When it comes to weight loss, you can find a number of diets out there that claim to deliver the results. However, not all are equally effective or effective for everyone. But one diet that stands tall on its promises of weight loss is the popular HCG diet. This is a one-of-its-kind diet that makes use of fat stores to aid weight loss. But many people are not aware of the science behind the diet. As such, they find it difficult to believe that the HCG diet actually works and helps people to get rid of the excess fat and weight stored in their bodies. In this article, we reveal to you how and why the HCG diet works.
What is HCG?
Before you can understand the science behind this diet, you need to know what HCG is. HCG stands for the human chorionic gonadotropin hormone. It is a protein hormone that is produced in large amounts in a woman’s body during the first three months of pregnancy. The HCG hormone helps to produce important pregnancy hormones like estrogen and progesterone, which are necessary for the growth and development of the embryo.
What is the HCG diet?
In 1954, a British doctor called Albert Simeons first proposed that the HCG hormone can be an effective tool for weight loss. He developed a diet that limited the calorie intake of a person to about 500 calories per day and combined it with an injection of the HCG hormone into the body. This is the basic HCG diet. Since then, the diet has helped countless people across the world to achieve dramatic weight loss. Does the HCG diet still work? Yes, it does
for sure.
How does HCG diet help to lose weight?
The HCG hormone by itself doesn’t help you to lose weight. Rather, it changes how your body loses weight. It is the calorie-restricted diet that actually results in the weight loss. The HCG hormone is known to help control feelings of hunger. That is why people taking up this diet are able to sustain themselves on 500 calories. During the diet, when you take HCG injections, the level of the HCG hormone increases in your bloodstream. Due to this, your body doesn’t go into the diet mode. The metabolic cycle of your body gets stimulated by the hormone and your body continues to function without sacrificing its muscle mass. This is what makes HCG different from the other diets that lead your body to utilize muscle mass as fuel during weight loss.
What is the prescribed formula of the HCG diet?
The low-calorie, low-fat HCG diet is divided into three distinct stages:
Phase 1:
This is known as the loading phase. In this phase of the diet, you are required to eat a lot of high-calorie, high-fat food items for a period of 2 days. Also, you have to start taking the HCG doses in this phase. This phase an important part of the diet program and so, it must not be skipped.
Phase 2:
This is the weight loss phase or the main phase of the diet. In this phase, you have to continue with the HCG hormone doses. You are required to eat only 500 calories per day during this phase. This phase continues for three to six weeks.
Phase 3:
This is the maintenance phase or the final phase of the diet. In this phase, you have to stop taking the HCG doses. At the same time, you are required to increase your calorie intake in a slow and gradual manner. There are some restrictions that you need to follow at this stage as well. These include avoiding the intake of fat and sugar in your diet. This is the phase in which your body returns to the intake of normal healthy food.
How to make a success of the HCG diet?
The success of your HCG diet plan depends a lot on how well you follow the dietary restrictions prescribed for this diet. The diet not only outlines the number of calories that you are allowed to consume per day, it also specifies the type of food to avoid. There is a list of approved food items for the HCG diet and you are to follow the list very diligently. Not just the food items, you are also to follow the list of beverages allowed on this diet.
Additionally, you are restricted to use any kind of oil-based skin care products.
Why do so many people prefer the HCG diet?
Apart from the fact that the HCG diet is very effective in reducing weight, it is also a diet that can be safely followed by both men and women. But the main reason behind its popularity is that it shows instant results. More often than not, followers of this diet plan witness a weight loss of about 1 to 2 pounds each day. This makes for a very encouraging result for anyone who has been struggling to get rid of excess body weight. One more thing that adds to the popularity of the diet is the specified food list. Though the diet is calorie-restrictive, it offers enough variety for the followers to indulge their taste buds even as they remain on the track of the diet program. Finally, the HCG diet plan recommends dieters to stay away from strenuous exercises when following the diet program. This comes across as an attractive point for many dieters who can’t keep themselves motivated enough to exercise regularly.
Finally, there’s always the next time
Not everyone can keep up with the restrictions imposed by the HCG diet and they may slip up. Or, it may so happen that the person may successfully complete the diet program but may want to lose more weight. They can always opt for a second cycle of the diet program. The only thing to keep in mind is that they need to maintain a gap of at least 6 weeks before they begin the next round of the HCG diet plan.
