What Is The Difference Between Keto Diet & HCG Diet?

What Is The Difference Between Keto Diet & HCG Diet?

Keto

Two different roads that lead to the same goal! 

That is the theory anyway. The idea of shedding a few pounds that you gained from lazing around during the quarantine period sounds great, right? Easier said than done though. And while we are on the topic, let us assure you that there is no one way of losing weight either.

There is intermittent fasting, intensive exercise, and of course different dietary regimens that you can follow as well. In today’s discussion, we compare two methods of fat weight loss i.e. ketogenic diets and HCG diets. Not only do we explain the rationale behind these diets, but we also compare them and determine the extent to which these diets are similar or dissimilar. Oh, there is plenty on offer to learn from this discussion alright! All we want in return is your undivided attention from the word go.

Do we have it? Alright, let’s get going then! Let us have a look at both diets individually first, then we compare these two methods of weight loss. 

Ketogenic diet: An overview 

Limiting carb intake is the primary objective of a ketogenic diet. To ensure that body’s energy demands are still met, fats and proteins are used as fuel. This state is known as ketosis since small ketone bodies are produced as a result of ketosis.

What should you eat while you are practicing keto is something that we will comment upon in the later sections of this discussion. For now, let us state it emphatically that your carb intake cannot and must not exceed the upper threshold limit of 50 grams. Otherwise, all that effort will be down the drain without any long-term gains.

It normally takes 3-4 days for your body to get into the state of ketosis. However, the exact time can vary from person to person.

HCG diet: An overview 

First, let us decode what HCG stands for. It stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, a hormone that is found in particularly high levels in the female’s body during the time of pregnancy.

The role of this hormone is to alert the body in case the nutrient demand is not being met. The signal from the HCG hormone to the body is to switch to excess fat deposits in the body. This switch can take as long as 2-5 days. Now we know what you are thinking. 

Not everyone can get pregnant! So, the idea is to take HCG in form of drops, cream, spray, or injection. Rapid weight loss effects are associated with HCG injections. These effects are achieved by triggering the body’s fat-burning capacity and boosting metabolism at the same time.

Your body will be able to lose more fat while retaining the desirable lean mass. Normally, HCG injection is associated with energy surges, decreased appetite, and an overall positive feeling. It is pertinent to mention here that we are concerned with the food that you have to eat while on HCG routine more than the injection in this discussion. 

Key differences between ketogenic and HCG diets? 

Now that we have discussed both fat loss routines briefly, we can finally move this discussion towards the central point around which it has been orchestrated. Differences and similarities! For a better understanding of this matter, we have discussed these differences in separate subsections. Let us learn about these differences now.

Injections 

As we mentioned earlier as well, the HCG fat loss plan rarely works without the hormonal injection. Drops, creams, and nasal sprays are some of the other ways in which HCG can be administered. This is not the case with ketogenic diets though.

All that you have to ensure is that you are keeping your carb intake in check. There are no additional supplements that you have to take to achieve the desired results. HCG drops are crucial for controlling the appetite, without them, the plan of shedding excess fat via is likely to fail. 

Calories 

Calculating calories is probably the toughest bit of math that you might have to do in your adult life. We mean to say, it sounds pretty easy but can torture your brain cells when you actually sit down to do it. Now, the good news if you are following a ketogenic diet, you don’t have to be a calorie freak to keep things in check.

Yes, the ketogenic diet is a low-carb diet. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to eat calories under a specific threshold. No, as long as your metabolic system can adjust the intake, you are good. The main theme of the ketogenic diet remains limited carb intake! 

The matter of HCG diet is a different one though. Here, we are talking about a limit of 500 calories. This number has been devised while keeping the effects of the HCG hormone in mind. The hormone can down regulate your cravings and appetite. It is worth mentioning here that this calorie limit helps in acerbating the process of fat loss immensely as well. 

Fat percentage 

If you are familiar with keto diets, you would know that these are high-fat diets that feature all the fatty foods you would normally attack like a pack of wolves. This is where things get confusing for a few of us! Wouldn’t consuming more fat lead to more excess fat deposition in our body?

The answer is negative because when in ketosis, it is the fat that is the primary source of energy, not carbs. Your body needs fat to keep the cycle of life going! Hence, this is the reason why you see most ketogenic plans full of fatty foods. 

HCG diet, on the other hand, is not a high-fat diet like the ketogenic diet. In fact, dubbing it a low-fat diet would be more appropriate. An ideal keto diet is seventy percent fat. HCG diet believes in minimizing the fat content in the diet.

The rationale here is that doing so will lead to the usage of already stored body fats. Here, we are talking about the fat deposits in the belly and thigh region more specifically. It is like a fat-burning stove is turned on in our body when we switch to HCG!  

Meals in HCG v keto diet

Enough with the theoretical concepts. Now let us talk in terms of real food items to give you a better perspective. In this section of the discussion, we are going to talk about the food items that are good to go in both diet routines. Please note that is far from an exhaustive list! 

Staring with the HCG diet, the idea is to load up your plate with lean protein and certain vegetables and fruits. Lean sources of protein include chicken, egg whites, lobster, extra-lean beef and some bison would be handy too if you can get your hands on some of it. Oh, and we almost forgot, white fish is a very good source of lean protein as well. Coming towards the veggies, spinach, cabbage, lettuce, celery, tomatoes, and onions are some of the popular choices that go well in an HCG diet. Fruits like berries and apples also have our nod of approval.

For spicing up things, you can go with garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper as well. The don’ts’ of the HCG diet include dairy, high carb foods, fats and oils, and sweets like cakes or candies. 

Let’s talk keto now. There are no special secret recipes that you have to whip up when it comes down to a ketogenic diet. Any red meat, steak, sausage, bacon, chicken, or turkey will do the trick of amping up your fat intake.

Fatty fish like salmon or mackerel can serve the purpose of beefing up fat content in your keto diet as well. Any deficiencies can be covered up by supplementing a keto diet with eggs, nuts, oils, butter, cream, and fruits like avocados.

As for the nays of the keto diet, some of these foods include wheat-based foods like cereal and pasta. Switching to low carb means that you will have to give up on most of the sugary foods like bakery products, high fructose juices, and most fruits with an exception of strawberries! 

Are there any similarities between the keto diet and the HCG diet?

Here are a few similarities between these two dietary routines:

1- Both are low-carb diets. 

2- The objective of both diets is the same i.e. loss of excess body weight. 

Conclusion 

Well, folks that would be all from this discussion. We wish we could go on a bit more and discuss several subtopics in this comparison. Unfortunately, the limitations of time and space force us to wrap up this debate here.

Nevertheless, we are quite optimistic that you must have learned something if not everything new from this discussion about the HCG and ketogenic diets. On that optimistic note, we bid you farewell from this space! 

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