCG Injections Diet?

HCG drops are appropriate for dieters who a especially needle-phobic, allergic to needles or cannot access injectables in their state. Some states will not allow the sale of needles without a prescription—but ultimately, a prescription will be necessary for any non-homeopathic hCG anyway. Due to the lower dosages needed, injectable hCG is more economical in the long run, can be used for spot reduction, and burns fat at a faster rate. Aside from the psychological resistance to needles, the greater efficiency of hCG injections may make it a better overall value.

Homeopathic hCG is an even more controversial derivative of an already controversial diet supplement. In a nutshell, homeopathic hCG (HHCG) is a highly diluted version of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, a hormone produced by women when they become pregnant. In conventional use, hCG is extracted from the urine (which is sterile) and processed for medicinal purposes. Homeopathic versions are futher processed under the guidelines of the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (HPUS).

Historically, the hormone has been used to treat problems with infertility in women and problems with dropped testicles in boys. In the Fifties, Dr. Albert Simeons began experimenting with its use on obese patients, noting that hCG worked effectively for collecting adipose tissue (accumulated fat) while preserving lean muscle tissue; furthermore, it acted as an appetite suppressant than enabled patient to feel full on a diet of only 500 to 550 calories a day.

Homeopathic HCG vs Real HCG

HCG homeopathic preparations are made by taking an active ingredient—in this case, hCG—and diluting it multiple times, vigorously shaking it between dilutions, to the point where few or even no molecules of the original substance are left. According to homeopathic theory, this process of “potentization” allows the substance to leave a biochemical imprint on the water molecules so that the medicinal effect remains intact, even in the substance’s virtual absence.

Non-homeopathic hCG drops can only be obtained through a prescription. Since many physicians discourage any Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD), getting them to prescribe pure hCG can be difficult; so many dieters enroll in an hCG weight loss clinic, where they can receive daily injections or drops with a prescription. Even doctors at these weight loss clinics are often critical of HHCG, dismissing it as a placebo.

How Do HCG and HHCG Work?

Dieters on hCG are said to lose between 15 and 40 pounds a month—a rather spectacular claim. Whether homeopathic or “real” hCG is used, critics contend that the rapid weight loss is strictly the result of the calorie restriction. On 500 calories a day, losing a pound a day is not at all far-fetched. But does hCG contribute anything substantive to the diet?

There are many testimonials in which dieters claim to be able to maintain the low calorie diet without feeling hungry. According to Dr. Simeons, this results from the hCG stimulating the hypothalamus to mobilize fat deposits, allowing them to make their stored calories available to the metabolism. Instead of getting their energy from carbohydrates, dieters get their energy from fat.

Is Homeopathic HCG a Placebo?

This supposedly does not occur with homeopathic hCG. According the critics, the lack of ketosis under the HHCG diet can be demonstrated with keto strips (a.k.a. keto sticks). When ketones are present, urine turns the keto strips dark. This would also indicate that muscle tissue was being preserved. While critics have insisted keto strips tested after homeopathic hCG was taken, many commenters on the internet have stated that they’ve carried out the test themselves, and found that the strips did, in fact, turn dark.

Skeptics note that, at a standard 6x dilution, there would not be enough of the hormone in a conventional 30c container of hCG to have any appetite suppressant effect; therefore, support it provides to the dieter is purely psychological. For anyone anxious to test the hCG diet, it’s highly recommended to test pure, prescription hCG for a week to get a baseline of its effectiveness before switching to homeopathic hCG.