Diet of Dr. Albert Simeon and Anat Stern - menu analysis

Getting rid of fat on the stomach and sides is the most difficult. But he will literally begin to melt on the diet of Simeons, a British endocrinologist who discovered a revolutionary way to lose 20 kg in just 40 days!

Author: Kristina Lobanovskaya, doctor, practicing nutritionist Article updated: 11/10/2020

British-born endocrinologist Albert Simeons lived and worked in Italy. The heyday of his activity occurred in the mid-twentieth century. The doctor developed his own method of losing weight, which was very popular among wealthy people of that time. For 10 years, people suffering from excess weight, with the help of Simeons, have been realizing their dream of a slim and beautiful body.

The essence of the system

According to Dr. Simeons, human fat is divided into three types:

1. A healthy fat layer that protects organs from damage and allows them to function fully.
2. Fat that acts as an energy reserve. It disappears perfectly with intense physical activity.
3. And finally, the so-called bad fat. It is located on the most problematic areas - hips, waist and stomach. It is almost impossible to get rid of it even with diet and exercise. The body does not want to part with this fat, as if it were saving it for a rainy day.

That is why, even torturing ourselves with diets and sports, we do not achieve the desired result. And if we achieve it, we observe unpleasant phenomena: weakness and apathy, sagging skin, bad mood and the desire to quit everything.

Dr. Simeons saw a way out of the situation by taking medications containing the hCG hormone. This human choriogonadotropin hormone burns reserves of problematic fat. The body converts them into energy, releasing approximately 1,500 calories. It turns out that there are only 500 calories left to the daily requirement, which must be brought in with food.

Thus, in total, the introduction of injections with hCG into the body and a low-calorie diet led to an excellent effect: loss of 400-500 g of excess weight per day.

The diet lasts for 40 days in total. During this time, the plumb line will be 15-20 kilos.

HCG is human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone secreted by the placenta during pregnancy, which begins to be produced from the moment the embryo is implanted into the uterus and increases exponentially every two days. Thanks to it, another very important pregnancy hormone, progesterone, is produced.

Even if the diet of the expectant mother leaves much to be desired, the child still receives all the nutrients necessary for development. And they come precisely from that same “bad” fat. This is what the Simeons diet is based on.

Positive and negative aspects of the technique

The doctor himself considered his brainchild scientifically sound and completely harmless to the body. However, more recent studies have outlined significant negative health effects.

pros

1. The diet is effective from the first day.
2. A person does not experience a painful feeling of hunger, despite the fact that the daily menu contains only 500 energy units.
3. Due to the increase in the hormone testosterone, which is responsible for the anabolic state, muscle mass does not decrease.
4. Thanks to the use of the hormone, metabolism is normalized. This means that excess weight will not return in the future.
5. You don't have to play sports at all. Anti-gym deniers can rejoice.

Minuses

1. In this weight loss system, a hormonal effect occurs on the body. HCG can cause a lot of health problems: the growth of various tumors, the occurrence of hydatidiform moles, breast enlargement in men, regular headaches and depression, and malfunction of the adrenal glands.
2. Eating such an insignificant amount of calories per day leads to the fact that the body literally begins to devour itself. Protein is even sucked out of the heart muscle. And this leads to gastric tachycardia and sudden cardiac arrest. Not to mention the lack of nutrients that a person experiences during extreme weight loss.
3. Dr. Simeons' diet is contraindicated for people with any chronic diseases.

HCG in therapy

In some foreign countries, drugs based on human chorionic gonadotropin are prohibited. In Russia, hCG is widely used in medicine for the treatment of gynecological diseases in women: infertility, recurrent miscarriage, delayed puberty, artificial insemination, etc. In men, it is used to treat azoospermia (absence or a small number of sperm in the ejaculate), testicular hypoplasia , decreased function of the gonads, cryptorchidism, etc.

