Weight Loss

Pills For Weight Loss May Just Help You

If you've struggled with excess weight for years, you've probably longed for a magic bullet, a special weight loss pill that will almost magically burn the fat off, leaving you slim and trim without any pain or effort. Such a magical weight loss pill doesn't exist - and if it did, it would be worth more than ten times its weight in gold.

There are, however, a number of pills for weight loss on the market which, if not miracles in a bottle, are very helpful if you want to lose weight. They come in two main types, prescription and non-prescription.

The prescription types, obviously, have to be prescribed to you by a doctor. Furthermore, these pills for weight loss are subject to a battery of rigorous tests and have to meet FDA approval before being allowed on the market. Two well-known types of pills for weight loss that require prescriptions are Xenical and the Fentermine type.

Fentermine pills for weight loss work by affecting the brain's neurotransmitters that reduce cravings. Over the short term, they are very effective, as they reduce all desire to eat excessively.

Over the long-term, however, they can bring a risk of addiction (anything that affects the brain directly has this risk) and they can have some unpleasant side effects including diarrhoea, depression, fainting and loss of libido. However, if taken over the short term, fentermine pills for weight loss can be worth the discomfort and inconvenience, as they can be the little bit of extra help needed to get you into a healthy condition. Your medical professional will be able to help you decide if this type of weight loss pill will be helpful for you.

Xenical pills for weight loss took the world by storm when they were first launched on the market. Xenical works in the gut itself, blocking an enzyme that the body needs in order to absorb fats. Up to a third of dietary fat can be blocked before it hits your bloodstream and will pass untouched out of your body (you guessed it - this type of pill for weight loss has diarrhoea as a side effect - all that fat has to go somewhere).

Once again, Xenical-type pills for weight loss are for short-term use only, as they also block the body's ability to absorb fat soluble vitamins such as Vitamins A and E, not to mention the cholesterol lowering monounsaturated fats and Omega-3 oils. But in the short term, they are a very effective means of weight loss.

Non-prescription pills for weight loss come in a range of types: laxatives, appetite suppressants and fat burners. These types of pills for weight loss are usually gentler on the body.

Laxative pills for weight loss work by hurrying food through the body before it can be absorbed into the bloodstream. This, of course, does have a very obvious disadvantage. Laxatives can also be misused and often form the "purge" part of the bulimic "binge-and-purge" cycle. However, laxative pills or powders can be beneficial when following a low-carb diet for weight loss.

Appetite suppressants are pills for weight loss that are much less open to abuse. Instead of interfering with the brain's chemistry directly, they stimulate the body's production of the "fullness hormones" that curb the desire to eat. In conjunction with exercise and healthy food, these pills can be an effective weight loss tool.

Some pills for weight loss work by boosting the body's metabolism, enabling it to burn fat more efficiently. These pills aid in weight loss as they make your workout sessions burn off more calories, making you lose fat. By themselves, they are ineffective, but they really make an exercise session worth it.