Slimming Tablets: Types and working mechanism

Let me first emphasize that controlled dieting and regular exercise are the key for healthy weight loss. Having said that, let’s not get too theoretical about the concept; it is not as easy as it looks. We are not even going to talk about weight loss surgeries in this article. We are going to concentrate only on taking “Slimming Pills” to lose weight effectively.

We understand the inconvenience people are facing for being overweight and their urgency to lose weight and look slim. We do know that there are few really effective slimming tablets on the market.

But before talking about the slimming pill brands (fake and effective), let’s look at the types of slimming pills on the market to find out which type of pills would help you to lose weight as per your expectations.

There are basically 3 types of Slimming pills:

• Fat Burners or metabolism boosters
• Appetite suppressants
• Fat Binders or Fat Blockers

Every category mentioned above has both herbal and non-herbal slimming pills.

All the three have their own advantages and disadvantages.

We are going to discuss how each of them works in aiding weight loss. Irrespective of types of pills, body’s mechanism of weight loss doesn’t change. It remains the same.

When Calorie output (usage) is > Calorie input (intake) = Fat loss.

So to aid weight loss, a slimming pill should

• either increase calorie usage (output)
• or decrease calorie intake (input)

All slimming supplements, irrespective of the category to which they belong, are meant to influence either of these or sometimes both.

Increasing calorie usage (output)

Calorie usage can be increased by increasing metabolic rate (the rate at which body burns calories). This can be done by

1. Taking high protein food combined with rigorous exercising,
2. Taking pills that create thermogenic effect or increase body heat. (artificially increase metabolic rate)
3. Taking pills with stimulants (artificially increase metabolic rate)

The 2^nd and 3^rd methods are related to popping of Metabolism Booster (Fat Burner) slimming supplements.

Decreasing calorie intake (input)

Calorie intake can be decreased in three ways

1. Self controlling food intake – Restricting fatty food, avoiding eat outs, controlling portion size.
2. Taking Appetite suppressant supplements – There are numerous appetite suppressing supplements that either make us feel full faster, or make us feel full longer.
3. Taking Fat blocking or binding supplements: These are meant for preventing absorption of fat. These reduce calorie input by preventing its absorption. Though a person doesn’t change his diet, these types of pills are capable of reducing his fat intake (calorie intake) by blocking their digestion inside body.

Some supplements have both appetite suppressing and metabolism boosting ingredients. Such supplements affect both calorie intake and output while aiding weight loss.

Types of Slimming Pills -Which are the safest slimming pills?

Slimming pills are of 3 types

1. Fat Burners or metabolism boosters
2. Appetite suppressants
3. Fat Binders or Fat Blockers

1. Fat Burners or metabolism booster Slimming Pills

These are supplements that artificially increase body heat or heart rate which in turn increase metabolic rate (calorie burning rate). This results in increased calorie burning. Due to increased calorie burning “calories in food eaten” get  burned or get over fast which makes our body to burn the concentrated calories (that is nothing but fat).

In this way metabolism booster slimming pills artificially increase calorie burning and in effect burn even stored fat.

Common ingredients: 90% of fat burning supplements have Stimulant Caffeine as the main active ingredient (from herbal or chemical sources).  

Pros:

• Aids Fast fat loss
• Doesn’t require dieting or exercising

Cons

The disadvantages of Fat burning supplements are of real concern and so must be kept in mind before one actually goes for these types of pills.

• Usually cause side effects like nausea, headache, sleeplessness, increase in heart rate etc. These are common side effects of caffeine.
• Most of them are addictive and so cause withdrawal symptoms.
• Sudden weight gain after one stops taking the supplements.  This is mainly due to metabolic rate disorders caused by temporary artificial acceleration of metabolic rate by the pills.
• Maintaining weight is real problem after one stops taking them as it does not change eating habits or involve any exercising.

Fat Burners were “Once The Most sought after” slimming pills. But nowadays, they are losing their popularity due to the availability of better slimming supplements that do not have the “negative effects” that fat burners have. Usually body builders go for these fat burners as these help them to convert the fat into muscles while doing intensive exercising.

2. Appetite suppressing Slimming Pills

Appetite suppressing or hunger controlling slimming pills are meant to reduce calorie intake by controlling food intake. There are two types of appetite suppressants

1. Ones which make us feel full faster (before we actually are)
2. Ones which make us feel full longer (by slowing digestion)

Both aid reduction in calorie intake and make our body to burn stored calories (body fat) for the shortage arising from decreased calorie intake.  This is how appetite suppressants aid fat loss.

Common ingredients:

• Hoodia Gordonii Pills (should be genuine) are the most popular appetite suppressants which are proven to trick our brain into believing full when we are actually not. They send false signals to the brain and make us feel full when we are not.  Even caffeineis proven to suppress appetite.
  • There are some “Swelling pills” that bulge in the stomach to fill it fast.
  • We can also find some Fibre based slimming pills that slow down digestion and thereby make us to feel full longer.

Pros:

• No need of forcefully controlling food intake
• Regular but easy to do exercises give better results.
• Aids changes in diet which makes maintaining weight lost easier.
• Less side effects than fat burners.

Cons

• Taking appetite suppressants might result in metabolic rate disorders as there is a threat of body going to starvation mode, which automatically slows metabolism.
• Taking healthy food and regular exercising is a must to be able to maintain the weight loss.
• These might suppress even thirst, but for healthy weight loss, drinking plenty of water is a must. This might also lead to dehydration.

Herbal appetite suppressants are pretty decent aids for slimming. Genuine Hoodia supplements are dominating these days as they are proven, herbal and have less side effects.

Fat Blockers and Binders

Both fat binders and fat blockers work in the same way, by preventing absorption of dietary fat.

The most popular prescription slimming Pill Xenical belongs to this category. Even the over the counter drug “Alli” (low strength version of Xenical) aids weight loss by blocking fat from getting absorbed by the body. Both Xenical and Alli are Orlistat based and so can cause many side effects. These are more often referred to as “Fat blockers” than “fat binders”.

There are many non-prescription fat binder slimming pills that bind with the fat calories and make them too big to be absorbed by our body. Some of them are natural fibre based while some are based on animal fibre.

Pros

• No need of controlled dieting, but dieting would supplement the slimming pills.
• Regular but easy to do exercises give better results.
• Herbal fat binders are less likely to cause side effects.
• No metabolic rate disorders
• Maintaining weight is easy for one who does regular simple exercises while on these.

Cons

• Orlistat based fat blockers cause dangerous side effects.
• Animal based fat blockers aren’t free from side effects.
• If dieter doesn’t follow healthy diet and exercise regime, he is more likely to gain back lost weight.

Other slimming Pills

There are some slimming pills that are capable of both increasing metabolic rate and suppressing appetite. Some brands of slimming supplements are capable of suppressing appetite and binding fat. The effectiveness and safety of such pills depend on the ingredients used in the pills.

Conclusion

We can find all the above mentioned 3 types of slimming pills on the market. One important thing to notice here is “faster the weight loss, more the potential side effects and vice versa.”

People will have to make their judgment as to which one to go for or which one to avoid. It depends on many factors like

• Urgency of becoming slim – Looking for quick fix?, planning to become slim over a period of time? Etc. This depends on situation and time available for losing weight.
• Safety – Does safety come first and rate of weight loss later?

Here at Slimmingtabletsuk.co.uk we can just help you in getting detailed information of various brands of slimming pills. We would help you to make an informed decision. We can make only suggestions, decision would be yours.