As we get older, our bodies struggle with slower metabolisms.This is a normal sign of aging, but not one that you just must put up with. There are some slight changes that you can do. While a strict calorie-controlled diet will help, there is a mental side of obesity and slower metabolisms that you need to deal with.
Let’s not forget that you will want to eat everything you used to. You may feel hungry, even though your body doesn’t need the good. There is this mental element to eating, as much of the food we consume is controlled by our emotions.
It’s time to minimize hunger pangs, increase the metabolic rate, and improve the digestive process. You need to turn to medications as you reach midlife to help control obesity and avoid too much weight gain as your metabolism naturally slows down.
Make sure you choose the right type of medication for your needs. We will go through your different options of branded and scientific-named medications in this article, helping you make the most of your life.
The Three Different Types of Obesity Medications
Most of anti-obesity drugs work to both help curb weight gain and improve weight loss. They can help you maintain your current weight, too, if that’s your goal. The medications do this in one of three ways:
Suppress Your Appetite. One of the most common anti-obesity drug on the market is the one that suppresses your appetite. This is the type that will make you feel less hungry than you are, through the blocking of the cannabinoid receptors in the brain.
The drugs us the likes of phentermine and amphetamines to block the reasons we feel hungry. The body can’t get the message to the brain that food is required, which leaves you feeling satisfied for longer.
These drugs can also be used for anti-depressants and to stabilize the mood, as the ingredients block other chemicals and transmissions within the brain.
When used as part of a calorie controlled diet, they certainly can help to reduce and stop weight gain and even help to lose weight. It is possible to get some over the counter, but doctors prefer that you get them through the correct channels and avoid those online.
Prevention of Fat Absorption. Some drugs will work to prevent certain nutrients from being absorbed into the body. Most of them will prevent the absorption of fat, meaning your body must gain the nutrient from the fat that is currently stored in the body.
Some can help to reduce a number of calories that are absorbed from a meal. This means excess calories are expelled. If the body needs more than it gains through your food, it will need to take from the stores.
Boost the Metabolism. The final type of drug helps to increase the metabolic rate. These drugs encourage the body to burn more calories throughout the day than it usually would. If you stick to a calorie-deficient diet, it is easier to lose weight and avoid gaining more in the future.
Some medications will combine the appetite suppression with the increased metabolic rate. One of the downsides of boosted metabolisms is that you can feel hungrier, so you end up eating more.
A Word of Warning About Anti-Obesity Medications
While there are many medications to choose, doctors do want you to be sensible. It is extremely easy to misuse these drugs or pick the wrong type. Those with medical conditions should always speak to their doctors before trying out any anti-obesity medication. There is the risk of allergy or reaction to other medications.
They are often prescribed to somebody with a BMI over 30. However, they can also be offered to those with a BMI over 27 who has already lost a lot of weight. Those with a BMI closer to healthy will often be encouraged to lose weight themselves first.
Now it’s time to look at your drug options to prevent obesity in midlife.
Orlistat for Fat Absorption Prevention
The first drug on the list is Orlistat. This is one of the most common fat absorption prevention drugs on the market. It reduces the amount of intestinal fat absorbed into the body through the inhibition of pancreatic lipase. It works best with a healthy, low-fat diet.
One of the biggest side effects is oily bowel movements, as the fats leave the system without being used. If you reduce the amount of fat that you consume throughout the day, you will usually find your bowels return to normal.
This is one of the most popular because it’s wide availability. The FDA approved for the over the counter use back in 2007, originally being available through prescription only options.
There are cases where severe liver damage has been noted. So far, this is extremely uncommon, with just 13 cases recorded out of 40 million people using it (approximately). The brand name Xenical updated its label to make sure people were aware of the risk to their liver.
Despite some of the risks, the drug is available for children over 12, as well as those in midlife. For children, it is only available through prescription and extra care is required.
Alli is another brand name of the medication. This has half the concentration as Xenical and not for those under the age of 18.
Suppress Appetite with Lorcaserin
Lorcaserin is an appetite suppressant drug that you take twice a day. It works with a healthy and balanced diet and is still relatively new to the anti-obesity scene. It was only approved in 2012 but has already shown some positive results in studies.
While the studies are positive, the results are modest. This shows it encourages a healthy weight loss, which is much easier to maintain. Study participants find they eat less during their meals and throughout the day without feeling disappointed or hungry.
There are some mild side effects to taking the drug. The most common ones are not that serious, meaning that the drug passes testing to get through FDA approval.
The brand name is Belviq. This drug is only currently available through a prescription.
Further, Suppress Appetite with Sibutramine
Meridia or Reductil are the two brand names you want to look out for when it comes to Sibutramine. However, this is a drug that you will find hard to find as most of countries have withdrawn it from the market.
