hCG and Weight Loss? We all have heard of weight loss clinics using hCG as a part of a weight loss program. The one thing we see all over the internet is false, misleading information of what hCG really is and the claims that many diet clinics make about using hCG. Let us help you understand What Is Not True About hCG and What Is True About hCG. We hope all who are reading this find it educational as well as enlightening in their weight loss success. (more…)
Doctors know that prescribing insulin may affect your appetite and cravings. In addition, a potential side effect of insulin is that it can cause hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose levels. Defensive eating, or eating to make sure you don’t experience this low blood sugar, could also contribute to extra pounds.
It’s a tough situation to be in: The medication you take to help control your diabetes—insulin—could lead to weight gain. At the same time, being overweight increases your risk for complications when you have diabetes. Fortunately, there are things you can do to keep extra pounds at bay and aid your glucose control.
Getting regular Vitamin B12 shots has been found to directly induce weight loss, speed up one’s metabolism, which in turn promote great weight loss. While not know as a “weight loss shot”, patients who have received Vitamin B12 shots have reported a major boost in energy they needed to motivate them to exercise more and conscientiously eat healthy.
Studies also show that Vitamin B12 shots also help fight depression, fatigue and stress, which are often associated with weight gain. Patients who have received these shots from our clinics in both Minnesota and Arizona have been quite satisfied with their new-found energy and rewarding weight loss as a result. Our superior medical team administers the vitamin shot and explains to patients the benefits of receiving vitamin B12 injections.
Vitamin B12 shots are administered into the muscle for better absorption, and are usually given on a weekly basis and can be administered up to twice a week to really kick start a safe, effective weight loss program. Aside from weight loss, some of our patients who have received Vitamin B12 shots have noticed improvement in their sleep patterns, more clarity in day to day hectic lifestyles, less hunger, reduced food cravings and a decrease in headaches.
Individual cost for vitamin B12 injections through MedShape Weight Loss are $10. We offer the highest quality B12 injections to our patients to ensure maximum absorption.
Our team has recognized the benefits of vitamin B12 injections for several years now and has taken the injection to a new level by adding B Complex, B6 and B5 into the mix. This has allowed us to treat each patient as an individual and cater to our patient’s exact needs when it comes to weight loss. Some new benefits include Thyroid support, ease of water retention, suppression of the appetite, lowering cortisol levels which are created from stress, helping maintain lean mass and burning out body fat at an accelerated pace.
Vitamin B12 injections offer many positive benefits and definitely enhance any weight loss program.
Know more about our hCG diet program here.
Given the recent popularity of the Simeons hCG diet, it is likely that thousands of individuals have experienced changes in body composition and health as a result of following the 500 calorie diet. Much of the attention surrounding the Simeons hCG diet has focused on reports of the significant weight loss experienced by users of the 500 calorie per day diet. However, details as to the nature of that weight loss along with health changes that dieters may have experienced as a result of using the 500-calorie diet have received less attention.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with a woman who presented to one of Medshape’s clinic locations for a BodyComp 5000 reading. (The BodyComp 5000 is a state of the art, multiple frequency bio-impedance machine used by the Medshape staff to assess the percent body fat and lean mass levels of their patients before, during and after weight loss efforts.) The woman, Teri, had scheduled an appointment to have her body composition analyzed at Medshape because she felt that previous readings she had conducted at her gym and home scale were inaccurate.
When asked why she felt the body composition results given to her by her trainer at the gym and those from her bathroom scale were inaccurate, Teri reported that she had lost fifty pounds on her own but that both the results from the gym and home indicated that her body fat had increased and recommended additional body fat be lost.
Teri felt that if she lost the amount of body fat that was being recommended she would be at a dangerously low body weight and therefore the results must be inaccurate. Teri sought out the highly accurate results of the BodyComp 5000 offered by Medshape to help clear up this uncertainty.
Upon reviewing the results of the BodyComp 5000, not only did the results agree with those provided to Teri by her trainer and bathroom scale, they went further, much further. The BodyComp 5000 results indicated that 40% of Teri’s body weight currently consisted of body fat, an increase of 7% from the 33% body fat she had before she lost weight!
Teri didn’t accept the results easily, but having three different methods of evaluating body composition deliver the same message, (especially one as precise as the BodyComp 5000) made it hard for Teri to deny. After accepting that her percent body fat had increased despite her weight loss, Teri’s next question was how?
This began a discussion about what Teri had done to lose weight. Teri reported that she had utilized the Simeons hCG diet three separate times over the past two years. The Simeons hCG diet, is an ultra-low calorie diet developed in the late 1940’s to early 1950’s, that allows only 500 calories per day in a very regimented manner.
