Potential side effects of Alli & other 'weight aid' pills [closed]

Question

In short: I stepped on the scales, discovered I've gained a lot these past 3 months after starting new job and went into an alcohol induced depression that results in the purchase of many tabs to try and aid in my new regime.

I have a wedding in a year and I need to shift the excess by any means necessary, even to the point on contact a surgeon.

Unfortunatley the voice of reason and common sense is being dwarfed by the need and desire to shed this excess.

I spend 12 hours of my day sitting, when I return home I lack the energy to do anything other than carry on sitting. I'm breaking this pattern by gym during lunch break and moderating my eating habits however, my question is really this:

I'm now consuming several tablets per day as an aid, today I noticed one of the side effects of 'Alli' when attending to business, it wasn't pleasant but I'm prepared to put up with it.

The combination of tabs is:

Cod Liver Oil x1 in the morning
HTP-5 x1 in the morning.
Grenade Black ops x2 in the morning (http://www.grenade.com/uk/black-ops)
Alli x3 per day with meals. (http://www.alli.co.uk/)
Garcinea x3 with meals (http://www.hecticlifestyles.co.uk/nutra-direct-pure-garcinia-cambogia-wholefruit-vegetarian-capsules-90-capsules/?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=Cj0KEQjw98mvBRD-_ciSovKhq7gBEiQAEvsBZ0hj-ghPN1iSJf0nz69Y4fGgbcpZWOrNZU4g7FSHwYsaApZm8P8HAQ)
Sea Kelp x 3 with meals (http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/natures-garden-sea-kelp-tablets-15mg-60000628)

Besides this being a cocktail, are there any other potential issues that I should worry about?

Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

First and foremost, consult your doctor.

• You are experiencing a lot of changes that a doctor can help you address. You gained "a lot" of weight in 3 months. You went into an "alcohol induced depression". And this new job and future wedding may be causing you some distress. Your doctor can take measurements, help you find a good diet, help you with your depression, and advise you on that cocktail of tabs you are taking. Also your doctor can determine you if you are clear to exercise or if you need to take any precautions.

Diet and Exercise

• For weight loss, appropriate diet and exercises are the way to go. Surgery would be your last choice and only if diet and exercise fail. Diet in conjunction with regular exercise is the key to weight loss. Your results from a consistent, proper diet and exercise will beat any cocktail of tabs. The biggest downside of the cocktail is thinking that it will do the trick.

  Joining the gym is a great step. Ask a trainer to set you up with a good program that includes cardio with intense intervals, resistance or strength training and some stretching. But check with your doctor first, especially before trying high intensity intervals.

• For depression, intense, regular exercise can help.

Tracking Your Progress

• Track your progress by taking measurements. They are good for motivation when you feel your progress is plateauing. They can be useful in alerting you to when you need to make changes in your program.

Break Up Prolonged Sitting

• You need to take short movement breaks at work. See What happens when people sit 8-10 hrs/day. For ideas on exercises that you can do at or next to your desk with bodyweight or resistance tubing see this posture answer.

  When you get home do anything but sit. If you have to sit, get an exercise ball and bounce or roll around on it. Take a walk. Find a sport or activity that get you moving. Find active people.

One year gives you a good time frame to create a healthier lifestyle which will help you normalize your weight. Getting weight off for a specific event is a good motivator. However, getting healthy for the rest of your life is even more important.

Answer 2

Sorry if this sounds harsh but I see no reason for you to be ingesting all those pills every day. Surely there are ways to lose weight without destroying yourself!

You say you are going to the gym and you are moderating your food intake and thats great. This is awesome you are on the right track! The wedding you are going to attend is a year away. Thats plenty of time for you to lose weight safely.

I would really like to see more people consider weightlifting or atleast look into it before descarding it as a weight loss option. Rather people attend classes where they work until exaustion which does absolutely nothing for them but throw them further into depression beacuse of constant suffering and mediocre results. Weight training does take some time from each your day, but it is never exhausting and rarely painful, with proven results.

Try weight lifting for a year, there are tons of free available fitness programs online. Just pick one and stay at it. You will gain muscle and strength, you will look and feel better, you will enjoy training and you will also lose fat.

The body needs energy in order to maintain muscles. The bigger the muscles you have the more energy it needs. As you train your muscles get bigger and require more energy for maintenance, energy which your body can only get from dissolving fats (assuming you watch what you eat alteast a bit, no need for a full diet).

Consider this post if you wish, I mean not to force anything on you, it's just a suggestion, but where you are currently headed is only bad for you.

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