HCG Diet and Weight Loss

By WLR's Site Manager, Laurence Beeken

The hCG diet is an extreme very low calorie diet (VLCD) which promises easy and rapid weight loss in return for very little effort. Based on a restriction of 500 calories a day and supplemented with hCG hormone which is either injected or taken orally.

How Does the HCG Diet Weight Loss Work?

When following the hCG diet plan, the theory is that the low calorie diet allows you to start losing weight, while the hCG injections or hCG drops reduce your appetite and make sure you’re burning fat rather than muscle.

One of the popular hCG diets is Dr Simeons hCG Diet (from his book Pounds and Inches, a New Approach to Obesity) which is based on daily injections of the hCG hormone plus a VLCD of 500 calories.

Read More about the pros and cons of the hCG Diet

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How Do You Take the HCG Hormone?

People wanting to lose weight with the hCG diet take the hormone either by injection or by placing hCG drops under the tongue. The drops are a homeopathic imitation and may, depending on the supplier, contain very little, if any, of the hormone.

How Do I Follow the HCG Diet?

Each variation of the diet has a slightly different take on how to administer the hCG drops or injections. There’s even variation between the different websites offering the same drops!

While taking the hormone, you also stick to a VLCD of around 500 calories a day.

Generally, there are three major phases in the hCG diet weight loss plan:

• loading
• maintenance
• stabilization

Every phase in the hCG diet plan lasts for a set number of days.

• The loading phase lasts for 2-3 days
• Maintenance and stabilization phases lasts for 20-21 days each.
• The whole plan is 40-43 days.

The HCG Loading Phase

The initial couple of days of the hCG weight loss diet is called Loading Phase. During this time, you have to eat as much food as you can in order to prepare the body for the low calorie phases. “Force feeding” and “gorging” are typical terms used to describe this initial eating pattern.

The HCG Maintenance Phase

Maintenance Phase is a minimum of 21 days but can be extended to 40 days depending on your goal weight. During this phase, you are introduced to the VLCD.

For 3 weeks, you eat 500 calories per day combined with the hCG hormone/drops.

The HCG Stabilization Phase 

The Stabilization Phase is the final phase where you can stop the hormone treatment and adopt a calorie controlled diet.

What is the HCG Diet Food Plan for a Typical Day?

Of the little food you can eat on the hCG diet, it's supposed to be high in protein and low in starches, carbohydrates and high-fat foods. Dairy, sugar and alcohol are forbidden depending on the plan being followed.

Like many other fad diets, different hCG Diet authors recommend slightly different approaches, and each has a slightly differing list of allowed/banned foods. Depending which hCG diet you follow, food can also consist of unprocessed meat and vegetables with no carbs; so not only is it VLCD it can also be a low carb diet.

For example, Dr. Simeons’ hCG Diet emphasizes vegetables and proteins. There are no sugars, added fats or processed food permitted on his diet. Sweetcorn, peas, grapes and bananas are not allowed as they are higher in fat. When cooking, no additional fat or oil may be used, although seasonings such as herbs and spices as well as vinegar, salt and pepper are allowed. (Interestingly, he also insists on no medicines, and no makeup except lipstick, eyebrow pencil and powder!)

Some hCG providers recommend that patients cut carbohydrate out of their diet entirely; Dr. Jaison Golojuh’s plan for example allows two fruits per day, in addition to two servings of vegetables and two of meat. Also added to his diet are vitamin supplements and cleansing drops.

What Can I Eat on the HCG Diet?

Dr Simeons recommends:

• lean meat (fish, turkey, chicken, beef)
• celery
• asparagus
• spinach
• tomatoes
• onions
• strawberries
• grapefruit
• oranges
• apples
• tea, coffee, water

What Can’t I Eat on the HCG Diet?

• Depending on the diet being followed, often the banned list is anything not on the ‘permitted’ list.
• Sugary foods, ready meals and also processed foods.
• Anything containing artificial sweeteners, corn sugars, high-fructose corn syrup and malt syrup.
• A reduction of eggs is recommended.
• Fatty fish such as tuna, salmon and herring.

Sample Diet Plan

(Dr. Simeons’ approach)

Breakfast

• Tea and Coffee
• Stevia (sweetener)

Lunch

• 100g meat or fish, all fat removed. Cooked without added oil or fat.
• 2 cups (16oz) spinach
• 1 breadstick
• 1 apple

Dinner

• 100g meat or fish, all fat removed. Cooked without added oil or fat.
• 2 cups (16oz) celery
• 1 piece melba toast
• 1 orange

Do I Need to Exercise?

Exercise isn’t recommended on the HCG diet, in fact, it is discouraged. It’s questionable whether many people surviving on 500 calories a day would have the energy to exercise. 

WLR Verdict

When following a VLCD you should be under the supervision of a medically qualified professional. It is a concern that when following the hCG diet, weight loss, especially in conjunction with the hCG injections, is not monitored.

Many diets fail because they are too difficult to live with. Because the hCG Diet restricts certain foods it could leave you feeling deprived - which often leads to rebellion and overeating. Unlike the hCG Diet, Weight Loss Resources is not a diet, but rather a set of tools to enable you to make gradual changes to your eating habits. Having real awareness about the things you eat and drink each day enables you to start losing weight by making relatively small changes that suit your tastes and your lifestyle.