Losing weight is tough, so why wouldn’t you want some extra help? At Matthews Internal Medicine we specialize in finding medical weight management plans that work for our patients. Some of them have asked us about weight loss pills. They want to know if over the counter weight loss pills could make their weight loss journey a bit easier. Unfortunately, weight loss pills almost never work. Here are some of the reasons why.
They Give False Expectations
One of the biggest issues with weight loss pills is that they can give false expectations. Whether it’s an infomercial or a product’s own website filled with glowing reviews, these pills promise way more than they can deliver. Losing weight as fast as some of these products claim is not possible in many cases, and if it is possible it’s probably not safe. Instead, you should talk to your doctor about a medical weight management program that’s safe and effective.
They Don’t Lead to Lifestyle Changes
Even if pills can suppress your appetite or increase your heart rate so that you lose weight faster, they aren’t going to be successful in the long term because they don’t result in major lifestyle changes. In order to lose weight and keep it off, you simply have to change how you go about your day to day life. Weight management means changing your diet and changing how much physical activity you do. Just taking a pill won’t lead to the creation of a lifestyle that results in weight loss.
The Bar for Approval is Low
Another unfortunate truth is that, when it comes to diet pills, the bar for approval is rather low. A supplement doesn’t even have to show amazing results in trials to get on the market as a weight loss pill. Essentially, a pill just needs to show that it’s more effective than a placebo. That’s it. In most cases, it’s not worth the side effects or the extra cost to even add an over-the-counter weight loss pill to your weight management plan.
Methods for Fat Reduction Aren’t Always Effective
There aren’t many weight loss pills that claim to burn fat directly, and the ones that do aren’t necessarily effective. When they are, it’s more because they make life unpleasant when you eat certain foods. For example, there’s one diet pill out there that basically just makes going to the bathroom unpleasant if you eat fatty foods. So eventually you end up avoiding them, which is good, but it’s also just a lifestyle change that you can make on your own without the need for a pill that makes you dread a trip to the bathroom.
They Disrupt Your Body’s Natural Rhythm
The other big issue with diet pills is that they just disrupt your body’s natural rhythm, or homeostasis. An outside force messing with how your body works is, more often than not, a bad thing. It can lead to side effects that a healthy weight management plan wouldn’t produce.
Your Medical Weight Management Team in Matthews, NC
So if you’re ready to lose weight in the right way, in the healthy way, contact Matthews Internal Medicine at (704) 750-2329 today. We’ll find a medical weight management plan that will help you meet your weight loss goals safely. We look forward to helping you!