HCG Diet FAQS

Be careful with this. Some do, and some use things like smooth move tea and such – but these things can dehydrate you as far as I know and cause more fluctuations later and mess up your own body’s natural peristalsis. You might try more natural methods first like:

• higher doses of magnesium
• probiotics
• pysllium husk (be careful with this one! When just starting it you want to start SMALL and make sure to drink proper amount of water with it otherwise you will have opposite problem and be even more constipated – but with enough water and gradual increase, the fiber really helps keep things moving in your colon) and
• lemon water.

These tools really can be very effective, and you don’t usually need to do them all. Higher dosages of probiotics by themselves, or higher doses of the magnesium, by itself, has been able to completely get rid of my constipation. Don’t go hog wild your first day, but for instance me, I would take maybe a double dose of what is recommended on label), I have found this to REALLY fix constipation issues, and it seems to do it in a more natural way that doesn’t cause other additional issues later.

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 9

This can be tough. While there are many people we do not need to tell about what we’re doing, it’s nice to be able to include family in what we’re doing, one cuz they’re family, two, because they can be a source of support (sometimes), and three, it’s rather hard to hide something like that from the people you eat with every day.

So what do you do in a situation like this where someone close to you is really against the idea?

I don’t know if this will help, but perhaps showing the logic behind it – even perhaps written out, could help. I have gone to great lengths now to try to prove that this protocol is NOT a starvation diet and is not stripping every last bit of muscle off your body.

A few sources from my blog that demonstrate some proof that skeptical family members might find useful:

My bodyfat testing:

Before hCG, After finishing hCG, and 2 years after finishing hCG. It’s clear from these hydrostatic body fat tests, which is a very clear, accurate, reliable way to test body fat that body builders and other fitness enthusiasts use to track their progress, that not only was the majority of my weight loss fat, I have a healthy amount of muscle mass for my height (5’1″) and this combined with the fact that I have maintained this for what was at that time, 2 years, shows that my metabolism wasn’t not hampered negatively.

My post on 5 common misconceptions about the hCG Diet.

The argument for hormones. hCG is a hormone. Just like the hormones in birth control are powerful enough to prevent conception, hCG is not a placebo.

I realize that sometimes if a person is not in the mood to believe something, it doesn’t matter how logical you are, they’re just going to think what they want to think. But perhaps for some, this type of proof might be convincing.

There are probably various reasons that people don’t like the idea of this protocol. Some have something against accomplishing something faster than the traditional way. But if the weight being lost is indeed fat, and ability to maintain is there shown by others, why would accomplishing something in a more efficient manner be a bad thing? Washing machine? Why yes! I’d love one. Don’t got time for the clothesline in twenty-fifteen. Times have changed and our lives are hectic, busy and stressful. It makes sense to be efficient where we can, so that we can use our time for other things that can’t be rushed- like family time! ?

Watch Miriandra’s Full Interview here

– Share the benefits to hubby.

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 0

The only reliable way to track body fat percent and how much actual fat you lose is through 3 forms of actual testing (no app, scale, or monitor can do this for you accurately):
1. Hydrostatic body fat testing
2. DEXA scan
3. Bod Pod

You might search these three choices in google and your location to see if you can find something near to you. All my body fat percent stats that I discuss on my blog are from hydrostatic body fat testing. This type of proof can’t be argued. I have posted my actual tests results in several places on my blog, in case you care to share it with them.

For instance, this post shows the bodyfat percent I started with, what I got down to with hCG and how Crossfit played into it:
https://hcgchica.com/maintaining-hcg-diet-weight-loss-hcgchica-update-2nd-quarter-2014/

In a nutshell, a very large percentage of my weight loss was indeed fat, as proven by multiple hydrostatic body fat tests. I started the hCG diet with 59 lbs of fat on my body. Being 5’1″ that is a LOT. Today I have 21 lbs of fat on my body, even 2 years later after finishing the hCG protocol. That’s almost 40 lbs of actual fat, proven by hydrostatic testing that I not only lost, but that I continue to keep off. This fat loss was achieved solely with prescription hCG injections.

