If you are looking to lose weight and dietary changes have been proven to be unsuccessful, you can speak to your doctor about other methods you can use to drop the excess weight. Keep in mind as part of the non-dietary weight loss treatments, you'll still be expected to monitor your diet. If you continue to eat a high fat and high calorie diet, the weight will pile back on.
Exercise
If you are not exercising, then you start a workout program in order to lose weight. Increasing the time and intensity of your exercise routine helps you burn more calories and drop the weight without making extra dietary changes. Spend 45 minutes or longer each day participating in moderate to high intensity cardio exercise. If you are approximately 160 lbs one hour of jogging burns 584 calories, one hour of swimming burns 511 calories and jumping rope burns 730 calories in an hour.
Prescription Drugs
If you are obese or overweight with health issues, your doctor may recommend the use of weight loss medications. FDA approved medications for weight loss includes orlistat, phentermine and diethylpropin. Phentermine and diethylpropin acts as an appetite suppressant while orlistat is a fat blocker. Potential side effects of weight loss drugs include dizziness, headache and gastrointestinal upset. Sibutramine was an appetite suppressant pulled from the market due to safety concerns such as increased risk of heart disease.
Alli
Alli, the over-the-counter version of orlistat has been approved by the FDA for weight loss. Alli has half the amount of orlistat as the prescription version and is used to block the absorption of approximately 25 percent of fat consumed from meals. To safely use Alli with a reduction in side-effects, such as oily discharge and gas, avoid foods high in fat.
Weight Loss Surgery
For health reasons, men who are more than 100 pounds overweight and women who are more than 80 pounds overweight may be considered for weight loss surgery. Weight loss surgeries, such as gastric bypass and gastric banding, limits the amount of food you can intake. Safety concerns for surgery include risk of infection and blood clots.
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