Lauren I’m really happy both you and your mum are in a better place than you were previously, but it’s really important on a public forum where other people can see these posts that we provide accurate information.
It wasn’t. Multiple well controlled studies - spanning decades - comparing HCG to a standard weight loss diet found no benefit to include HCG in a weight loss regime (source 1, source 2, source 3). The more well designed and objective the study, the more likely it was to find no benefit of HCG. The issue is HCG is not inert, it has side-effects like any other drug (source).
A 2016 review summarises this best “Seldom is there a diet which is such a fad that it is not only completely unfounded but also potential harmful. The human chorionic gonadotropin or “hCG diet” is such a diet, which after half a century still has no evidence to support its efficacy; in fact all scientific publications subsequent to the original article counter these claims.” (source).
This is the difference between the ultra-low calorie and ketogenic diets that you mentioned (where evidence has shown benefits for their use in specific contexts), decades of studies have shown a lack of benefit for using HCG vs a standard weight loss diet and have shown several negative side effects.
I had hoped at the beginning of the diet to be closer to 100kg than I am, but it is what it is and I am pressing on. I fell off the wagon a bit but generally, it’s on a downward trend.
Unfortunately, I fell off the wagon a bit. I took a break from the diet over Christmas and then I had an injury to my foot after a middle-of-the-night stumble on my way to the toilet which tore ligaments and left me fairly crippled for a month.
I am getting back into the diet now, and I expect I’ll be at this until Christmas at least now. I’m back at 175kg, so a lot of progress lost, but I am hoping I’ll see a big swing back down. I must admit I am finding it brutally difficult going back on the diet this time.
Injury is the worst. I damaged the lisfranc ligament in one of my feet, along with breaking a bunch of bones around it and I definitely put on weight while I couldn’t walk for a few months.
I’m also finding it hard to get back to it, so can relate.
Perhaps it helps you to know, that Huel has - comparing it to rivalling products - become more affordable, while having increased the range of their products a lot. If you do not like one product, you can use another type of product, or mix them.
As someone who has been on a weight loss journey using Huel as part of a very low calorie diet (VLCD), specifically the Newcastle diet, I can say that it has been a great for me. Huel is a nutritionally complete meal replacement shake that provides all the essential vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients that the body needs, while also being low in calories.
Using Huel has made it easy for me to stick to the Newcastle diet, which involves consuming just 800 calories per day for several weeks. Before using Huel, I struggled to find low calorie meal options that were also filling and nutritious. But with Huel, I don’t have to worry about counting calories or tracking my nutrient intake, as it’s all taken care of for me.
Of course, it’s important to note that Huel should not be the sole source of nutrition in one’s diet, and it’s important to consume a variety of healthy foods to ensure that the body gets all the nutrients it requires. But as a supplement to a balanced diet, I have found Huel to be a helpful tool in my weight loss journey, and I feel confident that I am providing my body with the nutrients it requires while also achieving my weight loss goals.
It sounds like you’ve found a way to use Huel for you and the reasons you suggested are exactly why others find Huel a great way to help them lose weight too.
