Does it Work?Unsure if the latest product or service lives up to it's claims? From popular products to the latest scams, discuss it here before you buy!
This is my first message so bear with me. Has anyone tried Relacore or Cortislim? Does it work to remove fat around your stomach and thighs and butt? I tried Cortislim for two weeks, and nothing moved for me.
Ah well...like every crap diet pill, they'll be history by next year - replaced by another catchy name - the marketers never seem to run out of catchy names.
I respectfully disagree with MrsJim. I do not believe that CortiSlim is "crap." I have been using it along with a weight loss program, and I believe that it has helped me with the afternoon and evening carbohydrate cravings.
Two weeks is not enough time to take the supplement to get results. I have posted elsewhere on this site about a double-blind study in which two groups of people were given either CortiSlim or an identical-appearing placebo pill. Both groups were told to follow a moderate diet and exercise plan. Not even the researchers knew which people were getting which pill (that's why it's called double-blind).
After 12 weeks, the people in the CortiSlim group had lost just under 10 pounds, and the people in the placebo group had lost just over 1 pound. So it does something, but it took 12 weeks to get there.
You have to decide whether a supplement that produces less than a pound a week in weight loss is worth the $100 you have to pay for a 12-week supply. I have the typical "cortisol" body, with fat around the midsection and thinner arms and legs, so for me it was worth it to add to my existing, and I might add strict, weight loss plan. It might not be for anyone else. Plus some people report that they feel sleepy or tired when taking it.
It's ok to disagree, we all have our own opinions There are several people here, though, that have said they tried it and it did nothing for them. I t hink your personal experience is unique, and might stump the experts.
Here's something interesting that I recently found in the Berkeley Wellness newsletter, from the University of CA
Quote:
Q: What do you think about CortiSlim, the new weight-loss supplement? J.B., VIA THE INTERNET
A: There’s no evidence that CortiSlim will lead to weight loss, or that it is safe. Now that ephedra has finally been banned, you can expect to see lots of alternative weight-loss products on the market—all untested and unproven.
CortiSlim contains calcium, chromium, vanadium, and a cocktail of herbs including banaba leaf extract, green tea extract, bitter orange peel, magnolia bark extract, and beta sitosterol. Green tea extract and bitter orange peel are common ephedra substitutes; they may work like ephedra and speed up calorie burning slightly. But they may also be dangerous, like ephedra, and there’s no research showing they lead to long-term weight loss. Beta sitosterol may lower cholesterol levels, but it would not cause weight loss. Magnolia bark is a folk remedy for countless ailments. In any case, who knows how much, if any, of these ingredients is in the supplement?
The main sales pitch for CortiSlim is that it will control cortisol levels in the body. It’s claimed that high levels of stress cause obesity, and that this hormone, which your body releases in response to stress, makes you store excess fat. Scientists have indeed been looking into the role of cortisol in obesity, but at this point it is still theoretical. In any case, there’s no evidence that CortiSlim will reduce cortisol, or that lowering cortisol causes weight loss.
“Who has high cortisol levels?” the ads inquire. Answer: anybody who experiences daily stress, gets fewer than eight hours sleep, and hopes to lose weight— at least 90% of the population. At $50 for a month’s supply, that’s a pretty fat business. The CortiSlim website has lots of testimonials and before-and-after photos, and a “lifestyle expert,” Dr. Shawn Talbott, who claims to have done a lot of research. We could not find even one published study on CortiSlim.
JayEll -- out of curiousity, I went looking for that "double-blind" study that you cite here and in other posts. The only place where it can be found is on the Cortislim web site. A few things jump out at me after reading it:
1. It's not a published study (the results of real clinical drug studies are submitted to medical journals, which review them for accuracy before publication). The only place this study is "published" is on the web site selling the product.
2. The only "author" listed is the man selling Cortislim. No MDs or universities or hospitals are associated with this "study".
3. The author of the study is not a medical doctor -- he says that he has a PhD from Rutgers in "Nutritional Biochemistry". I went to the Rutgers web site and they don't offer such a degree.
4.The "study" is dressed up with irrelevant graphs and tables and scientific language. It cites a lot of footnotes to real journal articles for no apparent reason except to borrow their credibility.
My conclusion, as someone who is familiar with legitimate medical research studies, is that this is simply an advertisement for Cortislim in the guise of a pseudo-medical study. Please don't be fooled by their talk of "double-blind studies"! This is NOT a real double blind study -- this is simply standard miracle diet pill advertising tarted up to look like real medical research.
Thanks for the info, Meg! This reminds me of the Leptoprin ad that claimed they had studies to back up their claims. Oprah's magazine did a piece on them and it seems their so-called double blind study and their researchers credentials were not what they appeared, either:
Quote:
"In the case of Leptoprin-SF, another diet formula, the promotional copy boasts that during a double-blind clinical trial 'the Leptoprin-SF group experienced a significant decrease in overall body weight--an incredible 830 percent greater than the group who participated in the diet and exercise program alone.' But the actual study, published in a journal called Current Therapeutic Research, concludes that although people lost weight on the regimen, 'between-group differences in weight loss were not statistically significant.' Further comments include "OTHER HOT CONTENDERS FOR A piece of the post-ephedra weight loss dollar are Anorex-SF (the same formulation as Leptoprin-SF), advertised as "the most advanced, most powerful stimulant-free fat-loss formula available today," and Zantrex-3. The latter, which contains large amounts of caffeine-rich herbs mixed with what is described as a patented compound that speeds absorption, claims "more than five times the weight loss of America's number one selling ephedra-based diet pill." Zantrex-3 and Anorex-SF cost up to $90 to $163 respectively for a one-month supply, and both are marketed by Basic Research, which has links to a number of companies including Klein-Becker, a self-described industry leader in patented and exclusive weight control products. It's unclear whether these are one and the same company, but they seem to share headquarters in Salt Lake City. Calls to Daniel Mowrey, PhD, identified as the director of scientific affairs for Klein-Becker (as of a year ago, he held the same title at Basic Research), were referred to Louis Rinaldi, PhD, who identified himself as a consultant to the company. On the phone, Rinaldi said that Zantrex-3 was expected to be the company's hottest seller and insisted that he had at hand clinical studies supporting its effectiveness. Unfortunately, he said he was not free at this time to share those studies with the public.
