HCG Diet: Is It Magic?

You've heard the promises of 40 pounds lost in 40 days. Is it real? Then you play with the numbers. A pound of fat per day is roughly a 3500 caloric burn. The HCG diet is based on 500 per day in addition to hormone drops. The average chronic dieter maintains weight on about 10 -12 calories per pound. So a 300 pound person eating only 500 calories per day might lose 40 pounds in 40 days... or more if you factor in loss of muscle, water weight... and then you have to wonder what else you might lose from a starvation diet, not to mention effects from tinkering with your hormone balance, assuming that is what you actually receive in the homeopathic preparation.

As tempting as it may seem, it's good to be skeptical. HCG is human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that naturally occurs during pregnancy, and is approved for infertility treatment. Since the mid-1950's it has also had "off label" use in weight loss. The Federal Trade Commission shut down diet clinics in the 1970's for their false and deceptive advertising. The Food and Drug Administration states "There is no evidence the oral over-the-counter products are effective for weight loss", and calls it "economic fraud." Despite less than stellar support from mainstream medicine, HCG weight loss clinics are apparently legal and thriving.

I have to wonder about those HCG drops. A homeopathic dilution is a bit like magic. Each "x" on a homeopathic dilution means the substance is mixed 1 part of real stuff into 100 parts distilled water. By the time the solution is prepared -- the more dilute being "more potent", there might not be a single molecule of HCG in the homeopathic solution being sold. In my book, it would be magic for it to actually curb appetite. Granted, if you can tough out a few days of starving, ketosis will curb your appetite as well.

In the midst of the HCG craze I like to remind people that a diet of 500 calories per day is starvation. The rapid release of fat also will rapidly release whatever fat soluble toxins you've stored over your lifetime. That might not be a smart thing to do, especially if you've been on lots of medication (or alcohol) that has challenged your liver. During starvation, your body will break down muscle as well as fat. Muscle is the foundation of your metabolic rate. None of this lets you learn a new lifestyle. Overall, I cannot recommend the HCG strategy. Yet for those who are desperate enough to try it, when you are ready to get back to food, I hope you come see me instead of gaining it all back....

Message for Today: It is worth remembering that some diets resemble the Phoenix -- beautiful mythical magic that dies only to be reborn.