14 DAY TRIAL // It’s that time of the year when we’re all packing in a few extra pounds, also commonly known as “holiday weight.” When the time comes to start on a new diet and workout routine (which, experts say, should happen around mid-January), the greatest temptation is to try out a miracle cure or, as AskMen calls them, extreme weight loss techniques.
They’re all dangerous and do not render results that last in time, leading to yo-yo-ing weight. Yet the temptation is there, perhaps even bigger than ever after the holiday season comes to an end. In order to know what to avoid, it’s best to know which are the enemies to our health in terms of techniques of losing weight because only in this way will we be able to understand that the ideal solution for this problem is a combination of a healthy diet (with emphasis on “healthy”) and regular exercise, the magazine says in a recent piece.
Starting at the top of the list, we find diet pills, immediately after starvation. Because they’re so many variants of them and are advertised in such a manner that it’s sometimes easy to overlook their side-effects, they are the most dangerous. Phentermine, for instance, is one of the oldest diet drugs available, described by AskMen as “a prescription amphetamine that acts on neurotransmitters in the brain, reducing appetite.” Side effects include, aside from addiction, increased heart rate, insomnia and elevated blood pressure.
Orlistat comes next, yet another prescription drug, which is now available in diluted concentration over the counter in many territories. Orlistat acts by not allowing fats to remain in the body, which means that whatever fat there is in a meal is almost instantly eliminated. Aside from the fact that it’s not really that effective in the long run, it also comes to a very embarrassing side effect: almost incontrollable diarrhea and spotty gas.
Bontril / Phendimetrazine “is another amphetamine-related weight-loss drug, but it’s even more addictive than phentermine. About a third of the drug is metabolized into phenmetrazine, a stimulant diet drug that was taken off the market due to its addictive nature. As a result, Bontril is now a Schedule III controlled substance. That means that it’s only available with a prescription and its use is highly monitored,” AskMen says. It’s effective and highly addictive, coming with side-effects like a “wrecked” nervous system after extended use, increased heart rate and blood pressure.
Liposuction, the gastric bypass and extreme diets are yet other three dangerous techniques of losing weight, which promise extraordinary results but only deliver part of them at a cost we shouldn’t even consider paying. Bottom line, also from AskMen: “There aren’t any quick fixes when it comes to weight loss. Every fast fat-burning technique out there has some sort of side effect. If you want to lose weight, you’ll need to rethink your eating habits – forever – and get more exercise. If your weight is the result of something that’s beyond your control, like a thyroid condition or genetics, even that might not work. Losing weight is tough and it takes sustained effort. Don’t expect it to happen overnight.”