Now, just to be clear, I CAN NOT speak for the amount of fat loss achieved with anything but the injections. I have never used prescription drops, homeopathic drops, or hCG “activator”. Whether these work equally well I just don’t know. The one thing I can be sure of though is the injections, which is why I continue to feel most comfortable recommending this method.

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 3

First of all, hCG CAN and does test positive on pregnancy tests. So what I am about to say below applies ONLY to the current recommended sources for real prescription hCG on my blog. If you are having trouble getting hCG to test positive on a pregnancy test from any other source, I cannot vouch for those companies because I have not investigated them. One thing you should know however is that you cannot buy real hCG – the actual hormone – over the counter- so if you purchase something at GNA or Walmart, etc., you are not purchasing the real hormone. If that is what you intended, great. But I just wanted to clarify that for anyone who wasn’t sure.

This is significant because there are plenty of bottles of hCG out there that aren’t the real hormone, and if the real hormone is what you desired, well then it’s nice to have a way to prove this. So again, the following I’m about to discuss only applies to the 4 companies currently on my blog that I’ve personally interacted with and know to be true hCG.

IF you bought hCG from one of the 4 recommended sources on my blog, and you tested it on a pregnancy and it didn’t come up positive, please read this below:

While hCG CAN register on a pregnancy test, I no longer view it as reliable, and I explain why in detail with a very good example here:

https://hcgchica.com/an-important-message-to-my-readers-about-real-prescription-hcg/

To give you another quick example of how hCG is quite frequently improperly tested, check out this facebook comment:

“I found a pregnancy test and decided to test mine. It was the pee on kind. Knowing a days worth of injection wouldn’t be enough I broke it open. I put the injection on the tablet and put it back together. Nothing changed. So I put the end under the faucet and put water on it to move everything forward and the lines lit up. So mine is positive.”

If she had stopped at her first efforts, she would have thought her hCG was negative. This happens all the time you guys. It’s easier these days to just make sure to purchase hCG from a qualified source since the pregnancy testing is really just proving to be unreliable.

The sources that are on my blog are real prescription hCG, I have made sure of this- I do not recommend any company on my buy hCG page without fully communicating with them first. This is extremely important to me because I do not believe hCG is a placebo, and I would only use the real thing on myself, so I have made sure these sources are real. The sources in the U.S. – Nu Image, US hCG, and Advance hCG, all use the same compounding pharmacies that any weight loss clinic uses to make and dispense the prescription hCG.

To feel completely secure, 2 of the sources on my site I have actually met with in person and visited some of the pharmacies they use where the actual hCG is produced now (because I really do care about you guys and that you see the proof too!) You can see highlights of on of my trips below. The pharmacies I visited in person were for Nu Image and US hCG Shots.

https://hcgchica.com/my-personal-visit-to-a-pharmacy-that-produces-hcg-for-hcg-injections-online/

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 0

I can tell you one thing that is a fact.

One type of fertility treatment given at fertility clinics is a large dose of hCG– usually 5000iu in one shot- to aid the ability of getting pregnant.  I know because a dear friend of mine did this in her quest to have a baby.  She does have a little 2 year old too now btw.  I’m not saying the hCG diet will help you get pregnant, because that I don’t know- the hCG taken while on the diet is a very tiny amount compared to the large doses given in fertility treatments.  But the other weird thing I have seen that seems to happen a little too frequently to be chance is women, especially women who had trouble getting pregnant for years, suddenly becoming pregnant either while on, or after, the hCG Diet.

I’m not joking about that.  I’m not saying it factually will help pregnancy, but I highly doubt it would hinder it considering the above.

Hope that helps!

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 4

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 30

Unless you are a professional athlete (where hCG might be used to enhance performance in some way and wouldn’t be allowed), drug screenings for employment and such will never test for hCG because hCG is not a narcotic or recreational drug​. So you’re safe! Unless you’re a professional athlete….which if you’re here at my blog, you probably aren’t. :)-

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 1

I don’t feel that there is enough information to be dogmatic about this topic, so I will share just a few key points to think about to help you make your own personal decision regarding this. We’ll discuss why hCG Injections are the best form to use for the hCG Diet, the case against rx hCG Drops, but why I personally do not dismiss rx hCG Drops entirely despite this.

