Exercise? I thought you said extra fries!!
So, this post is about weight loss packages, programs, pills etc... I'm simply going to tell the story of a circumstance that recently presented itself in my life, and you can make your own judgments.
Fade into story time....
Once upon a time, there was welcome weekend at UTMB. I met a lot of people, found my way around campus, learned to play texas hold 'em, and... Was given the opportunity to be a representative for a certain weight loss system. The specific one doesn't matter, because they are all about the same.
At first I was kind of interested for three reasons:
1) It would have been a good job to have while in school. You can sell as little or as much as you like so if you have a busy week, it's no big deal.
2) It appeared to be backed by legitimate people that know a great deal about nutrition that I felt could be trusted.
3) I do feel that some people need a little bit of a weight loss boost before they can take over on their own. So, something like this could be beneficial for that reason as long as it is not harmful.
I wasn't sold, I'm skeptical, but my roommate and I decided to go to the "party" for it anyways to learn more information.
Upon our arrival, we were handed a glass with one of the product drink mixes in it. Remember this minor detail, it is important later. After about half an hour or so of small talk, we actually started the product "party". We were shown a lot of personal testimony regarding the product; people lost weight, people gained weight, people focused better, it is safer than energy drinks, the product knows EXACTLY what your body needs at any given time and gives it to you. Basically, want to be Spiderman? USE THIS PRODUCT!!
The thing is though, nobody could tell me HOW it worked. These were all medical students promoting this product, and they had absolutely no idea of the chemistry behind it's nutrition. For instance, they kept promoting the drink mix to my roommate and I because it is sugar-free. I noticed however that it had a few calories, so I asked where the calories came from if it's sugar free. The girl's response: vitamins and minerals.
Ok...
FAT, PROTEIN, AND CARBOHYDRATES ARE THE ONLY SOURCE OF CALORIES. PERIOD.
Worded another way in case that didn't make sense:
VITAMINS AND MINERALS DO NOT PROVIDE CALORIES.
Turns out, the product had a few carbs. Might not have been sugar carbs, but in the end they'll metabolize the same.
Even after moments like this though, I still gave those representatives the benefit of the doubt. I thought well, that's barely half a serving of carbs, so it doesn't count for much, and they're just representatives. They don't know the chemistry, but I can figure it out.
So at the end of the night, I didn't make a decision because I wanted more time to figure it out, but I did buy a box of the drink mixes. I figured if I was even thinking about being a representative, I should probably try the product myself.
One of their big cases was that this product was much safer than energy drinks, having just a little bit of caffeine, and loads of vitamins and minerals. So the first thing I did when I got home was look at the caffeine content. 120 mg my friends... ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY MILLIGRAMS... This "little bit of caffeine" is QUITE a lot of caffeine. Most people don't have a clear idea of caffeine content. To put it into perspective, Red Bull has 80 mg of caffeine. I believe these people were just regurgitating what they had been told, and most people don't know normal caffeine amounts, but this is much more than most energy drinks. However, I now understood all those claims made about better focus and energy! no duh at 120 mg!
Then, I looked at the vitamin and mineral content. Many of the vitamins and minerals were well over 100% the daily value... More like 500-700%. Some of these will be stored, but some won't. So to a great extent, people are paying for fancy glow-in-the-dark pee...
Also, vitamins in super high amounts can cause adverse reactions...
Also, also... Past a certain threshold, extra amounts of a vitamin just aren't going to do a whole lot for you. Take Vitamin C for example. This vitamin is associated with good health. If you are deficient in Vitamin C, your immunity will be poor. But, when you have what you need, any extra your body will simply get rid of. More isn't always better, there is a threshold for EVERYTHING in nutrition. Everything. Protein is another popular thing to supplement in nutrition, however did you know that once you've achieved all the protein you can use, there is a pathway that turns the remainder to fat??... And no one wants that!
The thing is, I was very optimistic at the get go, but the more I looked at it, the more I viewed it as a money making scheme. Yes, if you follow it you will be consuming less calories, and a caffeine content that high will suppress your appetite and probably speed the metabolism some.
You'll also be taking questionable supplements all day long. You'll be pumping money into this, and if you stop, you WILL gain the weight back, because you didn't actually learn how to take it off to begin with; you're dependent on the product.
Also, the diet they recommend to go along with the various supplements is a healthy diet plan. If you simply ate a healthy diet like they recommend, you would lose weight without needing all the supplements.
At this point, I realized it was around 1 am. For those that know me well, you know that I am NOT a night owl. Not even a little bit. But I had SO. MUCH. ENERGYYYYYYYYY..... It was unbelievable! I cleaned the apartment, I did an hour long tae bo workout, I realized that I never ate my dinner, because I never got hungry for it. I wasn't actually able to lie down until 3 or 4. Remember why?? ;)
Now, I don't have much caffeine on a daily basis at all, like... Maybe 50mg, so it affected me more, but I had that drink at 8:30. Couldn't be calm enough to rest until around 3:30...
Then I thought about the way I eat, and how I get basically all the same components of this (minus the caffeine... clearly!) for a whole lot cheaper and feel excellent.
So... I decided not to do it. Which... was not wise for me financially, as I have not landed another job with nearly the pay and flexibility. But, that gives you an idea of how I felt about it, and I have lived happily ever after since!
Joke of the Day: I wanted to lose weight, so I went to the paint store. I heard I could get thinner there!
So, it's been a year, maybe next fall I'll make another post! Actually I'm going to try an keep it going :)
