Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and weight loss
Started by rielazegui
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You did not do a very good search. HCG for weight loss has been around for 50 years. There are thousands of documents on the subject. In 2009, the American Society of Bariatric Physicians issued a position statement which essentially stated it was BS. In fact the package insert for HCG states it is not an effective weight loss aid and should not be used for this purpose. Try searching again.
I found that on Facts and Comparison. What I was looking for was some RCT. I looked on Ovid but did not really find anything. I found a bunch of stuff online but that stuff is not too reliable.
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You won't find anything recent because all the studies and research were done back in the 50's, 60's and 70's. It was essentially proven to be BS and totally ineffective for weight loss.
This happens all the time. What goes out of style today comes back 20 to 30 years later as if it is something new and fantastic. One of the main reasons it is back is due to TV infomercial guru Kevin Trudeau, and his book, the Weight Loss Cure. It was based on Dr. A.T.W. Simones ideas which were proven in effective and he was ordered to stop marketing it in the 70's. Kevin Trudeau had the smack put down on him by the FTC to the tune of 37 million dollars due to false claims made about HCG in his book and infomercials.
That is why you will find nothing current or relevant because it is a BS idea that has been disproven a 100 times.
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So what your saying is that my preceptor sent me out on a wild goose chase.
Maybe. Or your preceptor might not have known the answer and wanted you to find out.
Absolutely not. I just told you there is 50 years of experience and data concerning HCG and weight loss. Not much recent data since it was thoroughly researched and debunked years ago. The data is still there and still stands today. There is more than enough info to answer any questions your preceptor may have. Perhaps there is a reason your preceptor was asking.
I wrote a paper on this while I was in pharmacy school - there actually were some reasonably decent (not great) RCTs done on this, but it was all in the 70's. If you look at Pharmacists Letter, they have a short article on the subject, and the listed references ought to be all you need. I did have trouble finding some of these in full-text, but most are obtainable on the computer and I didn't have to do any interlibrary loan.
If hCG promoted weight loss, wouldn't pregnant women lose weight?
lulz
I am actually trying this diet out, I have noticed that the HCG has virtually killed my appetite. I usually get the munchies during the morning and early afternoon, and did not get any food cravings while on it. Supposedly the way this diet works is that you go an a very low cal and no fat diet, eat about 500 calories per day, drink a lot of water, and use HCG to prevent yourself from getting hungry. The theory behind this says HCG signals your body to use fat to burn off the weight. Some doctors are actually using this treatment to help patients lose weight. I just started this, I will probably have an idea if it really is working in a few days.
There's the first mistake.
I just want to try it out and see if it works, there are quite a few doctors in the States offering this as a weight loss treatment.
As for the 500 calorie intake, I took about 180 IU and have no desire to eat, I even struggled to take in that much. Its really weird because I am a pretty hearty eater. The times of the day where I get the hungriest are in the morning, early after noon and late evening, have not felt any hunger pangs at all during those times.
I got the kit from a doctor who runs a medical weight loss clinic on the west coast.
As for the 500 calorie intake, I took about 180 IU and have no desire to eat, I even struggled to take in that much. Its really weird because I am a pretty hearty eater. The times of the day where I get the hungriest are in the morning, early after noon and late evening, have not felt any hunger pangs at all during those times.
I got the kit from a doctor who runs a medical weight loss clinic on the west coast.
You know, when you take in that little calories, your body is gonna go into starvation mode and burn off all your muscle before it gets to the fat. Then when you break the diet and eat 2000-3000 calories one day, your body will store it all up as fat.
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It's also impossible to get all the essential fats, amino acids, etc... that one needs to keep their body functional in such a small number of calories. Not to mention that ones colon will come to a screeching halt.
Well I found more than several physicians offering this program, these are real MDs offering this program in several cities in the US, also in some other countries. I spoke with one doctor offering the program and he was explaining to me that it was the hormone that directs the body to burn body fat and hence why you can eat so few calories.
I have been going on a really intense exercise and diet program and lost only 5 pounds in 6 months, there has to be something wrong with my metabolism. That is why I went to this doctor.
mmm... I doubt that.
you're probably eating too much to lose weight.
Exercise can't lead to fat loss unless your body goes into ketosis to start breaking down the fat for energy. And you can't go into ketosis if you keep eating.
Two hour workouts six days a week is pretty intense, and I was eating clean, no crap, lean meat, lean veggies, only good carbs. Only lost 5 pounds. A friend of mine did the HCG plan and lost a lot of body fat. I am willing to give it a try.
