Can You Lose Weight with Hormone Treatments?

There has been a lot of interest in hormone-based weight loss programs since the hCG diet was released. Those that use this hormone treatment for weight loss take injections of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), which is also used to treat fertility issues in combination with a restricted calorie diet.

Proponents of hCG diets say that the hormone acts as an appetite suppressant, and also affects the way that your body utilizes fat. But, does hCG work?

Experts say that any weight that you lose on an hCG diet is likely to be because of the restricted very low calorie diet that you followed, rather than due to the hormones themselves. In clinical studies, patients lost as much weight using a placebo as they did using hCG. The diets prescribed with hCG often are as low as 500 a day, so people using this strategy would lose weight whether they took hCG or not.

HCG can also have unpleasant side effects that include irritability, headaches and breast growth in men. As with any medication, you should talk to your doctor before using these hormone treatments.

A better plan is to pursue a supervised medical weight loss program that incorporates healthy eating habits and regular exercise. To take weight off and keep it off, you need to engage in life-long lifestyle changes. Talk to a doctor experienced with weight loss to develop a plan to help you take the weight off and keep it off for good.