HCG is a hormone produced by the placenta in women who are pregnant. For years now, it has been produced synthetically for fertility treatments and certain other medical treatments. The HCG hormone helps make necessary hormonal changes in the woman’s body for the benefit of the pregnancy and helps in the development of the embryo. Interestingly, HCG can also facilitate the development of more male or female sex hormones.

HCG is produced in a lab, under sterile conditions, and is not extracted from pregnant women’s urine as some have laughingly proposed. Drops, injections, and creams are created with the HCG hormone once the hormone is fully developed.

Many individuals on the HCG program describe some surprising added benefits they weren’t expecting. Some have talked about increased energy and metabolism. Others have talked about stabilizing their blood sugar. Migraines have subsided in some users of the diet. And with all the risks inherent in obesity, losing the weight can reduce these risks while increasing confidence and self-esteem.

Recently there was a Fox News Report on a study that linked HCG to a reduced risk of breast cancer. And some individuals with high blood pressure have experienced better control as they lose the weight. Of course exercise is important to a healthy body and mind and should be a part of any weight loss program, along with drinking plenty of water and getting proper rest. With that, the HCG diet offers rapid weight loss and many additional benefits.

Myth #1: “HCG injections do not work.” According to proponents of the HCG shots, they are helpful for actually making use of stored fat as energy, reducing the need for consuming calories through the day, as fat is burned from the body for fuel. But the HCG shots will not work when used with fattening or sweetened foods, so following the VLCD is important.

Myth #2: “The HCG diet program dangerously limits food consumption.” Those who advocate the HCG program state that all diets, in general, require a decrease in calorie consumption. They go on further to explain that calorie needs are lower simply because of the aforementioned process of HCG facilitating the release of fat into the bloodstream to be used for energy. Additionally, the VLCD is only for the first phase of the HCG plan.

Myth #3: “The HCG diet is against exercise, something everyone knows is necessary for good health.” Actually, the first phase of the HCG diet, the VLCD, does advise against exercising while on the 500 calories per day, as it would be taxing on the body when so few calories are being consumed. But people are expected to quickly get back into exercise once they move into the next phase of the program.

Myth #4: “The HCG injections are dangerous.” The HCG injections provide the same or less HCG than is found in pregnant women. Thus, there may be some minimal side effects, although these are usually attributed to the VLCD. But in general, there are no side effects noted with HCG supplementation.

Starting with the loading phase, the HCD drops begin while the person is on a high calorie diet, which is a shock for most people. You are expected to eat high fat foods like cheeseburgers, donuts, and pizza. Take 10-15 drops three times per day of the HCG while on the loading phase. This is only for two days and is to introduce the HCG into the body to prepare it for the days to come.

On the third day, the dieter begins the maintenance phase, which lasts 21 days, but can be stretched to up to 40 days for those with more weight to lose. The very low calorie diet, or VLCD as it is referred to, begins here. Only 500 calories per day of specific foods that are allowed on the diet can be consumed. This is a challenging part of the diet, but the HCG does help with feelings of hunger. Use 10-15 drops of the HCG three times per day or, if you can, 6-10 drops 6 times per day.

Finally, the third and last stage of the HCG diet is the stabilization phase. It is meant to continue the weight loss as the person begins slowly increasing caloric intake to eventually normalize. The caloric intake during this period is still restricted, but the individual should be working slowly up to 800 calories (for women) or 1000 calories (for men) while on the third phase.

During the stabilization phase, you will not use the HCG drops. This is a stage meant to help the body normalize. Once you have successfully completed 21 days of this stage, you can assess if you need to repeat the stages in order to lose more weight. If you still have 20 or more pounds to lose, it is recommended that you repeat the HCG phases to achieve the results you are looking for. Once you are close to your ideal weight, you can maintain healthy eating of natural whole foods, still low-fat and low-sugar, and exercise to tone your body.

Going from eating 3,000 calories a day to 500 would tend to put almost any body into a bit of a shock. Knowing this, many dieters start by adapting their diets ahead of time, before jumping into the HCG program. Many reduce their calories gradually over a course of a couple of weeks until they are comfortable starting the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) for the first phase of HCG.

