HCG (Homeopathic) for Toning Only - Not Weight Loss?

[lcwol_2211]

I was wondering if it's possible to use homeopathic HCG drops for toning, building muscle, and decreasing sagginess and loose skin, and not just for weight loss.

I am eight lbs. away from goal, and am confident in my ability to lose the weight with Atkins and exercise alone. However, my body fat percentage is still very high (27%), despite the fact that I am using weights and doing daily intense strength training.

If I go on the HCG diet once I am at goal, will it help me to tone up and decrease the flabbiness and body fat percentage, without causing me to lose significant weight? Or is HCG only good for losing weight?

I've heard of people on this board doing multiple HCG rounds - once for weight loss, and subsequent rounds for toning and shaping the body alone. How does one go about this - must the Simeons protocol be followed exactly in the same way as those looking to lose weight?

Any advice from those who have done homeopathic (or even regular) HCG for toning and reshaping purposes would be greatly appreciated!!

[Momto2boysNJ]

This is a GREAT question and I'm very interested in the answer!

[ColleenMA66]

I'm not an expert but from what I understand about hcg is that it works on abnormal fat...once your abnormal fat is gone you'll start to lose regular fat which your body does not want to lose and your appetite will come back and you'll be very hungry on the 500 cal diet.

From my reading if you lose any reg fat once you go off the drops your body wants to put that back on so you may gain a bit.

Again..I am no expert...one of them may be able to answer your question better.

I have plenty of abnormal fat so I'm not even close to having to worry about this yet....wish I did!

[lcwol_2211]

Originally Posted by ColleenMA66

I'm not an expert but from what I understand about hcg is that it works on abnormal fat...once your abnormal fat is gone you'll start to lose regular fat which your body does not want to lose and your appetite will come back and you'll be very hungry on the 500 cal diet.

From my reading if you lose any reg fat once you go off the drops your body wants to put that back on so you may gain a bit.

Again..I am no expert...one of them may be able to answer your question better.

I have plenty of abnormal fat so I'm not even close to having to worry about this yet....wish I did!

Thanks Colleen! So basically what you're saying is that if I don't have much weight to lose, then taking the drops and doing the 500 calorie diet will in fact not cause the hunger to go away during the duration of the diet, and I might in fact gain back the fat after I've stopped taking the drops?

I know you're not an expert per se, lol, however - what if I don't have much WEIGHT to lose (in terms of pounds), however I have much FAT to lose (my body fat percentage is extremely high)? Will the hhcg help to remove this fat? I don't know if it's abnormal fat or normal fat, that's why I'm wondering. I have lots of belly fat, hip fat, and thigh fat, even though the rest of me has leaned out - I'm wondering if this fat can be lessened and toned by taking the drops...

Anyhow, I realize you may not have the answers - however, I appreciate your response, it's allowed me to articulate my question more clearly for not only myself, but to any lowcarbfriends members who may have an answer to my queries, or their own experiences and insights to share on this topic.

Thanks!

[torister]

Originally Posted by lcwol_2211

I know you're not an expert per se, lol, however - what if I don't have much WEIGHT to lose (in terms of pounds), however I have much FAT to lose (my body fat percentage is extremely high)? Will the hhcg help to remove this fat? I don't know if it's abnormal fat or normal fat, that's why I'm wondering. I have lots of belly fat, hip fat, and thigh fat, even though the rest of me has leaned out - I'm wondering if this fat can be lessened and toned by taking the drops...

I use RX HCG, so what I have to add might not be relevant, but HCG is self limiting. If you do not have any abnormal fat (your body decides this..not you), then you will experience the hunger, etc. and you might lose some normal fat and will most likely will regain it. So...even if you think your thighs are "too big"....your body might say they are as they should be. Make sense?

