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CNN Live At Daybreak
Interview with Lisa Drayer
Aired October 01, 2002 - 06:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So, as you're eating your Frosted Flakes this morning your or Count Dracula cereal, we want to talk about losing weight without diet or exercise. That claim is being made by many weight loss products. But is it too good to be true?
Registered dietitian Lisa Drayer has some answers for us. She's director of nutrition services for Dietwatch.com Incorporated.
Lisa joins us live this morning from New York.
OK, Lisa, you've got five wacky diets. We want to see them.
LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: We've got five ridiculous weight loss claims. The first is, we see this often, lose up to 10 pounds in two days. This is the Hollywood Miracle Diet. It's not going to happen. You cannot lose 10 pounds in two days. This is one of those false weight loss claims.
COSTELLO: So you just drink that stuff and the pounds come off?
DRAYER: Yes, this diet is basically telling you to drink 400 calories of juice each day. Now, if any weight is lost, it is most likely due to water weight and it will quickly be regained once you start eating real food.
COSTELLO: Got you. Totally understand. Next one?
DRAYER: Next we have Exercise In A Bottle, if you can believe that. But, sorry, sorry, it just doesn't come in a bottle. The main ingredient here is pyruvete, which is helpful with carbohydrate metabolism. But pyruvete cannot in any way, shape or form take the place of exercise.
COSTELLO: Oh, I can't wait to see the next one. These are good.
DRAYER: Actually, yes, this one is soap. The new diet soap washes away the fat.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes!
COSTELLO: Oh, whoa. We like that one.
DRAYER: See that? Yes, just lather up and watch those pounds melt away.
COSTELLO: I could do that every morning. It's simple. OK.
DRAYER: You may shed some dead skin cells, but that's about it.
COSTELLO: The next one?
DRAYER: Yes, actually, this one is not as obvious. This is Zenadrine. We see a lot of herbal weight loss preparations on the market these days. The key to note is that they do contain herbal ingredients which can have harmful side effects. Supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. And, in fact, the ingredient ephedra here, in combination with guarana, which contains caffeine, can lead to increased blood pressure and palpitations.
COSTELLO: Not good for your heart. OK.
DRAYER: Definitely not.
COSTELLO: Did you save the best for last?
DRAYER: Yes, the best for last. This is the apple cider vinegar diet. Carol, the best thing about this diet is that it comes with a 1,600 calorie meal plan so if you follow the meal plan and you take your dehydrated apple cider vinegar pills, you will lose some weight. Gee, I wonder what's producing the weight loss, the 1,600 calorie plan or the vinegar?
COSTELLO: And I know you can get most of that stuff from infomercials and the backs of magazines. But you have some tips for us. And we're going to whip through these, because we don't have much time.
DRAYER: Sure.
COSTELLO: OK, here are your tips to avoid, to avoid these diet programs that promise unrealistic rate of weight loss.
DRAYER: Yes.
COSTELLO: That's a simple one.
DRAYER: Yes, absolutely.
COSTELLO: So you can't lose...
DRAYER: You cannot lose 10 pound in two days or even 30 pounds in 30 days. And, in fact, if you are losing more than one percent of your body weight per week, which translates to more than two pounds if you weigh 200 pounds, you can lose lean tissue, including heart tissue. So it's not realistic and it can be harmful if you do actually lose at a rapid rate.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm going to whip through these.
DRAYER: Sure.
COSTELLO: Number two is avoid diet programs that are not backed by professionals, as in doctors.
DRAYER: That's right.
COSTELLO: Also, number three, watch out for supplements with herbal ingredients. Avoid...
DRAYER: Yes, remember then --
COSTELLO: OK.
DRAYER: They're not regulated by the FDA so do be careful.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Avoid diet plans that claim you don't need to exercise in order to lose weight because, Lisa, that is the only way you can lose weight.
DRAYER: Exercise and diet, definitely.
COSTELLO: And lastly, watch out for programs that ask you to buy lots of food and supplements.
DRAYER: That's right. I do have a problem with these programs, because they ask you to rely on their product or product line in order to help you lose the weight. But they do not promote behavior change. It's just not realistic to think you're going to, you know, get up at a table, excuse yourself and drink a shake. So just be a smart shopper. And if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Lisa Drayer, thanks.
And could you send Chad some of that soap? He was really interested in that.
MYERS: I want to wash that fat right off my belly.
DRAYER: I'll send it your way.
COSTELLO: OK, thank you, Lisa.
