Tag: diet

Laxatives and Weight Loss

 

The rate of obesity in the United States is at an all time high. People are searching for the magic pill to make the process of losing weight simple, easy and painless. You may not want to hear this but there is no magic pill. Weight goes ‘on’ the same way it comes off. If you eat more calories than you burn off then its simple- you gain weight. If you eat less than you burn off then you lose weight. Simple. (1)

But while this concept is simple, the practice is not. In this high stress  fast-paced world of ours many of us leave out exercise in order to spend time going to the movies with their children or sitting passively  on the sidelines watching their children play sports. Grabbing a quick hamburger at the local fast food restaurant has taken over from sit down dinners  with vegetables and salad. Do we actually wonder why obesity is at an all time high!

Some of us  in desperation turn to laxatives. Let me start by saying -Laxatives and weight loss are not synonymous….read that again. Laxatives and weight loss are also not healthy or safe. The majority of weight that is lost when we use laxatives is from fluid and the health dangers are significant. (2)

The use of laxatives in an attempt to lose weight is often abused and seems to be common with people who have an eating disorder.

So to understand why it is a bad idea to use laxatives Let’s look at what happens in your body when you take them. After the pill is ingested, the active ingredients in the tablet target the cells of the large intestines. They then irritate the cells and encourage the large intestines to empty, often earlier than the body is ready.

 One of the main functions of the large intestine is to reabsorb water  from the food so that it is not lost from the body as waste.  If you evacuate your bowels too soon you run the risk of dehydration.

The calories from the food you eat are  absorbed in the small intestines and laxatives don’t affect the small intestines. This means that while the intent behind taking laxatives is to decrease the amount of calories absorbed by the food, the only thing that these medications will do is cause the large intestines to evacuate the waste AFTER the small intestines has extracted all of the necessary calories.

After losing fluid from the early bowel movement the body then compensates by retaining fluid. This means laxatives will cause an initial dehydration which makes the person ‘feel’ thin, but within a few hours the body will compensate by retaining the remaining fluid and consequently making the person ‘feel’ bigger.

The body needs fluid to remove the wastes and toxins in the large intestine so retaining fluids will make you feel bad because you can’t get rid of all of the waste products normally evacuated.

Now at this point you might be tempted to take more laxatives to get rid of the full feeling again and so It’s a vicious cycle that sets you up for irritable bowel syndrome and colon tumors. The Prolonged use of laxatives can  lead to cramping, bloating, water retention and the added problem of withdrawal.

Believe me …..the use of laxatives to promote weight loss is just not an option!

All you are doing is  endangering your health and definitely won’t be moving toward achieving your goal.

Ok… so how do you stop using laxatives?

You can stop the abuse of laxatives using several steps.

Unless you have been prescribed by a doctor you should stop using laxatives immediately. This can be easier said than done and may require the help of a mental health professional.

Drink at least 6-10 eight oz glasses of water each day. Do Not have caffeine drinks or alcohol or juices, only water. Get some physical activity each day to encourage regular bowel function.

Make sure you Eat regularly and spread it out over at least 3 meals maybe more. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, which will immediately improve your chances of weight loss and improve normal bowel function. Keep a record every day of your bowel movements so they can be monitored and you can see a pattern. If you find you are constipated for more than 3 days call your doctor – do not treat yourself!

Your colon will react differently than a normal colon after it has been abused by a laxative regimen and of course it depends how long you were on laxatives

Laxatives and weight loss don’t mix. They don’t work.  You can stop the vicious cycle and move on to a more healthy and fit way of losing weight for life!

References

(1) Centers for Disease Control: Adult Obesity Facts
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

(2) Columbia University Health; Go Ask Alice: Laxative Abuse – Any Side Effects?
http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/laxative-abuse-any-side-effects

Burn Fat And Feel Great With These Weight Loss Ideas

If you are struggling with your weight, you’ve probably heard time and again that you need to lose the excess weight, in order to benefit your health. This doesn’t have to be impossible, however. Losing weight and becoming healthier, can be eased with the use of some of these helpful tips.

To help you lose weight be sure to always pay attention to not only what you are eating, but how much of it you are eating. The main culprit of this type of eating is doing so while watching television or reading. It is possible to lose track of how much you are eating and fill yourself up past what you would have normally eaten. Either decide your portion ahead of time, or do not let yourself get distracted while snacking.

If you’ve reached a plateau in your weight loss, try something new. Shake up your routine a little bit. Take on a new workout routine, or experiment with different sports and activities. Don’t take the lack of weight loss to heart; sometimes everyone gets stuck at a certain level. The important thing is to keep going.

Take a look at the food you are currently eating. Ask yourself if the food that you are eating is healthy. If the food that you are currently eating is unhealthy, and high in fat, sugar or calories, then you should start by changing what you eat. You should also take into account how much and often you eat

To keep yourself motivated on the path to meeting your weight loss goals, get in the proper mindset. Prepare your mind to accept the fact that you will need to make some changes to your eating habits. After all, you want to lose the weight initially, but you also want to keep it off.

If you are on a diet and want to save time and money, you should try buying chicken breasts in bulk at your local grocery store and cooking a week’s worth on Sunday night. This will help you make sure that you do not waste time every day cooking for lunch and dinner.

Bringing your weight down to a healthy range is one of the most important things you can do to improve your overall health and extend your lifespan. By following the advice given in this article, you’ll be ready to make the necessary changes and lose the extra weight that you’ve been carrying around.

Tips To Make Sure Your Losing Weight Safely

If you need or want to lose weight, you should make every effort to ensure that you’re losing weight safely. Of course, most people intend to do this. It seems silly to think anyone would set out to lose weight any other way than safely, but it does happen. Unsafe and even deadly methods of weight loss are everywhere you look. Many people just see the results and figure the worst consequences of what they’re doing won’t happen to them. But sometimes they do.

Look at models, for instance. While there’s no doubt that some eat a healthy diet, if a small one, others who became models weren’t so concerned with staying thin in a reasonable way. For them, if they gained a pound all thoughts of losing weight safely were gone. The only thing that mattered was dropping that pound and fitting perfectly into those designer clothes they had to model. The rate of bulimics among models and other professions, like jockeys for instance, where people have to stay small and thin is amazingly high.

Bulimia is a disorder in which a person eats normally or overeats and then makes themselves throw the food back up. People with bulimia stay thin because they throw the food up before they can absorb many calories from it. Unfortunately, they can’t absorb the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that they’re bodies need either. It’s extremely unhealthy and can do lots of physical damage. Bulimia can kill people, and it has killed many. But despite knowing this, some people still use it as a way to lose weight or keep it off. Losing weight safely won’t be anything like this.

If a diet plan you’re following makes you feel bad, you’ll want to consider a different way of eating to make sure you’re losing weight safely. Though it’s true that almost any big change to how you eat might make feel a little “off” for a few days. If you’re used to having a lot of caffeine and sugar in soda and you give it up or drastically cut back, for instance, you might have headaches or even feel nauseous a little in the beginning. But if a diet restricts something like vegetables and insists you eat foods that you might have before considered unhealthy, you may start to feel bad because you’re not getting the right nutrition and your body is rebelling a bit.

For losing weight safely, you have to be very aware of the things you do, too. If you haven’t exercised in a while, spending an hour on an exercise bike might not be the best idea. First, you could injure yourself by overdoing it. And even if you don’t hurt yourself, you’re bound to be incredibly sore. And if you’re in much pain, you’re more likely to quit. If you’re in doubt about a diet or exercise plan, then ask your doctor’s opinion. You’ll be losing weight safely if you listen to your body and use your good common sense.