HCG diet is a programme designed for rapid weight loss in a person. According to the information published on this diet plan, a person can lose between one to two pounds each day. In medical terminology HCG means human chorionic gonadotropin. This hormone is found both in men and women. However, the quantity is far higher in case of the pregnant woman. This hormone increases metabolism of the pregnant woman enabling her to extract essential nutrients from the food she eats and necessary for her in pregnancy and also for her developing child.
For this programme a very low calorie diet is given to the person who intends to lose weight. Along with diet, hCG is given in the form of oral pills or is injected into the body on a daily basis. Since with an injection a day the weight loss is quite fast, it is necessary that the injection should be administered by an expert and the dieting process should also be continued under the direct supervision of a doctor.
The calorie intake in the daily diet should be restricted to 500. Increased weight loss can be seen in case a person consumes vegetables and salads with each meal. Sufficient quantity of fibre and water should be taken. According to medical experts, by limiting calorie intake to this extent, fat from around the tissues is released into blood which is filtered out and excreted by the body through kidneys.
During the early period of this diet plan the person on diet may feel hungry but slowly his body will get used to it and metabolism will increase and fat eliminated fast. To increase metabolism even further yogic exercises are recommended.
The small dosage of hCG does not have many side effects. For infertility treatment a much higher dose of this hormone is injected which does result in headache and symptoms of pregnancy. Doctors suggest that the dieters should not expect to have a significant side effect, which should be a cause of worry.
This hormone is found in both men and women as such it is safe for men also to go in for weight loss programme using this therapy and it works equally on both men and women. Men should also not expect any side effects from injection of this hormone as it is already present in their body. Researchers say that men are likely to lose weight faster as compared to women as they require more calories per day and have a tendency to metabolise nutrients faster than women. This is a natural phenomenon.
As intake of calories is drastically cut and limited to maximum 500 per day, the brain may be effected to some extent due to lack of proper nutrition. The calorie intake being too low may be a cause of fatigue, headache etc.
