Lime juice and herbalife products

If I enjoy any popularity on this blog, then after this contribution it will be over and done with. It is of course no harm from me and to make up for it a bit I will conclude with a hopefully useful and Thailand-specific advice on how to lose weight.

And to get straight to the point: “Researchers have found that the obesity pandemic ravaging the earth can be traced back to certain human genes, among other things”. Of course those researchers are right and I personally think that it is mainly the genes that code for (a lack of) willpower and perseverance. Well, that clears up where I stand.

Incidentally, those genes do not make it impossible to lose weight, it just becomes more difficult and you will have to push yourself more to be successful.

Charly has recently been advised by his doctor to lose weight and Charly is of course wise enough to follow that advice. Incidentally, also Dr. Maarten has already advised various questioners to lose weight and Charly will therefore not be alone in his attempts to lose weight. Among other actions Charly has taken, he uses lime juice and herbalife products and that was the inspiration for this story and also for the title.

I will make an attempt to reason whether the use of lime juice and herbalife products and other slimming products makes sense, but for the reader it is good to know that I have not received any training as a dietician or am a biochemist or physician and therefore I have to use common sense and that, of course, has its limitations.

I will start with a list of the possibilities to lose weight with slimming products:

1. Means that are diuretic (diuretics/water tablets) naturally cause weight loss, but that is often unhealthy and only temporary.
2. Another obvious method is to reduce appetite so that people eat less. Some diets work this way by making you feel full and drinking plenty of water might also help. However, drinking too much is not good either. Slimming products that work in this way are called anti-appetizers and are often based on herbs. However, it does not seem very healthy to me because you have to trust the manufacturer that it can do no harm and that a good herbal mixture is made. Each herb contains hundreds or possibly thousands of chemical substances and if you were to examine them one by one, tens/hundreds of them would undoubtedly be labeled "poisonous" because nature is not exactly frugal with toxic substances. Fortunately, thanks to millions of years of evolution, people can have a lot, but I would not like to burden the kidneys and liver in particular for a long time. Another problem with herbs is that the content of active substances varies greatly and this also applies to active substances: too much is not good. And the use of such means is, of course, an admission that you yourself are incapable of keeping pace and why take unnecessary risks? Incidentally, there are of course medicinal herbs that are really effective, but anti-appetizers can hardly be called medicinal.
3. Another possibility is to block or hinder/slow down the absorption of fats and carbohydrates in the digestive tract. There are various ways to achieve this, for example through an accelerated discharge of the stomach and/or intestinal contents. Unfortunately, this quickly leads to diarrhea and moreover, it is mainly toxins and bacteria that have to bring about this. Not recommended. Another way is to block the absorption of fats by replacing the fats in the food with fats that cannot be absorbed. Those tests were taken about ten years ago, but unfortunately this turned out to lead to leakage: the sphincter of the anus failed to stop those fats. Understandably, those fats never made it to the market. A more elegant solution is the use of dietary fibers, because although fibers mainly retain water, they can also bind some fatty acids, bile salts and cholesterol and with those fibers, those fats also leave the body in a natural way without being absorbed. Unfortunately, that doesn't help. A final option that I see is to convert the fats and/or carbohydrates in the diet into methane. A liter of methane has a heat of combustion of 8 kcal, which is almost equal to the heat of combustion of 1 gram of body fat. But to lose a kg in this way you have to lose 1000 liters of intestinal gas and although pure methane is odorless, intestinal gases are certainly not.
4. A striking claim of many slimming products is that they burn fat. Indeed, that is a process that can take place in the fat cells with so-called brown fat, but unfortunately storage of excess fat takes place in the fat cells with white fat. And moreover, this fat burning only happens in newborns who are not yet able to shiver or otherwise adjust their body temperature (see e.g. www.houseofmed.org/articles/new-advances-in-genetic-editing-may-provide-a- cure for obesity). But if you somehow manage to burn body fat, there is a big risk - especially in a country like Thailand - that you will overheat. One kg of body fat provides 7700 kcal when burned and because the heat of evaporation of water is 540 kcal/kg, you have to sweat and evaporate an extra 14 liters of water and therefore also drink it to prevent your body temperature from rising. If you want to lose 1 kg per week, you need to drink an extra 2 liters of water per day on top of the few liters you already have to drink. It's almost impossible to start.
5. A frequently mentioned claim is that slimming products increase the metabolism. This metabolism takes place in all human cells. The functions of metabolism are:

• the conversion of nutrients into building materials and energy
• the use of building materials and energy as a source for all biological processes
• processing waste
• the production (!) and the use of reserves.

