Gimmicks (9)

Dear Friend,

Have you ever fallen prey to a fad diet or weight loss gimmick? I have. It's embarrassing to admit but I've spent lots of money on whatever the latest 'lose weight quick' products were over the years. You do crazy things when you're desperate to lose weight.

I think the worst product I tried was a dietary supplement that I took in pill form. I had to take 4 pills twice a day (and that was a minimum dose). I took it for a few months religiously. I don't recall having any major weight loss. I may have lost 10 pounds total thanks to less pizza and ice cream, but it was the hope of weight loss that kept me buying more. I was morbidly obese and I was frantic for any kind of results. I think at that time I felt like I was at least doing something by taking the pills. There was the hope that the pounds would just fall off and I'd be slim by summer.

Then I started seeing stories on line of people suffering major health issues from taking this particular supplement. I read about cases of young and healthy people having heart attacks, liver problems, seizures and a muscle damaging condition called rhabdomyolysis (however you pronounce that). I got scared because I had started experiencing heart palpitations while I was just sitting on the couch! I stopped taking it right away.

Unlike drug manufacturers, the makers of dietary supplements don't have to show that their products are safe or effective before selling them. What?!? That's bonkers! I always thought that if it's in the store it must be safe. The bottom line is that there are no magic pills for losing weight. The worst part about diet supplements is that most of them have caffeine as a primary ingredient. Imagine taking the diet supplements AND drinking your coffee, tea, energy drink, pre-workout or all of the above!? Our bodies are not designed to be hopped up on caffeine 24/7.

Consuming caffeine in low to moderate doses isn't bad for us but most people consume way too much, myself included. Adults can consume 200 mg to 300 mg of caffeine a day without experiencing any ill side effects. Of course, if you're more sensitive to caffeine that number will be lower.

Except who actually pays attention to how much caffeine they drink in a day? I never used to until recently. Do you know how much caffeine is in your drink, friend? My favorite after work tea drink has 120 mg of caffeine. At work I like green tea which has about 45 mg per k-cup. I usually have 2 at work (on average) and 1 after work drink. That equals 210 mg of caffeine consumed daily. That's below the 300 mg upper limit the FDA recommends and that's much better than the 500 to 600 mg of caffeine I used to drink in a day. It's easy to have too much if you're not paying attention.

Did you know that caffeine can cause fatigue? That seems like something you would say on backwards day but it's true. If you are drinking too much caffeine it can also cause anxiety, insomnia, and digestive issues just to name a few. Here is a great article that talks about some of the side effects: 9 Side Effects of Too Much Caffeine and here is another: The Maximum Daily Dosage of caffeine

I know life is better with a little caffeine in the morning. Most of us drink some form of caffeine to get going and that's okay. You can do a google search "how much caffeine is in..." and quickly tally up the amounts in the beverages you drink. Take a moment to think about how much you consume on average. Are you in the danger zone, friend? I was! I cut way back and guess what? I can't remember the last time I yawned at work. I may reduce my consumption even more after writing this entry. Remember, all things in moderation. Your body needs rest to perform at it's best and exercise is a great substitute to caffeine when you need more energy. Did I really just say that?? lol.

XO, Robin

P.S. If you want to learn more about health and wellness check out my Facebook page Oh my Quad!

P.P.S I may look into buying a pair of those wonder sauna hot pants shown in the first picture above! Whose with me?