Laxatives and Weight Loss

Obesity is at an all time high.  People are searching for a magic pill to make the process of weight loss simple, easy and painless.  Unfortunately there is no magic pill.  Weight goes on the same way it comes off.  If you eat more calories than you burn you gain weight.  If you eat less than you burn you lose weight. Simple.

Some individuals, in desperation, have turned to using laxatives.  Unfortunately, like other quick pill alternatives, laxatives are not a healthy or good option to help individuals lose weight.  Laxatives and weight loss are not healthy or safe.   The majority of weight that is lost when using laxatives if from fluid and the health dangers are significant.

The use of laxatives to help with weight loss seems to be common with people who have an eating disorder.  The stress to the body of having an eating disorder plus the addition of the use of laxatives makes for a dangerous health situation.

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.

Using laxatives for weight loss also isn’t effective.  Although the individual may lose a bit of water weight they aren’t really losing calories because the calories from the food you eat is actually absorbed in the small intestines and laxatives don’t affect the small intestines.

After losing fluid from an early bowel movement the body compensates by retaining fluid.  After the initial dehydration the person ‘feels’ thin but within hours the body compensates by retaining the remaining fluid and making the person ‘feel’ bigger or bloated.

The body needs the fluid to remove wastes and toxins so retaining fluids will make the person feel bad because they can’t get rid of all of the waste products they normally would.

Now they take more laxatives to get rid of the full feeling again. This time the feeling of being full isn’t from a full bowel but instead from fluid that’s retained throughout the body in the cellular spaces.   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.

Using laxatives can also become habit forming.  Individuals who want to stop the abuse of laxatives should start using several steps.  If you’ve been using laxatives consistently talk with your doctor about stopping.  If you find that emotionally and mentally you aren’t able to stop using them you may need the assistance of a counselor to work past the emotional reasons you are using laxatives in the first place.

Drink at least 6-10 eight oz glasses of water each day.  Not caffeine drinks or alcohol or juices, just water.  Drinking this amount of water will help your body to get rid of the extra toxins and waste products.  You’ll begin to feel healthier in just a couple of days as the build up of toxins begins to clear.

Include some physical activity each day to encourage regular bowel function.  By doing at least 30 minutes of some physical activity you’ll be encouraging the bowels to continue to work normally.  This doesn’t mean you are training for the Olympics but rather are just getting your heart rate up for a 30 minute period.  This may mean walking, jogging, using cardio machines at the gym or swimming.  Whatever activity you believe you can continue will work.

Eat regularly and spread it out over at least 3 meals.  Include lots of fruits and vegetables, which will improve your success rate for weight loss and 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 laxatives.

Laxatives aren’t a weight loss option.  In fact they work in quite the opposite manner.  If you believe you are abusing laxatives or using them to help lose weight seek the advice of your medical practitioner for assistance with more appropriate ways of losing weight and help to stop using the laxatives and heal the colon.