Weight Loss Info Center

Wow!  I never thought I’d heard that coming from a manufacturer of a diet pill!  I just found this article Weight Loss Pill Not Magic Bullet: Drug Maker, so says GlaxoSmithKline.

I thought this was fitting seeing how someone just asked the other day, “Is there a pill that will let me eat what I want whenever I want and still lose weight?”  Don’t we ALL wish?!  Come on, folks, weight loss isn’t rocket science, but it does take some work and there is no “magic pill,” out there; even the manufacturers are stating that!

Wonder what GSK is up to, though?  They’re spending massive amounts of money (millions and this is their biggest campaing in terms of $$$ spent in the lifetime of the company!) just on the marketing of this new pill called Alli, yet they’re admitting it’s not some miraculous pill and that users only lost an additional 2 to 3 lbs. per every 5 lbs. lost through diet and exercise.  But at what expense are folks losing the extra 2 to 3 lbs.?  Well, the side effects are gastrointestinal problems, including leakages and oily discharge??

No thanks!

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For anyone considering gastric bypass surgery, it is a decision that cannot be made on a whim, must be researched, and the pros and cons weighed.  There are consequences to every action, gastric surgery not excluded.

While there are many successful stories of those who have the surgery and they lose weight, there is also the other side to that coin - sometimes people die.  One such story is that of a woman who desperately needed and wanted help and turned to gastric bypass surgery as a solution.  She died from complications of her surgery (an infection).  Read her story here:  Woman Died Following Weight Loss Surgery 

Other dangers of this surgery is:  abdominal hernias, gallstones, infection, leaks from staple breakdown, deep venous thrombosis, and many other complications.

If you’re considering gastric bypass surgery to lose weight, please consider all options, research the surgery, the pros and cons, and make a well through out decision.

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That should be a no-brainer, but a federal judge overturned the ban on Ephedra and now the FDA is trying to get the ban restored on Ephedra, as they should.  So many people died or were harmed by Ephedra, that one would assume this would be a no-brainer.  I’m actually surprised that people still buy it, although I know I shouldn’t be.  When are we going to stop harming ourselves in order to lose weight?  There are so many better ways to lose those unwanted pounds!

I also wanted to share with you today an article I wrote about the health benefits of green tea, which includes weight loss:

Green Tea and Your Health

There’s quite a buzz these days surrounding green tea and its many health benefits, including weight loss. From books to magazines to the “Oprah,” show, everyone is talking about green tea. So what exactly is green tea and what is so special about it?

Green tea is derived from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant and is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is a powerful antioxidant. Although green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG from being oxidized. Black and oolong tea leaves are fermented, which means the EGCG is converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in fighting and preventing various diseases.

For approximately 4,000 years, green tea has been used by the Chinese as a medicine to treat everything from headaches to depression. Today, scientific research is providing hard scientific evidence for the health benefits of drinking green tea. A study published in 1994 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute indicated that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in both Chinese men and women by almost 60 percent. More recently, in 2004, Harvard Medical School researchers found that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth and reproduction of cancer cells associated with Barrett’s esophagus (a condition caused by stomach acid rising up into the esophagus causing the cells lining the esophagus to change, raising the risk of esophageal cancer by 30 to 40 times). Also, research indicates that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good cholesterol (HDL) to bad cholesterol (LDL). A few other medical conditions in which drinking green tea is said to be helpful is cancer prevention, cardiovascular disease, decreased risk of stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, infection, impaired immune function, fighting cavities, and slowing down potentially harmful blood clotting.

There is also scientific evidence showing that green tea also promotes weight loss. In the November 1999 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

There are a variety of green tea flavors, including apricot, cocomint, mandarin, ginseng, and many others. Green tea is also available in decaf, so no need to worry about caffeine, although regular green tea has less caffeine than coffee, with a 6-oz cup of coffee having 100 mg of caffeine compared to a 6-oz cup of green tea having only 30 mg. Also, you get the same benefits from the green tea no matter if it is hot or iced. You can even cook with green tea.

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I see so many people ask, “Is there a safe diet pill that I can take to lose weight or curb my appetite?”  All diet drugs have some type of risk involved, including taxing the heart even more than it already is from the extra weight.  Common side effects from weight loss pills include:  dizziness, headache, insomnia, hypertension, irritability, tremor and dependence. If you get chest pain, psychosis, swelling in the hands or feet or lightheadedness, stop taking the pills and call the doctor or 9-1-1.

I do understand the desire to lose weight and to lose it NOW!  I am very impatient and want results in short order, but what I don’t understand is why we overlook the importance of eating healthy and learning how to eat healthy instead of immediately reaching for the next best diet pill?  Diet pills don’t teach us how to eat, so there is this vicious cycle of taking pills to get the weight off, ceasing the pills, going back to our old ways of eating, and are then surprised when the weight creeps back on and start the vicious cycle all over again by trying a new diet pill.

Here are some tips to curb appetite:  exercise, be sure to get your daily recommended dose of fiber, drink water (ice water preferably to speed up your metabolism), find an activity to perform instead of reaching for food - journal, take a walk, talk on the phone, and best of all, if you’re hungry - eat!  You don’t have to eat everything in the frig.  Eat a light snack - yogurt, fruit, veggies.  If you’re looking for chocolate, eat 2 Hershey’s Kisses.

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