Over The Counter Appetite Suppressants

At best, the overuse of an appetite suppressant can deplete your immune system by discouraging proper eating habits. Let’s face it, if you are considering appetite suppressants, you are thrilled when they actually work and are very unlikely to make yourself eat, especially when not hungry, while you are on a diet even though your overall health may be at risk.

Too many of us are just desperate enough to not eat much of anything for the first couple days of any diet, thinking we are jump starting the process of weight control. In truth, we are setting ourselves up to become ill, and possibly cause a chemical imbalance which can affect our metabolism as well as our mental well being.

There are natural appetite suppressants which do not come with the disclaimers and warnings that you will find all over the labels of the suppressants in pill form.

Caffeine is a natural appetite suppressant, and while many pill form suppressants contain extreme amounts of caffeine, a simple cup of green tea with a bowl of high fiber cereal, is a much healthier way to lose weight by the caffeine making you feel full and the fiber cereal aiding in digesting the extra calories already in your system.

Most weight control consultants will recommend eating a pear and drinking a glass of water before every meal. While not categorized as an appetite suppressant, the pear’s density, along with the water, does fill the stomach and is particularly good at promoting weight loss by kicking the metabolism into high gear before a meal. Pears, including the peel, are also high in fiber which, as in the example above, will also aid in digestion and therefore promote weight loss.

Green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach and cabbage are excellent appetite suppressants which also help the dieter lose weight by using more energy, thereby burning more calories, to digest them than the number of calories they actually bring into the body through consumption. The trick to eating these items is to not drown them in salad dressing, shredded cheese and croutons. A little light oil vinaigrette is all it should take to make a salad that will do it’s job of helping you lose weight.

And as always, a little extra exercise will go a long way. Take a walk, instead of a snack. Take the dog, take a friend, do whatever it takes to get yourself moving. Some people love the idea of going to the gym. Others would rather take the stairs every day at work. Whatever works for you is an improvement over doing nothing. And the real point of it all is to be healthier and happier than you were before you began your diet plan to lose weight.