Sensa Weight Loss System

Browsing the internet, I come across crazy diets all the time. All of them promise fast and easy weight loss. Often without diet (eat all the food you want!) and without exercise. Magic!

Obviously there is a market for these diets. Otherwise they wouldn’t exist. So are we so gullible? Do we so easily believe these unrealistic promises? That this diet will do what others failed to do?

Do we believe that the weight loss claims are real? That the success stories exist? And that the persons depicted actually used the magic supplement they are selling?

It seems that many do. And are willing to pay a lot of money for another quick fix. If Acai didn’t do it, Wu-Yi didn’t do it, perhaps this Sensa will?

So what is Sensa?

It is a powder (!) that you sprinkle (!) on your food and it makes you eat less.

Backed by “25 years of study” and “clinical study.”

The 25 years research consisted of testing out “sprinkles” or Sensa Tastants (patent pending!). The ingredients in the Tastants are of course not fully disclosed more than that they contain Maltodextrin (corn starch, used as a bulking agent, no doubt), Tricalcium Phosphate (bone ash), Silica (sand), Natural and Artificial Flavors (proprietary), FD&C Yellow 5 (synthetic yellow dye), and Carmine (red pigment from scale insects). Sensa also contains Soy and Milk ingredients.

Hmm. Perhaps you really would eat less if you sprinkled this on food.

The clinical study consisted of one study where 1,436 people sprinkled Tastants on their food for 6 months and then were compared to 100 people that did not. The Tastant group lost 30 pounds while the control group lost only 2! Wow! And it must be true as the study is published. Actually, only the abstract (summary) is published. In “Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes”, First International Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, February 27, 2008.

Searching, I actually found the abstract. No study. This is the entire text:

USE OF GUSTATORY STIMULI TO FACILITATE WEIGHT LOSS

A .R. Hirsch
Smell & Taste Treatment And Research Foundation, Chicago, IL, USA

Background: Excess weight is a risk factor for myriad illnesses including diabetes. Despite its ubiquity, treatment is, for the most part, ineffective focusing on conscious, draconian self-deprivation efforts including portion control, fasting, hedonic sacrifice, or initiation of a rigorous, often painful, exercise program. Chemosensory modification to induce weight loss has used both aversive and nonaversive olfactory and hedonically positive gustatory stimuli.

Hypothesis: Noncaloric tastant crystals added to food enhance gustatory evoked satiety, reducing consumption, as manifest by weight loss.

Methods: Two thousand four hundred thirty-seven overweight or obese subjects, over a six-month period, sprinkled a variety of savory or sweet tastant crystals onto their food prior to mandiculation. Pre and post study weights were obtained and compared to one hundred nontreated controls.

Results: One thousand four hundred and thirty-six patients (87.4% female, 12.6% male) with an average initial weight of 208 pounds, and BMI of 34.2, completed this study. The average weight loss was 30.5 pounds, 5.0 BMI, versus control of 2 pounds, 0.3 BMI (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Use of tastants to enhance or generalize sensory specific satiety demonstrated efficacy in the promotion of weight loss. Further investigation into this approach on the secondary effects of obesity and diabetes is warranted.

If this “study” is so convincing, why not make it available on the web site that sell the “sprinkles?” Not holding up for peer review?

So, now, when you have read my glowing review, are you ready to shell out $59 (special price!) for a one month’s supply of sprinkles? With autoship! Or, if you were really impressed by the “study” and the “success stories” you can go directly to the 6 months option, for $235, with autoship!

Zero Carb Diet

The latest diet rage seems to be the Zero Carb Diet. The rules are:

1. Eat only from the animal world (eggs, fish, red meat and fowl and some dairy are all animal sourced foods, i.e.: meat).
2. Eat nothing from the vegetable world whatsoever. (Very small amounts of flavorings such as garlic/chillies/spices/herbs which may be added, are not ‘food’).
3. Avoid milk and yogurt (heavy carbs – lactose), use only pure (not ‘thickened’- heavy) cream (read the label), cheese and unsalted butter.
4. Don’t cook your meat very much – just a little bit on the outside – for flavor – blood – rare.
5. Eat liver and brains only very infrequently – they are full of carbs.
6. Be sure to have plenty of fat of animal origin at each meal and eat mostly of the fat until you feel you have had enough – you can eat more lean at this point if you like – calories are not important, nor is the number of meals/day. Vegetable oils are not good food.
7. You do not need any supplements of any kind. Drink a lot of water and do not add salt to anything.

The hard core Zero carbers go even further. No eggs (they have carbs!). No dairy or cheese (carbs!). Not to mention “bolting” the food – swallow it without chewing it.

