Working in the Healthcare field, I get a lot of questions about how to get Fit & be Healthy. Â A question I often hear is regarding the HCG diet. Â So I went on a research mission to debunk whether or not it seemed legit. Â Here is what I found.
HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is… a hormone produced naturally during pregnancy. It regulates control centers in the hypothalamus of the brain that tell our bodies how to distribute fat stores.  During pregnancy, HCG guarantees that the baby has enough food (even if the mother isn’t getting enough nutrition).  So the HCG drops are thought to release the stored Fats in your body to allow them to be used up again– hence weight loss.  The trick is that those who take it are limited to 500 calories a day. Yikes!
My opinion: You may lose weight, but that is likely because you ate 500 calories a day.  OF COURSE YOU LOST IT.  Anyone eating that little will lose weight.  Because your metabolism is burning more calories than you are taking in.  So you may lose weight, but research shows that you probably won’t keep it off once you go back to eating a regular diet.  You risk slowing your metabolism and decreasing optimal brain function.  In addition, dangerously low-calorie diets can lead to serious health issues later in life.  It is also good to know that HCG has not been FDA approved for weight loss; it was FDA approved for fertility treatment only.
If it’s too good to be true, it usually is.  My advice– lose weight THE HEALTHY WAY!  The way God intended us to.  Through a well balanced diet && exercise.  But hey, I am no expert.  So please do your own research and form your own opinion  🙂