"What to Know About Weight Loss Products"

There are a lot of weight loss products that offer that fast weight loss results, however, are these really guaranteed?  Could these products live up to their assurance of a fit body?

In US, there is an estimated 50 million people who try to lose weigh, unfortunately, only 5 per cent are successful.  One thing's for sure, beware of fraudulent claims and extreme high cost because there is no magic to losing weight.

Samples of weight loss products in the market nowadays:

·    Diet Patch – this was already removed since 1990’s by FDA since they were proven ineffective.
·    Magnetic Diet Pills – allegedly flushes out fat, but not.
·    Guar Gum – causes internal obstruction.
·    Electrical Muscle Stimulators – no proven effect.
·    Eyeglasses that Suppress Appetite – These claims that the projected image on the retina decreases appetite.  No proven fact.
·    Weight loss earrings – through acupuncture, suppresses appetite.

There are also examples of weight loss products:

Diet drinks that are mixed with beverages or food are used as meal substitutes.  A downside of this is that once a person stopped taking the drinks, they would eventually regain the lost weight after a short period of time due to feeling of emptiness in the stomach.  Another is diet supplements and medicines that also don’t work long-term.  Over-the-counter pills that compose of phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride may raise blood pressure and palpitation.  Ephedra on the other hand can cause serious side effects such as heart problems, seizure, stroke, and even death. E.g.:

§    Herbalife Nutritional Program – good as two meals, dieters may rely on shakes and follow artificial dieting methods and just don’t want food to work into their lives.

§    Mega-Thin 100 Formula – Its formula contains an anti-fat weapon, however, diet is not emphasized that’s why it’s concluded that it has an appetite suppressant.

§    Nestlé’s Sweet Success – recommended to take three times a day and it does not promote healthy eating habits.  Weight loss is difficult to maintain once intake is stopped.

§    Ultra Slim Fast – this plan requires regular exercise but does not teach good eating habits.

§    Diet pills with Ephedra and PPA – many of these have enclosed diet plans.  Slimming can come from the diet plan and not the pill intake and there are risks of adverse side effects.

§    Chitosan products – contains fibers which were taken from shellfish that may cause diarrhea, bloatedness, and gas.  This will only work if a low fat diet is practiced.

§    Chromium Supplements –claim that products will lower blood sugar, body fat and cholesterol but causes anemia and even memory loss.  Studies show only minimal or no beneficial effect at all.

§    Green Tea Extract Products – known as strong anti-oxidants that help lower cholesterol and triglycerides, and promote weight loss, however, the caffeine content could cause insomnia and restlessness.
§    Algae Tablets - Spirulina contains significant nutrients that can be an acceptable food when used as part of a varied diet but are very expensive.

§    St. John's Wort Supplement - Claims that it will suppress appetite and promote weight loss but it could lead to gastrointestinal discomfort, tiredness, sleeplessness, and arouse allergic reactions.

§    Glucomannan Products – claim that two capsules before each meal decrease food absorption.

  Known as food thickeners but not yet proven safe or effective.  Weight loss will only happen if good diet plan is followed.

Even if you plan on using over-the-counter weight supplements or even participate in a weight loss activity, the verdict is that you still have to eat fewer calories than you burn to lose weight. When choosing a weight loss product or program, collect as much information as possible.

Tablets to Help In Weight Loss

Recent studies have shown that more people are getting overweight every year. This happens not only to adults but even to kids who have just started in school.

There are many factors that have contributed to this such as the rise in the number of fast foods joints that contain a lot of saturated fat in the meals, the use of refined sugar in sodas and other processed foods, eating food with less fiber, genetics, overeating and as people age slow metabolism.

Since losing weight takes time and most people can’t wait to get rid of it, these people have decided to take the fastest way out which is through the use of weight loss tablets.

In the 1950’s until the late 90’s, doctors prescribed drugs for weight loss. The drug works by increasing the serotonin levels in the brain that makes the brain believe that the stomach is already full and thus, increases the person’s metabolic rate.

It was only after scientists discovered that these drugs had side effects and were related to cause heart valve disease that these were taken off the shelves.

Later on, modifications have been made and new drugs were developed and prescribed by doctors and many of which are still waiting for FDA approval.

