I texted my cousin and he said they bought from http://www.resetthebody.com/
No, there was a physician in the area who gave a “Weight Management” seminar at our club. You had to become his patient in order to do the program. I don’t know the name of the place. I believe that he claimed that you’d lose 15-20 pounds each 2 week session and the cost was ~$600 (?) per session.
My one friend, Sarah, was so impressed with her 40 pound weight loss that she started working for the physician. One of the tennis pros also did the program and lost a significant amount of weight - ~40 pounds, if I were to guess. They’ve both kept it off. A third woman, Rhonda, also did the program and lost ~15 pounds, though I was honestly aghast that they accepted her as a patient because she didn’t need to lose a pound. When she was done, she looked skeletal. Now, she has since put that 15 pounds back on, but I don’t know if it was because she realized she was too thin or because she tried to keep it off but couldn’t.
I have no idea how many people started the program and quit it. Since it’s done through a physician, the only way you’d know is if they told you. I’m sure there were some, but I have no idea how many. It sure is an expensive failure.
I will also say this. The two women who lost that rapid amount of weight looked really bad initially. People who truly need to lose 40+ pounds should do so slowly because the skin needs time to shrink, too. The first time I saw Sarah after she’d lost all that weight, I didn’t recognize her. And when I did, I assumed she had some horrible cancer or something.
Now that it’s been a year or so, they both look better. The muscle tone is back, for instance. But it’s not a diet I’d recommend unless your health was in jeopardy. People who lose weight slowly (e.g. Kirstie Alley or Jennifer Hudson) tend to look fabulous. People who lose weight too rapidly (e.g. Al Roker, Star Jones) tend to look horrible at first.
It’s taking longer than we thought.
Placebo’s have been proven to be very effective in achieving numerous results.
Many people would gladly pay $125 to help them lose 25 pounds in a month, even if it is just psychological help. I know therapists that charge a hell of lot more than that.
Two salient quotes from that article:
“Data from most randomized controlled trials show that HCG is no better than placebo in achieving weight loss or reducing hunger.”
“Because HCG is a peptide hormone, it would be broken down by the stomach and rendered ineffective”
So to recap:
- Research shows HCG is no more effective for losing weight than a sugar pill,
- The amount of HCG in the advertised products is so minute, it’s extremely implausible that it could have any physiologic effect whatsoever,
- Even if the few molecules of HCG that might be present in these products were taken as directed, they’d be digested in the stomach and not have a chance to do anything.
But hey, let’s hear some more testimonials.
Obviously, I am in the wrong line of work.
I totally disagree. With your use of the word “largely”.
Yes, but without learning how to eat properly and make significant changes in your lifestyle you’ll just end up gaining back all that weight (plus some) and be $125 poorer. Losing weight is easy - eat less. Keeping weight off and being healthy is tougher.
I lost over 50 lbs in the past two years and have kept it off, and it’s not easy. But the key is learning techniques that work for you long term. This quackery isn’t going to do that.
I’ve watched several Dr. Oz’s…on one show he noted that his wife is a homeopathic practitioner and so he encourages everyone to ‘keep an open mind’. In my mind, it was an implicit endorsement and, that since he will not directly discredit his wife, he has completely lost any credibility.
For a time placebos may seem to work, but typically the effect wanes and people seek out different placebos which may or may not have an effect, and the cycle repeats over and over. The truly effective part of the homeopathic HCG “weight loss plan” (the 500 calorie diet) is going to be very hard to sustain long term, no matter what one believes about the drug.
I wonder if any good studies have been done showing a correlation between effectiveness of placebo and how much you had to shell out for it. If a few vials of homeopathic HCG for $199 help, would paying $1,990 help 10 times as much (or at least more than $199)?
I’m not totally against placebos, especially if the condition they’re used for has otherwise been addressed by proper medical care, and the placebo is cheap and safe*. What some people think is a great weight loss aid is cider vinegar (there are oodles of testimonials out there, but like homeopathic HCG no good evidence that it helps you lose weight)**. The difference is that cider vinegar, especially the stuff on supermarket shelves is really inexpensive. You could buy a gallon of it for a tiny fraction of what you’d pay for the HCG.
So that’s at least some evidence that placebo effect is not wholly dependent on what the [del]marks[/del] customers pay.
*Even totally innocuous placebos (sugar pills and the like) have occasionally been connected with serious side effects. As some Russian dude once said, the human mind is a dark, dark forest.
**Cider vinegar is also touted as a cure for a vast array of medical conditions. None of these claims are evidence-based either. In the interest of full disclosure I should mention that one website listing a huge laundry list of claims mentions that cider vinegar is good for both weight loss and gaining weight. You just gotta believe.
I’ve used HCG, but did not use the homeopathic drops. I did the injections. Lost 40 pounds and have kept them off for over a year.
From just the injections alone?
A friend of mine has used the drops for the past year and a half… taken off 100 lbs. According to her, part of the benefit of the drops is to lessen the appetite so you can tolerate the diet better.
I sorely need to drop 100 myself & am not yet desperate enough to try it, but I can’t argue with her results.
No. When you use HCG, you need to follow the diet protocol, or you’ll gain weight. I followed the 500 calorie diet, more or less, as well. I’m hoping to do another cycle in the near future. I have 30 more pounds to lose.
In the past, I’ve lost weight by calorie management and exercise, but recent injuries have left me mostly unable to exercise to the level that I’d need to in order to actually lose (not just maintain) weight. The HCG works well for me, and it allows me to give in to my control freak-dom a little.
Did you read my link in post #25? if so, what do you think about it?
When I’ve dieted I’ve used water to decrease appetite. I’ve ingested my water by the glass though; I can’t see how drops would be filling.
But these as magic drops-that makes all the difference.
It’s the idea behind “The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want To Know About” by Kevin Trudeau. 'Nuff said.
My very very favorite weight-loss product ever was something like this. You did not ingest it, you rubbed it on. Only one area at a time!
Then, in order to assist it in working, you were supposed to exercise a certain amount. And in order to help push the displaced fat out, you were supposed to drink a LOT of water. And meanwhile, massage it in every day until the fat was gone from that place. Then, on to the next fat area!
There were many testimonials.
The stuff was really expensive.
There were measurable results! (Proven by a picture of someone with a tape measure wrapped around her thigh.)