"We've already spent millions in advertising for Zantrex-3," he said. "We play it pretty close to the vest because we don't want to get knocked off [by imitators] and lose our shirts. When you have a new product, you have a small window of opportunity to sell it, so we are not very forthcoming about what's in it or what the dosage should be." A check of the company's Web site, however, provides a link to the very same small trial cited by Zotrin. Perhaps it will come as no surprise that Rinaldi's doctorate in nutrition was issued by Donsbach University, a nonaccredited correspondence school that closed its doors years ago. "
Something else that is interesting and may apply in this case, from our post here
Quote:
Levitsky surveyed 150 web sites advertising weight-loss supplements and then reviewed all the published research on the active ingredients found in the supplements. Not a single ingredient lived up to the weight-loss claims advertised. In all cases, either the research cited could not be located in any journal or database, or the studies did not actually prove weight loss.
I've read in several sources that these types of advertisements claim studies done in research facilities that don't exist, that use names similar to real companies to confuse us, or that the so-called independent research facility is actuall a room down the hall, owned by the same people.
For these reasons, I never believe anything that a manufacturer or retailer claims, I look for external proof.
I really can't add much to what Suzanne and Meg said...except this quote by Jay interested me...
Quote:
I have the typical "cortisol" body, with fat around the midsection and thinner arms and legs, so for me it was worth it to add to my existing, and I might add strict, weight loss plan.
I'm assuming that Jay is a guy...I've got to say that EVERY SINGLE GUY I KNOW that has gained weight (including my own MrJim) has gained first in the BELLY AREA while their legs and arms stayed trim, and they stay that way until they gain so much fat that their bellies run out of room...guess you'd call it a "Beer Gut" but apparently the manufacturers of Cortislim have dubbed it a "typical Cortisol Body".
Gotta love the ol' marketing spin...wonder what they'll use as their gimmick next year? Whatever it is, I expect it to appear around Christmas. Of course, it'll be the same stuff, just a new wrapper. As usual.
I also wonder at the high cost of these products. If the people producing it really believed that I would like it enough to continue taking it for a long period of time, the cost could be relatively low. For instance, I can buy 100 Vitamin C pills for about $30. That's a three month supply.
Perhaps the people making them are just greedy. Or perhaps they know that after a month or two, most people will stop taking them, so they charge exorbitant fees upfront to make as much money as possible.
I was poking around the Internet a little more and came across this press release which I thought was worth passing along: http://www.bigclassaction.com/press_.../cortislim.pdf It states that a consumer class action lawsuit has been filed against the manufacturers of Cortislim for alleged false advertising.
these products are crap, like everyone has said. they are over priced vitamins. these people want only your money. I have a crushed pitutary gland. and i take the hormone gonadatrophin. it is a cortisal hormone. I take injections everyday for it. they cost 1400 dollers a month to take. everything you see on tv about cortisal products is a bunch of hooey! NO vitimin can stinulate more hormone function in your body. it might make you feel better if you lack vitimans, but they will not increase your cortisol level. ask any endocrinoligist! they are the only ones who can give you a script for a cortisol hormone that works. and get out your wallet. do not take anthing that says its a cortisol or growth hormone, or pitituary hormone product, that isn't injected.. there are no pill forms available because its not absorbed in your stomach....people may lose weight when they take a fake pill because they diet when the use it. they would loose the weight anyway. and don't believe the research studies they show you because they are hooey too. if its in the AMA you can believe it. hoped i helped.
Well, it's clear to me that the "owners" of 3FatChicks have their minds made up about this, so I'm going to stop trying to present any other side of it. Every time I do I get this flurry of contradiction complete with quotations from "real medical doctors," and it's just not worth it to buck the tide!
I'm going to do what works for me. Right now that means using CortiSlim along with my diet plan, but I'm not going to do that forever. Sure, the maker of this product intends to make money. Can you tell me about any product, any plan, any drug on the market, prescription or not, for which the goal is not to make money?
Real medical doctors used to put teenagers on amphetamines for weight loss, but goodness me, they later decided maybe that wasn't such a good idea. So I don't see any reason to blindly believe them anymore than anyone else.
Well, I tried the Trim Spa and it does not work! Anna Nicole did not lose all that weight with Trim Spa! Not sure how she did it, but that was not it. I at least got my $$$ back on that one because I purchased it at GNC and they always refund the $$$ if you are not satisfied with anything purchased from them. I have treid several others over the past years and none work. I did get a prescription one from a Dr back in the mid eighties and it worked, or maybe it was the diet plan who knows. I do know that it controled my urge to snack. It is not ont he market anymore....mmmmmmmmm...wonder why?
Relacore and Cortislim
There are several people here, though, that have said they tried it and it did nothing for them. I t hink your personal experience is unique, and might stump the experts.
