Weight-loss crystals

It’s expensive! It’s full of crystals! It helps you lose weight! Is it methamphetamine? NO! It’s the SENSA weight-loss system and it’s a giant bag of doesn’t work.

Why doesn’t it work? Because the instructions tell you to record everything you eat and limit the portions of what you consume. Will you lose weight if you do this? Yes, probably, because most people don’t obsessively track everything they eat, and don’t intentionally eat less than they want at every meal. Studies have shown that the simple act of writing down or electronically logging your food will compel you to eat less, lest you endure the embarrassment of clicking on Cool Whip and pulling down the selector for “1 humongous tub”, your ears burning as you scroll past Breakfast and Lunch to add it to your list of Snacks.

Sensa is made from maltodextrin, tricalcium phosphate, and silica. These are all commodity food additives and worth so little that the manufacturing process of measuring out tiny portions and putting them into packets costs more than the ingredients themselves. The Sensa system, of course, sells for $50 for a one-month supply.