The Truth About the hCG Diet Plan

True story: A few years ago, a fabulously fit friend of mine was paid a substantial amount of money by a popular diet pill company to use his image in their advertising. The catch? His current competition-ready state was the "after" picture and then he had to quickly gain some weight, lose his tan, and pose pouty for the "before" shot.
This kind of duplicity, along with photoshop, misleading labeling, and other trickery is rampant in the diet supplement industry and has been since the turn of the century. And I mean the one 113 years ago. That's why it was so surprising when the FDA came down hard on the hCG diet, declaring it "fraudulent", "dangerous," and "illegal." What's so bad about this particular diet supplement that makes it so much worse than all the other fakes on the market?
HCG or human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone produced during pregnancy to help the baby grow, and while it has been used for different purposes in the medical community for decades, it has recently become the centerpiece of a fad diet that uses hCG drops, shots, or pills to suppress appetite and cause weight loss. Here's what you need to know about the hCG diet plan:
RELATED: Tone the body you want and say goodbye to saddlebags and belly pooch with these three moves for every girl's trouble zones.

1. It can help you lose weight. My dad lost 30 pounds in 40 days on the hCG diet… except that he was too cheap to buy the hCG so instead he just did the prescribed diet plan. It turns out when you only eat 600 low-carb calories per day, you lose a lot of weight. Go figure.
2. Almost none of the supplements contain actual hCG. Even if the hormone did work to suppress appetite, true hCG requires a doctor and a prescription to dispense. Most of the supplements are sold as "homeopathic," which is industry code for containing no real hCG.

3. It's not "homeopathic." To be considered a homeopathic treatment by the FDA it needs to appear in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia, which hCG does not. Elizabeth Miller, the FDA's team leader on internet and health fraud, concludes, "So they are unapproved drugs and are illegal." She adds the drugs are also not approved for weight loss.
4. It's often very, very expensive. And price is no indicator of whether you're even getting the real thing.

5. There are no clinical trials or rigorous studies that support the hCG diet plan. Miller says, "In the case of the homeopathic hCG remedies, people think that if they’re losing weight, hGC must be working. But the data simply does not support this—any weight loss is from severe calorie restriction. Not from the hCG."
RELATED: The hCG diet only adds to the weight-loss confusion out there. Be sure you're not falling for any of the top nine most popular diet myths.
Quick fixes can be tempting for anyone trying to lose weight, but definitely skip this extreme diet and go for good nutrition and regular exercise instead. It's not as exciting, but your wallet and waistline will thank you—and you're much more likely to keep the weight off for good.

Count This Instead of Calories to Lose Weight In 4 Weeks

Thank your elementary school math teacher: Counting can help you lose weight. But focusing on calories and pounds may not actually be ideal. Rather, people who tallied all their bites lost around four pounds in just a month, reports a new study in Advances in Obesity, Weight Management & Control.
In the study, researchers from Brigham Young University instructed participants to make just one change in their diet: count everything. For a week, they counted the number of times they lifted food to their mouth, the number of sips they took of any liquid other than water, and the number of chomps they took throughout the day. After that, the group specifically committed to taking 20 to 30 percent fewer bites.
Four weeks later, without making any effort to eat fewer calories or healthier fare, the participants had lost weight. The researchers called counting bites “a doable, cost-effective option for the 70 percent of Americans who are overweight.” (Don't have a month? Try these 6 Weekend Weight Loss Tips to Slim Down.)
The most likely reason is that they gave their brain longer to register that they were full, thereby unintentionally reducing their calorie intake. But paying attention to every gulp and gnaw probably also helped participants become more mindful, which research has shown can help women lose weight.
Adding up every nibble, though, can be too rigid for some to reap the benefits. Participants who didn’t finish the experiment dropped out because they struggled with keeping up on counting their bites.
Luckily, there may be an even easier way to end up at the same place: When you sit down to eat, slow down. Past Chinese research has found that people consume about 12 percent fewer calories when they chewed each bite 40 times compared to 15. And a 2013 study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reports that taking the time to chew your food and pausing in between bites helped people eat less in a single sitting and stay satisfied for a longer period of time—no math required.

