Dieter beware; it’s the Season

January 28, 2015 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I was prompted to write this because I heard an advertisement proclaiming easy weight loss by simply putting drops on one’s tongue.

This always irks me because I hate it that so many people lie about weight loss; taking advantage of the desperate (and unthinking). The only drops one can put in one’s mouth to cause rapid weight loss would be super glue (and I’m not saying to do that of course). Yet, ‘tis the silly season; that yearly ritual where anyone with a megaphone can make false claims about how one can lose weight overnight, without adjusting any behaviors.

Why do so many buy into this time and time again?

Well, let’s start with some facts: According to surveys, the top New Year’s resolutions are: Number One, “spend more time with family and friends;” and number two is “get fit.” “Losing weight” rounds out the top three.

So, it’s obvious that it’s important to many people.

Paradoxically 80 percent of resolutions find their way into the trash heap by January 20, and 92 percent collapse before year’s end. Bottom line? Only eight percent of resolutions survive the year. Why the low success rate? The reality is that so many people are so desperate to shed that weight — and to do it quickly — that they put their brains into neutral, falling for schemes that they’d never accept if they slowed down long enough to think.

Putting on my consumer advocate hat, I therefore did some research to find out what to avoid, should you wish to be one of the successful eight percent instead of the sad 92. Webmd.com listed several diet types to avoid if you wish to successfully lose weight. [Read more…]

Eat less; Extend Your Life

August 21, 2013 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

There is no more sought-after dream than that of eternal life.

Since Ponce de Leon set foot in the new world — and well before that — we have been seeking the fountain of youth, the ability to live longer in good health. “We’re so close to adding another 20 to 50 years to the human lifespan, that not only are we in the neighborhood, we’re on the block; we’re just looking for the right door,” I was recently informed. The key to the house remains hidden.

For yeast, flies, and rodents however, it’s time to party! Scientists have long known that dramatically cutting calories extends their lives. (Who knew that yeast even ate?) Alas, since we do not cavort among baking additives, we have been left out of such advances. Yet, there is hope.

In a recent report, it was discovered that rhesus monkeys, arguably more our kin than yeast, that have been put on a low-calorie diet live longer and healthier lives. Researchers divided 38 monkeys into two groups. One group was put on a diet with 30 percent fewer calories than the other. After two decades, five of the monkeys on the restricted diet had died of normal age-related causes, compared with 14 monkeys on the normal diet. Beyond that, the monkeys on the restricted diet were healthier overall, with no diabetes, and fewer cases of cancer or cardiovascular disease.

“The monkeys on a normal diet also looked visibly older, their eyes more sunken in and their coats thinner and posture cramped when compared with their dieting counterparts,” according to Ricki J. Colman, lead author of the paper.

It is assumed that since monkeys and humans are genetic cousins, such diets might slow aging in people, too.

However, due to the long lifespan of people and the rigors of the diet, studies of calorie restriction in humans are ongoing and have yet to show that people live longer. Nonetheless, thousands of individuals now follow calorie restriction diets, hoping to discover what de Leon did not.

In the interest of understanding what life would be like on a calorie-restricted diet, I did some research and found a typical “day in the life.” Here, soup to nuts, is the purported menu required for a longer time on this planet. [Read more…]

Of Dietary Supplements and Flying Unicorns

February 22, 2012 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Why is the diet industry replete with so many phony claims?

Recently, I was exposed to yet another “miracle diet product” that got my hackles up — and rest assured you don’t want to be around when I have elevated hackles.

The radio ad began something like:

“We are looking for a select few people in this listening area that want to be involved in a new weight loss study who want to lose no more than two pounds a day.”

Firstly, announcements referencing “this listening area,” are not from “this listening area;” they’re part of a national or regional campaign pretending to sound local. Should they be homegrown, they would say something such as, “We need people in Northern California…” Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with national advertising; however, the fact that it’s disingenuous raises the first in a series of red flags.

Speaking of such, let’s wave some more.

Indeed, there are countless people “in this listening area” who would easily want to shed the required poundage at approximately two pounds every 24 hours. It ain’t gonna happen. Granted, they reference “no more” than two pounds a day. I mean, who would be upset if all they shed was a pound a half a day?

In one month, I have the perfect body. How cool is that?

An important admonition: One cannot lose weight — and sustain it (and that’s essential) — that rapidly without sacrificing one’s health. Therefore, the set up is not only promoting unrealistic and unhealthy expectations, but it’s setting up “participants” to feel like failures should they lose the more realistic one to two pounds per week.

Being your dedicated diet detective, I ventured to the website to suss out the details. What I discovered was that we could purchase a new miracle supplement “electromagnetically encoded to copy the effects of homeopathic formulas.” To get the aforementioned results, one consumed a few drops regularly and followed a “VCLD” (very low calorie diet) of approximately 500 calories per day.

Let’s put that in perspective.

[Read more…]