If you are considering starting an HCG diet plan for weight loss, you might be curious how it accomplishes such drastic and successful weight loss. The HCG diet is different from many other diets because it uses a hormone that is naturally produced by the human body. It should be done in collaboration with a physician or a trained provider. While it may be a difficult plan to follow it is worth the effort to achieve long term weight loss.
What Is HCG?
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) may sound familiar to you if you’ve ever been pregnant. HCG is the hormone that pregnant women produce and is used to verify pregnancy in both home pregnancy tests and lab pregnancy tests. This natural hormone does several things in your body other than indicate pregnancy, however, and therefore can be used to support a weight loss goal. HCG can suppress your appetite and also cause hormonal changes within the body that encourage the burning of stored fats for fuel instead of sugar or muscle. Due to the profound effects HCG can have on the body, it is only available through a prescriber. If you are interested in trying the HCG diet for weight loss, make sure to contact your health professional.
How Does the HCG Diet Work?
The HCG diet plan is two-pronged, one of dietary changes and one of HCG injections. The diet changes include a significant calorie restriction for a certain number of days. This calorie restriction is what allows your body to use stored fat as fuel and melt the weight off.
The second part of the HCG diet is supplemental HCG. The HCG injections are important because they cause your body to protect the muscle you have by preferentially burning fat.
When you do a calorie-restricted diet on your own, the body starts by burning some muscle stores for quick fuel instead of fat. This is why the HCG diet is unique and beneficial. You will protect your muscles from day one.
Muscles are important for maintaining a healthy metabolism and allowing for weight maintenance once a diet is over. If you are following another plan that results in quick weight loss through muscle loss you will find yourself worse off once the diet is over due to a slower resting metabolism. In a trial comparing HCG diet to placebo, participants lost more fat. They preserved more muscle, meaning their resting metabolism stayed higher and allowed them to maintain weight loss even after the diet ended.
While on the HCG diet you will want to avoid any added fats to your diet. This means that you will good your meats and vegetables without any oils or butter. Avoiding dietary fat is important to make sure your body uses stored fat for energy.
The weight loss achieved through the HCG diet is quick but definitely not easy. If you are suffering from weight-related issues such as pre-diabetes and high blood pressure, consider asking your doctor if the HCG diet might be good for you.
