BYU NewsNet - Pregnancy hormone used in latest diet

Sometimes the solutions to weight loss are found in the unlikeliest places — in this case, pregnant women’s urine.

The latest diet trend has men and women from Utah interested in what they say is significant weight loss success.

The use of Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin, a naturally occurring hormone produced in the placenta of women during pregnancy, was first discovered and used as a treatment for obesity by a late British Physician, Dr. A. T. W. Simeons, more than 50 years ago.

“I found that as long as such patients were given small daily doses of HCG they could comfortably go about their usual occupations on a diet of only 500 calories daily and lose an average of about one pound per day,” Dr. Simeons wrote in his first publication, “Pounds and Inches.”

Others are more wary of HCG as an effective weight loss tool.

“It goes against everything I was ever taught in health and nutrition classes,” said Laurie Blaisdell, a senior from Hillsboro, Ore.

HCG is attained in solution form and is injected by a needle into the upper thigh once a day until the desired weight is reached.

The chemical claims to suppress appetite and guarantee fat loss, not muscle loss.

It costs about $130-140 for the HCG and supplies.

“This is ordering everything online for about a six-week round of the diet and it does not include any trained professionals tracking your progress,” said Linda Smith of Highland, an advocate of HCG.

Smith has promoted HCG since she started using it in 2007. She began an online forum, which now claims more than 2,000 members, as a way for people to share their feedback and weight-loss accounts.

So far, Smith said she has lost 125 lbs from the diet and hasn’t gained it back.

“It was the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” Smith said. “I’ve tried numerous programs and diets before, but this is the first diet that actually performs as advertised.”

Stephanie Stuart, a junior at BYU just started the diet this week.

“So far, I haven’t felt hungry at all, and I’ve lost 8 pounds,” Stuart said.

Some dieticians point out that unless a diet promotes a sustainable change in lifestyle, the results likely won’t last.

“I can virtually guarantee that a good portion of the weight lost will be gained back because there will be no behavior change accompanying the dieting,” said Diana McGuire, teaching professor of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science.

The calories consumed by eating only 500 a day will primarily be used as an energy source, meaning the protein that is consumed will be used for energy, not for reconstructing muscle tissue, McGuire said. The result: muscle mass will be lost.

Advocates say that HCG allows the body to retain lean muscle mass while eating away at extra fat stores to make up for the extreme calorie deficit.

McGuire explained that there are several tips to evaluate a stable diet that will be more beneficial in the long-run.

Ask yourself: Does it promote permanent behavior change? Does it emphasize a variety of foods, meeting the requirements as outlined in the government-recommended food pyramid? Can you stay with it long enough and feel good enough to produce permanent weight loss?

“Adding in at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day is also important for permanent weight management,” McGuire said.

HCG has not been approved by the Federal Drug Administration.