This is not supposed to be a crash diet, done for a short period of time. The Zero carbers see it as a way to eat for life. They are fully convinced that you can be fully healthy by eating supermarket meat only.

They base this conviction on the history of carnivorous peoples. The Inuits provide the main example. I do not understand how they fail to see the difference on a diet based on supermarket beef and a native carnivorous diet that included raw offal (brain and liver contain Vit. C, for example). Certain animal parts, raw, were greatly favored by carnivorous peoples. There surely was a reason for it. The same reason that I can crave broccoli. There must be something my body needs from it.

Even more alarming is that many with a history of ED (Eating Disorders) jump on the Zero Carb wagon. From one extreme to the other. While it might be good that they become unafraid of fat and calories, the recommendation to “eat fat until nauseous, then lean” doesn’t seem like it would lead to a healthy relationship to food.

What will the Zero Carbers do when weight loss stops? Cut the protein and risk protein deficiency? Cut the fat and end up with a Kimkins starvation diet? What other option is there?

Now, I don’t think that a couple of weeks with meat only is doing any harm. This is really Atkins’ induction, in the original 1972 diet. But Atkins never intended it to be done for life. He invented the carb ladder for a reason.

Dry Roasted Peanuts

Why would people buy them? I think they taste awful and rather go without than to eat any. Now, standard (party) peanuts I like just fine.

Is this a result of the low fat craze? Then it’s gone horribly bad, as with many other “low-fat” products.

Reading from the jar, 1 oz of dry roasted peanuts has 160 calories. The party peanuts have 170 calories. So you save 10 calories by choosing the vile dry roasted variety. That would mean that instead of eating 39 nuts (1 oz) of the party peanuts, you can have about 2 (two!) more of the dry roasted variety to end up with the same amount of calories! And for this, I am supposed to sacrifice taste? I don’t think so.

Even worse, if you are on a low carb diet, you are better off with the party peanuts. They have 5 grams of carbs (2 fiber) for 1 oz as compared to 6 grams (still 2 fiber) for the dry roasted. So where did the extra carb come from?

The answer is pretty obvious when looking at the ingredients.

Party peanuts contain: Peanuts, peanut and/or canola and/or cottonseed oil, salt.

Dry roasted peanuts contain: Peanuts, salt, corn starch, sugar, maltodextrin, yeast extract, corn suryp solids, dried yeast, paprika and other spices, hydrolyzed soy protein, natural flavor, onion and garlic powder.

Which one would you choose?

I think it’s a good idea to avoid any artificial additives as much as possible. I’m sure I get enough chemicals in my body even when doing my best to avoid them. I will not willingly add any if I have a choice. It’s obvious with this example that they had to add a lot of things to the dry roasted to make them edible. (I still find them not to be.) And for what? A measly 10 calories!

Losing Weight or Keeping It Off

What is most important? Losing weight or keeping it off? The answer seems to be losing. Fast.

Every dieter is looking for the formula that will provide the quickest weight loss possible. Of course, time is critical as we know by experience that we will not be able to stick to the diet for any longer period of time. Sooner or later there will be off plan eating. Sooner or later, the deprivation will lead to a binge. We just hope that it will never happen. Still, it always does.

A “successful” diet is one where the on-plan eating produces a larger pound loss than what is regained during off-plan incidents. We might even reach goal. Yay! And then what?

There is no glory in maintenance. No rewards. Not seeing a lower scale number every day. Nobody telling you: “Wow, you are just as thin now as six months ago!”

Media is not helpful. Programs like the Biggest Loser reinforce the idea that it’s all about losing weight. Quickly. At all costs. Diet sites feature weight loss success stories like “Cindy lost 100 pounds in 8 months.”

Or, the ridiculous Kimkins newsletters that try to sell that diet by saying that someone lost 10 pounds in a week. And that will tell me just what? If you have a substantial amount of weight to lose, it is not difficult to drop 10 pounds in a week by not eating. But how long can you continue to do that? Will those 10 pounds stay off even a month? A year? 10 years?

What’s the point in losing weight if it doesn’t stay off?

Restrictive diets don’t work. Find a way of eating that you can do for life. With healthy choices (and you know what those are) you might not end up model thin, but there is a good chance that you will reach a healthy weight range. That you can maintain.

Beware of “Natural” Weight Loss Supplements

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that there is a range of diet pills being sold nationwide, as well as over the internet, that are now considered unsafe.

