Updated 4/18/23./ Have you heard of the HCG diet? It’s been around for over 60 years. I first heard of this diet in 2007 in a book called “The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want You to Know About”. What I would like to do here is review the scientific studies that have been performed on the HCG diet protocol and let you draw your own conclusions about whether HCG injections help weight loss or not. This review will focus on the original version of HCG diet – the version that uses injections of the hormone HCG.
Homeopathic HCG Review
HCG drops (homeopathic version of this diet)
What Is The HCG Diet & The Simeons Protocol?
HCG stands for human chorionic gonadotropin. This is a hormone that women make when they are pregnant. In fact the most natural way to raise HCG levels is to get pregnant.
The HCG diet dates back to about 1954 when a doctor named Albert Simeons started giving HCG injections to obese people. He published his study in the Lancet, a well-known medical journal.
The HCG diet consists of daily HCG injections coupled with a 500-calorie diet. In addition, people are also told to refrain from using hardly any fat. Even the fats in cosmetics are to be avoided during the HCG diet. There are many HCG diet books to help people with
the food portion of the program.
According to Simeons, giving HCG along with the 500-calorie diet was better for weight loss than just giving them 500 calories. He claimed that his technique achieved fast weight loss without people being hungry. This, he stated was because HCG suppressed the appetite and enhanced people’s moods.
HCG injections also were alleged to burn fat from specific body areas. Today we would call this claim “spot reduction” – ridding fat from only certain locations like troublesome areas of the thighs for example.
It’s my understanding that in the Kevin Trudeau’s weight loss book, he speculated that HCG stimulated the hypothalamus of the brain to get the body to start burning fat. Whether that's true or not, I cannot say.
For more on Kevin Trudeau, see my review of Herpes Cure Report.
What matters is that Dr. Simeons claimed that the HCG injections could result in weight loss of between ½ lb and almost 2 lbs per day on average.
Is there any proof this is true? Let's look at the clinical studies on HCG and weight loss and see what we can discover.
HCG Diet Research. Does The Simeons Protocol Work?
There is HCG weight loss research. Doctors have looked at this weight loss solution several times since the early 1950s. I have linked to the actual scientific studies so you can read them for yourself if you like.
In 1963 Craig and associates tested the Simeons diet in 20 overweight women. The study lasted 45 days. Women were split into 2 groups:
- one group received daily shots of HCG (125 units)
- the other received shots of a placebo
All women ate only 550 calories a day contained in 2 meals. Women could drink as much water, tea, or coffee as they liked (no sugar in tea or coffee).
Results: Women getting HCG injections did not lose more weight.
In 1973, Asher and Harper tested the HCG diet in 40 overweight women for 6 weeks. The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Women either received either
- daily HCG injections (125 units)
- or a saline placebo.
All women consumed a 500-calorie diet.
Results. Asher and Harper found that women getting HCG injections lost more weight than those who received a placebo.
In the study, it was stated that Harper, who did the “clinical work” also “has an active practice using HCG for weight reduction”. In science, this is technically a no no. Some might see this as possible bias (even unconscious bias) on the part of the researcher.
However, the connection of the researcher to the HCG diet was clearly disclosed at the beginning of the study. They were not trying to hide this, and I will call this study a “win” for the HCG diet.
It was because of the findings by Asher and Harper that in 1976, Stein and colleagues decided to test the HCG diet. In their investigation, they used a similar protocol as Asher and Harper (Asher provided Stein with their research design).
They tested the HCG diet in 51 young women (ave aged 33). The study lasted 32 days. Women were split into 2 groups:
- One group received daily injections of HGC (125 units)
- The other group received injections of a saline placebo
All women were put on the identical 500-calorie diet as in the Asher and Harper study. Women were also instructed to drink 8-10 glasses of water daily.
Results. This study found that the HCG diet did not help weight loss.
Women getting HCG did not lose any more weight than those getting the placebo. In addition, women getting HCG injections did not lose
more weight in specific body areas (as the HCG diet proponents often say will happen).
Also, in 1976, another HCG study was performed by Young and colleagues. In this study, there were 202 people.
