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Will Diet Pills or Supplements Help Me Lose Weight?

asked 3 years ago by anon
Latest answer by Steven H. Williams, MD
Question viewed 2,034 times
Tags: supplements

I want to lose some weight (about 10-20 lbs) and I am wondering if any diet pills or supplements will help me. The only ones I've heard of are Alli and Hydroxycut-- do those work? Are there better weight loss pills out there? I would like to use something that won't cause any gross side effects. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

3 answers to Will Diet Pills or Supplements Help Me Lose Weight?

+2

No weight loss tricks

Unfortunately there are no tricks. There are some medications that attempt to increase your metabolism (stimulants) or change your aborption of calories -- typically blocking fat absorption. While the mechanics of these make sense many times they are not associated with long term significant fat loss. The best way to handle it is increasing your activity and decreasing your caloric intake. I hope this helps.
Steven H. Williams, MD

San Francisco Plastic Surgeon
+2

Weight Loss - Holiday Fat Gain

Research data shows that the average American gains 8 pounds during the holidays. The latest scientific data shows that in cardiovascular medicine, it is not necessarily body weight that is important to health but your cardiovascular fitness. That is to say, you will probably live longer if you target your HDL to be 100 or 80 or 70 as opposed to 40 or less. So, weight is important to your look but not so important for your longevity. It has been shown that morbid obesity surgery reduces the... more
Hratch Karamanoukian, MD

Buffalo General Surgeon
+1

Balanced Diet and Exercise

Kelisa, Basically, the best way to loose weight is a balanced diet and regular exercise. If you take the time to document your caloric intake, you will likely find that it is more than you would predict. That said, there are many "diet pills" out there. The stimulant based products such as Hydroxycut can lead to jitteriness. The anti-absorptive products such as Alli can lead to malabsorption and also, if your lipid intake is too great, can lead to yellow staining and leakage - yes it is... more
David Shafer, MD

New York Plastic Surgeon

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