Following the pounds and inches protocol of the diet does require strict adhesion to the VLCD. This is because the HCG only works if you take the fat, sugar, and almost all carbs out of your diet, to force the body into fat-burning mode. The Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) is a hormone that can target pockets of fat on the body, opening up the fat cells to release even years of fat storage, and burn it for fuel. But it only works with the diet.

Even after the diet moves into a maintenance plan, people will continue to stay away from many of their old eating habits such as dairy and lots of meat, which tend to cause the body to go back into storage mode. Carbohydrates that are unhealthy and overly processed are also not allowed, with only whole grains in minor portions permitted on the maintenance diet.

Thus many individuals do some preparation for the diet by eliminating dairy first and reducing consumption of processed foods and excessive meat. Making these changes ahead of time can help an individual successfully prepare for the initial aggressive diet and for the maintenance plan to follow. One final note is that exercise of any real significance is not recommended on the initial VLCD because it would tax the body too much to burn more calories than you are consuming. So adjusting ahead of time to taking a temporary break from the exercise is recommended.

Beginning with drinks for breakfast, tea and coffee are permitted on the diet and of course water. The tea or coffee can be sweetened with Stevia or Saccharin and the juice of one lemon daily is allowed for flavoring food and or drinks. For the coffee, one tablespoonful of milk is permitted, but that is the limit for 24 hours.

For lunch, there are four choices. And no more than four items can be eaten at a given meal. Starting with the meat, a small carefully trimmed portion of 100 grams is allowed of the following meat options: chicken breast, lobster, fresh white fish, beef, veal, shrimp, or crab.

As it is a very low fat diet, Salmon is not allowed, in spite of its very beneficial content of Omega 3s. Tuna is also prohibited. In lieu of the meat, 100 grams of low fat cottage cheese is an option, or in some cases, one egg and three egg whites are allowed.

The second meal item is one type of vegetable from the following list: red radishes, chicory, spinach, green salad, tomatoes, beet-greens, fennel, onions, celery, asparagus, chard, cabbage, or cucumbers.

The only carb option is a grissino breadstick or a piece of Melba toast. And with that, a low-carb fruit choice of strawberries, an apple, one-half grapefruit, or an orange. The breadstick can be saved as a snack for in-between meals, but still only four items can be eaten at one meal. Finally, there are no oil-based products permitted to be used on the skin, like fatty lipsticks or massage oil.

So the mother, Diana, and the daughter, Angel, purchased some HCG and started the program together. Diana was 59, at the time, and had tried other diets and failed. She had recently had both knees replaced and was struggling with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The doctor told her that for all of these reasons, she would benefit from losing weight.

Angel is a busy young mother of three, who had two children at the time she started the HCG diet. With a husband who worked long hours away from home she managed the household, the kids, and was working towards her degree in childhood education. She was also running a photography business and a cake making business, on the side. She needed more energy and vitality to meet the demands of her hectic life.

Another daughter Autumn, who did not struggle with weight problems, watched on in amazement as Diana and Angel began dropping pounds rapidly on the diet. When Autumn called Angel to ask her how she was doing and she was already 13 pounds down in less than two weeks, Autumn asked her if she was hungry. “It sounds like starvation, Angel! Aren’t you hungry?” “No,” Angel replied, “I am so surprised that I’m not! I just feel satisfied with the little meals and don’t even feel hungry during the rest of the day.”

Autumn called to check in on her mother, Diana, and Diana had lost 12 already and was loving the fact that her clothes were already loose. She was trying to dig out some older smaller clothing from the recesses of her closet- a delightful problem to have. She said the same thing, in response to Autumn’s question, “No, I’m not even hungry. You would think I would be craving some serious food right now, but I’m not. It must be the HCG because I don’t even feel hungry and the pounds are just dropping off!” Many others who try HCG have reported the same benefit of not feeling hungry on the HCG diet.

First of all, it is important to identify why you want to lose the weight. Write a list of motivations and stick it on your fridge or pantry door so that every time you go to eat, you are faced with exactly why you want to stick to the diet.

Secondly, you need to manage your stress. Stress is one of the top causes for relapse on diets. Stress can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances. But stress that is unmanaged is a major stumbling block for dieters. Here are some great tips for managing stress:

1) Take a hot soak in a bubble bath every night before bed.

