Day 72- Resting Day

10/13/09

I have a lot of errands and commuting to do today after work, so there will be absolutely no time to fit in a workout.

I decided to do a little research into Dietary Supplements for Weightloss. My research was done on the Mayo Clinic's website.

What prompted me to look into this was because of ads i have been seeing recently in every magazine i pick up regarding fitness. I don't really want to be blunt about the product or it's endorser, but she's a very famous hard ass fitness instructor on a very famous show promoting a weight loss product.

Now, we all know that these diets in a box don't work, well they "might" but at what risk to the person taking it?

The long term affects of these pills are only known on a case by case basis. What they all seem to have in common is either a caffeine or caffeine like substance or some other form in an herb. Now listen here peeps, most of us drink coffee right? Do you ever get the jitters if you have just a tad too much or a tad too strong of a cup-o-joe that day? Well diet pills slam that into high gear and you are racing around like a chicken on speed. (Your heart thanks you). They promote that by calling it "gives you more energy!" yeah until you crash like a meteor from space! My goodness the mood swings! family... friends.. RUN for your SANITY!
Then there's the other claim "Decreases Appetite"; right.. because you are too damn busy worrying about the shakes and caffeine that you don't even think about being hungry.. but in case you do it's perfectly healthy for you to skip a meal b/c you aren't hungry.. lol WRONG! You should be eating healthy foods with minimal processing (if at all=clean eating), and taking the proper dietary supplements (the vitamin kind).

If you are unsure about proper diet and portion size/control; see your health care professional or a nutritionist for help with that. They will tell you everything you need to know and work out a structured "diet" for you. By diet I mean "lifestyle" not deprivation. Most insurance plans cover this to some extend so contact your carrier to see if a nutritionist is covered under your plan.

To date there is no OTC weight loss pill (besides the FDA approved Ali-gross) that works. If it does it's temporary and very unsafe. You still need to cut your calories and work out too.. you can't just lose weight by taking a pill! that's insane! although they would like you to believe that!

Here is a quick list of what the mayo clinic put together. Click HERE for the full article.

Herbal or dietary supplement	The claims	What you need to know
Bitter orange	Increases the number of calories burned	Touted as an "ephedra substitute" but may cause health problems similar to those of ephedra Long-term effects unknown
Chitosan	Blocks the absorption of dietary fat	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Can cause constipation, bloating and other gastrointestinal complaints Long-term effects unknown
Chromium	Reduces body fat and builds muscle	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Long-term effects unknown
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)	Reduces body fat, decreases appetite and builds muscle	Might decrease body fat and increase muscle, but isn't likely to reduce total body weight Can cause diarrhea, indigestion and other gastrointestinal problems
Country mallow (heartleaf)	Decreases appetite and increases the number of calories burned	Contains ephedra, which is dangerous Likely unsafe and should be avoided
Ephedra	Decreases appetite	Can cause high blood pressure, heart rate irregularities, sleeplessness, seizures, heart attacks, strokes and even death Banned from the marketplace because of safety concerns, but may still be legally sold as a tea Despite the ban, many ephedra products are still sold on the Internet
Green tea extract	Increases calorie and fat metabolism and decreases appetite	Limited evidence to support the claim Can cause vomiting, bloating, indigestion and diarrhea May contain a large amount of caffeine
Guar gum	Blocks the absorption of dietary fat and increases the feeling of fullness, which leads to decreased calorie intake	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Can cause diarrhea, flatulence and other gastrointestinal problems May cause intestinal obstruction if not taken with enough water
Hoodia	Decreases appetite	No conclusive evidence to support the weight-loss claim