We are impatient creatures. We want quick hacks for everything (read quick delivery procedures and gadgets). Small wonder then that the weight loss industry is making hay peddling products that sound quick, but are actually just crazy schemes.
Yes, there are some really weird ones doing the rounds these days
Here’s a list of five you need to steer clear of. Not only are these just downright awful and far-stretched, they don’t even work!
Small Bite
An intraoral device, this is fitted by an orthodontist to the back molars, prevents dieters from opening their mouths beyond 0.47 inches. The theory is that wearers are forced to take smaller bites, thus help them slow down, put less food in their mouth, and feel full with less food.
Verdict: Well eating less in one meal doesn't mean you won't be hungry later. Also let me ask you, do you want a lifestyle where you just don't enjoy your food? I’d rather you lock your refrigerator instead of locking up your jaw.
Balloon Pill
A pill with an inflatable balloon inside. It is marketed as a pill that helps you eat less so that you lose more weight. Basically it is a capsule that contains a deflated intra-gastric balloon inside. Once the capsule is swallowed, the balloon is filled with gas through a micro-catheter and then it is supposed to work similar to bariatric surgery, making people feel full faster (so less food is eaten).
Verdict: I believe that weight loss is not just about eating less but about making healthier choices, and learning to have a healthy relationship with food. The capsule doesn't teach you that. Also the biggest question is whether those who use it can keep the weight off after the balloon is removed from their body? I don’t think so!
Coolsculpting
This is supposed to be a procedure that safely and noninvasively freezes away unwanted fat.
First, it takes quite a few treatments to score results – and this means mild fat reduction at best. This procedure doesn't really help you shed pounds. It doesn't show on the scale at all, and the inches come back the moment you gain any weight.
Potential complications involve getting saddled with numb nerves (making them feel as though they’ve fallen asleep for weeks, often months), among a host of others health effects.
Verdict: Not (at all) worth the risk.
Blue-Tinted Specs
A lot of really fabulous ideas to eat right have come out of Japan, a country where healthy eating is a way of life. But unfortunately, their invention of weight-loss sunglasses, with blue lenses, is simply – for the lack of a better word – gimmicky. The idea behind it is simple.
According to research, food that is blue in colour is perceived to be the least appetising. So seeing your food in a blue tint is supposed to make you want to eat less, which could help you lose weight. But the fact is even if that does happen, you can always take the glasses off and continue eating. There’s a lack of willpower any way.
Verdict: Wear it to look cool if you wish (a la Johnny Depp), but don’t expect weight loss.
Portable Infrared Sauna
Infrared saunas can be relaxing after a stressful day or a high impact workout as they help reduce the tension in our muscles and help us sweat out toxins. But is weight loss a benefit too? The correct answer is no.
The fact is that the heat in the sauna makes one sweat profusely, so there is a lot of fluid loss, which may lead to temporary weight loss. That’s it! The weight will come back when the water level in the body is restored.
Verdict: Best avoided as they may just put you at risk for heat stroke, burns and dehydration.
Final verdict: The sum conclusion is that it is best to steer clear of these silly fads that make the rounds. Their expiry date depends only on the next hot fad/gimmick/diet that will come by.
So don’t get fooled and damage your body. As far as I’m concerned, nothing beats good old exercise and nutritious food, because that is the only thing that really works to help shed unwanted pounds.
(Kavita Devgan is a weight management consultant, nutritionist, health columnist and author of ‘Don’t Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People’.)
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