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hCG Diet & a Woman's Menstrual Cycle

Sep 14, 2011 | By Lawrence Adams
hCG Diet & a Woman's Menstrual Cycle
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Many women struggle to stay motivated and lose weight on conventional diet plans that restrict caloric intake. Some dieters turn to fad diets, such as the hCG diet plan, which claim to help you lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time. The hCG diet involves hormone supplementation and following a very restrictive diet for up to 40 days. Following the plan may affect your menstrual cycle and overall health, so talk to your doctor before starting the diet.

Menstrual Cycle

A woman's menstrual cycle lasts approximately one month, although cycles lasting from 21 to 35 days are considered normal. Your hormone levels change throughout your menstrual cycle. The first day of your menstrual period begins the cycle. During your period, your body sheds the lining of your uterus. About halfway through the cycle, your ovaries release an egg that travels through the Fallopian tubes to the uterus. If the egg is fertilized, you become pregnant; if it remains unfertilized, your uterine lining sheds again during your next menstrual period. Women's menstrual cycles vary significantly in duration, pain, heaviness of flow and regularity. Your diet affects your menstrual cycle and may cause menstrual irregularities.

hCG Diet Features

Physician A.T.W. Simeons developed the hCG diet during the 1950s as a way for obese patients to lose weight. Diet proponents claim human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, is a powerful hormone that suppresses the appetite and promotes weight loss. Only pregnant women naturally produce the hormone. The hCG diet requires you to take oral or injected hCG supplements every day. Dieters also cut their calorie consumption to just 500 calories per day.

Taking hCG During Menstruation

When Simeons developed the hCG diet, the only way to receive hCG was through a daily injection. Simeons recommended that women stop hCG injections for the duration of their menstrual periods but continue eating 500 calories per day. He claimed menstrual processes prevented women from becoming hungry during their periods. The hCG protocol requires women to resume taking hCG supplements after their periods end.

Menstrual Regularity

Simeons noted in his book "Pounds and Inches: A New Approach to Obesity" that some teenage girls on the hCG diet experience interruptions in their menstrual periods. Their periods may become delayed or stop completely. According to MayoClinic.com, disruptions in your menstrual cycle occur when you severely restrict your diet or lose a large amount of weight. Eating 500 calories per day for a prolonged period of time may cause menstrual irregularities. Talk to your doctor about your menstrual cycle if it changes or your periods stop.

Health Concerns

In addition to disrupting menstrual regularity, the hCG diet may negatively impact your health. Most mainstream doctors reject Simeons' theory that hCG suppresses your appetite and helps you lose fat from your belly and thighs. Eating only 500 calories per day affects may leave you deficient in important vitamins and minerals. If you miss a menstrual period on the hCG diet, stop the plan immediately and talk to your doctor.

References

Article reviewed by Libby Swope Wiersema Last updated on: Sep 14, 2011

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