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Post by perfectdeb on Jul 3, 2013 20:26:12 GMT -6
Just thought i'd post this as a little warning to those of you who might think that really low calorie is worth a try.
a very good friend of mine that i havent seen in ages contacted me today to ask for some advice, she's a really big girl (or rather was), 313 pounds last time i saw her.
so on the advice of her doctor she embarked on the HCG diet, dropped an astounding amount of weight, 40 pounds in less than three months, eating less then 500 calories a day and getting daily injections (you'd lose me right there)
for the last three months she's switched to a low carb diet, she's on 2200 calories a day now and still losing weight.
the reason she rang me though is that the effect of three months on HCG has had a terrible effect on her body, her hair is falling out and she's covered in bruises, her blood work shows she's really low on most vitamins even though shes supplementing, the theory is that her metabolism is now so broken that her body is no longer processing nutrients properly, essentially she's gone into starvation mode and cant get out of it.
her doctor wants her to stop losing weight, she's now at 206 pounds, he said she needs to just concentrate on getting healthy, he doesnt blame the low carb, he fully blames the HCG.
I have no idea what to say, she's eating really well now, lots of veggies and good proteins, lots of healthy fats, i'm thinking its something that will only be solved by time
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Post by clueless on Jul 3, 2013 20:40:12 GMT -6
Oh NO!
I am so sorry for your friend.
Besides all that, I can't even imagine how sick and run down she feels too.
I know a lady that did HCG too. She was only 21 which may have helped her to keep from totally getting sick. As soon as she went off it she gained all the weight plus a lot more back.
Keep us informed as to how she is recovering?
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Post by reddarin on Jul 3, 2013 20:45:25 GMT -6
If she stays low carb and eats healthy foods (no LC junk food) I bet she will repair the damage. The good news is you can eat like a king if you aren't trying to restrict calories to lose weight.
But I'd be ready for it to take months to fix.
She went to a clinic for the shots? Not her doc?
I'm sure there are some people that kept the weight off after losing it with that stuff. My brother and his wife are not. They did the drops under the tongue. Lost a lot of weight. Quit buying the drops. They are fat as heck again, fatter than before.
I told my brother about LC early last year. His overweight wife shot it down because ... she heard on TV or somewhere that LC will give you a heart attack and that was that. This year I am in the 180s and they are big and bigger. Bah.
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Post by perfectdeb on Jul 3, 2013 20:46:47 GMT -6
shes ok now, she says she feels fine, her doc has told her it can take months to recover, you can lose teeth, grow fine white hair all over your body, organ damage etc
bloody insane, id rather be overweight
oh and she explained, its two different doctors, she dumped the first one, good thing too
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Post by perfectdeb on Jul 3, 2013 20:48:24 GMT -6
her doctor gave her the prescription for the shots, she gave them to herself
i see malpractice written all over this
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Post by perfectdeb on Jul 3, 2013 20:50:13 GMT -6
she's on the new atkins, from what she's telling me she's eating really well, very clean whole food - i'm thinking she may have dodged a very big bullet, she only stopped because her heart rate shot up and she ended up in hospital for observation for 4 days
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Post by clueless on Jul 3, 2013 20:56:27 GMT -6
she's on the new atkins, from what she's telling me she's eating really well, very clean whole food - i'm thinking she may have dodged a very big bullet, she only stopped because her heart rate shot up and she ended up in hospital for observation for 4 days OH MY GOSH! That's awful. Thank God she found LC and is feeling better. |
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Post by perfectdeb on Jul 3, 2013 21:05:54 GMT -6
the doctor in the hospital recommended she switch to atkins which is a surprise
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chrispy
City
Posts: 440 
Joined: May 2013
Stats: 268/235/ ?
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Post by chrispy on Jul 4, 2013 1:35:32 GMT -6
The shame of it is......when you're desperate to lose weight you'll listen to and believe anything, no matter how weird or dangerous it is!!!
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Post by clueless on Jul 4, 2013 7:22:20 GMT -6
Amen Chrispy!! I have done it myself. I would be ashamed to admit all the terrible diets I tried when I was 240 lbs and on a short little shrimp like me that is super fat. I could kick my own butt!!!
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Post by reddarin on Jul 4, 2013 9:27:19 GMT -6
the doctor in the hospital recommended she switch to atkins which is a surprise  |
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Post by lindab220 on Jul 4, 2013 14:46:41 GMT -6
Cheryl, sweetie I can not picture you at 240. Can not!!! What a transformation.  Deb, you poor friend. Lucky to be alive. She needs all good kinds of nutrients. Maybe not super low in carbs. 30-50. Not 10. She can get more nutrients with juicing along with her other eating. Super LC. I have just ordered a sprouting kit to sprout veggies. A sprouted seed has the same nutrients that a grown broccoli stalk has. And you can eat so many of them. Total powerhouse. And it is easy to do. Just need a jar and a sprouting lid. (Mesh cloth) |
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Post by clueless on Jul 4, 2013 14:49:27 GMT -6
I would post a pic, but it would be too hard. I have mulled it over. lol
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Post by perfectdeb on Jul 4, 2013 18:22:16 GMT -6
she's pretty good with what she's eating, we went through it and the only thing i suggested was that she try to get all the extra nutrients she can from food rather than suppliments. i also told her to cut down on the green juice shes having three times a day, they didnt test her vitamin K levels but the bruising might be related to that and a constant diet of green juice might be not helping
i was shocked at how bad she looks, i knew she'd been doing low carb and for a moment i thought that was the cause, she looks like a cancer patient
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seefine
Village
Posts: 24
Joined: June 2013
Stats: 276/208/199
Plan: NK
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Post by seefine on Jul 4, 2013 20:18:39 GMT -6
Bone broths would be good for her to get needed minerals.
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Post by smiledarling on Jul 5, 2013 9:32:10 GMT -6
What is HCG exactly?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2013 12:04:40 GMT -6
HCG is a hormone found in the urine of pregnant females. When injected into non-pregnant people it's supposed to suppress hunger and trigger fat burning. I haven't read much about whether the injections actually work, but it seems suspicious that weight loss clinics promoting HCG tell their clients to stick to a 500 calorie per day diet. Most people will lose on an extremely low calorie diet without drugs or hormones, but as Deb's friend experienced it comes with serious health risks. |
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Post by smiledarling on Jul 6, 2013 16:42:14 GMT -6
Ew. I can't believe any doctor would recommend that. I get that being that large is unhealthy and you would want to do what you could to lose the weight as fast as possible but...there are certain things that you just don't mess around with.
Glad she's doing a lot better.
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Post by smiledarling on Jul 6, 2013 16:43:18 GMT -6
I find it odd that a hormone relating to pregnancy would suppress your appetite/promote weight loss.
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Post by perfectdeb on Jul 7, 2013 20:51:52 GMT -6
yeah, its stupid, i cant see how anybody would think that was safe or sensible
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