FDA suggests to consult with your health care professional before taking dietary supplements to treat obesity or other diseases. All consumers should be familiar with the following signs of health fraud:

• Promises of an “easy” fix for problems like excess weight, hair loss, or impotency.
• Claims such as “scientific breakthrough,” “miraculous cure,” “secret ingredient,” and “ancient remedy.”
• Impressive-sounding terms, such as “hunger stimulation point” and “thermogenesis” for a weight loss product.
• Claims that the product is safe because it is “natural.”
• Undocumented case histories or personal testimonials by consumers or doctors claiming amazing results.
• Promises of no-risk, money-back guarantees.

I would like to add “studies suggest” or “extensive research indicates” or “patented.” None of these statements really say that what was studied, researched or patented actually did anything.

But when I first saw this announcement a couple of weeks back, I was under the impression that while these pills / supplements were completely useless, they might not really pose much danger. Not so. Reading closer, I find that these “natural supplements” may “contain prescription drugs in amounts that greatly exceed their maximum recommended dose.”

The updated (01/08/2009) list includes the following products:

Contains Sibutramine

• 2 Day Diet
• 2 Day Diet Slim Advance
• 2x Powerful Slimming
• 3 Day Diet
• 3 Days Fit
• 3x Slimming Power
• 5x Imelda Perfect Slimming
• 7 Day Herbal Slim
• 7 Days Diet
• 7 Diet
• 7 Diet Day/Night Formula
• 8 Factor Diet
• Eight Factor Diet
• 21 Double Slim
• 24 Hours Diet
• 999 Fitness Essence
• BioEmagrecim
• Body Creator
• Body Shaping
• Body Slimming
• Cosmo Slim
• Extrim Plus
• Extrim Plus 24 Hour Reburn
• Fasting Diet
• Fatloss Slimming
• GMP
• Imelda Fat Reducer
• Imelda Perfect Slim
• JM Fat Reducer
• Lida DaiDaihua
• Meili
• Meizitang
• Miaozi MeiMiaoQianZiJiaoNang
• Miaozi Slim Capsules
• Natural Model
• Perfect Slim
• Perfect Slim 5x
• Perfect Slim Up
• Powerful Slim
• ProSlim Plus
• Reduce Weight
• Royal Slimming Formula
• Sana Plus
• Slim 3 in 1
• Slim 3 in 1 Extra Slim Formula
• Slim 3 in 1 Extra Slim Waist Formula
• Slim 3 in 1 M18 Royal Diet
• Slim 3 in 1 Slim Formula
• Slim Burn
• Slim Express 4 in 1
• Slim Express 360
• Slim Fast
• Slim Tech
• Slim Up
• Slim Waist Formula
• Slim Waistline
• Sliminate
• Slimming Formula
• Somotrim
• Super Fat Burner
• Superslim
• Super Slimming
• Trim 2 Plus
• Triple Slim
• Venom Hyperdrive 3.0
• Waist Strength Formula
• Zhen de Shou

Contains Rimonabant

• Phyto Shape

Contains Phenytoin

• 3x Slimming Power
• Extrim Plus

Contains Phenolphthalein

• 8 Factor Diet
• 24 Hours Diet
• Fatloss Slimming
• Imelda Perfect Slim
• Perfect Slim 5x
• Royal Slimming Formula
• Superslim
• Zhen de Shou

Contains Bumetanide

• Starcaps

FDA details what these ingredients do:

Sibutramine is a Schedule IV controlled substance and the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Meridia, an approved prescription drug to treat obesity. Some of the identified products recommend taking more than 3 times the recommended daily dosage of sibutramine. Because of this, even consumers without a history of health problems that take these high doses of sibutramine may suffer serious adverse effects if they take these products, such as increased blood pressure, tachycardia, palpitations, and seizure.

Rimonabant is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Zimulti which has not been approved in the United States. In Europe the drug is known as Acomplia. In June 2007, the FDA Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee unanimously voted not to recommend approval of the drug because of increased risk of neurological and psychiatric side effects—seizures, depression, anxiety, insomnia, aggressiveness, and suicidal thoughts among patients. In June of 2008, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the United Kingdom linked rimonabant to 5 deaths and 720 adverse reactions over the past two years. In October, the European Medicines Agency recommended that marketing and sales of Accomplia be suspended due to safety concerns.

Phenolphthalein was an ingredient in some Over-the-Counter laxative products until 1999 when the FDA reclassified the drug as “not generally recognized as safe and effective” after studies indicated that phenolphthalein presented a potential carcinogenic risk. Phenolphthalein has also been found to be genotoxic in that it can damage or cause mutations to DNA.

Phenytoin is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Dilantin, an approved anti-seizure medication.

Bumetanide is a the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Bumex, a prescription diuretic. Potential risks associated with the use of Bumetanide include serious and significant fluid and electrolyte loss and an elevation in uric acid concentrations.