I’ve come across loads of silly diets in my 22 working in the fitness industry, but “The HCG Diet” may take the cake.
This thing is currently sweeping across social media faster than a housemaid with two scoops of pre-workout, and it claims to be able to help you lose an insane amount of weight in as little as one week – without any exercise at all!
One quick Google search produces a sea of sales pitches (misleadingly disguised as “reviews”), so I’ve set aside some time today to break down the numerous claims being made by those behind “The HCG Diet” and show you why it’s not worth your fucking time.
Strap yourself in, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
What Is “The HCG Diet”?
Like all fad diets, you must adhere to a strict set of “rules”.
The first one is that you must eat only 500 calories per day.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Fuck, I’ve had breakfasts which go over that threshold!
But what’s perhaps even stranger is that that’s not even the worst part of this diet. You see, the boffins behind this nonsense also instruct you to have regular injections of HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin, a.k.a. the pregnancy hormone).
Holy flaps!
They claim that this’ll reduce your hunger levels, which helps you stick to the tiny calorie target, and therefore achieve weight loss success. Oh, and they also promise that these injections will block out the usual side effects which come from a super-low calorie intake (e.g. headaches, mood swings, tiredness, cravings, and wanting to headbutt strangers for no good reason).
When we dive deeper into the mechanics of the plan, we also find out that carbohydrates are banned entirely, so you’ll be tasked with getting your measly 500 daily calories from either protein or fat.
Ironically, if you slip off track you’re told to “make up for your mistake” (eek!) by eating just six apples the following day as a punishment (I don’t know if they’re aware of the fact that apples are 100% carbohydrates, but okay!).
So there’s a general overview of what “The HCG Diet” entails. Now let’s science the motherfucking shit out of it!
Science vs “The HCG Diet”
There’s so much pseudoscience on show here that I actually don’t know where to begin.
So fuck it, let’s go through the whole lot from top to bottom.
- A dangerously low calorie target
500 calories per day is obscene.
Heck, if you can maintain such a low calorie intake for longer than a couple of days (99% of people can’t) then you’re losing weight via starvation, nothing more. You’re also developing an unhealthy relationship with food, which will come back to bite you in the form of binges or eating disorders in the future. (3)
- HCG has never been shown to help with weight loss (and is potentially dangerous)
Not only is there zero evidence to support the use of HCG injections as a weight loss aid, there’s overwhelming data showing it does nothing at all!
A thorough meta-analysis on this topic concluded:
“The pregnancy hormone HCG serves absolutely no purpose for weight loss.”
– Canadian Medical Association Journal (1)
Further research also shows that HCG has zero impact on appetite suppression, nor fat metabolism, nor fat distribution – all things which the creators of “The HCG Diet” claim it can do – and they confirm that it has nasty side effects including headaches, irritability, chronic low energy, sustained pain (at the injection site), and depression! (1, 2)
- Listen to this fucking horror story
It’s very easy to get drawn into fad diets like this, considering the craz weight loss claims they make and the seemingly “easy” nature of it all.
However, the internet is awash with stories from people who experienced the full impact of such silly nutrition plans. One story in particular really got me. A young soccer referee from Australia tried this very diet plan, only to see her energy levels (and her overall health) plummet so low that he had to leave her job! Read it here.
- It is completely illegal to sell HCG as a weight loss aid
In the years which followed the news story I mentioned above, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission began tightening the laws surrounding the sale of HCG as a supposed “weight loss aid”.
It is now completely illegal to sell (or even market) HCG for weight loss purposes. You can read the FTC’s report here.
Debunking All The Crazy Claims Made In A Typical Advert For “The HCG Diet”!
Above you can see a typical ad for “The HCG Diet”.
It’s no surprise that people get sucked in quite easily, huh?
Let’s go through all of these dirty tactics and outlandish claims and debunk them one-by-one, so nothing is left to doubt.
- “Lose 1-2lbs PER DAY and keep it off!”
If you lost weight this quickly you’d be fucking dead in three months.
- “Proven to increase energy levels!”
Just don’t ask to see any of that proof, mate, because it doesn’t exist.
- “HCG converts fat into nutrients without the loss of muscle tissue!”
That’s not how any of this works.
- “It’s safe for men and women!”
As I’ve shown you above, it absolutely isn’t.
- “No exercise needed!”
It’s a good job, really, because you won’t have the energy.
- “Natural weight loss!”
All weight loss is natural, my friend.
Finally, they’ve used a stock photograph of a doctor in order to create a false sense of trust with the reader and give the impression that “The HCG Diet” is in some way endorsed by medical professionals, which is is not.
Fuck!
In summary, this is one of the worst fad diets I’ve ever seen – and I’ve seen a lot of them! – so avoid it at all costs. “The HCG Diet” is based around nothing more than lies and dangerous advice, and whoever sells this stuff deserves their next poop to be a catcus.
References:
- Birmingham, C. L., et al. Human chorionic gonadotropin is of no value in the management of obesity. Can Med Assoc J (1983).
- Lijesen, G. K., et al. The effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the treatment of obesity by means of the Simeons therapy: a criteria-based meta-analysis. Br J Clin Pharmacol (1995).
- Howell, S., et al. “Calories in, calories out” and macronutrient intake: the hope, hype, and science of calories. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab (2017).