HCG Diet Conclusions

Let's look for a moment at my final statistics:

	Weight	Body Fat	Visceral Fat	BMI	LBMI
Before	185.4	37.7	6	27.4	17.1
After	166.0	35.2	5	24.5	15.9
Change	-19.4	-2.5	-1	-2.9	-1.2

And my final measurements:

	Arm	Thigh	Waist	Hips	Bust
Before	12.25	24.5	40.0	45.0	45.0
After	11.5	22.25	39.0	43.0	42.0
Change	-0.75	-2.25	-1.0	-2.0	-3.0

When you see the numbers above, it looks pretty good at first glance. I lost almost 20 pounds, my body fat dropped 2.5% and I lost a total of 9.0 inches. My BMI is now in the "healthy" range.

Let's discuss the numbers a little further.


Fat Loss vs. Lean Body Mass Loss

Pounds of fat lost: 11.46
Pounds of lean body mass lost: 7.94

This was the main information I wanted when I first started the HCG Diet-- what is the true amount of fat lost on this diet vs. the amount of lean mass lost? After all, I'm a skeptic, and I have never heard of rapid weight loss that did not also cause you to lose muscle.

I lost almost EIGHT POUNDS of lean body mass. Eight pounds, folks. That's a LOT. In a typical "starvation" type fad diet, anywhere from 40-60% of the weight lost will be lean mass (including water weight). Let's do the math:

Percentage of my HCG Diet weight lost - fat loss: 59%
Percentage of my HCG Diet weight lost - non-fat loss: 41%

In my opinion, the HCG Diet is just like any other starvation diet out there today, as far as end results. Only 59% of my weight loss was actual fat. Included in that fat loss was a drop in my visceral fat-- this is needed structural fat, the kind that HCG is supposed to prevent. I am here to tell you that it most certainly DID NOT protect me from losing vital fat. And it certainly didn't protect me from losing vital muscle.


Inches Lost

I lost a total of 9.0 inches. Let's examine the lost inches a little more carefully.

• Thigh: 2.25 inches. I have been feeling weakness and burning in my thighs during the diet. My thighs have been doing muscle twitching, I have lost strength in them and have a difficult time climbing stairs (which has never been a problem for me in the past). Considering that I obviously lost 8 pounds of lean body mass (including muscle), this would be my first guess as to where some the lost muscle came from. Second guess would be my bum, since it has flattened out and I can really feel my "sit bones" when I'm on a hard chair now.
• Hips: 2 inches. My pants have become looser around the hips and thigh area. I was having pain in my hips while walking. Again, I suspect muscle loss in the glutes, and probably some fat around the edges.
  
• Bust: 3 inches. Well, since boobage is basically all fat, I am assuming that I lost almost all fat weight from my bust. As per my usual weight loss tradition, I lose my bustline first.
  
• Arm: 3/4 of an inch. Probably a combo of muscle and fat.
  
• Waist: 1 inch. Ok, this surprised me. Really surprised me. This diet is supposed to get rid of belly fat more than anything else. Normally, when I've dropped back to 166 pounds, my jiggly tummy has gone down. Not this time. It's still there. My pants are almost as tight around my waist as when I started. I still have my "muffin top".

I've noticed that my weight has definitely shifted around-- in my first "before" side view picture, my back is more swayed. I'm standing straighter in the "after" shot. I can feel it, too-- with my back problems, the pain has increased slightly (even with the weight drop!) as my body gets used to less muscle to support my back (glutes and thigh muscles).

BMI and LBMI

My BMI dropped a total of 2.9 points. That puts me into the high end of the "healthy" BMI category. My LBMI, on the other hand, has DROPPED 1.2 points. Remember, this is the ratio of your body fat vs. lean mass for your height. When I started, I was at 17.1 (anything 17.0 or above is healthy). I moved from the "healthy" into the "unhealthy" category within the first week, and never recovered.

This is BAD, folks. If you're saying to yourself, "Well, she did lose more fat weight than muscle", you're not understanding the whole picture here. Losing muscle is very unhealthy. It signals incredible stress on your body, which is doing the best it can to ward off starvation. Your body will always go to the muscles first and attack them, as muscle burns more energy. When you limit your energy intake (calories), muscle will disappear first (and subsequently drop the water it holds). There is no doubt in my mind that my body went into starvation mode.


Overall Opinion

Do I think the HCG Diet is a healthy way to lose weight? Do I believe that the HCG Diet is a good choice to lose unwanted fat? Do I believe the HCG Diet is safe?

The answer is an unequivocal NO.

Would I ever recommend this diet to friends or family? I cannot, in good conscience, EVER recommend this diet to anyone.

If you are reading this, and considering the HCG Diet, I implore you to find healthier ways of losing your unwanted fat. Exercise. Eat better. Lower your stress. But please, please, PLEASE do not starve yourself. The HCG Diet will do exactly that-- cause you to go into a state of starvation, even if you don't feel ravenously hungry because of the injections.

I am not better off now than I was a month ago. In fact, I have a long way to go to regain my lost muscle. I have a lot of work ahead of me, and I cannot say that the HCG Diet was an asset to my health.

