How the Ketogenic Diet Compares to the HCG Diet

Ketogenic Diet

On this diet, you eat very few carbs (20-50 per week depending on the person), a moderate amount of protein and lots of fat. In the absence of carbs, the body must source another form of energy – fat. The liver takes fatty acids and changes them into ketones. This process is called ketosis and it takes the body about a week to get into this mode. To make sure you get in ketosis and stay there, you must check the level of ketones in your body by monitoring the breath, blood or urine. (Checking the urine by purchasing keto sticks is very inexpensive and easy to do although it may not be quite as accurate as the other methods.) Once in ketosis, participants say they achieve immediate weight loss and have energy and a lower appetite.

Approximate Weight Loss Expected on Ketogenic Diet

1st Week – 4 to 10 lbs., after the first week, 1 to 2 lbs. per week

What Food is Eaten on the Ketogenic Diet

On the Ketogenic Diet, you’ll need to figure out how many carbs to eat each day. Each person has a unique carb limit depending on the following elements:

• amount of protein you eat
• amount of stress you have
• amount of exercise you do
• how keto-adapted you are

In general, a good method for determining your carb limit is to start out with 35 grams of total carbs (25 net carb grams) and go from there. To calculate net carbs, simply subtract the fiber grams from the total carb grams. You’ll want to make sure you are in ketosis and then add 5 carbs at a time to see how many you can eat without going out of ketosis.

As far as deciding on what you’ll eat, 5% of your diet should be carbs, 20% protein and 70-75% fat. You’ll choose:

Fats & Oils: Natural sources are best, i.e., meat and nuts. Also, you can have coconut oil, olive oil and butter.

Protein: Unprocessed (meaning skip the deli meats) beef, poultry, seafood, and eggs

Vegetables: Above ground veggies are best, especially the leafy/green ones.

Dairy: Most dairy is fine as long as you get the full-fat items. Make sure to check the carb count.

Nuts and Seeds: Macadamias, almonds – Eat from this category in moderation.

Beverages: Drink water, water and more water! Of course, you can flavor it with lemon or lemon juice and add stevia or sucralose. Coffee, tea, broth and unsweetened almond milk are allowed. Avoid diet soda and alcohol.

Special Rules for the Ketogenic Diet

Take care not to eat too much protein, which will be a temptation since proteins are naturally low carb. If you do, your body will break down protein instead of fat, which is called gluconeogenesis. This process wastes your lean muscle mass and is not healthy. Also watch for extremely high levels of ketones in the bloodstream, especially if diabetic.

HCG Diet

On this diet, you administer HCG into your body via homeopathic drops, prescription injections, drops, cream or spray. HCG stands for “Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin” which is a hormone that is present in a woman’s body when she’s pregnant to make sure she is getting enough nutrition to feed her baby. The HCG tells the body to tap into its abnormal fat deposits for nutrition and fuel. This process takes anywhere from 2 to 5 days. Then you must follow a very low-calorie diet (500 calories), and are allowed only specific foods based on Dr. Simeons Protocol. Once HCG is in the system, a person normally has energy, is not hungry (except at mealtime), experiences a general feeling of well-being and achieves rapid weight loss.

Approximate Weight Loss Expected on HCG Diet

1st Week – 7 to 10 lbs., after the first week, 2 to 5 lbs. per week

What Food is Eaten on the HCG Diet

You’ll eat 2 meals per day and they consist of:

Protein: 100 grams of protein (white fish, water-packed tuna, shrimp, lobster, white meat chicken, and very lean beef. No pork or turkey.)

Vegetables: 1 vegetable from a list of 13 – spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage

Starch: 1 grissini breadstick

Fruit: 1 fruit from a list of 4 – apple, orange, ½ grapefruit or handful of strawberries

Beverages: Plain water, tea and coffee are the only beverages allowed and may only be sweetened with saccharin or stevia. No other artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols may be used. No fruit teas, flavored coffees, diet soda, sugar-free drink mixes, juices or alcohols are allowed.

Special Rules for the HCG Diet

No moisturizers, lotions, or oils other than mineral oil/baby oil should be used on the skin or scalp as they can cause a stall or gain in weight loss. Mineral oil may be used on the skin as a moisturizing substitute. Or you may use Tiffalina’s personal care products which were specifically designed for oil-free diets.

Conclusion

It is simple to figure out what to eat on the HCG Diet while it takes much more time to calculate and keep track of what you’re eating on the Keto Diet. There’s a bit more variety on the Keto Diet but results come quicker on the HCG Diet. Both the HCG and Keto diets burn fat as fuel for the body, do not require exercise, are low carb and obtain rapid weight loss. Which one is a better fit for you?