I have a friend who is doing the HCG diet with the drops, not injections, and wanted to know if you know about it and what you thought of it. From what I found out, they do it for 30-40 days and have a lot of restrictions and things they have to do and are on a 500-calorie diet. I was concerned that it might not be healthy or safe.
Dear Friend,
Your concern is well-placed. It is neither healthy nor safe. This is another one of those fad diets that honestly should not have made it out of the gates.
HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. It is a hormone found in the urine of pregnant women. Or horses, or cats you never know when you buy it online. In the HCG diet, this substance is either injected as a serum or ingested as liquid drops.
Back in the 1950s, a guy named Dr. Simeons claimed that the HCGhormone caused people to lose weight and redistribute fat. He injected people with HCG along with severely restricting their calorie intake to 500 calories a day. They lost weight. Big surprise.
You would, too, if you only ate one plain hot dog a day. Doesnt sound like enough? That includes the bun, so stop whining. If you are a vegetarian, you could substitute a medium order of fries. Spread it out over the whole day, though, because that is all you get. If you prefer health food, you may eat a cup of boiled soybeans a day. Water to drink.
Five hundred calories is ridiculously, dangerously low. You will miss essential nutrients, lose protein from vital organs and risk getting gallstones. Starvation is no way to live.
Dr. Simeons method was debunked in the 1970s by several controlled studies that showed that HCG injections were no better than
placebo. That should have put the issue to rest once and for all. However, a few years ago an infamous infomercial personality brought HCG back into the public eye.
Once again, it is being touted as a weight-loss wonder, combined again with the extremely low calorie diet. It is no better now than it was then. Tell your friend to resist the temptation. Her body and her wallet will be happier.
Were always looking for a magic bullet, that one tiny pill that will solve all our problems and miraculously create our perfect body. I hate to break it to you, but HCG is not it. If drinking a chemical from a pregnant womans urine actually appeals to you, I urge you to resist.
Weight loss is best done by applying the basic formula we all know but prefer to forget: Your weight equals the calories you eat minus the calories you burn up. Pretty simple. You want to lose weight? Eat less and exercise more. The problem is it takes awareness and effort, and many of us just do not want to dredge up the energy.
One of the most effective weight loss strategies is simply to slow down and pay attention when you eat. This is called mindful eating, and it works.
Do you chat with friends while you absentmindedly load up your plate at the cafeteria? Do you tend to study orwatch TV while you shovel something down your throat? Do you often eat quickly only to groan with stuffed discomfort afterwards?
Try mindfulness instead.
Pay attention while you choose the items for your plate. Observe what the food looks like. Enjoy the aromas and the flavors. Chew slowly. Notice what your tummy feels like as it fills. Experience your bodys nourishment in progress, reveling in every delicious detail. Youll not only enjoy your food more, youll find that you eat less. For more information on mindful eating, use your favorite search engine or check out the MEAL class (Mindful Eating and Living) at UNMs Center for Life.
Peggy Spencer, MD is a board-certified family physician. She has been a UNM student health physician for 17 years. Drop your questions in her box in the lobby of Student Health and Counseling, or e-mail her directly at pspencer@unm.edu. All questions will be considered, and all questioners will remain anonymous. This column has general health information only and cannot replace a visit to a health care provider.
John daly