Diet pills. How do they work?
Jayj180894
Posts: 286 Member
I've taken diet pills before. Nothing dangerous just the ones advertised on TV, or ones you can pick up in the supermarket. Obviously I lost weight because I was DIETING while taking them, so would of lost weight anyway! Obviously after a little bit of research, I stopped throwing my money away and stopped taking them. I just want to know what they actually do?!? You have be on a calorie controlled diet for them to work (so weight loss would be inevitable). Surely if they are allowed to advertise help with weight loss they have to do something?!? Disclaimer: Im not interested in taking any, and it's just a question out of pure interest. I do believe they don't aid in weightloss, but wondered if they did actually do anything at all?
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Replies
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They don't do anything. Snake oil. Good to hear you stopped wasting your money
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They don't. They're just a way of capitalising on people wanting to lose weight.2
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They make you poop out a lb or 2.
That's it.3 -
It's crazy that something just as useful as a sugar pill can be advertised to help in weightloss!! Making billions a year on vulnerable people
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Jayj180894 wrote: »It's crazy that something just as useful as a sugar pill can be advertised to help in weightloss!! Making billions a year on vulnerable people
people want a quick fix... eating less and doing some exercise is too much like hard work!2 -
There are 3 kinds of diet pill I have come across regularly:
Type 1 - The overpriced caffeine pill - might suppress appetite a little but so would a cup of coffee.
Type 2 - Fat binders - discourages the user from eating a lot of high fat foods by basically giving them stomach cramps and disgusting explosive poos.
Type 3 - Laxitives - weight loss teas and the like, which are basically just making people *kitten* themselves.
Both kinds are short term measures, because caffeine tolerance will build up and noone wants explosive *kitten* s. The kind that make you poop everything out will lose people a bit of water weight but little fat unless they are also eating in a deficit.
Sadly though, people do get to the point where they are desperate to try anything to lose weight fast, and instead of having a calorie deficit, they want to believe the lastest pill/shake/tea/food will make them instantly skinny and give them rock hard abs and these companies are only to happy to oblige in mis-selling them their snake oil.10 -
Most of them are basically legal speed.3
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@tinkerbellang83 hit the nail on the head.
But to rephrase.
1. Most of them just don't work at all
2. Some provide appetite suppression via caffeine or other stimulants.
3. Some provide increase metabolism burn via caffeine or other stimulants.
4. Some reduce absorption of certain macros(usually fat)
5. Some of them will blow up your heart.9 -
Advertising in the diet industry is poorly regulated and is full of false claims:
http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1093&context=jlhCongress’s passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994, however, shifted the balance of regulatory power in the diet industry toward the FTC, particularly where diet supplements are concerned. DSHEA essentially removed a class of compounds known as dietary supplements
from the FDA’s pre-marketing approval process....
This means that manufacturers can put dietary supplements on the market without first proving they work, and the primary method of enforcement is a false advertising claim. Unfortunately for the FTC, the organization seems to be fighting a losing battle: for each success, ten new companies seem to appear. With an increasing audacity, diet companies continue to disregard federal guidelines in order to promise a quick weight-loss fix, even though their products have no effect on weight-loss and can even be harmful. Each time a manufacturer succeeds with exaggerated promises, regulators say, a few more follow suit, “plastering the airwaves and the Internet with invitations to drop weight while driving, lose [ten] pounds in a weekend and, of course, never diet again.” FTC officials have conceded that the agency can do little to curb the increase in companies marketing fraudulent diet products.1 -
Really interesting guys! Thanks!0
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It's insane to me that the Weight loss Industry is worth billions. I use to be one of those who tried weight loss pills and such but I didn't know about calorie counting back then!0
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Advertising in the diet industry is poorly regulated and is full of false claims:
http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1093&context=jlhCongress’s passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994, however, shifted the balance of regulatory power in the diet industry toward the FTC, particularly where diet supplements are concerned. DSHEA essentially removed a class of compounds known as dietary supplements
from the FDA’s pre-marketing approval process....
This means that manufacturers can put dietary supplements on the market without first proving they work, and the primary method of enforcement is a false advertising claim. Unfortunately for the FTC, the organization seems to be fighting a losing battle: for each success, ten new companies seem to appear. With an increasing audacity, diet companies continue to disregard federal guidelines in order to promise a quick weight-loss fix, even though their products have no effect on weight-loss and can even be harmful. Each time a manufacturer succeeds with exaggerated promises, regulators say, a few more follow suit, “plastering the airwaves and the Internet with invitations to drop weight while driving, lose [ten] pounds in a weekend and, of course, never diet again.” FTC officials have conceded that the agency can do little to curb the increase in companies marketing fraudulent diet products.
