Garcinia Cambogia is touted as a weight loss supplement that can suppress your appetite but still allow you to eat as you normally would. It claims you don't have to increase your exercise or consciously restrict your food intake. Sounds like a miracle for people who want to lose weight, right?
Now, I'm like a lot of girls in college. I struggle a little with my body image and try to maintain a healthy weight—or lose some if I can. Before college and through my sophomore year, I hovered at 130-135 pounds consistently for 5-6 years.
But, it's always been relatively easy for me to gain or lose weight if I need to. It comes with the territory of a mesomorph body type. I once lost 15 pounds in less than two months. So, I gotta admit, me trying this was thanks in part to my vanity. And wanting to fit into my a little-too-small Halloween costume.
Day 1: 139.5 lb
The first day I was skeptical, as the effects didn't appear to be happening. Garcinia Cambogia is supposed to suppress your appetite, but I ate probably 3000 calories today.
Starting off with a full English breakfast and Black Prince courtesy of London Underground for brunch, I was already strong into my caloric intake by midday. By the time I went to bed? I added soup, two hot dogs, two full husks of grilled corn, a burger, and a baked potato. I later found out I was supposed to take both pills at once. Not just one.
Day 2: 137 lb
I took two pills today, like I was supposed to. And my first comment is that not eating a lot is weird. I didn't really even notice I wasn't hungry. Until about 12:30 pm all I had was a latte, and that is nowhere near enough for me to keep running into the afternoon.
Yeah, I eat a lot. Actually, you could probably say I eat more like a guy than a girl. But, I work out a lot as well. However, I didn't even really eat more throughout the day. I got a kids meal from Zaxby's and didn't even register I was hungry until about 7 or 8 pm that night.
Day 3: 138.5 lb
I once again didn't feel the side effects of this like I was supposed to. I definitely ate an almost-normal amount of food for me (think like 2500 calories a day). Or maybe I was just hungry since I hadn't eaten a lot the day before. One thing I did notice was I felt a bit woozy and didn't feel good overall.
However, my friends started noticing. I got comments on how I was definitely a little hangry. Seriously, you know you're one hangry mofo when your friends start asking "Have you eaten today? You're a little cranky."
Day 4: 137 lb
I kind of want to quit doing this. I'm so tired, even if I'm not hungry. It's been years since I've eaten this little without noticing if I wasn't depressed after a breakup or losing track of time while working on a project. Caffeine seemed to be the best thing ever today. I had like five cups of tea in addition to a coffee.
As for food? I'm pretty sure all I ate today was two pieces of avocado toast and a bagel sandwich from the Bruegger's Bagels on campus.
Day 5: 135 lb
I have this ritual, every Thursday I eat a burger. It lets me be unhealthy every so often. At this point─even if I didn't feel hungry─I wanted a burger. And I definitely wasn't hungry enough to pay for my biweekly Five Guys burger. However─despite my inability to indulge─ if anyone claims In-and-Out is better: do not blaspheme in my hamburger church.
I'm kind of regretting doing this, even if I want to fit in my costume.
Day 6: 134 lb
So, it's October 28th and day six of this experiment. I feel like I'm always hungry and kind of regretting doing this.
On the plus side, I fit in my a little-too-small top for my costume─even though it took more effort than I'd like. Which was the initial goal. Be aware that Asian companies make smaller sizes than American. I accidentally ordered from one of them on Amazon and yeah, now I'm taking Garcinia Cambogia.
Day 7: 135 lb
Once again, I faced the challenge of getting into a costume that required me to be skinny and fitter than I've been in the past couple months. On top of that, I had to figure out what to make someone the morning after. Trust me when I say hangovers, bruises, and cooking don't mix. Worst morning I've had in a while.
I was much too hungover to take pictures of the hash I made, but you can follow the recipe I used here. However, I felt significantly less tired after I munched on my hash, downed a caffeinated smoothie, and chugged some Pedialyte.
Day 8: 134 lb
Halloweekend is basically over at this point and I don't have to worry about fitting into my costume. But, I committed to taking Garcinia Cambogia for two weeks. And I regret that commitment so much. I miss eating lots of food.
I didn't feel hungry though, which I really can't get comfortable with because I am always hungry. If I don't overeat at meals (a rule I generally try to abide by) I usually range on the hunger scale from mildly hungry to flat out starving. But, I threw together a few things to eat so that I wouldn't pass out the next day during class.
Day 9: 132 lb
Part of me wants to sing "Living on a Prayer," because I'm more than halfway through this god awful experiment. While I see how this is working for me weight-wise (I've apparently lost 7.5 lb in a little over a week), I hate not eating. Even if it's not on purpose.
Eating is my favorite part of the day. And that's been taken from me. So, I decided to console myself with a jar of homemade Oreo cookie butter on top of honey cookies. I probably had too much saturated fat or something from this.
Day 10: 133.5 lb
I've started feeling increasingly delirious at this point. And I'm pretty sure that's not a side effect of Garcinia Cambogia. It's a side effect of me not eating enough and literally all I can think about is food even though I'm not hungry.
Seriously. My numerical analysis professor asked me a question I should've been able to answer in my sleep and all I could think about was how good mac and cheese sounded. By the end of the day I had fainted from not eating enough while my body─even if I didn't know it─screamed at me to eat.
Day 11: 132.5 lb
I have to keep telling myself that weight fluctuates. But it appears I've plateaued on the whole weight loss thing. However, I believe in myself. I will make it. At least that's what I keep telling myself. I've set reminders on my phone to eat so I don't collapse again.
I ate small snacks throughout the day and eventually went home earlier than I usually do. Plus, I wanted to make myself a well-deserved dinner to grant me some reprieve from this Gardenia Cambogia-induced hell.
Day 12: 131 lb
I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I can't wait to go back to eating way too much food for someone my size and drinking a quality IPA without it making me buzzed since there's nothing in my stomach.
All I can think throughout the day is how I'm so done. And I probably said it more times today than I do in a month. So done. And to top it off? It's Thursday, all my friends want to go out. And I am always down to go out. But, thanks to this experiment, I'm so worried I haven't eaten enough for me not to get trashed that I don't go.
Day 13: 131.5 lb
I'm starting to view this experiment as worse than the week I only ate foods of the same color. I miss food. It's definitely been rough the past couple days, but the alerts on my phone definitely are keeping me from feeling dizzy and passing out. I console my stomach with a burger before I sleep.
Day 14: 130 lb
The end is in sight. I'm so tired I can't even get hype about it. However, I am incredibly glad this is going to be over. I will never take stuffing my face with donuts and fatty foods for granted ever again. The reminders on my phone are keeping me alive. And I'm going out since it's Saturday night.
This is by far the worst experiment I've decided to do when it comes to food. I fainted several times since I wasn't eating enough, and really should've stopped when that happened. Unless you can keep track of what you've eaten and can remind yourself to eat, I wouldn't recommend it—even if I did lose almost ten pounds in two weeks. To quote Mindy Kaling, "God, I want a donut."