Has anyone ever tried HCG for diet?

[Cynobyte]

HCG is a hormone found in pregnant women.  Used by men and women under  a drs supervision, you can loose up to a pound a day for the first 3 weeks.  It has so many positive effects, and almost no side effects compared to over counter diet pills.
How it works, is by suppressing your appetite while giving you the metabolism of a teenager.  It sends signals to your body fat to be released and to be used instead of muscle, so there is a much greater chance to save muscle mass..  Sounds too good to be true right?

There are suggestions that it also aids in breast growth!

This stuff can be taken by pill, sublingual, or injection.  Injection is supposed to be the best result..  There is more to this, I will post later, but I want to see if anyone Tg has tried this and their success stories..  I can give links laters from data results to where to get.  It has to somewhat be done under Dr supervision since we are talking rapid weight loss and a 500 calorie intake..

But since this method seems so cheap and more successful with a less chance of regaining the weight, why has it not been talked about more here?  This seems like something that may be good for us.  All forms of input and questions welcomed:). Jamie



Postcards from the other side:)

[AnonyMs]

I don't know about HCG, but if you take the diet drug phentermine (duromine) you can easily consume only 500 calories a day and lose weight incredibly quickly. Its a prescription only appetite suppressant. Its hard to do anything (like work) on that amount of calories, and I think there would be a fair bit of muscle loss. Its effective, but all sorts of potential problems go with it (and I'd still do it). I expect HCG would be similar.

This article talking about the negatives of HCG
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/expert-answers/hcg-diet/faq-20058164

[Dena]

I would hope the reason it hasn't been talked about is because 500 calories a day is a crash diet. There is far more to a diet than reducing calorie as you still need sufficient protein, vitamins and minerals every day or you will have side effects and problems. Cutting your intake that much is best done under medical supervision.

The other problem is like any diet, if you don't change your eating pattern, the weight loss will be temporary and you will soon regain the weight. The only diet that works long term is one that you are on the rest of your life.

[Christina308]

My girlfriend has done two rounds of this diet with very good results.(Injections) She's 5'3" and lost about twenty pounds in a month! After returning to a sensible diet, shes maintaining the losses for over three months now.

[sam1234]

I would hope the reason it hasn't been talked about is because 500 calories a day is a crash diet. There is far more to a diet than reducing calorie as you still need sufficient protein, vitamins and minerals every day or you will have side effects and problems. Cutting your intake that much is best done under medical supervision.

The other problem is like any diet, if you don't change your eating pattern, the weight loss will be temporary and you will soon regain the weight. The only diet that works long term is one that you are on the rest of your life.

Dena makes a good point. Chances are you would either fall ill and or collapse from malnutrition before you even reached your goal weight. That sort of dieting can also trigger eating disorders.

Its hard when there are so many diet pills and gimmicks out there, and people are supposed to look perfect, ie males ripped abs, females size 0. If you get on a roller coaster with weight, up and down, your body will recognize the sudden decrease in calories as oncoming starvation and slow its metabolism, in direct opposition to what you want to happen. In other words, it will become harder and harder to lose weight.

I've had to lose weight to take some pressure off of my lower back, and have learned that scale weight means nothing. It is directly tied to when you weigh, when you last ate or went to the john, how much exertion you had the day before. Staying off the scale and going by what your body looks like and how your clothes fit is a much more reliable way of telling you if you are actually losing weight. Slow and steady will stay off, especially if you did so by changing your eating and activity habits.

Finally, and this is not a judgment, using hormones for the express purpose of losing weight is not a good use of their power. Anytime a drug is misused by many people, it makes it harder for those who need the medication for real reasons harder to get. Be patient. If you lost one pound a week for a year, you will have lost 52 pounds. Pounds that will stay off.

sam1234

[AnonyMs]

I actually did use a diet drug under a doctors supervision, and around 600 calories a day. The weight loss is dramatic and sustained, but I was close to dysfunctional. I had to be careful moving as I'd get very dizzy. I blacked out once for a moment, and sometimes I could barely walk. There's no way I could do any kind of physical work, but I don't so it didn't matter. And forget driving.

It doesn't matter in the short term, but longer term I found it very difficult to work out a healthy diet. I did manage it in the end. They are artificial weight loss products to help with that. All discussed with my doctor.

The drug I took does work, its not some kind of fake. As usual with such things if you search internet you'll find endless people who end up with big problems with these drugs. I was aware of that and took it into account. I had no problems.

As everyone says, it's not a long term solution, and its going to all come back if you don't change your lifestyle. But it achieved what I wanted, very much so.

[HughE]

HCG mimics the action of luteinizing hormone (LH), the hormone that stimulates testicular testosterone production. Men with hypogonadism (abnormally low T production) can use it as a treatment to raise their T levels back up into the normal male range (this could be part of the reason HCG has gained a reputation as a weight loss drug, since one of the symptoms of low T is that you tend to put on weight).

However, if you've transitioned MTF, increasing your T production might not be what you want to do!

[Cynobyte]

But what if you already had the t producing bits gone?  I hear so many good and bad sides of this diet, but only hear good from the people who actually have done it so far.  I'm looking for a post op m2f who has done it post op and had success. 

I'm researching on its affects that you may never find anywhere else but here.  A couple effects the hcg does is 1. Raise the metabolism and 2. Help maintain of not increase breast size. 

Yea yea I've heard all the literature that jump both sides of this, so I'm looking for actual people who know this for a fact?

Its not the fact it could be dangerous or fail when you quit.  Even gastric bypasses fail if you let them or have a genetic disposition for them..  Some people loose weight just off drinking coffee..  Its finding those who match the criteria that show it could work:) Thanks for all the comments though:)

Postcards from the other side:)

[KaylaYvette]

I have successfully done a couple rounds of HcG while under doctor's supervision. Emotionally I loved it, I enjoyed the detoxifying effects, the digestive reset and the good eating habits that come along with following it. During my last round, I went from approximately 180lbs to 147 in about 3 weeks and have maintained that weight now for over a year. Yes is it a rapid loss diet, but I have had amazing success with it by following the protocol to the letter and keeping with my doctor's orders. It is not an easy diet but I've found it to be very effective.

I am interested in doing one more round to get my weight down to about 125. However, I have my blood labs scheduled for Monday to begin HRT. I will talk to my doctor on follow-up to discuss including HcG to see if there are any risks with HRT.

[Jacqueline]

Sorry to interrupt.

Need to welcome KaylaYvette.

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