There are so many supplements and remedies that claim they can help people lose weight that if you try to sort it all out and narrow it down to the one you might like to take, it can make your head spin. You best bet is to enlist the help of your doctor and get him or her to prescribe one of the few FDA-approved weight loss medications available.

Most FDA-approved weight loss medications do require a prescription from your doctor so talk to them first to see what they recommend. There is one medication that is FDA approved that you can get OTC, or over the counter, and that is the medication called Alli.

Alli is intended for people over the age of 18 and contains the fat blocking compound called orlistat. Orlistat prevents the absorption of fats from your diet by stopping the enzyme lipase from breaking the fat down. The fat is then passed directly through your digestive tract and may cause unpleasant side effects like anal leakage, oily spotting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and excess gas.

Due to this fact, Alli should be taken along with a diet low in fat. The lower your fat intake the less you will suffer from these unpleasant side effects. It would stand to reason that if you consume less fat in your diet then you will lose weight.

Orlistat also comes in a prescription medication called Xenical which is twice the strength of Alli with 120 mg of the fat blocker. Therefore, Xenical should only be used if you are extremely overweight and only under your doctor’s supervision. With the dosage being double what it is in Alli you will most likely experience serious digestive side effects and will also most likely need some supplementation because decreased fat absorption will also take with it vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy.

Meridia is another prescription medication used for weight loss that works by affecting the area of the brain that controls satiety. This area of the brain is one of the feel good areas that elevates your mood and decreases your appetite. Side effects of Meridia include and increase in blood pressure so it must be used with extreme caution or not at all if you already have high blood pressure.

Other side effects include restlessness, dizziness, tremors, and insomnia. Meridia is mainly used to decrease the feeling of hunger and should be taken along with a healthy diet and moderate daily exercise.

There are two other weight loss medications available that should only be used in extremely obese people and only for a jumping off point for those who need to see results quickly. They are called Adipex-P and Sanorex and are both highly addictive.

Capable of some serious side effects like hallucinations, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, seizures, tremors and changes in insulin production. Both should be used under very strict supervision by your doctor due to the fact that they can also interact with other prescription or over the counter medications you are already taking.

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Before you start losing weight it is a good idea to prepare yourself on several fronts. Making sure that the motivation factor is present is one of the first things but most importantly you should learn to use a weight loss calculator to make sure you are burning more calories than you take in each day.

The process is simple. First calculate the amount of calories you need every day. For most people, to lose weight, you should consume 1200 to 1500 calories per day. The calculation is easy. All you do is input your height and weight and level of activity then do the math.

This weight loss calculator will tell you the amount of calories you need to be able to maintain your current weight. Since you do not want to maintain your current weight, you want to shed some of those pounds then you need to take in about 500 calories less than what that calculation gives you.

Next, calculate how many calories are in each serving of food you eat. You may have to practice at measuring out just exactly what a serving size is to get good at it. Make sure you are accurate and aren’t sneaking in just a little more here or there. Those little sneak-ins will add up and all of a sudden you will wonder why you are not losing the weight you want anymore.

Go buy yourself a book that lists calories for servings of food that do not come with labels like fresh fruits and vegetables, or do a search online. You might be able to find a list for free online. Do the same for eating out and when you do eat out make better choices based on what you learn online.

Know how many calories are in each gram of fat, carbohydrates and protein. This will help you when you figure out the percentages of each one that you need each day. So, keep this in mind: Carbohydrates and proteins have an equal amount of calories in each gram at 4 and fats have 9 calories per gram. Fats should make up no more than 30% of your daily calorie count. Carbs and protein should make up 50% and 20% respectively of your daily calorie intake.

Make sure they are good carbs though. The carbs you get from breads and cereals and sugar are overly processed and you should avoid them completely. Basically anything that is made with “white” products. White flour, white sugar, white rice should simply be avoided. These are all considered bad carbs and do nothing for you accept keep you gaining weight and fat around the middle.

The best way to use your weight loss calculator is to do it all yourself. Keep careful records in a small notebook in your purse or in your car so it is handy when you need to write something down. Maybe you could even get an app for that for your phone so you can keep all the information you need right at your fingertips.

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There are so many ways to loose weight you might get a little confused and not know where to start. The first thing you should remember is to not get all caught up in the hype of the latest fad diet out there. While you may actually lose some weight with these diets, they are not the types of diets that you can sustain for any length of time and when you stop the likelihood you will put all the weight back on is strong.

The truth is there is no magic potion or pill that will do all the work for you. You have to be an active participant. And I do mean active. You can’t lose weight sitting on your backside in front of the TV and eating anything you want. To effectively lose the weight you want to lose you need to change things up and get regular exercise and eat healthier.

Start by making small changes first. Do not try to do it all at once. If you make small changes then you will not get too overwhelmed and the weight loss will be more effective in the long run. Be smart with the ways to loose weight.

One of the ways to lose weight is to wake up your metabolism. If you have tried to lose weight in the past and you were largely unsuccessful then you probably did not have your metabolism working for you. Wake it up by eating five or six small meals a day. By small, I mean 300 calories or under. Eat lots of lean protein and greens. Stay away from processed carbs and bread for at least the first two weeks then add them back in sparingly. Your waistline will thank you.

In the beginning of your weight loss, anything made with white flour and white sugar are your enemies. You will need to steer clear of anything made with these products. If you make it through the week then you can give yourself a little treat to reward yourself for being good. Just do not over do it. No sense in undoing the great week you just had.

Products made with the white products are referred to as simple carbs and are immediately converted to simple sugars in your body. The weight you have gained happened because of these simple sugars. If you do not burn these sugars off and use them as energy as soon as they are available then your insulin will convert them to fat and place them right around your middle. This is why you have the belly fat that you do.

Here is the old standby, drink a lot of water throughout your day. This will help cleanse your body of toxins and keep you hydrated. Just like with food the more you drink the better your body will work and the more weight you will lose. Try these ways to loose weight and see if they can work for you, too.

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