A 28-year-old woman has said she felt like she was going to die after using popular weightloss product Duromine – and it is for this reason that she'll never try another weightloss product again.
After gaining more than 16kg between 2014 and 2015, Rapelang Mashile* told HuffPost she needed a quick fix to lose the weight and decided to try Duromine in 2016, after hearing about and seeing the "wonder works" of the product from a colleague.
"I would hallucinate – seriously – have strange dreams, sweat excessively, be nervous and twitch. One day my heart would beat very fast, and then another day very slowly. My mother thought this thing was going to kill me."
Mashile used the product for two months, and although she lost a few kilos, she concluded that it was not worth what was happening to her body.
"I told myself then that I'll never ever touch these things again. I've heard from the same colleague about the Fat Burner, and I know that I will not put myself through that."
Dangers
Registered dietician Ashley Gibbon told HuffPost that the dangers of using weightloss products can range from mild to severe, depending on the product you use.
Severe side effects could include:
- Decrease in metabolic rate after you stop using the product;
- Gastrointestinal effects, such as nausea, cramping, vomiting and diarrhoea. Fat "binders" can result in fatty, runny stools;
- Micronutrient deficiencies, as the product can prevent the body from absorbing certain nutrients;
- Problems developing with digestion at a later stage – or during the use of the product.
Fitness expert Isilda da Costa warned against using "hush-hush" products from friends, over-the-counter products, or those that aren't medically approved. "If it is a product that you have never heard of, then it is likely to be a scam. I am not talking about green tea and the likes. I am talking about chemical names and chemical compounds, of which you have no idea the reactions they create in the body," she said.
She said everyone must be responsible for what they put into their bodies, because some consequences can be life-threatening.
Nothing can do what hard work does.
The number-one piece of advice she can give to anyone on a weightloss journey, is patience. "Nothing can do what hard work does," she said.
After you've taken these drugs, "you need to repair your metabolism and return it to a healthy state, and in order to keep it healthy for the longer term, it takes a long while of patience and persistence", Da Costa said.
"The only way to successfully lose weight and maintain weightloss is through lifestyle changes. Weight gain mostly occurs over a long period, from poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Weightloss results over a period of time, once these bad eating habits are changed and activity is increased," concluded Gibbon.
*Not her real name