The HCG diet is based on the work of Dr. ATW Simeons. There are several aspects
of the diet with the most important being the ability to give oneself a single injection
on a daily basis. Most patients are a little indifferent about doing a daily injection,
but once the program is explained in detail, they are willing to proceed with the self
training. Once on the program, the injections are performed daily, it is best to do
the injections the same time everyday.
The diet consists of calorie restriction to 500 calories per day. In my office I allow
patients to eat approximately 700-750 calories per day. One of the most important
premises of the diet is the use of fat and oils. On the HCG diet, you are not allowed to
eat and drink foods which contain fats/oil. The data on this information is reasoned
that when a woman is pregnant she makes and stores fat to feed the fetus. So with
HCG, you are tricking the body to think it is pregnant and if you don’t eat fat, then
you will break down fat.
Many skeptics are concerned about the limited calories on this diet. So, let’s do the
math. Each pound of fat is 3500 calories. Thus if you have to lose 20 pounds you
will multiply 3500x20= 70,000 calories to burn. Think of fat as money and calories
is the currency. Your fat deposits are your savings and if you have to lose 20 pounds
(70,000 calories) you have lots of resources in your bank to spend and you need to stop making caloric deposits.
The fat restriction is not only limited to what you ingest but what you put on the skin. Shampoo, hair conditioner, body lotion and skin cream all contain some fat. Applying these products to the skin once on HCG may affect your results as some of the fat may get absorbed through the skin. Dr. Bissoon tell his patients that a small amount of skin lotion is not going to make you overweight; if this is correct we have 100 percent obesity.
There is no exercise requirement on the HCG diet; in fact it is advised not to exercise. Dr. Bissoon does advocate a healthy lifestyle change and recommends 20-25 minutes of cardiovascular exercise every other day.
