Laxatives For Weight Loss
Most anyone who has a problem with their weight is searching for a magic pill to make the process of weight loss simpler, easier, and less painful. Unfortunately however, there is no magic bullet or pill to achieve weight reduction. Weight comes off the same way it goes on - consume fewer calories than you burn and you will lose weight - eat more than you burn and you will gain weight.
Some people, in desperation, have turned to unhealthy and even dangerous methods of weight loss including taking highly controversial drugs such as Clenbuterol for weight loss, and more recently there is the 'laxatives for weight loss' craze.
Laxatives and weight loss are not synonymous, and neither are they safe or healthy. The majority of weight that is lost when using laxatives is from fluid, and the health dangers from their overuse can be significant.
Laxatives are often abused by people in an attempt to lose weight - more often than not by people who have failed at attempts to drop some weight by other means. This is most often a common practice with people who have eating disorders.
Let’s look at what happens in your body when you take laxatives. After the pill is ingested, the active ingredients target the cells of the large intestines. They irritate the cells and encourage the large intestines to empty, often earlier than the body is ready.
While the food is in the large intestines the body is reabsorbing some of the water before it passes the waste. If you evacuate your bowels too soon, you run the risk of dehydration.
After losing fluid from an early bowel movement, the body compensates by retaining fluid. So, with the initial dehydration the person ‘feels’ thin, but within hours the body compensates by retaining the remaining fluid and making the person ‘feel’ bigger.
The body needs the fluid to remove wastes and toxins, so retaining fluids makes you feel bad because you can’t get rid of all of the waste products you normally would.
Now, the tendency is to take even more laxatives to get rid of the full feeling again. It’s a vicious cycle that sets people up to be prone to irritable bowel syndrome and colon tumors.
Prolonged use of laxatives can also lead to cramping, bloating, water retention and the added problem of withdrawal. Laxatives and weight loss are not even on the same planet, and you are endangering your health rather than moving toward achieving your goal by using them as a means to lose weight.
You can stop the abuse of laxatives using several steps. Unless they are prescribed by a doctor, you should stop using laxatives immediately. This may be easier said than done and may even require the help of a mental health professional, but it is vital that you stop this unhealthy practice.
You need to drink at least 6-10 eight oz glasses of water each day - not caffeine drinks or alcohol or juices - just water. Include some physical activity each day to encourage regular bowel function.
Eat regularly and spread it out over at least 3 meals. Include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet, which will improve your success rate for weight loss as well as improve normal bowel function. Keep a record of your bowel movements so they can be monitored. 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 the overuse of laxatives and weight loss regimen.
Using laxatives for weight loss doesn't work, at least for the long term. But there are other ways to lose weight and you can stop the vicious cycle by moving on to a more healthy and fit way of losing weight for life!