Lose weight now, I'll tell you how

I lost 19 pounds last year, and I have lost another four pounds this year. I can therefore identify with the Health section's weight-loss challenger, Tanny, who was elated to lose 15 per cent of her weight. During my weight-loss challenge, my theme song was Buju Banton's, 'It's not an easy road' and it really isn't.

Products are effective but expensive

As a pharmacist, I can tell you about the various drugs, weight-loss supplements, meal replacement protein shakes, and herbal products which can help us in our quest to shake those pounds. Most of these products work but trust me, whichever way we cut those pounds, we have to go back to the basics. Make no mistake about it, exercise and portion control are a critical for anyone who intends to lose weight and, more importantly, to keep it off. There are no short cuts.

In addition, there is hardly a weight-loss product that I can recommend to you which is even close to cheap, and most of these products have side effects. It took me a while to figure that out. In 2005 and again in 2006, I lost about 11 pounds in one month with the shakes plus tablets, but gained it all back and more when I stopped using the products - there was no exercise and no dietary restriction in my lifestyle.

Weight-control products

The products work by one or more of the following mechanisms: suppress the appetite, block chemical messages in the brain to give a feeling of fullness or act in the gut to decrease the amount of fat which the body absorbs.

Meal-replacement protein shakes are powders which we mix with water or other beverages. The shake is meant to replace one or two meals per day. It contains various nutrients, gives a feeling of fullness and claims to minimise fat storage and burn fat. Cost is $3,000 -$8,000 for one month's supply.

Green tea extract is the active ingredient in many herbal weight-loss tablets, teas and other products. Distributors claim that green tea boosts the body's metabolism, burns fat and inhibits fat storage. These claims have not been proven clinically. Tablets cost up to $3,000 per month and the tea, about $1,000 per month.

Prescription-only items

Doctors prescribe products only when lifestyle changes like exercise and dietary control after six months are not effective or when obesity is likely to cause risk to health or life-threatening events.

Sibutramine (Raductil, Slenfig) and Clobenzorex (Dinintel) each act on the brain to suppress appetite. Cost ranges between $4,500 and $9,000 per month.

Orlistat (Xenical) - if there was a way for us to not absorb most of the fat we eat, then we would lose weight. This is how Orlistat helps; it causes fat to pass through the system. The down-side includes the fact that it may produce increased urge to defecate, plus oily stools, and accidental oily spotting. Cost is $3,900-$10,000 per month depending on dosage.

Dahlia McDaniel is a pharmacist and final year doctoral candidate in public health at the University of London; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.