Living Fitness

Finding an hCG diet blog that isn’t a thinly disguised shopping cart is even more challenging than finding objective hCG diet reviews or an hCG diet forum that isn’t overrun with spammers. Originally, the plan was to find a half-dozen authority sites on the diet from experts that (1) were extremely informative and (2) weren’t constantly pitching products. Plan A didn’t work out, since, to be completely honest, there was no hCG blog that truly fit the bill. Plan B, on the other hand—to find personal blogs where it was clear that the blogger actually had experience with the diet and could provide some advice—turned up a few good resources.

The Best HCG Diet Recipes. The main site is exactly what the title states: a collection of hCG diet recipes. Whether or not they’re the “best”, they definitely look fantastic. The blog section of the diet is a post-by-post account of the blogger’s progress with the diet, and she’s quite frank about her wins and setbacks, as well as those of her boyfriend, who also is on the diet. While the hCG diet is often touted as being easy to maintain, blogs like this illustrate that resisting temptation on any diet is a challenge. But even with an occasional surrender to cravings, she still managed to lose 22.4 pounds in 27 days. This site by “Dee Lish” (her persona) is a first-rate personal hCG diet blog.

Amie’s HCG Experience. This hCG blog, updated under late 2009, is an absolute must-read if you’re looking for a thorough first-person account of a dieter who logs her experience right from the beginning all the way through Phase 2, Round 2. While she was on the diet, Amie would post a new update every two to four days, and most posts cover stats, events (what she ate, what she should’ve eaten, family issues) and her emotions; a few even include before-and-after pictures. On Round 2 alone, Amie went from 160.4 pounds to 142.8. What the blog lacks in design it makes up for in content—and has no advertising whatsoever.

HCG Blog. A lot of this site has an “Under Construction” feel to it. The link to the hCG diet recipes section, for instance, has no recipes as yet. Many personal diet blogs aren’t as fleshed out as blogs that are more clearly commercial (Dee’s blog is a noteworthy exception). What does distinguish the site is that it’s one of the few hCG blogs to chronicle the blogger’s entire 40-day diet—not each day, but an average of one post a week, beginning from the time of ordering hCG to Day 40. The blogger, Alex, lost 18.4 pounds in total, and her boyfriend, Nathan, lost 19.2 pounds.

Kims HCG Diet Blog. Kims HCG Diet Blog (the apostrophe is omitted in the blog title) was actually updated by Kim’s husband, Jeff, who posted his wife’s verbal accounts of her progress over an eight-week period in early 2009. This isn’t an extensive blog, but a good one to review in a short session. Despite cheating on the diet a few times, she lost 27 pounds between January 5 and February 14. While is doesn’t have a tenth of the posts that Amie’s blog has, it has all the same integrity, full of honest self-assessment, and devoid of advertising.

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, or hCG, is a hormone that women secrete during the early stages of conception. HCG is extracted from the urine of pregnant women and processed into supplements, either in the form of sublingual (under the tongue) drops, or as injections. Like insulin for diabetics, injections can be self-administered, but many dieters prefer to have them professionally administered at a weight loss clinic that specializes in the hCG diet plan.

Oral supplements of pure hCG are prescription-only, but homeopathic hCG drops (HHCG drops) can be purchased without a prescription. The latter arguably contain effectively no hCG, based on the homeopathic theory of using extremely minute dilutions of an active ingredient. Like other liquid homeopathic medicines, they bypass FDA restriction by being almost 100% water. Nonetheless, HHCG has a high volume of positive, unsolicited testimonials. Claims of one-pound-per day weight loss on a pure hCG diet are not uncommon.

The hCG diet got its start in the 1950s, with hCG having already proved successful for treating infertility problems in women and certain hormonal problems in pre-pubescent boys. Endocrinologist A.T.W. Simeons, pioneer of the official hCG diet, observed that by administering small doses of hCG to his obese patients, they would lose adipose tissue (accumulated fat) in trouble spots like the thighs, buttocks, upper arms and stomach while preserving muscle tissue.

Dr. Simeons claimed in his original manuscript, “Pounds and Inches”, that the glycoprotein hormone not only aids in collecting adipose tissue from the body, but also acts as strong appetite suppressant, allowing the dieter it maintain a under 500-calorie daily regimen without feeling hungry.

HCG remains FDA approved due to its origins as a fertility drug, but the agency discourages its use for weight loss, requiring labels on hGC products to state that the hormone has not been proven to accelerate weight loss, curb appetite or burn fat. The FDA has not positively refuted HCG weight loss claims, but is unwilling to endorse its use as a weight loss supplement without sufficient clinical evidence that the supplement is the active ingredient in the rapid weight loss that many dieters have experienced when using it.

Many critics insist that the key to HCG has less to due with dissolving adipose tissue and everything to do with the small number of calories eaten each day. Dieters are are prohibited from eating more than 500 calories per day. If they go over the limit, they’re required to drink nothing but water the following day and eat nothing but six apples.

On regular days, recommended foods are vegetables and organic meat and fish, while all carbohydrates, dairy, sugar and alcohol are off-limits. HCG advocates don’t necessarily disagree with the argument that Simeons’ Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) is the primary cause of weight loss, but point out that as long as hCG works as an appetite suppressant, the hCG/VLCD regimen is extremely effective.

In clinical settings, supervised programs offer packets of different lengths. Some clinics, for instance, offer a 3-week program for $500 or a 5-week program for $600. The patient receives daily injections during this period, after which he or she must go off the injections and eat normally for at least six weeks to prevent developing an immunity to hCG.

The hCG diet is not a panacea. It requires discipline, just like any other diet. While hCG might be effective in reducing one’s appetite, many overeaters eat habitually rather than being driven by appetite, so staying within the 500 calorie limit for several weeks is a project that should not be taken lightly. It’s highly recommended that anyone considering the hCG diet research the arguments for an against it thoroughly, and opt for clinical supervision if possible.

It can be surprising how people are able to find new ways to help them gain better control over their weight. Some have proposed the use of lemon juice to help them lose weight. Others believe that baby food can help them achieve their goals. While there are also those that still believe the use of special soaps can help them shave off excess fat and weight. Others resort more outrageous means, like using tapeworms – although not too many people quite understand how this really works. And more recently, most of our attention has shifted to the use of the human chorionic gonadotropin hormone in our diet.

The human chorionic gonadotropin hormone or HCG is a naturally-occurring glycoprotein hormone that can be normally found in pregnant women, more specifically in the placenta. This might lead you to think that dieting with this hormone will leave your pregnant, but it will not. The HCG hormone used in homeopathic HCG products is of the synthetic kind, developed in highly sanitary laboratories and they mimic the structure and composition of the naturally-occurring hormone.

Homeopathic HCG diet products function much the same as the naturally-occurring human chorionic gonadotropin hormone – they help the body in breaking down calories and fat so they can be transformed into energy that we need each day, as well as to keep us from storing these elements so we do not end up fat or obese. It is also believed that this hormone can also help us strengthen our immune system, much like how they do for pregnant women.

What seems to be a growing craze for oral homeopathic HCG diet products started more than half a century ago, when a doctor found out that the hormone can be used in helping people lose weight. However, it was not paid much attention because introducing this hormone to the body would require injections and this can be painful. It was not until recently that oral HCG diet products were introduced and people started to shift their attention towards it.

These days, we can choose to follow the HCG diet, but we must not totally rely on it. It still remains as a two-part equation, which means it would still require our commitment and discipline for it to work, as well as a full assessment of all potential HCG diet dangers and side effects. Try to get into this kind of diet program today and see the results for yourself.