If this is true, and you only lost 5 lbs during a 6 month time period, then you probably need to go to the doctor and get checked out. I suppose it depends on how many calories you were taking in. Weight loss really is as simple as calories in < calories out... no gimmicks.
But anyway, this HCG stuff is bogus. It's already been debunked, many times. If you want to waste your money, go ahead but consider this. I highly doubt that HCG has any oral bioavailability, so you'll be wasting your money on the drops that Trudeau promotes. He also advocates colonics and a bunch of other crap. [he's a quack]
it's not so much what you eat but how much. It doesn't matter if you workout 6 hours a day and burn 10,000 calories per day. If you intake 10,500 per day, you'll gain 1 pound a week. You ate too much if you were expecting to lose more weight.
Also, you have have gained a lot of muscle and lost fat. Did your size decrease?
$100 bucks says you looked a lot different in the mirror though. I bet you put on a bunch of muscle. Were you doing mostly cardio or weights? Mix? And did you watch your BMI?
Will you be injecting the HCG?
It's a scam.
HCG is produced in pregnancy. What happens to pregnant women? Oh yeah; they gain weight, sometimes lots. In my 1st pregnancy, I went from 125 to 200 lbs. All that HCG coursing through my bloodstream, and I was never so hungry in all my life.
I'm thinking there's folks trying to sell this stuff, and that's why there's multiple postings.
HCG is produced in pregnancy. What happens to pregnant women? Oh yeah; they gain weight, sometimes lots. In my 1st pregnancy, I went from 125 to 200 lbs. All that HCG coursing through my bloodstream, and I was never so hungry in all my life.
I'm thinking there's folks trying to sell this stuff, and that's why there's multiple postings.
If it really is a scam, how come real doctors are giving this to patients to help them with weight loss?
Doctors prescribing ineffective medication?! Ridiculous! I am shocked, shocked that anyone would claim that a real doctor would prescribe something that doesn't work. You are right; if doctors are prescribing it, it must be good.
google The primal blueprint or look for it on amazon. The guy just has an interesting POV, I think for some people, even "good carbs" hate us. Too many workouts w/cardio alone can cause you to lose muscle. Strength training (for me anyway): train w/ lighter weights/high rep count = faster fat loss
train w/heavier weights/low rep count (just the amount to fatigue muscles) = more muscle gain which in long run = fat loss but "in long run"..a bit more slow. Plus the muscles need a day off in between to rebuild after you tear them or else you will just continuously tear them down. Not an expert by any stretch, just been stuck doing/learning this crap half my life, gotta fight my genes since w/my people, females tend to get big..we'll call it..boned. 😉 Don't throw away your money, I hear that hCG biz is $$$.
I know the name "Human Torch" is already taken (gotta love my marvel comics)..but whew...you are leaving some burns left & right today! Thanks for cracking me up! 😍
This is what happens when I'm home sick and my husband won't go get me any ice cream...
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Here's a nice review on the topic.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/weight-loss-cure-dont-want-you-to-know
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&ob=av2e
Good Article. Very comprehensive.
Peer reviewed, even.
Yeah you don't often see work of that caliber.
This should put all doubts on the matter to rest.
I think it should be mandatory reading for all incoming P1s, truth be told.
You don't think it's too advanced? Save it for P2's if you ask me.
I don't know... it might be more appropriate for Journal Club during the APPE rotations.
NECRO-BUMP
My sincere apologies for doing this, but I figured I should check with the SDN Brotherhood for some advice on this one. My mom calls me up last night telling me that my dad is about to start doing this stupid HCG diet garbage. Eating 500 cals and the like, because some guy he knows did it and lost a ton of weight. No ****, if you eat 500 cals a day and are obese, you don't think you're going to drop a ton of weight (not to mention LBM)? The joke of it is my IPPE preceptor did this as well...
...but anyway, can you guys give me any good advice on how to deter him from doing this? He barely listens to me, being his son (despite having a degree in exercise science, chemistry, and being in pharm school). Basically, what do you do as a pharmacist when you have a patient who wants to take something when they really don't need to/shouldn't be?
My sincere apologies for doing this, but I figured I should check with the SDN Brotherhood for some advice on this one. My mom calls me up last night telling me that my dad is about to start doing this stupid HCG diet garbage. Eating 500 cals and the like, because some guy he knows did it and lost a ton of weight. No ****, if you eat 500 cals a day and are obese, you don't think you're going to drop a ton of weight (not to mention LBM)? The joke of it is my IPPE preceptor did this as well...
