Injections Diet Has Some Doctors Skeptical, Dieters Raving

A diet that uses injections to lose weight has many in the medical field skeptical but has dieters seeing results.

Wednesday, July 29th 2009, 1:01 am

By: News 9


By Jacqueline Sit, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A diet that uses injections to lose weight has many in the medical field skeptical but has dieters seeing results. 

Chelsey Baker and Virginia Savage both said they were looking to shed a few bounds. So they both dove into the HCG Diet that claims to target the fat from all the normal problem areas also known as ‘love handles.'

"HCG is a complex amino acid molecule that's in everybody's bodies male, female, in all organ systems," said Dr. Stacey Hedlund, HCG Diet Expert.

The 41-day diet allows the body to burn stored fat. Dieters meet with a doctor, they're weighed, measured and monitored every day.

For six days a week, HCG is injected into your system.

"It's in your body anyway and all we're doing is giving a little extra to trigger your brain stem to keep the metabolism to burn the abnormal fat, so it's very safe," Hedlund said.

Dieters are also put on a clean, low 500 calorie diet. The average person needs an average of 2,000 calories a day, which means dieters are restricted to what they can eat including heart-healthy foods from chicken, white fish, fruits and vegetables. They're also limited to what they can drink.

"You're allowed water, coffee, tea and mineral water, and I like people to get close to a gallon a day of water," Hedlund said.

The idea is to reset your body's metabolism. With the strict diet and injections, dieters can lose up to two pounds a day. In the process, dieters are teaching the body to burn up more calories, which will allow them to eat more.

In the last three months, NEWS 9 followed Baker's and Savage's progress and within weeks, both saw results.

"I didn't know it was going to fall off as rapidly as it did," said Chelsey Baker.

Both also said they have not seen a loss in energy levels.

"I've been able to go on my usual routine and handle things and work. I think it's been fine," said Virginia Savage.

But Dr. Eli Reshef, Medical Director of Bennet Fertility Institute of the Integris Baptist Medical Center, said the HCG diet is not fine.

"If you put anybody on a 500 calorie a day diet they will lose weight," Reshef said.

Dr. Reshef said there is no scientific study proving HCG works.

"Any claim that HCG does anything to the fat storage or fat redistribution is a sham science. The HCG clearly in this diet serves as a placebo, and there's nothing wrong with a placebo as long as a patient knows about it," he said.

Dr. Stacey Hedlund disagrees.

"The health side of it is that we've seen it happen again and again and it's the abnormal fat stores that people are losing and losing the weight is so beneficial for health from almost every disease," Hedlund said.

However, both Savage and Baker said with or without scientific support, they're pleased with their end results.

"I lost 30 pounds and I lost 20 inches," Baker said.

The HCG Diet is very closely monitored, but doctors said being on a 500 calorie diet can be very risky. Both doctors said the best thing you can do to lose weight is to eat healthy and exercise.

More information on the HCG Diet

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

July 29th, 2009

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024