HCG Diet Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What is HCG?

A.  HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, which is a hormone produced during pregnancy initially in the embryo and later by the placenta. It is safe for both men and women and is routinely used in men to help increase testosterone levels.

Q. How long has the HCG diet been around?

A. In the 1950s, an English physician named A.T.W. Simeons started using HCG as a weight loss aid. His results were remarkable and have been successfully repeated in thousands of people.

Q. How does HCG work?

A. HCG causes the hypothalamus (the master gland in the brain), to take fat cells from all over the body and convert them into fuel. As a result, fat literally melts off your body. The HCG diet cuts down the appetite while helping the body lose fat without losing lean muscle.

Q. What do I have to do?

A. A daily injection of a small amount of HCG with a tiny insulin needle painlessly does the trick. The shot helps decrease your appetite so you can follow the very specific details of the 500-calories-a-day diet. To follow the HCG diet safely and most effectively, it must be administered under the care of a hormone doctor or nurse who specializes in the use of hormones for dieting purposes.

Q. How much weight can I expect to lose each day?

A. You can expect to lose between 0.5lbs and 2lbs of unwanted fat every day. The duration of the diet can be either 22 or 45 days and we have seen weight loss of up to 35lbs. There are numerous case studies of people safely losing 30lbs and 40lbs and some have managed to lose over 60lbs on the HCG diet.

Q. Is the HCG diet safe?

A. Yes, it is a healthy diet that allows you to lose weight fast. At RestoreMD, when a patient comes in for the HCG diet, our bioidentical hormone doctors take a complete history and do a comprehensive evaluation with biomarkers and blood tests. We also go a few steps further by balancing their hormones, using bioidentical hormones,  including thyroid and adrenals prior to starting the HCG diet.

Q. What commitment should I expect?

A. This diet requires serious and total commitment. The HCG Diet is not for everyone. It comes with strict instructions and demands and you have to follow the instructions to the letter! The results are worth the commitment – but only you can decide if you are dedicated enough to participate.

Q. I keep hearing so much about how staying on such a low calorie diet is dangerous and difficult.

A. It’s difficult to stay on a 500-calorie-a-day diet and without HCG it is nearly impossible. The HCG diet plan protects you from losing muscle mass and being constantly hungry. If the body is only receiving 500 calories of food fuel a day, it turns to the fat stores for fuel. The body makes up the calorie deficit by burning its own fat, which is up to 2,000 to 2,500 calories of fat which translates into 0.5lbs to 2lbs of weight loss per day.

Q. What about the weight gain when the diet is over?

A. Most unsupervised fad diets lead to weight gain when stopped. At RestoreMD, when you finish the HCG diet, our bioidentical hormone doctors introduce you to our own Hormone Friendly Diet. This diet really works! It becomes a way of life helping you to keep the weight off permanently.

Q. What about all the internet HCG diets?

A. Do not follow any diet plan off the internet that offers tips on how to lose weight without professional supervision and never take HCG in drops as they won’t work.

To learn more about the benefits of the HCG diet watch this short video by RestoreMD's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Erika Schwartz.  Dr. Schwartz is an expert on the HCG Diet and has been using it with patients at her practice for many years with great results.

To assess your symptoms and to learn more about how the HCG Diet, bioidentical hormones and other safe and effective tools of Age Management medicine can lead to hormonal balance and weight loss, contact a certified RestoreMD bioidentical hormone doctor in your area.