Losing weight may not be as easy as it was to put weight on, but once you have decided the time has come to do it, you can move forward in choosing a weight-loss program. One popular diet is the HCG plan, which involves injections. Learning about using HCG for weight loss and what experts say will help you decide whether to try it yourself.
Misconceptions
A common misconception about HCG is that it is derived from the urine of pregnant women. This is not true, according to the HCG website. The natural form of human chorionic gonadotropin comes from the placenta of pregnant women and provides a control ability in how the hypothalamus’s metabolic function operates. In the diet form, HCG is developed in a laboratory using sterile cells.
Features
Before you begin the HCG diet, your physician will perform a health assessment including blood testing. This is to determine whether you are healthy enough overall to start the HCG diet, according to the diet’s website.
Once you go on the diet, you have daily injections of the HCG. Some physicians instruct patients in how to inject it themselves, similar to an insulin injection, while others require you to come into the office for every injection.
In addition to the injections, you will be eating only 500 calories a day. The website’s claim is that the injected HCG forces the hypothalamus to force fat throughout your body so it can be added to the 500 calories a day your body consumes, thereby tricking your body into thinking it is eating thousands of calories a day, allowing it to metabolize and get rid of fat.
Benefits
According the diet website, once you undertake the diet, you will begin feeling more energy and healthier as your body settles into the 500-calorie limit. The website warns that you may feel sluggish the first few days but that your body will get used to the limited calories and soon you will feel full after eating very small amounts.
Expert Insight
The Mayo Clinic reports that HCG injections do not affect weight loss. According to the clinic, HCG injections are no different from placebos in causing weight loss to occur. When dieters lose weight on the HCG plan, it is because they are suddenly eating only 500 calories a day, which is a very low calorie intake for the average person, let alone an overweight person. Mayo Clinic experts recommend focusing on eating moderate amounts of healthy foods and incorporating exercise to your daily life for healthy, steady weight loss.
Warnings
The use of HCG has been shown to increase the risk of multiple births when conception occurs during treatment. In addition, there is a potentially life-threatening condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome that can occur. In ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, you can develop difficulty breathing, vomiting, pain in your lower abdomen and a reduction in urine. Your extremities may also swell. This condition needs immediate, emergency medical treatment.
Photo Credit
- syringe image by NatUlrich from Fotolia.com
