Hoodia and the Blowhards

"Everyone wants a quick fix for diet or exercise, anything weight loss."

So says Caitlin Rhodes of Dallas in this article about the latest diet pill to fly off the shelves: hoodia gordonii, a native South African plant that is supposed to suppress the appetite all day long.

"If you're used to eating three meals a day, you all of a sudden think, 'Oh, I haven't eaten.' You just don't think about it as much," Paulette Jackson of Arlington said.

I'm not a big fan of appetite suppressants. Hunger pain is the body's way of telling you to give it nourishment. Unfortunately, we live in a society where burgers, fries, and processed foods are considered staples.

We also live in a society where food of every kind is easily available and people eat it all the time. People who struggle with obesity have a tendency to eat when they're not hungry or continue eating after they're full. Tricking your body into feeling not hungry and starving yourself is not a healthy way to lose weight.

Hoodia is just another quick fix American's are looking for in order to avoid taking personal responsibility for their eating habits.

I should know. I've had to take a hard look at mine lately. I've gained 16 pounds this year and I finally started doing something about it.

Tipping the scales at a depressing 228 pounds, I began a truncated version of the Velocity Diet--a diet consisting of nothing but high protein meal replacement drinks (for me, Low Carb Grow!) and one solid meal a week. I did this not necessarily to lose weight but to force myself to look at my eating habits and how I thought about food. Ten days later, I've lost 14.5 pounds and I'm ready to eat solid foods again. The significant loss in weight is most likely due to water and hopefully fat and not muscle (on these types of diets, the body raids the muscles to feed itself before it raids its fat stores). I expect to put some of that weight back on as water comes back.

But wasn't I effectively starving myself? Nope. I planned out the number of calories I needed to ingest and made sure I hit that mark. I never denied my hunger. If I was hungry and had some calories to spare in my intake range, I had another shake. I also took vitamins, fish oil caps, and fiber supplements to maintain a balanced intake of nutrition.

The results speak for themselves. From this difficult experience I have a new appreciation for how food affects energy levels, insulin levels, and my mood. I'm ready for solid foods again, but I'm hopeful I ate my last Whopper a couple of weeks ago. Up next: The Testosterone Advantage Plan by Lou Schuler and the next step towards a much better physique.

Frank Zane

And I won't be using any of that hoodia-voodoodia either.