Yeah, the hcg thing is just plain stupid. When you restrict calories to that extreme you're just wasting lean muscle mass first. Muscle breaks down easier than adipose tissue (fat) and is a quicker source of fuel for your body. The more lean muscle mass a person has, the higher their metabolism as they are burning more calories while at rest.

Depending on your activity level and muscle content your diet should be consisted of 20-30% protein. To calculate that if you are on a 2000 calorie/day diet you should be getting between 100 and 150 grams of protein per day. (2000 x %) / 4 or explained number of calories multiplied by the percentage of protein, then divided by 4 which is the number of calories per gram of protein.

Knowing your weight and activity levels determine your calorie intake and then you can breakdown your macro-nutrient (fats 20-30%, carbs 40-50%, protein 20-30%) from there. Lean meats, beans and legumes are good sources of protein and eggs are the "gold" standard really.

Good fats are essential, mono and poly unsaturated fats with your Omega 3 (fish, walnuts, flaxseed etc)/ Omega 6 (oils etc) ratio being about 1/6.

Those of us with eating issues and on a mostly liquid diet it's easier to keep to the ratio's in my opinion. Adding protein powders, oils, nuts etc as we need them in our blends. I agree with Cheryl on the exercise, yoga, walking, calisthenics, some weights keep the muscles going. The older we get, the more we should be active. Sadly our sedentary lifestyles and poor eating habits are killing us as a society. Sad really.