2) Take 10 slow deep diaphragmatic breaths (meaning that you breathe so that your abdomen rises and falls, not just your chest) when you feel stressed.

3) Talk to a friend or loved one when you are feeling anxious or worried. But choose someone that won’t jump on the worry wagon with you and who will instead validate and encourage you or make you laugh.

4) Do an act of kindness. Service reduces stress significantly.

Once you have managed your stress, your motivation for staying on the diet will be strengthened. But you can do more. One final major motivator is accountability. Either go through the diet with a diet buddy, rooting each other on as you go, or set up accountability with a significant other or friend. Let them know what you are doing, how you are doing it, and that you need to report to them your consistency, mistakes, and successes on a regular basis. Recruiting this kind of support can help you ensure a successful dieting experience.

Another way to exercise and strengthen the prefrontal lobe is physical exercise. Physical exercise is the epitome of delayed gratification. No matter how fit someone is, everyone has the initial resistance to a workout from time to time. But those who are fit are fit because they push past it almost every time. They do this with their values and goals- functions of the prefrontal lobe. They put their future plans, their values for health and well-being, over the instant gratification of not working out and just relaxing instead.

Add accountability to your program. Share with others your plans and goals, giving specific details about what you will do and when. Your value of integrity will help you overcome the resistance to your diet and exercise plans as you think about how important it is to you for people to trust you and know that your word is good.

Be honest. Lying, sneaking, and hiding are functions of the midbrain- instinctive self-protecting behaviors that get us out of a momentary pickle, while costing us significantly in the days that follow. If you slip up, tell someone. If you struggle, talk about it. If you need help, get a counselor. Write in a journal to be honest with yourself and remember to also write about what you are grateful for. Remember what the 12-steps teach- an “attitude of gratitude.”

Set reasonable but challenging goals for yourself and take steps everyday towards those goals. Live your life according to your true values, so you don’t have to use food to numb the pain of guilt. Be assertive. Being assertive validates yourself as a human being of worth and teaches others how to treat you. Not being assertive is something many overeaters struggle with. In order to change your body, you have to change your mind. Take your power back and remember that every battle you win is another step closer to winning the war. You can reach your goals if you practice these principles.

When you step outside of your own value system, you feel guilt. This comes from the incongruence of your behavior from what you truly believe to be right. The same goes for taking care of our bodies. When we sit down and eat half a bag of cookies, guilt inevitably follows. That is because we value health, fitness, and overall well-being and we just stepped outside of that value.

Sometimes people feel helpless to the impulses that overtake them and lead them to make poor eating choices and to avoid exercise. But no one really is, unless they’ve suffered significant damage to the prefrontal lobe. The human mind has great power. The key is to strengthen the prefrontal lobe, to make it powerful enough to turn down the impulses of the midbrain.

Start by asking your higher power for help. If you don’t have one, get one. All 12-step programs, including overeater’s anonymous, ask participants to seek the help of a higher power to overcome their own compulsive behaviors. This could be the power of your support group, the universe, or God. Then recruit some help from people around you that will validate you and encourage you, rather than enable you or put you down.

Then begin to work your prefrontal lobe. Write a letter to yourself, that you can read when you have a craving or feel like not working out. Write about the pain and sadness you feel when you do not take care of your body. Talk about all the consequences you have faced and know you will face if you continue down the path of poor choices. Reach out to yourself with real feeling, so that when you are in a craving (which means the midbrain is rapidly firing signals and usurping blood flow from other areas of your brain) you can hear your own voice of reason above the din. Read on to Part 5.

The midbrain is not able to take into consideration that exercise increases your lifespan, helps you fight obesity, heart disease, cancer, and other lifestyle-related illnesses. Exercise helps you manage your stress and boosts your immune system function. It increases oxygenation to your body and mind improving your health and energy.

But as the midbrain is only concerned with keeping you alive for the next 15 seconds, it will resist your efforts to get up and move. When you think to yourself, I should go for a run now, your midbrain is that voice inside your head that says, “But I would rather sit on the couch watching reruns of “Everybody Loves Raymond.” The midbrain does not actually think the thought, however. It sends a signal to the higher levels of thinking, which get interpreted as resistant thoughts or justifications for not doing what you know will benefit your future, but that is hard to do right now.

