Does HCG Work Without the Diet?
The HCG Diet is a carefully designed weight loss program that combines a very-low-calorie diet with the use of HCG injections. We specify injectable HCG because the homeopathic drops, pills, sprays, and pellets you find for sale on store shelves or the internet are not the same. Only HCG injections contain real HCG in the strength necessary to facilitate safe and effective weight loss. Does HCG work without the diet? No, HCG is not what causes you to lose the weight – it is only by decreasing your daily caloric intake that you can shed those pounds. HCG enables your body to burn stored fat while on the low-calorie diet.If you do not cut your calories, you will not lose weight. The HCG Diet consists of 4 distinct phases – each with a purpose that is essential for the success of the program. Phases 1 and 2 utilize HCG injections to prep the body for weight loss and then facilitate the burning of the stored fat. In Phase 3 and 4, you no longer use HCG, but your body remains in a higher metabolic state while you increase calories and stabilize at your new lower weight.Does the HCG Diet work without the hormone when you reach Phase 3 – can you continue to lose weight? Yes, many people do continue with their weight loss even though they are no longer using HCG. During Phase 3, you will first increase to 1000 and then 1200 calories per day. As long as you expend more caloric energy than that, you will continue to see a further reduction in weight. Phase 4 is for when you reach your weight loss goal and maintain your trimmer body for the rest of your life.
The HCG diet requires HCG injections and a very-low-calorie diet to facilitate significant and safe weight loss.
What Happens When You Are On a Very Low-Calorie Diet Without Using HCG?
In this section, we want to examine the question – does the HCG Diet work without the HCG.The HCG Diet consists of consuming between 500 and 700 calories per day – no more, no less. However, your body needs a certain amount of “energy” each day. That energy is in the form of nutrients or calories. The amount depends on how active you are. If you sit at a desk working all day, then go home and sit on the couch all night, you do not expend as many calories per day as someone who has an active job and goes to the gym. Therefore, that person needs to consume more calories than you to maintain their current weight. The fewer calories you burn, the less you need to eat. That means you have to reduce your caloric intake significantly to facilitate weight loss.When you decrease calories drastically, your brain fears that you are dealing with a starvation situation. With the concern of no nutrition coming in, the brain forces the body to hold on to its precious fat stores. Since more energy is still needed to support the body’s activities, and the brain will not allow the release of stored fat, that energy pulls from muscle protein structural fat. That is why people on low-calorie diets often complain about losing muscle mass rather than fat.Then, when they go off the diet, they immediately gain back that lost weight – as more fat, not muscle. It is a vicious cycle that never seems to end.Unlike the question, does HCG work without the diet, which is also no, in this scenario, the diet cannot work without HCG because it is the HCG that bypasses the brain’s fears of starvation. HCG “tricks” the brain into thinking you are full even though you are only consuming 500 calories per day. By doing so, your brain then allows for the release of the unhealthy stored visceral fat you have accumulated. Your muscle mass remains, but your unwanted belly fat begins to disappear.
Consuming only 500 calories a day without using HCG injections can be dangerous for your body.
Does HCG Cause You to Lose Weight?
Now we want to focus on the question, does HCG work without the 500-calorie diet. We already told you no, that HCG does not cause weight loss. Only calorie-cutting can accomplish that. What HCG does it allow your body to utilize visceral fat rather than structural fat for the energy your caloric intake does not provide.Prescription HCG injections work on the hypothalamus – the command center of the endocrine system. The hypothalamus measures hormone levels in the bloodstream, sending signals (via hormone release) to the pituitary gland to initiate hormone production crucial to daily life. The hormones released from the pituitary gland help regulate metabolism, thyroid hormones, sex hormones, and other essential chemical messengers that help you function. Growth hormone, thyroid hormones, and testosterone all play a role in metabolism. HCG helps to stimulate the Leydig cells in the testes to produce testosterone. By tricking the hypothalamus into thinking you are not in starvation mode, there is no reason for the body to produce ghrelin, the hunger hormone. Your metabolism improves, and your body can begin to lose weight in correlation to the reduction in calories.As you can see, the answer to both questions – does HCG work without the diet and does the diet work without using HCG is no.
HCG does not cause weight loss – only cutting calories can do that. HCG tricks your brain into releasing stored fat to make up for the decrease in caloric intake.
How Do HCG and a 500 Calorie Diet Work for Weight Loss?
We want to address the subject of homeopathic HCG one last time. Does the HCG Diet work without the drops or pills, or will it work with them? In all situations, the answer is no. Homeopathic, “hormone-free,” or non-prescription HCG are products that are not approved for weight loss. Independent studies have not shown them to be of any added benefit for losing weight. Although some amino acids may help stimulate metabolism, they are not for use with a very low-calorie diet.Together, HCG and a 500-calorie diet can help your body unlock its fat stores for use. Even if you lead a sedentary life, HCG can help you avoid hunger and release unwanted fat for fuel. People who do not regularly exercise can add a nightly walk to help expend increased calories for faster weight loss. What we do not want anyone to do is engage in weight training or cardio exercises during Phase 2 of the HCG Diet. Your body is not taking in enough calories to support high-intensity exercise. Walking, swimming, and yoga are the perfect forms of exercise during Phase 2. Once you increase your calories during Phase 3, you can begin to increase your aerobic activities proportionately.If you have further questions about, does HCG work without the diet, or would like to learn how to begin the official HCG weight loss program, please contact Weight Loss Medical Center for a free telephone consultation.
