How You Can Benefit From Diet Aids

Most people know that weight loss is best achieved by balancing a proper amount of exercise with a well-balanced diet. Doing so helps reduce obesity, reduces the risk of numerous diseases (e.g., diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure), and improves one’s mood and self-esteem.

For some people who are having difficulty losing weight using the standard techniques or who are overweight and already have significant medical problems as a result, diet aids may be helpful.

A common diet aid most people are aware of is the food and drink category. This includes meal replacement shakes, meal replacement snacks, and low calorie snack bars. SlimFast, for example, makes many of these dietary food and drink products. These products are popular even among people who are not overweight but who want to prevent excessive weight gain. Meal replacement shakes come pre-made or in mix form in many tasty flavors such as milk chocolate, French vanilla, or cappuccino. The shakes can control hunger for up to four hours by containing a high amount of protein (e.g., 14 grams), which creates a sense of fullness. They also contain vitamins and nutrients that help you lose weight and are high in fiber, which promotes healthy intestinal activity. By being low calorie, meal replacement shakes will not cause weight gain, provided that they are used as directed. 

For people who do not like shakes, meal replacement bars are a solid alternative with the same health benefits. These also come in many tasty flavors, often in chocolate form. The use of low calorie (e.g., 100 calorie) snack bars helps further reduce weight if they are used as directed and replace high calorie snacks and/or foods between meals.

Weight loss tablets are also used as diet aids. Some are available over-the counter, some by prescription, and others can be obtained from a pharmacy online. These medications work in different ways such as preventing absorption of a third of the fat that is consumed, suppressing appetite, and making your brain feel like the stomach is full. While these medications can be very helpful for some, like any medication, they can cause side effects. Because of this, you should always check with your health care provider before deciding to take one of these medications. In addition, it is important to remember that weight loss tablets are not a substitute for proper diet and exercise.