The amount of money being spent on educating people about the dangers of being overweight are surpassed by the number of dollars being poured into “lose weight quick” diet plans. Americans have tried an endless number of ways to get the weight off and perhaps this time, keep it off. We have done unimaginable things to our bodies in these attempts. I remember hearing some time ago about an innovative Mexican “miracle drug” that would help a person to lose all of his or her excess weight with a single pill. When the desired weight is achieved, simply take another pill to stop the weight loss. It turns out that the first pill was a tapeworm that would grow in the stomach, and the second pill would kill the tapewo

“Diet pills” are another growing trend in the diet industry. Just type the phrase “diet pills” in a Internet search engine, and you will find hundreds of thousands of sites. An extremely popular diet pill is known as Metabolife. Metabolife, along with many other pills such as Herbalife, Adiphen, Thermalean, Lipodrene, Zymax, Thermoslim, Trim Life, Natural Trim, and Therm-Lift all contain Ephedrine as the active ingredient. Ephedrine, indigenous to China, and sometimes called Ma Huang, or Ephedra, is an alkaloid from the leaves of Ephededra Equisetina. Its purpose is to speed up the metabolism, which is responsible for burning calories, therefore losing weight. It also helps to curb the appetite, and makes saying no to cravings easier. The product will allow for weight loss if taken as recommended and combined with a healthy diet and exercise routine.

Nutrition Replacement shakes have become a very popular tool is losing weight. “Slim Fast” is by far the most popular of all these shakes. The “Slim Fast” diet is a plan in which two meals per day are replaced by a nutritional drink. The other meal can consist of anything that is “sensibly balanced.” When followed closely, this program provides about 1200 calories per day, which is a good caloric number for weight loss. Another benefit to the program is the lack of meal preparation. No meal planning or calorie counting is involved, and therefore makes for a great plan for a busy person. The “Slim Fast” program advocates daily exercise and the consumption of 6-8 glasses of water per day, which is also recommended by the ADA. Over a million people are enrolled in the “Slim Fast Club,” making “Slim Fast” one of the most popular of all fad diets.

It is arguable that these fad diets will result in reaching a weight goal. Perhaps they have in some cases. However, a weight goal and a lifetime change resulting in lasting health benefits is far more likely to be achieved through the combination of a sensible, balanced diet, daily exercise, and being consistent in the weight loss efforts.

Belching, gas, chest pains, bad bathroom habits, stress on the heart, lungs, and skeletal structure, lack of self-esteem: effects from obesity seem to be endless. Remedies to the obesity problem also seem to be endless. As more diets appear, the weight loss industry continues to grow richer, and Americans grow fatter. So what draws millions of overweight people to try diet after diet? The majority of people know that eating less and exercising will do the trick, but we have grown into a culture that wants immediate results with minimal investment. When companies are claiming there is a way to lose “30 pounds in a month without feeling hungry or excessive exercising,” people become awestruck, momentarily forgetting that they know deep down the impossibilities of such statements. But companies are still claiming these results, and people are still buying into these fallacies. Ephedra alone has enjoyed booming sales over the past half of a decade with sales skyrocketing from $500 million to over $3 billion. And new “revolutionary diets” keeping surfacing.

Low Carbohydrate diets simply do not allow for the variety of foods that are necessary for good health. The body needs carbohydrates just as it needs the protein and fats emphasized. A sensible, well-balanced diet is just one leg on the “tripod of good health.” However, without it, long term success is nearly impossible. Even Bettina Newman, an advocate of this diet says, “…they might even be able to keep it off for a time.”

However, Ephedrine is physically detrimental to you. It is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the FDA claims that it has caused hundreds of illnesses, including heart attacks, seizures, and strokes. It has even been linked to 15 reported deaths. These diet pills act as powerful

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