HCG diets are special diets that use a mixture of hCG hormone injections and low calorie food, and are designed so that people can quickly and effectively lose weight in a controlled fashion. HCG stands for human chlorionic gonadotropin, a naturally produced hormone that is produced in pregnant women but is also found in lower quantities in both men and women. HCG controls the metabolic functioning throughout the period of pregnancy, and is now also being used as a dietary treatment aid in clinics and homes around the world.
HCG is used in pregnancy to prevent the disintegration of the corpus luteum, and maintain progestorone production that is so crucial in any pregnancy. The HCG that is used in hcg weight loss programs is taken to alter the metabolism of the body, and works alongside an extremely low calorie dietary intake. The hCG used is not exactly the same as the naturally occurring hormone made by pregnant women, and is instead made artificially in laboratory environments.
When it is used as part of a diet program, HCG is taken in much smaller doses than the body produces naturally during pregnancy. It is also taken alongside a controlled food program consisting of no more than 500 calories per day. The inventor of the HCG diet was a man named Dr Simeons, who designed specific food routines and menus choices for people to use throughout the day. While 500 calories is an extremely low number to get by on, by taking HCG hormones people can get by without experiencing the hunger pains that normally occur with such a low calorie intake.
HCG diets can help overweight people to experience better health, by allowing them a controlled and relatively easy method of shedding body fat without so many hunger pains and cravings. However, a hCG diet will not be ideal for everyone, and a controlled exercise and food regime is necessary after the diet program is completed. HCG diets can only be followed for a maximum of 43 days, as people become immune to the effects of the hormone after this time. When this period is complete, it is vital that participants have a program that can maintain a similar level of control and calorie intake to the diet period.