Weight Loss Products – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
There are so many weight loss products to discuss, it is hard to know where to begin. Let’s start with weight loss books. There are some books that every dieter should have on their shelf. Our first recommendation is Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. This book is simply amazing. Mr. Taubes uses real studies and stabs at the heart of many misconceptions regarding which foods we should be eating. This book caused a great stir when it first came out and is a must read. Another great book that should be read is Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution. Even if you don’t follow his diet, the book is essential reading. His ideas put the final nail in the coffin regarding carbohydrates and their role in losing weight. Other books try to moderate his approach, for example, the Zone diet book and others, but Dr. Atkins was 20 years ahead of the curve.
Another class of weight loss products is diet pills. While we won’t go into all the available products out there since it is impossible, we can at least discuss a few of the most popular. The Alli diet pill is one we like to talk about. What does this pill do? It blocks your body’s absorption of fat. If you eat a high fat diet, this pill is for you. An interesting side effect of the pill is that it helps some people who have trouble with constipation. You may also have heard of Hoodia Gordonii. This plant is a small cactus like plant that was found by native peoples in the Kalahari Desert. When consumed, it banishes hunger for the rest of the day! You must be careful when buying this supplement as many are too low in dosage to achieve the effect that the plant itself has. There are many other weight loss aids and teas and other drugs. You should avoid the diet aids that have lots of caffeine in them. They can make you very jittery. There are also diet aids that can only be obtained by a physician’s prescription. We believe that this should be a last ditch approach.
What if you don’t want too prepare diet foods and you want someone else to do it for you? Well, there is a type of weight loss product suited to a busy lifestyle. Diet meal shipment plans abound. There are two leaders currently in this category. The first plan is the Nutrisystem plan. This meal plan has real food in it and the weight loss is gradual. We have tried the foods. Some are quite good and others are just OK. You really need a microwave for this to be convenient. You should go with the default plan the first month and then customize the plan to only include the most tasty foods you liked on the first month. The other plan is the Medifast plan. This plan is for those who are serious about losing weight faster. The downside is some of the food is really hard to eat. Yes, there are quite a few meals that taste like heated up cardboard in a cup. The good news is that you’ll definitely lose weight with this meal plan, but it takes much more commitment.
