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Herbal Miracles

© Betty O. Spangle

If a pill were invented that you could take before bed, with a full glass of water, and, after a good eight hours sleep, you could wake up two pounds thinner, would you take it?

What if the pills worked, as promised, yet the side effects were heart disease?

What if the pills worked better than promised, and you could lose five pounds per night, would it make the heart disease less important?

Often times men and women, especially women, find themselves faced with this type of uncomfortable trade off.

We find a magic pill that helps to rid our body of fat, (or muscle and water) and we want it right now! Then, a few months later we discover that it is or was harmful for our bodies, and then the decision comes into play.

Well, I can verify the heart wrenching decision process in this instance, with first hand experience.

Several years ago, in March of 1996, I was introduced to Phen / Fen. I took this medication (and followed a very rigorous diet routine) for seven full months. I ate 25 grams of fat, or less, per day, NEVER more. I drank ten to sixteen glasses of water per day, and I began to slowly move more. (Not necessarily exercise, at this point, but, more of a general return to normal activity)

I lost 172 pounds in those seven months. It was wonderful, incredible, and I was happier than I had been in a very long time. My marriage improved, my concentration improved, and my life seemed worth living. I was blissfully happy. Then, in October of that year, I discovered I was several months pregnant. I also started to hear rumors of the dangers and potential health hazards associated with Phen / Fen use. I stopped the program, of course, I WAS pregnant, after all. I also gained over 150 pounds back by the time I delivered.

Now. I would like to believe that I could have lost the weight without the pills, I mean, that type of commitment, extreme low fat eating, water, eating every 3 to 4 hours, etc. I obviously was a real tough diet act to follow. So, after a year I convinced myself that all of this medicine talk was nonsense, and I tried the diet again without meds. Exactly the same, minus only the prescribed medicine. I lasted two weeks, of which I cheated 2 times.

So. Obviously the appetite / mind control was very central and necessary to my overall successful objective. Now I had to decide if it was worth the health risk to achieve the same goals. I still had two bottles of the meds, in my briefcase. I still knew, by heart, the routine I had settled into to lose the initial weight. Was the loss of the weight more important than the health risks? Well. Almost.

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