OUR 23 DAYS HCG DIET REVIEW

There are so many diet fads out there, from Atkins, South Beach and Keto. However, which one actually works for the long term and how does it feel to be on a diet? We took a road test of the highly controversial HCG Diet and this is our 23 Days HCG Diet review which we did with the help of Toscana Medi Clinic in Malaysia. Read along to find out if we did or did not manage to achieve our summer body on the HCG Diet.

What is HCG Diet?

HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, is a hormone that is found at high levels during early pregnancy. This hormone is responsible for the growth and development of the embryo and fetus during pregnancy but is used in the diet to help with weight loss.

HCG does not make you lose weight – the diet makes you lose weight! However, the HCG injections change how you lose weight! HCG injections keep you from losing muscle while you diet. By elevating hormone levels in the body, including testosterone, the HCG hormone creates an anabolic state (muscle-building) which counteracts the catabolic state (muscle-breakdown). (Source: DrOz)

You won’t be eating much for sure. The diet lets you have two meals a day consisting of lunch and dinner. Each meal has to include one protein, one vegetable, one piece of Melba toast, and one fruit. It is a very low calorie, low fat diet which aims to prevent muscle loss and boost metabolism while using the HCG injections.

Why is HCG Diet controversial?

If you search HCG Diet online, you will come across many negatives and failures on the diet. Most of these claims are because people have been purchasing their HCG shots and injections online. This is unsafe and should never be encouraged. You should ONLY get your HCG Diet doses from a licensed doctor after proper consultation on your ideal weight loss goals.

Benefits of HCG Diet

The HCG Diet is supposed to help you shed the weight quickly and permanently if you follow it right. By the end of the program, you will subconsciously be aware of your eating habits and food choices and that is a good thing. As far as weight loss is concerned, the weight is supposed to stay off if you follow the protocols properly throughout all the stages. The one benefit that most love is the fact that HCG Diet actually discourages you from exercising during the initial phases.

OUR 23 DAYS HCG DIET REVIEW

We first had a consultation with Dr. Lashela Dharmadass, the director at Toscana Medi Clinic in Publika, Kuala Lumpur. The HCG Diet was something we had never heard about but it seemed that Dr. Lashela herself had personally done it twice and vouched for it. She talked us through the process, ensuring that we understood the diet limitations and restrictions. We were then weighed and had our BMI taken. After going through the diet protocols and setting a realistic targeted weight, we were given a week’s worth of syringes filled with HCG and had appointments every week thereafter for a follow-up.

So what happens next?

Days 1 & 2 on the HCG Diet

To kickstart our 23 Days HCG Diet, we first had to self-administer the injections around our abdomen area – ensuring we avoid any visible veins, after taking our weight first thing in the morning. The first two days are “loading” days. These two initial days of the HCG Diet were bliss. We could indulge in all things fatty and delicious without a care in the world!

First week on the HCG Diet

We found it easier to meal prep so all the meals were ready-to-go. The first day of the 500-calorie diet was exciting. There were some slight hunger pangs in the evening but it was all about will-power and self-control. Keep filling yourself up with lots of liquids to keep full. The second day, we were literally starving but a glass of water did the trick – even though we went to bed dreaming about cheeseburgers. As the days went on, the hunger pangs were up and down. However, each morning’s weigh-ins were a motivation to stick to the diet as there were definite losses.

Second week on the HCG Diet

You’d think that by now, we should be used to the strict limitations of the diet. We have to admit that there were days where we added an extra hard-boiled egg and more vegetables to our meals. We’re not proud of what we did but we did go “rogue” with carbs and alcohol for a couple of days in between and still saw losses. We figured that you just have to ensure you balance out the calories the next day and ensure that a lot of water is consumed.

Third week on the HCG Diet

We became a bit more disciplined with our food intake by the time we hit the final leg of this diet. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and the scales were definitely showing lower numbers!

Maintenance Phase

Just when we thought we could go back to our old eating habits,  we had to think again! The HCG Diet is not over after the last injection. There is a maintenance phase for another three weeks where you slowly introduce more food back into your diet. This is to ensure that your body adjusts to your new weight and keeps it that way. We lost close to 7kgs in just a few short weeks! Our body had been on a calorie deficit and if we fill it up with fatty foods, the weight gain will magically appear and our hard work of dieting would’ve been wasted.

Searching for easy to make healthy breakfast recipes? Check out our:

Golden Kombucha Bircher Muesli

Cinnamon Almond Butter Overnight Buckwheat Bowl

Chocolate Maca Oat Porridge

BEFORE & AFTER OUR HCG DIET

This is the moment we have all been waiting for. Did we lose the fats? Did we lose inches? Did we achieve our summer body goal? YES!YES!YES! By the time the maintenance phase was over and our diets were back to normal, we saw a slight increment of 1kg to our final weight. This was probably because we cheated again but as you can see in the photos, our jelly belly is almost gone and it has stayed off throughout.

OUR VERDICT

Do try the 23 Days HCG Diet ONLY if you are capable of putting yourself through a stringent diet. You must also not be afraid of needles and self-injection. You must also be prepared to a limited social life as going out for meals and drinks with friends are a bit tough when you’re on a diet. You are allowed unlimited coffee and tea without sugar, but can you really see yourself going on a night out and just having sugarless black coffee and lean protein with no sauces or sides? Take our advice and stay home as much as you can to avoid unnecessary temptations. 

Find a list of what you are allowed to eat here. There are many variations of creating delicious meals using only the handful of ingredients available.

We recommend doing the HCG Diet if you are comfortable with the limitations and would like to lose the few extra inches fast. However, we strongly advice you to seek proper consultation with a doctor before going on this diet to see if you are a suitable candidate.

To find out more about the HCG Diet in Malaysia, do seek out a professional clinic such as Toscana Medi Clinic and book a consultation before attempting it on your own.

The price for the HCG Diet at Toscana Medi Clinic is MYR2300 for the 23-Days HCG Diet Treatment and MYR4000 for the 40-Days HCG Diet Treatment which includes weekly consultations, HCG Injections and most importantly – visible results!

Located in Solaris Dutamas, Publika in Kuala Lumpur, Toscana Medi Clinic is your one-stop-shop solution for non-surgical aesthetic treatments. The clinic specializes facial, skin and body contouring treatments using the latest technology and equipment. 

Toscana Medi Clinic
No. 01&02, Level G4, Block D5
Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Telephone: +603-6143 1105

Opening Hours: 10am – 5pm daily (Closed Sunday)