Gonadotropin is also used in sports to increase muscle mass. There is even such an unfortunate fact that female athletes became pregnant on purpose before the Olympics. When, according to their calculations, the level of hCG in the body reached its highest point, an abortion was performed. And as a result, they achieved significant success in competitions.

HCG is available in the form of a white powder, from which injections are made for intramuscular administration. The dose and number of injections are calculated only by the doctor, taking into account the patient’s condition. The most well-known drugs containing gonadotropin: Pregnil, Horagon, Ovitrel, Perfinil.

Diet stages

1. Preparatory. Lasts two days. During this time, we cleanse the body of toxins, toxic substances and feces. Fasting days on water, vegetables, berries and fruits will help us with this.
2. Nutritious. For these we carefully fatten up with any high-calorie dishes in order to create a fat layer.
3. Intensive stage. We stick to it until the 23rd day of the weight loss course. We eat 500 calories a day and take the hCG hormone.
4. Fixing. From 24 to 26 and from 41 to 43 days we refuse the hormone, but also adhere to a low-calorie diet.
5. Restorative. Within three weeks, we return to our usual diet, gradually increasing our daily caloric intake every day. Any products are allowed, except sugar- and starch-containing ones.

HCG diet (Dr. Simeons diet)

HCG diet , also known as Dr. Simeons' diet, is a specific diet, very popular in the United States these days, which involves constant monitoring of calorie intake and the level of human chorionic gonadotropin, as well as the mandatory use of active supplements that mimic the action of this hormone. It sounds difficult, but you can figure it out!

HCG diet: extraordinary regimen - extraordinary results! 10162

The principle of action and mode of the hCG diet

What does the term "hCG" mean? HCG is the common abbreviation for human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that is normally found in the human body at a certain level in large quantities but is synthesized during pregnancy. In principle, one of its functions is to regulate metabolism, and this is precisely the secret of the hCG diet, developed by British endocrinologist Albert Simeons in 1954. The fact is that the main role of this hormone is to control and regulate the use of fat reserves stored in the body in order to free up enough calories to support a new life. It is hCG that directs the cells that accumulate fat to begin converting it into energy. That is, in fact, human chorionic gonadotropin is a natural fat burner that is naturally produced in the human body!

Like other biochemical compounds synthesized in the human body, hCG is a complex hormone and its actions are well balanced by Nature to ensure healthy development of mother and child. And naturally, pregnant women do not lose weight even with high levels of this fat-burning hormone: they need a lot of energy to maintain a new life and their own metabolism. However, in the absence of pregnancy, weight loss can be achieved by simply increasing the level of hCG in the body - this was Dr. Simeons's brilliant idea. Dr. Simeons, in order to combat obesity, proposed the use of human chorionic gonadotropin surrogates as an active supplement to a very low-calorie diet for rapid and sustainable weight loss.

At first he used injections of this hormone in low doses on a daily basis, which were supported by the effect of a strict diet (500 calories per day), consisting of small amounts of fat and carbohydrates, but high in protein. Actually, the regime of the experimental endocrinologist looked like this:

• Every day the patient was administered 125 IU of hCG (only in the absence of menstruation).
• Until the third injection, I couldn’t eat enough. Weight was constantly monitored.
• After the third injection, 500 calories were allowed to be consumed each day, and this regimen had to be maintained for another 72 hours after the last hCG injection.
• It was allowed to consume any type of food during the three weeks of the diet, with the exception of starch and sugar.
• Starch in small quantities was allowed after three weeks of the hCG diet.

The author of the extraordinary diet tested his regime and in 1954 published the book that made him famous - Pounds and Inches. By testing the diet's effectiveness, he found that even after a long-term regimen of calorie restriction, muscle mass was maintained and his patients did not experience the negative symptoms typically associated with low-calorie diets. For example, Dr. Simeons' patients never experienced irritability, weakness, stomach pain, pangs of unbearable hunger, or headaches. So six decades after the book was published, Dr. Simeons' popular diet is still helping people lose those extra pounds for good.

