I was so very disappointed by this experience. Today is our third day off and I was hoping it would be almost out of my system and the cramping would subside, but today it seems as though it is actually getting worse than it has been.

I am not knocking the diet, I do have several friends and family members that have had tremendous success. But if you are a female that has had ANY history of reproductive disorders, I caution you on the HCG and make sure you do it supervised by a doctor.

10 years ago, I did have complications with endometriosis and suspected polycystic ovary syndrome. I am also a herbologist and naturopath. I have cured myself of these and other medical issues through natural means and a raw food diet. But the HCG seems to have in a matter of days resurrected old medical issues for me that may now take months for my body to heal itself of…again.

Again, if you are a female with any history at all regarding reproductive problems, I caution you. Should you choose to try it, monitor yourself closely and watch for signs of previous medical issues surfacing again…the side effects and the pain can be almost unbearable. Today I was in tears from the pain and my uterus is swollen.

I wish you all the very best.

I did this diet 5 years ago with amazing success. The weight stayed off plus/minus 5 lbs (I lost a total of 30 lbs) until I had two pregnancies back to back. Prior to doing the diet for the first time/the HcG protocol, I could not even lose 5 lbs. And with very difficult measures: working out to the extreme, followiing strict low calorie diets, etc. After HcG I could keep my weight in check no problem and lose 5 lbs very easily if I overdid it. That was an amazing thing when I struggled with that for over 10 years. I was sort of experimenting to see how much I could eat and not gain back and found a good balance. If I overdid the carbs and raised my insulin too much, I saw weight gain so I stuck to meals with protein and veggies and some low-sugar fruit and got back in balance, and the weight came off back down to my set point that I had after I did the HcG diet. STAY AWAY FROM PROCESSED FOODS: THEY HAVE CHEMICALS AND ARE POISON! Eat clean and healthy, organic food if possible, and watch your sugar intake, and you should have no problem maintaining. It's the people that eat total garbage and chemicals that have issues maintaining their weight.

I had an abdominal ultrasound to check all my organs after I did the diet because I was so freaked out, but it all came back fine. I also had a massive round of bloodwork done and all was great, before and after. My doctor said it is very safe and it has beneficial effects: balancing insulin, which is an important hormone that controls your pancreas, liver, etc. and causes diabetes when too high for prolonged periods. That is the simplest explanation, but everything, including cholesterol, will improve. I had two babies after that and am doing this protocol again to take off the extra weight and reset my hypothalamus, which was damaged after being anorexic at 13 and years of binging/crash dieting after that. The HcG diet saved me from the merry-go-round of diets, obesity, thyroid issues, burned out adrenals that got worse when overexercising and crash dieting, etc. I SWEAR by it. My doctor says it is the only way to lose weight properly when hormonal problems are the issue, not just simply overeating. The hypothalamus is the most important gland in our bodies, we just don't know much about it. It regulates hormones, fertility, etc. Dr. Simeon talks about it in his book, Pounds and Inches, available for free online.

I know there is A LOT of controversy about it, but it is a medically developed plan. Definitely have your health checked out by your doctor, for sure, before you do it, and be followed by an MD. But if all checks out fine, you should be safe doing the plan. Good luck!

If someone is allergic to a substance, those symptoms can certainly occur. But they are also pregnancy symptoms, many of them! HcG is a pregnancy hormone and used in clinics all over the world for diet purposes by medical doctors at this very moment. And in fertility clinics in MUCH higher concentrations. If you are not healthy, pregnancy can cause problems. Same with HcG injections. Get checked by a doctor first.

It is natural to be worried the first time. I was, too, when I did this program 5 years ago. But it was fine; I got checked afterwards because I was so scared and had a full abdominal ultrasound and bloodwork, and everything was totally fine. I even had two babies after that. Now it's 5 years later and after my 2 pregnancies I am doing it again to get rid of the extra weight.

Don't be fooled by everything you read, and do some research first. Ask your MD! Mine said it is perfectly safe.