We are in the midst of an epidemic of obesity in this country. We are all getting larger at an earlier age. Subsequently, we have seen the trickle down effects of being overweight, such as increasing incidences of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and even cancer. These diseases are at an all time high. Despite our American state-of-the-art medical technology, our national obesity rate has resulted in a population that ranks well below other countries in its overall health.

There are many reasons for this… We live in a world of huge serving sizes and artificial (processed) foods. Fast food is everywhere – a high calorie processed meal can be purchased and consumed in under 10 minutes. You can slam down 1200 calories before your brain catches up and activates your satiety centers to say ‘that’s enough’. The calories are almost all simple carbohydrates that go straight to fat – do not pass Go!!!

Every week we see a new fad diet hits the streets. They have in common the need to restrict calories – yet they do this in an unrealistic, non-physiologic fashion. They human body has developed over thousands of years the magnificent ability to store ‘emergency fuel’ for a rainy day. Historically, famine has always plagued humanity and only relatively recently has a 7-Eleven been on every corner. Calorie restriction always results in the body being very stingy with its precious fat reserves. The brain screams ‘feed me’ and drives you to eventually eat.

The HCG diet program was developed over 50 years ago. It is a very low calorie diet that uses human chorionic gonadatropin (HGC) to reset the brain (the hypothalamus to be exact) which allows you to tap into those pesky fat reserves to help feed you while you cut way back on your calories. So, hunger is abated while the pounds drop off. The HCG also has a lingering effect on the brain to affect how you process food in the future. This is important because once you lose the weight you want to keep it off.

Losing 20 – 30 pounds in 30 days is a reasonable expectation with the HCG diet. I can’t think of a better way to slim down for the summer.