Weight loss pills are seen as a magical supplement that will simply shed away the pounds while you do absolutely nothing. Sadly, this is not the reality, and they will not quickly fix the problem you've been building for years. Some pills can even cause a lot of side effects that make them simply not worth all the hassle. Using diet pills is quite straightforward - all you have to do is pop the pill 2-3 a day and that's it. But there are steps you need to take before you actually drink the pills, and it's vital that you follow them!

First, make sure that you can differentiate between the two different types of diet pills available on the market today. You can find OTC drugs and prescription pills, and the second obviously comes from doctors. Prescription pills either suppress your appetite, inhibit the absorption of fat, or speed up the metabolism. These pills are the ones that have been evaluated by the FDA, but although they have this attribute, there's still no guarantee that they will work, and they can still cause some naughty side effects. Some can even be addictive! OTC drugs are made out of natural materials, and they do the same things as prescription pills do. The difference lies in the FDA evaluations, and some negative side effects might not even be recorded. If you want to be absolutely certain about a certain pill, look if there were any clinical studies conducted about it. If the results show promise, then give the pill a go, but if the findings are inconclusive, skip the pill! If there aren't any studies at all, you can try risking it, or just skip the pill altogether. But, even if the pill is safe, it could still have some side effects, which we will talk about in detail in our Side Effects section. Of course, figure out whether the pills are actually effective or not. You should know that all the weight the pills cause to melt off will come back as soon as you stop taking the pills unless you go on a diet and start working out! Know that there is no scientific evidence that supports the effectiveness of the pills.

Remember to talk with your doctor before you decide to take any pill, especially if you have any health problems. Once they give you the go, look carefully at how you're supposed to take the pills. It's vital that you do not take too much! Remember to drink water, and try to avoid caffeine, since most pills have it in the first place. Caffeine can also make some of the side effects worse! And if you feel way too many side effects, stop taking the pills altogether - it's not worth it.

Weight loss pills have been the center of controversy ever since they were brought into existence, and it's for a good reason. Many of the pills had ingredients that were extremely harmful, and are now banned. But how effective are these pills in the first place, and how do they exactly work?

A lot of people do not believe that these pills work at all, and they're right to do so. There's a reason why these pills are classified as dietary supplements, not actual drugs. Truth be told, if you do not use them in combination with exercising and working out, it's likely that you won't feel any of the benefits. Let's see what some of the ingredients found in the pills do, and how they might help you shed some pounds off. Most of the pills we mentioned here are fat-trappers. These pills usually contain chitosan. Chitosan binds the fat you eat to it, and then you don't get to absorb it at all. Although there are some studies that suggest that this does work, the amount of fat that binds to them might not be enough for you to see some actual results. Then there are fat burners. Fat burners do just what the name suggests. They come from green tea extract, caffeine, and even ephedrine. A lot of these extracts are often piled together for an even more potent effect. These ingredients apparently raise your energy levels while making your body use the fat you have stored as fuel. Ephedra is effective, but it causes a lot of serious side effects, including strokes! Caffeine does the same thing, and if you drink coffee you already know this. It's not as potent as ephedra is, but it can make some health issues worse.

All in all, although most of the ingredients do work, you must exercise a lot of caution when using them, and you must make sure to get ingredients that are safe for you to consume. Be aware that these pills can be quite pricey on a monthly basis, sometimes even exceeding 50 to 100 dollars! Combine the pills with a good diet and exercises program, and you will definitely see results.

You must know what ingredients go into your pills so that you can avoid potential side effects, and it will also help if you know which ingredient does what. We will describe some of the most common ingredients found in diet pills and tell you what they're supposed to be doing.

Alli, or orlistat, is one of the most popular brands of weight loss pills, and you can find it on our list. You can get it both as an OTC pill and as a prescription drug. Orlistat works by stopping the body from breaking down and absorbing some of the fat that you eat, and you can see this in action when you look into your toilet. A lot of people report having oily poops when they drink these pills! Although it is a side effect, it's not so serious, and it can't cause any issues by itself. But you can also feel a change in your toilet habits, like an increase in the number of times you go. People do tend to lose weight with this pill though!

We all know what caffeine is. You can find it in energy drinks, coffee, and even tea. And, it can also be found in diet pills. Truth be told, caffeine does work. It boosts your energy levels and raises up your metabolism, so as a result, you're more motivated to move. Just be careful of the side effects again!

