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!
I love all the fitness magazines because I find the articles fun to read. But if you tore out all those stupid ads, you'd have maybe 10 pages of a magazine. It's so frustrating at times!
In this study, both groups were told to follow a moderate program of diet and exercise. After 12 weeks, the group taking CortiSlim had lost just under 10 pounds average, and the group taking the placebo had lost just over 1 pound average.
They only lost one pound in 12 weeks? Does that sound really werid to anyone else?
Yes, it does sound weird, but they were busted for using false claims, and that must be one of them. 10 pounds in 12 weeks is a healthy rate of weight loss easily obtained by following a reduced calorie diet and an exercise program. Losing only 1 pound in 12 weeks should indicate that the group either didn't follow a diet and exercise program, or have some sort of health problem that affects their metabolism, and they need to see their physicians to treat it.
I was watching this show on FitTv. . .I can't remember what it's called, but it comes on at 4pm on Sunday and has these "agebusters" trying to be healthier/younger looking by eating and exercising right. One of the women on the show was taking 2 diet supplements, and her dr/coach told her she had to give them up for the same reasons outlined in the Shape article. She STILL didn't stop using them until she heard about an athlete who'd died because of them. When she did, she was in bed for 40 hours with a migraine, and fighting other withdrawal symptoms for a while. That was a really graphic reminder to me of both how addictive those are and how dangerous.
As an aside, I don't think I have a problem with Shape blasting supplements then using their ads. . .as an adult, I can choose not to take them, and it keeps the price down.
I'd have to say that I don't personally think any pill or supplement will work...Cortislim or whathaveya. Because the principal they work on is boosting metabolism or curbing appetite. Well everyone's metabolism is different. So it might boost one person and not another. An aside regarding this "double blind" study. Losing 10 pounds as a group is not a miracle. The whole 10 pounds could have been one individual more motivated to lose than anyone else. But they never give that kind of information for some reason.
The other reason they don't work is that they are not a lifetime choice. Can they help one person with the right metabolism to lose weight? Yes. Will that person keep it off? Most likely not. Unless they're committed to taking the supplement for life, they will still be eating and getting the same amount of exercise as they'd always done before taking the supplement.
My doctor wants me to try phentramine... what's the word on that? I told him "no" because I want to do it right and keep it off forever, but he feels that for a month or two it is a very useful tool to give you a kick start. What do you think?
Were they adamant about you taking it or felt it was ok for you to do it without it as long as you were really going to stick with it? If a doctor really thinks you should try something, they may have a very good reason for it.
No, my doctor just offered it as a suggestion if I wanted it, mentioning that it has been helpful for other people, but he felt that I had a good attitude. I was just wondering if it really does help or if it is like everything else - it works while you are taking it.
10 pounds in 12 weeks is a healthy rate of weight loss easily obtained by following a reduced calorie diet and an exercise program.
AMEN!! My Mom buys into everything going and coming and it makes me crazy. I'm losing on good ole' calorie counting and exercise. I wish she would try this too. Weight loss drugs scare me to no end. The thought of damaging a part of my body to get healthy is just to overwhelming for me.
This article is really something to be in that magazine. Very interesting to say the least.
I wasn't stressed when I started taking Cortislim. I wanted to try it to see if it worked. It didn't. My coworker is still taking it, and she hasn't lost anything. It just makes her sleep better at night. The ingredient I was referring to is called vanadyl sufate (5mcg of vanadium). That is what made me tired 1 hour after taking it. I wouldn't recommend this product as it is costly. Yoga, deep breathing exercise, walking and relaxing music are great for stress, but I am not under stress. So I guess won't believe the advertising of most pills. They don't really work, diet, exercise and good old laughter work best.
The whole premise of CortiSlim is that you take it if you are stressed. It controls the chemicals that our bodies release when under extreme or extended periods of stress--the same chemicals that tend to make us carry weight in the belly area and such. If you're not stressed, then no, it's not going to work for you. It's also not going to work forever, since once those stress chemicals have been balanced out by the CortiSlim, then it's back to diet and exercise for the weight loss. I had a friend who used it and lost weight at first, then couldn't understand why she stopped losing even though she was still taking the pills. Well, once you solve a problem (controling the chemical), you can't expect the same pill to continue helping you since you no longer have that problem!
I agree...no such thing as miracle cures. However, I have recently read studies that talk about how having extra fat actually makes you FATTER! Here's an email I got from a good friend (who is educated and works in the medical profession and even spent years working in a doctor's office who specialized in women and weight loss):
You know how people keep telling you that you eat for emotional reasons and that's why you're overweight? And then you argue that "NO, I eat because it tastes good", etc.?
Well, new research shows that fat is more of an organ than they thought...and an endocrine organ at that. That's why women who are
overweight tend to have more problems with their menstrual cycles.
ALSO...and here's why you'll appreciate this at least a little bit...they've
found that the fat you already carry, when in excess, actually stimulates
communication with the brain, telling the brain to eat more. The fat, as
opposed to the other organs and natural brain signals, may actually be
what's causing those who are already overweight to continue to overeat
and maintain and add to the quantity of fat?! Go figure...the fat makes
you fatter?! Damn stuff!! That's where they are really looking at
medications to help block those signals to the brain and let the body take back its own way of stimulating appetite and hunger instead of the signals getting through to the brain from the fat.
She has suggested that I talk to a doctor who specializes in weight loss (not just a dietician or nutritionist that pushes the food pyramid at you all day long) to see if perhaps there is a SAFE prescription drug out there that will control the messages sent by fat to the brain. Don't get me wrong, diet and exercise are still a necessity even if there is a drug (like I said, no miracle cures), but something that works with the chemistry of your body rather than an over-the-counter caffeine-filled appetite suppressant may be helpful in assisting some of us to lose the fat that is making us fatter! If anyone else knows anything about this or has any imformation or suggestions to offer, I would certainly be interested.
I just looked at their site. WOW! That stuff is expensive! For $379 you get a 3 month supply of 1) multi-vitamin, 2) a themogenic, 3) a "carb and fat blocker", and 4) a night-time fizzy drink that is supposed to make your body release HGH (human growth hormone). You can buy 3 month's supply of multi-vitamins and thermogenics far cheaper at GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, etc. There really isn't any such thing as an over-the-counter carb or fat blocker, and a drug that actually caused release of HGH would be by prescription and incredibly expensive. Did you read the beginning of this thread about the dangers and problems with using thermogenics? What the site doesn't mention is food or exercise. No matter what ingredients are in the two mystery pills, you still have to eat less and exercise more.
If you are still determined to used thermogenics, I'd suggest going to one of the above stores and buying a good multi-vitamin and any of the zillions of thermogenics on the market. Get a small bottle...you may not like the effects. Or you could take a good multi-vitamin and follow a reasonable eating and exercising plan like you'll probably find tucked in with the bottles of mystery pills
Weight loss drugs scare me to no end. The thought of damaging a part of my body to get healthy is just to overwhelming for me. 
