Does SlimFast work?

[Anita18]

Does anybody know anything about the HCG 5000 diet? My boyfriend's been wanting to lose a few pounds and heard an ad on the radio and called right away. It's some droplets you take before every meal, and is suppose to drop multiple pounds per day. I was skeptical about it to start (as I am with all of those weight loss supplements), and after he received it in the mail, we were reading the directions and there is a 500-calorie per day limit. I'm not at all convinced about this stuff (especially because you're basically starving yourself), and as far as I am concerned, 500 calories per day is simply unhealthy -- especially for a 5'11, 23 year old male, supplements or not. He's been trying to do research to try to convince me that it is a good thing and that it works, saying that Dr. Oz endorsed it, etc, but I am doubtful my opinion will change.

Nonononono! Run away from it like

To properly dissuade a 23-year-old male off it, tell him HCG is a hormone that pregnant women produce and that he could get manboobs from it.

[genevieve]

Does anybody know anything about the HCG 5000 diet? My boyfriend's been wanting to lose a few pounds and heard an ad on the radio and called right away. It's some droplets you take before every meal, and is suppose to drop multiple pounds per day.

hmmm....sounds like quite the scam:

advertising that hooks you in says "just take a few drops before each meal"

fine print reveals that you're actually severely curtailing your food intake. OF COURSE you drop multiple pounds per day. You're starving yourself

[PrincessLeppard]

A friend of mine did and did drop major pounds. But she gained it all back within like two weeks of ending it. Oh, and she was cranky and miserable the whole time. Because 500 calories? Sucks.

[Gazpacho]

A lot of things contribute to the seasonal weight gain. The main reason is probably that the days are shorter and colder, making it feel like a chore to go outside.

I also notice that my hunger changes with the weather. When it's very hot outside, I often don't feel as hungry. That's why I laughed when I read the advice to stop eating when you're hungry. The problem is that in the fall and winter, I'm hungry all the time!

[Fridge_Break]

fine print reveals that you're actually severely curtailing your food intake. OF COURSE you drop multiple pounds per day. You're starving yourself

That's what I've been trying to say! Thanks for the input, everybody. I've sent him the link to this thread to read your responses and to hopefully get some ideas on healthy diet regimens.

[myhoneyhoney]

another thing about eating just 500 calories per day is that because your body will go into starvation mode your metabolism will drop to save energy and that is the exact OPPOSITE of want you want to lose weight. You want your metabolism to go up to burn the fat.

[danceronice]

500 calories is slightly less than one Dunkin Donuts muffin, and slightly more than a Quarter Pounder without cheese. (Yes, a muffin at Dunkin is not only more calories than a McDonald's burger, it also has less nutritional value as it's basically all sugar and fat.) Or a truly absurd amount of low-cal vegetables (to the point you would probably be in some gastric distress.) Four tablespoons of regular peanut butter. A decent-sized handful of almonds. Pick any ONE of those, and think about trying to go all day on it. For some people that's not even covering basal metabolic rate.

[Anita18]

A lot of things contribute to the seasonal weight gain. The main reason is probably that the days are shorter and colder, making it feel like a chore to go outside.

I also notice that my hunger changes with the weather. When it's very hot outside, I often don't feel as hungry. That's why I laughed when I read the advice to stop eating when you're hungry. The problem is that in the fall and winter, I'm hungry all the time!

On another forum I go to populated mostly by guys, a good number swear by exercise DVDs like P90X. Now, P90X is likely waaay more hardcore than you're thinking of doing, but working out indoors certainly isn't impossible.

Yeah, I'm not too sure what to suggest re: curbing hunger. Maybe eat more things with healthy oils in them like nuts. Those oils will fill you up more quickly. I personally would go straight for the butter and cream but...I'm skinny and have the opposite problem.

That's what I've been trying to say! Thanks for the input, everybody. I've sent him the link to this thread to read your responses and to hopefully get some ideas on healthy diet regimens.

I wouldn't mess with hormones, hormones are serious serious stuff. A little bit can affect you A LOT.

Remember, HCG comes from pregnant women. That means it will turn you slightly into a pregnant woman. That's kind of the point of it.

Manboobs.

[myhoneyhoney]

and if you're like me when I was pregnant: serious puking 24/7 (the kind that lands you in the hospital with an iv in your arm) AND super cranky! hehehe

and since Anita18 mentioned sites... I ♥ bodybuilding.com I'm a regular there now

[Civic]

I tried Slim Fast around 15 years ago. I found that while I could substitute the shakes for breakfast without cheating, I couldn't substitute them for lunch. By late afternoon I was making furtive trips to the vending machines for potato chips or Cheetos. I wasn't wild about the taste either. The strawberry shake was okay, the chocolate one was blech. If you use the vanilla flavored powder with orange juice in a blender, you wind up with something that tastes a lot like an Orange Julius.

So to sum things up...it worked for me as for as kickstarting a diet as long as I only substituted it for breakfast. I would then have a healthy, low-fat lunch and healthy low-fat dinner. I would also occasionally have a Slim Fast shake as a snack while watching TV in the evening. You do need to drink lots of water when doing Slim Fast; at least 6, 8 oz. glasses a day. However, as other posters have pointed out, eventually I did gain the weight back once I slipped back into my old eating habits.

