Dieting While On Weight Loss Pills

In the rush to lose weight, many people have turned to diet pills as a way of speeding along their progress and improving their results. We've seen a trend, however: with pills many pills that claim miraculous weight-loss results, people aren't having as much success as they'd like. That's right: people are maintaining their current weight or even gaining weight while on diet pills.

How can this be? Well, the marketing for many types of diet pills has left people with the impression that their pills will make them thinner, without having to take any other steps. As a result, they're not losing any weight. That's because contrary to what some promise, the truth is that diet pills won't make you lose weight on their own.

What Weight Loss Pills Do

Diet pills can be of some help, and they come in several varieties and therefore work in different ways. Some pills control the appetite, making you less hungry and therefore making you want to eat less. By consuming fewer calories, you can lose weight over time. Other pills claim to improve your metabolic output, making your body naturally burn more calories and convert fat stores to energy at a higher rate, leading to loss of body fat. Finally, there are pills that block the absorption of certain parts of food - typically fats - and therefore prevent you from taking those calories in. While they all come with their own pros and cons, the truth is that regardless of how well a pill might work it will not make you lose weight all by itself.

When Weight Loss Pills Won't Work

As many people have learned, you can easily maintain or even gain weight even if you're using weight loss pills. How? Let's look at the different loopholes in each type of pill. Metabolism pills (or "thermogenics" as they're sometimes called) are supposed to increase the rate at which your body turns sugars or fats into energy. That said, it's easy to maintain or gain weight. How? Overeating. The fact is that metabolism pills by and large don't have a significant effect on the amount of energy your body burns, so simply by eating more calories than your body needs, you can still gain weight while one them. Fat blocking pills like Xenical or Alli block the enzyme that your body uses to digest fats, thereby preventing you from taking those fats in as calories. That said, you can still fail to lose weight while taking them. Other sources of calories like carbohydrates and sugars aren't affected by these pills, so you can still end up staying the same weight if you overindulge in them.

Appetite suppressors often contain amphetamines (which is why they're prescription-only), and affect your brain chemistry to make you think you're less hungry than you ought to be. By eating fewer meals, you can lose weight - but again, if you have too many calories during your few meals, you can still end up staying the same weight, or even getting bigger.

Suggested Diets, By Pill

How can you make sure you're getting the most out of whatever weight loss pill you're using? We've come up with some suggestions that take the individual pill type into account. Fat-blocking pills: For these, we suggest a diet that's low in fat and limits your overall caloric intake even from carbs and sugars. What's the point of eating less fat when the pill is designed to prevent you from absorbing it? People who use these pills report worse side effects when they eat fatty meals. The more fats you eat, the more will be excreted in your stool, which could make for an uncomfortable experience. You can reduce the chance of side effects by limiting fat intake. Metabolism pills: While on these pills, we recommend limiting your sugar and caffeine intake. That's because metabolism pills often contain caffeine, and if you combine these pills with coffee or tea, you could end up strung out and anxious. As with the above, limiting your overall caloric intake will also ensure you don't counteract the benefits these pills are supposed to have. Appetite suppressants: If you're on these pills, it's recommended that you eat meals that are nutritionally-dense, so that you make sure you get all of your daily nutrition while consuming less food. Again, as with the above, make sure you limit calorie-dense foods, which can lead you to gain even though you're not filling yourself up as much.

Conclusion

As you can see, simply taking a pill won't give you the weight loss results you want. Pills must be combined properly with diet and exercise in order to get down to the weight you want. Guides like this are no substitute for advice from a medical professional, of course, so don't take our word alone. However, with this guide you're well on your way to getting the most out of your diet pill regimen.