LOSING WEIGHT OPTIONS: THE GOOD AND THE BAD

One thing I have never understood is people who want to lose weight but by taking the easier, and not so beneficial option. As soon as someone mentions losing weight, exercise and a healthy but balanced diet comes into mind however, over the last few years, many people (mainly girls) are using other options to lose weight such as teatoxes, supplements, aids and all juice diets along with many more that are thought to help with losing weight but they aren't necessarily healthy. 

Teatoxes

Teatoxes aim to 'cleanse' the digestive tract, detoxify the body, reduce body fat and cellulite, lower cholesterol and also restore the body's natural balance. They are also claimed to increase metabolism, burn calories and suppress appetite. Some popular examples include Bootea, SkinnyMint and Fruiteatox.

The first couple of days of teatoxing will promote weight loss but not by reducing fat - the weight lost will be water weight which isn't healthy. Stopping teatoxing will cause all the lost water weight to be put back on within a matter of days. Lots of teatoxes include senna leaves which are a laxative which again causes short term water loss but also short term fat loss which may sound like the perfect solution however, this short term weight loss can be damaging to the body.

Side effects of using teatoxes include stomach upsets, nausea, cramping, diarrhoea, dizziness and fainting.

Teatoxes have been rejected by the medical community as there is no real scientific evidence that proves teatoxes alone can promote weight loss. Cleansing is a natural bodily function so there is no need for teatoxes. Instead, cutting out junk food and including water and fibre in the diet as well as regular exercise is the better and healthier option. 

Teatoxing has become extremely common for popular bloggers and celebrities who may be too busy to hit up the gym but there are 24 hours in a day, surely every single person has 1 spare hour? I can't give an honest review of how well or badly I think teatoxes work as I have never teatoxed and don't intend to but by researching teatoxes, I don't think they are very beneficial.

Supplements

Another way people think will help them lose weight is by taking supplements. Amongst the common supplements are green coffee beans and acai but one of the most common is raspberry ketones.

Raspberry ketones are a natural substance that gives raspberries their pink colour. They are also found in blackberries, cranberries and kiwis. Raspberry ketones used as a supplement aren't derived from fruit but are synthetically made due to the low content of raspberry ketones found in the fruit. 

Raspberry ketones haven't been proven to work as there has not been any human trials for it as of yet. However, they have been tested on isolated rat cells and were proven to promote lipolysis (breaking down fat) and causes the cells to become more sensitive to the fat burning hormone noradrenaline which causes an increase in the release of adiponectin which is involved with regulating metabolism and blood sugar levels. Overweight people have lower levels of adiponectin which could indicate that raspberry ketones may in fact help, however, this cannot be proven without human trials.

At the present moment, I would steer clear from raspberry ketone supplements and just stick to eating fruit as there is no hard evidence. They could turn out to be a total waste of money in the long run.

Protein powder and creatine amongst many others are also classed as a supplement but these do actually work, with protein powder supplying amino acids that can't be produced by the body to improve muscle and creatine powder to help repair muscles more quickly if you are a gym goer, particularly wanting to gain muscle rather than lose weight. 

Aids

Slendertone

Reading reviews about Slendertone products, it looks as though they could potentially work at defining muscle with their products based on defining abdominal muscles amongst the popular sellers... if combined with healthy eating and regular exercise that is.

Slendertone products use electrical muscle stimulation which creates strong and deep muscle contractions to the abdominals which is also the same as what is created through a regular sit up. The ab belts aim to contract the deep core ab muscles to improve core strength and stability. There are also other products including those for the arms, face and bottom. 

However is the price of Slendertone products really worth it? For example the Slendertone System Abs Belt for Women is currently £100 (usually £120) when you can do sit ups at home for free or at the gym which you have probably joined if you really do want to lose weight? I personally think it isn't worth it. It may be a time saver as you can do things you do in your day-to-day life whilst wearing the belt but I don't think I would get the same satisfaction as what I get by doing actual ab exercises at the gym. I personally think it is a lazy way out of being active and gaining abs properly. Also, if there is a layer of fat on the stomach, no matter how many times you use the ab belt, your abs would be able to be felt but they will never be seen unless that layer of fat is removed.

Using a Slendertone product could therefore potentially be of benefit if combined with exercise and healthy eating but other than that it would be a waste of money (unless you have a very fast metabolism and can eat whatever you want without exercising and not gaining body fat - I envy you!)

Waist Trainers

Waist training is aimed to define and make the waist seem smaller to achieve an hourglass figure but this doesn't mean you'll be losing weight. Since Kim Kardashian West announced that she was an avid user of waist trainers to maintain her curvaceous figures (and not only waist training I'm sure), it has become hugely common amongst young women.

Waist trainers compress the stomach fat but this doesn't mean that it is lost but placed elsewhere in the body. Wearing them for up to 18 hours a day including at the gym can cause serious harm rather than good. Wearing them for this amount of time can improve posture and supposedly make the waist permanently smaller however, this isn't the case. As soon as the waist trainer is stopped being used, the body will retain to it's original shape. 

Waist trainers can be uncomfortable, they can restrict movement, make it hard to breathe (particularly if worn during cardiovascular exercise) and can also cause rib damage as well as upper body bruising and chronic pain. It causes unnecessary pressure to be put onto the internal organs which can cause serious damage. If the lungs don't expand properly, not enough oxygen may get into the blood and it can also cause pneumonia. If the stomach and colon can't expand properly then this can cause constipation and heartburn. The most serious problem waist trainers can cause is to do with the heart as blood flow to and from the heart could be reduced causing dizziness and fainting.

Will I be trying a waist trainer any time soon? Definitely not! The perfect hourglass figure over the risk of possible health complications isn't worth it.

Juicing

You can read all about juicing in my previous post here if you don't know what juicing is all about. All juice diets are becoming common. They appear healthy. A combination of fruit, vegetables, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants sounds like the perfect diet right? Wrong. What about carbohydrates, healthy fats and protein? 

An all juice diet can make day-to-day life a struggle, never mind exercise, due to a lack of energy from a lack of calories. As they will be a low-calorie, high-sugar diet, you'll get a sugar rush but your metabolism will be affected and because no fibre is being consumed, you will always be hungry and you could begin to have high cholesterol.

A juice diet can cause thin hair or cause hair to fall out as well as causing flaky skin and rotten teeth due to the huge volume of sugar. Sticking to once juice a day perhaps as a snack or to replace one meal can be of benefit as long as you participate in regular exercise and have a healthy and balanced diet.

Healthy, balanced diet and exercise

A combination of a healthy, balanced diet and sufficient exercise is the easiest way to lose and maintain weight loss. Not only will it help with weight loss but it will also improve fitness and it is 100% healthy whereas some of the other ways I have written about are not. I've been regularly exercising and eating healthily for the past month and I am already on my way to losing my 6kg weight loss! I feel so much more energetic for it and positive about life. Instead of living on juice or wasting money on unnecessary supplements, teatoxes and aids, eat healthily and exercise for 45 minutes 5 times a week for a long lasting and healthy solution to weight loss.

Do you believe in teatoxes or supplements? Have you tried aids and have they worked for you? Have you struggled with an all juice diet? What do you think is the best way to lose weight?