I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear about diet pills, it always reminds of the 1960s and 1970s, of Valley of the Dolls and big hair and loud clothes.
But despite my dated references, the diet pill industry and related substances are still very much a thing. Like any type of drug, they can also be pretty dangerous.
I’m sure you’ve seen the television commercials and magazine ads for products that claim to boost people’s metabolism and reduce their body fat. The manufacturers often claim that their products can allow people to achieve these goals without any changes in their diet or exercise habits.
Those claims are suspicious to me right there. Eating and moving are two fundamental parts of the human experience. It just makes sense that we have to make changes in those processes if we want to lose weight or build muscle.
We have to put in the work if we want to see the results, right? You can’t get something for nothing, there’s so such thing as a free lunch, and other clichés could apply, but they all mean that we have to expend some effort to see some results.
We can’t find results solely from a pill or some powder. Even worse, those pills or powder might hurt us. The U.S. government has banned some diet drugs because they can damage the heart. Many diet drugs still on the market are stimulants, which mean that they can stimulate the heart and other processes. Stimulants might also produce other side effects, including:
- dizziness
- sleep problems
- constipation
- dry mouth
Despite these side effects and others, many people use diet pills and supplements. There are also prescription medications that help users lose weight by suppressing their appetites or producing other effects. These drugs require users to make changes in their diets and exercise habits.
When used as directed, drugs can and do provide amazing benefits. But relying on drugs alone to do many things, whether it is lose weight, build muscle, or find happiness, is not going to solve all of our problems.
