Are you one of the millions of individuals who want to lose weight and get healthier? Have you jumped from diet after fad diet only to end up in disappointment? We all know that obesity has become a widespread epidemic and the accompanying medical complications caused by being overweight or obese is just as prevalent. Being overweight and obese can lead to many serious diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer. So losing that weight is very crucial to your health.

One diet that has gained much attention in the recent years is the HCG diet. The diet has been around since the 1950s when it was developed by Dr. ATW Simeons. It works on the premise that hCG or Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin makes use of stored fat for energy. How exactly does it do this?

The hCG is normally present at elevated levels in pregnant women during the early stages of pregnancy then drops as the pregnancy progresses. The timing of these increased levels occurs during the time when a woman still does not know that she is pregnant and is unlikely to be consciously “eating for two.” In the presence of hCG, a pregnant woman’s fat stores are mobilized to be used to nourish the fetus. This ensures that the fetus receives the necessary amount of calories and nutrients it needs for proper growth and development regardless of the pregnant woman’s caloric intake. Dr. Simeons also discovered that boys being treated for underdeveloped gonads with hCG ate less and as a result lost weight. This prompted him to explore hCG as a diet aid.

Both men and women can benefit from the HCG diet. The hormone increases your ability to burn fat allowing your body to use this stored fat as energy. At the same time, it curbs your appetite so you eat less. This translates to 1 to 2 pounds lost per day.

The HCG diet requires you to take daily shots or oral drops of hCG for at least 23 days. Depending on your response, you may undergo another round of treatment. Aside from the shots or drops, you are only allowed a very restricted caloric diet of 500 calories per day. You may think how can you possibly survive on just 500 calories a day? Won’t you go hungry? The 500 calories a day is the only amount you will need because the fat that is mobilized by the hCG is what you will be essentially using for energy. As long as stored fat is continuously released in the body, 500 calories is all you need to sustain you throughout the day. It is important that you consume a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates and fat content.

Once you have lost the weight after the round of treatment, you will have to adopt a healthy lifestyle and way of eating. The whole purpose of the HCG diet is to correct poor eating habits and break any food addictions. The one month or so of treatment will allow you to achieve this. You lose a significant amount of weight in a short span of time and learn to keep it off.

If you have tried every fad diet there is and have been unsuccessful, then maybe it’s time you try another alternative. The HCG diet is safe and effective and may be the solution to your weight loss struggles.