Contents:
- Medical Video: Migos & Marshmello - Danger (from Bright: The Album) [Official Video]
- What is the HCG diet?
- How do you take the HCG diet?
- Is the HCG diet effective for weight loss?
- What are the risks of undergoing an HCG diet?
Medical Video: Migos & Marshmello - Danger (from Bright: The Album) [Official Video]
The HCG diet was first designed and applied starting in the 1950s. This diet is popular because it claims to be able to lose weight in large quantities in just a short time. However, did you know that the HCG diet is considered illegal by the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States? Indeed, what are the risks of taking an hCG diet?
What is the HCG diet?
The HCG diet is an extreme diet that claims to be able to lose weight fast, even up to 1 kilogram per day. This diet is also reported to not make you hungry, even though you eat foods that are very low in calories (only about 500 calories per day).
The HCG diet is believed to be able to regulate the body's metabolism so that you can burn fat faster without feeling hungry or thirsty. In addition, this diet also claims that it will not eliminate muscle mass like other popular diet methods.
This not easily hungry effect is obtained from the use of synthetic HCG hormone. HCG stands for Chorionic Gonadotropin Hormone, a special hormone produced by a woman's body in early pregnancy. In its purest form, HCG plays a role in regulating the production of other hormones such as progesterone and estrogen in the body of pregnant women to support the fetal growth process.
Now hCG hormone products have been sold in various forms, some in the form of sprays, drops in the mouth, tablets, until injections.
How do you take the HCG diet?
There are 3 stages that you need to do during the hCG diet program, namely:
Loading phase: start using HCG via the stomach while eating foods high in fat and high in calories for the first 2 days.
Weight loss phase: continue to use HCG and consume only 500 calories per day for 3 to 6 weeks
Maintenance phase: stop using HCG, slowly increase your food intake again but avoid sugar and carbohydrates for 3 weeks.
Moment stage weight loss phase, it is recommended to consume only two main meals per day, namely day and night.
In each of these foods must contain 1 serving of foods high in protein, vegetables, several pieces of bread or substitute, and fruit. Also consume lots of water.
Is the HCG diet effective for weight loss?
So far, the effectiveness of the HCG diet for weight loss has not been proven. Reporting from Everyday Health page, Liz Weinandy RD, a nutritionist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, stated that even though the weight dropped rapidly, this effect was not due to HCG injections.
A study even revealed that when two groups were injected with the hormone HCG and placebo (empty drug) while being asked to go on a low-calorie diet, their weight loss was not much different.
Such extreme weight losscaused by very low calorie intake, only 500 calories every day.A low-calorie diet forces your body to be in "starvation mode" because of little food consumption. Hunger mode can occur when the body does not receive enough calories in the long run.
The body that reads the signal hungry but does not get food will begin to save energy by reducing the number of calories burned. This is the body's natural mechanism to protect you from starvation.
This self-protection mechanism causes the body to burn energy from the muscles, so that your muscle mass and body weight decrease. As a result, your metabolism also slows down. Just like a general low-calorie diet, your body weight will rise again as soon as you start eating as usual.
What are the risks of undergoing an HCG diet?
This diet is not recommended not because many of its claims have not been scientifically proven. This extreme weight loss is actually a dangerous effect in the long run.
The use of synthetic HCG hormone for weight loss is not approved by the FDA in the United States. The synthetic version of the HCG hormone is only specifically intended for hormone therapy in fertility problems and certain other medical conditions. HCG as a hormone therapy must be given by prescription and its use is closely monitored by a team of related doctors.
Moreover, HCG products sold on the market do not have a definite dosage rule regulated by the drug and food regulatory agency. So, the effectiveness and safety are still in doubt.
In addition, this extreme low calorie diet method can have a negative impact on the body, including:
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Restless
- Edema (fluid buildup)
- Malnutrition
- Fluid imbalance
In order to get and maintain an ideal body weight, it is better to be achieved by exercising and eating healthy food.
