By: Ratasha Iribarren/Columnist
Imagine losing a pound of weight a day while having a sound stomach for a month. HCG dieters see it as dream come true; I see it as a dieting danger.
The HCG diet has grown in popularity because of its fast results, hunger suppression, and exercise free regime. HCG, or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, is a hormone released during pregnancy that guarantees the attaining of necessary nutrients for proper fetal growth by using up the mother’s stored fat, regardless of her caloric intake.
Dieters can either take injections or drops of the hormone three times daily to help suppress hunger and burn stored fat instead of muscle. But with every diet, there comes a twist.
In addition to taking the drops, dieters must also consume only five-hundred calories a day. The HCG diet claims that by using a combination of HCG drops or injections, and sticking to a five-hundred calorie diet, clients can drop up to thirty-six pounds in one month. The diet works in three phases: The Loading Phase, The Maintenance Phase, and The Stabilization Phase
Phase 1: The
Loading Phase
During the first two days of the HCG diet, clients are asked to eat as much as possible. The rationalization behind this is that the surplus of fat will be stored away for essential nutrients and energy that the client will need later on in the program.
Also, the dieter must start taking their HCG doses 3 times daily.
Phase 2: The
Maintenance Phase
Following this food splurge is the most difficult part of the process. The dieter is now asked to reduce their caloric intake to just five-hundred a day and continue taking their HCG drops.
In addition, dairy, carbohydrates, alcohol, and sugary, caffeine containing drinks are strictly prohibited.
Instead, people on the HCG diet consume their calories from organic meats, vegetables, fruits, and fish. Also, they are only allowed two-hundred grams of lean meats and up to 2 servings of fruit a day to curb sugar cravings, and are restricted to specific low-calorie vegetables like spinach, asparagus, and cucumber.
This is where the dieting danger arises. Although there have been many positive testimonials on weight loss from the diet, not everyone is feeling a decrease in appetite and an increase in energy levels.
Kimberly, a member of the Dr. Oz studio audience, was on the diet for forty days and lost twenty-five pounds. But she also lost her hair, and suffered from irritability and nausea while on the program.
“It was very difficult to sustain over that period of time. I felt deprived, I was hungry,” she said.
Another studio audience member, Nicole, also suffered side effects from the HCG diet.
“About a week into it, I was extremely lethargic, I was tired, I had headaches, I didn’t feel good. And two weeks into it I passed out”
Nicole consulted her physician only to discover that while on the diet, she could be placing her health and life in jeopardy. As advised, she took herself off the program immediately. Her menstrual cycle vanished for a period of four months.
In addition to the side effects already mentioned, injections of the hormone can lead to blood clots, leg cramps, constipation, and breast tenderness. Extremely low-calorie diets in general can cause severe bone and muscle loss, electrolyte imbalances, and gallstones.
Phase 3: The
Stabilization Phase
The last stage of the HCG diet allows consumers to increase their daily caloric intake to eight-hundred for women, and one-thousand for men. Consumers are asked to continue this phase for twenty one days before returning to a normal healthy diet, and stop their HCG intake.
In order to refrain from the common side effects mentioned earlier, Dr. Oz recommends never restricting your caloric intake below 1,200 calories without consulting a doctor.
According to Weight Loss Center.net, men need about 2,700 calories per day and women need about two-thousand calories per day to maintain their ideal weight.
A normal healthy diet consists of two-thousand calories for men and 1,400 for women a day. This is equivalent to about one pound of weight loss per week. (1 lb fat=3,500 cal).
There is no doubting that many people have lost weight on the HCG diet. But with a starvation diet of a measly five-hundred calories, it does not take a brain surgeon to see why it works.
Fit for Life! is a bi weekly fitness column. Look for it every other Friday.
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