Vysera: will this magic pill make you lose weight?
August 20, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments
You’ve probably heard before that there’s no “magic bullet” when it comes to weight loss.
And, I hate to say it, but this article on the latest craze – Vysera – has no new news for you.
I know, I know. We keep hoping it’s not true, the lot of us lazy fools. I mean, it’s definitely tempting – the concept of getting epic effects for minimal effort or will power. I won’t lie. I’ve fallen for it time and again in the old days, prior to finally installing an optimal diet and exercise regimen into my own life. Which is why I can confidently tell you – it doesn’t work. Nunna it. Extracting fruit effluvia and squooshing it into a pill is simply no match for the real thing.
But, for funsies, let’s look at the claim.
Starting with why we gain weight in the first place. See, when we eat, it all gets processed by your body bowels (AKA intestines), which then flag your pancreas to pump some insulin out. In turn, said insulin then sends a text message to your bod to break down and uptake all the enchilada nutrients from Uncle Julio’s you just sucked down in seven seconds. (In your defense, that server was super slow). And, when that happens, they get put back together as glycogen, protein and fatty acids. So, what ends up making us fat? It’s what happens with the excess glycogen that can’t fit into your muscles or liver. Where do they go? That place of which we do not speak… the fat tissue.
The same goes for amino acids. And while fatty acids are partially packed into sanguine storage (AKA blood cells), a surplus of the stuff’s also destined for fat cells. Boom. Body fat. So that’s how it happens. But what about that invisible, inimical force driving you to eat these malevolent decimators of sexiness in the first place? Well, it’s got to do with – you guessed it – hormones. See, if you’re eating high glycemic index foods (that just means munchies that make blood sugar and insulin spike), that’s typically trailed by a whopping drop in said sugar levels before too long. And that’s bad news for you and the appetite you can’t get a handle on. Because once that blood sugar and insulin hits a valley after the peak, that’s when the demon of ravenousness throws a rave in your food cave. And demands to be appeased with greasy something-or-others. Or, in geek speak: that’s when you start releasing hunger hormone and the fridge’s siren call’s too strong to ignore.
(Actual footage of the pantry phantom kidnapping my willpower after I’d missed a balanced breakfast.)
That whole drama’s an ongoing problem for a lot’ve aspiring dieters.
And, where there’s a problem, there’s a promise plastered on a product that fails to deliver.
Enter Vysera.
What weight loss aids like Vysera claim to do, is lower that glucose response, hinder that hunger hormone, and make your desire to pillage your kitchen far less tempting. In fact, when they paid Shape to write an article claiming they’re legit (#nativeads), they even cited a study done on their pill. (Which I’m willing to bet all the money I don’t have was conducted by the makers of the product themselves – which obvi means that you can’t trust it). In this study of questionable reputability, the alleged observation was that women lost up to eight times more weight and significantly more body fat than those who’d eaten placebos. And what’s in this mystery pill? Good luck finding out for certain. They offer abstract answers, like they’ve taken the components that come from plant foods that give it a lower glycemic index, fewer calories, and higher fiber content and water – and somehow packed that in a capsule. (Insert emoji with a mile long horizontal line for a mouth.) They say that, because of this, it slows digestion while blocking sugar or fat absorption. There’s even a claim that lowers the hunger hormone levels and adds energy in an “ideal amount”. In other words they shoved a shiz load of caffeine in it.
(Or, at least we hope it’s caffeine.)
It’d be nice if it were true, no?
Just pop a pill and eat whatever you want?
Watch pounds drop – while pounding cheesecake?
The only problem is that… it doesn’t work. And, that’s not just coming from my own compendium of experiential fails with weight loss aids. Aside from the fact that these vague claims about sucking all of the healthy stuff out of plant foods and shizzing it into a pill don’t offer any specific science of how they manage to do that, actual customers confirm its ineffectiveness. Post perusal of the reviews on Vysera via the Amazon website, I saw maybe one testimonial (either a writer paid by the product pushers – or placebo effect) about how well it worked. The remaining commentary comprised one star write ups about it exacerbating pre-existing conditions, inducing insomnia and irritability (irritability was a big one across most of the reviews), and – wait for it – weight gain by the end of the month. Which is precisely the period of time they allege it’ll take to lose notable weight.
Also, because they infuse these capsules with caffeine, that probably accounts for all those cardiac issues I read about from users, too. In fact, backtracking for a moment and reading meaningless non-quantitative adjectives like “ideal amount” – that should be the ultimate red flag alone. When I go to the grocery store and buy my fiber in all it’s delicious glory – in its full form – unfettered and unrefined, I know what I’m getting. When I take a tablet filled with God knows what, however, I’m playing gut Russian Roulette. Who knows what it’ll do to me?
But I hate to end on a hopeless note.
So here’s the inspiration:
You know these foundless claims – about losing weight and feeling great and having energy within 30 days? That literally happened to me when I transitioned to a plant-based diet that comprised natural, high fiber, and protein filled foods. Especially when I started starting my morning with that stuff – and a side of matcha tea. The fiber, water content, and protein from my fruit, chia seeds, and tempeh, helped fill me up while also slowing the release of sugar into my blood. It also kept me from getting hangry a few hours down the road. Likewise, making a nice cup of green tea (less jitter inducing than java but equal on the energy-meter) afforded me that zest level up I needed. The diff between this and caffeine in a pill? Being able to body gauge my alertness level. Because I didn’t down an unknown amount of upper, it allowed me to take sips, feel the effects, and quit when I wished. (Versus, you know, taking it like a shot, getting a sudden rush, and not being able to moderate that intake over time.)
You know, new findings in the health and wellness field can lead to some great and wonderful things.
But it shouldn’t make us lazy.
It shouldn’t make us unwilling to look at our poor habits (that’re making us pack on fat in the first place) and modify them for the sake of simply staying in our own opposite of healthy comfort zones. The truth is: nature already created produce perfectly. It doesn’t need to be extracted or refined or viced and squeezed into Vysera. And this isn’t bad news. This is great news. Because fruit’s easy, simple, and savory. Short of allergies to apple peels or whatever weird reactions you might have, there aren’t any side effects either. You just enjoy it while it’s going down, and then also enjoy seeing the scale numbers go down, too. So, the question isn’t – does Vysera work? (Even though, to clarify, I’ll say no: it doesn’t) The question’s this: why would you want to deny yourself the best part about losing weight? The amazing taste? And why would you try to improve something that’s already perfect?
So if we’re going to be swallowing any pills today, let’s all swallow this tough one together:
Change is hard.
But the fruits of your fruit (and veggie) eating efforts are totally worth it.