Weight Loss – A Healthy Scam.

Recent reports on the television here in Australia are beginning to show people the real truth behind many of the so called ” Miracle Weight Loss” programmes out there. Recently some of the more popular ones were given the harsh criticism they deserve in my opinion especially one from a well known pharmacist…and we all know how I feel about them! It is long overdue in my professional opinion. These places are lying to people, they are telling you that you will loose weight and keep it off…but you do not and this is the whole scam. They fill you full of artificial crap that you don’t have a hope of maintaining long term and once you stop,  your weight comes back up and you must return for more products. It is in their best interests to have to coming back time and again…profits are soaring!

Not only this, but the damage this can do to someone’s self esteem, a major contributor to weight gain in many, is substantial as people feel like total failures for not maintaining their weight loss, which as we can see, was never the intention of these product manufacturers and their peddlers! Interestingly, it is mostly pharmacies that are selling these products! These are the same people peddling drugs with questionable science behind them which is being proven time and again both here and overseas and our government regulatory bodies are a joke at best for allowing this to happen…yet anything truly therapeutic and natural is scrutinized radically. Interesting that most of the so called “negative” publicity about natural therapies in recent times has been leaked by pharmaceutical companies and when proper science has been employed…the natural products pass with flying colours! Does this smell fishy to you too?? MMMmm. Still it works in my favour as a therapist and yours because every time they rubbish us, we prove them wrong…we look even better..and that is because we are!

Pharmacists, despite popular television advertising, are NOT trained in nutrition, they are essentially chemists. I know this as I was a naturopathic consultant in a pharmacy and had the pharmacists tell me herself that she knew nothing of nutrition or herbal products. Interesting then that these are the places now being sold to us as places of wellness and weight loss…if it wasn’t so serious it would be funny! Pharmaceutical companies do not care in the least about your wellbeing nor do they care if their product even works, it is all about making money and as much as possible folks and they will buy off, and manipulate whoever and whatever they can to make more of it make no mistake and if you think our governments have our best interests at heart…think again, most of them get handsome rewards for their poor regulation, just look at the FDA in the US…we aren’t far behind them. It is up to folks like me and you to think independently and not fall for this garbage.

When it comes to weight loss, your nutritionist, naturopath, dietician is the person to see. Learn to eat real food in proper proportions and in a good, balanced way, add in some regular exercise and you will see a return to a healthy weight. There are no miracle cures, there are no faster ways, you must have patience, persistence and proper guidance from a professional with the correct knowledge.

Have a great day!

Craig Hitchens. B.HSc.

Weight Loss – Buyer Beware

Greetings folks.

Stimulants, including some herbs, can boost a sluggish metabolism by stimulatimng the adrenal hormone production, supressing appetite, increasing heart rate, improving blood flow to muscles and fat – all activities related to a preocess called theromgenesis. Thermogenesis is the process by which the body generates a heat energy that burns fat. The best known therogenic herb is Ephedra or Ma Huang. Studies show that Ephedra stimulates therogenesis. These findings led to many people abusing and over using over the counter weight loss products resulting in deaths and heart attacks. Because of the concern about over use and misuse and the resultant health risks, you may find that most reputable health food stores refuse to sell such products these days. It is my recommendation that you steer clear of them and anyone who prescribes the use of the herb.

Other thermogenic herbs include Cordyceps, Yohimbe and Bitter Orange – all should be treated with as much caution as Ephedra and most good herbalists will advise against it’s use unless professionally prescribed by a qualified herbalist or naturopath.

Here are some tips to help you avaoid potential danger zones in weight loss products:

Avoid Stimulants & Laxatives

These include Senna, Buckthorn, Cascara Sagrada and Aloe Vera. These herbs will help with the occassional short term bout of constipation but they won’t help reshape your body and long term use can cause serious health problems.

Realize That You’re a Guinea Pig

Very few weight loss products, including those found in pharmacies, have undergone rigorous scientific research and most don’t have a long tradition of use for weight loss so you are experiementing on yourself using them. Look out for Guarana containing products and other stimulants as these are to be approached with caution.

Buy Carefully

If you must use weight loss supplements then use professionally prescribed ones and do not self medicate with over the counter drugs or products. Some or most of the pharmaceutical kind have amphetamines in them and the less recognized may contain stimulants.

Basically folks like I have said in previous posts on the topic, you’re just wasting your money. The equation is a simple one and it is here for you to read. There are some great products on the market these days that are safe and effective and well worth your time to investigate so now that you have some insight go get to it!

Have a great day!

Craig Hitchens. B.HSc.

The Power Of Positive Thinking

Greeting to everyone.

By now you all would have read about “The Secret” or “The Law of Attraction”. Well you can use this to your advantage when you are on your weight loss plan. You see the trouble with most people trying to lose weight is that you only see your flaws and not your positives!

For those of you not familiar with the law of attraction, casically you will mainfest whatever it is you place your attention and will to and affirm. Energy flows where the attention goes…this has be proven to a large degree by quantum physics to be true. Now to use this for losing weight you need to do a couple of things first. obviously you need to acknowledge that you are over weight. You then need to visualize yourself at your goal weight or size..be realistic! Then on a daily basis you need to look in the mirror and tell yourself you are getting there and find at least one positive thing about yourself and affirm it.

Do not focus much attention on the negatives…I’m still fat, I’ll never get there etc etc….place energy here and that is what will mainfest. This is not to say you go into denial, you know you are not there yet but you affirm the progress you have made, give thanks for that, tell yourself you are worth loving and the outcomes, and affirm, affirm affirm. In time you will notice changes coming and situations will alter to suit you etc…the universe is your ally if you want it to be!

So go ahead, give it a try…I just know it will work for you!

I’d love to hear your stories of success so please feel free to comment.

Have a great day!

Craig Hitchens. B.HSc.

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