HCG diet fad

I'm having a hard time understanding how the body functions on 500cals.

And honestly, when my wife was pregnant she surely didn't feel "up and peppy" all the time and it's the same hormone...

Same hormone but without the incredibly taxing job of you know, growing a person. 

As a diabetic that has to watch what I eat.. I wonder about this. My wife has a friend on FB doing this however she is eating closer to 800-1000 calories a day.

the thought is that the other calories come from your body burning and consuming your fat.

However as a diabetic I eat a higher protien diet, lower carbs... and no not a LOW CARB diet but lower... Its the only way I can loose weight. We are all warned about Ketoacidosis

As fats are broken down, acids called ketones build up in the blood and urine. In high levels, ketones are poisonous. This condition is known as ketoacidosis.

Acidosis can lead to severe illness or death. Improved therapy for young people with diabetes has decreased the death rate from this condition. However, it remains a significant risk in the elderly, and in people who fall into a coma when treatment has been delayed.

Now I am not a doctor and maybe this can't take place during this But I know what is happening is the fat breaking down and being used as fuel for your body so I would suspect that this has to be going on at some level.

I am curious to see how this girl does around us. But she is loosing it SOOO FAST I am not sure that her skin and stuff can keep up she was easily over 400 and she seems to be loosing 8-12 lbs a week for the last month. And she is NOT working out and she has cheat days etc. So she is not fully doing the 500 calorie thing.

My issues as someone that has lost 64 lbs the hard old way is that it is a lifestyle change in order to maintain this... and that form, Will it teach you about lifestyle change? how do you keep it off after if you go back to doing things you always have.

I read the article in NYTimes, and was struck by this little bit at the end:

"Brown, a theater administrator who is 5-foot-8, said she was thrilled to lose six pounds in seven days, and hopeful about reaching her goal of losing 30, which would bring her close to her ideal weight of 135. She said she did not feel hungry, and did not obsess about food as she had years ago, when suffering from anorexia."

I would posit that a person with a history of Anorexia, who eats 500 calories a day in order to go from slightly overweight to lower end of IBW, is still actively anorexic.  I had a coworker many years ago who had a history of anorexia in her adolescence.  She was very much aware of the risks when she joined an adventure race team I had put together, and was careful not to get caught up in excessive exercise or undereating.

I have to agree.  Everything about this diet sounds like anorexia to me.  One may not be obsessing over food but but you are still starving your body.  Very sad that the person doesn't recognize it and that the article would highlight someone using the diet in that manner. 

Ketosis/lipolysis and ketoacidosis are two completely seperate metabolic processes.  This is a common misunderstanding and I could write a for a while to try and explain it but the bottom line is that the only thing the two have in common is the excess ketones in the urine.

Below is a good article explaining all of the details should you need more information.  You can also google ketosis vs. ketoacidosis and find many other articles as well.

http://barnson.org/node/1773

Being in a "Ketone" state is a very natural and safe process and lends well to managing and stabalizing blood sugar.

HCG orally is a sham.  First it's not HCG and even if it was it is destroyed by the stomach acids and is not absorbed.  The only effective way to get HCG is via a subQ shot.

HCG does have a mechanism that can help with weight loss but if you are only eating 500 calories it's the lack of food, not the HCG that is doing it.  So IMO these HGC diets are utter crap.

The real use of HCG is in men to treat other endocrine issues.  When given in lower doses it will simulate the testes to produce more testosterone in combination or in place of testosterone injections or gels.

 I currently have two female friends doing this.. I"ve tried many times to explain it's just not good for them.  But the do lose weight fast.   then again they are eating 500 calories a day so they are most likely running a 1,000 cal a day defeict.   I don't see how they have the energy they have. 

The only good thing about it is,, they have to make that 500 calories count, so they are only eating chicken/fish and veggies and weighing their food.  the one girl has said when her "phase is over"  there are different phases on this diet, that she wants to get her metabolism tested and keep eating this way,  just more calories. 

I agree, for men with normal T levels this might be a bad idea however for those with lower levels it brings them back to normal. 

I don't know the ins and outs of this diet, but my wife did it and lost a lot of weight fast.  I was surprised she was able to keep her energy, but she did.  Probably placebo effect, but it does work.  Obviously the weight loss was due to the few calories, but I can't figure out how she kept her energy and didn't show signs of increased crankiness.

My thoughts are that it can't be good for "active" people.  My wife wasn't exercising the months before and the time she was on the diet.  she now hits the treadmill and other cardio to maintain.  she looks great and I'm proud of her.

^That!

Hilarious man.  Thanks for the laugh tonight.  I needed that!

Seriously, what are people thinking?

For sure.  I roll my eyes when I hear people singing the praises of HCG.  It was proven to be ineffective back in the 70s when it was first introduced (info via articles from pubmed.org), so 100% of the weight loss is from the diet alone, which is also completely absurd and quite unhealthy. 

Placebos and expectations are very powerful, take it from a neuroscience/psychology grad student...

valley of the dolls....

Yes because you are obviously over weight and unhealthy. You look great in your avatar.