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Saturday, March 28, 2009

HCG Diet True and False: "Pounds and Inches"

I've pulled some quotes from "Pounds and Inches", the bible of HCG weight loss. From my personal experience, I will give each quote a true or false rating, and my reasons for that rating.

"...I found that as long as such patients were given small daily doses of HCG they could comfortably go about their usual occupations on a diet of only 500 Calories daily and lose an average of about one pound per day."

TRUE. I was only truly hungry for about 4-5 hours on the second day of the low calorie diet, but only mild hunger about an hour before meals and at bedtime near the end of the treatment.

"...we find that the injection of only 125 units per day is ample to reduce weight at the rate of roughly one pound per day...when associated with a 500-calorie diet."

TRUE. I lost .75 pounds per day while on the low calorie diet.

"During menstruation no injections are given, but the diet is continued and causes no hardship..."

TRUE. During my period, I did not take injections. I was able to continue the low calorie diet during those days with minimal hunger increase.

(regarding "gorging" days) "It is necessary to proceed in this manner because the gain re-stocks the depleted normal reserves, whereas the subsequent loss is from the abnormal deposits only."

FALSE. Subsequent loss is not "abnormal deposits only". I lost not only muscle mass and water, but also structural fat (which is claimed that you do not lose). My visceral fat definitely dropped, and it is vital structural fat to protect your organs.

"we have never encountered a significant protein deficiency nor signs of a lack of vitamins in patients who are dieting regularly."

FALSE. Because of previous experience, I know that a lack of Vitamin E in my body causes raw, itchy patches of skin to form in certain spots on my hands. Those spots came back not long into the diet, and stayed there the whole time (until I was off HCG, and supplemented with Vitamin E again).

"Towards the end of a full course, when a good deal of fat has been rapidly lost, some patients complain that lifting a weight or climbing stairs requires a greater muscular effort than before. They feel neither breathlessness nor exhaustion but simply that their muscles have to work harder."

FALSE. I take stairs regularly at work. I don't use elevators. By the time I was in my last week of the HCG Diet, I was out of breath by the time I climbed one flight of stairs. My muscles burned and shook from the effort. (Mind you that I used to be able to take 7 flights of stairs at one go, no stopping, less than 3 years ago.)