We need a revolution in the world of weight loss.....

In the past few decades or so, the ever so growing weight loss trend seems to have spiraled out of control. When you turn on your television,I bet you'll see a commercial centered around losing weight on almost every channel (except your premium movie channels),promising that with their pills or meal plans, you will shed some pounds and alot at that . Even the entertainment industry promotes dieting and extreme weight loss. Which they have for years especially in the modeling world. They are selling "Skinny" as beautiful. And what you have in turn are women and men trying to attain a "look" that is impossible. Now before I go any further with this as not to confuse or even offend people, this article is not pertaining to the individuals who are trying to shed the pounds for health reasons, as I have a few friends who were/are dieting because the extra weight they are carrying or have carried is affecting their overall health and lives are in jeopardy. And, for those who are not seriously overweight,There is nothing wrong with wanting to lose a few pounds, but sadly people tend to go way overboard (mainly women). And the obsession with losing weight starts, which has a good chance of turning into an eating disorder.

Fad diets have been around for many years, with the low carb diet invented in 1863 by William Banting, which advocated the elimination of all carbohydrates and encouraged the intake of more protein. It is pretty much what we call today the Atkins Diet. This diet plan can take off some weight, however, being on this diet for a duration of time can cause a person's body to go into ketosis....

Ketosis happens when levels of ketones in the blood are elevated. Keytones are formed when glycogen stores in the liver have run out.They are used for energy and are small carbon fragments that are the fuel created by the breakdown of fat stores. If left unchecked, ketosis can be a potentially serious condition.

As I stated before fad diets have been around for a long long time. However, in recent years, has ramped up in speed with hundreds of different pills on the market promising to lose weight fast. And what can be more insulting to one's intelligence, is that some of these marketers falsely claim that all you have to do is "Take this pill", no change in eating habits, no excercise required and "Presto!!" the weight will just come off! One of the many things I find distasteful about these types of diets is the simple fact that they do not promote a lifestyle change which is at the heart of the matter.

As a person who has worked in the ICU at my local hospital, I have encountered some pretty strange cases. And one that blew my mind was the case of a twenty one year old male who had a heart attack twelve hours prior. What was the culprit? A dietary supplement by the name of Hydroxycut. The young man was not even a slight bit overweight and doctors ran several toxicology tests to figure out what caused the heart attack. They were sure they would find some type of illicit drug in his system, but lab test's showed negative on both illicit and non-illicit (prescription) narcotics. After talking to the young man's girl friend, doctors discovered that the patient was taking the popular weight loss supplement. Since Ephedrine had been banned, they were trying to figure out just what ingredient/s in that drug may have caused that twenty one year old to have a heart attack. Well, here's a list of some of the ingredients in Hydroxycut (Note: The "Newer" versions might not contain all of these ingredients due a recall back in 2009)

• calcium
• chromium
• gymnema sylvestre (a tropical Indian herb)
• green tea extract
• hydroxycitric acid (which is extracted from tropical fruit and associated with causing liver problems)
• hydroxygen plu
• hydroxyTea
• potassium
• soy
• white tea extract

While these products may have benefits in and of themselves, they can do some serious damage as well when by some individuals who are either taking other medications with the supplent, or those who take these pills in excess.....

In conclusion.... Yes there are people out there who need to lose some pounds for health reasons, but to those of you reading this who think that being "Skinny" is the only way to be beautiful, I'm telling you right now even though I might not know you and have never seen your face, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL as you are! To the person reading this who is obesessing over calories. To the person reading this who is trying to obtain a "Look" that is impossible to aquire (because real people do not look like the models) STOP! Precious girl, boy, woman, or man you are already gorgeous and beautiful in all your splender and grace....