[Salamander]

Hi,

I thought I'd chime in here... I only had about 8 lbs to lose when I did a round of HCG. With 27% body fat, you have extra fat to lose so HCG is perfect! What happened with me is I did the drops for the full 23 days, but reached my goal weight a few days early, so I did as Dr. S. instructs in the book: start increasing calories up to 800-1000 a day. I just added an extra oz. of protein to each meal and bigger portion of veggies and a smidge of olive oil or butter. What Colleen is referring to is if someone is already at (or reaches) a low weight, doing the HCG and 500 calories won't work because you will be starving. Now I am around 99 lbs and bodyfat of 20% (I just did the hydrostatic test last week which is the most accurate) so I wouldn't be a good candidate for another round in my opinion.

Another great thing about HCG is it targets the stubborn fat... I lost fat in my thighs and arms in spite of not being able to do that with LC, and I didn't have that MUCH fat in those areas (so I wasn't expecting it- wonderful!)

Sally

[lcwol_2211]

Originally Posted by torister

I use RX HCG, so what I have to add might not be relevant, but HCG is self limiting. If you do not have any abnormal fat (your body decides this..not you), then you will experience the hunger, etc. and you might lose some normal fat and will most likely will regain it. So...even if you think your thighs are "too big"....your body might say they are as they should be. Make sense?

Hi Torister - I appreciate your response. It's not that I think my thighs are too big, they are actually pretty lean, however, they are completely flab. I don't have much muscle tone at all on my body, and though I've lost weight, I look and feel somewhat like deflated balloon. So I'm not trying to lose additional weight, just to tone up my body, reduce the fat & replace it with muscle, so that I'm not all "jiggle" and loose skin, lol

However, I see what you're saying, if I don't have the body fat to lose, then the diet may not be the right fit for me. Hopefully by continuing to do heavy resistance training, I will tone up after time.

[lcwol_2211]

Originally Posted by Salamander

Hi,

I thought I'd chime in here... I only had about 8 lbs to lose when I did a round of HCG. With 27% body fat, you have extra fat to lose so HCG is perfect! What happened with me is I did the drops for the full 23 days, but reached my goal weight a few days early, so I did as Dr. S. instructs in the book: start increasing calories up to 800-1000 a day. I just added an extra oz. of protein to each meal and bigger portion of veggies and a smidge of olive oil or butter. What Colleen is referring to is if someone is already at (or reaches) a low weight, doing the HCG and 500 calories won't work because you will be starving. Now I am around 99 lbs and bodyfat of 20% (I just did the hydrostatic test last week which is the most accurate) so I wouldn't be a good candidate for another round in my opinion.

Another great thing about HCG is it targets the stubborn fat... I lost fat in my thighs and arms in spite of not being able to do that with LC, and I didn't have that MUCH fat in those areas (so I wasn't expecting it- wonderful!)

Sally

Hi Salamander - I somehow skipped over your message, and just saw it now! Wow, your stats are very impressive... Makes me rethink the fact that homeopathic HCG may indeed help me to attain my goal. So should I NOT wait until I reach goal before doing the diet, even though I have a high body fat percentage?

I am 5’4, and currently 127 lbs, and wanting to get to 120 lbs. However, my body fat percentage for the weight that I am at is quite high, and does not seem to be reducing no matter how much resistance training I am doing. It's now at 28% (I'm up 1% since I first posted!), and I can see it in the composition of my body, which is completely untoned and flabby. Do you think I should start the HCG now, or can I wait until I reach goal doing low carb? I am sure that I will still have the additional body fat that will need to be reduced if I wait until I get to 120lbs, it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon!

As for doing the diet by adding in more calories, is there a specific protocol for this? I've looked online, and don't see anything about how to increase the fat and protein in a way that won't interfere or sabotage the effects of the HCG while on round 2. I am so afraid of using any oil or fat, because it seems as if while on the protocol, it can be very detrimental and cause setbacks. I've read about people who did not do round 2 properly, lost the weight, and then after they finished taking the drops, the weight piled right back on again because their bodies did not metabolize the HCG correctly, because they cheated on their diets and ate too many calories and fat, thus disrupting the HCG metabolization process. I want to get the body fat off, and KEEP it off!

