As you can imagine I hear about all the latest diets.  Weather it’s from a client or the web, new diets and old diets are talked about everywhere.  With the ever-climbing obesity rate the diet industry is booming and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down!  The most recent diet to cross my path is a hormone diet.  This diet calls for HCG hormone that claims to cut your appetite to almost nothing, while increasing your metabolism.  However, there could be some issues with this “miracle diet.”

What Is HCG ?

HGC is a naturally occurring hormone that helps feed the fetus (in women) by utilizing fat cells from the body.  It has been thought that by using this hormone on people that aren’t pregnant, you can feed off the fat cells in your body to lose weight.  It is commonly found in both men and women and has been used for fertility problems for both sexes.

According to the FDA, there is no evidence to support weight loss.  The FDA has also not approved the drops or the shots.

The Diet

The main issue that we see with this diet is the amount of calories that people consume while doing the 3- 6 week program.  Keep in mind that the body needs 1,200 calories per day to run your bodily functions.  This includes digesting food, circulation of blood and filtering out toxins.  The HCG diet wants you to consume no more then 500 calories per day!  Anyone eating 500 calories per day is sure to drop weight at a fast pace.  However, your not just losing fat when you deprive your body, you’re also losing muscle!  Decreasing your muscle mass leads to some huge metabolism issues for the future (since 1 pound of muscle burns 50 calories).

Sure, this hormone promises decreased appetite and increased energy while taking the hormone, but what happens when you aren’t on the drops?  The backlash of this diet could lead to huge weight gains, a slow metabolism and yo-yo dieting.  This is sure to cause an addiction problem if your body spirals out of control without the extra hormone in your system to control your weight, hunger and calorie burning.

These “fad diets” always have the same ending. ….  quick weight loss with a sad conclusion.  People lose weight, gain hope, only to gain the weight back.  This can be a huge blow to the ego and leave people scampering to find the next fad.  It’s not till they realize that they must actually find the real cure to their weight issues (diet and exercise)  that they find peace in their weight loss and pride in their choice.

Adria Ali