Pitfalls of the hCG diet

Naturally, human chorionic gonadotropin, in the absence of pregnancy, is contained in the body of women (as well as men) only in small quantities. And if you are not pregnant, then a high level of hCG in the blood is an abnormality. But Dr. Simeons did not popularize injections of this hormone, but rather developed a number of products designed to imitate its effects. His first development is homeopathic nasal drops, which are also used in spray form. Naturally, over more than 50 years of using this diet, many alternative products have appeared, and not all of them can be called safe.

Supplements and Products

Today, the hCG diet and surrogates for this hormone are available in a wide variety of forms, but homeopathic drops remain the most popular version, including in the United States. To achieve sustainable weight loss while avoiding side effects, it is recommended that you strictly adhere to Dr. Simeons' diet protocol. The dosage of active supplements is also important, as it determines how long the effect of the surrogate hormone will last.

As for the foods that are recommended for this diet, Dr. Simeons’ book itself is quite clear in this regard: “All foods are allowed, with the exception of starch and sugar in any form (be careful with very sweet fruits!).” So many experts advise focusing on proteins and high-fat foods, avoiding sugars like fire and reducing carbohydrates to a minimum: fats + carbohydrates = a killer combination for a figure. The list below is considered ideal for following a standard hCG diet plan: beef, pork and poultry, butter, whole grains in any form, seeds and nuts; dairy products and cheeses; a variety of, but unsweetened, vegetables and fruits (avocado is considered especially healthy).

Potatoes, including sweet potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables, sugar-containing and carbohydrate fruits (bananas, grapes, tangerines, oranges, mangoes, cherries) are excluded. Beans are consumed with caution and in small doses.

It is recommended to split 500 kilocalories into two meals a day, with 100 grams of this coming from protein. Fats are also welcome, but only a small amount of carbohydrates is allowed.

As for drinks, standard drinking or mineral (or regular) water, coffee or tea without sugar are optimal. Fresh and packaged juices, carbonated drinks and anything that contains sugar or even sweeteners are prohibited. In total, fluid intake should be about 2 liters per day.

What the HCG Diet Promises: The Benefits of Dr. Simeons’ Regimen

The goal of Dr. Simeons' diet is to eliminate fatty tissue without losing muscle mass. But the benefits of the hCG diet go beyond simple weight loss. Indeed, as a rule, overweight people are interested in diets. However, the HCG diet is not only suitable for them - it provides many more benefits than losing extra pounds. Among the many benefits of this nutrition plan are improved basal metabolic rate and therefore long-term sustainable weight loss; rejection of unhealthy eating habits (loss of sweet tooth, overeating habit); improved health indicators (such as blood sugar levels, blood pressure levels and reduced joint pain); increased energy and motivation levels.

Another benefit of Dr. Simeons' regimen is that the HCG diet works well with other nutrition plans. For example, if you are familiar with the very popular lunar diet, then their complex is now very popular in the USA: the start of the “hormonal” diet is coordinated with the phases of the moon for greater effectiveness. Overall, the HCG diet is recognized as a highly effective diet that can provide amazing results in a very short period of time. However, in order to achieve lasting weight loss without side effects, you should strictly adhere to the principles of this diet and correctly go through all its four phases.

Four phases of the hCG diet

Phase 1 (1-2 days). American nutritionists call it the “loading phase”: during this couple of days, one is allowed to “eat up” in order to create an optimal “background” for starting a weight loss program, and receives the hormone.

Phase 2 (20 days - from the 3rd to the 23rd). Taking human chorionic gonadotropin supplements and simultaneously limiting the daily diet to 500 kilocalories per day. In this phase, the body begins to actively burn fat, which is reflected in the figure.

