Diet drug and cravings...

So the FDA has approved a new diet drug - Qsymia - that everyone is talking about.  I've been asked to talk about my thoughts on this. 

To be honest, I have mixed feelings.  In general, I am for any tool that will help someone in their battle against obesity.  And for a number of people, this might be a tool to help jump start their weight loss.  On the other hand, you have to worry about side effects - look what has happened with the diet drugs before this! People frigging DIED!  It's also not a quick fix.  The drug needs to be used "in conjunction with diet and exercise".  Well if you diet and exercise you will lose weight - DUH.

They had an interview with a woman on Good Morning America and she said that she had "tried everything" but had not been able to lose weight.  That is utter BULLSHIT.  When you are obese if you eat fewer calories then you burn you WILL lose weight!!  It's impossible not to unless you are defying the laws of physics!!

One thing that this drug is supposed to help with is cravings.  And anyone who has ever tried to lose weight knows that cravings can be a killer!  Do you know that the foods we crave - like carbs and sweets - go to the same spots in our brains as drugs like heroin?  And eating those foods triggers a release of serotonin in our brains which is a feel good chemical.  So often times we crave when we are under stress.

I was feeling this yesterday.  Normally sweets aren't even my thing - I can take them or leave them.  But DANG - I wanted chocolate BAD yesterday.  When I stepped back in my mind to see why I was craving so bad I realized that this week is CRAZY for work and I'm under a lot of stress.  So my body was telling me to eat something that would release a feel good chemical and lower my stress.  Instead of eating, I stood up, stretched, and tried to clear my mind. 

So one of the number one things that you can do is to decrease your stress and/or learn to manage it.  This is one of the reasons I've become a big fan of yoga.  It teaches you to clear your mind so that you can do it on command.  And YES, I know that this is easier said then done.  

If this journey were easy, we would ALL be fit and thin.  Once again, I think that the key to success does not come in the form of a pill, but in hard work.  For those people that chose to take this new drug, I wish them well.  For the rest of us?  Keep on fighting and growing and learning.