The HCG Breakdown

Now, I'm not a doctor. I'm a patient at a very nice, popular weight loss/pain management clinic in OKC. I've had amazing results from this diet. But HCG isn't for everyone. It's really hard and really easy all at once. 

You start by realizing you need to lose weight. I recommend HCG for those that need to lose 30-75 pounds. Less or more, and you need to consider other options. Less, because it's just too expensive to waste your money on. And for 100+ pounds, you need to do more than just drop some pounds. You need to make serious lifestyle changes.

Then you make an appointment at a HCG clinic. They will walk you through the costs. My clinic does monthly payments, which is nice. Then you'll normally have some bloodwork and an EKG. And then you will learn all about the HCG Protocol.

The Protocol is simple. You are given a vial of prescription HCG (not the drops, which are fake), some clinics give you a handbook and a diet log, too. Mine even gave me vitamins and syringes. Once daily, preferably in the  morning, you will take a shot in the stomach. YES, you have to give it to yourself. YES it has to be in the belly. No, it doesn't hurt. Trust me. I've taken 60 of these injections. If you do it right, you don't even feel it. 

Once you take the shot, then you go about your day. That's it! No exercise required. All you have to do is follow the 500 calorie diet. Now, this is where people really get bent out of shape. "500 calories? That's like nothing!" Well, the HCG curbs your appetite. It makes your stomach shrink, so 500 calories is actually plenty. The hormone allows your body to run on stored fat instead of food intake. You can lose 1-3 pounds a day! The list of allowed foods isn't large, and you have to get creative about it all. NO CARBS! Only certain proteins, veggies and fruits. No pork, no bananas, no diet sodas, no salad dressings. (Unless you refer to my Walden Farms entry earlier.) It might sound hard but it works.

The diet is normally either 23 or 43 days. So this doesn't take long and you get results right away. I lost 5 pants sizes. 

My mother was so proud of me, and was showing my before/after pictures to all her office employees. One lady, a "runner", asked how I did it, and mom said "She did the HCG diet!" The runner woman looked appalled. "That diet is BAD!" But she didn't seem to know why. It's like people that say high-fructose corn syrup is bad but can't exactly explain it. And I have nothing against runners, I used to be one and I am trying to work back into it. But it's so easy to criticize someone's diet when YOU only weigh 88 pounds soaking wet. If you're a twig, DON'T presume to tell me what I should or shouldn't do to lose weight. You're not Richard Simmons. 

Every now and again, I meet someone that will give me grief about this. They will try to dig up something about it being unhealthy. They mostly dig up bad news on the "fake" HCG. Now, let me tell you about the "fake" HCG. The drops. The mouth spray. If you have ever bought these, you might as well have lit money on fire. It's all fake. It's been proven that there is absolutely no HCG in those drops. Some even say "homeopathic". It's impossible to have homeopathic HCG. HCG is the pregnancy hormone. I have recently read that the drops have been pulled off the market or are now having to change their labels to reflect the truth about their contents. In other words, they've been lying and got caught. Real HCG can only be gotten from a doctor. I actually found a website that claimed to sell HCG injections cheap, but that scared me. You have no idea what you're really shooting up.

Long and short of it, I recommend this diet. But I also warn people off of it. You have to be dedicated, and I know most of my friends aren't. They would prefer to do Slim Fast, drop 10 pounds and then gain it right back. I want to keep this weight off. And I am. I went from 230 pounds to 160 between February and October of this year. Cool, huh?

And I'm not sickly. I have actually gotten much healthier. My blood sugar is back in check, I can run for an hour on the elliptical machine and I no longer have to feel ashamed when I clothes shop. I'm not saying being big is bad. I just wasn't happy. It's all about how you view yourself. Used to look like a supermodel but got really fat after I had my son. He was over a year old when I realized I was only going up higher and higher. So now I'm back to pre-baby weight. And I couldn't be happier.

If you need to know anything else about HCG diets, Google it or look up a local clinic. In Oklahoma City, I recommend Brooke Clinic. I tried another clinic, but they never returned any of my calls. Brooks knows me the minute I walk through the door. That's a welcoming feeling, always being greeted with a smile.

Tomorrow, I'm changing topics and comparing The Vampire Dairies television show and books. I will also review the first 2 volumes of the books, which includes: The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury, and Dark Reunion. You should enjoy that. It'll be funny.