Phase 3 (3 days – from the 24th to the 26th day inclusive). Stop taking hCG supplements. It is believed that within three days the body “weans” the stimulation of hormones and continues to work on burning fat, but in autonomous mode. You are required to follow a diet and not consume more than 500 kilocalories per day.

Phase 4 (3 weeks). You need to gradually get out of the strict diet: you are allowed to eat everything except sugar- and starch-containing foods. During this time, stabilization of the results of the hCG diet is achieved, and the body “gets used” to its new metabolism and weight.

Disadvantages of the hCG diet: fair criticism

Even if we assume that the artificial hormone - usually made from seaweed - will work like the real thing, a number of questions remain. Thus, the hCG diet cannot be considered absolutely safe, since interference with the endocrine system can cause irreparable harm to the body - and in the mid-20th century, doctors knew very little about the effect of synthetic hormones on human organs and tissues. Today it is known. That human chorionic gonadotropin can stimulate the growth of tumors. In addition, hCG stimulates ovarian function, and this can lead to menstrual irregularities and even more serious disorders of the reproductive system. In addition, it is fair to assume that the spray sold as a surrogate for human chorionic gonadotropin actually works as a mild stimulator of thyroid function - after all, it is based on iodine-containing algae, and therefore cannot be a replacement for hCG.

Well, a fairly strict fast in itself - 500 kcal per day - can rather aggravate than solve the problem of excess weight and subsequently lead to the “yo-yo” effect. In addition, when a hormone replacement is discontinued, many people experience an increase in appetite, and following dietary restrictions (in terms of calories and nutrient categories) becomes quite difficult in the future - many people break down. As a result, the hCG diet does not lead to a solution to the problem of excess weight, but to its aggravation. Among other things, this diet can harm the stronger sex: today there is a widespread hypothesis that elevated levels of hCG in the blood can lead to female-type obesity in men.

Menu for the week

According to the rules of the Simeons diet, you need to eat three to four times a day, and for breakfast there is always tea or coffee with skim milk. Each meal includes 100g of protein and some carbohydrates in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fats are not allowed.

Monday

• Lunch: 50 g of boiled veal, lettuce salad and 3 cherry tomatoes.
• Afternoon snack: green apple.

Tuesday

• Lunch: 50 g of boiled chicken breast, sliced ​​two cucumbers with herbs.
• Afternoon snack: orange.

Wednesday

• Lunch: 50 g of boiled pollock and lettuce.
• Afternoon snack: pear.

Thursday

• Lunch: 50 g of boiled cod, two leaves of white cabbage with a bunch of greens.
• Afternoon snack: grapefruit.

Friday

• Lunch: 50 g of boiled seafood (shrimp or mussels), salad of two radishes.
• Afternoon snack: 6 strawberries.

Saturday

• Lunch: 50 g of boiled seafood, two leaves of red cabbage with a bunch of herbs.
• Afternoon snack: 3 kiwis.

Sunday

• Lunch: 50 g of cottage cheese and steamed asparagus.
• Afternoon snack: persimmon, 1 piece.

In the above menu, dinner is identical to lunch. It is not necessary to follow exactly this sequence of days, the main thing is that the daily calorie content does not exceed 500 units.

Lean meat is allowed: veal, chicken and seafood. Vegetables: red radishes, asparagus, cabbage of all kinds, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, celery, onions. Everything else, including sugar and alcohol, is prohibited.

Contraindications

In general, the diet of Simeons and Anat Stern has no serious contraindications, but it cannot be followed in the following cases:

1. Presence of chronic diseases;
2. Daily use of any medications.

The diet does not have a general list of prohibited and permitted foods, but at its second stage you should eat the following foods:

• Tea, coffee and derivative drinks without sugar (possibly with a sweetener);
• No more than 100 g of protein products per day (meat, fish, cottage cheese, eggs, etc.);
• No more than 150 g of vegetables and herbs per day;
• No more than 150 g of fruit;
• No more than 40 g carbohydrates (toast).

