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Healthy Living News - June 2009                             Healthy Living News - Fall 2009

Weight-loss patients speak out on HCG

The June 2009 issue of Healthy Living News featured an article about a groundbreaking weight-loss program utilizing the hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, or HCG, which is now being offered by Dr. James Roberts of Comprehensive Heart Care, co-author of Reverse Heart Disease Now.

Regular readers may recall that HCG is a hormone made by the placenta and extracted from the urine of pregnant women. In addition to supporting pregnancy, one of the hormone’s roles is to signal the body to release stored fat in order to nourish the unborn child when food is scarce. Program participants are given small doses of HCG, either by injections or sublingually, and are restricted to a 500-calorie-a-day diet for 23 to 40 days.

The HCG coupled with significant calorie reduction leads to dramatic weight loss in a short period without causing extreme fatigue or overwhelming feelings of hunger. Furthermore, participants can often eliminate or significantly reduce the medications they’re taking for obesity-related ailments, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and sleep apnea.

With 40 women and 30 men having already completed the HGC program and 55 patients currently being treated (as of this writing), Dr. Roberts wanted to share with HLN readers the exciting outcomes that the program has produced thus far. So, HLN recently sat down with eight of Dr. Roberts’ HCG patients to get their insights. Here are their experiences and perspectives on the program:

The older he got, the more he gained

Before becoming a patient of Dr. Roberts, which he describes as a lifesaving transformation, Tom Devers, 50, was struggling with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea. He was also observing that the older he got, the more weight he gained and the harder it became to lose weight in spite of exercise.

“I was pushing 260 pounds, so when Dr. Roberts recommended the HCG program for me, it really piqued my interest,” he says. “I lost 34 pounds on the program, and I feel fantastic. I felt hunger for the first week or two, but now my energy level is really high, and I’ve started sleeping really well. I also noticed that I didn’t seem to lose muscle mass with the diet.”

Tom notes that after completing the program, his blood pressure has come down, his triglycerides and cholesterol have plummeted, and his vital signs have returned to normal. His goal now is to get his body mass index, or BMI, to the desired level. “This is the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s a diet for life,” he states.

The only diet that’s worked

Debbie Disbrow, 53, has been on and off diets for her entire life. Dieting never worked before, however, because each time she attempted to control her portions, she would be sabotaged by intense cravings. She even admits to stockpiling a secret stash of chocolate “just like an addict.”

Debbie lost 26 pounds on the HCG program—and experienced weight-loss success for the first time. Like Tom, she noticed some physical emptiness in the first week or so. She recalls being very energetic on some days and very tired on others, but comments that she was always encouraged by seeing the pounds come off.

“Since doing this, my cravings have vanished and I have no desire for processed foods or fast food. A small handful of nuts is a snack for me now. This is the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat,” she remarks.

First and only diet

For Debbie’s husband, Mike Disbrow, 53, portion control was a simple matter—that is, he simply didn’t practice it. “I was never on any diet in my life,” he explains. “I would go to a restaurant and order two or three meals. Pasta dishes were always my favorites.” As a result of his unrestricted eating, Mike developed diabetes.

Having never practiced portion control in the past, Mike was understandably nervous about restricting himself to 500 calories a day. But, apart from one night of struggling, he had no problems, and he lost a total of 28 pounds in as many days. Whereas he would eat an entire loaf of bread before, he now barely touches bread and points out that he doesn’t even finish a full steak anymore.

“Since completing the HCG program, not only has my stomach really shrunk, but my energy level has increased, my blood sugar level has been lowered dramatically, and I’ve reduced my diabetes medication to one shot a day,” he says.

Getting ready for round two

Discovering in 1992 that his right coronary artery was almost totally blocked, Chuck Jeffries, now 65, was advised by his cardiologist that he would be on medication for the rest of his life. His weight reached 257 pounds in spite of attempts at diet and exercise, and his heart problem continually plagued his efforts to achieve better fitness. “I’d be on the treadmill for 30 minutes at low speed, and I’d have to take three nitro tablets,” he recalls.

Then, Chuck became a patient of Dr. Roberts, and he states that his situation has been improving ever since. “In treating me over the years, Dr. Roberts said I was a ‘boring’ patient because I was so remarkably stable. I have total trust in Dr. Roberts, so when I heard about the HCG diet, I went for it practically on the same day.”

Chuck lost 31 pounds in 40 days and says he’s getting ready for a second round of the HCG program. He no longer needs nitroglycerin. His energy and stamina have increased, and he regularly goes to the gym where he works out with weights and on the treadmill (at a higher speed now). He comments that his wife can’t believe the fact that he’s up and doing chores at 6:00 a.m. on weekends. “I am, beyond a doubt, stronger and healthier at 65 than I was in my 30s and 40s,” he adds.

Leaving the pharmacy at home

For Sherry Yourist, 57, going on vacation with her husband, Warren, meant dragging along a veritable pharmacy of blood-pressure and diabetes medications. “That really took a lot of the enjoyment out of traveling for me,” she recalls.

She and Warren made a commitment to getting in better shape at the beginning of this year, drinking protein shakes and working out at the gym, but Sherry lost a total of only 12 pounds between January and March. However, after starting HCG in April, the number of pounds lost soon grew to 47.

“Now, I feel so much better. I feel like I did when I was in my 20s,” Sherry says. “My blood pressure went from being around 160/100 to 115/65. Whereas before my knees would start to hurt while doing the treadmill at a maximum speed of only 2, I now start at three and go up from there. I can even do an incline of 15 at a speed of three to seven for two minutes.”

Best of all, Sherry has left behind many of her medications. She now takes only 25 milligrams of a blood pressure medicine, one heart medication, a few aspirins, and vitamins. “Now when we go on vacation, it’s wonderful because we don’t have to take so much medication with us,” she comments. “Plus, all that stuff is out of my system. Who knows what all those medications do to you over time?”

Hoping to fly again

The first cardiologist Warren Yourist, 63, went to see told him that he would be on medication for the rest of his life and that he would be limited in the things he would be able to do. After undergoing bypass surgery, he began to put on weight, which led to knee problems and sleep apnea. It was for these reasons that he and his wife, Sherry, resolved to get in better shape this past January. A recreational pilot, Warren is also hoping to get clearance from the FAA to fly again.

As Warren describes it, he and Sherry “worked like dogs” from January to March, and he managed to lose around 20 pounds. However, after completing the HCG program, his total weight loss rose to over 50 pounds and he was able to phase out most of his medications. Moreover, he is now able to exceed the FAA’s requirement for endurance on the treadmill.

Warren acknowledges backsliding by about six or seven pounds, observing that, “You still have to modify your lifestyle in order to keep the weight off. Nonetheless, it’s a chance to lose significant weight in a short time. It does work.”

The best gift I’ve ever given myself

Betsy Noe, 29, describes her struggle with weight as a lifestyle issue. “I’m a creature of habit, and I made horrible food choices,” she says. Also, though never officially diagnosed with sleep apnea, Betsy would often wake up at night and realize that she wasn’t breathing right.

Since undergoing the HCG program, she has shed 34 pounds and no longer experiences any breathing difficulties at night. She also acknowledges feeling better about her body and her relationship with food. “I went into the program thinking ‘I can’t do this.’ Now I realize that anything is possible. It’s the best gift I’ve ever given myself.”

 

For more information about the HCG program, please call Total Body Balance Weight Loss Center at Comprehensive Heart Care at 419-531-8142.. Or, visit the website heartfixer.com or weightfixerohio.com.

Please Note - It is the position of the FDA and FTC that HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity.  There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes more attractive or “normal” distribution of fat, or that it decrease the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.