If there really were an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, the midbrain would be the devil. It is really good at keeping us alive. It is true; but only for the moment. If we let the midbrain dictate how we live our lives we end up selfish, immoral, fat, and lazy. So how do we overcome this little devil when we are trying to go on a diet like the HCG diet, which is restrictive and nearly free of addictive food substances like fat and sugar?

The angel on your shoulder is your prefrontal lobe. Located behind the forehead, it is the area that wraps around the front section of your brain. Vital for human beings, the prefrontal lobe makes us who we are. When people have received traumatic brain injuries to this area, drastic behavioral and emotional changes occur. Many are incapable of relating properly to other human beings. Read on to Part 4.

The midbrain is only interested in one thing- your survival. And, in fact, it is only interested in your survival for the next 15 seconds. If it was capable of pondering your future, it would not encourage you so strongly to eat the cheesecake and French fries, or the donuts or chips, for that matter, because these all lead to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other serious consequences.

In days long ago, men had to hunt and sweat for their food. Women often had to wait at home, with the children, hungry while the men were out seeking food. So, when food was available, it makes sense that instinct would tell these people to eat as much as they could while it was available. Perhaps the Pringles jingle “Once you pop, you can’t stop” is making sense to you now.

As soon as you think of, smell, or taste food that contains fat, sugar, carbs, and/or salt, your midbrain kicks in to tell you to DIG IN! And human beings, under these circumstances, will almost always eat more calories than they actually need in that moment. Two hours of aerobics anyone?

The midbrain is what causes cravings for food. Have you ever been struck by the insatiable need for a candy bar? Have you ever craved Chinese food until you satisfied the urge? MSG, contained in most Asian food, triggers the midbrain into overdrive, causing later cravings and overeating. And so you feel the need to exercise to work off the excess calories, but even that is hard. Why? See Part 3.

The midbrain, also referred to as the reptilian brain (because even reptiles have this type of brain) is a small section inside the human brain located in the lower rear midsection of the brain. It is a part of a greater area called the reward center. It helps to understand the midbrain, in order to overcome the resistance you will naturally feel to your own dieting efforts.

The midbrain is responsible for survival, and it is good at what it does. It keeps you breathing, keeps your heart beating, and makes sure you stop to eat and drink when your body needs sustenance. In fact when you eat, drink, mate, rest, or fight (all of these being basic animal instincts), your midbrain responds by releasing a reward of dopamine.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that causes feelings of pleasure and of pain-relief (both physical and emotional pain-relief). When you hug your child, there is a release of dopamine. When you run a mile, there is a release of dopamine. When you accomplish a goal, there is a release of dopamine.

It is all about reward for adaptive behaviors. And survival behaviors provide the greatest reward of dopamine. The midbrain is not capable of actual conscious thought, but is all about instinct, impulse, and instant gratification. And it responds to foods that can help you survive starvation- foods that contain fat, sugar, other carbs, and salt.

So when you bite into cheesecake, or a French fry, although you should be repulsed by the amount of calories, saturated fat, trans fat, and other negatives, you feel amazing because of the release of dopamine triggered by the midbrain. Read on to find out more about how the midbrain sabotages your diet efforts!

Starting a diet is exciting and new and when people start noticing the weight loss, it is even more encouraging. But when the initial burst of weight loss has past and your weight loss slows or occasionally plateaus, it is harder to keep the motivation to continue. However, maintaining momentum on a diet is possible with the right attitude and skills.

The HCG diet is a diet that only allows specific natural, healthy, low-fat, low-sugar foods. When on the very low calorie diet (VLCD) in the beginning, you are restricted to just 500 calories per day. Obviously, this is hard. Even though the HCG triggers the release of fat stored in the body to be used to fill the daily caloric needs, and even though the HCG helps prevent hunger pangs, it may be very difficult to watch your partner bite into a juicy cheeseburger with fries on the side while you sit with your little plate of chicken breast and lettuce. But the VLCD is not forever. Stay on course using some basic skills.