'Everything In Moderation' May Lead to Weight Gain

"Eat everything in moderation" seems like a pretty healthy approach to eating: Trying new foods will open up your tastebuds to new healthy meals. Not depriving yourself of dessert will help you avoid binges. But this seemingly balanced approach may actually cause you to both gain weight and increase your risk of diabetes over 10 years,

Researchers asked over 7,000 people about their eating habits, including the number of different foods they eat in a week, the amount of calories in each food, and how similar the foods were to each other, nutritionally. Those who ate the widest variety of foods had a 120 percent greater increase in waist size and were more likely to gain weight than those who stuck to the few foods they knew and loved—even if those foods weren't very healthy. (Psst: We love these 10 Savory Avocado Recipes (That Aren't Guacamole).)
Whoa.
All that tasting, it turns out, may lead you to ignore hunger signals and eat more because of it. In the study, people were simply adding healthy foods on top of everything else they were eating. That means any benefits of eating produce and whole grains were overshadowed by the fat, sugar, and preservatives in foods like sausage, soft drinks, and candy, explains Marcia C. de Oliveira Otto, Ph.D., the lead study author.
So does this really mean that you'll be healthier channeling your inner preschooler and dining exclusively on mac 'n' cheese and chicken nuggets? Not so fast, Otto says. (Learn to Indulge Like a Nutritionist!)
Previous research has found that people open to eating "weird" health foods weighed less than their pickier counterparts, and Otto says their study agrees. What they really found was that diet quality was more important than anything else. People who ate the healthiest fare overall—even if it was just a few staple dishes—had a 25 percent lower risk of disease after 10 years.
"Eating a range of quality foods may be more effective in promoting health than the old advice of 'eating everything in moderation,'" Otto says. (Stock up on The 8 Healthy Foods You Should Eat Every Day.)
Bottom line: No one is saying you can't have the occassional piece of cake or bar of chocolate, but research suggests it's better to eat just a few healthy items than to "moderately" indulge in many treats.

Weight Loss Tips of the women who work with fast food

"Tasting the product is the easiest way to slip off course," says Danielle Vilagie, co-founder of Wicked Good Cupcakes. But she reminds herself that "you only need to take a bite. The taste doesn't change halfway through the cupcake." Good weight loss advice for any dessert-lover—and a reason to share!
As for her co-founder (and mom!) Tracey Noonan, the trick to weight loss and fitness is thinking of exercise as an opportunity for fun rather than a chore. "Personally, I hate working out," she says. "So I find time for activities like playing with my dogs or kayaking."

7 Real Madrid, "I need to lose weight" aha moments

We won't sugarcoat it: Changing a lifetime of unhealthy eating habits and poor exercise patterns is hard. (So are these 9 Things No One Ever Warned You About Losing Weight.) Weight loss takes time, perseverance, and dedication—and sometimes a little something extra to light that spark of motivation. It might be a wedding or a class reunion, the birth of a child, a health scare, or a traumatic experience—everyone has a reason, a different "aha" moment that pushed them to begin their health and fitness journey. So we asked seven women to pinpoint the moment they realized they needed to lose weight. Here, their stories

9 International Fad Diets very silly to believe

It seems weight loss is a national pastime in America—and fad diets come in and out of style daily. After all, who hasn't known someone who started out their day with a delicious (?) drink of maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and lemon water? Or remember that time we all focused on one decidedly non-diet food to use for our diet—like the cookie diet, the ice cream diet, or the baby food diet? Well, while we've been busy trying every diet strategy under the sun, other countries have been coming up with their own strange diet fads too—with mixed results. Curious what they are? So were we. (And don't forget to check out The 9 Biggest Nutrition Trends of 2015.)

Food Court targeting to start selling healthy snacks and meals

It's often said that Target has a $20 cover charge—who hasn't gone into the store for eggs and walked out with a cute designer top, a mug shaped like a penguin, and a package of pens (and completely forgotten the eggs)? It's understandable you might need a quick snack to fuel those epic shopping trips. Good news for all you health-conscious foodies: Target just announced they're revamping their deli to serve less fast, fatty treats and more fresh, healthy eats.
Where you used to find hot pretzels, bottomless sodas, and corn dogs, the store says you'll soon see fresh salads, sandwiches, and even artisanal pizza. Certain stores will be testing the new program in Minneapolis where Target is headquartered, starting in October. They are rolling out several options including Freshii, a cafe serving salads and pressed juices; a smaller versions of the popular Minnesotan Italian restaurant D'Amico & Sons; and a spiffed-up Pizza Hut featuring a health-ified menu of "artisan" pizzas like margarita and barbecue chicken. (Surprised? Pizza Hut is actually one of 9 Chain Restaurants with New Healthy Fast Food Options.)
"We think this takes us a giant step in the direction of making a much better first impression," said Tina Tyler, Target's Chief Stores Officer, adding that they'd been receiving feedback that customers wanted higher-quality food in a casual environment in the stores.
Target has made similar moves toward healthier products in the past few years. First, they added grocery sections to their stores so customers could go to Super Target and score fresh produce among other products. Last year, they converted all products under their in-house grocery brand, Simply Balanced, to be GMO-free. And they not only have an activewear section, but also their own partnership with athletic clothing giant Champion, C9.
The new healthy deli program will only be in Minneapolis at first, but Target reps say they are hoping to bring it to their 1,800 other stores around the country soon. Until then, grab these 15 Smart, Healthy Alternatives to Junk Food instead. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some shopping to do!