HCG diet injections are popularly used for quick weight loss. To find out the pros and cons of these injections, read on…
The Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG), is a naturally occurring product in the placenta of a pregnant woman. It plays a vital role of controlling the rate of metabolism, throughout the pregnancy. In order to get benefited by the same fact, the HCG diet plan came into existence. It is one of the most popular methods of quick weight loss. however, the HCG that is utilized in the HCG diet plan differs completely from the HCG which is used for the fertility treatments. According to the HCG protocol, the HCG which is used for the weight loss diet is obtained from the sterile cells that are developed in laboratories. Hence, there is no scientific base to the myths that the weight loss diet essential HCG is gained from the urine of animals and women! The diet plan incorporates a 500 calorie diet and the HCG diet injections.
Dosage
According to its creators, HCG diet injections help you to lose around 0.5 to 1.5 pounds a day. It is a course of 23 injections, which is administered along with a well-organized HCG diet plan. Each injection contains 125 IU of HCG. The first two HCG injections must be accompanied with the consumption of some very fatty foods, which is mandatory in order to make sure that the body is not lacking the good fats at the start of the diet plan. Then the third injection onwards, the dieter is asked to start the 500 calorie diet which he/she must continue until 72 hours of the last injection. Instead of the injections, people also opt for the oral HCG consumption. However, the HCG injections are useless if they are not accompanied by VLCD – Very Low Calorie Diet, that contains ‘good’ fats and only about 500 calories.
Cost
The next question that may trouble you is about the average cost of the injections. There are various prescribed brands of the HCG, which are approved by the USFDA, like – Pregnyl, Chorex, Profasi and Novarel, etc. These products may cost you about USD 5 to USD 20, depending on your diet plan and the insurance coverage that you have. Since the HCG diet is not universally accepted the insurance coverage for the diet can vary with each insurer. If there is no insurance coverage for the HCG injections, the cost would be higher and if it is covered under insurance, then the cost will be much more manageable. You also need to consider the cost of the diet that you need to consume, while you administer the HCG injections. Therefore, one should estimate the money that one needs to spend for a 500 calorie diet per day and then add the cost of the injections to it.
HCG Diet
The diet which is taken while a person is administering the HCG shots is called HCG diet. This is a VLCD that involves only about 500 calories. The dieter is asked to totally refrain from starch and sugar. He can have sugar free coffee and tea, but must consume only 1 tablespoon of milk per day. He/she can include the food items like pepper, salt, mustard, garlic, sweet basil, vinegar, parsley, garlic, marjoram and thyme as salad dressing, but you need to refrain from butter as well as all kinds of oils. If you want to consume fruits, then grapefruit, apple or a cup full of strawberries is all that you can have. But make sure that they are organic. For lunch and dinner, you can consume several kinds of proteins and vegetables. For instance, organically fed veal, beef, boneless and skinless chicken breast and all kinds of low mercury fish along with green and leafy vegetables.
Side Effects
There are a few HCG diet dangers that you must be aware of. The HCG hormone controls the hypothalamus gland, which plays a vital role in the functioning of our appetite, body fat, rate of metabolism, reproductive system and emotions. Some of these side effects are – pelvic pain, stomach cramps, swollen hands and feet, Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), breast tenderness, water retention, nausea, vomiting, excessive or reduced urination, sudden weight gain, hives, gynecomastia, dizziness, confusion, depression and even heart attack.
Precautions
Apart from the above mentioned diet, you need to be pretty specific about consuming certain things. Firstly, you should not consume any medicines like the birth control pills and even aspirin. You also cannot opt for any other type of diet when you are on the HCG diet. Apart from lipstick and eyebrow pencil, all the other cosmetics are barred, when you are on this diet. You must rely upon all the organic food products, as much as possible, let it be milk, meat, fruits or vegetables. Everything should be organic. You can find further information about the HCG diet online or in the book “Pounds and Inches”, by Dr. A.T.W. Simeons. Well, many people often raise this debate about the reliability when it comes to HCG diet injections vs drops. But, both are not that different. Both the HCG drops and injections work the same way. It’s just the question of convenience of the dieter!
Today, people very easily rely upon the injections and other fad diets for a quick weight loss, which is wrong. If you still want to start on the HCG diet for weight loss, consult your health care provider first and get down all the details and the pros and cons that are associated with it.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is solely for educating the reader. It is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of a medical expert.