(andrijapajic / Shutterstock.com)

A simple way to boost metabolism is to increase demand. This can be done, for example, by moving, which creates extra demand for energy. Or by straining your muscles in such a way that they are somewhat damaged and building materials are needed for recovery. Without that extra question, I don't think slimming drugs can increase the metabolism. Perhaps the manufacturer claims that science has proven this, but that does not necessarily mean that it also works in humans. In so-called in-vitro tests, it will be quite easy to influence the growth of a cell culture (and therefore the metabolism) in a petri dish, but that says nothing about the effectiveness in humans. Without hard evidence, I would not place any value on such a claim. Moreover, could an artificially accelerated metabolism not stimulate the growth of cancer cells? I don't know, but why take the risk?

6. A final more or less real possibility that I see for slimming products is activating people, encouraging them to move. Coffee is a candidate for this, but so are peppers. Hence the saying "to put a pepper in someone's ass". This expression is based on a fact, namely that horses used to be administered the substance during horse races. Not in their bottoms, but on their legs. Pepper in food also has the same effect. It makes people a bit more spirited and active. Whether it will really help the lazy person is not likely.
7. There are of course more possibilities, such as stimulating the growth of the intestinal flora (secreted bacteria also represent energy after all), tapeworms and inducing the vomiting reflex, but none of these are really obvious. Incidentally, the ancient Romans had a similar method; they put a finger down their throat, not to lose weight but to fill their stomachs again.

Charly uses lime juice. Indeed, I found somewhere on the internet that it would speed up the metabolism. I personally don't think it helps. He also uses herbalife products. Herbalife has, among other things, a meal replacement in its range and that could indeed help. But actually you're stuck with it for the rest of your life and who wants that? They also have pills with 3 grams of fiber. Not too much because it is recommended to consume 40 grams per day. And if I'm optimistic then I think that those 3 grams of fiber can bind 0,1 grams of fat and therefore dispose of it in the natural way. This means that after 30 years of using a pill daily you will lose 1 kilo (or gain less).

They also have products that would stimulate fat burning. Evidence seems to be lacking, of course, but I must confess that I didn't bother to look for it.

But what then?

Move more, of course, and consume fewer calories.

As far as exercise is concerned, it is of course recommended to use the strongest muscles because they consume the most calories (increased metabolism). Those strongest muscles are in your legs, so you have to run, walk or cycle or do a sport that uses those leg muscles. For Thailand, running long distances is not an obvious choice because of the high risk of overheating. Even with brisk walking you have to be careful and it is better to spread it over the day to limit the risk. Cycling is possible because the sweat is quickly drained and therefore cools you down, but that means drinking a lot on the way because otherwise you can still get overheated.

For the lazy potential athletes among us – like me – there is another option to speed up the metabolism and that is to strengthen the muscles and now again in particular the leg muscles and to damage them a bit through intensive training. Due to those damages, recovery is necessary and that stimulates the metabolism. And the great thing is that that recovery also takes place when you're sitting in your easy chair. It all takes very little time and so there is no risk of overheating. And moreover: extra muscle mass also counteracts osteoporosis.

I will cite a few examples:

• Do a series of knee bends; ready in 1 minute. You have to come up quickly because it has to be done intensively/explosively to have a sufficient effect.
• Run a few sprints of 50 to 100 meters. To be on the safe side, first run/run in slowly for about 400 metres. Those 400 meters must be walkable within 2 minutes (after some time) and the 100 meters of course within a minute. Even with 1-2 minutes of exhalation in between, it only takes about 10 minutes.
• Do you see a low wall? Use it for scootering or jumping on and off. Or to press you. Pushups and jumping up and down take less than a minute. Stepping can be sustained a little longer.
• Buy a pair of football boots and a football and shoot that ball against a wall and then keep bouncing for a while. Also good for your responsiveness.

There are many more options and it doesn't have to take a lot of time and the chance of overheating is therefore nil.

Of course, after decades of not running, you shouldn't suddenly start running the 100m at full speed. That is asking for trouble. Build it up very, very slowly and listen to your body. But muscle building does require extra protein. I myself take a boiled egg every morning because the amino acid composition of eggs is optimal for humans. I get about 10 eggs per week. But of course you won't get there with just those eggs.

