I know several people that are already on this “diet” and a couple more that are considering it. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of information out there about it, besides from the people that are selling it, but apparently it’s a ~40-day program, where you get hcg injections or sublingual supplements every day, and I have read that the diet itself restricts you to 500 calories a day. Well, that doesn’t sound healthy, but it sure would account for rapid weight loss, hcg or no. One person I know is on the brink of paying over $200 to start this program very soon. Where can I point her for the facts on this?
No kidding. :rolleyes:
Sounds like a total scam to me. The linked site is NOT an authoritative site with good research.
Exactly what I was looking for- I tried searching quackwatch.com and couldn’t find that. Thanks!
One of the clinics here in town that does this is named something that deliberately misleads people into thinking that they’re associated with a hospital here, which was my first clue that there’s something shady going on with them.
My friend’s wife is about to start this. I asked her why she didn’t just start eating more whole fruits and vegetables and exercising. She looks at me dead serious and says “those are completely out of the question.” At least she’s honest, I guess, but, god damn.
The dose used is an order of magnitude or more below what is used medically for any indicated use. At that level it is at best an expensive placebo. The drug’s monograph has this to say:
In general very low calorie to starvation diets are not a successful means to achieve long term fat loss, although they do cause substantial short term weight loss (quite a bit of muscle along with fat). The vast majority of people will put back on all the weight in short order too, and have less muscle left in the bargain. Risks of very low calorie diets include gallstones, constipation, fatigue, and obviously it is extremely difficult to get the nutrition you need in that few of calories.