hCG and Weight Loss

Ok, sports fans, you may be aware of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) most notably because it was the hormone found in a blood test from then Dodger, now White Sox player, Manny Ramirez that led to his 50-game suspension in 2009. hCG is not a performance enhancing drug (though it can increase the natural production of testosterone in men), but it is often used in conjunction with anabolic steroids to reverse or minimize the effects of steroids on the production of testosterone (and other more graphic physical side-effects)

On Wednesday, I will begin a 45-day regimen of daily (6 days per week) injections of hCG to accelerate and maintain my weight loss. hCG is most often prescribed as part of fertility treatments, but it's use as a weight loss aid has become pretty popular in the last decade or so. When combined with a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD), hCG has been shown to promote the loss of 1/2 to 1-pound of weight per day. In the Somae Plan, this phase is referred to as "Accelerated Weight Loss."

If hCG occurs naturally, why do I need injections? Well, hCG does occur naturally in humans (note the 'h'), but is found usually in women during pregnancy. Studies in the 1960's found (with some controversy) that hCG helped pregnant women maintain enough energy and provide enough nutrition for developing embryos and fetuses by assisting with the conversion of body fat to usable energy. As I said, this is controversial and not all organizations accept that hCG can or should be used for weight loss.

Despite the fact that the federal Food & Drug Administration has not approved hCG for weight loss, there are wealth of companies and organizations using hCG treatments for just that purpose. I chose Somae Health because of the answers I received not only from their staff but also from others who I knew or met as a result of my research. Just taking a drug without a support structure is a recipe for failure, I think.

If it hasn't become obvious to you, I am a skeptic at heart. I hate needles and I hate ingesting (let alone injecting) anything of which I am not 100% sure. I have seen the results in others who have used hCG, and I'm looking forward to seeing the same results in myself. Certainly, hCG is not required for weight loss (I've lost more than 20 pounds without it), but the addition of hCG to my daily regimen will hopefully allow me to continue my weight loss until I reach a healthier weight and can then develop a routine to maintain that weight without losing my commitment or enthusiasm along the way.