No More Diets

What diet pills, if any, are safe and effective?

This one comes up very frequently in my inbox. I wrote about it on this Weight Loss Pills post too but it’s worth emphasizing.

There are a few pills your doctor might prescribe if you have shown that you have tried to lose weight in other ways, have not been able to and it is affecting your health, but most medical professionals are not too keen except as a last resort. All those pills, if they are going to do anything, have side effects too. In any case, it is only someone who has full knowledge of your medical history who could say that something was safe (or at least reasonably safe) for you.

I will say that most of the diet pill ads that pop through your letter box full of bright shiny promises or which you find on the internet are sheer rubbish. They make the ads sound so believable but they are basically lies. The experts do not exist if you look for them in medical circles. The before and after pictures are fake (either people lost weight by other means (sensible diet and exercise!) or there have even been cases of the “after” pictures being swapped round with the “before”). And you will find multiple ads for pills with various names doing the rounds all coming from the same few PO Boxes around the world. To add insult to injury they often send a diet and exercise sheet with the worthless pills even though they said that wasn’t necessary.

I tell you, I have seen it all in my time weight loss chocolate (!), lip gloss, patches you stick on your thighs and your feet and every kind of pill. I wouldn’t give any of them house room.

It stands to reason that if anything like this worked we would all know about it soon enough. News would spread like wildfire about this safe new drug which is helping people shed pounds. Do you think that would stay a secret for long? No, we’d all know about it.

My advice is that when you see such an ad - completely ignore it and get on with losing weight the safe way - with modest portions of good food and finding a way to get moving that you actually enjoy.

What is the right pill to take to lose weight?

I’m afraid there’s only one answer to this. NO pill is the right pill to take. Short cuts are not the answer in losing weight - not if you value your health and looks. The only answer to losing weight and staying slim is changing your lifestyle into a healthier happier one and sticking with it for life.

I have had so many heartbreaking stories from people who believed the miracle pill adverts that popped through their letter boxes, lost their hard-earned pennies and ended up heavier than ever. (In fact some people so believe the ads that they eat more in anticipation of the miracle that is about to transform their body, thinking that they can now eat anything and it will all be taken care of).

Don’t get taken in by the scams and worthless pills being sold everywhere - or by the dangerous diet pills and banned substances being touted by websites. It is so not worth it, when you can eat delicious food, keep active and be gorgeous with your own efforts in a few weeks or months.

There are a few pills that doctors can legitimately prescribe but in general they are only available to those who have made an effort to lose weight and only work in any case with dietary restrictions. And who wants to take pills with potentially harmful side effects when the only side effect of good food and sensible exercise is feeling great.

Please look at your habits and see what you need to change and then gradually change them one at a time until they stick with you forever. It really is the only way.