Tuesday 12 January 2016

Do unmentionable diet pills work?

That's how some of us feel after the Christmas over-indulgence

For many people January is a month when we are ever so eager to turn over a new leaf and introduce the positive changes to our lifestyle, be it going on a diet (tick off), cutting down the caffeine (tick off) or chocolate (nope, that's sacred), taking part in dry January etc. However, a lot of stats confirm that only a quarter of us manages to stick to their resolutions. Don't think I'm preaching here, sister, I am the one in the 3/4 group of non-stickers.
I know they say, it's easier to achieve something if you break your big resolutions into smaller, kind-of-baby steps, not changing your lifestyle overnight, but just doing small changes here and there.
For me, gyms hold no attraction. I admire driven people who sweat in the gym every week, and kudos to them, but I think I'd die from boredom on the treadmill.
Counting calories worked partially for me, when I tried  a 5:2 diet over a year ago. It helped me to trim down some kilos, but as soon as I went back to "normal", those lost kilos came back with vengeance, and with my lifestyle, when I cook basically three different dinners every day, I am not that enthusiastic to cook a fourth one just for myself, but that's of course, my problem. Neither am I too keen on pre-made slim dinners from packets and pouches. They might be convenient, but they are often overpriced and the list of ingredients usually reads like a Mendeleev's table of elements.
I walk everywhere in town, miles and miles every day, I don't drive and only use the public transport when I need to get out of town. So, that's good, that's what probably keeps me fit.
I know that my main weight culprits are bread and chocolate. I cannot completely cut them out of my life as it would only make my life miserable.

And if like me you are thinking that losing a bit of weight would be a bonus and are considering of buying the diet pills, keep reading.

I've been thinking long and hard whether to confess to trying the diet pills and subjecting myself to sniggers and ridicule, but I feel that my little experiment might just help someone to make up their mind. I am not putting the name of the pills in the header so as not to attract one zillion junk links to my blog. I receive enough Spam as it is in comments. But if you look at the image, you will know what I am talking about.



The ads for this supposedly miracle supplement (different brands) are pushed to our attention everywhere. The media hype doesn't help either, claiming that a lot of celebs including the junior Royals are known to taking it.

I don't buy into the celeb culture but my curiosity is my undoing. As they say, curiosity killed the cat. I wouldn't buy anything from unknown sources, but when I saw this diet supplement on offer at Holland & Barrett, a shop which I visit at least once a week for dried fruit and snacks, I bought it. Two bottles for the price of one, or buy one get another for a pound, not sure now which offer it was, as it was back in autumn.
I thought, I can try and maybe even lose a bit of weight on the run to Christmas.

Not very appealing to look at, the capsules are a medium-sized bullets encased in a transparent casing. You need two a day. One before breakfast and one before lunch, and you need to drink plenty of water whilst consuming this product.
Two main ingredients are Guarana extract and Garcinia Cambogia.
Each bottle has a month's supply (60 capsules).
Unfortunately, this supplement made me sick, almost each time after I had a 2nd capsule of the day.
It does say on the bottle that if an adverse reactions occur, discontinue the use. So, it's entirely my fault for keeping taking them to the not so victorious end.
Did it make me lose weight? Yes, I lost a couple of kilos, but if I skipped a meal a day, I'd have had the same result without the unpleasantness. Somehow I don't think this is how it is supposed to work, making you sick.
It didn't work for me, but I am not giving any direct advice. I just wouldn't recommend it.
Have you tried this food supplement? Did you find it useful?

Something pretty for a not so glamorous post

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