Why I’m a Good Person to Test the HCG Diet

I’ve got a few reasons why I think I’m a good person to test this diet. The first, and most important qualification, is that I’m a skeptic by nature. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Since HCG claims to reduce just your body fat, I bought a scale that will measure my body fat. I will post all my results here on this blog, so you can see for yourself what it does.

Second, I’m really not a dieter. I went on Atkins once for two months (decent success), and tried Weight Watchers for three weeks (not so successful). That’s it. When I was on Weight Watchers, it seemed that the program worked based on calorie restriction. All I know is that I was HUNGRY on it. (Never was hungry on Atkins.) If a 500-calorie per day diet is all HCG requires, and they promise you won’t be hungry on it, I’m your candidate. It will really have to work as advertised so I don’t starve to death. I am very intolerant of being hungry. :)

Third. This diet claims to “reset your hypothalamus”. Because my weight gain is due to hormone issues, I’m very interested in this aspect of it. Will I still have hormone issues contributing to weight gain after using HCG?

So there you have it. Show me the money, HCG!

Hidden Fat

What is BMI missing?

Is it possible to have a BMI in the "normal" range, and yet still be unhealthy? The answer is yes. Let's look at our two women from before, assuming they're both 30 years old and 5'6" tall.

Woman A: 150 pounds, 34% body fat. BMI = 24.2

Woman B: 160 pounds, 31% body fat. BMI = 25.8

According to their BMI results, Woman A is "Normal", and Woman B is "Overweight". However, if you look at a table for healthy body fat percentages, we find that Woman A is in the "High" range, whereas Woman B falls within the "Normal" range.

Body Fat Is Important!

Fat has gotten a bad reputation in our society. We are told to avoid fat, not get fat, avoid fat like the plague. But body fat is vital for healthy everyday functioning. It protects internal organs, is essential for proper nerve function, stores energy, and is needed for digestion and producing hormones. While too much body fat can definitely be unhealthy, too little body fat is also unhealthy.

What Should I Aim For?

Healthy body fat percentages are different for men and women, and also change depending on your age.

Women

Age	Low	Normal	High	Extreme
20-40	Under 21%	21-33%	33-39%	Over 39%
41-60	Under 23%	23-35%	35-40%	Over 40%
61-79	Under 24%	24-36%	36-42%	Over 2%

Men

Age	Low	Normal	High	Extreme
20-40	Under 8%	8-19%	19-25%	Over 25%
41-60	Under 11%	11-22%	22-27%	Over 27%
61-79	Under 13%	13-25%	25-30%	Over 30%

Source: Gallagher et al. Am J Clin Nut 2000; 72:694-701

BMI

Let's start with some of the basics.

A helpful number to gauge your progress is the Body Mass Index, or BMI. A simple formula is used to calculate this ratio between a person's height and their weight.

BMI = [weight in pounds times 703] divided by [height in inches] times [height in inches]. If you use metrics, use the same formula, except substitute kilograms (pounds) and meters (inches).

Using the formula to calculate my BMI:

[187 x 703] / [69] x [69]
[131461] / [4761]
= 27.6

Better yet, you can use this handy online BMI calculator.

BMI Result Classifications:

• Less than 18.5 (Underweight)
• 18.5 to 24.9 (Normal)
• 25 to 29.9 (Overweight)
• 30 or more (Obese)

This tends to be what many doctors offices and medical establishments use to calculate if you are at a healthy weight.

But taking into account body fat percentages, is BMI the most accurate way to go? Or should we dig a little further?

Weight vs. Other Measurements

I want to blog my progress using four main focus areas:

1. Weight
2. Measurements
3. Body Fat Percentage
4. Lean Body Mass Percentage

Out of the four listed, the least important is weight. Why is that, you ask? Your weight does not always accurately portray what is going on in your body. Let me give you two scenarios, of women of the same height. Choose who is the healthier woman between:

• Weight: 150 pounds. Body Fat: 34%.
  
• Weight: 160 pounds. Body Fat: 31%.
  

The woman who weighs more is the healthier woman.

Think about this today and try to change your ideas about what is a healthy weight for you.

Why I Want to Lose Weight

Let's get started with some vital statistics. I'm 5'9" tall, and weighed in today at 187 pounds. That's me on the right, attempting to take a picture of myself. :)

Since I am tall, I hold my weight well. People would not consider me fat-- probably more like "padded". Mostly, I really don't mind how I look. I like to think I can dress myself decently for my body type, and attempt to look nice with whatever my weight happens to be.

My main reason for wanting to shed the extra pounds I have is, as I said before, for health reasons. I have already had two back surgeries (low back, lumbar region), and am in constant pain. Every extra pound I put on puts additional torque on my back, causing even more pain. I've reached a point where the pain is really limiting my ability to work, play, and enjoy my life.

It is time.

My Fat Loss Journey Begins

Hey, everyone.

I started this blog to chronicle my fat loss journey. While I'm thankfully not obese, my BMI tells me I'm smack dab in the middle of the overweight category. I have some health problems that have led to my weight gain, which I will talk about in a future post. It is also for health reasons that I want to lose these extra pounds, too.

May good health be yours and mine.