Many people think that calories are the thing to watch out for, since eating too many calories leads to weight gain right? Calories are the "enemy", since eating excess calories leads to excess fat, right? I have found that like me, most people think that the fastest way to lose "fast" weight is to cut down on their calories intake every day.
If most people believe that the fastest way to lose weight is to cut way back on calories each day. Why do so many of us struggle with weight related issues? After all, if a dieter is eating 2,500 calories per day and they decide to cut back to 1,500 calories per day -- then obviously those extra 1,000 calories have to result in weight loss, right?
Well actually no, this does not always work and is potentially harmful to you. I am going to explain why. If you try to cut your calories too much (via starving yourself and skipping meals) then you'll quickly reach a dieting "plateau" (a point where the scale refuses to drop any lower no matter how little your are eating).
First, let's paint a picture together here. I will use myself in an example that I feel you may relate to. One day I look in the mirror and see that my clothes are fitting tighter than normal, and I look more overweight than normal. And on this day I get "angry" with myself, I am angry with what I see in the mirror -- and I decide that I am going to lose weight no matter what it takes.
How many of us have had this very same conversation with ourselves? I know that I have a number of times... My emotions are running wild. I am both motivated and angry. I am determined to do whatever it takes to get slimmer and lose those unsightly pounds that are preventing me from being happy.
Looking good is feeling good!
So the first thing that comes to mind is? Skipping meals and cutting way back on calories in an attempt to starve myself thinner, since I am convinced that calories are the enemy. Let's face it, we are logical thinkers and doesn't that sound logical? And make sense? Doesn't it?
I, like so many of you out there have fallen into that very scenario and began what I will call the "starvation diet".
I recall justifying to myself silently on the first day of my starvation diet because I was so "motivated" to lose that extra weight that I decided to skip breakfast.
Unfortunately, that motivation didn't last long, because after a few hours the hunger pains were so severe and making me feel weak -- my body was not accustomed to "skipping meals" like that, and my body was not accustomed to being without calories for so long.
By lunchtime I was so hungry (and weak) that I felt absolutely miserable --- but yet I bravely told myself that I can handle this diet (because after all, I certainly didn't want to feel like a quitter). So reluctantly now, I have a piece of fruit for lunch (or perhaps another small food item instead), since I am still convinced that I can starve myself thinner.
Finally, hours later when dinnertime arrives I am so miserable, hungry and cranky that I have a major headache --- and this is the moment when I finally begin to realize that starving myself might not be such a good idea after all. After the first day of starving myself I feel horrible, but I am determined to stick to my starvation diet since I don't want to be a quitter so soon -- so Ill likely hold on for few more days brfore giving up. Or, if you are stronger than me, you may even hold out for a week or two.
However, regardless of how long you actually hold out -- you won't get any slimmer and the final result will still be the same.
You see, even after two weeks of starving yourself you won't have achieved any serious weight loss at all. In fact, your body will still look the same when you look in the mirror. Why is this true? This is true because most of the weight lost during a "starvation diet" is just water weight, and not real fat loss. You must remember that any "water weight" lost during a starvation diet will be gained back immediately when you stop dieting and start eating normally again.
Also, whenever you starve yourself you cause a "hidden" factor to come into play. You see, whenever you starve yourself your body will begin burning fewer calories each day. For example, let's say that you normally eat about 3,000 calories per day, but then you suddenly cut way back on calories -- so that you're now only eating 1,000 calories per day.
What happens?
Even though you're eating 2,000 fewer calories per day your body will begin burning 2,000 fewer calories --- so in reality your weight will remain the same even though you're eating 2,000 fewer calories per day. When this happens the scale will stop going down regardless of how little you are eating each day, and this is known as a weight loss "plateau".
This is why most starvation dieters cannot make the scale go down anymore after just two weeks of dieting. They all hit a "plateau" where the scale just refuses to go down any further, no matter how little they are eating each day.
Now you know why you've always failed when trying to starve yourself in the past, since it's just not possible to lose weight by starving yourself. The truth is that "serious" weight loss can never be achieved by starvation dieting. Serious weight loss can only be achieved by giving your body the right types of calories at the correct times each day, which is something that I have looked at in depth now.
Your body is actually like a big "engine" -- and the truth is that your body needs all 3 types of calories (protein, carbs, and fat) to some degree to effectively lose excess weight. To lose weight quickly you must eat all 3 types of calories in the right proportions, and that's why most dieters fail. They fail because nobody knows what the right proportions of calories should be.
To begin losing weight fast I recommend using a brand new type of diet never seen before, focusing on "calorie shifting" -- since there are no specific "portion limits" at any meal and dieters can eat as much as they need to at each meal, no more starvation diets.
Dieters can enjoy unlimited amounts of certain condiments without feeling guilty. (Its one of the only diets in the world which forces on fast weight loss WITHOUT THE NEED TO COUNT CALORIES).
Does Hoodia work for quick weight loss? Will it help you keep weight off if you eat junk food? It's time to dig into these questions and more to discover whether or not this new weight loss pill actually has some powerful weight loss benefits.
