Obesity has increased to an epidemic proportion all over the world. This is particularly so in the developed countries but quickly spreading to the developing countries too. The discovery of HCG drop has come as a boon to the vast obese population of the world.
What is HCG?
The full form of HCG is Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. HCG is basically a water based hormone which is found naturally in humans. HCG is found in abundance in the urine of the pregnant women and it is claimed that this hormone helps in maintaining the pregnancy.
The HCG hormone acts a guide to the human body for actively burning the fat. This has come as a natural protection to the fetus in order to save it from malnutrition. Taking clue from this knowledge Dr. Albert Theodore William Simeons, himself an endocrinologist, designed an effective dietary plan for fighting the menace of obesity in the year 1954. His dietary regime came to be known as Human Chorionic Gonadotropin very low calorie diet (HCG VLCD).
Importance of strict compliance to the dietary regime
For any medical regime to be successful it is important to follow strictly the instructions put forward by the experts. For successfully tackling the obesity problem, the patient must follow the hcg dietary regime which is prescribed along with the HCG drops. The diet is very important for the body as improper low calorie diet may cause tremendous harm to the muscles and other organs of the body. While prescribing low calorie diet one has to take care to see that there is balanced intake of vitamins, minerals and proteins which are vital for the upkeep of the human body. The HCG VLCD has been carefully designed to prepare your body compatible to the low calorie diet slowly and gradually. As such the dietary regime has been divided into four hcg phases namely Loading Phase, Very Low Calorie Diet Phase, Stabilization Phase and Maintenance Phase. In this perspective it is important for the users to know and follow strictly the diets prescribed in each of the above three stages. Our body is so designed that it cannot adapt to drastic changes in dietary regime. Compelling our body to comply to such dietary regime would lead to some serious complications. It is absolutely required to adopt a dietary plan which will allow the body metabolism to systematically and gradually shift to the new diets. This is the reason why the experts of HCG VLCD proponents have given due importance for the dietary plan when prescribing the medicine. For success of the weight loss program the patient has to conform to the dietary regime strictly.
Loading Phase
Out of all 4 HCG Diet phases, the loading phase may seem to be contradictory to the main purpose of the dietary regime which is weight loss. The doctors have designed this phase after studying the pattern of body metabolism. Basically in this loading phase we prepare our body for the ensuing struggle when we would be going to gradually starve our body. The duration of the loading phase is 1 to 2 days.
In this phase the patient will be asked to eat aplenty. The diet in this phase will mostly consist of high calorie fatty foods. In this way the body will be full of fats ready for burning. The prescribed HCG drop would take couple of days to start its function of burning the fats. It is absolutely necessary to load the body with enough of energy so that body is not subjected to shock when the medicine will start burning the fats. The loading phase is very important as this would enable the patient to remain energetic. Neglecting this phase would lead to tiredness and hungry at the later phases of the dietary regime. So, in a nutshell, in the landing phase the patient starts taking the HCG drop along with food rich in fat and high in calorie. Enjoy voluptuous food during the landing phase and prepare yourself mentally as well as physically for the later phases.
The foods which you may eat as hcg diet are:
- Various types of fried items such as chips, deep fried eggs, bacons etc.
- Creamy items such as ice creams, pastries etc.
- Chocolates and all kinds of sweet items.
- Fried meat items with emphasis on pork.
- Plenty of butter.
- Mayonnaise
- Pizza, Hamburger etc.
Very Low Calorie Diet phase
This second phase is the working stage when the HCG drop starts burning the fats. The phase lasts for 15 to 40 days. During this phase a strict 500 calorie dietary regime will start. The low calorie diet is so designed as to provide the body with minimum energy which is required for the normal day to day works. There should not be any further addition to the accumulated fat. The logic behind this 500 calorie diet is to force the body metabolism to use the energy from burning the fats deposited in the body. A normal male body requires 2500 calorie every day while for the female it is 2000 calorie. So we find 1500 to 2000 calories of fats being burnt every day by the magic of the HCG drops. What then is the role of the HCG drops? While in plain dieting muscles also get lost, hcg drops enables the burning of the fats only which is not useful for the body. We must remember that the mother earth has created this hormone for the well being of the mother as well as the baby. The diets will be
- Two servings fruit
- Two servings vegetables
- Two servings proteins
- Two pieces of bread
- Plenty liquid without sugar
Here some FAQ’s on 2nd stage explained very well. May be you should go through them for educational purpose.
Stabilization phase
In this phase you would stop taking hcg drops. You must continue 500 calorie diet but may add some new healthy food items to satiate your tongue.
Maintenance stage
This is the stage when you start getting back to your standard routine. But this has to be done gradually from 500 calorie to 1500 calorie. Stop taking hcg drops but ensure that the calorie intake is restricted to 1500 calorie.