For 6 days a week, people received either
- injections of HCG (125 units a day)
- or saline injections (placebo)
In addition people also ate 500 calories a day and received lectures on diet and behavior modification twice a week for the length of the study.
All fat was excluded from the diet except for the fat that was associated with the protein that people ate from food.
This study also tested whether HCG treatment helped people maintain their weight loss better. This was accomplished by giving people 6 weeks of no HCG injections coupled with education about how to eat properly.
Results. At the end of the study, researchers found that HCG injections did not lead to any greater weight loss or weight maintenance than those who did not get HCG injections. In the words of the researchers:
“… we could not demonstrate by any objective indicator that HCG was beneficial in promoting weight loss, nor was there any significant difference in fat loss or body circumference measurements”
In 1977, Shetty and Kalkhoff did a small study of HCG in 6 hospitalized obese women. The women were only given 500 calories a day and injected daily with 125 units of HCG for 30 days. Another 5 women were given the exact same diet yet injected with a placebo.
Results. According to the authors, weight loss between groups was “nearly identical”. Measurements of the circumferences of the chest, waist, hips or thighs also showed no differences between the HCG and placebo groups. Any changes observed, the authors noted, was consistent with “semi-starvation” and weight loss”.
Also in 1977, Greenway and associates tested the HCG diet for 6 weeks in 40 healthy women (age 20-40) who were randomly divided into 2 groups:
- One group received HCG
- The other group got a placebo
Both groups received injections 6 days a week for 6 weeks. Greenway did not specify how much HCG women received in their investigation (I’ll assume it was 125 units but I cannot prove this).
Results. People getting daily HCG injections did not lose any more weight than women who received a placebo. Likewise, there were no differences in body circumferences or mood in those who received HCG injections. The Greenway study was concluded with these words (note these words were written in 1977):
“We feel that the 20 year history of the use of HCG in the treatment of obesity should come to an end because injections of placebo appear to be equally effective in all respects.”
In 1983 Birmingham and Smith reviewed 6 of double-blind studies of the HCG diet conducted at that time.
Results. They concluded that only one study (the Asher and Harper study mentioned above) found that HCG injections caused weight loss more than placebo. The other 5 studies found that HCG injections do not cause weight loss.
In 1990, Venter and associates tested the HCG diet in 40 obese women for 6 weeks. In this double-blind placebo-controlled study, women were either given daily HCG injections or injections of a placebo. All women were put on the same diet that supplied 1200 calories a day.
Before and after the study, they tested body weight, body circumferences, and hunger level.
Results. The HCG diet “showed no advantages over those on placebo in respect any of the variables recorded”. So HCG didn’t work.
In 1995, Lijesen and colleagues performed a meta-analysis of 24 previously published HCG diet studies.
A meta analysis basically means that the researchers added together the results of a bunch of studies, to see if they could find “the big picture”.
Results. They concluded that “there is no scientific evidence that HCG is effective in the treatment of obesity”
and that:
“it [HCG] does not bring about weigh loss or fat redistribution nor does it reduce hunger or induce a feeling of well being.”
Summary Of HCG Weight Loss Studies
| Study | People in study | Study design | Results |
| Craig (1963) | 20 | Double-blind placebo controlled | HCG doesn’t work |
| Asher/Harper (1973) | 40 | Randomized double-blind | HCG works |
| Stein (1976) | 51 | Randomized double-blind | HCG doesn't work |
| Young (1976) | 202 | Randomized double blind cross over | HCG doesn't work |
| Sheety (1977) | 6 | Randomized double-blind | HCG doesn't work |
| Greenway (1977) | 40 | Randomized double-blind | HCG doesn't work |
| Birmingham (1983) | 358 | Meta-analysis of 6 HCG studies | HCG doesn't work |
| Lijesen (1995) | ? | Meta-analysis of 24 HCG studies | HCG doesn’t work |
Note. This is just a sample of the HCG weight loss studies. There are several others.
HCG Diet Video
Here's a quick video revealing the research on the Simeons Protocol and other HCG diet research
Watch this video on my YouTube channel if you prefer.
