Burn 500 calories more than you eat every day and you will lose 1 pound of fat in a week. Mayo Clinic physicians warn that if you burn more than 2 pounds of fat in a week, you risk damage to your muscles and nerves. Since exercising and sticking to food restrictions can be hard, you might be tempted to look for easier ways. Avoid online miracle diets with unrealistic promises. Many are scams and some pose health dangers.
Pills
In 2010, federal officials seized millions of diet pills shipped into the United States from China for online sale. The pills contained a substance called sibutramine, an amphetaminelike chemical known to cause heart attacks and strokes. Subsequent investigations revealed 70 online diet products laced with sibutramine sold as Easy Figure, Magic Slim, The 2- and 3-Day Diet and many others. Mayo Clinic physicians warn that the banned herbal substances, ephedra and country mallow or heartleaf, also are sold online and over-the-counter as weight-loss supplements. The principle behind these products is that, as stimulants, they help burn calories. However, they also can stimulate too much, leading to heart attacks and strokes. In 2009, Brazilian diet pills illicitly imported for online sale also were found to contain a potentially lethal mixture of at least six drugs, some of which are banned in the United States. Stimulants, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and even Prozac were compounded into mixtures that caused heart palpitations, chest pain, head aches and insomnia.
Foods
AlterNet.org reporter Brad Reed researched online diet products and revealed those that consumers should avoid, including the Cookie Diet. This plan requires that you eat eight 100-calorie cookies per day, with a light meal at the end of the day. The total calorie count for the day is so low that followers could damage their kidneys, heart and nervous system and imbalance your electrolytes. Remember if it sounds to good to be true or healthy, such as eating cookies all day, it probably is.
Apparel
Mayo Clinic physicians say a diet is the balance between calories and exercise. Fitness shoes have come under fire. The shoes purport that wearers can burn calories and lose weight without hitting the gym. Dr. Megan Leahy with the Illinois Podiatric Medical Association says the intentionally unstable soles on this footware can lead to injury and foot damage.
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