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Nicki Anderson exposes a dirty truth about a risky new weight loss drug
My friend and fellow fitness lover Nicki Anderson who owns and operates the Naperville, IL-based Reality Fitness health center wrote an incredible article in her weekly "Happy Monday" newsletter this week about how the allure of "quick weight loss" can oftentimes deter you from the more important job of retaining your health.
Ever since I first blogged about Nicki early last year, I have grown to love and appreciate her perspective as a weight loss and health counselor for those who desire to get fit. She is arguably one of the most enthusiastic people in the health world you will ever meet and I count it a privilege to know her.
Get a taste of Nicki by reading what she thinks about the low-fat diet as well as some comments she made in a newspaper story on low-carb. She's definitely someone who deserves to be listened to when she speaks about diet, health, and nutrition and today's subject matter is no exception.
You'll recall I've come down pretty hard against the new over-the-counter weight loss drug called ALLI. In fact, I dedicated an entire podcast show (which became an instant classic and one of the favorites among my listeners!) to it which precipitated quite a response from both pro and con from those who had an opinion about taking it.
Well, Nicki shared what some of her own clients are saying about the use--or should I say ABUSE--of ALLI as part of the weight loss regimen of those they know. Keep in mind this ALLI drug is available EVERYWHERE now, including Wal-mart, drugstores, and anywhere there is a pharmacy. It ain't cheap, but price is no option for many when they just wanna lose weight ANY way they can.
Nicki addresses this issue in her column this week. She wrote:
I was working with a client of mine this past week and she has always been dedicated to learning how to have a healthy body. However, she struggles from time to time with turning away from fad diets and quick and easy weight loss schemes. But in the end, she comes back to what she knows works, eating well and moving more.
Well in a recent conversation, she said, "Have you've heard what some people are doing to lose weight with that new drug ALLI?" Truly in the dark I said, "No, what's going on with it?"
She went on to tell me, that she knows of some people that abstain from eating all day, pop two ALLI pills and then go out to eat a high fat dinner! Yeah, my jaw dropped too.
Holy cow! Are you kidding me? SKIP EATING ALL DAY and then POOP OUT A HIGH-FAT (and might I add HIGH-CARB) dinner?! EEEEK! Who in their right mind would do this to themselves?
I can tell you I personally understand the feeling of desperation that comes from wanting to lose weight so badly you'd be willing to do just about anything to bring it about. But this is nothing more than an eating disorder which is a cross between anorexia and bulimia! Starve yourself all day and then take a drug that will cover up the "sin" of your one meal of the day. Yikes!
What explains why this strategy will not make you any friends.
Now, we know it's not unusual for people to think it's o.k. to skip meals and make up for it later (though they typically end up doubling their caloric intake) but anyway, that's not the unusual part. For those of you not familiar with the new weight loss pill ALLI, it has some side effects and the one most common is diarrhea. Now it's not just diarrhea, they actually encourage you to bring extra pants along because it hits your system rather quickly and if you mix high fat food with the drug, you'll be spending some time in the rest room.
So basically what these women are doing, is intentionally creating an internal environment that causes the body to have severe diarrhea JUST TO LOSE WEIGHT! I was shocked, my jaw dropped. I thought to myself, "Just when I think people won't go to extreme measures to lose weight, they are!"
And that's the culture we live in nowadays, Nicki! Whatever it takes to lose weight no matter what we're doing to our health, DO IT! It's a disgusting and extremely unfortunate place that people allow themselves to get to because they see no end to their perceived misery.
When I weighed 410 pounds in 2004, it was a low point in my life. I knew my diet was out of control and I so much wanted to reign it in for good. There were fleeting moments when I probably would have considered implementing this ALLI strategy into my own life, but then my common sense would have kicked in before I did it.
But not everyone has the ability to say no to these schemes. Like Nicki's client who hasn't seen a fad "quick weight loss" plan she didn't like, there are thousands, tens of thousands, even millions more just like her. They'll do what they think they HAVE to do to lose weight--at ANY cost.
With so many messages being spread by well-meaning people and some not-so-well-meaning people about what's the best way to lose weight, it's better if those of us sharing those messages would remind people to simply find a proven nutritional plan that will work for them, educate themselves fully about that plan they choose to do, follow that plan exactly as prescribed by the author, surround themselves with people who will support them in their journey, and then keep doing it for the rest of your life.
Now THAT is something we could and should all agree with, right?
If we continue to add confusion to the health debate and give credence and adulation to such drugs as ALLI (which is the fault of the FDA, by the way!), then we can expect even more stories like the ones Nicki shared. Ultimately, the health of millions is at stake. Nicki agrees.
It reminds me of how desperate people are to lose weight, they will compromise their health, even their social life in order to temporarily drop a few pounds, all of which is water and will come right back the minute they eat or drink anything, it's crazy.
That is why I always tell those that I work with or workshops that I teach, you cannot compromise your health by taking such drastic actions to lose weight. If you simply focus on being healthy, all the changes you make will be for health sake not for weight, however, making these changes will surely affect your weight.
I beg you to focus on how you can be healthy versus how you can be skinny. The latter strategy is rarely if ever successful. Just being thin if often not enough.
Amen Nicki! I love that phrase "focus on how you can be healthy versus how you can be skinny." WOW! Can we bumperstickerize that one?! Skinny is fleeting, but healthy is forever. Who will stand with me and Nicki trumpeting the message of health? THANK YOU for the reminder this week, Nicki!
Be sure to subscribe to her "Happy Monday" e-newsletter (in the lower left-hand side of the front page) for even more inspiring, motivational, and educational information each and every week.
What about you? Have you ever reached a point in your life when you toyed around with doing something like skipping food all day and then trying to purge the one big meal you ate at supper? If not, why do you think people would even consider doing this? This could be a very important conversation for those reading, so please don't be bashful about sharing your honest opinions.
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Thanks,
Nicki Anderson
www.realityfitness.com