The Best Over-the-Counter Diet Products

Dieting can be a challenge for almost anyone. It requires discipline, effort, awareness of what foods you eat, as well as the portion size, and dedication to stick to your goal. Fortunately for dieters, there are many different ways to jump-start weight loss, or stay motivated to keep losing weight.
  1. Alli

    • Alli, a weight-loss medication, is available in both prescription and non-prescription form. Generally, it is used in conjunction with a low-fat and low-calorie diet to help individuals who have already lost weight from gaining the weight back. Alli prevents fats from being absorbed into the body and aids in removing the fat from the body through excretion. Alli is most effective when taken three times a day, once with each meal that contains fat.

    Diet Supplements

    • Several commercial diet plans, such as Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, SlimFast and South Beach Diet, have meal supplements that work in collaboration with their diet plans. These supplements provide vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber and other nutrients that are essential for a low-fat and low-calorie weight-loss plan while keeping the dieter within his recommended calorie allotment. You do not need to be following the specific diet program to make use of the supplements provided by commercial diet plans, but these over-the-counter products work only if they are used as part of a healthy diet.

    Appetite Suppressants

    • Some common over the counter appetite suppressants are guarana, yerba mate, and guar gum. The effectiveness of these appetite suppressants has yet to be definitively proved, the Mayo Clinic explains, and some of these compounds can cause unpleasant side effects. One commonly used appetite suppressant, ephedra, has been banned by the Food and Drug Administration, so be careful when taking any supplement for weight loss.

    Metabolism Boosters

    • Calories are burned through the metabolism. If your metabolism is slow, it can make it difficult to lose weight or keep weight off. There are several over-the-counter metabolism boosters that can be taken to increase the amount of calories burned. Some examples of ingredients in diet pills that increase metabolism are bitter orange, chromium, country mallow and green tea extract. Most of these ingredients are used in combination with an appetite suppressant to create an effective and well-rounded diet pill.

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