Start by writing a list of positive affirmations that motivate you to stay true to your goals on the HCG diet. Examples would be “I am seeing this through!” “I am slim and powerful!” “I can do hard things!” Keep the wording in the here and now. Statements like, “I will…” or “I wish….” Indicate future tense, meaning that it might not happen. Speak in terms of today, “I am…” and “I have…” Recite these affirmations twice per day or more to stay on track.

Next, share with as many people as you can, who care about you, your goals and plans. For example, you share that you plan to be strict on the diet until you are wearing size 8 jeans comfortably. Then, your friends and loved ones will be watching to see what you do. If you give up before then, you will not only be giving up on yourself, but you’ll be doing that publicly. This is a skill for maintaining motivation- accountability. Create accountability for yourself by recruiting help and interest in your progress.

When things get hard and you are struggling to continue, remind yourself of all the painful reasons why you never want to go back to the way you were doing life before you started losing the weight. Remember how you felt and how it affected your life to be stuck in your excess weight. Remind yourself of all you stand to gain by seeing it through and visualize what that will look and feel like. Then take it one day at a time, waking up in the morning and saying, “Today I choose health! Today I choose a new way of life!”

If you are thinking of losing the pregnancy weight with the HCG plan, there are several things you need to consider. First of all, if you are planning to nurse your baby, then HCG will need to wait until you’re done nursing. You must consume enough calories to feed your daily intake plus an additional 500 calories per day to nurse a baby and that will not work with the aggressive first phase of HCG.

If you are done nursing and ready to lose, or you are not nursing your baby (which is recommended for the baby’s best health today and in the future), then you can move on to the next consideration. Your body will need at least some recovery time. Are you ready to jump right into it? Do you need to take it more slowly? The emotions and exhaustion of a new baby may hamper your ability to start a drastic diet right away, so consider taking it slow at first.

Exercise is important for helping a woman regain her health and proper body form during and after pregnancy. If you start the full HCG plan, without adaptation, you are not supposed to exercise. So you could lose some benefit there. Perhaps you may consider an adapted HCG plan, like adding many hundreds of calories more, with some healthy carbohydrates, and then being able to exercise along with it.

Finally, the woman’s body is adjusting hormonally, after pregnancy. As the HCG hormone is actually involved in pregnancy, this could confuse the woman’s body and not produce the best results. You may need to consider giving your body and mind time to recover from the pregnancy and the addition of a new baby to the family, before you start the HCG plan. HCG will be a great option after you are fully recovered.

Diets don’t work when people aren’t ready to fully commit to them. It takes dedication and sincere desire to push through the discomfort of eating less and avoiding foods you really enjoy. But how does someone get that kind of motivation? How can you know you’re ready for the HCG diet, or any other diet for that matter?

Start by asking yourself a few questions about why you want to lose the weight: Have other people made comments? Do you just feel bad when you look in the mirror? Are you suffering from obesity-related health conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart problems? Are you getting winded or tired just going up the stairs? Do you just feel sluggish and slow? What about digestive issues? Do you want to feel attractive?

Once you identify your key reasons for wanting to lose the weight, it is suggested that you write those reasons down in a letter to yourself. “Dear (fill in your name), I want to stick to this HCG diet because I never want to feel like this again, I want to…” Make sure that you list all the reasons. And make sure that the pain of being overweight comes across in the letter. Write about your deepest feelings surrounding your weight.

The letter should be a genuine, from the heart plea to yourself to stick to the diet. So, in a weak moment, when you hear yourself thinking, “I could eat just one brownie and then go back to the diet….” Stop that thought in its tracks and pull out your letter from your wallet or purse. Read your letter and get back to loving yourself the right way, with health instead of junk food. You will thank yourself later.

The VLCD jumpstarts the weight loss by greatly reducing the intake of fat and sugar. This triggers the body to go to fat reserves for energy. In addition, the small amount of calories ensures the need for additional sources of fuel. The overall lack of carbs in the diet also forces the body to use fat storage.

The HCG is thus able to work, in this environment, by reportedly stimulating the hypothalamus to open up the fat cells to release stored energy. Also, the HCG is supposed to work as an appetite suppressant, helping the dieter to not feel the hunger pangs that would be expected with a 500-calorie diet. Thus, it is not the diet alone that allows the weight loss to occur.

