My Thoughts on Weight Loss Supplements

"Aluminum Pill Busters" by Lynn Greyling

In my weight loss class, we looked over a handout about what supplements work and don't work. Many products claim that they help you lose weight, but most have inconclusive evidence or can be dangerous. I've thought of listing all the supplements, but that's an exhaustive list. You can check out weight loss supplement facts here. I'll mention a few supplements.

Research Supplement from Credible Sources

If you have questions about a supplement, look at the scientific evidence and not the advertisements and anecdotal evidence. Find credible studies not funded by the seller. Second, make sure the supplement is safe. Find out more information about products on websites like the National Institute of Health, NSF International, or US Pharmocopeia. I tend to use WebMD. Use your best judgment.

One man I knew lost weight on fen-phen, but had a heart attack soon after. Fen-phen causes regurgitation in the heart valves for a small amount of people. Is that what happened to this man? Maybe. So, I'm wary about even FDA approved drugs because they may be pulled like Fen-phen.

Some Evidence Category

The some evidence category has capsaicin, green tea, and psyllium. I looked up capsaicin and it's naturally in hot peppers. Just eat chili peppers if you can stand the heartburn.

"White Cup of  a Green Tea" by Petr Kratochvil

When I taught English in China, I was occasionally served green tea and I tried a green tea popsicle (weird). But I was hesitant about green tea because of my religious health guide. Drinking tea is a sometimes fuzzy area among my congregation because we accept many herbal teas as beneficial, but most consider tea from the tea plant--white, black, oolong, and green--as against the health guide (see this article). The official religious website only mentions "tea" and "herbal tea" but not specific teas from the tea plant. Using my own judgment, I choose to avoid green tea.

After seeing psyllium on the list, I started taking psyllium fiber, just your regular fiber. I believe it may have helped me lose a pound or two, but I also reduced my stress those two weeks. It's supposed to help you feel fuller, but I still benefit from the regulating effects of fiber. (I refuse to take laxatives because I've seen a friend suffer from the aftereffects of anorexia/bulimia.)

Inconsistent Evidence

Under inconsistent evidence, I only recognize caffeine, ginseng, and St. John's Wort. The others are chromium, hydorxycitric acid, pyruvate, and linoleic acid.

I avoid large amounts of caffeine and only ingest some from chocolate and an occasional cola. It messes with my sleep rhythm and bipolar. The Mayo Clinic recommends under 500 mg a day for adults. Besides, energy drinks with high caffeine and other stimulants cause some teenagers heart palpitations, strokes, seizures, and sudden death (Source).

I took St. John's Wort in my late teens to relieve depression, but I didn't know it actually made my undiagnosed bipolar worse. It increased my hypomania and suicidal thoughts. St. John's Wort isn't for me.

UNSAFE But Effective

Bitter orange, ephedrine, Ma Huang (Ephedra) have strong evidence for weight loss, but are NOT recommended. Some people have had heart attacks, strokes, or died using weight loss supplements containing these ingredients. It's unclear if it may have been a combination of ingredients as the cause. Ma Huang causes mood problems. Why take the risk?

FDA Approved Supplements

There are a few FDA approved weight loss supplements, but most require a prescription. Essentially, they are a last resort if diet and exercise alone don't work. Orlistat blocks fat absorption and the others are appetite suppressants. Follow the links for more information. These drugs include:

• Alli (OTC)
• Orlistat (stronger version of Alli)
• Phentermine
• Phentermine + Topiramate = Qsymia
• Belviq
• Tenuate

Save Money--Don't Take Any

Weight loss supplements cost money and only some actually work or are safe. Might as well save money and work on other areas to improve weight loss first:

• Sleep
• Stress
• Social support
• Mental health
• Food tracking
• Portion control
• Physical activity

If you've addressed all these areas, then your doctor or dietitian may recommend weight loss supplements. If you take a supplement like fiber or drink green tea anyway, then it doesn't cost you more money.

I sometimes feel desperate about losing weight, but I'm not addressing some of my other issues such as stress, sleep, and physical activity. Right now I'm concentrating on sleep, reducing stress, eating fruits and vegetables, and being more active. I'll see where my journey takes me.

Have you taken any supplements and what happened for you? Any other thoughts?

Two-ish Pounds Gone!

I started my program seven weeks ago at 232 lbs; the next week at 234 (heavy clothes and pizza binge?); then slightly above 232 two weeks ago. Last night I weighed in at 230.5! I had concentrated the past two weeks on reducing stress and thinking of 3 good things before night time. I wrote about the stress management class on my mental health blog here.

Since one of my stresses is my weight, I only weighed myself once between meetings. I wasn't perfect with eating, but better than usual. I only did two regular exercise sessions during the two weeks and housework (mowing, mopping, vacuuming). So this approach to reduce stress worked versus being strict about exercise and diet. Stress and lack of sleep are a large contributing factor to my current weight gain of 15 lbs this spring and summer.