Glucomannan is a type of fiber. This ingredient suppresses your appetite by absorbing all the water in your guts, then it expands and causes you to feel full. This will curb your hunger, and you won't want to eat as much as you did. Although this sounds promising, there aren't a lot of studies that support the effectiveness of this ingredient, or they say that it is not so effective.

Garcinia cambogia does sound like an ingredient found in witches potions, but it's actually just a simple fruit that contains hydroxy citric acid that is believed to aid in weight loss. The extract contains the juice of this fruit, which is available as an OTC pill. The acid found in this fruit can actually inhibit the creation of an enzyme that creates fat, called citric acid lyase. Although it might not be too effective, it does have little to no side effects, so you can always give this extract a try without worrying too much about it.

Pyruvate is a byproduct that is created when our body breaks down sugar. This byproduct is sold as an aid to weight loss because it breaks down fat and boosts the metabolism. This ingredient does work to some degree though, but be careful of bloating and gas.

We all heard the advice of drinking green tea because it will boost the metabolism and burn fat. This is especially true for the fat around your belly. Although you can't target fat burn traditionally, you can do it with green tea! There is evidence that suggests this actually works, and it doesn't have that many side effects, so it's one of the best ingredients found in weight loss pills.

Conjugated linoleic acid is surely a mouthful, and it's just a fatty acid found in beef and dairy. This ingredient is one of the most effective ones found on the market today, as it boosts the metabolism and burns away stubborn fat. But this evidence has been collected from studies carried out on animals! There's not a lot of evidence that supports this theory when humans drink it. Just be careful if you have diabetes or insulin resistance!

You've probably heard of Hydroxycut, as it's one of the more popular weight loss supplements out there. The Hydroxycut products vary, as they contain a different blend of ingredients. It usually boils down to caffeine and other plant extracts. But it's because the ingredients vary that we cannot say with certainty what the side effects may be!

This is undoubtedly what was on your mind the whole time you were reading this article. We've all heard how much side effects diet pills can cause, but are they really that serious and should you stop considering the pills just because of them?

Don't worry though, we did mention side effects a lot in our article, but a lot of these pills have almost no side effects at all, or they are so minor that they won't even bother you that much, to begin with. But some ingredients, that were even banned, can cause a myriad of side effects that can potentially be very serious. Let's look at ephedra first. It was sold as the miracle cure for a while, and it did work wonders. But this Chinese herb was banned in 2004 because it was concluded that it can cause a heart attack or stroke! When 2005 rolled around though, trace amounts of ephedra were allowed, but it was completely banned in 2006, again. Hydroxycut is one more popular ingredient that can cause plenty of side effects. It can actually cause damage to your liver and kidneys, especially if you already suffer from some health problems related to these organs. It was banned in 2009 and then recalled, but Hydroxycut can cause jaundice and hepatitis - one person needed a new liver, while a different one actually died! Fenfluramine was an ingredient active in the popular drug called Fen-phen, was recalled way back in the 1990s because of reports of heart and lung damage. It still prescribed today though, but use it only if a doctor recommended it! Meridia, or sibutramine, was recently withdrawn, in 2010. It can cause a heart attack and stroke, just like many ingredients we mentioned here.

These are the most serious health offenders that you can't really find on the market today, but the black market still has them, and do your best to avoid them. Ingredients that are not banned usually cause issues related to the digestive system, or the jitters, just like coffee does, so it's nothing you should worry about, although these side effects can still be distracting and boring.

Weight loss pills are expensive. You need to buy them every month or so, and you must spend over 50 or even 100 dollars every month! This is why it's important that those pills can last that prescribed month, or that they can last a bit longer, just in case, if you fail to take them a few times.

Look at the expiry date when buying your pills. They all usually last for quite a long time, but some do expire faster, especially if they have no preservatives in them. But the expiry date is not the final date to drink the pills though! The expiry date just tells you when the pills will stop being so potent. So you still can drink the pills after they expire, even for as long as 6 months, but they will not be so effective, and you might have to up the dose, which can be very dangerous. If you want to keep the pills from expiring before the time comes, make sure to store them in a good place. The location should be cool and dry, so abstain from keeping them in the bathroom! Keep them in the fridge, or in the kitchen counter, and they will definitely last the supposed period!