Peel Away the Pounds - Diet Plan Outline

"Peel Away the Pounds" is another one of those television infomercials that is on late nights and weekends that promises that you will lose weight with a patch while doing nothing else. In the television advertisements they tell you that you will lose a pound a day with this patch. With this diet you put a patch on your arm similar to the nicotine patches that smokers use. They claim the patch suppresses your appetite so you eat less and lose weight. My favorite part of this television infomercial is when the beautiful blond model eats a chocolate covered donut with little fear of gaining weight because she has her secret weapon, “The Pound a day Patch”.

Based on information listed on the “Peel Away the Pounds” website, the Pound Patch consists of two natural ingredients: Fucus Vesiculosus and Garcinia Campogia, two common diet pill ingredients. Fucus Vesiculosus is found in seaweed and kelp. Common side-effects include headaches, stomach cramping and constipation.The second ingredient of the patch is Garcinia Campogia, a yellowish pumpkin shaped tropical tree fruit native to the country of India. In 1965, researchers identified Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA) as the principle acid found in the fruit and rind of Garcinia Campogia. The HCA extracted from Garcinia Campogia has been studied extensively in the animal model and found to suppress fatty acid synthesis and food intake, in addition to sparing the use of carbohydrate in the body while causing an increase in fat oxidation. Weight loss was also common within the animal model. Studies with human participants have thus far not shown the same results seen within the animal model. HCA has not demonstrated a suppression of hunger in humans, while weight loss seen with HCA supplementation was not significantly different than weight changes seen with placebo. Few adverse effects have been reported with Garcinia Campogia. A study conducted by St Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital at Columbia University found that symptoms noted by patients taking Garcinia Campogia were not significantly different than those individuals consuming a placebo. The most common reported events included headaches, upper respiratory, or gastrointestinal symptoms. Present research indicates there is no conclusive evidence that Garcinia Campogia or HCA affects any significant changes in weight. Individuals are cautioned towards the use of any dietary supplement, and should consult their health care provider if they are considering using Garcinia Campogia.

The patch is very expensive. The retail cost for a 30-day supply of the patch is $120.00. In addition to the patch, they also recommend a “drink and shrink” snack/meal replacement program. This is a combination of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates for your body. A 14 meal/42 snack replacement container has a retail cost of $50.00. The combination of the patch and shakes for cost you over $220.00 per month for this program.

The bottom line: I am a firm believer in basic common sense. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Revolutionary products don't need to resort to being sold on slick infomercials, aired late at night and on Sunday afternoons. The bottom line is, healthy long-term weight loss is not easy and it never will be. If it was, the long-term failure rate would not be 95%.