Good HCG diet information is hard to come by. Most folks who are thinking about doing the protocol worry about starving on such a very low calorie diet (500 calories per day). Yes, this would be a starvation diet without the hormone. Here is why HCG makes all the difference in keeping you from starving.
HCG Diets
The specific foods in limited amounts during this protocol are designed to support the fat burning metabolism that is directed by the HCG hormone. That is a mouthful, and if you have a fear of starving on this diet those words will not help. Here is what you must consider. Let us just say that you normally have a metabolic rate that requires 1500 to 2000 or more calories per day. It would be pretty simple math to say your metabolic rate would burn through 500 calories pretty fast. So the effective question to ask is where do the remainder of your calories come from while on the protocol.
They come from your own fat. Yes, you can count on at least 2000 calories from your own fat. Specifically, this is abnormal fat. You will see the result wherever you have it … usually belly, thighs, buttocks, or upper arms. For women, this also means breasts, depending on how much abnormal fat has accumulated in them.
The Visual
Now, to get really visual on how this works, note how I explain this to my clients. It goes like this. Imagine that you have a magic knife that you can use to cut off a slice of your own belly fat (without pain or other trauma … remember, this is your imagination at work here).
Slice off a good sized chunk, say about 2000 calories worth. Lay it out on your cutting board, sprinkle it with some salt, pepper, and garlic (okay, these are my favorite spices … use your own if you wish). Now put it on the grill, being careful not to let flames engulf it. It is fat, after all, and will burn really fast if you are not careful.
Whenever you feel that your new fat steak is done to your satisfaction, sit down to a nice dinner of 2000 calories and eat it. There you have it. You have eaten your own abnormal fat.
The great thing about the HCG hormone is that it directs your metabolism, through a signaling pathway in the hypothalamus of your brain, to effectively give you a fat steak from your own fat every day. So that is why the HCG diet is not a starvation diet. Is that a little clearer now?
Have fun with it!