The final deciding factor for me is:

How sure do you want to be?

I figure I only have one body (count it, 1, uno), so I’m going to do what I can be positive of will produce the results I desire. I don’t have another body, nor the time, mental or emotional strength to risk screwing it up and re-doing it (not that I’ve never screwed up on hCG, but you know what I mean!)

hCG Injections- Why I feel they are a superior form of hCG Delivery

The nice thing about hCG injections and the reason I personally stick with them is:

• You can be 100% sure that you getting the exact therapeutic dose of hCG that you are supposed to get- there is no room for lost hCG due to not holding it under your tongue long enough or swallowing too much of it where it’s simply destroyed by stomach acids. I want to be SURE.
• You don’t have to be concerned about the size of the hCG particles, etc. because you are injecting the hormone, therefore it WILL be in your bloodstream, in the proper amount, doing what it’s supposed to do with no questions. Even those who claim hCG doesn’t work won’t deny that hCG IS a hormone and that you can inject it and then see measurable hCG hormone levels in the blood. I want to be SURE.
• All the hydrostatic and DEXA scan body fat testing that has been done on hCG dieters (that I’ve seen anyway) that shows a higher percentage of fat loss has been on those using hCG injections. I want to be SURE.

The Case Against Rx Drops/Sublingual hCG

Some of the articles online have stated that the hCG particles themselve are too large to be taken sublingually- that the hCG cannot be absorbed by the oral mucosa, thus is not a reliable method of hCG delivery. This could mean you may find yourself doing the hCG diet without any real hCG present in your system, which obviously is something you wouldn’t want, since hCG really isn’t a placebo.

Articles worth reading related to this are here:

http://deepdownwellness.com/ddw/?p=354 In his article, one important thing he states is that, “There are no published reports that have been able to demonstrate a measurable amount of HCG in a person’s blood when given in either oral or sublingual forms.

Www.hcgobesity.org contains information regarding a double blind study that D. Belluscio did using oral hCG. He actually claims based on the results that the oral hCG was effective, however, it was also noted that, “on treatment days 0, 15 and 30 we have tested all volunteers, screening for the presence of plasmatic b-hCG. Concentrations were undetectable in all cases (data not shown).” So basically, no hCG was actually detected in the subject’s bloodstream while taking sublingual hCG. So no hCG was found in the subjects, therefore, the patients didn’t absorb any of the hCG right?

For those who do believe in the use and effectiveness of oral hCG, it IS definitely known with surety that not nearly as much hCG is absorbed by the body (if at all) by this method, thus the reason that you must take 2-3x’s as much hCG in the sublingual form than in the injection form. For instance, I inject 125ius of hCG by injection and feel no hunger. An oral hCG rx drops user must place 332iu’s of hCG per day total in order to experience the same hunger free state. That’s 2.5x’s as much hCG being needed.

Why I Still Can’t Dismiss Oral hCG Completely

Because I’ve seen it work in real people! I may not have all the scientific proof to back up a statement that, “yes, oral hCG works”, and maybe there is “proof” that “oral hCG cannot be absorbed.” But you know what? I have also seen supposed “proof” that hCG doesn’t work at all for weightloss. And yet I have my own concrete proof that hCG does work for weightloss, and there is no medical document, study, or person with Phd or Md at the end his/her name who could ever convince me otherwise- because I have experienced and proved through reliable testing that I have lost a huge amount of fat through the use of the hCG hormone- almost 40lbs worth now in fact. Of FAT. 40 lbs of FAT. Moving on…..

Why you can’t always trust supposed “proof”

It can be difficult to read through all the material online claiming A and B is proof of X and Y. Why? Because there are so many factors that go into making a piece of information true proof, and there may easily be things that were glossed over, or not mentioned, or not considered, etc.

So yes I’ve read the hCG particle are too large to absorb- but what do I then do with the many people I’ve actually SEEN lose weight well while using oral hCG, feel not hungry, keep the weight off, and they look fantastic (ie. it’s obvious they didn’t starve away mostly muscle by seeing how well balanced the form of their body looks). Our eyes often can tell us the truth about a matter, whereas the written word can be twisted by others to deceive us to meet someone else’s ends.

