Tank Top Arms

Posts Tagged ‘magic pill’

Have you ever known someone that you admired and/or looked up to, only to find something out about them that doubted what you knew about them? Today at the gym, I was talking to one of my friends who happens to be a trainer. She and I have had many conversations about anything and everything. One of our favorite topics happens to be fitness of course :-)

Anywhoooooo, we both have talked about and agreed on the ramifications that diet pills can have on a person and both of us have maintained that we do not use, nor do we promote the use of any diet pills to accelerate weight loss. Well, as she was getting ready to leave, her bag fell over from the bench and guess what rolled out of it? You got it…diet pills!! I couldn’t believe it! I called her out on it and she apologized to me over and over. Truth be told, I think she needs to come clean and apologize to her clients, not me! Clients pay good money to look up to someone they BELIEVE is living their life in a healthy and safe way. They seek accountability, motivation, support, knowledge and even friendship. To find out that your trainer is cheating to “stay fit” is a slap in the face in my opinion. Now don’t get me wrong, I drink protein shakes after a good strength training workout, so I’m not talking about that protein drinks. According to the FDA, an analysis of the ingredients in 72 over the counter products showed that they contained undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients, including the controlled substance sibutramine, an appetite suppressant legally sold as the prescription drug Meridia; rimonabant, a drug not approved in the United States; phenytoin, an antiseizure medication; phenolphthalein, a suspected cancer-causing agent; and the diuretic bumetanide. No prescription drug—even a diet aid like  an appetite suppressant—should be taken without medical supervision. And because some of the products contained doses higher than the levels approved for prescription drugs, the risks are higher as well. Potential side effects are scary: seizures, heart attacks and strokes. So much for safe and natural.

I can’t stress enough about the importance of a healthy diet and plenty of exercise being the TWO key ingredients to living a healthy lifestyle. Getting “help” in a way that puts your body in danger is not smart. Let me put it to you this way….it’s down right STUPID! First of all, if you are not heavy to start with and are just looking to lose 5-10 pounds, I wouldn’t suggest to lose more than 1 pound per week. On top of that, the National Institute of Health recommends that you only lose up to 10% of your body weight for the first 6 months. If you can keep it off, THEN you can lose a few more pounds.

So if you read a label, or magazine ad, or internet ad, or whatever and the thing promises you to lose 30 pounds in 8 weeks, RUN!!!! Run far….you’ll be better off burning up those pounds that way anyhow :-)

THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL!!!!!

How many different commercials, magazine ads, computer pop-up ads and books can you think of that offer you the opportunity  to lose inches or even 50 pounds in two days??? I’m exaggerating of course, but you get the point. The truth is, there is no magic pill….but…you did know that already right? Please say you already knew that.

It’s amazing to me how many people, especially women, still fall for this gimmick. You know, I used to like Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser, but she’s really chapped my hide with the recent push for supplements that promise to make you lose weight. I’ve never been a trainer that pushed pills or any specific diet like Atkins or South Beach to name a couple. I like to keep in good fitness health the old fashioned way, through a healthy diet and physical activity at least 80% of the time. Many times, there are long term affects with these “promised” solutions. For example, the American Heart Association states: “Individuals who follow this diet (Atkins) are at risk for compromised vitamin and mineral intake, as well as potential cardiac, kidney, bone, and liver abnormalities overall.” Low carb diets like the Atkins diet may also hasten the onset of type II diabetes. Yikes!! That’s some scary crap people!!

Every New Year’s, millions of people claim that THIS will be the year of shedding those unwanted pounds. “And I’m going to do with hard work….I’m marching myself to the nearest GNC and buying my weight loss!” Yeah. Right. Just doesn’t work that way. Let me rephrase that, it just doesn’t work in a HEALTHY way. These may be temporary fixes, but only contribute to health problems or frustrations at  the end as you may see the weight come back when you get off the diet or supplement.

Lifestyle changes are the best way to lose weight and keep it off. Creating a habit of eating well and being active each day will become a lifestyle change. Did you know that it takes 21 days for something become a habit? Now, I truly do understand that some people have a hard time to lose weight through diet and exercise; I’m not denying that. When that happens, there may be an impending visit to the doc or maybe a registered dietician to see if there is something you may be missing. Perhaps a thyroid problem or very slow metabolism. But for those of you who really haven’t tried as best as you can, are you really struggling? Be honest with yourself please. Denial will get you nowhere.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that we should be getting at least 150 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. That breaks down to 30 min each day for only 5 days! That’s the minimum to keep your heart healthy. Now to lose weight, you should really be expending energy for approximately 60-90 minutes each day with one or two days rest. You don’t have to spend the 90 minutes all at once either. Don’t forget you strength training too.

Keeping a journal of your daily physical activity can help too. If you don’t have a personal trainer, this is a great tool to have and it acts as accountability as well (it just won’t yell at you :) In this journal, you can also keep a log of what your feeding yourself. Now THAT can be an eye opener. We usually don’t think of all the “little” snacks we grab on the go, or those 3 peanut M&M’s you just ate….oh….that was me. Anyway, my point is that you have to be completely honest with yourself, and when you decide to do that, you will start to see the change.

You may encounter a plateau. Damn those last 5 pounds!!!!! Curse you!!!!! Ok, ok, settle down now. If you ONLY had the option of losing weight either through exercise or your diet, do you know which one would win? The diet. Ultimately, if you want to achieve the lean physique and toned muscles, eating a clean diet is what will push you over the edge. So be patient. It takes roughly 6 weeks to really start seeing results if you’ve got maybe 15-20 pounds to lose. Remember that the more weight you have to lose (the heavier you are), the faster you will see results. Don’t get discouraged if you hit a wall. We all do. I’ve hit walls, but punched through them.  Stay focused and put your heart into it because at the end, it will thank you!!

If you’re brave, you can take a “before” picture. Place it somewhere that you can see, albeit a private place. Remind yourself that it DOES NOT have to be Jan 1 to start your weight loss goals. It can be Cinco de Mayo or October 25 for pete’s sake! Who cares!! Just don’t use the “New Year’s resolution” as an excuse to wait for your makeover.

Make it happen. YOU, can make it happen!