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What you need to know when choosing a diet pill
I am not going to tell you that none of them work, some products really do work in the short-term at least, but you need to choose WISELY.
You’re trying to lose weight – so you’re considering an ALL NATURAL diet pill.
Contemplating diet pills
What is in that ALL NATURAL diet pill ?
As a pharmacologist, I have a deep love for chemicals. BUT, before I would ever consider swallowing a chemical, I need to know what it REALLY does, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Diet pills risks and benefits
Armed with this information, there would be a careful weighing up of the risks versus the benefits.
So I am a little surprised how many people reach for a bottle of pills to lose weight, without giving it too much thought.
The chemistry behind diet pills
I am not going to tell you that none of them work, although the vast majority of those lotions and potions are relying on clever marketing and the placebo effect (i.e. it’s in your head).
The pills
- have either no active ingredient or
- not enough, to make much difference,
But some products really do work, in the short-term at least ….
Diet pill strategies
There are a variety of strategies, that can be used in diet pills.
Here is a quick summary of some common diet pill strategies, and how they work to help you diet SUCCESSFULLY.
Appetite suppressants
Appetite suppressants are the usual go to diet pills. They typically suppress appetite, by stimulating your sympathetic nervous system, the fight and fright response of your body.
When you’re facing a big woolly mammoth, you don’t have time to BE HUNGRY.
You’re more worried about being that BIG WOOLLY MAMMOTH’S dinner. And in situations like this, you also need to be able to tap into your energy reserves – your survival, is potentially dependent on making a run for it, so you burn fat.
Green tea and caffeine both fall in this category, along with an assortment of herbal products.
Laxatives
Then there is the get your gut moving strategy – in these products, the ingredient acts as some kind of gut irritant. Now an irritated gut works hard to get rid of the irritation – belching it up and out is one route, but the more common approach, is to move it through the gut VERY quickly.
If what you eat, races through the gut, there is less time for absorption to take place, so less calories are absorbed.
Diuretics
A parallel strategy to move it out quickly, is the dry you out strategy – the ingredients act as a diuretic, which is a chemical that encourages you to pee out “extra” water.
If there is less water in you, you end up weighing a little less.
Feed a friend
A more controversial strategy is the feed a friend strategy – it still happens, the weight loss remedy includes a few worm eggs, usually tapeworm. If you have to share all your food with a friend, less calories will be absorbed.
Bulking agents
Another common approach is based on volumetrics.
The ingredients add volume to your gut i.e they absorb water so they take up space, making your feel fuller. Full stomachs don’t send out hunger signals, so you are less likely to chow down.
Basal metabolic rate
There are other approaches that involve body chemistry, including swallowing a pill that will increase your basal metabolic rate, by boosting thyroid hormone levels.
Since the thyroid hormone is the body’s coach, encouraging cells to work out, can be most helpful, especially if you’re running low on thyroid hormone. This is a common problem in people with weight issues.
Just be aware, too much turns you into a psychotic jumping jack, leading to a hypertensive crisis.
Anti-depressants
Countering the BLUES is also a body chemistry strategy . It turns out, some people eat more, when they feel miserable.
Many of the anti-depressants on the market make you feel a little better, so you don’t feel like stuffing your face all the time. They do help people lose weight, initially, but the pounds usually creep back after about 6 months.
The pros and cons of diet pills
All of the chemicals can help you cook the books , each has pros and cons.
Just remember :
- There is NO such thing as a chemical without SIDE EFFECTS – if there are no side effects, there is no chemical in it.
- Natural does not equal SAFE, the most toxic chemicals on the planet are produced by “Mother Nature”.
Think – before you swallow
Before you part with your hard earned money, ask a few questions……
What is in the diet pill ?
The first thing to ask yourself – what is in it ? If the ingredients are listed, consider the risks versus benefits. Anytime, this is a big secret – WORRY.
It might be worth contemplating why the ingredients are not listed : –
- Is it because the ingredients are illegal / toxic / dangerous ?
- Is it because the manufacturer doesn’t know ?
Diet pill quality control
If the ingredients are listed, the next question to ask yourself is – how do I know this ?
HINT : Because the bottle tells me, is probably not a full proof method, in fact, the phenomenon of marketing, means that you should be sceptical of all information on any package.
Things you might be looking out for :-
- Is there any indication on the bottle that there has been some kind of quality control ? References to GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practise) are a good sign.
- Is it manufactured by a identifiable entity ? I’m not just talking about branding, is there an address or some kind of contact information.
- Where does the product come from ? I know this is really being a little prejudiced, but if it comes from China or a medicine man from the jungle, BE CAUTIOUS. Any country that doesn’t have strict guidelines regarding medicines, is inherently more risky.
Who is selling it ?
The final question to ask yourself is who is selling it ?
- Did you buy it at a “medical” establishment of some kind ?
- Or did you buy it from an independent distributor i.e. a salesperson peddling the product for a living.
- Or did you buy it off the internet ?
The internet probably is the most dodgy point of purchase, because if something goes wrong, hunting them down will be IMPOSSIBLE.
However, a one-on-one sales encounter with a “trained” salesperson can be very hard to resist, try remember, you don’t owe them anything !
And, a bunch of scientific references, does not automatically mean the pill is good for you. Neither does having a patent on the product – a patent just means it’s original, it doesn’t tell you it is any good !
Magic pills only exist in fairy land
Pills that promise to turn you from a wobbly fat lump into a thin supermodel, belong in fairy land.
Losing weight ALWAYS involves work.
Don’t fall for the marketing hype.
Diet pills not the ultimate fix
Pills can sometimes speed up the process, by manipulating the chemistry…..but for success in the long term, you have to “fix’ the underlying BAD BODY CHEMISTRY.
Now a good place to start is to tame your sugar gremlin.
He is REAL. Insulin resistance fuels him. The Candy Floss system is a strategy that tackles this bad body chemistry by giving you 10 different BIOLOGICAL weapons to deploy. Unpack the weapons by downloading the will power report. It’s free. Just click here.
Further reading
Fizzing up the water flattens your appetite
Start your dinner by downing a bottle of carbonated water. The gas bubbles zooting around your stomach will make you FEEL FULLER so you’ll end up eating less.
Nicotine helps keep your body thin but it’s thinning out your brain
It is old news that smoking screws up your lungs, but it damages other bits of you as well, including making your brain old before its time.
Why stress makes you feel hungry for nice things
You register that you are hungry but you aren’t looking for real food, you’re hungry for nice things. It’s not a self control problem but a hormone problem.