Real results/real people has merit

In the end I find myself most often taking real-world real-people results over supposed “medical facts.”

This is not to say that I don’t believe in proof. Certainly not- but it has to be REAL proof. For instance, when I have my body fat tested hydrostatically before and after doing the hCG diet, and it shows that I lost 80% fat, to me that is true proof of something. Would I have lost that much fat had I not been using the hCG hormone? I’m almost 100% sure not. But then again, I’ve never tried to live on 500 calories without hCG and then had my body fat tested either. I suppose that would be the ultimate proof.

100% Sure = hCGChica Uses Only hCG Injections

All this said, I personally choose to stick with hCG Injections. Why? Because I want to be sure of my results. Like I said in the beginning, I only have 1 body folks! I don’t want to mess with chances that are too high. It is known that hCG is definitely not absorbed as well orally and that is why double the amount, sometimes triple the amount of hCG has to be taken when used in sublingual form because IF the hCG gets absorbed, it’s only a small fraction. Everyone in the hCG community acknowledges this. I don’t like to put that much to chance when my body, my health, and my resulting capabilities in life are on the line.

I was afraid of injections when I first considered doing the hCG diet plan too. I had no intention of doing them. But guess what? It turns out they didn’t hurt at all! I promise. It’s more of a mental thing than anything else.

For those who just can’t get past the injection issue, you are a free agent- you should be able to do whatever you want on this topic without judgment.

Here’s what other hCGers have to say about hCG Injections VS Drops:

Watch Bonnie’s Full Interview here

Watch Casey’s Full Interview here

Watch Lisa’s Full Interview here

Watch Denise’s Full Interview here

Watch Heather’s Full Interview here

Watch Pamela’s Full Interview here

Watch Teresa’s Full Interview here

Watch Helen’s Full Interview here

Watch Lynette’s Full Interview here

Watch Patti’s Full Interview here

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 19

I can’t be SURE how things will turn out, but this is the recent experience of an hCGer who wrote in to me about this.

She was on Phase 2 using hCG injections and wondered how TSA would view all this. Here’s her response:

“No problems with TSA.  Syringes in carrying bag.  My hCG vial was inside a prescription bottle with a label on it.  I put it the bin so they could see it.  No issues.”

So she was able to bring both her hCG in it’s prescription bottle, along with her injection needles/syringes themselves, on board the plane. Whether this will always be the case I’m not sure and I don’t know how much a role the prescription being clearly on the bottle makes a difference – I think it may – which means that if you’re going to be traveling you probably want to make sure that you have hCG from a U.S. source that will have the prescription on the bottle. If you had hCG from overseas, which does not have a prescription label on it, the outcome could be different.

I think the reason this worked out for her is because no doubt there are many diabetics who must take insulin shots and they have to be able to have these on the plane- these are the exact same syringes used for hCG.

Hope this helps!

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 4

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 2

This is the very question I wondered to myself when I first started researching Hcg. What I can tell you is this. I have had my bodyfat tested before and after all 4 rounds of Hcg that I have done. I too am very concerned with losing fat, not muscle, and (thankfully), I have found Hcg to do what it’s supposed to do.  If it didn’t I would not only no longer recommend it, I certainly wouldn’t be doing the diet myself anymore.

My Proof: After Round 3, my hydrostatic body fat test showed that 77% of my weightloss was fat. This equates to 16.51 pounds out of 21.2 lbs total being fat. Round 4 my Dexa scan showed that 88% of the weight I lost was fat. This equates to 5.89 pounds of fat, and .79 lbs of muscle out of the 6.68 lbs lost total that round. Not only this, but I easily regained the small amount of muscle I lost in a very short time with Crossfit.  If Hcg were truly a starvation diet as many claim, the proof of my high percentage of fat loss on the diet would not be possible.

