Want to turn
that spare tire into a six -pack? While I am a proponent of the tried and true,
natural approach to a slow and steady weight loss using a healthy diet, portion
control and exercise, sometimes using that approach can take a long time and
some people end up getting discouraged. Stubborn fat around the midline is one
of the most common complaints I get in my anti aging medicine practice. People
have a harder time losing the weight when they get older despite diet and
exercise. Others come to me demoralized that after months of deprivation, they
could only lose a few pounds and they just give up.
The book the
"The 31 Day Fat Loss Cure" popularized and resurrected the HCG diet. HCG
stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. HCG is a hormone used for male and
female infertility. This made me very skeptical, however when colleagues of
mine encouraged me to look into it, I did. While I would never call it a cure
or make some of the claims in the book, when used properly in qualified
candidates, it is safe and effective.
Dr. Oz did a
show on HCG as well. He had some of the same concerns as I do. A diet such as
this one that is only 500 calories a day should only be done under medical
supervision. A very low calorie diet with or without HCG can be complicated and
it is important to have someone to guide you and address issues as they come
up. Secondly, buying homeopathic drops on the Internet can especially be
troublesome, as you don't know what you are getting. It is recommended that you
talk to a doctor before considering this type of diet. Only a doctor can
prescribe the actual hormone made by a pharmaceutical company under strict FDA
standards or compounded by reputable, highly skilled compounding pharmacists.
This assures potency, purity and quality.
The
controversy of whether or not it would work with or without the hormone may
persist until we have better studies. Those that I read that were negative did
not necessarily follow the protocol. Until that happens, I carefully monitor my
patients and watch their waist waste away and put smiles on their faces. So, if
you want to try the HCG diet, go to a qualified physician who can determine if
it is safe for you and where you can be monitored and obtain pure, potent HCG.
Waist away!
