I really can't complain about my weight. I'm quite tall (5'9"), I wear a french 38-40 size which is a US 8-10 or a UK 10-12, and I might even go a size below if I weren't a 36D.
I have a hourglass body shape so I'm lucky to have curves where they're supposed to be and not some place that makes finding clothes impossible.
Don't be jealous, though: I have a long history of yo-yo weight from almost obese to quite underweight, so being where I am now is an achievement and not the result of lucky genes. I also always have to be careful with what I eat.
Anyway, despite the current good picture, like most women I do
1/ take a few pounds during the Winter, and
2/ have my problem areas, which are mostly my thighs and hips
I also need to tell that I don't enjoy sport at all, my only physical activity is walking and I wear workout attires only to spend lazy days in my couch. I know, I know, not healthy, but that's how things are right now.
So like a lot of women, again, I have dreamed of products that would make me magically lose 5 pounds and a couple of inches on my chubby zones.
Having worked in the pharmaceutical business at some point, I got to try quite a lot of these products and I know the market rather well, which is why I thought I'd share my insight on these products.
Slimming drinks and pills.
I am obviously talking of the products you can get everywhere without prescription, not Rx stuff. There are mostly 3 types of products in this category:
- most will be made of plant extracts and have a diuretic effect, meaning you'll need to go to the bathroom 10 times a day and you will lose weight because you will lose water. If you are feeling swollen for hormonal reasons, this will help. Other than that, there's no real benefit, you'll never lose more than a couple of pounds and they will come back quickly. I'd say that if you want to give this a try, using the liquid forms that you mix into a liter of water and drink through the day have at least the benefit of making you drink your daily recommended water intake.
- some are reducing fat absorbtion through the bowel; I don't want to get graphic here but this will work by making you evacuating 50% of the fat you have eaten, which can result in unpleasant bowel movements. Avoid if you have a sensitive bowel.
- some are cutting your appetite by occupying space in your stomach, they're often made of fruit fiber. Won't work on their own if you don't change your eating habits, because it doesn't take a huge quantity of food to absorb a lot of calories, sugar or fats.
All in all I'd say these products won't bring any miracle (we'd know if there was a miracle diet pill, wouldn't we?) and personally, I recommend not bothering, especially as they can be pricy.
Slimming creams.
Now that's a different story. These won't make you lose weight, but some will make you lose an inch or two on problem areas, and can also reduce the look of cellulite.
Which one to chose, you will ask. Well, it doesn't matter. What actually works when using these products, is the fact that you regularly massage and moisturize the area over several weeks. This alone will help toning the body, you would get that kind of result with a moisturizer as well.
I'm not saying that there aren't any ingredients (like caffeine) that apparently work a bit better, but most of the work is done by your hands so you really shouldn't spend a lot of money on the high end products, in my opinion.
Now as I said, I do have a few extra pounds to get rid of this Spring and I do want to firm my tights and hips a bit without having to workout. So I thought I'd pick a product and report to you guys, because once I have talked about this on here, I have to commit to really using this product daily so I can give a precise review. Indeed, daily use is key with these products and I tend to give up too quickly.
The product I picked is new on the market, it's from Bio Beauté by Nuxe and it's 100% organic. It's actually a firming oil (they don't even talk of 'slimming' which is what caught my attention: firming is a more realistic goal and is what I'm looking for), which is a mix of several flower and vegetable oils. So if it doesn't work, I will at least have well nourished and good smelling skin :)
On the weight scale front, I have cut into my sugar (especially processed sugar) and fat intake but I have not made drastic changes nor am I trying any new crash diet. I still eat about 1500-1600 kcal a day (which is enough for a women who doesn't exercise). Five pounds isn't that much to lose, Summer isn't that close where I live, I rather to this in a pleasant and healthy way.
So I'll report back on here in a month on the effects I got from the Nuxe Firming Oil.
If there's any product you tried and were happy with, feel free to share in the comments!
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