HCG Diet Basics

Confused About the HCG Weight Loss Diet?
Don’t Know Where to Turn?

Hi, Dennis here…This is where you can get some good answers about the basics of the HCG weight loss diet.

The Modern HCG Weight Loss Diet

HCG-driven weight loss is a major breakthrough in losing stubborn body fat. Everyone succeeds when they follow the plan exactly. This advanced fat loss program has been helping people lose abnormal fat for more than 50 years.

HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, a hormone that occurs naturally both in males and females. It is best known as the hormone produced by pregnant women. During pregnancy, HCG guides the woman’s metabolism to burn calories from stored fat. Research shows that it works similarly in men and non-pregnant women to promote fat-burning metabolism.

HCG Revolution

Although the HCG weight loss diet has become very popular lately, it is not a new protocol. In fact, Dr. A.T.W. Simeons designed and published his major report on the complete program in 1954. Although this report gained some attention at that time, it took several years before the HCG protocol caught on in a big way. An increasing number of desperate dieters are turning to HCG to help them finally be successful in losing unwanted pounds for good.

Dr. Simeons reported that patients taking HCG could drastically reduce their caloric intake without experiencing the hunger pains, weakness, headaches, and irritability that typically occur on a very low calorie diet. Furthermore, Dr. Simeons also found that patients did more than just lose weight. They lost abnormal fat and reshaped their bodies the way they were supposed to look. These results happened regardless of whether patients exercised.

Not All Fat Loss is the Same

We now know that our bodies must contain different kinds of fat for good health. This includes fat that cushions our organs, fat that fuels the body between meals, and fat that enables cell membranes to work right.

However, the fat that accumulates around the belly, on the thighs and buttocks, under the arms, and on the inner part of the knees is an abnormal type that is harmful to health. This is the particular kind of fat that people lose on the HCG protocol.

If you have followed one diet after another, repeatedly experiencing weight loss followed by weight gain, it is because standard weight loss diets do not get rid of abnormal fat. Loss of healthy fat demands that you put it back on. Loss of abnormal fat does not.

Will You Starve on 500 Calories Per Day?

HCG helps reduce the craving for food by metabolizing stored fat. In other words, when you use HCG your daily need for calories is met partially by the food you eat and partially by the fat that you burn. Without HCG, 500 calories of food per day is a starvation diet. With HCG, it is not.

One fabulous indicator for getting calories from your own abnormal fat is body reshaping. When abnormal fat disappears, so does the double chin, potbelly, and flab around hips, thighs, and arms. Furthermore, since this fat is used up properly, you will not get saggy skin when you begin to shrink.

Is Fat Loss the Only Benefit?

Fat loss is the target. However, Dr. Simeons also reported that his patients lowered their cholesterol levels, decreased their blood pressure, normalized their sugar metabolism and sometimes even reversed Type 2 diabetes, and improved their skin elasticity.

Furthermore, HCG resets the hypothalamus part of the brain, which helps to rebalance a variety of hormones. Hormone imbalance is one of the most important factors that leads to gaining abnormal fat in the first place.

What Can You Expect?

Tolerance to the treatment is excellent regardless of age or gender. Weight loss and body fat reduction occur comfortably for patients as long as they follow the protocol to the letter. Any deviation from the protocol may undermine the expected results. Patients can expect an average loss of 0.5 to 1.5 pounds per day. Women typically lose fat more slowly than men do. Generally you can expect to drop 15 to 25 pounds during a 30-day HCG series. One of our male clients set the record by losing 40 pounds in 30 days, so we know that this is definitely possible. I was a more typical example for males, dropping 25 pounds and 8% body fat. My wife, Eve, was a typical example for females, ending up 15 pounds lighter with 5% less body fat.

You might experience mild hunger during the first 5-8 days of the program. By the second week, however, most people find small servings of food to be quite satisfying. Indeed, those who want to lose a substantial amount of weight (30 to 100 pounds or more) look forward to repeating the program until they get to their target weight.

Here is What You Will Need

The only original components of the protocol that people needed in the 1950s were HCG itself and a clinic where doctors administered the program. Things are potentially simpler now for do-it-yourselfers who can get HCG from foreign internet pharmacies for less than $100, then gather all the how-to information they need online. At the other end of the spectrum, full medical clinics in every major city offer the complete program, commonly ranging in prices ranging up to $2,000 for a 30-day or a 43-day protocol.

Some things have changed from Dr. Simeons’ original protocol with hormone injections. Nowadays HCG is available in an oral/sublingual form (the real stuff, not the homeopathic products that contain no hormone), a nasal spray, and a transdermal (through the skin) form.

Where to Buy HCG

I maintain a suggestion list for where you can get the real stuff, which I maintain here: Where To Order HCG (link also posted at the top of the page). Please note that most online sources of “HCG” are homeopathic, which I do not recommend at this time. They contain no hormone at all. If you want to know why I do not recommend homeopathic HCG, take a look at my video post on this from October, 2009, here: Homeopathic HCG Contains No Hormone.

What About Supplements?

Dr. Simeons advised against supplementing with multivitamins. However, this advice was more appropriate in the 1950s, when the nutritional value of food was greater than it is now. For this reason, multivitamins are more important than ever on the HCG protocol.

Vitamin B-12 is particularly important because it makes up for a reduction in energy that many patients feel during the protocol. Most clinics offer weekly B-12 injections, although a good sublingual product (2500 to 5000 mcg dose) can be taken every day as an equivalent.

The most important supplements for metabolic and digestive support are:

1) Chromium (2,000 to 3,000 mcg per day, in the form of chromium picolinate or chromium polynicotinate)

2) Green tea extract that is optimized for EGCG content; EGCG, not caffeine, is the primary metabolic enhancer in green tea for burning fat.

