Naturopathic Solutions

Why do we love reading weight loss testimonials? Why do we scour the diet plan websites for before and after pictures and personal stories of pounds lost? Why do weight loss plans almost always include testimonials?

I think it's because we are looking for one thing, perhaps subconsciously, that will help us achieve our weight loss goals: Confidence.

Skeptical? Stay with me on this.

Here's the bottom line: we all know that most diets or weight loss plans will at least work in the short term because they all include some form of calorie restriction (that doesn't mean they'll necessarily work in the long run - but that's an entirely new post).

But although we know this in our heads, our past failures tell our heart something else - this may not work. And if we think something won't work, we simply don't try it. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The diet didn't work because we didn't follow it 100%. Why didn't we follow it 100%? Because we believed it wouldn't work. See the cycle?

So reading weight loss testimonials helps us to have the confidence to give a particular program our all - if other people could try it and get these amazing results then we can too. Even if you don't want to buy a certain diet program, you can still be encouraged to lose weight just by reading weight loss testimonials.

Because if other people can lose weight and look that amazing, so can you.

Perhaps it's not even the diet plan itself that does or does not work - perhaps it is the confidence that you have in the diet plan that is the deciding factor on whether or not you will lose weight. Just something to consider.

'Health Canada is warning consumers not to use two unapproved products being marketed as natural weight-loss aids because they may contain substances that could cause serious side-effects or injury. '

Read the entire article here:

Editor's Note: Here's a little more detail on the actual Hoodia Gordonii plant itself - for those of you Hoodia researchers who want all the facts on Hoodia.

Hoodia Cactus
by Eric Morris

Most of the journalists used the name, "the African Hoodia Cactus" when they learned about the hunger-suppressing plant from South Africa. What they meant was "Hoodia Gordonii," found wild in the Kalahari Desert. It does not belong to the cactus genus.

Hoodia Gordonii is a succulent. The Genus is Trichocaulon and the family name is Asclepiadaceae. It is a grayish brown plant with ten or more tentacles, resembling a long cucumber with spikes. The height of the plant can be 18 inches to 6 feet. It is bitter-tasting, with an unpleasant smell.

The San Bushmen have been using this plant for thousands of years as a hunger suppressant while on long hunts. CSIR of South Africa took a patent on the plant as a weight-loss aid and sold it to a British pharmaceutical company, Phytopharm. The plant grows only in a desert climate and takes about 5 to 7 years to mature. Attempts to grow them in China, Mexico and the USA failed.

Phytopharm successfully conducted clinical trials on the plant and combined with Pfizer of the USA to produce P 57, the active ingredient of Hoodia, synthetically. After the attempt failed, because it was uneconomical, they arranged for large plantations in South Africa to cultivate the plant. They have tied up with Unilever, a British MNC and food giant, to test and market the product by 2008.

After a legal challenge and subsequent settlement between the San tribe lawyer and CSIR of South Africa, the Bushmen are to be given part of the profits made from the sales of the product. In an October 2004 convention at Bangkok, CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild Fauna and Flora) included Hoodia Gordonii in Appendix II. This means that the South African government has an active control over this plant, and is not likely to allow over-exploitation of wild Hoodia.

It is proving to be a difficult task. Taking a plant from the wild desert and growing it as a plantation crop is a challenge that the scientists involved are facing. Diseases, pests and a lot of agricultural practices have to be understood. However, they are confident of success in putting the product on the supermarket shelf by 2008.

www.web-hoodia.com

Ok, so I've been reading everything I can get on Hoodia (especially in the forums) in order to post here and one thing I've come up against is so many conflicting reports about it.

Some people say Hoodia works and they've lost 'x' number of pounds.

Others say they haven't lost a thing.

Some 'experts' say Hoodia hasn't really been tested.

Other 'experts' say Hoodia has been tested successfuly without any ill side effects.

Some say it's a waste of money.

Other's say it's the best money they've ever spent.

So what's the truth?

While I haven't yet started my own test of Hoodia, I have come across a few reasons that might explain the conflicting reports about why Hoodia works for some people but not for others.

#1 - Not Taking A High Enough Dose - The general consensus among those who have said Hoodia worked for them seems to be that you need at least 750 mg of Hoodia 3 times a day to get the appetite suppressing results (and probably more like 1000 mg if you're a big, strapping man). Of course, always follow the instructions on the bottle and give your body a chance to get used to it before increasing your dose.


#2 - Didn't Buy It From A Pure Source - There are lots of Hoodia substitutes out there that contain either very little Hoodia or none at all. Also, while there are around 20 species of Hoodia, only Hoodia Gordonii has the effective appetite suppressing molecule. Make sure you buy pure Hoodia Gordonii (no 20:1 extracts!) from South Africa. (For more on how to find a pure source of Hoodia check out this article)


#3 - Everyone's Body Is Different - Just as caffeine affects different people different ways (some people are allergic, some people get jittery, some get happy, others feel absolutely nothing, etc.), Hoodia may affect different people different ways. So while most people might get results from Hoodia (just like most people feel more alert after drinking coffee), some people may not. Every person's body reacts in it's own unique way, which may mean the Hoodia doesn't work for everyone.

The important thing is to consult your doctor before taking Hoodia (or making any change to your diet or lifestyle). Make sure you don't have a medical condition (like low thyroid for example) that may interfere with your weight loss efforts (whether those involve Hoodia or not).

Sick of eating low carbs? You CAN have your carbs and lose weight.


A recent article on mercola.com states that it's not the amount of carbs but the KIND of carbs that are linked to weight loss. More specifically, overweight people don't eat MORE carbs than their slimmer counterparts - but it was found that they do eat more refined carbs (white bread, pasta, etc) than other people.


Fascinating stuff - especially in the the low carb craziness that has taken over our North American world.


Why does this happen? The article points out that refined carbs lead to an insulin spike. And high insulin means more fat storage.


For those of you not familiar with insulin, it is a hormone that regulates blood sugar in our bodies. It's also a 'fat-storing' hormone that triggers the body to get ready to store fat. Being a type 1 diabetic (the kind that injects insulin because my body doesn't make it anymore) I've always known that when I eat the refined stuff, I need to take a BIG dose of insulin. And BIG doses of insulin lead to BIG weight gain.


So this study article is quite interesting. You can have carbs - just try to go more for the whole grains, fruits and vegetables.