After the initial diet phase, carbohydrate intake increases. But the carbohydrates come from healthy whole grain sources, rather than highly-processed white flour products that spike the blood sugar and are then readily stored as fat in the body.

The FDA has approved HCG only as a fertility drug, but it does not restrict the sale of HCG as a supplement for dieters. There is a ban on homeopathic pills and sprays of HCG as they have been demonstrated to be fraudulent, containing nothing real. But the HCG drops and injections sold for dieting are sold legally as a dietary aid. The FDA has acknowledged that the HCG itself is not a dangerous product, therefore allowing its manufacture and sales.

The amount and calories of each green vegetable are as follows: 1) 3 cups of chard is 21 calories, 2) 2 cups of fresh celery is 32 calories. 3) 1 cup of cabbage is 22 calories. 4) 3 cups of beet-greens is 24 calories. 5) 1 medium cucumber is 45 calories. 6) Ten medium asparagus spears have 30 calories.

Other vegetables include 7) 1 cup of fennel is 27 calories. 8) 3 cups of spinach is 21 calories. 9) ½ a cup of onions is 32 calories. 10) 1 medium tomato is 22 calories or 1 cup is 27 calories. 11) 3 cups of green lettuce is 15 calories. 12) 1 cup of sliced red radishes is 19 calories.

For fruit options, you can only eat one per meal. 1) An orange (large) has 86 calories. 2) 10 medium strawberries are 40 calories. 3) ½ a grapefruit has 44 calories and 4) a medium apple has 95 calories. Starches are minimal with only three choices: 1) Melba toast has 20 calories per slice, 2) a Melba snack has 24, and 3) a grissini breadstick has 20 calories. 1 starch is allowed per meal, or it can be saved as a snack.

Finally, you get 100 grams of meat, or 3.5 ounces weighed raw, without any visible fat. 1) A round sirloin tip steak has 142 calories. 2) Crab has 84. 3) Halibut has 110. 4) Ground beef has 137 calories. 5) Chicken breast has 110 calories. 6) Lobster is 90 calories. 7) Shrimp has 106 calories. 8) Veal has 112 calories. 9) Tilapia is 96 calories. 10) Cod has 110 calories and flounder is 91 calories. And lastly, one tablespoon of whole milk is allowed per day, usually for coffee or tea, for 9 calories.

HCG is a hormone involved in pregnancy that is able to mobilize fat storage for energy use in the mother, when there is need for extra nutrition for the unborn child. Many women experience frequent vomiting during the first trimester, the most vulnerable trimester of the pregnancy for birth defects. And yet the babies tend to come out unscathed, in large part because of HCG. The mother may even lose weight with her morning sickness, but the baby still gets what it needs.

This amazing hormone has been produced for some time now to use in fertility treatments and is now one of the hottest diet trends in America. HCG’s ability to trigger the release of stored fat is a dream come true for those looking for answers for their weight problems. But the HCG hormone has to work with the HCG diet to make it work.

Protein is an important aspect of the HCG diet because when losing weight, protein in the muscles often gets used for energy, depleting strength, build, and metabolism. But the HCG supplement helps prevent that. You still have to eat some in your diet to maintain your muscle though.

Fat is avoided in the diet because as long as you are consuming enough fat, your body will not feel the need to trigger the release of stored fat from the fat cells. HCG will work best when there is also a need for the body to retrieve fat for energy use and if there is new fat coming in every day, the body will not see the need.

Finally, carbs are a ready source of energy. During the initial phase of the HCG diet, the VLCD, the goal is to maximize the use of stored fat for energy. As with consuming fat, if you consume a lot of carbs, your body will not feel the need to retrieve fuel from stored fat. You need to create an energy deficit, meaning that you are not eating enough to meet your needs for daily fuel. Without HCG, this will likely just shut down your metabolism and get you a diagnosis of anorexia as your muscles waste away. But with HCG, this will trigger the hormone to do its job and pull out your fat energy, while protecting your muscle, and help you lose the right kind of weight.

In fact, since the initial HCG diet is a very low calorie diet (VLCD), some side effects may be more significant with less aggressive diet programs. Some individuals experience mild lightheadedness, nausea, and irritability. Consulting with a physician can help an individual dieter determine their personal needs.

