There is nothing like a proper dietary regime coupled with regular exercise to get and maintain a slim-n-trim figure. But diet and exercise alone may not be adequate when you have reached a stage where you are fast accumulating excessive fat in your body. This is the time when you should be seriously thinking about following a sensible and well chalked out plan to lose some calories. You may be alarmed to know that nearly 46 per cent of men and 32 per cent of women in the UK are overweight.

What is sensible weight loss?

Sensible weight loss means gaining a healthy body mass index (BMI) over a period of time. BMI helps you determine whether or not your body weight is in consonance with your height. It is calculated by dividing body weight in kilograms by height in metres squared. A person is regarded to be obese if BMI touches 30 or goes beyond it, whereas BMI between 25 and 30 is symptomatic of an overweight condition.

Let us take for instance that your body weight is 190 pounds and height 1.88 metres. So your BMI will be 86.3/1.882 = 24.4, which is a tad below 25. So it means that you are not overweight. Now if you suddenly gain another 11 pounds in a few months' time, your BMI goes to 25.8, which is a sign of being overweight. From this example it is quite clear that a sudden rise or drop in body weight controls the BMI as a person's height does not change after a certain age. So to initiate the process of sensible weight loss, you need to maintain your body in such a way that your weight does not decrease rapidly. Ironically, loss here does not connote the negative sense of the term. You are in fact increasing your life expectancy by losing extra weight.

Are slimming pills safe for sensible weight loss?

Most over-the-counter slimming pills claim to perform miraculously when it comes to providing treatments for excess weight problem or obesity. Needless to mention, majority of such claims are fake as non-prescription slimming pills and dietary supplements do not always follow the same medical standards as laid down by the FDA. They may work wonders for a short period, but are likely to have adverse effects on your body in the long run. It is better to adopt a combined approach to weight loss with clinically approved slimming pills such as Xenical 120mg and a low-calorie dietary regime followed by regular exercises.

When is it sensible to avoid slimming pills?

Slimming pills are to be avoided when you have recurring liver problems. It is also better to avoid the habit of taking weight loss pills when you live in drier places. This is because dry weather conditions tend to have a dehydrating effect on human body, which may get compounded with slimming pills. Slimming pills during pregnancy may cause harm both to the mother and the foetus.

Which slimming pills should you avoid?

Slimming pills containing ingredients such as bisacodyl and phenylalanine should be avoided because they have laxatives that often cause diarrhoea. Already banned by the FDA, Ephedra and its dietary supplements may have fatal consequences, including heart attacks and strokes. Pills with caffeine as their active ingredient cause to lose weight fast by draining excess water from the body. But because of the diuretic substance, such pills do not burn body fat. So when you stop the weight loss therapy, your body regains weight, bringing you back to square one!