Questions About Alcohol and Your HCG Diet: What’s Really Dangerous is...?

Dr. Zachary Laboube
Dec 28, 2021
5 min read

Updated: Sep 24

Updated by Dr. Zach on September 23, 2025 with a fresh perspective on a classic subject that always resurfaces as we approach the holidays.

Mixing alcohol with the HCG diet protocol — The kids are barely back in school, but the holidays will be upon us in a hurry. And you know what that means? Happy hours and dinner parties. But what is that you're trying to accomplish? Can you partake when you're on the HCG protocol? You can, but maybe it's better to use your HCG diet as an excuse to NOT drink?

Let’s be honest — when it comes to HCG and weight loss, alcohol has always been one of the most common questions. Can I drink? How much is okay? Will one glass of wine ruin my progress?

The irony is this: people get worked up about whether a splash of wine will derail their diet… while ignoring the bigger picture. Because here’s the truth: the real danger isn’t a glass of alcohol now and then — it’s doing nothing about your weight.

Obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and the slow yet persistent creepiness of life's temptations are far more dangerous than a couple of ounces of cabernet. That said, when a couple of glasses turn into a bottle, that's when it's time to reevaluate.

Self-awareness is the missing piece. You can’t just be “fat and happy.” Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that you're happy - happy in your relationship, happy with the success of your kids and their kids. That's what life is all about, but that doesn't give you the green light to behave recklessly - in ways that, let's be honest, could potentially shorten your time with them. Because ask yourself this questions, who does your health really belong to?

You have to be mindful, not just for yourself, but for the people you love. As I’ve said before — your health doesn’t belong solely to you. It belongs to your family, your partner, your kids and your future self.

Why Alcohol and the HCG Diet Don’t Mix Well - Shaken or Stirred

That said, let’s be clear: alcohol does complicate things. Not because HCG is dangerous (it isn’t — remember, women produce hundreds of times more HCG during pregnancy than dieters supplement), but because alcohol slows your metabolism, disrupts sleep, and really dumbs down fat-burning. If you're liver is busy detoxifying alcohol, it's not oxidizing fats. If this was to become persistent, this is what leads to fatty liver disease and eventually cirrhosis. Of course, that is the most extreme outcome, but you might be surprised how many people in your circle are dealing with it.

On a low-calorie protocol like HCG 2.0, your body is already in a delicate hormonal balance. Alcohol adds empty calories, spikes blood sugar, and forces your liver to prioritize detox over fat mobilization. In other words, it slows the results you’re working so hard for.

Let’s Toast to Perspective

Here’s what critics often miss: the dangers of HCG are wildly overstated. The real health risks are the ones associated with obesity itself — high blood pressure, poor cholesterol, elevated blood sugar, joint strain, and systemic inflammation.

And here’s the kicker: losing 20–30 pounds in 30–40 days on HCG 2.0 doesn’t just move the scale — it transforms your metabolic panels. Your resting glucose drops. Your HbA1c improves. Your cholesterol comes back into balance. In other words, your internal health starts to reflect the external progress.

A little HCG goes a long way, but it's not going to put you in danger?

What About Side Effects?

Most of the “side effects” critics cite — things like headaches, irritability, constipation, or fatigue — are temporary, manageable, and often tied to sugar withdrawal, dehydration, or poor preparation rather than the HCG itself.

Compared to the risks of carrying an extra 40 pounds of visceral fat around your organs? The trade-off is obvious.

And HCG 2.0 is NOT the cookie-cutter 500-calorie starvation diet that people love to attack. Instead, it uses your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) to calculate an individualized plan based on your age, height, weight, and activity level. This makes it smarter, safer, and much more sustainable. Click back to the homepage and complete the BRM calculation to learn how many calories you're allowed on your very own, individualized HCG 2.0 protocol.

Self-Awareness Is the Key

Nobody stays at their fighting weight year-round. Boxers, MMA fighters, even NFL linemen — they all yo-yo diet by design. They gain weight in the off-season, then cut with precision when it’s time to perform. And they’re not unhealthy because of it. Why? Because they have a plan. When you have a plan, it's not called yo-yo dieting, it's called self-awareness.

The problem is when we don’t have a plan. When weight gain sneaks up on us and we ignore it — that’s when it becomes “insurmountable.” And if that’s where you are now, with your back against the wall, that's a problem. But the good news is this - when your back is against the wall, there is only one way to go. Forward. And since you're halfway through reading this blog, you're already moving in the right direction.

The Bottom Line

Can you drink alcohol on the HCG Diet? Technically, yes.

I'm from St. Louis, the former home of Anheuser Busch. They call us a drinking town with a baseball problem and they're not wrong. But it’s not wise. Alcohol slows fat loss, disrupts metabolism, and distracts you from your goals. And trust me, I've seen the ugly and heartbreaking results of alcoholism.

The real question isn’t whether you can have a glass of wine. The real question is: are you self-aware enough to stop making excuses and start making progress?

If this blog touches a nerve, I would steadfastly say, NO! Don't drink on your HCG 2.0 protocol. In fact, use it as an excuse to NOT drink. I've needed excuses to NOT drink in the past and they can sometimes be lifesavers. There is never shame in NOT drinking.

This might be presumptuous, but like I said, it's a sensitive subject that still hits quite close to home.

If you want results, you need discipline, focus, and the right tools. HCG 2.0 gives you all three. Alcohol, on the other hand, it doesn't give you anything more than a shallow laugh and a temporary reprieve from a subject that will most certainly resurface tomorrow.