Old Weight Loss Scams Continue

common scams

Too-good-to-be-true easy weight loss promises have been around for over a hundred years.  Here are some common themes to pills, powders, potions, and teas.

Lose weight, eat whatever you want, and no exercise!  Burn fat while you sleep! Whatever is contained in these pills is not going to help you lose weight.  Sometimes there are ingredients like caffeine that help dampen the appetite in some people.  If you’ve ever purchased one of these “diet pills” you may have noticed the package insert that explains how you can lose weight.  Then again you may have thrown that part away.  It says, “here is a sample 1200 calorie diet for you to follow.  If you follow this diet [and take these pills] you can lose up to 10 pounds in 4 weeks (results not typical)”.  Of course you can eat whatever you like … but you can’t have more than one bite of it!

Five Ways to Instant Diet Motivation

As any seasoned dieter knows, that initial rush of enthusiasm for a new regime fades pretty quickly. Even if you’re super-disciplined for a couple of weeks, you’ll come to a point where it’s hard to stay motivated. Perhaps the scales haven’t budged for what feels like an eternity, perhaps your favourite pair of jeans still won’t do up, or perhaps you can’t face another salad…

There are lots of ways to stay motivated over the long term, such as taking it slowly, logging your progress, not getting stuck in a rut, and having the support of friends. But sometimes, you need instant motivation – the sort which stops you raiding the cookie jar or breaking out the candy bars.

What’s In A Calorie?

photo credit: ϟnapshot 19A calorie is actually a measure of energy; scientifically,  “the amount of energy it takes to raise one gram of water by one degree Celsius”. What we term “calories” are actually kilocalories (kcals), or 1000 Calories.  We use kcal when we talk about how many are in the foods we eat, because if we didn’t, a Three Musketeers Bar would have 285,000 calories and no one would ever eat one!

Calories in food are measured by an apparatus called a Bomb Calorimeter that burns a portion of food and measures the energy that is released.  Calories that people burn are measured with an Indirect Calorimeter; a machine that measures the amount of oxygen taken in and carbon dioxide released during certain activities.

That Many Calories in My Coffee??

FDA Recalls Popular Diet Supplement Hydroxycut

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The FDA released a notice today regarding the use of the popular dietary supplement Hydroxycut.

“The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplants. One death due to liver failure has been reported to FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.”

Editor’s Note: The You-On-a-Diet review on Hydroxycut has been updated with a notice regarding this recall.

New Free Weight Loss Tools

After 2 months of development,  the You-On-a-Diet.net tool set is now online and available.  Our new suite of tools includes the Weight Loss Estimator, BMI Calculator, Activity Calculator, and more.  Here is a little information about each tool.

Activity Calculator – Enter how many calories you want to burn and get a list of recommended exercises.

Weight Loss Estimator – By entering your current weight, goal weight, and how many calories you are willing to reduce daily, you will be provided with an estimated date you can achieve your weight loss goals.

New Review: Evercleanse – Weight Loss Colon Cleanse

Evercleanse is being promoted as a weight loss colon cleansing program.  Although many dieticians and nutritionists swear by detoxifying the body prior to starting a diet there has been no clinical research regarding colon cleansing and weight loss. So why are cleanse products being packaged and marketed as weight loss treatments?  Truth be told, some can experience a decrease in overall body weight but it depends on various factors.

New Reviews: Alli Weight Loss and Hydroxycut

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Prior to the New Year I noticed an increase in television advertisements for both Alli Weight Loss Pills and Hydroxycut.  So it didn’t come as a surprise when I saw our inbox get flooded with questions about these two popular supplements.  Due to the demand, we have written a review on both of these diverse products.

What You Should Know

Alli is approved by the FDA and can be found both online and at popular pharmacies (such as Walgreens and Rite Aid) and in Grocery Stores (such as Harris Teeter and Food Lion).  The cost for Alli is average market price ($49.95 if purchased online) but the side effects can be a bit of a mess (no pun intended).  Use the link at the bottom of this post to learn everything you need to know about the Alli diet pill.

Hydroxycut has not been approved by the FDA but it has been around for 10 years and has been clinically tested to help dieters lose 4 1/2 times more weight than dieting alone.  Hydroxycut is considered to be a fat burner in nature but also claims to help with controlling the appetite and regulating blood sugar levels.  The side effects are typcial when compared to other fat burners that contain stimulants.  Use the link at the bottom of this post to learn more about Hydroxycut.

If there is a diet program or supplement you would like to recommend for review contact us.

Alli Diet Pill Review		Hydroxycut Review

Alert – FDA Warns Against 69 Tainted Dietary Supplements

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On December 22, 2008 (revised on Jan. 8th) The FDA issued a consumer warning against 69 weight loss pills that contained pharmaceutical grade ingredients that significantly exceed the recommended dosage.  With New Years resolutions in full swing and people seeking the magic antidote to counter the holiday eating binge, many unaware consumers put themselves at risk and don’t even know it.  The health risks found with the supplements listed below include heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, seizures, and more.  For more information on this alert use the link at the bottom of this post.

The New Generation of Sweeteners

A plant by the name of Stevia has been getting a lot of attention recently. It seems promising as a new generation of no-calorie sweetener: Great news for people watching their waistline as well as people with diabetes who limit their intake of sugar. One company, Cargill, manufactures a product made from Stevia under the brand name, Truvia.  Pepsi-Co is working with The Whole Earth Sweetener Company and they call their version PureVia.  Here’s the scoop:  Truvia and PureVia both contain Rebiana.  This is a derivative of the leaves of the stevia plant. The companies that manufacture it (Cargill and Coca-Cola) report it “only consists of the best-tasting components of the stevia leaf”. The sweet leaf of the stevia plant is dried, steeped in water, and further purified to provide a calorie-free sweet taste.

You On a Diet Partners with Yedda (an AOL company)

Have a question you would like answered by a community of people interested in your topic?  You On a Diet has partnered with Yedda (an AOL company) to provide our readers with access to their very powerful Q&A platform.  Yedda has categories that include: health, fitness, life, money, and more.  Click Here to Ask a Question.

This page is sponsored by: Nutrifit – Meal delivery in Los Angeles and Orange County area. Custom meals to meet your nutritional needs, and incorporating dietary platforms, such as Volumetrics, Zone, and Mediterranean-style meals.

How Many Calories Do You Need?

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One question people ask all the time is “How Many Calories should I be eating in a day?”  Well, it’s a complicated answer because there are so many factors that determine your actual energy needs.  One factor is how much lean body mass you have.  Muscle burns more calories than fat, as you’ve probably heard.  What gives some people more lean body mass than others?  Besides being muscular, being male usually means you have more lean body mass than a female of the same height and weight.  Being taller means you have more lean tissue than a person who is shorter.  And aging usually results in a decrease in lean body mass.  Therefore, tall, young men burn about twice as many calories (about 3000) as short, older women (about 1500).  There are calculations, such as the Harris-Benedict equation, that you can use to find your energy needs pretty accurately by inserting your age, gender, height, and weight.  However, this assumes you are not greatly overweight (once many fat pounds are involved it’s hard to determine the metabolic activity of your total weight) and you also must be able to factor in your activity level; it’s all an estimate!

Welcome to The You On a Diet Blog

You On a Diet is proud to announce the launch of our blog.  Over the next few weeks we will be dedicating a lot of time and resources to beef up the content for our readers.  You can expet to read hot topics and other tid bits to keep you entertained while you lose weight.

Be sure to sign up for our RSS feed so you can be notified when new posts are released and when new recipes are added.  Thanks again to everyone for their support and we look forward to