Is the HCG diet safe and effective?
What is the HCG diet?
The HCG diet is a weight loss diet programmed to combat obesity. It was first developed by Dr. Simeons back in the 1950’s after his studies on the HCG hormone and how it helps his patients lose weight safely and effectively. It had several criticisms in the past because of the strict 500 calorie a day strict diet that they say is unhealthy and safe because the minimum calorie intake should not go less than 1200 calories a day for women and 1,500 calories a day for men. But, the HCG weight loss program does not just let you go on the 500 calorie a day diet alone. You will be taking the HCG hormone, or the human chorionic gonadotropin hormone, which is a pregnancy hormone that will protect the unborn child from being deprived of the needed energy in order to survive. By having the hormone in your body you will trick your body to believe that it is actually pregnant and it needs to protect the child when you are not getting enough calories from the foods you eat. This triggers the body to speed up its metabolism to burn the fat deposits and turn them into energy. Although you are not actually pregnant, your body would think it is and therefore that’s how you lose the weight. This does not mean though that you must take advantage of the freely flowing HCG hormone on your body when you are pregnant to go on a diet. As a rule of thumb, never go on any weight loss diet when you are pregnant to keep the unborn child safe.
Different methods used for HCG hormone introduction
The human chorionic gonadotropin hormone or HCG hormone is extracted from the urine of pregnant women. It is sterile and safe to be injected into the body. The method in introducing the hormone into the body is through injectables. A medical professional should be the one to administer the hormone to avoid blood clots. If you are not trained for injections then you must not do it on your own as this could be harmful. It’s the case to any drug or medicine that must be administered through injections. The next most common method of getting the HCG hormone is through oral drops. The oral drops are synthetic hormone that is less expensive but lesser in concentration as well. Unlike the injectables that need to be administered just once a day, the oral drops need to be taken every meal to be effective. It is much preferred by many because it is convenient, pain-free and no side effects.
Side effects of the HCG diet
The HCG diet can have some side effects but these are all temporary and mild. The side effects are because of the HCG hormone that is injected into the body. The first side effect is obvious and that is pain caused by the injection. Any type of injectables would cause some pain but you will get used to it eventually. Another side effect is with some symptoms of pregnancy. Men who take the injectables can have some inconvenient side effects but are temporary. When a man take the oral drops though then they will not experience any side effects at all. Going for the synthetic oral drops variant of the hormone will cause no side-effects, which is why it is more appealing to the majority of HCG dieters and it is cheaper too.
Debate about the safety of HCG diet
There are some debates about the safety of the HCG diet. Many believe that it is a safe and effective weight loss program that allows severely obese individuals to finally lose a lot of weight in the shortest amount of time possible. This can actually help save their lives as severe obesity could cause a lot of health complications and even death. Though there are still some skeptics who think it is not a safe type of diet because of the 500 calorie a day strict rule. Because it is way below the minimum 1,200 and 1,500 calories, they think that this is starvation and can result to health complications. They also believe that although you can lose weight fast with this diet, when you stop taking it then you will easily gain back the weight. But, with the number of individuals who have lost a lot of weight and managed to keep the weight off effortlessly only prove that their skepticisms are uncalled for and have no valid basis. The HCG diet once followed from start to finish will allow the body to keep the weight off for life. That is why you must follow Dr. Simeons’ weight loss protocol and not just think that taking the HCG hormone and cut down your food intake would already sum up to the HCG diet plan.
Who can go for the HCG diet?
Men and women and even teens can go for the HCG diet. As we all know, a lot of teens are now suffering from the many effects of being obese. More and more younger individuals are gaining a lot of weight and this must be stopped at an early age so they won’t end up suffering from more health complications as adults. The HCG diet is very safe that even teens can go for this diet and start living a healthy and normal life.
Who can’t go for the HCG diet?
Those who have health problems prior to going for the HCG diet must seek their doctor’s approval first if they can or can’t go for the HCG diet. Those that the doctors think would be at risk should not go for this diet. Those who have diabetes or other health complications that may worsen with the diet but can also benefit from it may still go for this diet as long as they are in constant monitoring with their doctor. The 500 calorie a day diet may be changed to 800 calories for diabetic patients. Pregnant women are not allowed to go on any kind of weight loss programs.