Mine's on its way, so I'm excited to see how it works. I am going to start using it next week! If it takes me to 150, I'll be thrilled! I have been losing and gaining the same two pounds since March!

I've been following this thread with great interest, you mentioned one of the ingredients in the patch was Yerba Mate, it's a well know appetite surpressant and in Argentina they drink it like we would tea/coffee. Basically you fill the cup (small) with the herbs and then sip it through a metal straw that has a sive at the end so that the herbs don't get into your mouth. Once it's finished you can keep refilling the cup and drinking again until it's too week. My friend is Argentinian and her family send her over bags of the stuff, she's given me some too, it's nice, although at first I never enjoyed the first cup, it can be a bit strong, but you definitely don't feel like eating! A sprinkling of sweetener on top helps too. I find that I get a bit of an energy buzz off it too, which helps me cut down on the coffee. It might be worth seeing if there is anywhere around you that imports it....I'd have to go to Dublin to get mine though... As for the straw, I'm sure you could just make it using a regular tea thingy for loose tea, might even mean it's a bit milder on a cup by cup basis. Congrats on your WL, and as for the neighbors, I put Metallica on the stereo full blast, go out for a walk, by the time you get back, they'll be begging to hear the beautiful keys tinkling again!!!

I had looked into getting some Yerba Mate, as well as Hoodia, another well known appetite suppressant. There are a few places on the internet you can order it from. I have actually ordered some pills which contain two of the ingredients in the patch, kelp and and guarana. They are also a heck of a lot cheaper than the patch.

I am still losing though, althugh not at quite the same rate as I was. So, whatever else it did, it broke my plateau so I am happy. I would like to be at my pre-pregnancy weight (144) by July though. Got less than a stone to go so I'm hopeful.

good luck robsia, thanks for sharing that with us, glad it shifted your plateau (i myslef have just managed to shift one too, took about 5 months, doh!)

Originally Posted by Robsia:
A cheaper alternative might be to take the main component of this patch, which is bladderwrack, also known as kelp, in tablet form:

It's supposed to stimulate the thyroid gland, which boosts your metabolism and may help with weight loss.

Baaaaad idea :lol:

Kelp products have been sold for years with claims of stimulating the thyroid and appealing to people with weight issues. It's a sales gimmick with potentially dangerous results.

There are two big problems with this. First, most people that are overweight have healthy thyroids. Our weight has more to do with our food choices and activity level. If you do have a sluggish thyroid, you can only be diagnosed by a physician and you will have to get a prescription medication to treat it. Second, if you have a normal thyroid (and most of us probably do) then taking products like kelp can possibly cause the opposite effect, damaging the thyroid and causing hypothyroid which is the complete opposite of your goal. Kelp also comes with a long string of potentially dangerous side effects such as kidney and nerve toxicity and abnormal bleeding.


There really isn't any product out there, other than a few prescription medications, that can help with weight loss. It's a bogus industry designed to take advantage of us. The only thing proven to cause effective and long lasting weight loss is diet and exercise. It's cheap and easy :)

Hmm - out of curiosity I just tried to order it again to see if it would allow me to order another free trial - and it did! So I'm getting another lot - lol!

Fennel is a good native appetite suppresant - you can grow it easy enough or just buy it - makes a salad more interesting, this time of year. Roman soldiers used to have a leaf of it in their mouths, when marching long distances. I have a huge plant of fennel in my herb garden, it comes back every year. Costs me nothing (cept the intial 75p I paid for the plant!) and isn't something wrecking the environment cos it needs importing from the other end of the world!

I tried hoodia in a patch a couple of years back when, like you, I was nearing the end of my weight loss, but needed to shift a last few lbs that wasn't going anywhere- had no effect on me. I'd suspect in a patch the L-carnitine would be in too small a concentration to have any effect? You need to take that in fair amounts, and it's pretty expensive so they're not going to use much in there.

Agree with what Suzanne says - it's all an industry tapping into people's desperation - we want to think there's a magic bullet but the bottom line is move more, eat less and eat 'real' foods not processed. There are plenty of safe remedies that have been used in our culture for centuries - but also don't be fooled into thinking because something is 'herbal' it is automatically non toxic, or safe, either. Herbal remedies are complex chemical compounds - far more complex than the synthetic drugs you get from your doctor. And if you buy into the fact they can help change your body, or have certain effects - it's illogical not to accept they can also have drastic side effects and/or contraindications. Best to consult a qualified herbalist than try things scattershot.