3) Any herbal formula that contains goat’s rue for stabilizing blood sugar.

4) A good probiotic supplement that supports your native G.I. tract bacteria with nutrient absorption; probiotic foods and most supplements fail to provide the right combination of quantity and quality of bacteria, so make sure the one you buy offers at least 15 bacterial strains and 15 billion cells per dose.

The best products for getting the right combination of the above supplements may be hard to find. The easiest place to find the ones that I recommend, which are the best ones that I have found, is the list in my HCG Diet Supplements Package (click on link) at Doctors Nutrition Center.

Instructions for the HCG Diet Protocol

All the instructional material that you can shake a stick at is available on the internet. Unfortunately, too much if it is contradictory and confusing. When you start a program, make sure that you get clear instructions for when and how much HCG to take, when, how much, and what foods to eat, how to recognize and overcome the inevitable weight loss plateau, what is crucial to do immediately after the protocol, and how best to maintain your target weight for the rest of your life.

To make all this as easy as possible, I include a fairly clean copy of Dr. Simeons’ original book as a bonus with my free reports. You will get a link for downloading this book when you request these reports.

I have also recorded a video series with some crucial pointers about the protocol that are not widely known. I’ve posted access to them here: HCG Diet Videos.

My goal is to show you the key steps for beginning the protocol, for getting the most out of it, for enjoying the whole program, and for staying trim (no yo-yo effect!). The link to my videos is also posted on the toolbar at the top of the page.

Recently I have also launched a forum that offers a place where clients of my clinic, as well as visitors to this blog, can ask questions and get answers from me and from others who have already gone through the protocol at least once. You can register and participate without charge, either at this link: HCG Diet Forum, or through the link on the toolbar at the top of the page. This forum is brand new as of January, 2010, so I expect that it will develop into a very valuable tool in time, as you and I and others join in and post questions and answers.

Finding the Right Program

1. Make sure that you are getting real HCG. It comes in bottles or vials that have the amount clearly labeled as how many of I.U. (International Units). Homeopathic HCG will have no such amount, since it has no hormone at all.

2. What kind of ongoing advice and follow-up do you get? You should have contact with someone at a clinic and maybe even an online forum of other users that is run by the clinic.

3. How much guidance do you get for meal plans and recipes? This is crucial for getting the right number and source of calories and for enjoying the diet as much as possible. The right advice can make your experience delightful!

4. Do you know what to do after the program, in the 21-day critical period for stabilizing your fat metabolism? Make sure that you get the right guidance.

5. Do you know what to do for lifetime aftercare? Yes, you can gain weight all over again if you don’t find out how to eat sensibly. What this means may surprise you.

6. Make sure that you work with someone who has plenty of experience and success in helping others with the HCG diet.

Disclaimer

The FDA still has not approved HCG for use in weight loss. Therefore it is not to be taken as official medical advice, nor as a diagnosis or treatment for any medical condition. Nevertheless, over a period of more than 50 years, tens of thousands of people have used HCG successfully for losing large amounts of weight quickly and healthfully.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Enjoy Your Food!

If you’ve been researching or following the HCG Weight Loss Diet plan, or any other diet plan for that matter, you may be expecting to suffer through bland, flavorless meals.

Not so!

Here is how I got through my own HCG protocol without suffering diet food lunacy. I discovered a remarkable book that is geared to HCG dieters who really want to enjoy their food and the whole HCG experience!

Read on and see for yourself: An HCG diet cookbook designed specifically for the restrictive phase 2 of the HCG protocol. Over 200 recipes!

The HCG Dieter Gourmet Cookbook

“My husband loves the tacos and he’s not even doing this diet! These recipes make the diet so much easier and more enjoyable. I made the beef tacos tonight and they were SO GOOD!!! I could have eaten a truckload of them, though. That’s the only problem Thank you for your hard work and for giving us exciting recipes to eat on the protocol. It is very much appreciated.”
• Andrea – Kerrville, TX

CLICK HERE
To Purchase and Download This Ebook Now!

This ground breaking gourmet cookbook offers flavorful alternatives to an otherwise boring diet. All specially designed to be compatible with Dr. Simeons’ HCG diet protocol, popularized by Kevin Trudeau in his book “The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want you to Know About.”

Imagine eating delicious, mouthwatering chicken dishes, zesty beef, delicate fish and seafood recipes. Enjoy tasty fresh fruit desserts and cool, refreshing beverages. This book will inspire and motivate you as you achieve success as the slender, healthy person you always wanted to be.

CLICK HERE
To Purchase and Download This Ebook Now!

Many of the recipes offer phase 3 modifications so they can be enjoyed for many years to come as you move into the maintenance phase of the diet. The recipes are all sugar free and fat free and are tasty enough to be enjoyed by the whole family. With this cookbook you no longer need to feel deprived of flavor in your diet as you follow this amazing miracle weight loss protocol.

“I have personally lost 31 pounds, 6.25 inches off my waist, and 3.25 inches off of each thigh. These are my problem areas and I am continually amazed at the transformation of my body while doing this protocol. It is as though my body is reshaping itself, morphing into the body I have always dreamed about.”
• Tammy – Los Angeles, CA

As an added bonus, Tammy is also offering a FREE PHASE 3 report. With delicious bonus recipes, tips, and information on how to be successful on the phase 3 portion of the “Weight Loss Cure” – all for trying this amazing cookbook.

CLICK HERE
To Purchase and Download This Ebook Now!

“Wow! The cookbook is so comprehensive and with soooo many selections. For the first time I feel like there is no reason for Phase 2 to be boring. You and the cookbook were heaven sent . ”
• Jacklyn – Athens, GA

CLICK HERE
To Purchase and Download This Ebook Now!

All the best in natural health,

Dr. D