It is an odd fact that the HCG diet and exercise are not compatible. Furthermore, strenuous exercise while on the HCG program can actually sabotage your weight loss efforts. It is best to confine yourself to mild exercise such as walking until you are done taking HCG.

Very Low Calorie Diet

At the heart of the Simeons’ weight loss method is a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). Under normal circumstances, a low calorie isn’t often effective. The reason for the plan’s success is rooted in how the body responds to starvation in a state of nature and how this response is modified by the presence of HCG.

As Nature Made Us

Due largely to our evolution – descended from forest-dwelling apes who were driven out onto the savannas of central Africa between six and eight million years ago – our human physiology was adapted in such a way as to hold on to fat stores, which are in a form known as adipose. It was a survival mechanism that came into play. However, with the rise of civilization and the invention of agriculture, normal feeding patterns were forced to change and new foods were introduced into the human diet.

According to 20th-Century endocrinologist Dr. Albert T.W. Simeons, who first developed the HCG program in the late 1940s and early 1950s, this is among the root causes of modern obesity.

What Happens

When the body senses starvation, it first responds by slowing down all metabolic processes in order to conserve energy. Next, it reaches for the most easily available source of nutrition, which unfortunately consists of lean muscle mass. Next, it will feed off the visceral structural fat that cushions the internal organs. Needless to say, this is very dangerous to good health.

According to Dr. Simeons, the excess fat that we are all trying to lose is much like old motor fuel that has been stored too long. Still very volatile, it has nonetheless solidified into a form that cannot be used in the gas tank to run the car. HCG breaks this adipose down into a form that is more readily available, and forces the hypothalamus to use this source before any others.

The Dangers of Exercise

Because of the HCG, your system is burning up calories at the maximum rate. Strenuous exercise pushes your body beyond these safe limits, and can cause severe dehydration while pushing our heart rate to dangerous levels.

This said, it is actually a good idea to engage in mild exercise, such an a daily stroll around the block in order to get oxygen to the brain – which in turn, will help to maintain a positive outlook and assist you in completing the program successfully.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but the fact is that the HCG Diet and Exercise do not go together. In fact, strenuous exercise while taking HCG for weight loss is actually not a good idea; you should avoid strenuous exercise until you stop taking HCG.

The VLCD

One of the major components of the HCG program is the Very Low Calorie Diet, or VLCD. This amounts to a mere weight losss a day. Under normal circumstances, the human body requires between three and five time that amount. weight losss a day is no where near enough calories to survive.  Normally, your body would go into starvation mode.

So, why does this not happen to people on the HCG diet?

It has to do with how the body normally responds to starvation and how HCG modifies that response in such a way that good health is maintained.

Because of the way in which we evolved, our bodies have been programmed to hold on to life-giving adipose, which is the excess fat that collects around the abdomen, hips and thighs. Dr. A.T.W. Simeons concluded that this is a very unnatural phenomenon that became increasingly common after our physiological evolution collided with the development and demands of agriculture, which changed our diets and eating patterns dramatically.

What happens is that when the body goes into “starvation mode,” it will begin to literally cannibalize itself, first feeding off of lean muscle tissue, then the visceral fat deposits that are vital for protecting our internal organs but providing lubrication and cushioning.

What Dr. Simeons found is that adipose is rather like old gasoline that has turned to varnish. It is still combustible and full of energy, but it cannot be readily utilized as a fuel source. On the HCG program, adipose is “unlocked” so that the body uses it as a primary fuel source when on the VLCD. So, while you are ingesting only weight losss, the body will automatically make up the shortage by dipping into energy rich adipose instead of muscle and viscera.

Why Exercise is Not Recommended

Naturally, during weight loss on the HCG program, your body is already burning calories at a furious rate in fact; it is burning these fat calories at the maximum rate. By engaging in strenuous exercise, you are literally “pushing the limits.” High-intensity aerobics and weight training will cause you to become dehydrated very and your heart rate may exceed safe levels. People have been known to lose consciousness while engaging in strenuous exercise while on the HCG program.

What You Should Do

If you do combine the HCG Diet and Exercise, it’s a good idea to simply take a 1-2 mile stroll once a day, and this is in fact recommended in order maintain a healthy mood and get some oxygen to the brain.