Sorry for the extremely long winded response, I am just trying to seek more information, and I can't seem to find much of it on the web. The situation you were in and the results you've described (being close to goal, being more interested in losing fat and toning up the body, rather than losing large amounts of weight) is EXACTLY the same situation I am in.

I would be very grateful if you could provide more info, or direct me to a website or source, on how to tweak the diet and foods for my "special" situation, and to make sure that I will have the effects I am looking for with regards to toning and reducing body fat. I would hate to lose more weight, not tone up, be dying of hunger from only eating 500 calories a day, and subsequently gain all the weight back, and then some, after finishing round 3.

Thanks for your help!!!

[dawnyama]

I am 5'4" (on a good day!!) and have gotten down to 113 with the Hhcg. I still fit into my size 6 jeans. My build doesn't allow me to get into size 2s. I looked like a healthy weight, not sickly or too skinny. The Hhcg will melt the fat away. You will be surprised!!! The muscles that were revealed--my kids were shocked!! But I have worked out with weights previously. I do The Firm series vidoes, no gym equipment whatsoever, just hand weights. I think you would be surprised like I was with the results you can achieve with the Hhcg!! You would also be surprised that you will NOT be starving while on 500 calories. The hcg takes care of that!!!! I only got hungry when it was time to eat. With the exception of my round 2, which I spent the entire time hungry, all my other rounds have been great!!

[catzrule]

Just a quick response. If you already have the muscle tone under the fat, then Dawn is right, it will come through once the fat is gone. BUT, if you do not have the muscle tone already, HCG will not help you build muscle, only resistance training will do that.

Best!

[Salamander]

Originally Posted by lcwol_2211

Hi Salamander - I somehow skipped over your message, and just saw it now! Wow, your stats are very impressive... Makes me rethink the fact that homeopathic HCG may indeed help me to attain my goal. So should I NOT wait until I reach goal before doing the diet, even though I have a high body fat percentage?
--- Do it now, you'll be glad you did!

I am 5’4, and currently 127 lbs, and wanting to get to 120 lbs. However, my body fat percentage for the weight that I am at is quite high, and does not seem to be reducing no matter how much resistance training I am doing. It's now at 28% (I'm up 1% since I first posted!), and I can see it in the composition of my body, which is completely untoned and flabby. Do you think I should start the HCG now, or can I wait until I reach goal doing low carb? I am sure that I will still have the additional body fat that will need to be reduced if I wait until I get to 120lbs, it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon! *** There's no reason to wait... the reason you don't hear others doing it is because most people have more than 10 lbs to lose... Even Dr. S. mentions that people can use HCG if only needing to lose 5. ( I also wanted to mention that I pretty much stopped exercising for P2 and P3 and as the fat went away, my muscles felt and looked more toned than ever!) ***
As for doing the diet by adding in more calories, is there a specific protocol for this? I've looked online, and don't see anything about how to increase the fat and protein in a way that won't interfere or sabotage the effects of the HCG while on round 2. I am so afraid of using any oil or fat, because it seems as if while on the protocol, it can be very detrimental and cause setbacks. I've read about people who did not do round 2 properly, lost the weight, and then after they finished taking the drops, the weight piled right back on again because their bodies did not metabolize the HCG correctly, because they cheated on their diets and ate too many calories and fat, thus disrupting the HCG metabolization process. I want to get the body fat off, and KEEP it off! ***** There is no specific instruction, at least in Pounds & Inches. That is why I just added more volume of what was already allowed on the program- 1 oz of protein to each meal, and some extra veggies. (I did not add extra fruit or breadstick). After I was comfortable with that, I added a little butter/oil, only because I was a couple days away from ending P2 by then. That may not work for you, so I would say plan to add meat and veg.
Sorry for the extremely long winded response, I am just trying to seek more information, and I can't seem to find much of it on the web. The situation you were in and the results you've described (being close to goal, being more interested in losing fat and toning up the body, rather than losing large amounts of weight) is EXACTLY the same situation I am in. ***Yes, we are few and far between! ****
I would be very grateful if you could provide more info, or direct me to a website or source, on how to tweak the diet and foods for my "special" situation, and to make sure that I will have the effects I am looking for with regards to toning and reducing body fat. I would hate to lose more weight, not tone up, be dying of hunger from only eating 500 calories a day, and subsequently gain all the weight back, and then some, after finishing round 3. **** It's tough because there is no other place that has this info (that i know of)... I had to figure it out myself. When you get to your goal, just add 50 calories per meal (which is about an ounce of chicken or fish, or 3 egg whites) for a couple days, and if you are maintaining, add another 50 in protein or extra vegetables.
Thanks for your help!!!

