| What is the hCG diet? The hCG weight loss protocol consists of a very low calorie diet (VLCD) accompanied by treatments of hCG, rather oral or injected. The average hCG dieter experiences rapid weight loss averaging 1 to 3 pounds per day. In addition to loss of unwanted fat, the true benefit of the hCG protocol is its ability to help modify the dieter's relationship with food and eating, resulting in easily maintained, long-term weight loss. What is hCG and how does it result in rapid weight loss? hCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, a hormone present in both men and women, but which is produced in great amounts in pregnant females. During pregnancy, the substance almost completely controls the woman's metabolic functions. In non-pregnant persons, research suggests hCG similarly increases the metabolism similar to a pregnant female. Thousands of calories in stored fat are released, and are used by the body or expelled. To keep the fat cells from immediately taking in more fat, the very low fat VLCD is necessary and personal care products such as lotion, are prohibited. | |