Comparing the differences between the hcg weight loss diet protocol to the atkins diet protocol


In the recent years, people have been following various diet plans however the basic principle for losing weight is by the consumption of fewer calories than your body exerts. It is often a hard task to choose the right diet regime that fits your lifestyle, metabolism, and food preferences. However, one can successfully lose weight with physician's advice that can help you from choosing the right plan. Moreover, it is important to understand the concept of any diet plan to reap the benefits.

Recently, the most widely followed diet plans all over the world are the HCG diet and Atkins diet plans even though you are advised to follow any diet plan on medical supervision. The HCG diet involves restricted intake of calories in combination with a daily dose HCG hormone injection. In comparison, the Atkins diet restricts the intake of certain carbohydrates including healthy ones. One can achieve a desired weight by carefully knowing the main concept behind these diets. Here is a detailed comparison between Dr. Simeons HCG diet and Dr. Atkins diet protocols.

The HCG Diet has been practiced since 1950s and it became public during 1970s when introduced by Dr. A. T. W. Simeons to treat overweight. It includes a daily dose of HCG (human Chorionic Gonadotropin) hormone injection that is isolated from the urine of a pregnant female. While following this diet, one should take a very low-calorie diet of less than 500 calories per day to burn excess fat out of the system. Dr. Simeons advices intake of 2 small meals daily that contain sources of lean protein, fresh fruits and non-starchy vegetables.

Although, one is not allowed to take some carbs while on HCG diet, however you can consider taking foods that contain less carbs like Melba toast or Grissini breadsticks. Dr. A.T.W. Simeons conducted a study to detect the per day ratio of the amount of carbs taken by the dieters to avoid carbohydrate imbalance. The HCG diet plan is the best tool to successfully control one's weight in future as it works by re-programming the hypothalamus gland thus the person feels filled despite intake of small portions of food. Depending on weight, the low calorie phase of the HCG Diet typically lasts for about 21 to 45 days. The best benefit of HCG diet plan when compared to Atkins diet is that you can avoid ketosis by regularly taking certain carbs.

The Atkins diet was discovered by Dr. Robert C. Atkins during 1970s to promote easy weight loss. The diet includes low carbohydrate intake, especially healthy carbohydrates in an effort to control weight loss. The first phase of it includes consumption of less than 20g of carbohydrates per day which can subsequently be made flexible by taking from 50 to 100g of carbs depending on the carb tolerance. One can take non-starchy vegetables, sausages, cheese, cream, fish, bacon, meat, butter, and coconut oil while avoiding bread, muffins, potatoes, pasta, soft drinks, breakfast cereals, rice, fruits, sugar, and desserts.

The disadvantage of Atkins Diet is it eliminates necessary carbs and forces the body to develop ketosis, which involves increased serum ketone body level. Ketosis generally occurs in diabetes mellitus, and abnormal fat metabolism. Prolonged ketosis eventually leads to liver damage. Hence, the Atkins Diet was not advised by healthcare experts and researchers as it requires no portion size restriction. As a result, the revised protocol focused on intake of healthy food, essential fats, and portion control.

These two diets can be differentiated by a fact that one should take restricted number of calories while on an hcg diet, while the one on Atkins diet requires fewer carbohydrates. The HCG diet plan uses HCG hormone injections which is unique when compared to the Atkins diet that requires low carbs diet.

The HCG diet allows the intake of some carbohydrates like Melba toast and breadsticks and it ensures one from taking necessary amount of carbs daily thus preventing ketosis. In contrary, the Atkins diet includes cutting-off all essential carbs in your daily diet thus predisposing to ketosis condition in addition to weakness, low energy levels and fatigue. In addition, the HCG diet causes permanent weight loss by resetting the hypothalamus gland to permanently get used to intake of smaller increments of nutritious food.

In conclusion, the HCG diet protocol is the most recommended plan compared to the Atkins diet as one feels energetic, experiences no unpleasant side effects like flatulence and bad breath. Although, the side effects such as restlessness, headaches, blood clots, and depression may occur while on the HCG diet.