But some more significant side effects have been reported in some dieters, as mentioned in the fine print on the labeling, namely temporary thinning of the hair, leg cramps, and blood clots. Again, if any concerning side effects occur, as with any diet or supplement, it is best to consult a physician. But for most people, the HCG diet does not cause any real side effects.

While some fear the intensity of the HCG program, those who try it in general report rapid weight loss, increased energy, the ending of cravings for unhealthy foods, and many other benefits. Losing weight in and of itself offers many health benefits as diabetes, asthma, cancer, heart disease and other major killers in the U.S. have been linked to obesity.

And obesity itself is a plague as 2/3rds of all American adults are obese! Losing the weight for most people will far outweigh any minor side effects as health, vitality, longevity, and confidence improve. Perhaps the best way to feel good about trying the HCG diet is to ask a friend who has done it. Most will tell you that the results are unlike anything they’ve ever tried before.

When you first get on the HCG diet, your body will go through an adjustment period. Like the Atkins diet, the lack of consumed energy will kick your body into ketosis, a state in which protein can be used for energy where it is usually mainly used for repair and building of the muscles. But adding the HCG supplement prevents your muscle tissue from being lost in this process.

In the adjustment period of the first few days on the diet, give your body rest. Make sure you are working with a physician to do this process carefully. And when you are feeling like you are well adjusted to the diet, you can begin by taking short walks as a form of light exercise that will not burn too many calories (taxing your body) or push yourself too hard while you’re in a lower energy state.

Exercising too vigorously while on the VLCD can actually be dangerous. On the VLCD and with the HCG supplement, what you are asking of your body is to find its own energy from stored fat. This takes a lot out of the body while you burn through the fat stores you have built up over the years. And without consuming enough calories even for daily living, you are asking your body to push hard to meet the demands placed on it.

Vigorous exercise can burn upwards of 1,000 calories per hour, depending upon how hard you actually push. So it is clear to see why people who push intense exercise into the early part of the program can overtax their hearts and their bodies. Once you have successfully completed the first phase of the program and you move into a higher calorie diet, with enough healthy carbs, like brown rice, oats, and legumes, to be able to exercise more intensely than before. Consult with your doctor to determine when you should take it up a notch and what kind of exercise you should start with. Exercise is an important part of a healthy life. Just go about it with caution and wisdom while living the weight loss portion of the HCG diet.

The number one challenge on the HCG diet is hunger. While many people report reduced feelings of hunger with the HCG supplementation, there are two types of hunger: physical hunger (in which your body actually needs food) and emotional hunger (in which stress, anger, loneliness, or fatigue triggers feelings of hunger).

When you feel hungry on the diet and you are following it faithfully, it is important to ask yourself, is my stomach hungry or is my heart hungry? Be honest with yourself and answer the question genuinely. If you are feeling lonely, hug your honey or call a friend. If you are feeling stressed, go do something soothing. If you are feeling angry talk it out or go for a walk. Don’t let a hungry heart sabotage your success. Tell yourself, “Nothing tastes as good as being slim!”

Another challenge on the diet is other people’s food. Just seeing other people’s food that you don’t eat on the HCG diet can trigger cravings. And smelling it is even worse. And if they actually go to the point of visibly enjoying the food in front of you, it may be all you can do not to knock the food right off their plates! But all joking aside, other people eating in front of you is a major challenge on the HCG diet.

Start with your household and recruit your family members’ help. Let them know what you are doing and why you are doing it. Tell them that their support is very important to you and vital to your success. Ask them to keep snacks out of sight and to avoid eating them in front of you. Ask them also to not bring junk food home, but eat it at school, work, etc. Recruiting their support can help you stay on track and reach your goals.

The average amount of weight loss on HCG is about 5 pounds per week, an impressive amount by any standard. This weight loss tends to be consistent as the dieter continues to follow the eating plan and use the HCG.

Many people report that they do not feel hungry, in spite of the very low calorie diet of only 500 calories. And while exercise is very important for many health reasons, these results occur even without exercise. As long as the dieter remains faithful to the plan, he or she will be able to keep the weight off for the long term.

