Although we have the product name blocked (due to incessant spamming of our site by the marketers of this product), I know which 'diet pill' you are referring to (not that it makes a difference as they are all pretty much the same - basically crap!). We've had several threads on this particular one in the past.
like this one from way back in Feb 2004:
*********... does anyone know anything about this product
From that thread, I'd like to quote one of Suzanne's EXCELLENT posts:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzanne 3FC
Our website is based around weight loss with a healthy diet and exercise, without the use of diet products such as weight-loss supplements. It didn't start out that way. Well it did, sort of, but the purpose was to encourage weight loss in a healthy and cost efficient way, which meant spending your money on enough healthy foods to support your diet, or a treadmill, etc, and not on unproven or gimmicky products.
Over the years, though, we've received thousands of email from people that shared their experiences with these products, and that's when we started to research them. The email we've received have been shocking, scary, sad, and disturbing. This is probably the number one topic of email we receive.
We are upset with the government for basically turning their backs on the public. I know that legally, their hands are tied, and they can't just stop these products from being produced, unless they fit a certain criteria. Uselessness isn't on that list. Proving the claims on their labels also is not required, unless it claims to actually cure a disease, such as cancer. Therefore, they can claim weight loss success all they want, and don't have to prove it. They can sell sugar pills and tell you it will cause weight loss, and it's legal. Even when they do have grounds for taking action, it takes ages due to all the red tape! How many people lose their money in the meantime?
Providing the listed amount of ingredients also isn't required. No one is monitoring them. They can tell you one pill contains xx units of xxxx but it can contain ZERO, or even dangerously high levels! No one ever knows, and they usually are not accurate. Plus, they frequently contain contaminants such as lead.
Something else they do that is a method of tricking the consumer is to make claims that their product is so "revolutionary" that it is patented. Yet if you actually take the time to look up the patent, you'll find otherwise. Yes, a patent exists, but it's patented for doing something else. PLUS, a patent on a weight loss product does not mean that it works, or is safe. Consider the man that patented e-coli as a weight loss method! I've read the patent. He claims that you can take a certain amount of e-coli and crap your weight away. You'll be dehydrated and you'll lose your appetite. He does go further to explain that if you take too much, that it could mutate or have dangerous effects.
Many OTC diet supplements, however, don't bother to warn you of any side effects. Many of these pills, marketed as "all natural", can have serious side effects if you take too much, or if you use them while taking prescription medications, or even if you have health problems such as heart disease or kidney problems. No one is giving you a physical exam before suggesting you take their product.
We've heard from women that became very sick from these products, some of which were hospitalized. They had no recourse, no one to turn to. Why does it take something serious for people to realize that all they need are a healthy diet plan and exercise?
Another thing to consider is that some people have a psychological dependence on them, even when the product has been proven not to work. They still believe they work, so subconsciously, they eat less. This can be argued as a good or bad thing. On the one hand, we want to think that anything that gets a person to eat less is good. On the other hand, what is the true price of this behavior? Money is just part of it. It doesn't help in the long term, as we must be able to naturally control our behavior and eating habits, if we want to be successful in keeping the weight off.
Regarding deecanadiana's comment about taking trimspa while pigging out, I don't see where you get that. True, you can take trimspa and pig out and it won't help you lose weight. But, you can take trimspa while eating healthy and it still won't help you lose weight. It isn't the trimspa that is doing it, it's the healthy eating. If you eat right, you don't need the pills.
Perhaps you are taking something that works as a stimulant and makes you a nervous wreck, and you get that lack of appetite and nausea that comes with stimulants. Of course at the same time, the rest of your body is suffering the effects, such as your heart. This leads me to another false claim - no stimulants. Just because a product does not contain ephedra, doesn't mean it doesn't contain stimulants. The marjority of the labels we've read with that claim DO contain them. Caffeine is a stimulant. Guarana is a stimulant. There are a lot of "natural" ingredients on their lists that are actually stimulants.
Bitter Orange, or Citrus aurantium, is another stimulant and this one appears to be very dangerous. Consumer reports has it on their Dirty Dozen list of most dangerous supplements, but you see it in so many weight loss mixtures, with claims that it's safe and natural. I fully expect this to be the next item banned by the FDA. Of course that kind of action takes forever. In the meantime, they do warn people not to take it. We are working on a very detailed report on this item, which will appear in our diet guide to supplements in the near future. I'll also post it here, in Buyer Beware, when it's done.
The above is just an example of why we take a strong stand against weight loss products. Some might even say our website as a whole is anti-weight loss supplement. I don't dispute that. We know that healthy diet and exercise really works. Why take unnecessary risks with products that have never been proven to be safe or effective? Is it really worth it?
Eat less, move more
We here at 3FC realize that with the holidays winding down and the New Year - with its traditional resolutions made to "lose weight" -
EVERYONE is being bombarded through the media by the diet marketing machine that wants your money and makes seductive, often-empty promises of 'fast, easy weight loss with no effort' in return (with the almost invisible small print
"RESULTS NOT TYPICAL" as required by the FTC, that the marketers KNOW most people will ignore in the hopes that THEIR diet plan or pill or gadget or book or video or prepackaged food will be *the solution* to their problem. Most of those hopeful people (known in the diet marketing industry, no doubt, as 'suckers') will be calling them again the next year for the "new" diet pill or what have you...although it's just the same old stuff, spit-shined and in a new package.
(A much wiser investment would be to purchase something like a gym membership, a pair of good walking shoes, an MP3 player/Ipod, a few sessions with a personal trainer - whatever is in your price range...you don't have to spend money to lose weight, but if you WANT to, you would be better served to spend it on something VALID rather than most of the crap being shoveled out by the bucketsful on those silly infomercials...)
As I said in
My Big Weight Loss Secret - there IS no secret. It all comes down to what Suzanne said in her last sentence quoted above: