Doubt

About three months ago, a friend of mine told me she'd started the HCG Diet. Even finding one article to hyperlink was tough because it seems like every single website about HCG is written either by people selling the diet or by people selling another diet. It makes it hard to separate fact from fiction and science from anecdote.


This diet is controversial. Basically, the way it works is that you eat 500 calories a day (I know, crazy, right?) while taking HCG (injections or homeopathic).


HCG is the pregnancy hormone that guarantees that a fetus gets all the nutrients it needs to grow no matter how much food the mother is actually getting. The HCG actually converts fat from the mother's body into nutrients for the fetus. In the 1960's, Dr. Simeons wondered if overweight people could use HCG to rid their bodies of excess fat while keeping intense hunger pangs away.


Dieters following the HCG protocol eat 500 calories a day, but the HCG supposedly frees up reserves of stored fat so that you lose weight without being hungry, AND you stay healthy. His studies showed it worked wonders. Thousands of anecdotes all over the interwebz show that it works wonders.


Five people I know claim it is a total fucking miracle.I'm not much for miracles. Scientific studies have not been able to replicate the results. Scientific studies have shown that you lose weight when you're on a 500 calorie diet, whether or not you take HCG. Studies have also shown that hunger levels are the same, whether you're taking HCG or not.So why am I even considering this?


Not only am I considering it, I'm starting on Monday.