During our conversation Teri reported that during the three times she used the 500 calorie per day diet she had never administered hCG by subcutaneous injection. During her time on the Simeons hCG diet she took “hCG drops”, which she initially got from her friend who was a hairdresser and then from a local health food store.
Teri reported that she followed the Simeons diet “exactly and only used special shampoo, conditioner, lotion & cosmetics” that she got from her friend who was a hairdresser.
She stated that she lost the most weight the first time she used the 500-calorie Simeons hCG diet. Teri said she maintained her weight loss from the first attempt for about 4 months at which point her weight started to creep back up.
When she regained about half of the weight she had initially lost, Teri resumed the 500 calorie diet for a second time. Teri said that the weight loss was much slower the second and third times she attempted the Simeons diet and that it was harder to maintain the weight loss once she went off the 500 calorie per day diet.
In addition, Teri reported that she started to have trouble with fatigue and depressed mood along with brittle nails and thinning hair during her third time using the Simeons hCG diet.
When asked how long she was able to maintain the weight loss after her third time using the 500 Calorie HCG diet, Teri frowned and said “not long for most of it”. Teri said that immediately upon returning to a “normal” diet after her third time of using the Simeons hCG diet she began experiencing severe abdominal pain after eating. It was soon discovered that she had developed gallstones and a severe inflammation of the gallbladder known as cholecystitis. In fact, Teri said that she ended up having her gallbladder removed just 3 weeks ago.
Teri asked whether her weight loss had anything to do with the development of her cholecyctitis, and while that question can’t be answered with absolute certainty because many women who have never followed a diet develop gallstones, there are strong reasons to think that it might.
Increased rates of gallstone formation are known to occur in conditions where rapid weight loss that consists of a high percentage of lean mass (muscle, bone, skin thickness, etc) occurs. In fact, this relationship is so well known that it is standard practice for individuals undergoing gastric bypass surgery to have their gallbladders removed, due to the high incidence of stone formation associated with the post surgical weight loss.
When reviewing the body composition data from before her weight loss efforts and comparing it to the BodyComp 5000 results, it was clear that Teri had lost between 75-80% of her weight as lean mass. This was why that even though her body weight decreased the percentage of her body weight made of body fat increased.
It was explained that in order to reduce her body fat percentage, Teri must regain lean mass (muscle, bone, skin, etc) that she lost during her use of the Simeons hCG diet, then loose body fat, while retaining as much lean mass as possible. Teri’s response was, “ Great, so I basically have to undo everything I spent the past two years suffering to achieve, I wish I would have known this earlier & before I had surgery”.
Teri’s frustration is certainly understandable, there are many confusing messages about what is the best or fastest way to lose weight and in the end the truth of the matter is that weight loss is only part of the picture. How an individual loses weight is actually far more important, in most cases, than the amount of weight they lose or how fast they lose it.
Being armed with the information about where your body composition currently is and working with a team that can help you interpret the results and guide you on a path to help you reach your goals safely is essential for weight loss success. This is why Medshape has offered a complimentary BodyComp 5000 analysis for individuals who wish to learn more about losing weight and improving health.
So my 2nd week on the MedShape Weight Loss program has come to an end and let me tell ya, this week was full of temptations! To start, I went camping with my fiancé’s family (naturally skinny people who would eat the moon if they could reach it). Then, Aunt Flo dropped in for her monthly visit, bringing the typical chocolate chip cookie cravings. Ugh.
Despite these 2 trying events, I was able to avoid any ‘cheating’ setbacks. My ability to resist cravings and stick to the nutrition plan was much stronger than I thought it would be! The tips that my MedShape consultant told me really worked.
Here is a quick rundown of ways to resist cravings.
Drink Water – not only is water the best natural appetite suppressant, it also optimizes your body for weight loss. Water will help keep your belly full until you can put a healthy snack in front of you… and resist cravings that are damaging to your weight loss goals.
Prepare Ahead of Time – by making sure you have your daily nutrition planned, you won’t waste time or the valuable energy required to resist cravings and hunger. (Always have a protein shake or protein bar with you and consider carrying a ziplock of sliced cucumbers, zucchini, etc. in your purse so you’ll have a healthy snack on hand.)
Eat Small Meals – I know you’ve heard this a million times but… it really works. I am eating or drinking a protein shake 5-6 times a day and, I never get hungry. Many times, I have trouble eating 1200 calories a day. Because I am never hungry, it was a lot easier to resist cravings of chocolate chip cookies (my weakness and monthly ‘girly week’ addiction) and the roasted marshmallows that were being offered on the camping trip.