We'll catch you next week.
DRAYER: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 1, 2002 - 06:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So, as you're eating your Frosted Flakes this morning your or Count Dracula cereal, we want to talk about losing weight without diet or exercise. That claim is being made by many weight loss products. But is it too good to be true?
Registered dietitian Lisa Drayer has some answers for us. She's director of nutrition services for Dietwatch.com Incorporated.
Lisa joins us live this morning from New York.
OK, Lisa, you've got five wacky diets. We want to see them.
LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: We've got five ridiculous weight loss claims. The first is, we see this often, lose up to 10 pounds in two days. This is the Hollywood Miracle Diet. It's not going to happen. You cannot lose 10 pounds in two days. This is one of those false weight loss claims.
COSTELLO: So you just drink that stuff and the pounds come off?
DRAYER: Yes, this diet is basically telling you to drink 400 calories of juice each day. Now, if any weight is lost, it is most likely due to water weight and it will quickly be regained once you start eating real food.
COSTELLO: Got you. Totally understand. Next one?
DRAYER: Next we have Exercise In A Bottle, if you can believe that. But, sorry, sorry, it just doesn't come in a bottle. The main ingredient here is pyruvete, which is helpful with carbohydrate metabolism. But pyruvete cannot in any way, shape or form take the place of exercise.
COSTELLO: Oh, I can't wait to see the next one. These are good.
DRAYER: Actually, yes, this one is soap. The new diet soap washes away the fat.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes!
COSTELLO: Oh, whoa. We like that one.
DRAYER: See that? Yes, just lather up and watch those pounds melt away.
COSTELLO: I could do that every morning. It's simple. OK.
DRAYER: You may shed some dead skin cells, but that's about it.
COSTELLO: The next one?
DRAYER: Yes, actually, this one is not as obvious. This is Zenadrine. We see a lot of herbal weight loss preparations on the market these days. The key to note is that they do contain herbal ingredients which can have harmful side effects. Supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. And, in fact, the ingredient ephedra here, in combination with guarana, which contains caffeine, can lead to increased blood pressure and palpitations.
COSTELLO: Not good for your heart. OK.
DRAYER: Definitely not.
COSTELLO: Did you save the best for last?
DRAYER: Yes, the best for last. This is the apple cider vinegar diet. Carol, the best thing about this diet is that it comes with a 1,600 calorie meal plan so if you follow the meal plan and you take your dehydrated apple cider vinegar pills, you will lose some weight. Gee, I wonder what's producing the weight loss, the 1,600 calorie plan or the vinegar?
COSTELLO: And I know you can get most of that stuff from infomercials and the backs of magazines. But you have some tips for us. And we're going to whip through these, because we don't have much time.
DRAYER: Sure.
COSTELLO: OK, here are your tips to avoid, to avoid these diet programs that promise unrealistic rate of weight loss.
DRAYER: Yes.
COSTELLO: That's a simple one.
DRAYER: Yes, absolutely.
COSTELLO: So you can't lose...
DRAYER: You cannot lose 10 pound in two days or even 30 pounds in 30 days. And, in fact, if you are losing more than one percent of your body weight per week, which translates to more than two pounds if you weigh 200 pounds, you can lose lean tissue, including heart tissue. So it's not realistic and it can be harmful if you do actually lose at a rapid rate.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm going to whip through these.
DRAYER: Sure.
COSTELLO: Number two is avoid diet programs that are not backed by professionals, as in doctors.
DRAYER: That's right.
COSTELLO: Also, number three, watch out for supplements with herbal ingredients. Avoid...
DRAYER: Yes, remember then --
COSTELLO: OK.
DRAYER: They're not regulated by the FDA so do be careful.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Avoid diet plans that claim you don't need to exercise in order to lose weight because, Lisa, that is the only way you can lose weight.
DRAYER: Exercise and diet, definitely.
COSTELLO: And lastly, watch out for programs that ask you to buy lots of food and supplements.
DRAYER: That's right. I do have a problem with these programs, because they ask you to rely on their product or product line in order to help you lose the weight. But they do not promote behavior change. It's just not realistic to think you're going to, you know, get up at a table, excuse yourself and drink a shake. So just be a smart shopper. And if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Lisa Drayer, thanks.
And could you send Chad some of that soap? He was really interested in that.
MYERS: I want to wash that fat right off my belly.
DRAYER: I'll send it your way.
COSTELLO: OK, thank you, Lisa.
We'll catch you next week.
DRAYER: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
