HCG diet - My experience.....

I am definitely a foodster - I love food, I love eating, and experimenting with different tastes. Friends on my Facebook see all sorts of delicious food being posted which definitely makes people drool. Unfortunately, like any other person, I tend to gain weight a lot on my excursions. The price for great food, is it so? So I decided (or was rather forced into) trying out the HCG diet - Personally I call it the anti-social diet because you have problems eating socially. When I first started, a lot of my friends and colleagues said I would quit half way... but hey, its the 26th day and I'm still on it, and I have lost a good 9 kilos which mainly is fat, I'm down at least 2 dress sizes, and my butt looks smaller. Yippee....But honestly, it requires good motivation, high discipline and consistency.

So since everybody is curious about what I have been doing, I'll explain as simply as possible.

1. What is the HCG diet?

The HCG diet was founded by Dr Simeon who discovered that low levels of HCG hormone (the one that goes up in pregnant ladies) has effects on fat metabolism and facilitates fat usage as fuel when the body is in semi-starved state. He came up with a figure, i.e. 125 iu per day and coupled it with 500 calorie diet a day. However, this effect only works when there is no increase of blood sugar level or rather insulin - hence why no form of carbohydrates are allowed. The diet is very strict and you are only allowed to eat the food on the list and that is it. Dr Kevin then made a modified version which enhanced the effect and lead to maintenance.

2. What is the real purpose of the diet?

Although reporting fat loss in grams daily is perhaps the best thing about this diet, the real function of this diet is to retrain our hypothalamus to eat properly. One of the reasons people become fat or obese is because of cravings and lacking of self-control when it comes to food. They eat regardless they are hungry or not and tend to overeat so much. Foods high in sugar, preservatives and other forms of chemicals in food nowadays causes the brain to not be able to register how much food has entered the system hence the person just keeps on eating. When you abstain from carbohydrates, junk food and fastfood, the brains receptors in the hypothalamus will resensitize again, so that you do not have much cravings. That is why, once you complete the 25 days of 500 calories diet, you have another month to slowly introduce more food with simple refine carbohydrates being last and complete ban on fast food or junk food. If you don't do this, that is why you see people on this diet acting like yoyo's and at the end, think it is just a short term treatment.

3. Is this diet safe?

According to all studies and reports, it is the safest diet in the world. However, because we prescribe hormones, you MUST be under a doctor's follow-up. It is not just for the injections supply, but also motivation, weight tracking, diet tracking and to tackle issues like ketosis and hypoglycaemia symptoms . (Yes, sometimes you get it). Some doctors also prepare the food for you to eat from their clinic with some additional charge whilst on the VLCD (500 caloric diet).

4. Is 500 calories a day enough?

Yes. The reason is because when the body utilizes in-store fat, it produces 2000-3000 kcals of energy. If you eat more than 500 calories a day, some of it will be stored hence weight loss will be affected. This is also another reason why people gain weight on this diet - it acts like a double edge sword. If you eat too much, or cheat on carbohydrates, it will restore into the body hence making you bigger. (Yes, I've tested this theory on myself).

5. Since I'm producing so much energy, should I exercise?

Despite the energy produced, we do not recommend you to do strenous exercise during the course of the injections because it can speed up ketosis symptoms and you will feel hungry. Furthermore, if you do exercise during this period, you need to continue even after the diet if not your weight will go up. Even for myself, I limit my jogging activities and I reduce my weight lifting regimes to half just to keep my exercise freak bit happy. However, after you stop injecting, I would recommend a more frequent exercise like walking and weights ideally everyday.

6. Since I can only take 500 calories a day, can I fast?

The answer is no. The reason is because, you have to eat on this diet at least between 4-6 hours if not you will go into ketosis - and have symptoms like headache, nausea, disorientation etc. Another reason is that you need to be well hydrated for the burning process to be optimized, i.e. 2-3 liters of water daily. I've tried not eating for almost 8 hours and I was so disoriented I almost hit a lamp post. I've also been dehydrated (testing) and there was reduced weight loss the next morning and I felt lethargic.

7. Injections or drops?

I would have to say injections. With injections you have an option of 23 or 42 days but with the drops you definitely must do 42 days. In terms of weight loss, the injections are much more predictable compared to the drops, less plateau if you do not cheat on the diet. But not many people like the idea of jabbing themselves everyday. Even for myself I felt exhausted of jabbing my own butt for 23 days. For my patients, some of them come to the clinic daily to get the jab. So if you are not keen for injections, which drops to take? I have my own medical pharmaceutical drops provided - so not sure about the rest.

8. What are the things I need to have at home to start this diet?

Simple things. A weigh to measure every morning after your first pee with minimal clothes on. (This is your dry weight). A kitchen weighing scale to measure your 100gms of protein a meal. (I prefer you to measure your own meal and decide what proteins to take). A non-stick pan to cook the protein. 

9. Should I be on supplements?

Yes and no. I would only recommend a multivitamin in the morning with water. Because you are going on a strict diet, you require to supplement this because if you fall sick, you cannot take much medication. I would also recommend calcium - ideally coral calcium, because you will get some cramps after the second week due to lowering levels of calcium in the body. A colon cleanse before you sleep is recommended although I only took one every 3 nights since I couldn't stand the diarrhoea I get the next morning. L-carnithine supplements before you sleep because L-carnithine make the fats more available as fuel to your body. Be careful of supplements that have a lot of sugar in it because it will disrupt the diet.

10. I'm on the diet and I have the urge to cheat - can i cheat with 1 spoon?

No. Even 1 spoon is hazardous. I was preparing lasagna for a function in my office and I took 1/2 spoon of red sauce and 1/2 spoon of white to taste. The next day, my weight went up by 400gms, and the next day it went up another 300gms despite adhering to the diet, so I drank more water and went on strictly white protein and salad - and it went down 400gms, then subsequently another 500gms. I would have lost an extra 700gms or more if I did not taste the sauces. Another time was at a dinner and I ate extra angus steak, maybe 50gms more and my weight went up, stayed up for 2 days. It takes about 2-3 days after you cheated to get back on tract. So ask yourself. is it worth cheating?

11. With so much weight loss, wouldn't I sag?

The best thing about this diet is also the fact that you lose the fat, but the hormones keep your skin tight, so you do not sag.

This is a prescriptive diet and I would recommend those interested to come in for a proper consultation with me in my clinic. For those who find me to far, you can also visit my friend Dr Kuljit at Damansara Height Wellness Clinique - the guy who actually put me up to it. He also provide food for you during this diet.

For those interested, do call my clinic at 03-21440080 for a consultation.