The hCG Diet all began with Dr Simeons.
How did he come up with the idea to use a pregnancy hormone for weight loss?
What does his original protocol involve and what dose of hCG did he use?
We will answer those questions and more in this article.
Dr Simeons and hCG for Weight Loss
In the 1950’s, Dr Simeons, a respected British endocrinologist noticed something remarkable. He was using a hormone known as hCG (human Chorionic Gonadotropin) to treat boys who were suffering from testosterone deficiency. As a result of this deficiency, many of the boys were also overweight.
About 40 years later, Kevin Trudeau became an advocate of the hCG diet and published his controversial book ‘The Weight Loss Cure, What They Don’t Want you to Know’. Unfortunately, the popularity of the book gave rise to a lot of money-making rackets who sold hCG without providing the necessary information and medical support this weight loss plan requires, thus bringing it into disrepute.
Dr Simeons’ Original Diet Protocol
Dr Simeons advocated a phased diet coupled with hCG administered via intramuscular injections. As soon as the hCG treatment begins, so does the diet. An initial ‘Loading’ phase consists of high calorie binge eating that enhances later weight loss during the calorie restricted phase.
After two days of ‘loading’, the subject begins with a strict 500 calorie per day regimen consisting of meat, vegetables and fruits and excludes starch and sugar altogether. This phase continues for 3 – 5 weeks. The details of this phase are shown in the image below:
In phase 3, carbohydrates are added to the meal plan once daily allowing the metabolism to stabilize. The subject is regularly monitored by a physician throughout the process.
During the final phase of the diet, the calories needed to maintain current weight are calculated and tested through the gradual re-introduction of foods. Adherence to healthy eating and whole foods are encouraged.
Purpose of the hCG Diet Protocol
The purpose of this protocol is to ensure that weight loss is optimized by re-setting the metabolism into fat burning mode. At the same time, you reduce your calorie intake ensuring that your body will need to burn rather than store fat. Of course, one can’t continue eating 500 calories a day forever, so the next phase of the diet gives you a chance to increase calories gradually whilst monitoring your weight. In the final phase, your ideal calorie count per day is calculated and tested so that you can be sure that the weight will stay off.
Dose of hCG Used
Has the hCG diet changed over the years?
The original hCG diet made the 500 calorie limit a rule for all individuals in phase 2 and hCG was always administered via injection. Today, there are many variants of the diet. A doctor who is expert in the supervision of the hCG diet may adjust the calorie limit depending on the individual’s specific needs. There are also new ways of administering the hCG hormone: drops and pills can be used instead of injections and there are even very low concentration, homeopathic formulations of hCG available, although the use of these is controversial at best.
In addition, Kevin Trudeau, the man responsible for the resurgence of interest in the hCG diet made several adaptations to the original protocol in order to make up for changes in the modern lifestyle. Your doctor will be able to help you choose the plan and method most suited to you.