As a result of my weight gain, I had to buy bigger clothes two weeks ago. Sometimes I enjoy shopping for new clothes, but not this last time. I flashed my plumber's crack because my shirts and pants were too small. I hope too many people haven't shunned me for this reason. My fat has stretched the sides of my bras to their breaking point. TMI. Okay, the bras are six years old.

I wandered through the clearance racks at Walmart for 2X shirts and pants. I made a big pile and whittled it down before trying some on. Then I whittled it further after trying them on. Then I tried several sizes of bras. Too tight or too big. Finally, I walked away with several shirts, one pair of capris, one pair of pants, one swim bottom, and two bras.When I lined up at the check out line, I saw more t-shirts. I grabbed two 3X shirts and put back one shirt. Each item cost $9 or less. Yea, I was being frugal, but I still spent over $50. Gaining weight is not cheap.

Now I'm happy I have clothes that fit--except the 3X shirts are too wide for my shoulders. They cover my backside!

The Nervous Fish Husband Cook

"29 lb" by Simon Britton

I read about the benefits of eating fish, but I don't really like fish. Here's why: my brother caught fish growing up and they always stunk. The slime would stick to their skin--just gross. He caught an inedible carp and he gave it to his dog, Athens. Seeing that convinced me even more that I hate fish. Those strange scales like a palm tree scattered across the dirt. Cringe. I must have a texture issue.

Anyway, I asked my husband to buy fish at the store yesterday. I am going to try fish again (I'm okay with halibut). He was so nervous trying to pick out the fish--he had to pick the best so I'll like it. So now we have a slab of salmon, the most expensive fish at the store. My husband has been sweating over preparing the salmon right. He wants me to like it so much. I told him not to worry about whether or not I like it. I'm already biased against fish, but I'm trying something new! He's cooking the salmon right now. I'll report the results later.

"Salmon with Green Onion" by Helen Barth Villareal

I'm counting my servings for each category under the diabetic exchange system: fat, starch, protein, vegetables, fruit, and dairy. I tend to have 2-4 more servings of starches than I need, but I eat less than I did before. I've kept my goal of tracking food. Getting in the vegetables and fruit can be a little difficult, but I'm doing better than before. It doesn't help that my sons take my food.

About half the time, my two older boys eat the strawberries and raspberries within a day or two. I haven't even cracked the case open and it's almost gone. Last weekend, they left my fruit alone, but not this weekend. It's good for them to eat fruit, but let the other three people in the house have some too! Sometimes, my husband and I charge them a dollar when they eat something before we get any.

This reminds me of when the dietitian asks if I eat food in secret. The answer is complicated. I hide and eat food in secret from my children, but not my husband. My husband won't eat it all or beg for half of it. As long as you won't beg for my food, I'll binge eat in front of you.

My husband gets jealous when he sees me build my salads. He was talking about it so I described more what I put on my salad. It made him hungrier. Do you think the experiment will work on you? Mix spinach, mushrooms, sliced almonds, shredded cheese, a little dressing, and some croutons. I added cucumbers yesterday. The almonds, croutons, and cucumbers add some crunch. On occasion, I'll add avocado slices. Did it work?

Working on Goals

"Carrots for Sale" by Paul Brennan

I've been weighed twice now with the new community program. My weight is more than I want or thought it would be. I weigh in at 232-234 lbs; BMI is 39.4; and my body is 48.8% fat. How depressing, but it is only the beginning. It is about measuring progress, right?

Goal Progress

I successfully went to bed by 10ish two nights in a row. That's great for me! So that means I can get a professional massage on 9/8 if I keep this goal for 29 more days. I still feel somewhat tired, but I have sleep to catch up on. My oldest was in pain last night and he woke me around 1 am. I was so out of it. He was better in the morning, thank heaven.

I've been tracking my food intake since Friday. After my appointment with a dietitian last week, I chose the diabetic exchange system. I just count servings instead of writing down each food I eat or the calories. It's simpler for me, but I still have to measure my food.

My last goal was to exercise twice a week. I've sort of kept that goal. I walked around the grocery store and rode my bike to and from a meeting over the weekend. I need something more formal, in my opinion. It's just difficult because I'm still feeling rather tired. Need to catch up on my sleep. I'm also debating whether to work with a trainer or not. I could save around $1000 a year if I don't do group training. I could even drop my gym membership and save around $350 a year, but the cold months are coming.

Rethinking The Formula

I mentioned The Formula plan to the dietitian at the appointment. She looked over the book and commented that it asks for a little too much protein and fat. Instead of 40-30-30, she suggested 50-25-25. So just 5% less calories from both protein and fat. It's still pretty close to the 40-30-30 formula. The dietitian recommended modifying the recipes.