In addition to more exercise and muscle building, you will also have to be moderate with food. But then you run the risk of getting too little of some essential nutrients, and I am thinking in particular of vitamins and protein. Eat a varied diet and take some supplements if necessary. And keep in mind that you have to maintain your adjusted eating habit for the rest of your life. So don't exaggerate because you can't make up for decades of neglecting your body in a few months. So take it easy with losing weight and don't be too hard on yourself.

What you should pay attention to is that you should limit the consumption of liquid energy in particular, so drink a lot of water. To give an example: a few years ago I was in a Fuji restaurant and ordered, among other things, a “healthy” bottle Japanese Green Tea. When I looked at the label, there was almost half an ounce of sugar in that one bottle. Since then I take water there.

Another tip: put little food on your plate and take small bites. Do not swallow too quickly, but enjoy your food.

Another thing to watch out for is the so-called yo-yo effect. By eating less alone, you run the risk that the body becomes more economical with energy and that could lead to less exercise. Furthermore, a possible protein deficiency can lead to less muscle mass. In both cases, the metabolism slows down and that could be permanent. So not only eat less but always, ALWAYS move more! There's really no escaping it.

Why should you lose weight and exercise more? Of course everyone knows that being overweight is unhealthy and I will therefore keep it limited. To start with a personal experience: When I still lived in the Netherlands I weighed 85 kg and did little sport. At that time I also suffered from lower back pain, sometimes so bad that I could only roll out of bed. Since living in Thailand I have gone to 78 kg in a few years without any effort and have stayed at that weight. I no longer suffer from back pain. But more generally: people who are overweight live shorter on average, but have more miserable last years of life, not only relatively but even absolutely. So it's not smart to neglect your body like that. But if you're happy with your body and accept the risks later in life, why lose weight? And besides, although being overweight in general is bad for people, maybe you are an exception and live long, healthy and happy despite the extra pounds.

But of course there is another good reason to lose weight: what if you become bedridden? Does your petite Thai partner have to take care of those 100 kilos of farang? I wouldn't be surprised if she said check it out, I'll pass for it. And she is right, at least in my opinion.

The argument that people who still exercise at a relatively high age and try to maintain their weight would also strive for eternal youth is of course not correct. The aging process cannot be stopped, you can only speed it up by neglecting your body.

Am I suggesting that at 78 kg and 186 cm I have a lot of willpower? No, of course, because I lost weight naturally due to favorable circumstances:

• Since my retirement I have enough time to exercise and I don't have to wait until evening or the weekend.
• During my working life I did little heavy physical work; so I'm not worn out yet.
• The Thai climate is much more favorable for outdoor sports than the Dutch climate: little rain and never too cold.
• Here in Ubon in the countryside there is virtually no air pollution and on my bike rides, for example, I am not bothered by biting dogs.
• We have dogs of our own that I walk four times a day. That way I can easily get to the 10 km daily.
• I only have to change my shorts for my sports shorts and put on my running shoes and I can sprint right in front of my house without bothering anyone. I also bought a fitness machine and occasionally do some exercises on it.
• Within cycling distance I have a free athletics track and various sports fields.
• In Ubon, the choice of tasty desserts, cakes, bonbons and chocolate is limited. So I am not tempted to buy those fatteners.
• Fortunately, there are no 15-7 shops, McDonalds or other sellers of junk food and drinks within a radius of 11 km.
• We don't eat out much, but my wife happily makes healthy and tasty dishes. I can brag myself and only if it is very tasty or if we have visitors, for example, do I brag more than is actually good for me. On the other hand, I enjoy two cups of coffee with plenty of sugar and even more whipped cream every day. Because of my physical activities I can apparently do that without any problems.

Most people will have to make more of an effort to live a healthy life than I do. It will almost never be impossible.

To conclude, two more reactions on Bangkokpost.com to an article about obese Thai youth, especially urban youth:

·       As a retired doctor all I can say is that they are storing up a whole heap of trouble for later life.

·       The amount of junk food being consumed by kids is out of control. This will result in a health crisis to make COVID look like a non event.

Yes, humans are irrational creatures. Afraid of a virus, but not afraid of those tens of kilos of body fat that we carry with us every hour of the day. And in the end those kilos also strike mercilessly. No mercy.

Good luck with weight loss.