If you want to lose weight and keep it off, the best thing to do is to shed pounds slowly and gradually through a combination of diet and exercise. Sometimes, however, you want to lose weight NOW! When that’s the case, you need to know ways to lose that weight quickly and safely.
Very Low Calorie Diets
Losing weight quickly is tricky because if you don’t eat enough nutritious food your metabolism slows down and it becomes harder to lose weight. You can lose three to four pounds per week on a very low calorie diet, but such a diet is not without health risks. If you want to take up a very low calorie diet you really need to work with a physician to make sure it is both safe and effective. The physician may recommend a particular program, prescribe nutritional supplements, and monitor your progress. To keep the weight off you will have to change your eating habits and exercise regularly.
Weight Loss Medication
If you have a body mass Index (BMI) of 27 to 28.9 you may be a candidate for weight loss medication, especially if you have an obesity-related health condition such as hypertension (high blood pressure), type 2 diabetes, or cardiovascular disease. A waist circumference over 35 inches for women or over 40 inches for men puts you at risk for obesity-related diseases, and is another reason for considering medication to lose weight. Drug therapy only works if you also change your eating behavior, reduce calorie intake, and increase physical activity. In general, if you don’t lose four and one-half pounds after four weeks on medication, the medication is not going to help you, so there is no sense in continuing.
Three types of medications are used for weight control. Amphetamine-like drugs affect the brain chemistry. They can help with short-term weight loss, but have not proven effective for long-term weight management. In fact, the use of amphetamine-like drugs is usually limited to twelve weeks. If you are under 18 years old or are a nursing or pregnant woman you should not use this type of drug.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the drug class called sibutramine for weight loss. By activating neurotransmitters in the brain, these drugs make you feel less hungry, There are side effects, however, including constipation, insomnia, dry mouth, and elevated blood pressure. Because of its effect on blood pressure sibutramine should be used with caution (if at all) for people with hypertension or cardiovascular disease. Because sibutramine reduces the appetite it can be helpful for people who have healthy diets but eat too much. Like all medications for weight loss, sibutramine needs to be administered by a doctor and accompanied by a safe weight control program.
The FDA has also approved orlistat for weight loss. It works by reducing the amount of fat the body absorbs. The 30 percent of fat that does not get absorbed due to orlistat use goes into the feces. Too much fat in the feces, however, causes unpleasant side effects such as gas, bloating, and an oily discharge. In order to avoid these side effects, people who use orlistat often reduce their fat intake. So, orlistat reduces the absorption of fat into the body in two ways: by diverting fat to the feces and by encouraging users to eat less fat to avoid discomfort. Because you also lose nutrients when fat is diverted to the feces, you need to take multi-vitamins and mineral supplements when you use orlistat in order to make up for the lost nutrients.
Surgery to Lose Weight
One of the other ways to lose weight quickly is through gastroplasty, also known as gastric bypass surgery or stomach stapling. Gastroplasty is not for everyone; it is used to treat severe obesity. Candidates for gastric bypass surgery should have:
- BMI over 40, or a BMI between 35 and 40 with serious obese-related health problems;
- Made several non-surgical attempts to lose weight;
- History of at least five years of obesity; and
- No history of alcoholism or major psychiatric surgery.
Gastric bypass surgery works by reducing the capacity of the stomach and bypassing part of the small intestine. As a result, eating too much solid food causes discomfort and vomiting, so overeating becomes undesirable. About three-quarters of the people who have gastroplasty lose about half of their excess body weight. Successful maintenance of this healthier body weight often causes long-term health improvements such as lower blood pressure and the elimination of type 2 diabetes.
Gastroplasty has its risks. Risks during surgery include hernias, bleeding, blood clots, and serious infections. The surgery carries a two percent risk of death. Ongoing treatment and monitoring is needed to make sure nutrient deficiencies do not occur as a result of surgery and weight loss. Additional surgeries are often needed to reduce the stretched and sagging skin that was filled with fat before the surgery. Gastroplasty is also very expensive and may not be covered by medical insurance.
Long-term success with gastric bypass surgery requires lifestyle changes such as eating small, frequent meals instead of large meals. It takes quite a commitment to health and wellbeing to choose this weight loss option.
Think about Your Options
For most people, a weight loss program that combines reducing caloric intake, increasing aerobic activity, and changing destructive eating habits is among the best ways to lose weight quickly and keep it off over the long term. If you are obese and have tried and failed at this basic plan for losing weight or if you have obesity-related diseases, it may make sense to look into medication or gastric bypass surgery. It is very important to consult with your physician before making any decisions about these methods for losing weight.