HCG diet is widely used by individuals looking to lose weight. It comes with controversy, but the results have been astounding for many, many women and men who have tried it and succeeded in their persuit of weight loss. Dr Oz was interviewed about this program and gave his opinion, and I found this to be a fairly up front look at this diet program for those looking for basic information.
It is a stringent diet, relying in 500-700 calories a day, (This video explains why this is ok on the HCG diet.) It can be done by receiving daily injections or drops (some controversy which way is more effective). The weight loss can be anywhere from 0.5 lbs-1.5 lbs per day, depending on the individual. It is a diet that is done in 3 phases:
The first phase involves eating large amount of fatty and dense foods. Then you go into Phase 2. You eat very basic meals that include a protein+vergetable, or protein+fruit. You may have 100g per meal of either very lean meat, chicken or non-fatty fish. You are allowed low calorie/low sugar vegetables and unlimited amounds of "neglegeable" vegetables such as cucumber, cabbage, and salad greens, but also some of the more more powerful deep leafy greens are most definitely promoted. Fruit is restricted to certain berries, grapefruit, and apples. There are other low calorie and low sugar fruits around the world that may be added in as well. You may have coffee, tea, water, mineral water, and naturally flavored water (with fruit or stevia). You may have stevia.
Overall, one can make every meal or snack count by picking the most nutrient dense foods. If you can afford to do so, make it hormone/antibiotic free, and organic wherever possible.
You are not allowed to eat anything refined or processed. No sugar, artificial sweeteners, or sugar alcohol (sometimes small quantities ok), no wheat, no starchy vergetables, no grains, no legumes, very minimal dairy (coffee or occasional greek yogurt, etc), and no fats. I know there is a trend in eating healthy fats right now, and there are HCG websites that say you may have up to a tablespoon of it a day, but others say no ADDED fats, other than what may already be in your foods. There are many resourses for recipes online and in books for this diet. One must be careful to make sure that it fits into your protocol.
The last phase (3) now slowly begins to incorporate more foods back into the diet, allowing you to go into a maintenance phase. You gradually increase calories toward your body's optimal range. While exercise is not required, it is suggested to do some low intensity workouts or aerobics to keep up fitness levels, maintain muscle, and promote metabolism and fat loss. It is also suggested you receive lymphatic drainage treatments.
Massage and lymphatic treatments can be a wonderful addition, as they can ease stress, help to promote circulation and move "toxins" and waste materials through system a bit faster. Given that you aren't supposed to have added fats or oils, some individuals have to be more careful that the massage oils or creams aren't absorbing into your skin, causing weight gain. (Not everyone is affected by this on HCG.) If that is the case, there are a couple of alternatives such as oil free massage gels/creams/oils that may be used temporarily, until you're no longer on HCG. There are styles of lymphatic drainage, such as the Vodder method and Chikly methods, that do NOT use anything to perform the session. These are the best options. For regular massage, check with your massage therapist to see what they use and if they would consider using a different medium, if you are concerned about weight gain. Again, not everyone who does HCG is that sensitive.
I hope this was helpful. Happy dieting.
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