Full disclosure: I sell HCG injections via prescription service, where a licensed physician reviews your patient history and recommends a treatment plan. When used with a balanced diet" or "Results atypical," are phrases consumers are just tired of hearing. Most are too busy with life, school and parenting to be bothered with the gold standards of weight loss: diet and exercise. Human chorionic gonadotropin for injection (HCG injection) is not a viable option, despite the insinuation that it will help you lose weight. Although anecdotal information and infomercials champion this method, recent peer-reviewed evidence is stacking to the contrary. Truthfully, the HCG weight loss method would make the most conniving charlatan bleat with glee. There are no clinical trials that specifically refute weight-loss claims, and people are desperate to lose weight for both aesthetic and health reasons. And the diet still has convenient human error: Some treatises with Dr. Simeon (the diet's originator) allow just 500 calories per day. Most importantly, there are no studies reviewing HCG's use for weight loss in humans. This is an important fact, as it indicates that the private sector is wholly disinterested in this molecule for its fat-shredding abilities. Even though HCG does not currently have patent protection in the United States, the industry could promote HCG as a weight loss drug in advertisements if approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Brick and mortar pharma simply doesn't care. Why? Because an entity proven to be fat-accumulating in the basic physiology of pregnancy is not a priority candidate for investment. In fact, there are feasible hypotheses pointing towards HCG being the driving force in weight gain during pregnancy. It aromatizes (changes) to estrogen, a molecule proven to increase fat storage and decreases muscle mass. HCG with hypocaloric diets offered by the protocol's developers border on starvation. Consequently, it would be difficult for an institutional review board to approve a diet of 500 kCal when the recommended intake is around 1700 calories per day for a 130-pound woman. Controlled studies show that diet and exercise at the appropriate calorie count reduced an average of 20 pounds in 15 weeks. HCG diet dangers are limited, so that's a relief. Since most homeopathic hcg drops are FDA-prepared water, there's little harm if the water is bottled safely. HCG injections present a small risk of infection at the injection site, anaphylaxis and the occasional conventional side effect. The main purveyor of this diet is not an expert in weight loss. In fact, he's a former professional pool league owner and convicted felon. Kevin Trudeau makes a lot of money promoting his book, and online sources make a lot of money importing HCG injections from India and eastern Europe. And money is the key here. Diet and exercise offer no extra variation in expense. That is to say, they can be performed at-cost of a normal lifestyle, if you, of course, do not value your time. On the contrary, domestic HCG clinics can range in the thousands of dollars. HCG drops are produced for pennies on the dollar without any evidence of efficacy. So is there a perpetual HCG scam? The point is to engage in precaution. It's not to say the HCG injection or homeopathic hcg diet does not work for sure, but there's no evidence it does either. Keep that in mind as the credit card is removed from the wallet. Best of luck in your journey.