Blog Home : April 2006 : 2006-04-10 to 2006-04-16

Is there a perfect weight loss diet? April 10, 2006 I suppose even the terminology of the question will cause some reaction. At Weight Watchers they tell us that it's a "program", not a "diet". I suppose it's all in how you look at it. Most people look at diets as short term efforts to lose weight, and assume they will return to their old lives when they go "off" the diet. Weight Watchers is supposed to be more of a lifestyle. I personally like it because it does teach you to read labels and pushes you toward low fat, high fiber food choices. It also makes me very guilty when I make poor food choices. But hey, my life is about guilt and obsessing about food. So, what would the perfect weight loss diet be? Would it be prepackaged meals, you only eat what you get? Or would it be a liquid diet like Oprah went on (I've always wanted to try it), or a variable calorie intake diet like the rotation diet (where you ate lower calories for a few days, then higher for the next few days)? Would it be having a personal chef, or paying someone to watch you all day? (Kind of like a diet nanny) The truth is, if you can't control what's going on in your head, you can't control what you're letting yourself put in your body. This is where I'm at. I have the head knowledge. I know what I should be eating. It's the emotional component to my weight loss that's giving me the trouble. And if this post sounds very similar to my last, it's because I'm positively obsessing about it. I am my own worst enemy. How do you fight a little voice in your head? Well, I am going to find the answer to that. I have to, or else I will eat myself to death. It's like I'm slowly committing suicide. And that is no joke. Especially for my husband and kids. Xenical over the counter? April 13, 2006 The drug company GlaxoSmithKline says the fat-blocking drug in Xenical could be available over the counter this year. The over the counter version of this diet pill is called "Orlistat", and it blocks the absorption of about 25% of any fat consumed. This diet pill causes loose stools if much fat is consumed, since the blocked fat takes the "fast track" exit out of the body. The new diet pill is to be called "Alli", and will cost consumers $12 to $25 per week. It will be half the strength of the prescription pill, Xenical. GlaxoSmithKline estimates 5 to 6 million Americans would buy the diet pill, creating at least $1.5 billion a year in retail sales. Acccording to the Albuquerque Tribune, during a clinical trial people taking Orlistat lost 5 to 6 pounds more than those given a placebo. Once they stopped taking the drug they began regaining the weight lost. This is the drug that produces "oily discharge" from the anus in some people, as well as gas and fecal incontinence (yikes!) in others. Keeping that in mind, I will still give this diet pill a try if and when it is approved by the FDA. In my case, I think it will work a lot like that drug that makes alcoholics deathly ill if they drink alcohol. Fecal incontinence is a good deterrent to cheesecake, me thinks. 2006-04-03 to 2006-04-09 «  » 2006-04-24 to 2006-04-30