The rate of obesity in the United States is at an all-time high. Many Americans are searching for a magic pill to make the process of losing weight 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 will gain weight. If you eat less calories than you burn, you will (or at least, should) lose weight. (1)
While the concept seems simple, the practice is not that simple. In this high stress, fast-paced world in which we live, many of us are less physically active today. Many of us also eat less health due to the convenience of fast foods. Grabbing a double cheeseburger, fries and coke at the local burger joint has taken the place of healthier “ sit down” meals at home.
Some folks, in search of that elusive “magic pill” to lose weight resort to laxatives. Taking laxatives for weight loss is neither healthy nor safe. The majority of weight lost comes from fluid. The body needs fluid to remove wastes and toxins (2).
Let’s look at what happens in your body when you take laxatives.
After the laxative is ingested, active ingredients target the cells of the large intestines. They irritate the cells and encourage the large intestines to empty prematurely.
While the food is in the large intestines, the body is reabsorbing some of the fluid before it passes as waste. If you evacuate your bowels too soon, you run the risk of dehydration.
The calories from the food you eat are actually absorbed in the small intestines, which is unaffected by laxatives. The intent of taking laxatives is to decrease the amount of calories absorbed by food. However, laxatives merely cause the large intestines to evacuate AFTER the small intestines have extracted all of the necessary calories.
After losing fluid from an early bowel movement, the body compensates by retaining fluid. So laxatives cause an initial dehydration which may makes you ‘feel’ thin, but within hours the body compensates by retaining the remaining fluid and making you‘feel’ bigger.
At this point, you might be tempted to take more laxatives to get rid of the full feeling again. It’s a vicious cycle that places you at risk of irritable bowel syndrome or colon tumors. Prolonged use of laxatives can also lead to cramping, bloating, water retention, and withdrawal.
As you can see, the use of laxatives for healthy weight loss is not an option! You are endangering your health and you won’t be moving toward achieving your health goals.
Unless prescribed for medical reasons, you should stop using laxatives as soon as possible.
Remember, laxatives and weight loss don’t mix. They don’t work. But you can stop the vicious cycle and move on to a more healthy and fit way of losing weight for life!
Tips to Encourage Regular Bowel Functions
- Drink at least 6-10 eight oz glasses of water each day. Not caffeine drinks or alcohol or juices, just water.
- Do some form of physical activity each day.
- 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 a laxative regimen.
References
(1) Centers for Disease Control: Adult Obesity Facts
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
(2) Columbia University Health; Go Ask Alice: Laxative Abuse – Any Side Effects?
http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/laxative-abuse-any-side-effects
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