Using drugs that fight cocaine addiction for weight loss?

Happy blustery cold morning my lovely blog readers,

I was outside today for a whopping 3 minutes between getting into my car and walking from the car to the shuttle and let me tell you.. That was quite enough time. If you arent reading from the Pittsburgh area, let it be known that as I was getting ready for work this morning I was watching the local news and 370 schools have already been closed or delayed today due to extreme snow and cold temperatures. We have a windchill of -7 and its supposed to reach a high of 20 degrees today.. a HIGH of 20 degrees? Gross.

Disgusting!

but anyway, onto the topic of todays blog post. I know that I have blogged before about the dangers of diet pills and some supplements. I believe that it was one of my older blogs on the Http://www/networkpittsburgh.com site. Diet pills have back in the news lately because the FDA just recently approved a diet drug for the morbidly obese. It had rejected two earlier in the year by the names of lorcaserin and QNexa.. the reason? The side effects of these drugs can be heart attacks, heart weakening and major links to cancer! I'm sorry but isn't the point of a diet drug to aid in making you healthier not give you more health problems to worry about?

So what makes this new FDA approved drug so different? The new drug that has been approved is called Contrave and it is actually a combination of two drugs that were already on the market. Now for the crazy part.. the two drugs that are mixed to create this new "miracle diet pill" are nalterxone and bupropion which are used to treat what? Naltrexone is used to treat those with COCAINE addiction and bupropion is used as an anti depressant. Why? because they are assuming that everyone that is obese is addicted to food and depressed. Also, weight loss pills have a high risk of increasing suicidal thoughts. So basically the pills help to make you happy and motivated while blocking the pleasure receptors in the brain that are associated with food.

Now, call me a realist or maybe just a romantic dreamer but why are we wasting money even researching these things? I understand that people who are morbidly obese may have to take off weight quickly to save their health and may not even be able to move to exercise because it may cause serious physical harm.. but how about being proactive instead of reactive? How about giving people the tools to naturally lead a healthy lifestyle that will prevent them from becoming obese instead of treating the problem afterwards? How about fining companies and restaurants that use preservatives and addictive additives in their food (McDonalds.. cough cough.. Burger King..cough cough) ? How about supporting the youth nutrition bills currently in the Senate? (which Obama signed this morning by the way!! yay!) What about giving tax breaks or incentives to companies that offer mid day exercise breaks? or healthy vending machines?

We are already in a major deficit and an economy that is struggling every day to rebuild itself. Why are we spending money researching drugs like this when there are diseases that arent preventable that need the attention of top scientists? Cancer, MS, and other major diseases deserve the funding.

We need to teach America not to be lazy and think of the amount of money we would save? I am not saying that I dont take my weekends sometimes to just relax but if you're spending your life "just relaxing" than thats an issue. People need to stop waiting for the next miracle drug or surgery to come out, put down the cheeseburger and get outside.

Cant Believe Im saying it.. but lay off McDonalds!!

Alright everyone.. so I was taking a quick lunch break today to have some hot soup on this cold and windy winter day in Pittsburgh and I ran across something that really made me shake my head. I always surf the health sections of websites like CNN, Yahoo, NY Times, etc.. (usually disappointed because they are rarely updated) but today I stumbled upon the following article about a former McDonalds employee who sued the company and won.. Now normally I am not an advocate of the dollar menu toting fast food chain.. or any fast food chain for that matter. Yes it can be delicious and I am not saying I dont partake a few times a year if I am on the road.. but not the point.

This Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101028/ap_on_he_me/lt_brazil_mcdonald_s_obese_manager

Is the story of a man in Brazil who sued McDonalds Corp for a small amount of money because the company "Made" him become obese. Just reading that sentence .. does anyone buy that?? I pray to the good Lord above that no one thinks that makes sense.

The former manager claimed that he was "forced" to try the food regularly in order to make sure that the standards for quality were met. I dont believe that for one second.. as a matter of fact I am pretty sure that it is against health codes to eat any of the food youre handling while working. McDonalds is a chain corporation meaning that the parent company leaves no room for change within the branches. The same food is shipped to every restaurant, frozen and only needing to be cooked, The food is cooked to specific temperatures for a specific amount of time which is all controlled by machinery so there is no room for human error. That means that every big mac will taste exactly the same.. its designed that way. So if thats the case.. why would the manager need to taste anything?