However, after my very first round of the Hcg diet,  I did have a lot of muscle loss.  My hydrostatic test results showed that only 34% of my weightloss was fat.  That equates to only 8.73 lbs of fat out of 25 lbs total lost, the other 16.27 lbs being muscle.  Yikes!  Why the difference???  Don’t let this scare you away- let’s just address it in the next question…

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 6

I have lost both 88% fat and 34% fat on the Hcg diet, as I noted in the question above.  This will be a bit of a long answer because there are few things to consider that I need to share with you.   The only time I experienced what I would call a high level of muscle loss was on my 1st Round of Hcg.  All subsequent rounds of Hcg (all 4 of them) I have had a high percentage of fat loss that I’ll venture to say is impossible to beat on any other diet, in the time frame that Hcg accomplishes it.  But why the difference?

First of all, I have to give you my real-world experience of maintaining my weight loss after Round 1.  I had no problem- really.  It was so easy.  I easily maintained my weightloss, despite losing so much muscle, during the following 3 months until I started Round 2 of Hcg.  This was very surprising to me, because usually this much muscle loss would seemingly create a rebound of fast weight gain due to “slowed metabolism” and the body’s need to recover all that muscle.  I ate lots of healthy high fat, low carb food, didn’t count calories, and was eating way more than the oft quoted “1200 calories” that many feel they must eat to maintain their weightloss.

This leads me to believe that Hcg DOES prevent the loss of necessary muscle.  You see, when you are overweight, not all of your weight gain is fat.  Your body will naturally acquire some muscle along with the fat gain, in order to help your body carry that extra fat your frame is carrying around so you can still sit down, stand up, walk around, etc.  If you are severely overweight you will have a lot of extra muscle that another person of your height, who is not overweight, won’t have.  Example/Proof: I am 5’1″. A normal weight range for my height and frame size is anywhere between 106-118 pounds according to this life insurance chart.  When I first started Hcg I weighed 171 pounds and had 112 pounds of muscle.  So, if I had kept ALL my muscle through my weightloss journey, and got to a normal weight of, let’s be generous and use the high end of 118 pounds, that would mean that at 118 pounds, only 6 pounds of me was fat (since 112 pounds of me is muscle).  This would then mean that my bodyfat percent would be 5.1%.  According to the ACE bodyfat percentage chart, this would mean that I was near death- that is not enough fat for my body to carry out it’s important natural processes to keep me alive and healthy.  While there is varying information out there on what constitutes the minimum essential fat for women, one thing they all agree on is that 5% is far too low.  The very lowest body fat percent for a woman that I’ve seen any organization mention while still maintaining proper health is 8%, and most organizations put minimum bodyfat percent for women between 10-13%.  And this is just for what’s considered essential fat.  Very few women attain that low of a body fat percent, and most women who are fit and healthy will have a body fat percent anywhere from 18-25%.  Here is an excellent post on body fat percent by Builtlean.  If we were to take it a step farther and say I was at the low end of a healthy weight for my height on that weight chart, at 106 pounds, that would mean I would have more muscle than my actual scale weight, which is physically not possible of course, so I would be dead lol.

Soooo, while yeah at first I freaked out when I realized I’d lost so much muscle the 1st round, after research and a look at the facts, I realized in order to be a normal weight on the scale for my height, and to have a normal amount of muscle mass for a person of my height, I would actually need to lose some muscle, as you can see from my explanation above.  The fact that my body stabilized and kept the weight off so easily only confirms that it was the natural course of events for my body.  As I continued to lose more weight with the Hcg Diet, my fat loss percentage was much higher, as I now had closer to the normal range of muscle for someone of my height.

The takeaway point here is that I believe after seeing the proof from my body fat testing, that Hcg will cause you to lose weight in the proper way and in the proper proportions to lead you to the most balanced look for your height and health.  If you have taken any time yet to look at before and after photos of people who have finished losing weight with Hcg, you will probably be struck, as I was, at how well proportioned the individuals are.  To be honest, for me anyway, this is far better proof than any statistical information.  It was viewing the myriads of before and after Hcg photos and me thinking time and time again ‘man she looks great!’ that made me feel more confident to try the Hcg protocol out.

This all said, lets discuss one more question on this topic of Hcg and muscle loss…..

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 9

With everything said about normal body fat percents, normal scale weights, and normal amounts of muscle mass for a given height, etc etc etc that I talked about in the last question, it’s still important for me to mention a few things that could possibly cause you to lose more muscle than is necessary on the Hcg diet.