We talked about the glycemic index for carrots. She said it's the glycemic load that matters. So high glycemic foods like carrots and bananas are back on my radar because they have a low glycemic load. I may try the lower glycemic formula recipes in The Formula because it may help. For now, I'm keeping life simple.

So for my diabetic exchange system, I can have 8 starches, 6 proteins, 4 non-starchy vegetables, 4 fruits, 3 fat, and 2 dairy. This is according to my weight, height, gender and age, so it's different for everyone. Here's an online calculator, but a dietitian is a better expert to determine number of servings. The dietitian handed me a booklet to show servings in the diabetic exchange system. (Here's an online list.) Looking through it, the vegetable and fruit servings are larger than I thought and the protein, fat, and starch servings are smaller than I thought. Of course that would be the case.

So now to keep moving forward. The day-in day-out seems really difficult. I just want a magic surgery for weight loss (that isn't expensive or risky in any way).

So how are you coming along on your goals?

Setting Goals

Source

Yesterday I attended the orientation meeting for the community weight loss program. There were four people there, including me. We have homework assignments now: choose a food tracking method, a menu planning method, and three goals.

I will track by pen and paper because it is what I'm willing to do most consistently. The dietitian stressed we should choose only what we are willing to do.

I have three choices for a menu planning method: counting calories, diabetic exchange system, or the plate method. Counting calories stresses me. It isn't quite as stressful using an app like MyFitnessPal, but I don't have a smart phone to have easy access. The diabetic exchange seems a little complicated, but I'm considering it. The plate method may better fit my lifestyle. I may blend the diabetic exchange system and plate method.

For the goal setting, the dietitian had a worksheet to make specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-sensitive, engaging, and rewarding goals (SMARTER). I'm considering what my goals should be. Here's a stab at it:

1. Go to bed between 9:30-10 pm five nights a week for one month. My reward will be a professional massage.

2. Tracking food every day for a week. My reward will be one late night reading.

3. Exercising 3-4 times a week (including toning) for 20 minutes. My reward will be an outing with my sister and mother (no kids!).

I've done better going to bed earlier. In fact, I had energy today to clean my three bathrooms, sort papers, and put some stuff away.

Feel Stressed

Source

Sometimes I feel like I think about too many things. I'm worried about this cause and that cause and my brain runs in circles. Maybe I'm spreading myself intellectually and emotionally thin. The stress affects my weight loss goals, but then I've tried to chill about my obsession over that for the past two weeks. I need to just breathe. It doesn't matter if the world goes to pot. What can I do to change it? Only a little bit.

My mental and physical health need to come first. Causes can come in long after. I'm afraid I posted on my Facebook page for a discussion and I already feel stressed from the first response. I don't want to think anymore! But I do. I want to be heard amid the billions of voices out there. I want others to validate what I say. And I want sanity.

It's been a crazy week so far where I'm just eating to survive and maybe too stressed to sleep well. My husband's car broke down on Sunday when we were visiting family. While his car has been in the shop, he's been using the family van to commute to work (mine!). Today we drove 20 miles to pick up the car from a mechanic my husband trusts during his lunch hour. I didn't get my usual 30 minute lunch nap because of that. The toddler didn't get his nap either. (Maybe that's why I'm so grumpy.) Then my husband had to go into work tonight, which has rarely happened in the past four years. He's my support with the boys.

I get frustrated when I can't write as often as I'd like to. My toddler bangs against the keyboard and plays with our multiple monitors (yes, we have more than one monitor hooked up to each computer; my husband is a computer gamer and software developer). I want my toddler to just sit calmly in my lap while I type. That's the antithesis of what toddlers are.

Tomorrow I begin an educational and nutritional counseling program for the next six months. I hope this helps me. I felt good about signing up for it. Everything just takes so much effort. Let me sleep for a century, please.

Been Awhile

I've gone off the bandwagon probably the last week. Last Wednesday I had an ingrown toenail removed, so I stopped doing my walking. I gave up on the clean eating challenge, though the coach kept encouraging me. I stayed up late for several nights in a row and ate some junk food. I kept my life in survival mode.

So far this week, I've gone to bed about 11 pm each night. It's an improvement, but I'm still not at full working capacity. My mind keeps going for awhile after I crawl into bed.

After last week, I realized I set too many goals for myself. I felt discouraged because I couldn't do it all. I need to concentrate on one goal. That one goal should be going to bed on time for myself. My doctor thinks that is the main reason why I've gained weight. Right now I'm trying to keep life simple.

I signed up for a weight loss program through my doctor's office. I got 40% off by paying it all at once before I start the program. It's a cost-saving measure.

So now to encourage myself to go to bed on time: my only goal!