I hope that helps a little. P3 was even harder for me, because there's no strict meal plan and you have to work with your body to find out what/how much you can eat to maintain. That can be frustrating!!!!

Let me know if you have other questions! Sally

[dawnyama]

Originally Posted by lcwol_2211

I would be very grateful if you could provide more info, or direct me to a website or source, on how to tweak the diet and foods for my "special" situation, and to make sure that I will have the effects I am looking for with regards to toning and reducing body fat. I would hate to lose more weight, not tone up, be dying of hunger from only eating 500 calories a day, and subsequently gain all the weight back, and then some, after finishing round 3.

Thanks for your help!!!

I forgot to tell you this in my first post. So, let me add this......after having my 3rd child 9 years ago (wow where did the time go??!!) I visited 2 plastic surgeons to get quotes and opinions on a tummy tuck. DH wanted the 2 opinions. They both said to wait until I was done, totally done, with having kids. Back then I was wanting at least 1 more even though DH said he was doner than done So, anyway, the one doc said to me "yeah I could sculpt your waist so you have your waist back". I never thought I had lost it!!! I was so into having it done right then and there because I wanted my waist back so bad. So fast forward to last year when I started Hhcg. I had another child, so I am fortunate that I did not go through with the tummy tuck at the time. I started Hhcg last May/June and started to lose weight. I noticed my waist was becoming more sculpted. No surgery necessary!!! Yeah!!! My leg muscles---never knew they were there underneath my thigh cellulite!!! My arms have always been big. Now they are not!! This plan is totally incredible. I am sure that your situation is not so special. I hear of people using the Hhcg for toning and reshaping purposes. I am sure if you google you can find those on another website doing just that!!! One lady here on LCFs last summer did just that. She wanted that six pack abs going on. I don't recall her name or username for here, but I am sure if you search you can find her. Some people just fade away and she did just that so I don't recall her story, but she is there in the older threads. Good luck and happy researching!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JK130]

I am so HERE with you folks!

I have about 5 pounds to lose. I am most interested in the toning and firming I need to do, and in the claim of hcg for "resetting" metabolism. I am also interested in the good fat/bad fat info. Maybe I have more to lose than 5 cause my fat is the bad kind? Maybe I have less to lose cause my fat is the good kind? If I don't get hunger relief from the protocol, my leftover weight is the good kind and I should be satisfied with my current loss cause I'm going to have a hard time maintaining with any more loss? Fascinating stuff

I plan to learn and practice maintenance strategies with the protocol. (and drop a pound or two. lol!)

I did order my drops last week.

Thank you Sally for sharing your experiences. And thank you all for contributing. I wonder if people who have little to lose and want to try hcg are interested in forming a little conversational support group?

Since I haven't started yet...I have several questions, and would love to chat as I work through the program, and beyond.

Jan

[dawnyama]

Dr S calls it abnormal fat!!! He doesn't say good and bad. I lost weight in my knees, so much that I have to sleep with a pillow between them because when they rub together it is bone on bone and that hurts!!! And at one point my hips hurt when I slept. No longer, thank goodness!! You will lose from places you never thought you needed to, or particularly wanted to. My boobs have nothing left to them, and I was not bosommy to begin with. Some size A's are just too big and starting from a B......well let us just say that I am not happy about that. And my butt has shrunk....quite a bit. And others have said that their feet, wrists have gotten smaller. I certainly wish I could tell the hcg where to take the fat from. That would be so awesome. And while you may not see a loss on the scale, the inches shift around. So you definitely want to take measurements!