[RockTheTassel]

Like everyone else said, definitely avoid any kind of Slimfast or other smoothie/shake diet. Initially it's fine, but it does not work out in the long-term.

I was forced to be on and off of a liquid for four months, due to having oral surgery and suffering from complications. While on the diet, most of what I ate was slimfast, ensure, and boost drinks. I lost weight but eventually started gaining some, probably due to all the sugar in the drinks and having absolutely no energy.

When I was finally off the diet, I ended up gaining twenty-five pounds in about six months. Before I had never had problems with weight or portion control, but I had become obsessed with food and ate constantly. I was still suffering from low energy and was getting ill more often. It took me a year of being careful with what I ate and having the discipline to get used to exercising again in order to lose the weight and feel healthy again.

Even if you don't have the drinks all the time like I did, they're still not very healthy or satisfying. In my experience, the best way to lose weight (for an average person without a medical condition) and feel healthy is simply eating well and exercising frequently.

[MacMadame]

Does anybody know anything about the HCG 5000 diet?

This diet has been around a long time (it's not something new like they advertise) and it has been shown to be dangerous. The hCG hormone they have you taking has a lot of possible side effects including death.

The people who market this know this so they have flooded the web with fake "HGC Dangers" sites that then tell you that the side effects are minor (headaches, tiredness, irritability) and not to be worried about as they are "not as dangerous as being obese". Of course, everyone of these sites also SELLS the hCG diet drops. Plus, most people on this diet aren't obese.

What they don't tell you about are the serious side-effects:

-shortness of breath
-swelling of extremities
-ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) - which is life-threatening (only applies to women)
-allergic reactions including hives, swelling, anaphylactic shock (which can cause death)
-depression
-pain and swelling in the breasts (happens to men too, not just women)

The thing is, there is no evidence that the hCG actually does anything when it comes to the diet. It's supposed to make you not be hungry so you can survive on the 500 calories a day but there is no evidence that it actually does that.

Here's Mayo Clinic's calorie calculator to see how much you should intake daily

Be careful with those online calculators. If you have ever lost significant weight before, they are very likely to tell you to that you need a lot more calories than you really do. They are also based on averages so unless you are average in every way, they are likely not to give you an accurate calorie number.

As for only eating when you are hungry, mentioned by several, that only works if your body doesn't lie to you.

[PrincessLeppard]

I've also read (somewhere I can't remember, so take this for what it's worth) that sometimes when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty. So maybe if you are "hungry" all the time, trying drinking some water and see what happens.

[Bev Johnston]

This diet has been around a long time (it's not something new like they advertise) and it has been shown to be dangerous. The hCG hormone they have you taking has a lot of possible side effects including death.

This sounded a lot like something that was being hawked by every radio station in my area back in the late 90's/early 2000's. So, I Googled the name of that product (Body Solutions) and it's the same thing. I thought it was taken off the market and that there were lots of law suits surrounding it. Definitely stay far away from this one!

As for the calorie counting websites, I don't believe the calories that they claim I burn every day. There's no way I burn that much, and I skate at least one hour 6 days/week and do a lot of other activities, too. What I really like is the listing of calories in the things I eat every day, and also the recipe analyzers. Sometimes it is shocking to see how quickly the little things add up! Plus, they post a lot of "success stories" and motivational articles that are fun to read.

[aliceanne]

A lot of things contribute to the seasonal weight gain. The main reason is probably that the days are shorter and colder, making it feel like a chore to go outside.

I also notice that my hunger changes with the weather. When it's very hot outside, I often don't feel as hungry. That's why I laughed when I read the advice to stop eating when you're hungry. The problem is that in the fall and winter, I'm hungry all the time!

Maybe find an indoor activity that you like? Drop-in dance class? Zumba, Bolly, Hip Hop? Indoor tennis? Ice skating? That seems easier to me than trying to diet. I think it is natural to crave heavy food and want to cocoon in cold weather. Finding something socially enjoyable as well as active may motivate you to resist.

[Veronika]

I've also read (somewhere I can't remember, so take this for what it's worth) that sometimes when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty. So maybe if you are "hungry" all the time, trying drinking some water and see what happens.

I've heard that too. It's always worth a try, as long as you stick to water.

[danceronice]

Well, as far as an anaphylactic reaction, that goes for ANY drug or vitamin pill or anything else you consume, whether it's beneficial or not in general. Anyone can find they're allergic to just about anything. But the rest...really, hormones are not something to joke around with. Even the phytoestrogen in soy can be more than some people's system can handle. Tricking your body into thinking it's pregnant just sounds like a bad plan all round.

[galaxygirl]

As for only eating when you are hungry, mentioned by several, that only works if your body doesn't lie to you.

I can very, very easily convince myself that I'm hungry when I'm not, especially since I get stomach aches that feel very similar to hunger. What sometimes works for me is to ask myself if I would feel better if I ate a carrot or other food that I like but don't crave. If the answer is yes, then I'm actually hungry.

[Cupid]

My SIL believes that using Slimfast caused her to have major kidney stones. I read here in the thread about having to drink a lot of water while using Slimfast, maybe she didn't. I've never tried the stuff, although my daughters will drink it (I don't like the long list of artificial ingredients when I looked at the can ).

[numbers123]

According to a quick search on SlimFast and kidney stones, this dietitian agrees with your sister in law.

I had heard that too regarding kidney stones