If you want to use HCG injections for weight loss, this article will show you everything you need to know about this weight loss approach.
Most people who are ready to lose weight are willing to try anything to achieve it. Some people are even willing to alter their biological systems for weight loss.
HCG injections for weight loss often work in combination with an extreme and highly restrictive diet plan. After taking the injections and following the diet, a person can lose as much as 7 pounds a week for several weeks.
While the above results seem attractive, it is important to understand the requirements of the injections.
You should also know the side effects of the intervention before you try it. The efficacy of HCG should inform your decision too.
What are HCG Injections?
HCG is an acronym for human chorionic gonadotropin. This is a pregnancy hormone that helps women to maintain pregnancy levels.
If a person goes for a pregnancy test, it is HCG that determines whether they are positive or not.
The hormone is traditionally used for the treatment of fertility in women and men.
For the above functions, HCG is FDA approved. However, as an aid for losing weight, it has not been approved.
Manufacturers purport that after receiving HCG injections, a person’s appetite decreases and so does their body-fat composition.
Sellers affirm that instead of burning up other sources of energy; HCG makes the body torch fat thus reducing its prevalence in the body.
How is HCG Taken?
The hormone is usually injected rather than taken as a pill or spray because of its potency. Injections are proven to be the most effective way of taking HCG because they deliver it straight into the bloodstream.
Ingesting it as a pill or spraying does nothing for the body because by the time the hormone gets to the blood, it will have become too weak.
The HCG Diet
Very often HCG injections for weight loss are taken with an HCG diet. In this diet plan, adherents take foods very low in fat and even lower in calories.
Dieters are allowed only two meals a day; that is lunch and dinner. In these meals, they eat a vegetable, a fruit, a protein (must be lean) and bread (one).
The proteins allowed include shrimp, chicken breast, beef, veal, white fish and lobsters. However, all these meats must not have visible fat.
Carbohydrates only come from a breadstick or melba toast. No sugar is allowed and no oil or butter can be consumed.
Are HCG Injections for Weight Loss Safe?
If you would like a remedy that is free from side effects, then HCG injections is not one of them.
When you choose to take this intervention, prepare for a series of problems.
In this research, a person who had taken HCG injections for weight loss 2 weeks prior was admitted to the hospital. They had blood clots and deep vein thrombosis, which manifested as a leg swelling. Additionally, they experienced shortness of breath.
Generally, the injections can cause blood-related complications. If you have any disorders of the blood, you are twice as vulnerable to these conditions as others.
Many people report fluid buildup or edema when taking HCG injections for weight loss.
Since HCG is a reproductive hormone, its consumption can have an effect on your reproductive system.
It can lead to early puberty for young girls. In some people, it may cause swelling and even rapture of the ovaries.
Men have reported development of breasts; a condition that emanates from the feminine nature of the hormone.
If you are a female and are sexually active, it may predispose you to multiple births. In other words, it can increase your chances of conceiving triplets or twins.
Apart from medical indications, a series of diet-related problems could also come from the use of HCG injections for weight loss.
Since you are only allowed to eat certain foods, you will be cutting out vital nutrients required for proper body functioning.
Magnesium and iron may be lacking from this diet, so this may cause fatigue and migraines.
Some people report changes in their menstrual cycle and fertility. This is a side effect of eating very few calories. Calorie restriction causes a reduction in testosterone or estrogen which can cause weaker bones.
Depression and anxiety are also common because of an elevation of the stress hormone.
In this study, it was shown that people who ate extremely low calories reported compromised immunity systems. You would thus be more susceptible to infections.
Do HCG Injections really aid weight loss?
The simple answer to this question is no. Most people who have experienced any weight loss have done so because of the severe calorie restriction from the complimentary diet. A person is supposed to take anywhere between 500-800 calories daily.
In this analysis, it was shown that there is no scientific evidence to prove that HCG injections for weight loss work. 40 obese women were subjected to HCG injections as well as a 500-calorie diet.
Likewise, a placebo group received no injections but was subject to the same calorie restrictions. It was found that there were no advantages in the HCG group compared to the placebo group since both groups lost the same amount of weight.
Therefore, the authors concluded that any weight loss experienced was because of the severe calorie restrictions.
Even though the outcomes are unremarkable, you might still want to give the injections a try because of the ease of dieting as well as the sustainability of weight loss.
In this study, it was shown that there were no significant differences between appetite or hunger levels between the HCG recipients and non-recipients.
Additionally, the research revealed that after weight loss, the effects were not long-lasting. Once individuals got off the extreme calorie restriction, they found themselves weighing the same as before.
One of the most debilitating effects of this diet is that it sabotages your metabolism. When you get on a very restrictive diet, your body reduces its basal metabolic rate.
In other words, you no longer need as many calories to perform basic biological functions such digestion, responsiveness, movement or reproduction.
The result is that even when you get off the HCG and diet, you will still have a low metabolic rate. That means your body will not burn as many calories as it used before you got on the HCG injections for weight loss.
How much HCG injections costs?
Since most HCG injections are administered for 6 weeks, purchasing the full package will cost an average of $375.
If you choose to only do the 4-week intervention, then you would need to part with approximately $240. These injections are bought from company websites.
The Bottom Line
The two major claims made by HCG manufacturers are that you will lose weight and that you will keep it off.
Research shows that the hormone gives your body no added advantage. Any positive weight changes mostly come from the associated HCG diet.
Furthermore, this intervention is not sustainable because as soon as you get off it, you don’t keep losing weight.
The safety issues associated with HCG injections for weight loss merit concern. You don’t want to be engaging in any practice that will compromise your health.
Blood-related, reproductive-related and diet-related risks are quite significant in this intervention. Given the fact that HCG is not effective and not safe, you might want to steer clear of it as a weight-loss tool.
If you are sick and tired of losing weight and regaining it, combine a healthy diet with these 15-minute fat burning workouts. In fact, these workouts alone can help you lose weight and keep it off. All you have to do is spare 15 minutes every day.
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