...but anyway, can you guys give me any good advice on how to deter him from doing this? He barely listens to me, being his son (despite having a degree in exercise science, chemistry, and being in pharm school). Basically, what do you do as a pharmacist when you have a patient who wants to take something when they really don't need to/shouldn't be?
I would tell him to run it by his physician first. I would also suggest a consult with a nutritionist. But he wont listen anyway.....
This is a problem in my family, too. A relative tried Atkins, and his total cholesterol went up over 500. (And then he said to me, "Don't tell my wife, but I'm not taking my simvastatin. I went on-line, and it says it can cause your muscles to dissolve.)
Anyway, there's probably been threads about relatives who ask for medical/pharmacological advice that they then ignore, or who don't ask for advice at all and suffer an adverse outcome your advice (if they followed it) could have prevented. Teh internets have a lot to answer for.
To apteryx: sounds like your dad is stubborn and ultimately has to figure it out for himself. By all means, put together an info package and send it to him, being as diplomatic as you can - I find the stubborn old guys get their backs up if I get too much in their faces.
Anyway, there's probably been threads about relatives who ask for medical/pharmacological advice that they then ignore, or who don't ask for advice at all and suffer an adverse outcome your advice (if they followed it) could have prevented. Teh internets have a lot to answer for.
To apteryx: sounds like your dad is stubborn and ultimately has to figure it out for himself. By all means, put together an info package and send it to him, being as diplomatic as you can - I find the stubborn old guys get their backs up if I get too much in their faces.
So I'm a second-year, and there's a first year pharm student at our school who's a registered naturopath. Apparently, she's prescribing hCG for some of the other pharmacy students as a weight-loss tool. She has authority to prescribe in our state (unfortunately, IMO), but this sounds a little unethical to me.
I'm curious on anyone else's thoughts...
I'm curious on anyone else's thoughts...
Hang in there. And do what you can to try and dissuade your dad from doing this. But pick your battles, and try not to be too argumentative. My mom goes to a crackpot "nutritionist," which drives me crazy, as this woman sells her overpriced useless supplements. I try and tell her it's useless and it's wasting her money, but I do this as nicely as possible without insulting her or the "nutritionist." And I don't worry too much about the supplements, as my mom still sees her Western med doctors and takes her prescribed prescriptions.
When she does do something that her "nutritionist" told her to that is really dangerous, that's when I really let her know and usually can convince her with the data I know. Print out that review for your dad that's posted earlier here (I haven't looked at it, but I presume it's good). Let him know that you want him to lose weight, but you're concerned for him. Try and suggest Weight Watchers, which does apparently help people lose weight pretty well.
My husband and I both have PhDs in molecular biology, and my mom still doesn't always listen to us. The good thing is, though, that as I've learned more clinically, she's began to trust me more. It really helped when I called her and helped her figure out that the reason she felt awful was that she was going through withdrawal because she hadn't changed her Fentynyl patch (my mom has cancer).
Oh, and I know certified dieticians can be useful, but this woman my mom sees has no degree or qualifications in any sort of science-based medicine (she once told my husband and me that in I want to say Thailand they cured her fatal nose cancer with massages), hence the term crackpot "nutritionist."
Went into a cvs recently where I saw a big box display for hcg as a weight loss tool. Advertised as "hormone free!" and "if you ask the experts, the vast majority might say that hcg has been disproven as a weight loss tool. But why not give it a try, with our hcg, which is completely safe and hormone free!"
going from memory, but how do people buy that? :x
going from memory, but how do people buy that? :x
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People are dumb. They generally do what they want even in the face of scientific evidence. I have a family member who (like me) is currently pregnant. She has been taking all this crazy herbal nutraceutical crap "prescribed" to her by a DOULA. She asked me what I thought and I said I thought it was not going to help her (at best) and (at worst) might hurt her or the baby. She got angry and said, "Well she's a DOULA! I am sure she wouldn't do anything that would hurt a baby!" I told her to Google doula training and credentialing but she wasn't interested in being reasonable.
Same family member wanted to d/c her stepson's ADHD medicine and put him on some supplement a friend recommended. I looked up the supplement and it very expensive soy protein. I told her I thought it was unlikely to help him and she said, "But the website has lots of quotes from people who LOVED the product!" *facepalm* Ever hear of advertising? That's kind of how it works.
This is a college educated woman.
Same family member wanted to d/c her stepson's ADHD medicine and put him on some supplement a friend recommended. I looked up the supplement and it very expensive soy protein. I told her I thought it was unlikely to help him and she said, "But the website has lots of quotes from people who LOVED the product!" *facepalm* Ever hear of advertising? That's kind of how it works.
This is a college educated woman.
