The Holy Grail of Weight Loss

A recent local TV station news broadcast promoted an upcoming story as “The Holy Grail of Weight Loss.”  Now we’re talkin’! Who’s not looking for that – the fast way to lose weight?

And they promoted this upcoming story for days, over the entire weekend. You would think that it was a slow news week, or just maybe TV ratings are important to the station. Aha, we checked with Nielsen and yep, we’re in the middle of a TV sweeps weeks measuring period. But all that aside, they did hit on a topic that is always, well, topical – how to lose weight fast?

The story really centered on so-called super foods that in one way or another supposedly help you lose weight faster.  Some claim to be fat burners while others are purported to be fat blockers. Some claim to be slimming superfoods, while others are harder to figure out, they’re just magical. There’s even a skinny coffee, a supplement made from the green coffee bean extract.

Some of the names are difficult to pronounce, which brings to mind a bit of advice recently heard, “if your mother can’t read it on the label, don’t eat it!” There is moringa tree extract from the so-called miracle tree. And then there is garcinia cambrogia – this one was touted as The Holy Grail of Weight Loss by a popular TV doctor. We think this one is made from a mixture of TV ratings and paid product placement for some visible name brands. We could be wrong. The same good Dr. recommended green coffee bean extract for fast weight loss in another broadcast, but he does recommend that if you buy this stuff to look for one that contains 45 percent chlorogenic acid, the key ingredient. Yummy!

Fortunately, the news broadcast also included a brief interview with a registered dietician from the University of Texas who doesn’t buy into the magic pill theory. She cautioned that some of these products have fillers such as caffeine and other ingredients added, so it’s not always the same product in every bottle. Plus if you’re taking medications these supplements can have negative interactions with your prescription drugs. So before taking any of these supplements, it’s best to check with your doctor. Or, as we like to say, “Be afraid, be very afraid!”

Of course, we always recommend the tried and true method of weight loss, a sensible diet plan and an exercise plan appropriate to your needs and capabilities, Also it helps to record your progress with a food and exercise tracker. Besides, it has been clinically proven time and again that losing weight slowly, which requires some degree of lifestyle change, is the only way to keep the weight off for good.