The Muscle Couple with some commentary about the newest fad dietary approach-The Hcg Diet.

This diet first made the rounds back in the 70′s.  HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonatropin.  It’s actually a hormone extracted from the urine of pregnant women that can be used to induce ovulation in the ovaries for women and stimulate natural testosterone production from the testes for men.

A British endocrinologist A.T.W. Simeons theorized HCG had some miraculous quality of promoting mobilization and consumption of abnormal, excessive adipose deposits.  Simeons recommended low-dose daily HCG injections (125 mg) in combination with a customized ultra-low-calorie (500 cal/day, high-protein, low-carbohydrate/fat) diet for a loss of adipose tissue without loss of lean tissue.

Simeons died in 1970, but the diet has once again spread to specialized centers and via popularization by the controversial author Kevin Trudeau. It’s now all over the web and in infomercials and on radio and TV commercials everywhere.

The Muscle Couple has not used this diet.  But we have enough enough understanding of biochemistry and endocrinology to know any diet with only 500 kcals a day as a maintenance requirement will go like this:

• Weeks 2-4-Lose Weight and Body Fat

• Weeks 4-6-Continue to lose weight and Body Fat but grow weak and frail from lack of enough daily calories (You’re starving yourself-Try Lifting Weights or doing Vigorous Cardio on these calorie levels)

• Weeks 6 and On-Face eventual metabolic disorder and thyroid issues from your body not getting enough kcals including protein and EFA’s

We’ve dieted enough to know that eating below the threshold of 10 kcals per pound of bodyweight isn’t good in the long run.

The human metabolism is an amazingly self regulating system.  It can’t be tricked for long before it self corrects.  Giving your body severely restricted kcals will eventually force it to slow down all of its metabolic systems in order to survive on super low cals ie STARVATION.

At some point even if you do lose all of the bodyfat you set out to lose, the rebound weight gain when introducing a “normal diet” higher in kcals including carbs and fat will be significant.  Insulin metabolism has a tendency to go haywire when adjusting off a drastically reduced low kcal diet.

At present there is no scientific evidence documenting HCG’s ability to promote the mobilization and consumption of abnormal excessive adipose deposits as theorized by Simeons.  And in performance enhancement and life-extension circles, there are no anecdotal stories or beliefs that HCG does anything related to helping lose bodyfat.

In fact there is this study from the early 90′s:

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

“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.”

The Muscle Couple Bottom line:

There are multiple ways to diet safely in which you won’t compromise your metabolism.

The HCG diet even if it does work in the short term is not a long term solution.

In fact, after initial use, the rebound weight gain likely to follow, will erase any weight loss originally seen. Combine this with potential insulin metabolism and thyroid problems and the risks are substantial.

We recommend staying away from this diet and choosing a safer approach.

One that requires:

• reduced kcals (12-13kcals per pound-gradually reducing over time in order to continue to lose bodyfat)
  
• lowered carbs
• higher protein and EFA’s
  
• regular cardio and weight training
• proper usage of thermogenics
  

MIHWCS