When I was younger, I had a pretty decent figure. I wasn’t too thin and I wasn’t in any way remotely considered to be fat. My five foot eight frame carried 125 to 132 pounds with ease. However, I tended to look a bit gaunt at 115 pounds or less. Like most women who enjoy a good metabolism, it never occurred to me in those days that I would eventually have to deal with weight issues.
What a difference menopause makes. The minute I turned 40 my body decided that it no longer wanted to burn fat. I could look at food and I’d gain 10 to 15 pounds. So I will admit that there was a time that I tried just about every diet plan – – and diet pill – – known to man.
The only thing that ever worked for me, however, was the Somersize eating program developed by Suzanne Somers. On her plan I dropped 75 pounds without breaking a sweat, but that’s another story. The subject of this article is diet pills; in particular the brand “Smart Burn.”
“Smart Burn” bills itself as one of the most powerful weight loss programs on the market and calls itself the total body rapid weight loss solution made especially for women. It claims to help control appetite, manage everyday stress, support mental well being and promote complete relaxation.
“Smart Burn” contains the controversial ingredient hoodia that many in the health industry consider at least risky, if not downright dangerous. Other ingredients include garcina cambogia extract, chromium polynicotinate, and gymnema syvestre extract; all of which are touted to be helpful in weight loss.
The advertising of this particular pill hits women right where we hurt. It promises to help us get rid of fat in our problem areas like the stomach, thighs, hips, and rear end. It also focuses heavily on how we women typically “feel” when we are overweight. It promises to help us deal with the stress that negative weight gain tends to generate.
To clench the deal, “Smart Burn” claims results that are up to 450 percent more successful than other leading brands, among those following a proper eating and exercise regimen. All in all, on the surface it appears to offer just about anything that anyone could want in a diet pill. But how does “Smart Burn” work and what concerns should someone thinking about taking this pill have?
First of all, the company doesn’t exactly explain “how” the pill works directly. Instead it just talks about the type of results that might be expected. It talks about appetite control, stress management, and relaxation support but it doesn’t directly address how the medication goes about accomplishing those things.
It also doesn’t directly address whether or not “Smart Burn” can be taken along with other prescribed medications. It does recommend that anyone considering the pill, first talk with their physician. Of course they also know perfect well that most people won’t bother doing that. By making the statement, however, I’m certain that they feel less liable.
The one thing that the company does do is clearly state that “Smart Burn” is not recommended for women who are pregnant. Neither is it recommended for new mothers who are still breast feeding.
The suggested dosage for “Smart Burn” is two tablets, along with an 8-ounce glass of water, three times a day. It recommends taking the medication at least 30 minutes and no later than 60 minutes before sitting down to eat. They don’t recommend more than six pills be taken within a 24-hour period.
Back in my healthier days, my best friend and I decided to try this weight loss pill. Unfortunately, we both found it to be totally without merit. My first couple of weeks of “dieting,” I simply cut back on the amount of food that I ate and switched to healthier food choices. I also did between 30 and 45 minutes of low impact aerobics or walking every day. I lost a total of six pounds.
The following two weeks, I repeated the same process and added “Smart Burn” to my regimen. I lost a total of five pounds; one pound less than the previous two weeks; an acceptable diminished return on any average diet plan.
My best friend also tried “Smart Burn.” During her first month, she followed the standard Weight Watchers plan without the benefit of exercise (because of a physical disability). She shed a total of 7 pounds. During the second month, she continued her diet plan and added “Smart Burn.” She lost another 7 pounds; no more than with her regular Weight Watchers plan.
Unlike their promises, neither of us felt any stress relief benefit from “Smart Burn.” And contrary to their claims, we both actually experienced a lot of difficulty sleeping because we were “wound up” rather than relaxed at bed time.
This expensive weight loss pill, which retails around $49.99 for 100 tablets, does not appear to have much beneficial impact as far as either of us could see. Therefore, it gets zero out of five stars.
