I've noticed recently that I've been getting a lot of followers on Twitter that I guess you could say fit into the "spam" category - when you look on their profile, all their tweets are just marketing links to some miracle diet or weight loss tool, where they claim you can lose 10+ lbs a week.....my reaction? Yeah right!
Let's be honest, if a person suddenly started losing that amount of weight in a week without extreme conditions (ie. an athlete in intensive-training mode) to explain it, they'd be making an appointment to see their GP wouldn't they? Because extreme weight loss is generally an indication that there could be something seriously wrong.
So why on earth do these companies/individuals market products that actively promote extreme weight loss? It's certainly not healthy, but it preys on those who are feeling self-conscious about their image and maybe actively trying to lose weight. I got all these followers after tweeting about how I'd lost a few pounds recently through doing Zumba...but guess what, marketers/spammers - you picked the wrong person, because I don't believe in miracle pills or magic fad diets, I know they don't work, and I will go out of my way to make sure everyone else knows it!
But these companies don't just use social networking sites to target people - you see adverts on TV all the times for this stuff. When I was younger, I used to take herbal supplements that were advertised as "promoting weight loss as part of a calorie-controlled diet" and didn't think twice about it - even though, ironically, I didn't actually need to lose any weight. It was purely an image thing. And then I started having digestive problems - within a few years I was diagnosed with IBS, and have had to watch what I eat/drink ever since & make a few lifestyle changes to minimise the effects of my triggers. Coincidence? Well, it may be, but I have my doubts. After all, the "active" ingredients in some of these magic weight-loss pills actually increase your body's digestive & excretory fluids - bile, urine, etc.
So, a quick look at 1 of these "miracle pills" that you see on TV - Adios!
I had a quick look on their website, to get some information about it, and the active ingredients include fucus (a type of seaweed - difficult to find any info on the properties of this), boldo (a shrub that has been listed as being used in alternative medicine - can find more information on it's properties here and here) and dandelion root (while the leaves are known for being a diuretic, the roots are described as a stimulant for both appetite and liver/gallbladder function - meaning it increases bile production).
The other ingredients listed include talc, lactose & sucrose, various colourings - yea, I stopped when I read talc too. I mean, would you readily ingest talc on it's own? No, I wouldn't either - especially when it's also sold to women (presumably a different "strain", although still related) to apply to the body as a means of soaking up sweat. And yet, it's in so many tablets - especially herbal supplements - that we purchase. Why? Well, some will say it's an effective way of "binding" the ingredients together, into a mould, or to make the tablets easier to swallow (there is a link here that gives more info) - but you can also get tablets that don't contain talc (I did a quick check of my cupboards and none of the pills in there contain talc). So my theory? It's an inexpensive bulking agent that actually serves no real purpose, other than to alter the shape/siz/appearance of the tablets - a bit like putting socks in your bra or down your trousers.
What I also find interesting, is that when you look at the known properties of some of the active ingredients, they do basically increase bile production and encourage more fecal/urinary excretions, and each active ingredient has a list of contraindications for people with digestive, liver or kidney problems - yet there is no warnings about this on the patient information leaflet. Something to ponder on?
But, back to the topic - magic pills & miracle diets. They offer some form of extreme weight loss with minimal effort, so on the face of it they look tempting, particularly if you are feeling self-conscious about your appearance, or maybe fed up/unmotivated at the thought of hitting the gym. But ask yourself this - how long did it take you to put on the weight you now want to shift? I mean, I know I've put on a lot of weight over the past few years, but it's been at a rate of about a stone a year - that works out to be just over a pound a month, which isn't really anything more than a blip when you break it down like that. Even if you were putting on 4 times that - so gaining 4 stone in a year - that's still only a pound a week. So what's going to happen to your body if you lose weight at a much quicker (read: extreme) rate? First, your body is going to think something bad is happening - and so it will actually start storing up fat in preparation for what it thinks is starvation. Second, your skin had to stretch to accomodate the extra weight you've gained, so if it starts dropping off without any kind of toning programme (ie. gym!) then it's going to sag - and the only way to get rid of excess skin is to undergo an operation. Not good.
Plus, there are all the side-effects of diet pills. This Adios pill surprisingly only lists 1 side-effect on the leaflet - diarrhoea. But that in itself can be a real pain in the you-know-what.