HCG Diet And The Thyroid
Some ask if this diet can help the metabolism or thyroid or improve hypothyroidism. I am not aware of any research that looked at the HCG diet protocol and checked to see if it altered the level of thyroid or TSH levels. As people lose weight -through any diet – metabolism does tend to decrease.
This is why its often easier to lose the first 50 pounds than the last 10 pounds of weight. Whether or not HCG can change this drop in metabolic rate needs more research.
Some say that HCG shots (and HCG drops) help people preserve muscle during weight loss. Again, I have not seen any scientific proof that the protocol reduces muscle loos when dieting. Theoretically, eating only 500 calories per day would eventually cause the body to start cannibalizing itself to maintain adequate energy.
Whether HCG injections can reduce/reverse this process is unknown as far as I can tell and is likewise deserving of better research. These 2 aspects of the HCG diet would make for very interesting topics for graduate students to research (hint, hint to the grad students reading this).
HCG Injection Side Effects
Most of the human HCG injection weight loss studies did not report anything bad happening but its also true many did not last long enough either. Here are some things to consider if you embark on trying this yourself.
If you do HCG injections, you really should do it under a doctor's supervision. Don't buy the HCG hormone on the internet and inject it yourself. Don't listen to any “internet expert” who makes claims about how much to use or anything like that. There are doctors who will prescribe HCG for “off-label” use. While I have been critical of doctors who do this (see the HCG drops review), it's likely safer when used in conjunction with a physician who knows about this stuff than using a do-it-yourself approach.
Do not share needles to reduce costs. That is a surefire way of getting a disease.
Realize that weight loss may not be so great without also reducing calorie intake. That said, I could not recommend only 500 calories per day. Instead, why not try a safer amount, such as 1500 calories per day? If HCG really does work, then it should even work – albeit slower – when a more rational reduction in calories are consumed. Slow weight loss help stabilizes metabolic rate better than fast weight loss.
See the review at Dr.BillSukala.com for more insights.
Can HCG Cause Cancer?
In a 2016 paper titled Evidence for, and Associated Risks with, the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Supplemented Diet, published in the Journal of Dietary Supplements, the authors call attention to the possibility that the use of HCG hormone may promote and spread the growth of cancer.
In their paper, the authors point out that there are different variations of the HGC molecules. Two of these types are called:
- Hyperglycosylated HCG (hCGh)
- hCG free beta-subunit (hCGb)
These kinds of HCG are thought to be linked to cancer promotion. I have yet to see clinical studies published that directly link HCG to cancer in humans, although the authors mention they have people online speculating that HCG may have caused their cancer. I have seen these websites myself. Performing an online search for “Did HCG injections cause my cancer?” should reveal websites where this topic is discussed.
Does The HCG Diet Work?
Some say that HCG needs to be used soon after being prepared, or it becomes useless. Could this be why all the other HCG studies show it doesn't work? Could all the other researchers have made a critical mistake? Maybe. In theory, there may be something to this- if HCG really does break down as fast as they say.
Could there be a conspiracy by the medical community to prevent people from knowing the truth about HCG? I don’t think so. Here’s why.
Covering up proof that the HCG diet works would be very difficult because EVERYBODY can read the HCG diet studies. ANYBODY can replicate the studies today using the very same procedures and see if it works. So why don’t the sellers of the HCG diet protocol – instead of invoking the name of Albert Simeons– do their own HCG diet research, publish that research and prove to the world that the HCG diet really works?
Here's HCG supplements on Amazon if you want to see what others are saying.
What do you think?
There is no way to prevent muscle loss with a starvation diet aka a 500 calorie a day diet. Also, there are no scientifically proven benefits from the addition of HCG to a 500 cal a day diet. In fact, all the studies show that HCG provides no benefit above and beyond what is provided by a placebo treatment. You will lose weight because you’ve cut the average caloric intake from 2000 kcal per day to 500 kcal per day. A body at complete rest for 24 hours will burn much more than 500 calories just to maintain biological function. Please do your research and read the meta-analysis on the subject.
Hi Lisa,
No, I do not have to watch what I eat at all. However, I am not a really big eater. My problem is, I love beer! LOL I have cut back on the beer and doing fine.
