3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting an HCG Diet by Ramona Calloway

If you’re unfamiliar with the HCG diet, it may seem too good to be true. If you’ve been burned by fad diets before, it’s understandable that you might seem reluctant to try a new method of weight loss. However, the key is that the hormone – a natural hormone produced in the body during pregnancy – alone doesn’t melt the pounds. It just makes that whole "diet and exercise" thing possible.

By suppressing your appetite without making you weak, HCG makes it possible to cut down your portions, turn away from junk food and focus on work, school, errands, chores, friends and family. It makes it so food isn’t always on your mind, and it negates that intense hunger you feel when you try cutting back on portions. It’s one part of a larger overall effort to lose weight, but it’s an essential part that will make the harder tasks, like limiting food and having the energy to work out, easier for you. However, it still relies on you. You have to have the drive to see the diet through. You have to take the risk. Before you elect to try the HCG diet, have a conversation with yourself in which you pose a few simple questions that will indicate whether or not you’re ready to try this diet.

Can You Eat Less?

The primary advantage of relying on HCG diet shots is that they curb your appetite and make it easier for you to resist snacking throughout the day or eating too-large portions during meal. However, the diet that goes along with the shots does require you to drastically cut back on your food intake so it’s just the bare minimum of healthy food each day. It usually requires you to eat only two meals per day for eight weeks, and only 500 calories per day. That’s typically achieved through a small, lean cut of meat like chicken or fresh white fish, one vegetable, one fruit and one bread per meal. The shot will help you eat that little and not feel hungry, but you do have to commit to see results.

Will You Work Out?

Exercise is an integral part of any weight loss program, and you must keep it up for the rest of your life to stave weight gain. During those eight weeks when you limit calorie consumption, you can’t overdo the exercise, but you must still include it into your day. Work with a trainer or simply walk for half an hour to an hour each day. Be sure to hydrate with water, unsweetened tea or another zero-calorie beverage.

How Will You Handle Questions?

Seeing you eat so little for the eight weekends of the HCG program is sure to raise some eyebrows. How will you handle the questions and possible judgment of friends and family? Are you prepared to talk about your weight loss journey, or will you avoid eating in front of anyone but close loved ones entirely? How will you keep yourself occupied during pot lucks and parties when others are eating from an array of food in front of you? Ideally, you’ll have the support and understanding of those closest to you, but you must prepare yourself to encounter criticism and rise above it to achieve your goals.

Discuss your health and frame of mind with a doctor or a therapist before you embark on any weight loss journey. Weight gain is a side effect of depression, anxiety and poor self-esteem, so these need to be addressed before you can hope to lose weight and keep it off. Just remind yourself that with the HCG injection, you’ll have a powerful ally in the challenge to shed pounds.

About the Author: Ramona Calloway is a nutrition and weight loss coach from New York who’s relied on the HCG diet both for herself and for her clients.