Cheating to be fit?

Filed in archive Another Diet on February 16, 2007

Yesterday I heard on the news that Brazilian woman, especially in Belo Horizonte, use 42% more diet pills than European women.
And I think to myself; how is this possible? Why?

It's incredible easy to buy diet pills here in Brazil, you can buy it basically anywhere. For the really heavy stuff you need a doctors prescription but that is usually not a problem. Case study shows that not even half of all the women prescribed tablets were obese. If a doctor won't help you there is always a veterinary to give you a hand. Or someone else who wants to make some money.

So when should we use diet pills? I have never tried but of course the thought has crossed my mind, although I've never had the courage to buy any. And I think that's good.

Apparently the "Brazilian Diet Pills" are well known as they contain amphetamine. This helps you burn more calories but can cause serious side effects. The U.S Food an Drug Administration warns about taking these supplements.

Some people, like me, thinks that taking diet pills sometimes is cheating. Good eating habits and regular exercise is better, that's what we say.
But on the other hand, these pills has helped so many people and increased their life quality. So it's difficult to say that we shouldn't use diet pills. I think we have to look at our life and decide what is best for us.
Of course eating well and exercising should come first.

Have you ever taken a slimming pill or thought about taking them? Did you benefit from this or did you suffer from any side effects? It would be interesting to hear from someone with experiences.

And is it cheating?