Your search on the internet has no doubt led to multiple advertisements claiming this plant to be the strongest natural weight loss product to ever hit the scene. However, spending money on a quick weight loss product is something that requires much more research.
While there are some honest companies out there selling 100% authentic Hoodia, there are many snake oil salesman selling Hoodia that is not real or authentic. Many companies either use an insignificant amount of Hoodia in their formulas or do not use Hoodia at all!
Because of the lack of federal regulation on supplements, smaller companies can easily slip past any inspections and get away with selling sub-par formulas with sub-par standards. Most of these companies aren't even inspected!
The ads sound something like a fountain of youth campaign, only, they resemble the fountain of never-ending easy weight loss. "Take such and such pill and don't change anything else in your diet and lose 20lbs. in 2 weeks!" Well, don't you think that if a product worked that well that there would be some type of pharmaceutical company with the patent?
Let's get something straight... Quick fixes for anything NEVER work, and they especially NEVER work for weight loss. This statement is as true now as it could ever be in the future and if you are looking to pills to change your physique...you are looking in the wrong place.
I can't even tell you how many of my friends were totally sold on Hoodia. They bought it and then they got zero weight loss results whatsoever. Now, they are about $100 in debt for something that has never worked for anyone I know. I even told them about my other friends zero results prior to them having bought it, but it didn't work.
These weight loss pill companies have superior advertising skills and knowledge, and they know exactly which buttons to push to make people buy buy buy. It's amazing how they are skilled in psychological buying habits even further than what most buyers know about themselves.
You see, a lot of what these companies sell is not really Hoodia at all. And these companies target folks who are looking for that quick fix. The companies know that most everyone wanting to lose weight isn't willing to take the simple route of changing their diet...they know people want "the pill".
Initially, Hoodia seems like a perfect fix for someone looking to lose weight quickly, and the product has made manufacturers of the pill TONS of money. All of the hype started a couple years ago when a popular night-time infomercial presented Hoodia as a new and potentially exciting weight-loss pill.
It wasn't long after this period that the internet and infomercials became abundant. Basically everywhere you turned Hoodia was being advertised, written about, and touted. It was mass hysteria in local vitamin stores and pharmacies.
Actually, the first use for Hoodia came from the Bushmen of Southern Africa. For centuries they used Hoodia as an appetite suppressant for hunting trips and periods of scarce food supply. While it may suppress the appetite in it's raw and natural state, there is little evidence to suggest that taking the pills will result in long-lasting weight loss.
The major issue lies in the fact that the supplement industry is not federally regulated in the United States. This makes it easy for any scammer to put whatever they want in a capsule and sell it for huge profits.
It would be like putting ground, dried broccoli into a pill and selling it as the next cure to obesity because several vitamins in broccoli have been show to positively effect metabolism. Wouldn't it be more effective to just eat the broccoli? Likewise, how many pills would you have to consume to get an equal serving of what an African Bushman would consume to ward off hunger?
And here is a startling fact. The quantity of Hoodia being sold throughout the world FAR EXCEEDS the amount that is actually produced and manufactured. This indicates that it is highly likely that many Hoodia products are counterfeit. Also, Hoodia is only grown in a small area of southern Africa and takes a large amount of time to grow and harvest.
Basically, the ingredients contained in a Hoodia pill don't even have to be "100% Hoodia", because ever since the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, there is no regulation or testing to assure that what their label claims is actually in the bottle. This is why vitamins, Hoodia, and any other pill being sold for weight loss is labeled as a "dietary supplement" and not a "food".
Besides the issues with quality and purity, there is also no scientific proof at this point that these small doses that they are using will actually cause any type of weight loss at all in humans. It is highly likely that any Hoodia used by the Bushmen was in high quantities and almost comparable to using it as a food source.
And lastly, even if Hoodia were to actually help curb your appetite, this isn't actually a good thing. You see, eating less will deprive your body of the nutrition it needs to function properly and maintain lean muscle mass, all of which regulates your metabolic rate. Proper nutrition is needed to lose weight, and any reduction in calorie intake may actually keep you from losing weight!
If by some stroke of happenstance you did lose weight, this weight loss would most likely come from muscle and water weight. Loss of muscle is always accompanied by a slower metabolism, which would lead to excess fat gain in the future. This is the major contributor to a so-called "yo-yo diet".
So, here is a recap of the major issues:
1. Much of the Hoodia being sold is highly unlikely to be real. If it is real, it's highly likely to contain worthless fillers and other ingredients.
2. Assuming that you could obtain 100% Hoodia, the plant has little if any evidence proving that it's consumption leads to quick weight loss or sustainable weight loss.
So what's the conclusion? Really no one knows for sure if Hoodia works according to it's claims. Thus far, there aren't many studies done on the plant and no evidence is given for optimal serving amounts.
Weight loss really can't be found in a bottle. If you want to get an amazing body, you have to follow what people that have amazing bodies do...and these people do not use pills in a bottle to get their physiques! There are no substitutes for a good diet and physical activity, but there are plenty of scams if you want to throw away your money.
Both Faustin Michaels & Thesecret2fatloss are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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