Miracle Weight Loss and Health in a Gummy: Dietician Dishes on Fad Nutrition

“He’s lost 25 pounds in two months,” Bernice Urteage said of one of her Zeal for Life customers.

Urteaga is a managing consultant for the company that has been around for about three years now. Zeal for Life claims to be an all-in-one natural nutritional drink.

She presented her miricle weight loss formula at the annual San Angelo Chamber of Commerce Business Expo Sept. 26 at the McNease Convention Center.

Based on the nutrients contained in the Zeal for Life products Urteaga said, “You could live off of this and water alone.”

Another consultant, Kirby Felts, pulled out her phone to show a before and after picture of herself to interested onlookers at the Zeal for Life booth set up at the 22nd Annual Business Expo.

Felts said she lost 15 pounds in the first month she started using the product.

“It depends on the person. Everyone is going to be different depending on how much weight they are needing to lose.” Felts said.

The consultants said that their customers vary from male to female and range in age as well. However, the majority of their clientele comes from people trying to lose weight.

On the other side of the building lies another booth for the health enthusiasts. There, Dorothy Tomerlin and her daughter-in-law Debbie Tomerlin were representing Juice PLUS+.

“The immediate benefits vary from person to person,” Debbie Tomerlin said about Juice PLUS+.

Tomerlin added that research has shown that the products both she and her mother-in-law sell have benefits for everyone including smokers and pregnant women. She noted that the company has just developed a line of products for weight loss too.

Does this sound too good to be true?

Christina Thomas, a registered dietitian at the Shannon Medical Center, said she does not recommend depending upon supplements such as Zeal for Life or Juice Plus+.

“We encourage an overall healthy lifestyle,” Thomas said.

Rather than using nutritional supplements, Thomas encourages eating from the main food groups in order to receive proper nutrition. 

Thomas also stated that consuming vitamins is not going to cause weight loss. She said that weight loss occurs when there are more calories in the body being burned than calories being ingested.

“The only time vitamin intake is going to increase your ability to lose weight is in the case of extreme deficiency,” Thomas said. She explained that vitamins may increase energy levels, making one more able to live a healthy lifestyle. However, Thomas said a simple multi-vitamin could do the same job as any other trendy nutritional supplement.