45 million Americans go on a diet each year. But here’s the million dollar question — which diet do you go on? From Atkins to vegan, there’s a myriad of diets that can help you lose weight and jumpstart your healthy eating habits.

One of the trendiest diets is the HCG diet. This is a restrictive 500-calorie daily diet that also combines using pellets, hormone injections, sprays, and drops. It sounds intense, but many claim they lose a pound a day!

So, does the HCG diet plan really work? Continue reading to discover the facts, the benefits, and any possible risks.

What to Eat and What to Avoid

One of the core factors of the HCG diet is you’re restricted to 500 daily calories. You should also be getting your food from specific sources. Here are a few good examples:

  • Nonstarch vegetables (celery, lettuce, cucumbers, cabbage, tomatoes, and onions)
  • Certain fruit (strawberries, oranges, grapefruit, and apples)
  • Lean meat (lean ground beef, chicken breast, lobster, shrimp, and white fish)

You also need to avoid specific foods. These include:

  • Starchy vegetables (potatoes)
  • Fatty foods (nuts, fatty fish such as salmon, and oils)
  • Sugar

What really makes the HCG diet work is the injections required. You need to inject the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) daily. This is where the diet gets its name.

For more information, read this article from HCGDiet.com.

HCG Diet Plan: Does It Work?

There is data that shows the HCG diet plan works. This strict diet helps reset your metabolism. These abnormal eating patterns will stick, resulting in long-term weight loss.

The hormone injections also assist with weight loss. HCG is made from the placenta while a woman is pregnant. If she can’t get enough nutrition or food in her, the body naturally uses whatever fat is reserved in the body as fuel.

The theory is HCG is the hormone that makes this possible.

Risks Involved

While many see results with the HCG diet, there are risks involved. It’s important to make decisions with all the knowledge on hand.

First, it’s not recommended by the FDA. The FDA warns of this restrictive diet and even states some over-the-counter HCG hormones are illegal.

While there’s research on the success, there’s little research on the risks.

The FDA specifically warns about the hormonal injections and products — they say there’s little evidence the HCG hormone alone causes weight loss, and many people are dangerously losing weight by only eating a small number of calories.

Will You Try the HCG Diet?

Does an HCG diet plan work to help you lose weight?

Yes — many people achieved weight loss success on the diet. They take hormones that use existing fat as fuel and prevent feelings of hungriness, limiting caloric intake to only 500 calories a day.

Before you start your diet, always discuss your options with your doctor. For more health and wellness posts don’t forget to bookmark our blog and keep checking back.