With continued weight loss, many HCG dieters report having increased confidence, looking better in their clothes, and feeling greater energy. With the HCG program, they gain better eating habits and, as a result, saving money on their grocery bills.

HCG is an answer for those who have tried and failed other programs. HCG works fast and with significant weight loss can greatly improve an individual’s health and well-being. The diet may not be for everyone, but for those serious about losing the weight, and ready to make some changes to see it happen, HCG is a viable option.

In fact, the diet only allows a few minimal foods, very low in carbohydrates, fat, and sugar. While this may be fine for some, there are those who, due to heart concerns, other health issues, or just plain hunger, decide to adapt the diet while still following as closely as they can. Many individuals have been able to achieve success in this way, without the shock of the 500-calorie diet.

One can adapt the diet by adding additional protein. Even though one of the main purposes of the HCG supplement is to prevent muscle loss, a 500-calorie diet can nonetheless result in some muscle tissue loss as the body seeks protein and nutrition to survive. A lot will come from stored fat, but eating extra protein can help prevent muscle loss. Just stick with the lean meats.

Some people, who are wise to the fact that exercise benefits the body in multiple ways and can help ensure lasting weight loss, choose to exercise even during the initial phase of the HCG diet. But on the 500-calorie diet with almost no carbohydrates, this can be tremendously taxing on the body. It is better to eat some minimal whole grains to get healthy exercise-friendly carbohydrates to use for fuel. Some of the best ways to get these healthy carbohydrates are through beans, whole grain bread, whole grain cereals (sweetened with stevia), or grain foods like quinoa or brown rice.

Many dieters choose to just add calories to the existing diet by sticking to the food list of vegetables, lean meats, fruits, and minimal carbs, but multiplying the amount of these that they eat. In this way, the weight loss will still occur, but slowly and steadily, the way research indicates is optimal for maintaining the weight loss once you lose it.

HCG comes in different forms. Many people opt for the sublingual drops for placement under the tongue. Under the tongue is a highly absorbent place in the body, leading to faster absorption than swallowing can provide.

But many HCG dieters opt for the HCG injections. Do not be intimidated by the needle. Unless you have a real fear of shots, you can successfully administer these injections yourself. It is actually not that difficult to do the injections and it is the most direct method for administering HCG into the body.

Make sure that the needle is new, always, as dirty needles can lead to severe illness or even death. The rubber cap on the bottle needs to be freshly wiped with rubbing alcohol. As you draw the solution out, make sure that you do not draw any specks in. Sometimes the perforation of the needle through the rubber cap leaves a tiny speck of rubber.

Also, as you draw the solution into the needle, try not to leave an air vacuum in the bottle as you pull out the syringe, because the alcohol wiped on the top or surface bacteria could be sucked into the bottle and contaminate it.

Injections need to be into the muscle, not into surface fat. So, for obese patients, pressing on the buttocks to reach the muscle is standard practice.  Use a very thin 2-inch long needle. Most of all, just follow basic needle and injection safety tips and you should soon be accustomed to doing your own HCG injections at home.

Some of the people most noted for using and promoting HCG are celebrities. Celebrities are held up by the nation to be the “ideal” image. Aware of paparazzi presence and the fit of attire for televised events, celebrities are constantly under pressure to be slim. And if they aren’t the right size for the part, they don’t get it.

Many Hollywood icons have turned to HCG to help them maintain their small size, or lose if they have gained some weight. These reportedly include big names like Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oprah, Britney Spears (after having her twins), and Seth Rogan.
Jenni Farley is perhaps the most outspoken celebrity, in regards to HCG. She talks about using HCG drops as a major part of her physical fitness routine. The Jersey Shores star is well-known for her toned and slim figure.

There are others as well.  Ms. Montana, Janet Bierer, purchased HCG drops to help her overcome a weight loss plateau. It worked very well for her, as she reports losing 18 pounds just in time for the Ms. U.S. Continental Beauty Pageant for 2010.

More and more celebrities are discovering the secret of HCG and as they do, the American public is following suit. HCG bottles are flying off the shelves as frustrated dieters seek a better, faster way to lose the fat. With the promise of burning fat instead of muscle, HCG promotes bodies that are not just slim, but (with exercise) fit and toned. And that’s just what celebrities require.