You see, not too many people have their body fat tested on the Hcg Diet. In fact, as of this moment, I don’t know any woman who has taken before and after body fat tests through Hydrostatic or DEXA Scan means for multiple rounds of Hcg as I have (if you’re out there, please email me!  I want to hear your results!) So I really only have mostly myself to go off of.  I do know that the few woman who are having their body fat tested (or are using the Handheld Omron Body Fat Monitor- read this if you want to know if this monitor is accurate) seem to have similar fat loss results as I’ve had in my later rounds- ie. 70-90% fat loss- which is fantastic.

So while in theory after looking at my statistical information regarding how my body most likely had to lose some muscle at the beginning, I still can’t be sure that some of it wasn’t preventable.  The reason for this is because I deviated from Dr. Simeons original protocol in an uniformed way the first time I did Hcg.  I drank Diet Coke almost every day.  I had what’s called “Chocolate Delight” everyday, which incorporatees the use of Coconut Oil, which if Dr. Simeons were still alive, would have been a no-no to him because all oils and fats on the diet are strictly prohibited under the original diet plan.  It appears that the Hcg hormone makes fats, for lack of a better word, volatile, whether it’s going in or coming out of your body.  Anyone who has done the Hcg protocol and cheated while on the diet is very well aware how much more rapidly one gains not just weight, but fat, than if they had eaten the same foods off of Hcg (insert memory of my porkchop cheat…sigh).  I wish we knew more specifically just what’s happening inside the body with Hcg and fat- it appears to pretty vague still- all we see are the results that it produces.

It’s important that if you are going to make any alterations to the original Hcg diet as written, that you do it in an informed way.  I do think it’s very possibly that inadvertent muscle loss could be caused by some of the deviations that many have made on Hcg, myself included.  Some have tried including fats in the Hcg diet.  What’s known as egg days (eating 6 eggs for the  whole day), modified fat fast days (1200 calories for the day, 75-90% fat content).  I can’t be sure of this, but it’s possible that days like these are actually causing excess muscle loss.  I’m not saying this 100% for sure causes extra muscle loss, I’m just saying, if you choose to make modifications to the diet, be cautious about it.  The reason I am leery myself of including fats while on the Hcg diet is because while using my Omron Handheld Body Fat Monitor daily I found when I tried these modified days- the egg day and the fat fast day, I would lose weight on the scale the following day perhaps by a pound or pound and a half, however my body fat monitor would show that my fat had actually increased by 1-2 pounds!  Obviously this is not enough to prove anything, but it’s enough to give cause for pause.  Further research really needs to be done in these areas to see if it was just a fluke, or if taking in fats on Hcg can cause problems.

My advice is, if you are embarking on your first round of Hcg especially, try to follow the original protocol to be on the safe side.  I really do believe Hcg will do the right thing by your body if you don’t transgress some of the main rules of the diet, one of which is avoiding fats and oils.  That said, I have made modifications to the protocol myself since then and still had a high level of fat loss- this is what I call making informed decisions on the diet- and I will share these with you in another section.  Is it possible that fats don’t cause extra muscle loss on Hcg? Certainly.  The question is, are you in the position to be the one to be the “experiment” or do you need to just safely lose as much FAT as possible so you can be healthy and happy soon?  If you are ready to make yourself a living experiment, by all means do so!  Collect before and after body fat testing and share your results with me!  But the point is, don’t just throw in fat fast days or egg days because your bored or the diet feels hard.  You could be harming yourself on the diet if you do this haphazardly.  Hcg is meant to be used short-term to achieve some amazing fat loss results, so that you can move on with your life afterwards armed with your new, healthier eating habits and be in a better place with your body for the long haul.

As with most things I’ve said, there’s an aside here, and that is that I have personally made quite a few changes to the original protocol on several of my rounds, while monitoring my body fat percent and fat loss vs. muscle loss via the Handheld Body Fat Monitor (see my post on this here), and have continued to experience a high percentage of fat loss.  I will discuss those changes in another section.

Permalink. Mark as helpful. 5