Weight Loss Information

Just about everyone interested in weight-loss has heard of Hoodia Gordonii by now, a natural cactus-derived appetite suppressant originally discovered in the Kalahari Desert and used by the Bushmen of South Africa on long hunting trips to suppress hunger and thirst. Ever since it was profiled on 60 Minutes, among other news programs, it has been a diet industry darling.

Although Hoodia can certainly suppress appetite and thus aid in weight loss, many impostors have gotten on the market and have so little active ingredient that they are ineffective. Thus, care must be taken to find the right supplement that actually contains the stated amounts of Hoodia so that it will be clinically effective.

More importantly, though, it is not so much simple suppression of appetite that aids in weight loss, but healthy eating habits and exercise. Although appetite suppressants, including Hoodia, are helpful in the short term to lose weight, in the long term, a healthier lifestyle must be adopted. The goal here is not to deprive yourself or go on starvation diets, but to change your lifestyle overall, so that you satisfy hunger with real, nutritiously dense food, while avoiding unhealthy choices that provide little to no nutrition such as junk food, simple carbohydrates such as white sugar and flour and, especially, highly sugared sodas, which most people tend to disregard as a major calorie source since they are calories that are drunk and not eaten.

Thus, the overall emphasis, again, must be on healthy food choices, exercise, adequate fiber ingestion and on drinking plenty of water, rather than on appetite suppression itself. Of course, if you want to jumpstart your diet and want a supplement to help you begin, then Hoodia may be a good choice to help you avoid those junk food cravings you may have trouble overcoming. However, just be sure that you do continue to eat an adequate amount of calories to sustain both your metabolism and your health. If you cut your calories too much, not only are you putting yourself at risk for a variety of health problems, but you are actually reducing your metabolic rate, which, in itself, can actually contribute to weight gain, not weight loss. Therefore, your calorie intake must be sufficient enough to maintain your metabolic rate in order to avoid long-term weight gain.

Of course, exercise, exercise, exercise is a must for long-term weight loss as well and this is perhaps the most important, most overlooked component of any weight-loss program. Exercise not only burns calories, but builds lean muscle mass, which in itself helps you burn more calories.

Americans' sedentary lifestyle has unfortunately contributed to obesity not only because of poor food choices, such as fast food and highly sugared foods, but also because we as a population no longer exercise adequately. With the advent of 24-hour television, computers, and video games, children no longer go outside to play after school. Instead, they go inside the house and spent time in front of the television and computer. It is simply no longer built into our daily lifestyles as it used to be. Many adults face long commutes to work every day, which saps energy and the convenience of drive-throughs at fast food restaurants for dinner is very tempting.

Weight loss surgery has also become a booming business. Weight loss surgery occurs by several different methods, but basically most surgeries that occur are surgeries in which roughly three fourths of the stomach, on average, is rendered unusable by either stapling it shut or by its removal, and the rest of the digestive system is “rerouted” to hinder absorption of calories and nutrients from food.

There is also the less invasive stomach banding, in which a band is placed around a portion of the stomach to make it smaller, but the rest of the digestive system is left intact. It is estimated that approximately 120,000 procedures are performed every year and the surgery's popularity is growing, making it one of the most commonly performed surgeries every year. Roughly 500,000 people die every year from obesity-related complications and roughly 11 to 15 million Americans are considered morbidly obese, with about 60% of the population either overweight or obese. Thus, this is a major health problem.

Weight loss surgery is a drastic, invasive procedure that forces patients to adopt healthier eating habits simply by the changes that have been made to their digestive systems. They cannot eat large portions, and instead must content themselves with about a half a cup of food at a time. Because of the way the digestive system is rerouted, they cannot consume large amounts of simple carbohydrates, which are touted as a major factor in this country's obesity explosion. The focus (as it should be with any healthy diet) is on lean protein, fruits and vegetables. Because they can no longer absorb all of their nutrition from the food, they must take prescription nutritional supplements and vitamins for the rest of their lives. They are also required (again, as is strongly advised, simply, for the general population) to begin an extensive exercise program for long-term success once their weight loss is sufficient enough to allow them to move more easily.

Often, morbidly obese people simply cannot exercise, because even the simplest of movements and daily activities leave them exhausted. It is important to note that if weight-loss surgery patients do not follow these directives, they can and do regain the weight and more, even with the surgery. It is not a “quick fix” and they can sabotage it, by eating small amounts of food frequently, by refusing to exercise and by slowly reintroducing junk food back into their diets.

Therefore, although weight-loss surgery may be advised as an absolute last resort for morbidly obese patients, it is not a cure-all and it is absolutely forbidden in patients who are less than 100 pounds overweight. Therefore, the best cure for overweight and obese people is to exercise and develop healthy eating habits over time. This is the only way, even with weight-loss surgery, to maintain your overall health and a healthy weight long-term.  

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