What is the HCG Diet?

HCG stands for "Human Chorionic Gonadotropin" It's a hormone that we all have naturally - men and women. Women have more of it during pregnancy since it's important for feeding fetuses.

HCG Weight Loss - The Basic Diet

Let's go over the HCG Diet in a nutshell.

The HCG Diet, when prescribed by a doctor (as all of ours is) is taken daily as an HCG injection. Most people lose between half a pound and 2 pounds a day.

The HCG enters the bloodstream and helps to break up the pockets of fat you want to get rid of. Now that the fat is broken up, it is free to move and be utilized as calories. That is why maintaining a lower calorie diet with HCG injections works. Your body uses your fat stores for food, which means you won't be hungry. And you'll burn off the offending fat!

Drink lots of water throughout the diet to keep the fat - and all the toxins stored in that fat - flushing out of your system.

The first two days are often called Gorge Days. You'll eat loads of fatty foods like avocado, cheeses, other dairy, nuts, salmon, and even things like ice cream. Don't skip this step or the diet will be much tougher and you'll usually feel very hungry

Next, you'll start the low calorie diet. People have had success with as low as 500 calories a day, but the FDA has expressed concerns about this, so we'd rather err on the side of safety. You should plan to eat between 700 and 1200 calories a day, depending on what feels right for you.

An Example of a Day on the HCG Diet

Take your HCG shot first thing in the morning. Only coffee, water and/or tea are allowed for breakfast. No sugar!

Lunch - 100 grams of chicken breast and some asparagus, one grissini breadstick

Snack - an apple

Dinner - 100 grams of chilean sea bass and a salad of cucumber slices and tomatoes with balsamic vinegar.