I want to say the NYTimes did an expose in the last five years that revealed that a huge number of supplements on the market (including but not limited to diet pills) didn't even include the active ingredient listed on the bottle. I want to say most of them were garlic and sawdust. The current regulatory structure doesn't work at all.0 -
Over the counter diet pills are not as strictly regulated by the FDA. You often see disclaimers on them that say that their claimed benefits have "not been evaluated by the FDA" or such wording. Lots of people fall into the trap of believing OTC supplements are safer than say prescription diet pills (not advocating for prescription diet pills, it's definitely better not to take either) but prescription drugs are much more strictly regulated by the FDA...
Also, with all the "new" (or so they claim) ingredients always advertised in the OTC diet pills how can anybody be sure they are safe as it is often years before long term side effects/problems are seen and finally connected to the source. Plus with the less strict regulations that dietary supplements fall under, FDA does not test/regulate them before they are marketed. Think about ephedra and how long it was around (with ephedra related deaths) before it was banned0 -
As long as you market it as a "supplement" you can claim whatever you want about what it will do for you and the the FDA doesn't care.2
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Weight loss / weight management is the biggest stress and worry in this world, so many companies are willing to take advantage of this and people fall for it all the time, over and over again, weight watchers and slimming world and other companies like that also take advantage, they teach you to count points/syns but not about counting calories, even the internet you have to filter out a lot of the BS to find decent websites for information, you can lose weight and maintain it for free by just watching your calorie intake and outtake, all you need is motivation and dedication, set little goals instead of focusing on the big goal. You can even go to the gym for free if you're frugal enough, sign up for a free 7 day gym pass to test the waters before paying for a membership or get a 7 day pass from a friend who is a member of the gym and just go round different gyms, youtube is also full of exercise videos, again you may need to filter out the bad ones but still all free, I have lost 88 lbs since January this year and all I have been doing is watching my calorie intake/outtake, walking and I borrowed my mums exercise bike (I'm never giving it her back lol) I won't lie there are times when you feel like giving up but you don't you take a rest day/maintenance day, have a cheat day or meal (not enough to wipe out your progress) and continue the next day, yes it can be hard work at the start but it gets easier, I am finally past that stage where I want to kill my partner for eating a burger and fries in the same room as me now haha! Sorry I rambled on there, I wish you all the best 0
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They range from no effect except money loss to bad effect on health with money loss.1
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they don't. If you look at the label most say they work 'with dieting and regular exercise'
they can also be super dangerous. An ex co-worker took some crazy diet pill and did lose 100 lbs, but now her heart is f-ed up and she needs medication and will most likely die from a heart attack before she hits 60.1 -
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stanmann571 wrote: »
2. Some provide appetite suppression via caffeine or other stimulants.
3. Some provide increase metabolism burn via caffeine or other stimulants.
Yup. That. And caffeine by itself is much cheaper than the diet pills anyway.
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Jayj180894 wrote: »..but wondered if they did actually do anything at all?
usually- appetite suppressants. Most OTC ones are just caffeine.0 -
I avoid any that are caffeine or ephedrine based. (Both keep you cooking so you burn more calories.) It hardly needs to be said that this can be overdone to your detriment, even to death.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/05/16/a-teen-chugged-a-latte-a-mountain-dew-and-an-energy-drink-the-caffeine-binge-led-to-his-death/?utm_term=.da09f7f86ef3
You will find quack cures everywhere there are desperate people. Think about all the hair loss "cures" and cancer "cures".0 -
Saying they don't work is false. They work is a variety of ways. There are appetite suppressants which work just as their name implies. There are fat blockers, which make you poop out some of the fat you eat instead of absorb it. There are laxatives that make you poop out some of everything you eat instead of absorb it. And there are things like caffeine and amphetamines that speed you up.
But none will work unless you are in a calorie deficit. And some have some pretty nasty side affects.1 -
Way back, I was put on appetite suppressants by my doctor. That was when I knew no better than to trust them implicitly. Much better to use a calorific and or carb deficit and see how that goes, then if you do have a real health issue, as I did and still have, you have more chance of getting it sorted in a proper and more timely manor. It can be helpful to have something printed off to show a doctor as evidence. Heaven Forbid anyone needs too.0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Saying they don't work is false. They work is a variety of ways. There are appetite suppressants which work just as their name implies. There are fat blockers, which make you poop out some of the fat you eat instead of absorb it. There are laxatives that make you poop out some of everything you eat instead of absorb it. And there are things like caffeine and amphetamines that speed you up.
But none will work unless you are in a calorie deficit. And some have some pretty nasty side affects.
What if you're eating at maintenance, while taking the fat blockers or laxatives? Will you still not lose anything at all?0 -
MegaMooseEsq wrote: »Advertising in the diet industry is poorly regulated and is full of false claims:
http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1093&context=jlhCongress’s passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994, however, shifted the balance of regulatory power in the diet industry toward the FTC, particularly where diet supplements are concerned. DSHEA essentially removed a class of compounds known as dietary supplements
from the FDA’s pre-marketing approval process....