I believe that if you eat the way you are suppose to eat and the HCG food is great you will not put the weight back on. I gained because we went to work in Teaxs and I was cooking for someone and they keep telling me I should it more! Until she drove me crazy and I just caved. It’s kinda like the Devil saying, “oh go ahead it would hurt you!” Dont it will. Once you start feeling good from eating right you will see what I mean. You want want to eat like you did before. You dont lose Muscle! Eating 1200 cal and Only 10 GRAMS a fat a day!and being on the HCG injections worked for me. I am going back on! this time the devil can stay in Texas!
Debbie, I appreciate your words but I have to ask how do you know you didn’t lose muscle? I only ask because muscle loss is painless. did you have any medical tests done to confirm this? What are some examples of HCG food? Are there HCG diet cook books? I have not looked at this so I’m curious.
I recently counseled a young man who was on the HCG diet. He was attempting to buy a protein bar that had about 200 calories and his diet only allowed for 500 total calories a day. Now Joe, this was an average sized guy, about 5’9″ or 5’10” and no more than maybe 10 pounds overweight if at all. (Looked like he could have done some ab work and cardio and been okay.) Anyway, I advised him that 500 calories for a man of his height and weight would do more harm than good.
I told him that 500 calories is not enough for someone who is weight training with the goal of building muscle and burning fat. I said this diet was probably better for someone morbidly obese who needed to lose weight quickly due to health issues. The young man explained that he wanted to “hurry up and lose weight.” I got the feeling he was acting on impulse and would not have the staying power of a longer term plan.
I advised him to calculate how many calories a day( x 7 days) it takes to maintain his current weight, then subtract 7000 from that total to lose two pounds a week. I advised him to load up on the fruits and vegetables, water, reduce sugar and salt especially. He didn’t look too happy but after we talked I could sense he was somewhat relieved that he didn’t have to stay on that insane diet to lose weight. I really hope the information I gave him helped and thanks so much for giving me the info on this diet in the first place.
Anytime Christallan, I hope it helped him too.
Deanna — is there anything special you had to do to keep your weight loss results? Do you have to eat differently?
Josiah, Jim B — when did you do the diet? have you kept the weight off?
Debbie — it sounds like you gained weight back; can you detail why you “ate wrong” after the diet was finished? is there a specific way you are supposed to eat forever?
I am wondering what the fat / muscle percentage of each person was before and after and also how many people were able to keep the weight off after dieting. I don’t care that one is more effective than the other in terms of the weight loss process itself. HCG diet claims to only burn fat instead of muscle (which would keep metabolism high). Where are those studies?
Lisa, if those studies exist, I could not locate them. I really did look. If anybody knows of studies showing that HCG prevents muscle loss while eating only 500 calories per day, please share.
Hi, I did the hcg injections, I was on a 1200 cal diet instead of the 500. I lost 25 pounds. It also reshaped my body. Nicely! I had no problems. I had no side effects. I ate no more then 10 grams a fat a day. 1200 is a lot of cal if you think about it. Finding food with no fat in it is very difficult. I searched the stores I read labels. I found I could eat pasta and marinara! English muffins, tortilla’s you just have to count the fat intake and DONT go over it or you will not lose any weight.
They do have a HCG cook book. I found on Amazon. This does work and it works quick. I did not exercise. It worked for me. My body and others are not the same . Once you get to your goal u will feel so much better. Have more energy! want to do things. I have since went to Texas and did not stick to eating the foods that’s actually mad me feel good! and gain my weight back. So you have to always eat right.
The thing I loved about this was you will not get hungry and will even eat less then it says u can. The Dr s way is 500 and they push that. I got into it on face book about Dr s way! They are wrong. 1200 cal will due. Just check your labels and dont go over 10 grams a fat a day! Meat markets will slice your meat to 2 oz weigh your pasta weigh you food. So it takes time its worth it! For me anyways. I also have other friends who did it and it worked for them. In fact they introduced me.
I go to a Natural Doc who fixes the injections for me. I had a hard time sticking myself until I realized it did hurt because the needles are very small. Just try not to hit a Fat deposit. It will bruise if you do. I only paid 100 a month and was on it for the time reg by my doc 1 month then a two week break then back on again. I lost my desired weight. Now I have to start all over because I did not eat right after the diet. By the way what worked for me may not work for you every BODY is different!
