At a time when chronic diseases are no longer confined to older people, many are choosing to live an active and healthy lifestyle to keep health issues at bay. Some turn to a routine that keeps them moving and physically challenged every day. Others adopt a healthy eating habit due to their belief that what they consume significantly impacts their bodies.
HCG diet is being embraced by many as a way to lose weight. Its claim to fame stems from the fact that it can allow easy weight loss due to the use of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). The diet also comes with a severe caloric restriction at only 500 calories a day.
This article will focus on whether the HCG diet and exercise can be combined together. It will explore how the HCG work and the manner it affects the body, whether exercising is recommended for those people on the diet, and exercises that should be done and those that should be avoided when under the diet regimen.
HCG diet: How It Changes the Body
Developed by Albert T. Simeons, a British physician, back in the 1950s, many claims that following this diet will allow anyone to lose about 20-30 pounds in a span of 40 days without feeling hungry or extremely weak due to dietary restrictions. The diet developed by Dr. Simeons makes use of HCG, a hormone commonly released by women during pregnancy. People following this regimen inject themselves with HCG. The HCG protocol is fairly easy to follow thus many can do it in the convenience of their own homes. Aside from HCG injections, the diet plan also calls its followers to restrict their daily calorie consumption to about 500 calories or less.
Simeons chose to use the hormone for this diet regimen due to its unique properties. Studies found that HCG was effective in burning fat, especially those stored in the thighs, hip, and the abdomen. There were also evidences that injecting HCG can reduce appetite without hampering energy levels. This ensures that people on this diet regimen will not experience any symptoms associated with weight loss programs like nausea, headaches, and mood swings.
Exercising and HCG Diet
Most people who exercise aims to reduce body fat. However, that is the disadvantage faced by people on this diet enrolling to an exercise program. An individual on the human chorionic gonadotropin diet is on restrictive food consumption. Thus, many of them might not have the proper energy and strength to do strenuous activities.
People who practice this diet consume food mostly rich in proteins and not much from those rich in carbohydrates. Given such, practitioners’ bodies are in a state called ketosis. It is a state the body enters when it is deprived of carbohydrates used by the body to keep itself energized. When ketosis kicks in, the body gets its needed energy from fat instead of the usual carbohydrates.
Simeons also cautioned people following this regimen to be cautious when doing strenuous activities or working out on HGC. The caution came after he observed that people on the human chorionic gonadotropin diet often fell back to overeating due to extreme hunger after doing a heavy exercise routine or activities that require lots of energy.
Exercises For You: Those Considered Safe and Those to Avoid
The Human Chorionic Gonadotropin diet consists of several phases. Each of these phases was developed to ensure that the human body is not shocked when it is subjected to restricted caloric intake. Keeping that in mind, exercises should conform to the individual’s energy level and based on the phase of the diet regimen.
People on the second phase of this diet should be extra cautious when doing exercises. Given that they have only entered the diet program, their bodies might still need some adjusting to the caloric deficit it faces. Additionally, they are more prone to experience nausea and other side-effects related to exercising without enough energy. Light activities like walking or circling around the neighborhood on a bike are recommended exercises for people on this stage.
Those on Phase 3 are more capable of doing some exercises. It is the stage of the diet program where people have already adjusted their bodies to the caloric restrictions that come with this regimen. Exercise is recommended at this phase of the diet as it releases some stress, allow people to have a higher level of stamina, and be more self-confident. However, experts still advise to practice caution and listen to the body when doing exercises at this phase. Given that the body went to some adjusting at Phase 2 of the diet, it is recommended to do exercises that don’t bring up the heart rate level at its maximum. Training classes, yoga, and running are some of the prescribed exercises at Phase 3.
Phase 4 of the diet is the maintenance part of the regimen. It is the point in the program where a concrete and doable healthy lifestyle habits need to be established. This phase of the program requires the participant to be consistent with their food intake and be physically active at all times. People on phase 4 of the diet can do exercises like running, CrossFit, and even weightlifting. However, caution must still be practiced. It is recommended to take it one step at a time and gradually increase the intensity of the workout as days progress.
Do You Need to Exercise After HCG Diet
Caution should be adopted when on an HCG diet. That also applies when we are talking about exercise and HCG used for weight loss. Working out on HCG needs to be done with extreme caution at the start until the body becomes accustomed to the caloric deficit and the low energy at certain times of the day. However, should caution still be observed on exercise after the HCG diet?
“Yes. This is the point when the maintenance work on your body begins. It is the time of the diet program where the participant was able to achieve desired weight. A weight they only imagined when started the journey”
Fitness and diet experts recommend that they start building up the attitude for the maintenance phase during Phase 3 of the diet. The reason behind this is because it is the phase where they were able to achieve the ideal weight. Also, it is at this phase where the body is already accustomed to the caloric deficiency and the energy demanded by regular exercise.
HCG and Exercise: Compatible but with Caution
Exercise on the HCG diet is not impossible. With many turning to HCG weight loss programs, it is a must that they be enlightened in the role played by exercise in the long-term maintenance of their desired body weight.
Listening to your body and understanding its strengths and weaknesses are essential when using HCG to achieve your weight goal and the healthy lifestyle you aspire.