This means that manufacturers can put dietary supplements on the market without first proving they work, and the primary method of enforcement is a false advertising claim. Unfortunately for the FTC, the organization seems to be fighting a losing battle: for each success, ten new companies seem to appear. With an increasing audacity, diet companies continue to disregard federal guidelines in order to promise a quick weight-loss fix, even though their products have no effect on weight-loss and can even be harmful. Each time a manufacturer succeeds with exaggerated promises, regulators say, a few more follow suit, “plastering the airwaves and the Internet with invitations to drop weight while driving, lose [ten] pounds in a weekend and, of course, never diet again.” FTC officials have conceded that the agency can do little to curb the increase in companies marketing fraudulent diet products.
I want to say the NYTimes did an expose in the last five years that revealed that a huge number of supplements on the market (including but not limited to diet pills) didn't even include the active ingredient listed on the bottle. I want to say most of them were garlic and sawdust. The current regulatory structure doesn't work at all.
Yep. They reported on an FDA projet that was not widely publicized:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/science/herbal-supplements-are-often-not-what-they-seem.html
I've seen another report that found that many of the weight-loss and muscle-building supplements don't just contain substitutes - many contain dangerous substitutes, including unregulated doses of actual pharmaceuticals including sibutramine, epinephrine, Lorcaserin ... and sometimes its straight-up speed.1 -
Here you go. This is the risk you run buying diet pills, from a 2015 study in a peer-reviewed journal:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1541-4337.12173/fullMore importantly, recent studies have shown that weight-loss PFS are frequently found to be adulterated by the illicit addition of synthetic drugs (Table 1). Since the sale of PFS advertised for weight loss has become a very lucrative business, manufacturers can be tempted to increase profits by doping PFS with drugs in order to achieve quicker effects and to advertise the effectiveness of their products (Chen and others 2009; Tang and others 2011; Deconinck and others 2012a). The drugs most generally associated with weight-loss PFS adulteration include anorexics (such as sibutramin, orlistat, diethylpropion (amfepramone), rimonabant, fenproporex, phentermine, and mazindol, and so on) but also stimulants (ephedrine, norephedrine, and synephrine), anxiolytics (mainly benzodiazepines such as diazepam), antidepressants (fluoxetine, sertraline), diuretics (such as furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide), and laxatives (including phenolphthalein). Several of these drugs are considered by regulatory agencies as being controlled substances or prescription drugs and others were banned/removed because of their adverse effects in humans (De Carvalho and others 2011).0 -
Jayj180894 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Saying they don't work is false. They work is a variety of ways. There are appetite suppressants which work just as their name implies. There are fat blockers, which make you poop out some of the fat you eat instead of absorb it. There are laxatives that make you poop out some of everything you eat instead of absorb it. And there are things like caffeine and amphetamines that speed you up.
But none will work unless you are in a calorie deficit. And some have some pretty nasty side affects.
What if you're eating at maintenance, while taking the fat blockers or laxatives? Will you still not lose anything at all?
Some of them impact the CICO formula. So yes, maybe.1 -
Jayj180894 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Saying they don't work is false. They work is a variety of ways. There are appetite suppressants which work just as their name implies. There are fat blockers, which make you poop out some of the fat you eat instead of absorb it. There are laxatives that make you poop out some of everything you eat instead of absorb it. And there are things like caffeine and amphetamines that speed you up.
But none will work unless you are in a calorie deficit. And some have some pretty nasty side affects.
What if you're eating at maintenance, while taking the fat blockers or laxatives? Will you still not lose anything at all?
Only if the resulting diarrhea causes a calorie deficit.0 -
Jayj180894 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Saying they don't work is false. They work is a variety of ways. There are appetite suppressants which work just as their name implies. There are fat blockers, which make you poop out some of the fat you eat instead of absorb it. There are laxatives that make you poop out some of everything you eat instead of absorb it. And there are things like caffeine and amphetamines that speed you up.
But none will work unless you are in a calorie deficit. And some have some pretty nasty side affects.
What if you're eating at maintenance, while taking the fat blockers or laxatives? Will you still not lose anything at all?
Why would you want to abuse laxatives? The only thing that actives make you lose is somewhat water weight and poop and they can cause major digestive issues for a long time. Becoming laxative dependent is probably not fun.1 -
Jayj180894 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Saying they don't work is false. They work is a variety of ways. There are appetite suppressants which work just as their name implies. There are fat blockers, which make you poop out some of the fat you eat instead of absorb it. There are laxatives that make you poop out some of everything you eat instead of absorb it. And there are things like caffeine and amphetamines that speed you up.
But none will work unless you are in a calorie deficit. And some have some pretty nasty side affects.
What if you're eating at maintenance, while taking the fat blockers or laxatives? Will you still not lose anything at all?
It would still depend on how much you are eating vs. burning. Pills don't change that fact, they just change how you get there.
Laxatives are a particularly poor choice for weight control. Routinely take them for weight control will get you a diagnosis of bulimia. When you don't absorb all the calories you eat, you also don't absorb all the nutrients you eat. You can suffer from malnutrition and your body can become dependent on laxatives leading to chronic constipation.1
This discussion has been closed.
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