Is HCG Effective?

Today I wanted to write a little bit on HCG. This supplement is getting a lot of attention recently. Many of the questions I get here ask me whether or not HCG is effective. In all honesty, I’ve never tried it. But I know people who have. In fact one of my best friends tried it last year. I am not sure what brand of HCG he used but I know he ordered it down illegally from Canada. Whether or not the kind he used is available in the States, I’m not sure. All I know is that it was HCG and he took it through daily injections.

In the end my friend (let’s call him Mark) lost a good 25 pounds in about 3 weeks. To get these results, Mark limited himself to a 500 calorie diet for the 21 days. Afterward he ate no carbs or starches for about a month. I have to say he kept the weight off for longer than I thought. For about six or seven months, he looked great. But the next summer Mark’s weight came flooding back. He gained back the 25 pounds and more. Before HCG he was around 235. He got down to about 210. But now he’s around 255 and he’s never felt worse about his weight. He’s the heaviest he’s ever been.

If you ask me, HCG is not effective. I think eating 500 calories a day is what did it more than anything. Basically he starved himself for nearly a month to get the results he did. Dieting that drastically can really mess with your system. He’s currently worried if his metabolism is messed up for good. He’s been trying to lose some weight recently but he says his body just clings onto it now.

In the end, I’d recommend staying away from HCG. I know Mark is just one guy’s experience, but he’s a guy that I care about and I don’t want other people to go through what he did. HCG doesn’t work and neither does starving yourself. Sustainable weight loss begins with changes in lifestyle and starving yourself doesn’t count.