About Dr. Simeons' HCG Weight Loss Therapy
About half a century ago, Dr. Simeons, in Italy, reported that a tiny amount of HCG can “melt down” abnormal storage fat (the fat you don’t want). When combined with a very low calorie diet (VLCD), it can effectively help people to lose weight without serious side effects. Since then, the Simeons weight loss method has been popular worldwide. You can download a copy of his original manual by clicking www.drwlc.com/download/html.
HCG stands for human chorionic gonadotropin, a natural hormone that is produced in large quantity during pregnancy to support the pregnancy and to break down the stored fat to provide fuel for the mother and the fetus. HCG is also used in fertility clinic and in boys with undescended testicles. The dosages used in these conditions are much higher (thousands of IU). The dosage used in weight loss is much smaller. There are practically no side effects when used in these very small quantities. Review of literature and our own experience shows no significant side effects from HCG.
Dr. Simeons proposed that there are two types of fat in a normal person: the structural fat (around your heart, liver, etc) and the storage fat (as fuel). In obese individuals, however, he believed there is a third type of fat that is entirely abnormal. It is also a storage fat, but it is different from the normal storage fat in that it is locked away and is not available as fuel. When one tries to lose weight, s/he mostly loses the normal storage fat, whereas the abnormal storage fat is largely untouched. When this individual goes off a weight loss program, his/her hunger rebounds due to low normal storage fat, s/he refills up the normal storage fat quickly and regains the weight. Dr. Simeons suggested that HCG works on the brain (diencephalon) to tap into this abnormal storage fat. When on HCG, it is mostly this abnormal storage fat that is mobilized and utilized as fuel, instead of the normal storage fat. When s/he goes off the program, s/he won’t feel as hungry because his/her normal storage fat is not drained, hence there won’t be much weight regain. Some clinical study findings do seem to support this notion of abnormal storage fat loss.
Just like any other diet, the HCG weight loss therapy also remains controversial. Clinical studies reported in medical literature are mostly of small size and probably lack the statistical power. (The lack of sizable clinical study may be due to the fact that HCG is a natural substance and no pharmaceutical company can claim patent on it, therefore there is no financial incentive to sponsor such research.) Some studies show that people on HCG + VLCD (very low calorie diet) seem to lose more weight than the placebo group, although this finding is not always reproducible. There are also data to suggest that patients on HCG seems to lose more waist size (i.e., lose more abnormal fat). No significant side effects have been reported when HCG is used in these small doses.
The original HCG therapy suggests daily HCG injection is sufficient to control patient’s appetite. In our own clinical experience, HCG seems to control appetite to certain degree, but it is insufficient to completely suppress appetite. We still need to add appetite suppressants. Our patients seem to lose between 15 and 25 pounds per month on HCG + VLCD therapy, or 2-3 times more weight loss than patients on appetite suppressants without HCG.
Our body weight depends on the following relationship:
CALin ~ CALout
Where CALin= daily calories eaten; CALout = daily calories burnt.
CALin > CALout = weight gain
CALin < CALout = weight loss
The average daily CALout for an American woman is about 2000 kCal/day and about 2500 kCal/day for a man. Human body uses three major forms of fuel: fat, sugar and protein. When CALin is < CALout, our body begins to utilize the stored fat, this is the foundation for weight loss. You may think that the lower the CALin, the more weight we can lose. But there is a limit to this. Research shows that when CALin is < ~800 kCal/day, our body starts to break down our structural tissue such as muscle to provide energy and to slow down our metabolism to conserve energy. This is why we advise our patients NOT to eat fewer than 800 kCal per day. However, HCG makes it possible for us to go below 800 kCal a day without slowing down our metabolism.
|
|
|
We will use this space to answer common and frequently asked questions from our patients. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at info@drwlc.com. Click a link on the Comment to post your questoins.
|
|
