The diet that comes along with taking HCG is often not properly explained by many of the “homeopathic” or “alternative” retailers. They simply are trying to get their quick buck, and not interested in helping people actually lose weight. Ultimately, there are several key considerations to keep in mind when losing weight with the HCG diet program. Firstly, the diet itself involves three distinct phases. These phases are each important to keep in mind throughout the early stages of the program and beyond. Phase 1 of the HCG diet involves a person going on a high fat and low carb “loading” period for 2-3 days while they begin taking the hormone each day. However, Phase 2, is the major part of the diet. Generally people go on a 700 calorie per day program (with the modern approach) and a do this for a period of around 24-57 days.
There are some key things to consider for dieting in phase two, particularly things involving what foods are allowed during this phase. There is some confusion about what the modern plan vs the more traditional approach allow. The HCG diet when first conceived only allowed people one type of vegetable with each meal, and was very strict on different things you could eat. However, with the modern approach, which has been well-studied, this is no longer the case. Below are the some of the biggest food considerations to keep in mind:
- Do not eat foods that are high in starch such as potatoes or wheat breads
- Avoid vegetables that have little nutritional value. Corn, for instance, has almost no vitamins or minerals
- Avoid eating beef rather than fish or chicken for protein sources. Beef is very difficult to reduce fat to an appropriate level during phase 2
- Use only organic vegetables. Do not buy vegetables from non-organic sources if the organic is available. Non-organic beef, for instance, will contain bovine growth hormone, which can severely impact the effectiveness of the HCG diet program
- You can eat legumes and beans if you are a vegetarian. It is not necessary to worry about being a vegetarian on the HCG diet
For people that have historically stubborn weight they want to get rid of, the HCG diet plan actually provides an excellent way out for users. Weight that has been put on and retained for many years is well known to be the most difficult to remove. Studies have shown time and time again that dieters who are attempting to lose weight they have kept on for at least 6 months almost never succeed. The difficulties stem from several areas, but most significantly, the human body will actually keep the person from losing weight once they put it on.
The metabolism of the body slows down once weight is put on, in order to “retain” the stores of fat. Likewise, energy decreases and appetite increases. It winds up being a vicious cycle for people who are looking to stay healthy. The use of the HCG hormone is the only known way to eliminate or reduce this problem, as it directly interacts with the brain’s hypothalamus, which is the area of the brain responsible for metabolism and appetite. In doing so, it offers people a unique way to improve their circumstances and finally remove these stubborn long term pounds. People can quickly find themselves losing that old weight, and keeping it off, as the metabolic changes will continue as long as the person is on the hormone each day. Maintaining this weight lost is also fairly straightforward, as Phase 3 of the program describes in detail how a person can continue to keep the weight off after their regimens are finished.
