by Kimberly Foster

Created on: October 25, 2007

"Lose Weight while you sit on your couch watching TV." "Lose Weight while you sleep!" "Eat all you want and STILL lose weight!"

Look familiar? Okay maybe I've taken the TV weight loss ad tagline to its extreme, but I'll bet you got the point immediately. There are a thousand pills and programs out there, what works, what doesn't? Should you believe the claims? Can you believe the claims?

You know I always thought there were "False Advertising" laws on the books that protected the consumer from products that simply don't work. The truth is that the false advertising laws a pretty specific and have loopholes you could drive a tractor-trailer through so guess what folks, it's still buyer beware.

So here's where I'd like to offer some guidance. I'm going to attempt to give you the "skinny" on the diet drug world. My sources are the FDA, WebMD and my own personal history as someone that went from a size 24 to a size 8.

I'm 42 years old, female, ran my first marathon last year and I was obese for most of my life. I went up and down in weight a lot as a child but I went on my first "diet" at 14. I took over-the-counter pills that are still on the market today. I did lose weight, but it wasn't due to the pills. It was due to my starving myself and not knowing what to do when the weight loss goal was reached and the so called "diet" was over. This began my sordid affair with yo-yo dieting. I broke the cycle about 5 years ago, but not before I tried every diet pill I'm about to describe to you plus some that I cannot describe because the FDA pulled them off the market. I'd like to present to you the information on these pills and how they work and offer you some perspective from my experience.

First, let's discuss the TV ad weight-loss supplements. They don't work. Okay moving on. Alright I'm kidding, but only partly, these supplements do not work. Look very carefully at the ads. If they do not state HOW THEY WORK, they are nothing more than junk. Why? If a company states that their product will help you lose weight by making you feel full, let's say for example, that's a claim that they're liable for. Now, lets say they do make that claim, they get out of liability by stating in fine print at the bottom of the screen, "results not typical" or "may not work for all" or something equally as silly. So forget, PLEASE, forget the TV ads.

Now let's discuss FDA approved, doctor recommended or prescribed pills for weight loss. First on the list, Alli:

Alli or orlistat is a fat blocker.

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