This is a natural response to dieting. Caloric restriction alters body chemistry to try to get the dieter to seek out and consume food and makes the body conserve stored energy. Other weight-loss schemes are often just as destructive. Diet pills, for example, contain caffeine or other stimulants, which are addictive. Laxatives or diuretics, also found in diet pills, cause dehydration and mineral depletion.
Diets usually leave a person aggravated, discouraged, and the same size.
But supplement products are rarely nutritionally balanced, often costing 10 times the amount of regular food. A two-pound box of Muscle Macs costs about nine dollars, yet these are simply egg noodles in fancy packaging. Worse products are packed with excessive amounts of protein, usually animal protein, that sometimes comes from inexpensive, relatively indigestible sources including, in some cases, horses' hooves. Two really serious problems that we face in our rush toward the perfect body are eating disorders and steroid use. Both can be deadly and both have very serious long-term health consequences.