At one time, Meridia specifically was proven positive and showed no harmful side effects for those looking to lose weight. While there were some symptoms like constipation, dry mouth, and insomnia, most of the noted side effects were considered benign.
However, myocardial infarction and stroke are now shown as some of the risks. While they have considered non-life threatening in some cases, they are risky enough to take the drug off the market. It also didn’t help that the drug didn’t have the backing of the patients in studies.
If you are prescribed this for any reason, question your doctor about it. There are better options for medication to fight midlife obesity.
Metformin for Type II Diabetes Patients
Those who have Type II diabetes may have been prescribed metformin. This drug helps to limit the glucose production within the liver, meaning that insulin resistance is less likely to get worse. It can be prescribed to some pre-diabetic patients to prevent Type II diabetes becoming an issue.
The drug also helps the muscles consume more glucose in the blood.This means the body reacts better to the insulin response while getting the best energy results.
You will often find the brand name Glucophage. Most diabetes patients will find they lose weight while on the drug.
Promote Feeling of Satiety with Liraglutide
One of the most popular appetite suppressants is liraglutide, also known as Exenatide or under the brand names Byetta and Saxenda. The body will naturally secrete waste from the intestines, but the hormone GLP-1 prevents that. Because of this hormone, the emptying of the intestines is delayed, meaning that you feel fuller and more satisfied for longer. That means that you won’t eat as much throughout the day.
As we get more obese, the GLP-1 hormone is reduced. The more we diet, the more we lose this hormone. We start to feel hungry all the time, even though the body doesn’t need any more calories throughout the day. We’re left in a catch-22 situation without the use of liraglutide to boost the amount of GLP-1 we have.
Some patients have found they’ve lost a substantial amount of weight by taking the medication. It is injected rather than taken orally, which can mean more severe side effects experienced. However, the side effects are annoying rather than overly dangerous (otherwise it wouldn’t have been approved). One of the most common side effects is nausea in the earlier stages of the therapy.
This is one of the most common drugs used for those with Type II diabetes.
The drug is available only through prescription. You will be monitored closely by your doctor to ensure you are on the right dosage and type of medication for your needs.
Delay Gastric Emptying with Pramlintide
Another drug that can delay the gastric emptying is pramlintide, found in the branded Symlin. Rather than boosting the GPL-1 hormone, this drug adds the synthetic Amylin hormone to the body. This hormone acts in the same way, reducing the amount of waste that is secreted to keep the body feeling fuller for longer.
Diabetic patients tend to be deficient in Amylin. It is only available for diabetic patients as a prescription medication. It can be given to both Types I and Type II diabetic patients.
Researchers are currently testing the results of Symlin in nondiabetic patients to see if it will help to treat obesity in midlife.
One of the downsides noted with the drug is that it is injection only and at mealtime.
Compliment Your Diet and Exercise with Phentermine or Topiramate
You have two drug options to compliment your current healthy diet and exercise regimen: topiramate or phentermine. Working both together in the brand Qsymia gives the best results and is fully approved by the FDA. However, the European Medicines Agency has refused to approve it, due to some concerns over the long-term effects.
The drugs work by suppressing the appetite. You feel like you need to eat less. When working with a low-calorie diet, you can keep getting the nutrients you need without feeling consistently hungry, especially if you do a lot of exercises too.
Some of the concerned long-term effects include damage to the blood vessels and heart, cognitive side effects, and mental health damage.
You only need to take the medication once a day, and it is only available through prescription. Your doctor will watch your health through regular checkups.
Combine Bupropion and Naltrexone
Another combination therapy is the use of bupropion and naltrexone. Like the combination above, the branded Contrave will help to suppress your appetite, so you eat less. You won’t feel as depressed about being on a diet because you feel satisfied throughout the day. However, it works best with an exercise and diet routine.
This is another prescription medication that is available around the world.
Watch Out for Unresearched Medications
There are a lot of over the counter weight loss drugs on the internet. Your doctor will want you to avoid as much as possible. They are extremely dangerous, as it is unclear just what ingredients have been put on these drugs.
Many diet pills act as laxatives and diuretics. They don’t help you remove any body fat but can help you eliminate the nutrients that your body can absorb. Rather than helping you lose weight, they leave you without potassium and other necessary nutrients that keep you healthy and alive. There are cases of people dying or being in comas due to the diet pills.
One of the most commonly accepted internet diet pills is pryvate. Before you waste your money on it, you can also find it in red wine, red apples, and cheese. There are still studies to see how effective it is in weight loss.
Put your health first before you start using medications to help control midlife obesity. Talk to your doctor to make sure any medication you have picked up is good for you. Your doctor will share some of the best prescription medications available to help you lose weight and keep it off.
