[kribrg]

Someone I used to consult on her diet called and asked me if I had heard of this. Normally my response to any diet is "give it a try". I looked at the site and I am just amazed.

500 Calories and HCG shots. Because, well you know, the HCG shots circulate ithe fat into your bloodstream and so your body thinks it is getting thousands of calories.


They are marketing it thorugh Chiropracters and longevity centers. Here is the one the lady told her to go to in order to get the shots.

"A little personal testimony: When I weighed 265, I was walking a 5K every single day on the treadmill trying to lose weight and eating about 1500 - 2000 calories a day for quite a long time and didn’t lose one miserable pound! You know, after you do that type of thing for years and years, it gets very, very frustrating!!"



Here is someone explaining the "Basics". Mah Hair is falling, my hair is falling, but I will be skinny damnitt!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr50PHwxUJY

[Vadym]

That's pretty damn scary.

And wouldn't a female fertility hormone mess around in a male body? Like estrogen would, though of course in different ways.

What are the possible side effects of HCG?
Stop using HCG and get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have any of these signs of a blood clot: pain, warmth, redness, numbness, or tingling in your arm or leg; confusion, extreme dizziness, or severe headache.
emt Some women using this medicine have developed a condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), especially after the first treatment cycle. OHSS can be a life-threatening condition. Call your doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms of OHSS:

* severe pelvic pain;
* swelling of the hands or legs;
* stomach pain and swelling;
* shortness of breath;
* weight gain;
* diarrhea;
* nausea or vomiting; or
* urinating less than normal.

This medication can cause early puberty in young boys. Call your doctor if a boy using this medicine shows early signs of puberty, such as a deepened voice, pubic hair growth, and increased acne or sweating.

Less serious side effects may include:

* headache;
* feeling restless or irritable;
* mild swelling or water weight gain;
* depression;
* breast tenderness or swelling; or
* pain, swelling, or irritation where the injection is given.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

http://health.yahoo.com/other-other/...-d00572a1.html

The bolded kind of made me laugh at the irony.

In the end, why bother putting your body through this? It looks like its very controlled, and a regular person couldn't control all of these intrinsic dietary additions and such precisely like it has to be. And if you're on controlled weight loss, there's a thousand other safer methods with slightly slower, yet much more safer results, no?

[w8girl]

OMG! This kind of stuff annoys me no end!! And because it's got all those "reputable" As Seen On names listed, vulnerable/gullible/stupid people will think it's OK. "It's on TV so it must be true." Yeah, fine to lose up to 3 lbs a day! That's normal, natural, and safe.

IDIOTS!!

*steps down*

[Fireproof]

hCG can be useful in some context (typically restoring testicular function during or after test cycles), but not for weightloss as they are discussing.

You know why they lose the weight? Because they are only eating 500 freaking calories per day. Duh. But the diet alone won't get you into their docs and on their tab!

Some related studies those morons should read...

***
Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1995 Sep;40(3):237-43. Links
The effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the treatment of obesity by means of the Simeons therapy: a criteria-based meta-analysis.

* Lijesen GK,
* Theeuwen I,
* Assendelft WJ,
* Van Der Wal G.

Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

1. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess if there is scientific ground for the use of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. 2. Published papers relating to eight controlled and 16 uncontrolled trials that measured the effect of HCG in the treatment of obesity were traced by computer-aided search and citation tracking. 3. The trials were scored for the quality of the methods (based on four main categories: study population, interventions, measurement of effect, and data presentation and analysis) and the main conclusion of author(s) with regard to weight-loss, fat-redistribution, hunger, and feeling of well-being. 4. Methodological scores ranged from 16 to 73 points (maximum score 100), suggesting that most studies were of poor methodological quality. Of the 12 studies scoring 50 or more points, one reported that HCG was a useful adjunct. The studies scoring 50 or more points were all controlled. 5. We conclude that there is no scientific evidence that HCG is effective in the treatment of obesity; it does not bring about weight-loss of fat-redistribution, nor does it reduce hunger or induce a feeling of well-being.

***
Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 1987 May;47(5):297-307. Links
[Risk-benefit analysis of a hCG-500 kcal reducing diet (cura romana) in females]
[Article in German]

* Rabe T,
* Richter S,
* Kiesel L,
* Runnebaum B.

The British physician A.T.W. Simeons described in 1954 a new method for dieting. He combined a reduction diet (500 kcal per day) with daily injections of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (125 IU i.m.). According to Simeons the patient should not lose more weight during a 4-to-6 weeks' diet than without hCG, but the injections should facilitate to maintain the diet and to lose body weight at specific parts of the body (e.g. hip, belly, thigh). After the first publication various studies conducted with male and female patients analysed the efficacy of the "Cura romana". 10 of these studies showed positive and another 10 studies negative results with regard to hCG-related weight reduction. Two of these studies with positive results were double-blind studies (hCG vs. placebo). Most of them were reports on therapeutical experiences and were not controlled studies. According to these reports the body proportions normalized and the feeling of hunger was tolerable. Four out of 10 studies with negative results were controlled studies (hCG vs. control without hCG), whereas 6 were double-blind studies. These studies showed a significant weight reduction during dieting, but no differences between treatment groups in respect of body weight, body proportions and feeling of hunger. One of them is the only German study conducted by Rabe et al. in 1981 in which 82 randomised premenopausal volunteers had been dieting either with hCG or without hCG injections. In recent publications describing mostly well-documented double-blind studies authors largely reject hCG administration in dieting. Supporters of the hCG diet must prove the efficacy of this method in controlled studies according to the German Drug Law. Until then the opinion of the German steroid toxicology panel is still valid, that hCG is ineffective in dieting and should not be used (Bolt 1982 a, 1982 b).

[Little Big Guy]

I recomend the Bulimia and HGH diet.

[floods]

People do crazy shit like this every day, order prescription meds from other countries and have them shipped here, but steroids are immoral.

[pintsizedpain]

Honestly, though, if you are willing to go to the extremes of eating only 500 calories a day, it's obviously past the point that you want to get fit or just want to slim down. There's something wrong in your head. Those are anorexic stats right there.

[JimR]

It's also the "secret" to Kevin Trudeau's diet.

[MPJ]

In Korea the one food diet was popular

[scott]

I know that I have been on it for 28 days and lost 30 lbs.
I have never dieted before and never will again, but saw the amazing results of this diet.

[Darkhorse]

Originally Posted by MPJ

In Korea the one food diet was popular

I heard they also supplement w/ babies according to the news. I think it's safe to say THIS may be going overboard...?

[fitforlife63]

Wow that is scary. Syringes to lose weight. Really?! Weight loss cure, yea right!

Just another fad diet that is scary and unhealthy. The twinkie diet works just as good as the HCG diet but you are unhealthy as hell when you lose the weight. Why do people go to extremes and put there bodies thru this kind of crap.