The Associated Press released an announcement that an experimental diet pill has helped people lose weight--about half the people who tried it lost "some" weight and were able to keep it off for a year. This new pill theoretically does not cause the heart problems that earlier pills such as fen-phen did, even though it acts on the same pathways.
Most diet pills are either not safe at all or can only be taken safely short-term. Is this one really any different?
Before people get too excited about this pill, realize it is still in the experimental phase and it helped people lose "at least 5 percent of their body weight over a year"...
Let's look at that and see if that really amounts to weight loss success.
If you weight 300 pounds and lose 5% of your body weight that is 15 pounds. That's right a whopping 15 pounds!
Until they PROVE that there are no side effects...like irreversible heart damage, problems with digestion and bowel leakage, problems that have shown up AFTER clinical trials were done and diet pills deemed safe in the past...then I'd say this is not worth the risk in my book!
The bigger question really is, do diet pills address the REAL problem? I know when I was 300 pounds I longed for a pill that would magically melt the fat away...allowing me to not have to face my feelings or why I was over eating or retaining weight in the first place.
It may not be the fastest route in the short-term, but by learning to deal with my emotions I have a much healthier body and I dropped a lot of weight (over 125 pounds) in a bout a year...and that turned out to be a lot faster than ANY diet or pill ever would have done!
Bottom line...for true weight loss success, start with your mind...not with a diet or a pill.
Showing posts with label weight loss drugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss drugs. Show all posts
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Alli or Foe in Weight Loss Battle?
It is so tempting to want there to be a magic pill "out there" that will make us lose weight. I remember longing for such a pill for years...
Well, there are loads of pills and potions that claim to be the answer. One by one they are proven to be not effective at best...or downright dangerous!
I tried the liquid protein diet, which was later linked to deaths. I tried a certain shake named for a certain city...and the "all natural, safe" ingredients gave me the shakes, and did nothing for my weight loss goals.
Alli is the latest weight loss drug that is under investigation. If you don't know, alli is a non-prescription formula of Xenical. Both versions are being investigated because the FDA has received "more than 30 reports" of liver damage in patients who are taking one or the other of these drugs.
The investigation may just be starting...when it started is not clear...and the FDA "has not established a direct relationship between" these weight loss drugs and the liver damage.
I firmly believe that the only "magic" way to lose weight is to change your thinking. Relying on a pill only confirms your inability to do it yourself. Many of these drugs attempt to alter how your body processes foods, which can lead to all sorts of...err, interesting (?)...side effects. Even if you don't have liver damage, many cause distress in the digestive system, leakage (isn't that a pleasant way to let you know you might s&*t yourself?) as well as other issues.
If you can see beyond those issues, the pills & potions have other side effects that are potentially both psychological and physical...IF you actually lose weight using them (and that is a big if) then will you gain it back if you stop taking the drug? In other words...is this something you have to take for the rest of your life? How will that make you feel? Will you feel like you were empowered and healthy? Or will you feel all the credit goes to the drug? How will this drug interact with you as you age? If you need to take other medications will there be any complications?
Let us take measures that empower us. If you need short-term help that's one thing...it may be that you can take something short term to help you psychologically get over the "hump"...but we just don't know enough about the safety of these drugs to say we can safely take them for the rest of our lives.
Your mind can be your biggest ally in winning the weight loss battle--it can guarantee that you have weight loss success. Right now, if you are struggling with your weight then your mind is serving as your foe. The good news is you can change your thinking! You can succeed at losing weight--without drugs--safely and naturally.
Maybe I am super sensitive to some of these drugs and that is why when I have tried them I had adverse reactions right away. I don't know...back then I thought it was a curse, but now I see that it was/is a blessing. Because by being forced to rely on myself I came up with the ONLY permanent solution.
It doesn't matter what trick or tool you use to lose weight...if you decide to follow a diet, take a pill, exercise all day long...if you don't change your thinking then you will not be able to keep the weight off. My goal was to be able to drop the weight and KEEP it off. I was tired of the yo-yo dieting...
It took me time to get to the point where I could change my thinking about my weight and my health...but now there are more and more people who believe it is possible to change your thinking and change your life...it is not as foreign a concept as it was even just a few years ago! Even Oprah has had on her site recently information about using your mind to lose weight--and we know how much she has struggled with weight, following healthy diets only to fall off the wagon.
With all the support you have--from me as well as from lots of others--it makes it simpler for you to achieve this goal.
Stay as healthy as you can. Change your thinking. Refuse to diet and watch yourself lose weight! I'm here as proof it can be done. Keep in touch and let's turn the weight loss industry upside down!
Well, there are loads of pills and potions that claim to be the answer. One by one they are proven to be not effective at best...or downright dangerous!
I tried the liquid protein diet, which was later linked to deaths. I tried a certain shake named for a certain city...and the "all natural, safe" ingredients gave me the shakes, and did nothing for my weight loss goals.
Alli is the latest weight loss drug that is under investigation. If you don't know, alli is a non-prescription formula of Xenical. Both versions are being investigated because the FDA has received "more than 30 reports" of liver damage in patients who are taking one or the other of these drugs.
The investigation may just be starting...when it started is not clear...and the FDA "has not established a direct relationship between" these weight loss drugs and the liver damage.
I firmly believe that the only "magic" way to lose weight is to change your thinking. Relying on a pill only confirms your inability to do it yourself. Many of these drugs attempt to alter how your body processes foods, which can lead to all sorts of...err, interesting (?)...side effects. Even if you don't have liver damage, many cause distress in the digestive system, leakage (isn't that a pleasant way to let you know you might s&*t yourself?) as well as other issues.
If you can see beyond those issues, the pills & potions have other side effects that are potentially both psychological and physical...IF you actually lose weight using them (and that is a big if) then will you gain it back if you stop taking the drug? In other words...is this something you have to take for the rest of your life? How will that make you feel? Will you feel like you were empowered and healthy? Or will you feel all the credit goes to the drug? How will this drug interact with you as you age? If you need to take other medications will there be any complications?
Let us take measures that empower us. If you need short-term help that's one thing...it may be that you can take something short term to help you psychologically get over the "hump"...but we just don't know enough about the safety of these drugs to say we can safely take them for the rest of our lives.
Your mind can be your biggest ally in winning the weight loss battle--it can guarantee that you have weight loss success. Right now, if you are struggling with your weight then your mind is serving as your foe. The good news is you can change your thinking! You can succeed at losing weight--without drugs--safely and naturally.
Maybe I am super sensitive to some of these drugs and that is why when I have tried them I had adverse reactions right away. I don't know...back then I thought it was a curse, but now I see that it was/is a blessing. Because by being forced to rely on myself I came up with the ONLY permanent solution.
It doesn't matter what trick or tool you use to lose weight...if you decide to follow a diet, take a pill, exercise all day long...if you don't change your thinking then you will not be able to keep the weight off. My goal was to be able to drop the weight and KEEP it off. I was tired of the yo-yo dieting...
It took me time to get to the point where I could change my thinking about my weight and my health...but now there are more and more people who believe it is possible to change your thinking and change your life...it is not as foreign a concept as it was even just a few years ago! Even Oprah has had on her site recently information about using your mind to lose weight--and we know how much she has struggled with weight, following healthy diets only to fall off the wagon.
With all the support you have--from me as well as from lots of others--it makes it simpler for you to achieve this goal.
Stay as healthy as you can. Change your thinking. Refuse to diet and watch yourself lose weight! I'm here as proof it can be done. Keep in touch and let's turn the weight loss industry upside down!
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