Debbie, 1200 calories is still a lot less than the average person eats per day and will cause weight loss in almost everybody with or with out HCG. Still, I’m glad you lost weight and we all have to find our own path that works for us. I just wanted to point that out.
I did the injections of hcg for 25 days. Here are the before and after numbers. I am a 57 year old male in pretty good shape before i started. I worked out with functional strength exercises, push ups, pull ups, dips, kettle bells, 3x a week while on the diet. Did not count calories, but did 2x 6 oz of lean protein a day. 4 cups of the recommended veggies a day. 2 servings of the recommended fruit a day. 4 egg whites a day and 1 protein shake a day.
The numbers;
Before- weight 193, body fat 22.5%, waist 39 inches, chest 44 inches, muscle % 56%. measurements were taken on a omeron body fat scale.
After- weight 180, body fat 18.5%, waist 36″, chest 43″, muscle % 59%.
I am happy with the results. 13 lbs lost, apparently most of it fat and no muscle loss.
Jim
PS: Biggest downside is peeing all the time from the water intake!
I had not read any studies when I first tried oral HCG drops and only did so because of a friend who had great success with it. After doing two (43 day) cycles of HCG oral drops I have lost an impressive amount of weight. Male, 5″8, 31 yrs old. Beginning weight 274 lbs. Current weight 195 lbs. That’s 79 lbs for those keeping track! I don’t know the science involved, but I had tried a great many “diets” in the past and none were good enough to loose much weight at all, let alone 80 lbs. Including a period of time where I was being near annorexic with my food intake, I have never lost this much weight at all, not to mention this quickly. Could all be mental I guess, but either way I’m happy with the results. Definitely need more studies on this HCG and whether it affects muscle mass etc… during weight loss.
Sure, it’s a drug being sold for uses for which is has no proof of efficacy. That’s illegal in this country.
http://consumerist.com/2011/01/hcg-diet-products-are-fraudulent-says-fda.html
In fact, the American College of Bariatric Physicians recommends against the HCG diet because there is zero evidence HCG adds anything to the caloric restriction and, in fact, there is a lot of evidence that the HCG component is no more effective than a placebo treatment.
Okay- Just heard the FDA taking this off the market- does anyone know why?
I respect your comments Joe. All I know is that I certainly would have never been able to maintain a 500 calorie diet for 3 weeks without the hcg. Maybe it was all in my head…but I have to say that it worked for me. I have not had to worry about what I eat or drink since I went off the diet. I have maintained my weight loss for almost a year. 😀
Happy New Year Joe!
Regards,
Brae
Brae, in the end, that is what is important. Happy 2012 to you too!!
btw…you can call me Brae. all my friends do! 😀
Thanks Brae 🙂
Deanna,
There have been a ton of studies on the so-called HCG diet. In short, all have concluded that HCG has NOTHING to do with the weight loss, and does NOTHING to control the feelings of hunger. All weight loss was due to the caloric restriction, and there were no differences between HCG and placebo. Do a little research, and you’ll find the studies, including a meta-analysis from 1996.
If you lose weight from the diet, great. But it’s not from HCG, so save your money.
My company was just bought by Baxter International. They are a pharma, biologics, and medical device company. Baxa was just a medical device. Who knows…maybe I can convenience someone at Baxter to help!
Take care Joe. 🙂
Joe,
I have had zero trouble with maintaining my weight loss. I actually can eat and drink anything without worrying at all. I am going on one year since going off the hcg diet. I only had to do the diet once. I know others have had to do it multiple times to get to their goal.
Yes, I do believe some people will have problems sticking to the hcg diet. You need to be disciplined. I looked at it as only being 3 weeks of my life. I believe a lot of people do not have will power. I am a very disciplined person. I can do anything I make up my mind to do!
Yep, that is weight watchers for you. Stop the diet….and go back to where you were. Not my idea of fun. I was starving for 6 months for 10 lbs of weight lose, just to gain it back. hcg…I didn’t starve at all. And….I have not gain one pound back!