So I think I'll stick to watching what I eat (but not as a fad miracle diet - as a "rest-of-my-life" aim) and going to Zumba and the gym ThankYouVeryMuch. I get much more fun, enjoyment and a sense of achievement out of actually getting out there and doing something, than popping a pill.
Let's be honest, if a person suddenly started losing that amount of weight in a week without extreme conditions (ie. an athlete in intensive-training mode) to explain it, they'd be making an appointment to see their GP wouldn't they? Because extreme weight loss is generally an indication that there could be something seriously wrong.
So why on earth do these companies/individuals market products that actively promote extreme weight loss? It's certainly not healthy, but it preys on those who are feeling self-conscious about their image and maybe actively trying to lose weight. I got all these followers after tweeting about how I'd lost a few pounds recently through doing Zumba...but guess what, marketers/spammers - you picked the wrong person, because I don't believe in miracle pills or magic fad diets, I know they don't work, and I will go out of my way to make sure everyone else knows it!
But these companies don't just use social networking sites to target people - you see adverts on TV all the times for this stuff. When I was younger, I used to take herbal supplements that were advertised as "promoting weight loss as part of a calorie-controlled diet" and didn't think twice about it - even though, ironically, I didn't actually need to lose any weight. It was purely an image thing. And then I started having digestive problems - within a few years I was diagnosed with IBS, and have had to watch what I eat/drink ever since & make a few lifestyle changes to minimise the effects of my triggers. Coincidence? Well, it may be, but I have my doubts. After all, the "active" ingredients in some of these magic weight-loss pills actually increase your body's digestive & excretory fluids - bile, urine, etc.
So, a quick look at 1 of these "miracle pills" that you see on TV - Adios!
I had a quick look on their website, to get some information about it, and the active ingredients include fucus (a type of seaweed - difficult to find any info on the properties of this), boldo (a shrub that has been listed as being used in alternative medicine - can find more information on it's properties here and here) and dandelion root (while the leaves are known for being a diuretic, the roots are described as a stimulant for both appetite and liver/gallbladder function - meaning it increases bile production).The other ingredients listed include talc, lactose & sucrose, various colourings - yea, I stopped when I read talc too. I mean, would you readily ingest talc on it's own? No, I wouldn't either - especially when it's also sold to women (presumably a different "strain", although still related) to apply to the body as a means of soaking up sweat. And yet, it's in so many tablets - especially herbal supplements - that we purchase. Why? Well, some will say it's an effective way of "binding" the ingredients together, into a mould, or to make the tablets easier to swallow (there is a link here that gives more info) - but you can also get tablets that don't contain talc (I did a quick check of my cupboards and none of the pills in there contain talc). So my theory? It's an inexpensive bulking agent that actually serves no real purpose, other than to alter the shape/siz/appearance of the tablets - a bit like putting socks in your bra or down your trousers.
What I also find interesting, is that when you look at the known properties of some of the active ingredients, they do basically increase bile production and encourage more fecal/urinary excretions, and each active ingredient has a list of contraindications for people with digestive, liver or kidney problems - yet there is no warnings about this on the patient information leaflet. Something to ponder on?
But, back to the topic - magic pills & miracle diets. They offer some form of extreme weight loss with minimal effort, so on the face of it they look tempting, particularly if you are feeling self-conscious about your appearance, or maybe fed up/unmotivated at the thought of hitting the gym. But ask yourself this - how long did it take you to put on the weight you now want to shift? I mean, I know I've put on a lot of weight over the past few years, but it's been at a rate of about a stone a year - that works out to be just over a pound a month, which isn't really anything more than a blip when you break it down like that. Even if you were putting on 4 times that - so gaining 4 stone in a year - that's still only a pound a week. So what's going to happen to your body if you lose weight at a much quicker (read: extreme) rate? First, your body is going to think something bad is happening - and so it will actually start storing up fat in preparation for what it thinks is starvation. Second, your skin had to stretch to accomodate the extra weight you've gained, so if it starts dropping off without any kind of toning programme (ie. gym!) then it's going to sag - and the only way to get rid of excess skin is to undergo an operation. Not good.
Plus, there are all the side-effects of diet pills. This Adios pill surprisingly only lists 1 side-effect on the leaflet - diarrhoea. But that in itself can be a real pain in the you-know-what.
So I think I'll stick to watching what I eat (but not as a fad miracle diet - as a "rest-of-my-life" aim) and going to Zumba and the gym ThankYouVeryMuch. I get much more fun, enjoyment and a sense of achievement out of actually getting out there and doing something, than popping a pill.
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