Losing weight is more than just about looking good; being overweight is a significant risk factor for diabetes, cancer, dementia, and heart disease among others. It is estimated that 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese in the United States, a national epidemic. Therefore, an effective weight loss program is critical for the prevention of most chronic diseases; along with feeling and looking good. Most low calorie diets are not healthy or effective at losing fat weight and keeping the weight off. The Hcg program at Tahoe Natural Medical Center (TNMC) is a medically supervised diet resulting in safe, healthy, and rapid weight loss ranging between 20-25 lbs in 40 days. The Hcg diet program is not stressful to the body, the weight lost is fat and not muscle, energy and appetite control are excellent, keeping the weight off after the diet is maintained, and hard to lose fatty areas around hips and abdomen are targeted with the Hcg diet.

I have managed hundreds of patients on the Hcg diet and take a comprehensive approach to weight problems, looking at the factors that are causing weight gain from diet and exercise to medical problems with hormones, blood sugar, inflammation, and chronic disease. Most patients need more than just to be told to improve their diet and exercise more. These are important aspects for achieving long-term weight and health goals but not without including a more comprehensive medical assessment. You can achieve and maintain a healthy weight with the Hcg weight loss program; the program has proven to be successful and well tolerated by many satisfied patients at Tahoe Natural Medical Center.

What is the Hcg weight loss diet?

The Hcg diet is a healthy, low-calorie diet combined with daily injections of the Hcg hormone. The injections are done with a very small, thin needle that is easy to self-administer just under the skin. The purpose of the Hcg hormone is to mobilize the fat reserves but a low calorie diet is necessary to burn off this fat energy in order to cause weight loss.

What is Hcg?

Hcg stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. Please note that Hcg is not the same as hGH, which is human growth hormone. The Hcg hormone requires a prescription from a doctor, typically as an injection. Hcg is FDA approved for women as an infertility drug to support the ovarian function and stimulates the release of an egg during ovulation. The Hcg dosing used for infertility is much higher than what is used for the purpose of weight loss. Hcg is not FDA approved for weight loss; it is considered an off-label use for this purpose.

How does Hcg work?

Hcg is a natural hormone that is produced in large quantities (millions of units) during pregnancy that functions to ensure a steady supply of calories to the growing fetus by mobilizing stored fat energy. In a person that is not pregnant, it still has the same affect to release fat stores but without a growing fetus to consume the calories a low calorie diet is necessary to burn off the fat calories. I have determined from hundreds of Hcg patients what the optimal starting dose of Hcg is best for most patients to achieve maximum weight loss benefit.

Why the Hcg diet is a healthy way to lose weight rapidly?

It is important to understand that this is not a crash diet, it may look like one but it is important to understand what the Hcg is doing. Essentially, a low calorie diet without Hcg for prolonged periods is stressful on the body. When the body is stressed by starvation, the body will slow its metabolism, burn muscle, and store fat. An Hcg diet properly done will not allow this stress on the body; instead it will maintain the metabolism, burn fat not muscle, and mobilize fat reserves for energy. Hcg reverses all the negative and stressful effects of a low calorie diet. It is important to emphasis that this diet is not stressful to the body when done properly. For example, doing the Hcg drops, cream, tablets or not getting the right amount of Hcg is not doing the diet properly. Hcg Injections are the only proven method for this diet program.

How much weight can be lost?

The expected amount of weight loss typically achieved in a 40 day series is between 20-25 lbs seen in 80% of the participants, 15% lose between 15-20 lbs, and another 5% lose greater then 25 lbs or less than 15 lbs. It is important to realize that the weight lost is fat weight mostly targeting the areas around the hip/abdomen. This is one of the most satisfying results of the Hcg diet program. After finishing the Hcg diet, most people are able to maintain their weight loss.

How will I feel while on the Hcg diet?

Your energy on the diet should not fall below its baseline; you should have good appetite control and energy. Hcg is an excellent appetite suppressant and I challenge patients to skip a day of the Hcg to prove it for them selves. One of the many benefits of this diet program is the elimination diet can help to identify how certain foods like gluten or dairy can be impacting one’s health. It is estimated that about 20% of the participants get crazy good energy while on the program and they don’t want to stop the diet. By doing a food challenge test at the end of the diet, it can be determined what food item is causing the problems.

What does the diet look like?

The Hcg diet may look like a crash diet but it is very important to understand what the Hcg is doing. Hcg mobilizes the energy (calories) stored in fat tissue but in order to burn off this energy, a low 500-calorie diet must be followed. The total calories that you are using for a day come from food (500) and mobilizing fat energy (500 or more) which amounts to approx 1,000 calories per day. This is not a starvation signal to the body. The food on the diet consists of healthy meats, vegetables, rice, and fruit. I can’t do the Hcg shots! I get this a lot but every single person that is afraid of needles and disappoint that they will not be able to do the program are utterly embarrassed after they get enough guts to try the shots. It is a very thin and small ½ inch needle that diabetics use for insulin shots. The injection is just under the skin and hardly noticeable; trust me on this. I will make sure you are 100% comfortable with do the injections. There are oral tablets available by prescription only that dissolve under the tongue. The experience at TNMC is that injections work best and are cheaper. It is recommended that you don’t attempt this diet with over the counter Hcg drops, sprays, or tablets; the dose of Hcg is to small to be effective.

What are the side-effects?

Hcg is very safe with proper medial supervision. A small number of people have reported hair loss that returns after stopping the Hcg diet. Migraine headaches have also been reported mostly in people with a tendency for them. For women with a history of ovarian cysts, Hcg could cause the growth and rupture of a cyst. I have not seen this in the women with this history in hundreds of patients managed on this program. A gallstone attack and gout are also potential side effects but like an ovarian cyst rupture, I have not seen this in patients that have a history for these conditions. Also, Hcg can raise estrogen levels in women and cause spotting or bleeding. I have only seen this in a few individuals; corrected with bio-identical progesterone cream.

Do I have to exercise or should I not exercise?

It is encouraged to exercise on the diet program. Remember you are getting calories from food and fat reserves, so you have approx 1,000 calories to burn in a day. Most people can tolerate exercise. I have found that moderate to strenuous cardio workouts or activity will cause dizziness in most people, so limit this form of exercise to what is tolerable. The best form of exercise is building muscle because more muscle will increase your resting metabolic rate. More muscle means you will burn more calories at rest; for example, while you are sleeping. Pull off the bed covers at night and you will see how much heat or calories you are burning at rest. For women, you will not get huge muscles like the body builders with weight lifting; this is almost impossible without steroids.

Are weekly office visits necessary?

No, but I need to know how someone is doing on the program on a weekly basis so I can make adjustments to the program. I have patients e-mail or call the office every week. For those that come into the office for B vitamin shots, I check their status at this time.

Is HCG safe for men?

Yes, it is very safe in men. Hcg can increase testosterone and growth hormone levels in men, which may be one of the reasons that men do better with weight loss on this program than women. The other reason is men generally have more muscle mass, which means a higher resting metabolic rate

Where does Hcg come from?

Hcg is sourced from human urine. The pharmacy used at TNMC for the Hcg has very high quality standards that are above industry standards with quality control, sterile compounding, and independent analysis of products. They are one of the few pharmacies that have documentation for every step in the sourcing of the Hcg enforced by Florida’s Pedigree law. I am very confident in the purity of this product, free of any contaminates, reliable strength and poten