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October 2011 Moms
The hcg diet?
Have you heard about this? I noticed there was some hoopla on GBCN about it and recently a FB friend posted this:
"So...
if you've seen me lately, you probably noticed that I've lost ALOT of
weight, 70 pounds so far 
I started the H.C.G. Diet back in February
and the results are nothing short of spectacular. HCG is a hormone you
can get in homeopathic form (diluted, I recommend the
AnuMed brand). You take it as drops under the tongue 4 times a day. At
the same time, you limit your diet to 500 calories a day or less, only
whole foods, as low fat as possible, no carbs. The combination triggers
your body to naturally consume it's own fat, on average 1 pound per
day. Yes you are basically starving yourself but the fat burning
process satisfies your body's calorie needs completely. It *IS* the
ultimate appetite suppressant. Right now, I eat maybe 200 calories a
day and I am never hungry. A 2-month bottle is about $100 but you save
way more than that in food your not buying. I am posting this to pay it
forward. If you are suffering (like I was) from weight issues, this
will change your life. If you want to know more, download this short
book written by Dr. Simeons (who discovered the process) that tells you
everything you need to know about how it works. Got questions, ask me.
Web MD says that A) under the tongue drops are pure crap and likely don't have any HCG in them and 
this sort of diet will result in major nutritional deficiencies. I mean really, no calories, no carbs? That cannot be sustainable.
Does anyone know of others doing this or is my friend the only idiot?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: The hcg diet?
Dr. Oz had a big thing on it last fall. It is controversial but does sound like it works. They were using ones prescribed from a Dr.
What you can get over the counter is complete garbage.
My sister is doing this diet right now. I think it's nuts. They are told not to exercise during the 30 days of taking the hcg. Then they have 30 day maintenance periods where they can exercise and add a few things back into their diets. Not only is it expensive but I cannot imagine the sustainability of this over the long run though. You can't live on 500 calories forever.
Not to mention my sister told me that she wanted more chicken for dinner the other night so badly, she chewed up a bit and spit it out just so she could taste it. That screams like the making of an eating disorder to me. She has 100 lbs to lose and has lost 17 so far in 25 days. It's like trading one eating issue for another.
BFP Chart
OCT 2011 Moms BlogBurned by the Bear
This. I think it is a very dangerous diet that teaches poor eating habits in order to loss weight. My dh's aunts went on it last year and all of them (I think there were 5 that tried it) lost over 20 lbs, but they ALL gained it back plus some in less than a year. It's suppose to "reset" your metabolism. You have to do the drops and then it reduces your appetite and you have to eat a ridiculously small amount of calories for that day. 200 calories a day is not a diet, it is an eating disorder.
I did something like that in high school, it was called anorexia. Nice to know people are trying to make money on it.
Disgusting.
Yeah, your friend is crazy. Of course you're going to lose weight if you eat <500 calories a day.
She will be posting fat pictures by Christmas, trust.
This kind of reminds me of a few experiments I've read about in the past. All evidence suggests that severe calorie restriction significantly slows the aging process and sharpens the mind. Not sure why.
When researchers interviewed the human participants being (voluntarily) subjected to the starvation diet, they reported that their minds were indeed the sharpest they'd ever been. But all they could think about was food
Yes, I've read this, too. But they have to restrict permanently, not as a short term "reset". And frankly, I'd rather die a few years earlier and enjoy the finer things, you know?
I remember that thread from pro boards. It got pretty intense...
I totally agree. 70 years eating what I want seems much better than 100+ on less than 500 calories per day.
Exactly what I was going to say, except I probably wouldn't have worded nearly as well!
These fad diets make me sick. I watched my mother battle her weight for more than 20 years, doing all the fad diets you can name. She'd lose weight, then gain even more back. It's a vicious cycle, and I'll never understand how people continue to get sucked in to them. A coworker of mine is currently on some diet that I can't remember the name of, but it reminds me an awful lot of the Atkins diet. She can eat all bacon she wants but has to avoid fruit b/c of the sugars. Ridiculous!
This is what I was thinking- the drops are like Dumbo's feather.
Blu posted it on a GBCN thread today. It's 7 pages of a very stubborn OP with a board full of women trying to change her mind.
https://pandce.****/index.cgi?board=ml&action=display&thread=21701
If you click on her blog too you'll see that her dr advised her to stop the HCG. She did her own "research" and decided she knew better than her dr and started the HCG again.
I don't go to proboards and didn't read through this entire post, so sorry if this was already brought up there, BUT...I clicked on her blog....
On July 11, she said that she finally heard back from her Dr. about doing the diet (which was day 8 of her doing it, I guess without the doctor's approval), and her doctor told her to stop the diet b/c it puts her at high risk for cancer. So she tried a couple days of portion control and wasn't seeing results, decided to do some research, and figured out that her doctor only told her that b/c of legal reasons. So, she went back on it. People are idiots.
Thanks Eloise!
She is ridiculous.
Even if it has worked for some people, I believe it is a very dangerous diet. Eating 500 calories or less on purpose for a extended period of time to lose weight would be considered anorexia to me. It is a slippery slope to say that you are only going to do it for a couple weeks or months until you loss enough weight. To maintain the weight loss you will either have to continue eating a reduced calorie diet or start a strict exercise regimen and eat a balanced diet. Since you didn't lose the weight in the first place by eating healthy and exercising, I think it's a big leap to make.
I have struggled with eating disorders for years and it started for me with a crash diet during an emotionally stressful time. I never want anyone else to have to go through the same thing if they can prevent it, and I think diets like HCG are promoting a very unhealthy type of weight loss. My eating disorder still affects me everyday, it has severely damaged my self image and confidence to the point where I don't think I will ever see myself again the way I did before my disorder.
It honestly makes me angry that anyone would promote and profit from a fad diet this dangerous, even after the FDA has put out warnings against it.
Been there, done that. Just, in my case, there were no drops and it was called an eating disorder.
It is horrible that people think that is a good way to lose weight. In fact, I agree with Liz. Disgusting.