BTW….look at what company I work for. Baxa.com I work as a Regulatory Affairs Professional (FDA Regs) at a medical device company. So many of my coworkers have had success on this diet and we all know medical very well!
I really don’t understand why someone in the hcg diet industry doesn’t do a study. It really upsets me that they don’t!
And…BTW, merry Christmas to you too hun! 🙂
Deanna, It sounds like you looked at it in a realistic way – just 3 weeks out of your life. I did look at your website 😉 maybe somebody over there may know somebody who wants to do such a study?
Have a great day!!
“Speaking of weight watchers, have you ever tried it? if yes, did it work? Again, Im just trying to offer cheaper alternatives. Its a tough economy as you know.”
btw….weight watchers sux. i was on weight watchers for 6 months and felt like i was starving myself to death. i only lost 10 lbs in 6 months and gained it all back once off the diet!
Deanna, I have known people who have lost 40 pounds on weight watchers. the issue is that when they stop going to weight watchers meetings and watching what they eat, the weight comes back. This is a problem with many diet eating programs.
Sorry, but I had to laugh when I saw this article. The HCG diet is sustainable for long term weight loss. I did the diet and several of my friends & family have too. All of us have had major success on it. I have been off the diet for almost a year and have not gained one pound back.
I went from a size 12 to a size 4 in 3 weeks and have maintained it!
Of course, this diet isn’t for everyone. You have to have discipline and will power and truly want to lose weight. Without that, you will surely fail. I have seen others fail on this diet because they lack the will power to say no to soda or junk food. I have never been much into soda or junk food so I cannot relate to these people.
It is absolutely ridiculous to keep hearing that there is no scientific evidence that this diet works. If that is the case then why have I see so many of my family & friends succeed on it? There are success stories all over the internet. How much more proof does anyone need to see that it is bs to keep saying there is no scientific evidence?
I have read that people would lose weight just by doing a low calorie diet without the hcg. NO, you cannot lose weight just by eating a 500 calorie diet. You body would eventually go into starvation mode and hold onto every ounce of fat it had. It is the combination of the 2, hcg and the low calorie diet that make this diet successful. Also, you do not have to do the 500 calories. You can do a 800 or 1200 calorie diet with the hcg and still see success just not as quickly as a 500 calorie diet.
Why does the medical community want to keep people from losing weight? I am sure it is due to a financial advantage because overweight people have many more health issues and go to the doctor more often. If people were not overweight, they would be healthier and live a much happier and productive life! Why are you trying to deny people of this?
Deanna, I’m really glad you have lost weight with the HCG diet but you said yourself that will power counts. Most people do not have the will power to stick to the hcg diet long and its even harder to maintain any weight that was lost. If this was not the case then why do so many people gain weight after trying all those other diets.
I would also respectively disagree about eating only 500 calories per day. If you only ate 500 calories per day you would lose weight.
I share your frustration with the medical community and hcg research. The studies I reviewed were from decades ago and while the majority of them find it does not work any better than eating just lower calories, Id like to see new research on this topic. There are doctors who use HCG diet protocols. Why have none of them ever done a study and published it to show the world that they are right and all the other previous studies are wrong? Why has NOBODY who markets hcg diet products ever done a study?
We both agree that the weight loss money is in the “medicine” – selling bogus diet books, pills potions etc – and not in the cure. Testimonials and success stories don’t cut it with doctors. They want facts. So, if you really want the medical community to take the hcg diet seriously, put the pressure on those in the hcg diet industry to fund a study. I would accept a well done study that is funded by the hcg diet industry. if its done well, Id have no problems with it.
BTW, Merry Christmas!
Hi to all! I am 20lbs over my pre pregnancy weight which was 160. My daughter will be 2 next month so Im well over due on the weight loss lol. Im 5’8, and I carry most of my weight or all, in my tummy:-( What type of weight loss can I expect from hcg? I actually would like to hit 150 so hopefully I have NO stomach because although I was fine at 160 I still had a tummy. I kinda got use to it because I cant remember when I DIDNT have one. I want to be a new me by my b-day which is 3/17/2012!!!