Also, he claims that the company offered their food for free lunches for employees. How dare they!? How dare a company offer their employees a free lunch. Note: Just because the lunch is free.. doesnt mean you have to eat it.. and if you had a choice between a chicken sandwhich and a super sized big mac and fries.. if you choose the fattier option.. than thats your problem for your bad decision making.. not the companies.


There were other cases of teenagers and mothers who sued McDonalds a few years ago claiming that the fast food chain made her children obese. NO LADY! McDonalds did not make your child obese.. it was your terrible parenting by taking them to eat fast food everyday instead of making them healthy food or teaching them that they should choose the milk and apples on the menu instead of the double cheeseburger.  I understand that busy parents might not have time to always make a meal but pack granola bars, string cheese, apples! Anything! it take 2 seconds and its cheaper than going out to eat every single day.

Heres one of the stories

This is similar to the women that sued McDonalds for spilling scolding hot coffee on her lap. She sued because McDonalds didnt "warn her" that the coffee was that hot. (which is why we now have the "CAUTION: Contents of this cup are extremely hot" disclaimer on all cups from McDonalds.  I'm sorry but are you really that dumb? Did you expect to go to McDonalds and get cold coffee? and if you did get coffee that was cold.. I am sure you would be the same person that would go and complain that your coffee wasnt hot enough.

Read the story HERE

I know that when I had gained weight, it was by no ones fault but my own. I was drinking, eating terrible- carb filled foods, not exercising.. and guess what? that combination of things makes you gain weight. Period. I couldnt blame Oaklands 5 dollar large pizzas for it.. because it was my choice to go out drinking and then eat 3 slices of pizza at 230am.. and its the same now. Its my decision to go to the gym or not everyday.. its my decision to pack a healthy lunch or go out and buy fast food. I have turned my health around because I made an active decision to do so every day. End of story..  nothing is forced upon anyone.

I am just getting sick of everyone taking the easy way out.. blaming everyone else for their bad decisions. STOP IT! .. Step up and be held accountable for you actions! Unless someone had a gun to your head and was forcing you to drink milkshakes.. you have no one else to blame. McDonalds isnt forcing anyone to drive thru to their windows..

Rant Over.

Girls night, Flat Bread Pizza and a 42% Obesity Rate

Good Morning lovely blog readers! I hope this blog finds you all happy, well and free from the sniffles! I am doing well in the no sniffle department so far and I am hoping that it continues that way!

This weekend was a blast which is why I took a blogging hiatus since last week. The number one reason was that I couldn't find anything that I particularly wanted to write about but also that I had spent a good majority of my weekend in front of a computer doing homework and I just couldn't do it anymore! I am more than half way thru a Masters Degree and so sometimes I have to take "homework weekends" in which I lock myself in the Beehive in South Side or my apartment and just bust out papers and book reviews. I also spent some time with my wonderful friends which was awesome...I love them and I am hoping that I can convince many of them to come down and visit me when I move to Charlotte, NC this summer.

Friday was the wine loft and a movie with some awesome people and Saturday I got to spend time with a slew of girls that I love. There was a Kim, Marlee, Kacey and 2 Stephanie's thrown into the mix! : ) We ate some delicious veggie/red sauce pasta and drank some delicious red wine.. while talking girl talk (sorry guys) and it was great fun!

Sunday I went up to visit my mom which is always fun. I love spending time with my family and especially my parents because I feel like I can talk to my parents and my sister about absolutely anything. My mom and I made some delicious super thin crust pizza from scratch and watched movies. I want to spend as much time as possible with my family this year before I get to far away from them and visiting isn't as easy.

As I looked around in public places I encountered however, I noticed the ratio of overweight people to people with what I would assume is a normal BMI. I would say the ratio was pretty on point with the national average which is 1/3 of people being obese or overweight for their height. I started thinking about the Marie Claire article that go so much hype a few weeks ago when a writer was brutally honest about her feelings on obese and overweight people and I started to think to myself.. do I feel that way when I sit in this room?

The answer was sometimes yes but I don't think to the extent that this writer does. I will admit that the article upset me just like everyone else but at the same time I can respect her for writing 100% honestly about how she feels. A recent study done by Harvard scientists says that if the current trend in the US continues, by the year 2050, 42% of Americans will be overweight or obese. THATS ALMOST HALF OUR POPULATION!! This means time for a serious wake up call!!

So I want to know what you think! What feelings immediately come to you when you see someone who is overweight or obese? Do you think its right or wrong to empower those that are overweight to continue to be so or try to help them lose weight? I want to know what everyone thinks.. so email me or comment here, facebook or twitter please. I am seriously interested!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=170500301
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/fitnessnat