Isn't it better to just lose weight the natural way, through diet, exercise, and nutritional supplements? That would be my normal inclination, but it ain't necessarily so. If you lose weight artificially through supplements, your metabolism will increase, assisting your weight management efforts.
However, there are some popular
CIGARETTES
Sometimes people, usually young people like teenagers, start smoking with the idea that it will help them control their weight. This is not a completely ridiculous idea. Smoking cigarettes does in fact decrease appetite.
However, in a study done at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Kitakyushu, Japan, it was found that although the BMI (body mass index) of heavy smokers increased markedly immediately after quitting smoking, it leveled out to the level of nonsmokers within 8 to 10 years after quitting. In other words, over the long haul, cigarettes have no effect on BMI.
And considering that cigarettes aren't helpful in weight management, smoking them comes at a very high cost, both financial and physical.
COFFEE
How about coffee? Doesn't coffee speed up the metabolism? Yes, it does. In a study by the University of Maryland, 10 men between the ages of 65-80 and 10 men between the ages of 19-26 were tested for the metabolic effect of drinking coffee. After drinking coffee, the metabolism of the younger men increased 11% and the older men 9.5%.
So, you say, sounds great! I've got to start drinking coffee. Not so fast.
In a recent study, the long-term effects of caffeine on weight were examined over a 12 year period. It was found that long-term consumers of caffeine weighed about 1 pound less after 12 years.
Not so great. And considering the health risks of drinking coffee (increased blood pressure, increased cholesterol, increased heart rate, rapid, irregular heartbeat), it's not a fair trade-off.
ALLI
Alli must work, right? After all, it's an over the counter version of orlistat (Xenical), a drug prescribed to treat obesity. And sure enough, it does work, kind of.
The studies that have been done so far are on orlistat, not Alli per se. By taking orlistat, you can lose 6 pounds a year. Not a lot. A reasonable expectation might be to lose 3 pounds a year by taking Alli.
How does Alli work? It interferes with the ability of your intestines to absorb dietary fat. What does that mean to you? Well, it means you might soil your underpants with the fat that doesn't get absorbed by your intestines. Other charming side effects include flatulence, "accidents" (break out the adult diapers!), frequent bowel movements, and diarrhea.
Still interested?
Well, there's one more dandy aspect to Alli. Because it reduces absorption of dietary fat, it also reduces absorption of the GOOD fat, the essential fatty acids. In other words, taking Alli will cause loss of vital nutrients.
Wonderful.
PHENTERMINE
Phentermine is another prescription drug that suppresses appetite. To me, that sends up a red flag right away. If you want to eat correctly, you need to be able to tell when you're hungry. If you take a drug that interferes with your capacity to determine how much to eat, how good is that? Also, even though people lose weight on this drug (the studies don't tell us whether that weight is lean muscle mass or fat; I'd bet on lean muscle mass mostly), they almost always gain it all back.
Are there any side effects? How about blurred vision, constipation, dry mouth, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, irritability, and insomnia? Do those count?
Oh, boy, I can't wait to try it.
CHITOSAN
A fiber derived from the exoskeletons of shellfish, Chitosan claims to be able to bind to dietary fats, which are then excreted from the body. Even if this were true, it wouldn't be a good thing because the Chitosan would also bind to GOOD fats, the essential fatty acids that are needed for good nutrition.
However, not to worry, the claims are false. In a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2.5 grams of Chitosan were taken by 12 women and 12 men over a period of 12 days. Although some fat absorption was achieved in the men, it was insignificant, meaning it would take 7 months for men at this dosage to achieve 1 pound of fat loss. The women achieved zero fat absorption.
BITTER ORANGE
Commonly viewed as a replacement for Ephedra, which was banned by the FDA because of it's health risks, Bitter Orange to date has not proven effective for
Not only that, but Bitter Orange also has similar health risks to Ephedra, including spikes in blood pressure. In a study done at the University of California, 10 volunteers that took the supplement Xenadrine EFX, which contains bitter orange and caffeine, experienced an increase in blood pressure of between 7% and 12%.
HYDROXYCITRIC ACID
Hydroxycitric acid (HCA), which is derived from Garcinia cambogia fruit rind, supposedly lowers body weight and reduces fat mass. The available studies don't support this. One such study, in a twelve-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, found that overweight subjects dosed with 1500 mg of hydroxycitric acid per day failed to achieve any significant percentage of body fat mass loss.
However, a few cases of liver damage have been reported in individuals taking Garcinia cambogia.