The idea that a simple drug can change everything without the need to change ones diet or sacrificing anything is very tempting since people have seen friends and family members use it and have shown tremendous improvement.

This has made a lot of people spend millions of dollars every year to also experience this miracle and has given drug companies a lot of money making the drug and selling it.

Diet pills can be purchased either over-the-counter or prescribed by a doctor. Even with the advances in medical technology, these drugs still pose a health risk to the public. Problems in patients can be unpleasant such as diarrhea and vomiting, harmful such as tightness in the chest and in the urinary tract and fatal such as a heart attack or a stroke.

An overdose in using weight loss tablets can cause tremors, confusion, hallucinations, shallow breathing, renal failure, heart attack and convulsions.

The side effects vary depending on the lifestyle and health of the person and can be minimized as long as one consults the doctor and follows the prescribed dosage when using it.

Should one decide to stop using the drugs, studies have shown that a person will experience withdrawal symptoms and side effects. These include noticeable mood swings, hyper-activity, and pain in the stomach, insomnia and nightmares, severe irritability, extreme fatigue, depression, nausea, vomiting and trembling.

A lot of clinical tests will show that the taking this weight loss tablets really work. But this can only work if it is done with a low calorie diet and an exercise plan.

A person can jog every morning or sign up and workout in a gym. Just like taking any medicine, one should first consult the doctor before undergoing any form of exercise.

The best exercise plan should have cardiovascular and weight training exercises. This helps burn calories and increase the muscle to fat ratio that will increase ones metabolism and lose weight.

It is up to the person already to stick to the program to see that it works.

"Nutrition Notes on Weight Loss Supplements"

More and more spend hundred and even thousands of dollars yearly on weight loss supplements in the hope of speeding up their metabolism.  The main desire is to be attractive and accepted but it is becoming a more difficult goal to achieve. 

 The fitness industry is booming but still a lot of people are unable to cut those fat in spite of all the exercise and diet efforts.  In America, more than sixty per cent of adults are overweight and thirty per cent are considered obese.  

This is because: one, a lot of weight loss products promises unrealistic goals; two, dietary supplement manufacturers rely on the overweight person’s failure to survive; and three, the information about the supplements in the market are just written by themselves just to make a sell. 

Although the Food and Drug Administration has successfully banned illegal marketers, some products are still available.  Consumers can be deceived of the labels which claims caffeine or ephedra fee not knowing that these supplements composes of other ingredients that may pose the same health risks.  These include heart and digestive problems, headaches, insomnia, and even psychological side effects.

Other supplement manufacturers say that their products contains EGCG which is a phytochemical ingredient found in green tea.  This so-called component claims to speed up metabolism but in reality poses to reduce the risk of cancer. 

 Some studies denote that it could slightly increase the potential to burn calories and now can be found in many weight loss supplements.  It has good points on the other hand since the body might conform to EGCG after a period of time.  Eve the weight loss benefit could sum up to 60 to 70 calories a day.  This helps prevent excessive weight gain. 

A few other significant effects of weight loss supplements is that it may contain ingredients that makers claim will prevent the absorption of carbohydrates.  One good example is Chitosan, which appears most promising, which in fact shows no positive result in fat absorption. 

 It could even take up to seven months for men to lose just a pound of body fat and for women, there is no fat loss at all.  Thyroid supplements act as thyroid replacements help regulate and optimize the thyroid at a higher level.  This they say makes the body feel like a couch potato and won’t perform the job it has to.

Since the number one reason why people eat is because they feel hungry, there is another type of ingredient that manufacturers made which increases the feeling of being full and decreases appetite, Guar Gum. 

 However, recent studies show that it has no meaningful benefit at all to weight loss.  It is ironic that manufacturers mix Psyllium that has the reputation of reducing eating and aiding weight loss for initial studies so far do not support this claim although it helps control blood cholesterol and sugar.

One of the latest innovations in the fat loss industry is by way of skin absorption.  There’s a Cutting Gel, which is an epidril product by far the best selling in fat loss creams technology.  Rub it where you want the fats cut.  

For now, it will seem safer to advise the age old remedies to excessive weight gain and that is to invest on walking shoes instead of diet supplements, go to the park and do brisk walking, go to the gym, and have a well balanced diet instead.