Medically reviewed by Jamie Johnson, RDN The hCG diet combines a very low-calorie diet with supplements that contain human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone normally secreted early in pregnancy.

However, most women first discover they're pregnant a bit later, using a store-bought home pregnancy test that measures hCG levels in pee. Home pregnancy tests can detect HCG around 12 to 14 days ...