HCG injections

Ok so I started my fitness goal back in April but then shortly thereafter sprained my ankle very badly and was on crutches for three weeks. Finally able to bear weight on it again but no impact and limited range of motion.

Its been discouraging but I was researching alternatives and will start the HCG injections tomorrow. I figure it will give me a good jumpstart and allow me the time to fully heal before hitting the treadmill again.

Besides the basic literature available out there, does anyone have any personal experience with this diet?

Keep in mind it is the prescription HCG injections and not OTC (over the counter) drops or pills. I understand the physiology behind the diet's concept so I'm not concerned about the limited calories for 40 days. More or less I am wanting to know what your results were and any major side effects or challenges that may be downplayed by the sellers.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond appropriately.

I had a friend who used the drops. It worked extremely well, but I think there was supposed to be some point where she cycled off of it and was supposed to eat "whatever"......and the diet failed. Basically, she just continued with that part of it instead going back to cutting calories again LOL

I think you just really have to be careful there. Once you start eating more healthy, you can actually lose "taste" for bad food. But it's like the way people describe alcohol.....one drink(or twinkie/cheeseburger/slice of delicious, greezy pizza LOL) and you're off the wagon again.

On the other hand, there was also a guy I know who lost a lot of weight and has kept it off for quite some time now. I haven't talked to him much about his own experience, but I'm sure it's because it was just "time" for him, and he was really committed to doing it.

No issues/complaints for either that I recall. Just, the same pitfalls to watch out for when it comes to "cheating" and/or not maintaining a healthy diet once you're at/closer to your goal and you come off it.

Good luck, and hopefully we'll get a chance to burn some calories the fun way again soon

I used it and lost 60lbs. I have also gone back on it for maintenance after the holidays. One of the best decisions I have ever made. A couple things I found which might prove beneficial. First, follow it pretty closely and you will never be hungry. I'm not sure the program you are on but avoid diet sodas etc. I found that eating an apple as one of my fruits, mid-morning seemed to help with weight loss and maybe regularity. While I didn't have an issue with constipation a female friend of mine did. The doc eventually put her on an herbal laxative/fiber supplement which she took at night. Drink the prescribed 100 ounces of water per day, it really does make a difference. Once you heal be careful about the level of physical activity. Once I started dropping major weight I wanted to really start increasing exercise, but at 500 calories per day you will shut your metabolism down and weight loss will drop.

As for the comment when you are on maintenance phase, it doesn't matter which diet you are doing, if you go back to the eating habits that gave you a weight problem to begin with, you will put on weight. My doc actually prescribed a maintenance period diet that basically just tripled protein intake and added whole grains.

Good luck.

Thanks guys! I really appreciate your helpful responses. I will remember about the apple mid-morning and the water. And congratulations yewhew on losing 60lbs and keeping it off! That is awesome!!! Way to go!!

I have never been on a "diet" such as this before. Closest thing was taking phentermine in nursing school bc my schedule was so horrendous between working and clinicals and kids I barely had time to eat or workout so the phentermine kept me going without starving all day. Before then my normal routine for years was to start off the day with a good workout so I need to commit to doing that again. It def changed the way I ate all day.

Certainly maintaning a healthy lifestyle takes conscious effort and dedication. I have failed to do that the past two years but sometimes the stressers of life can derail your most normal and routine behaviors. Things are getting back to the way they were before I started providing in more important areas of my life so getting back to normal with my fitness is just icing on the cake (so to speak).

Any diet that forced you to starve your body of calories, medically supervised or not, is not a good idea. Everyone I know who has taken it yo yo on their weight because they aren't changing their lifestyle.

So yeah, you may lose weight but you aren't teaching your body to break cravings of poor quality foods and your aren't prepping your body to absorb nutrients the right way.

You know what I have done and my results are outstanding. Losing weight and keeping it off is about a lifestyle change in how you view food.

I agree with you on the "starving" part. Not a good way to lose weigt in normal metabolic mode since a starving body would automatically burn muscle and hold fat but that is the twist with HCG. It burns your stored fat first rather than holding on to it as if you were starving. It keeps the muscle rather than burning it first as if you were "starving".

It is a short duration of intense dieting that definitely has the trappings of regaining the weight but I think being aware and strategic makes a huge difference. I'm not sure I would normally go on this type of diet but being very limited physically right now it really seems to be the best option. I am a really terrible patient and am already guilty of aggravating my sprain by trying to do too much too soon because I'm anxious to get back on track. This way it gives me the results and time I need to fully recover without putting too much pressure on myself and reinjuring it.

I really want to talk more with you about advocare once I finish the HCG. Sounds awesome!

from a male perspective - i see a hormone specialist in allen who is unbelievable, when I'm waiting to see her, all the women there are in there for the HCG. They all swear by it. the shots are different from the drops by a long ways. Some men take HCG to keep their "boys" running when they are on testosterone supplementation for low testosterone.

Yeah the shots are the shiznit from what i hear.

Do you know if the ladies are doing it often? I think I should only need to do one round. I wouldn't want to integrate HCG into my life permantently.

Now advocare I would since that is a lifestyle supplement. I want to do the advocare next month for maintenence once I finish the HCG injections.

I tried it. While I did drop 15 pounds in the 2 weeks I was able to stick with it.. I had to be pulled off of it. My blood pressure is on the low end of normal to begin with-- and it tanked out even moreso on the HCG diet. I had issues with my pulse racing and dang near black outs...

The body is tricked into thinking its preggo, burns twice as many calories. For the men who want to still try to have kids but take testestosterone, the hcg shots are required as well.

Thanks for responding with your experience Grace. I will monitor my pulse and bp as that is not in the patient teaching literature the clinic provided. That must have been scary. Thank u very much for letting me know.

Thank you for all the informative responses.

I tried the drops and lost 55lbs but I have, since then, gained most of it back. I was miserable on the VLCD (very low calorie diet) but I ate extremely healthy while I was on it (lean proteins and veggies). There would be times when I had dizzy spells. One downfall to the process for me is that I am reluctant to do any diet again because of the sheer effort it took to maintain that diet for quite some time. I hear the shots are much better though. Boltfan, please share your story, maybe I will be motivated once again.

Before anyone starts taking any type of pill or injection or etc, be it a natural or a doctor combination.. Do yourself a favor. Go through your kitchen and throw out all of the junk. Shop the outside aisles at the grocery store.
There are some healthy foods out there that can satisfy any craving.
Get rid of the sugar, get rid of the junk. Try making a fun grocery store change before anything else. Not only does it help the outside appearance of your body, it works wonder to the inside appearance. Better sleep, better attitude, more energy, etc, etc, etc.

A little about my situation.

I have lost and kept off about 70 lbs since late 2011. I eat healthy and personally use Advocare products as supplements to my general diet. My goal is to lose another 50 lbs so I can get to a lower weight class for sparring

It is about changing your lifestyle and how you think about food. You have to break your body cravings for sugar and crap carbs, and you have to feed your body healthy vegetables, fruits, protein and complex non processed carbs.

I am 40 and feel better than I have since I was in my early 20s.

Go to the Advocare website and download their literature on the 24 day challenege. The "max" phase is essentially how you will try to eat the rest of your life. Two parts I love. You eat a normal quantity of calories and because your body is burning food so efficiently it is ok to have the occasional treat. They actually tell you to have the occasional treat so you don't go insane.

sometimes this crap can be thyroid related. feel tired, agitated, hard to wake up, hard to sleep etc get that thyroid checked. mainly ladies over 42. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. This is an area I am very well versed in. Both male and female. happy to help.