The weight loss industry is a multibillion-rand industry. Vibrating belts, pills, drinks and prepackaged meals have all become part of the norm in the diet industry. Losing weight naturally is simple to conceive (eat less, exercise more) but difficult to succeed at. This why so many people become frustrated with trying to lose weight and turn to slimming products, they think it will be the magic pill to all their weight loss problems.

Slimming pills are, at best, ineffective. At worst, they are downright harmful, causing a range of symptoms from nausea, heart palpitations, insomnia, tremors and constipation. Diet pills containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine are chemically similar to methamphetamine and have many of the same bad side effects, including addiction.

The slimming products industry is so big because, in order to lose weight, dieters need to buy pills over and over again. Without the pills, they quickly return to their previous eating habits and gain the weight back, much of the time gaining extra weight as well. Many of the chemicals in slimming products have been banned because they are so dangerous, so the weight loss industry has come up with a new shtick: All natural slimming products.

Many of these products have been shown to have no effect. Hoodia, once hailed as an appetite suppressing slimming product, has been shown to have inconclusive medical testing. Added to that, many hoodia products have been shown to contain so little hoodia that it has no effect on the appetite. Acacia berries, African mango and goji berries have been shown to have just as little effect. It seems every year a new “miracle” slimming product is brought out, promising to make dieter’s dreams come true.

Slimming products are difficult to sustain in the long-term. Imagine drinking three smoothies every day for the rest of your life, or popping pills before every meal for the rest of your life. Slimming products promise to do what the body can do by itself with hard work, dedication and effort. Slimming products can be anything from ineffective, dangerous and addictive, with few redeeming qualities.

Rapid Weight Loss Diets

How to lose weight in 3 days – is it possible? Yes! With these sorts of diets you exercise like mad and your intake is very little. But not a recommended practice as it can prove to be rather dangerous. It also depends on your body and how it reacts to such drastic action. What you lose is not fat but liquid which your body relies on to a great extent. Without liquid in your body you dehydrate, that can have deadly consequences. Once you starve your body it will use up the reserves within your body that is the weight that you lose. It’s a temporary “fix” and the range of emotions in the roller coasters of losing weight to improve mental health about oneself is a farcical pursuit.

If you really want to lose weight it’s recommended that you don’t leave it to the last moment and resort to drastic measures. There are all sorts of diets out there that you could follow but you have to be disciplined and you need to follow the program. Some diets will require you to measure out your food and stick to certain food types which can become rather boring and depressing. When you don’t start seeing results within a time period you’ll start to become frustrated and possibly binge eat out of pure frustration.

If you want to believe the marketers out there, certain products will also help you to lose weight. Some do but are dangerous to your health as well, they contain substances that can be detrimental and may even cause addiction. There are also products that aren’t really proven and if you read the small print on the containers it says to take it with a controlled intake. So what are you spending money for?

At the end of the day it’s all about lifestyle and how we manage our lives. If one survives on forever stuffing your face with sweets, cool drinks and all sorts of manufactured products and very little exercise you will be fat.

One needs to step back and review your life. Find a good balance of exercise and food. Nothing will be achieved overnight.