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Is hCG a true weight-loss solution?

THese clinical Doctors, has anyone of them tried HCG my wife and I have done it 4 times I've lost 60 pounds because the third time I didn't follow the regiment to a tee. I can say that every time I've done it I lost the fat that you really want to get rid of not muscle, after the first 2x it was a breeze just like riding a bike. As for the Doctors they're either unsure of endorsing it but, that's the same thing they used to say about Chiropractors, if you research it the injections used to be really expensive, so only your favorite actors and actresses would reap the benefits of this weight loss program I didn't say DIET because DIETS don't work, this does. Why wouldn't the Diet industry not want you to do this program that works because the DIET Industry is a BILLION dollar machine that benefits from us not being able to lose weight, the same way the food industry is being bought out by the TOBACCO industry from one addiction to the next, really sad and fishy, BOO to those Doctors.

As a practicing physician here are my thoughts on HCG and weight loss. People lose weight by burning more calories than they eat. I've seen no credible evidence indicating that HCG affects fat metabolism. People are motivated to follow a diet plan that they are paying money for. Exercise is important in losing weight but eating less food is more important and more difficult. Keeping a log of what one eats and regular visits to monitor weight loss is crucial in following any diet plan. Some who lose weight on HCG or any other fad diet will stay motivated by how much better they look or feel and keep the weight off but most will gain it back. The etiology of obesity is multifactorial but anyone can lose weight. Long term weight loss requires a lifestyle change. Enough said!

True weight loss solution: diet and exercise.

To Dr.Jimbo: AGREED!! I have tried most diets but it wasn't until I changed my lifesyle that the weight stayed off. I have lost 62 lbs since Jan 1 by doing 1 hour of exercise 6x a week, and cutting out sugar, most fast foods and most processed foods. Yea I cheat now and then but nothing like what I use to eat. Also stay away from Soda pop, including Diet

Amen Dr. Jimbo:
I did post grad work in Health Behavior a number of years ago. What I see working with the hCG diet is this. First, the 500 Kcal diet. Better known as starvation. Just as important is the fact that people are paying a lot of good money and they are receiving something weekly that reinforces the behavior (the injections and a visit with the doctor). Health behavior research has shown over and over that if you can give people some type of a ritual, sell them on the process, and continually reinforce the desired behavior you can get them to meet about any goal you set to include health related goals.
Yes, the diet works but not for the physicological reasons people believe(except the low calories) but rather the psychological reasons (the fact that they DO BELIVE). Numerous diets could be just as effective just changing the rituals and the reinforcements.

For HCG, if you knew anything about the regiment you do have to change eating habits the 500 calories a day is kick start your body to burn and get rid of the bad fat first, of course you wouldn't find any Doctors to endorse it, even though the stuff's been around in the article since the 50's, the 70's it was really popular when all the diet fads came out, but just like anything in this country that hasn't been FDA approved, shouldn't be trusted to help without their stamp of approval, so as long as it goes without don't trust it, don't try it, keep that billion dollar machine of dieting and exercising well oiled and greased and America obese, we should all have the "will power" of these well studied and educated scholars, but knowledge is power. The obese must all be weak and less studious.

Unfortunately, most people I have observed who did this diet regained all or more of their weight; just as happens with most diets. How we wish we really could find the "magic bullet". I was once thrilled with the resulst of Fen-phen and we know how that worked out. My fear is that hcG will also be shown one day to possibly cause other problems. The truth is anyone will lose weight on 500 calories a day - this is why weight loss surgery works. It forces our bodies to rely on fat stores. But, is this sustainable over the long run? Once we return to bad eating habits, we regain the weight unless very motivated to have a new lifestyle including exercise and long-term calorie reduction. Part of the reason it is so hard to maintain weight loss is because it feels like a lifetime of restriction and deprivation. Those relative few who manage it are to be commended for their lifelong self-discipline, whatever method they use to lose weight.

I'm not convinced that the hcG will improve one's ability to live with the 500 calorie limit. Maybe it does; maybe it's placebo.

To TO'A59676,

Of course it works...all things like this works. It's all a fad! Atkins worked, but then was found to be unhealthy. Body for Life worked, but was found to be unhealthy. All these fad diets work but it doesn't mean it's healthy.

HCG is a natural hormone produced by the body, whenever you take too much of an outside source to replace something your body produces naturally your body will change.

HCG works while you're on it, but you'll have to eat 500 calories a day the rest of your life if you don't want to gain the weight back, or you have to increase exercise 4X. HCG can help lose weight I'm not denying that, but it doesn't mean it's healthy.