[lcwol_2211]

Originally Posted by Salamander

I hope that helps a little. P3 was even harder for me, because there's no strict meal plan and you have to work with your body to find out what/how much you can eat to maintain. That can be frustrating!!!!

Let me know if you have other questions! Sally

This is fabulous Sally - thanks for addressing all my concerns. I just received the HCG in the mail today, I am in the middle of a big project right now, and don't want to start a new diet just yet, but come mid-October, I will definitely be on the plan! Can't wait to start toning up and finally see some muscle

[lcwol_2211]

Originally Posted by dawnyama

I started Hhcg last May/June and started to lose weight. I noticed my waist was becoming more sculpted. No surgery necessary!!! Yeah!!! My leg muscles---never knew they were there underneath my thigh cellulite!!! My arms have always been big. Now they are not!! This plan is totally incredible.

Dawnyama – this is the issue I am having! Unfortunately, I don’t have the ability to say my loose skin issues are from giving birth to three little ones, mine is merely the result of so much weight loss and gain over the years, and this time around, the skin appears to be refusing to snap back! I scar easily, so a tummy tuck is out of the question, and more importantly, I don’t have an extra $10,000 in my piggy bank to spend on a surgery. My arms too, have so much fatty tissue, no matter how much I’ve worked out with weights – those batwing arms won’t go away. I can’t wait to start the diet in mid-October and see if I can get the same toning and shaping results you ladies have had.

Originally Posted by dawnyama

And at one point my hips hurt when I slept. No longer, thank goodness!! You will lose from places you never thought you needed to, or particularly wanted to...I certainly wish I could tell the hcg where to take the fat from. That would be so awesome. And while you may not see a loss on the scale, the inches shift around. So you definitely want to take measurements!

It would be awesome if you could direct the medication to what areas you wanted to work on! However, I’m just excited that finally there appears to be something that I can use to finally bring out the tone, and make the loose skin and cellulite diminish in appearance. Hooray! Just wondering – how long ago did you take the weight off, and have the results endured since you’ve stopped the drops & the protocol?

[dawnyama]

lcwol

Have you tried googling resculpting with hcg? That should bring up some websites of those who have done hcg just for the benefits you are looking for. I was so pleased with my results and the fact that I didn't have to shell out any money for that tummy tuck. After 4 kids I never thought I would ever have a great stomach again--even with exercise and sit ups.

Btw,
In my case, I have started last June (of '09) at 155 and ended after 3 rounds at 114. I have not been able to stabilize at my LDW so I have done 2 re-do rounds. One of which I am in the middle of. I am not sure if my troubles with stabilization is due to being too low in my weight (I am 5'4" and my usual normal adult weight I can hold onto easily is 133, so anything below may be just too hard to stick with) or because I cannot do P4 properly ( I don't do anything slowly!!!), or it could be my hormones are so out of whack, which my doc says they are!!, that I cannot hold onto anything and will gain no matter what!! So I just keep trying!! IF you follow the P2, P3 AND P4 then you should have no trouble whatsoever. I have seen it time and again on other forums like yahoo groups and Biz's site. What you do in P2 effects your stabilization in P3, what you do in P3 effects your ability to stabilize in P4. They are all interconnected and depend on each other. Therefore you have to be careful to follow protocol and the food list, extremely carefully!!! Good luck!

[Ml2f]

I read on the net that body builders use HCG as well, never went into detail reading up on it because I wasn't interested in bodybuilding...might be worth it to google it

[lcwol_2211]

I will definitely make sure to check out bodybuilding and resculpting with HCG - thanks for the great suggestions! I just got the homeopathic drops in the mail a few days ago. I'm going to start in mid-October after a labor intensive project I'm working on will be done with. I can't wait!