Exposure

At the time of Dr. Simeons, scientists had not yet learned to secrete the natural hormone. Therefore, the doctor developed a herbal analogue of hCG - a spray based on seaweed. However, we know that seaweed can in no way replace human gonadotropin. And poisoning the body with real hormones is fraught with disruption of the reproductive system and the growth of tumors.

And then, if you consume only 500 calories every day, you will lose a lot of weight without any injections or sprays. But this is very harmful to the body, and it’s not far from anorexia. After all, the usual norm is 1800-2000 kcal.

And most importantly, not a single clinical trial has proven the effectiveness of the Simeons diet. Although the followers of the technique do not mention this anywhere.

However, this method of losing weight is still popular in the USA and some other countries. But we strongly recommend that you turn your attention to less strict diets.

What is

The HCG diet is based on the use of human chorionic gonadotropin, or human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone actively produced in early pregnancy.

It is responsible for the development and formation of the fetus, including, if necessary, ensuring the mobilization of the body’s energy reserves. In 1954, Dr. Simmeons, practicing in England, proposed using the substance in the treatment of obesity. He created a nutrition system based on the following principles:

• limiting daily calorie intake to 500-800;
• hormone injections.

Later, the diet was revised by Dr. Mehmed Oz, who proposed increasing the daily calorie intake to 1500. Taking the hormone should provide the body with access to hidden resources, which will lead to weight loss.

You can take gonadotropin in the form of drops, sprays, tablets, injections. After taking it, it speeds up metabolism and helps to get rid of excess weight, and the person does not feel hungry. Mehmed Oz claims that the action of HCG leads to the breakdown of fat deposits on the hips and waist - problem areas in women. Also, increased levels of the hormone send a signal to the hypothalamus, an area in the diencephalon responsible for energy balance. As a result, the body begins to get rid of fat reserves and speeds up metabolism, which leads to weight loss.

There is some debate about exactly how the component works. Liz Weinandy, MD, who practices at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, said the principle of action has not yet been established. For this reason, the nutritional system proposed by Dr. Simmeons has been criticized, although it gives short-term results.

Reviews and results of losing weight

Olga Alexandrovna, 45 years old

At my age, losing excess weight is very difficult. Still, metabolism slows down, activity decreases, and the years take their toll. Yes, I didn’t like sports even when I was young. On the Internet I came across the book “Pounds and Inches” by Dr. Simeons. And the method described in it interested me. But, of course, I didn’t give myself hormonal injections. I replaced them with homeopathic drops RestorHCG. Lost 10 kg in a month. I didn’t feel hungry, although I ate very little, as it should be according to the rules of the Simeons diet. I am pleased.

What else to consider

The creators of the diet also recommend the following:

1. Avoid using oil-based cosmetics. The components interact with the hormone, which slows down weight loss.
2. Plan your meals carefully and follow restrictions. If you're feeling really hungry, eat the fruit, but subtract the required amount of calories from your dinner or lunch.
3. Don't neglect the final phase.

After the first 2 stages, you need to make changes to your eating habits and lifestyle. The HCG diet is not a magic wand that can correct the situation without effort on the part of those losing weight. As with other programs, if you return to poor eating habits, you may gain weight again. To get results, it is recommended to subsequently give up junk food and ensure regular physical activity.

Reviews from doctors and specialists

Oleg Ivanov, nutritionist-endocrinologist

I categorically do not recommend Dr. Simeons' diet. In 1963, studies were conducted: 20 women with severe obesity were divided into two identical groups. Both groups ate the same diet (500 kcal per day), but the first group was administered the hCG drug daily. And the latter received a placebo in the form of saline solution. After 45 days, the scientists found that women in both groups had lost about 20 pounds. Which indicates the uselessness of the drug for weight loss. But the list of side effects of the hormone is amazing.

To lose weight, just limit your diet and move more. This is the only secret to a beautiful figure.