Eat Healthy – this is simple common sense when you want to lose weight, right? Well a lot of people may not understand that frequent protein-packed fiber-rich meals are key to craving reduction and weight loss. That’s why, as mentioned earlier, I always carry snacks that include both protein and fiber.
Keep a Food Journal – food logging may seem like a pain but it can really help your weight loss consultant in figuring out what may be causing your continued cravings. Sometimes, lacking a certain nutrient will make it harder to resist cravings of different natures.
Additional Help – if you’re practicing all of these tips and still struggling with cravings, the MedShape weight loss clinics offer extra help with their SLIM Now therapy. For example, they have a supplement designed especially for cravings called Crave-B-Gone. Just give them a call; they understood my needs so well, I’m sure they can help with yours, too.
Keep these points in mind when you are trying to resist cravings. If you stay on a healthy track, you will speed up your weight loss and get the results you want. Remember, even cheating only once a week will throw your body’s rhythm into whack and reduce the results of a typical 5-week weight loss program by half or more! Stay Strong! We got this. 🙂
What else works for you when you are trying to resist cravings? Please share your ideas with me in the comments below.
Can you tell which side of my cauliflower pizza was for me? My weight loss plan recipe hunt found this.
It was fun to make and tasty.
How organized are you? On a scale of 1-10, I’d teeter between an 8 and a 6. My mood sets my level of organization so now that I’ve chosen my weight loss plan and am almost a week into it, I’m more confident and organized with it. This is largely because I realized early on that I needed a weight loss plan for the trivial details. My MedShape Weight Loss consultant was great in setting me up but there were some minor points I wanted to tackle on my own, at home. Some helped and others were 110% unnecessary but… now I can share some personal do’s and don’ts.
Here are a handful of silly random things my weight loss plan included in the first week, in as close to chronological order as my mind allows.
Make copies of the essential MedShape Weight Loss food allowances pages (because I am prone to lose stuff).
This… was a good idea for me. During this week, I’ve been training myself to think like the staff at the MedShape clinics think. I am constantly grabbing these papers for reference. Having them in more than 1 location around my house has been convenient. Stick them to your fridge door!
Make copies of the food log papers so I won’t run out.
This… was unnecessary. A few hours after I copied the food logs and started writing things down, a friend reminded me about the MyFitnessPal app. It works on both my computer and my smart phone and I’ve been using it ever since. It is super awesome for food accountability. You can customize your food allowances but, all that detailed monitoring is actually stricter than what MedShape recommends. It can also be time consuming.
Look up some recipes. Honestly, with the exception of the Cauliflower Crust Pizza pictured above, the recipes I looked up have gone unused unless they were super simple. As a work-at-home mom of a 2-year old, I don’t have much time for elaborate recipes. What I have loved though, was finding things like Cauliflower Rice on Pinterest. That stuff is delicious! (Can you tell I like cauliflower?)
Go shopping for healthy food and health gear. Stop. You don’t need to buy the whole store. I must have been afraid I’d starve so I went and spent over $100 on healthy food. While that was fun, I bought too much and then worried it’d go bad before it was eaten. Also, the fresher the veggie and fruit, the more nutrients it holds so it’s better to buy for only 1 or 2 days, if possible.
On gear… be careful not to buy too many protein shake bottles or they’ll start spilling out of your cabinet doors. It’s just not necessary to your weight loss plan. That’s all I’m saying. :-/
Get a DXA body scan.
This is the coolest thing ever! If you haven’t heard of the DXA body composition scan, please read up on it in the DXA wiki. It is basically a scan that tells you your total body composition, fat, bone… everything. Mine cost $85 and took less than 15 minutes total. Now, I know my bone density (my bones weight just over 7 lbs), my exact body fat percentage and that my right arm weighs 2lbs more than my left. Haha I decided to do a DXA scan to make sure I was losing healthy weight but really, it’s a cool scan for anyone who wants to educate themselves on… themself.
Figure out a food intake schedule.
This was pretty tricky. For a weight loss plan to be successful, you have to plan your food intake around your schedule. It took a while to work out for me but this may be an easier task for someone with a regular schedule. Basically, I learned to take snack baggies (full of a protein meat and veggie, usually) or a protein shake/bar with me wherever I go. This way if I get held up, I never get too hungry.
The craziest thing I’ve realized so far is that when I plan my snacks and meals right, I’m truly not hungry. I can’t believe that I’m not hungry on only 1200 calories. Actually, most days I’m struggling to get all the calories in. I think it’s because I eat so many high protein and fiber-rich food; I never have a chance to build up hunger.
So… my weight loss plan made has made my life a little easier this week. I’ll probably have more to add next week!
Do you have weight loss plan ideas to share? I’d love to hear them in the comments below.
