Laxatives for weight loss- honestly, can they work?

hey..ok i know there loads of bad things about laxatives and everything..but can they actually work..im aware of the risks and long term effects, especially for prolong use..but can they actually work for weight loss?? maybe someone who has personally been there and done it can help me...or any adivice is welcome... xxx

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

jennyflake

They will make you get rid of waste, and far too many people do use them for weight control...however its inadvisable, will mess up your whole system, and just...well...dont! theyre available for people with constipation, not for someone whos desperate for a potential quick fix to lose weight.

Reply 2

Anonymous #2

All you're going to do is lose weight by losing water. It's very much temporary and not a good idea.

Exercising and changing your diet is the BEST way of losing weight.

Reply 3

Bubblebee

Not even worth considering.

Reply 4

norelle

Do you really think anyone is going to advise you to use laxatives for weight loss? It's a bad idea, a step on the road to an eating disorder.

Reply 5

Louher

You will be in a lot of pain. Very ill and probably won't lose that much weight. Don't even consider it.

Reply 6

friendsfreak88

Yeah don't do it. Once you start taking them it can be adddictive and they mess up your system so much that you end up actually needing to take them. You are much better off upping your water intake. This cleans out your system and helps fill you up.

Reply 7

silverbolt

it work but imagine this

your bf/gf goes down on you and you lose control of your bowel control.

dont do it

Reply 8

seashellstar

It does work, but trust me it's really not a pleasant experience, I felt horrific at times with dire stomach cramps etc. I've suffered from eating disorders for quite a long time, and originally I did swear that I would never use them. But when I progressed from anorexia to bulimia I did use them and it just got out of control.

It may well not help so much anyway, as if you think I'm gonna flush it out so it doesn't matter and I can eat more, then it's like having low fat spread and eating twice as much. You will still absorb the fat and calories to some degree.

Seriously, DON'T go down that route.

Reply 9

lostinfantasies

I was told I had bulimia because I used to do this. I really wouldn't advise it. For me, it was the liquid form of laxative, and I just drank from the bottle (far more than the suggested dose). I felt queasy for days, I had stomach aches, etc.

It's really not a good thing to try and do. Try and lose weight, if you're desperate, in a different way (I don't know what you look like, and for all I know you may not NEED to lose weight, so I won't tell you how to, because it may not even be necessary and you might just be fine :smile:

Reply 10

Anonymous #2

little_red_sox

Oh yeah- and when she was forced to stop taking them, she swelled up like a balloon. I recon she gained a good few stone in a few weeks. Her poor bod probably couldn't believe it was actually getting a drink after all that time.

nasty.

That's one of the problems with it. Laxatives basically help to empty your large bowel out. Using them to lose weight will just empty water out of your body which can result in periods of water retention so you kind of swell up or look bloated. Makes you think you've put on more weight or need to take more laxatives and so the process continues. It's a viscious cycle.

To the OP, do not try it.

Reply 11

Groovy chick

Laxatives most certainly should NOT be used for weight loss.

Once you start using them for this purpose, you will enter a vicious cycle that risks long term damage to your body.

Reply 12

Anonymous #3

when i was struggling with anorexia, i took up taking laxatives.....and everyone above is right, they're painful, mess up your system, bloat you up, and it takes your system forever to readjust.

run or walk more often.....and eat healthier.

Reply 13

Teacher's_pet

Cadre_Of_Storms

it work but imagine this

your bf/gf goes down on you and you lose control of your bowel control.

dont do it

Eugh. That's enough to put me off and to tell my bf never to take them. YUCK. *shivers*

Reply 14

RieLouise

No, no, no, no, no and did I say 'No'?

The only weight you'll lose is water weight which you'll regain when you drink. Unless you stop drinking in which case you'll die - one way of losing weight, I guess.

Plus, if you take them often enough your system becomes dependent on them.

Reply 15

clyn

You could just up the prune intake.

There's a risk the laxatives could really mess with your bowels and you may not be able to "go" yourself.
Basically what everyone else said.

Reply 16

cinder

Isn't it amazing that on a site filled with students, people who should be intellegent, we still get threads like this.

Reply 17

Anonymous #4

I abused laxatives a lot when I was younger.

They work.

They also have to ability to kill you very very quickly (electrolyte imbalances).

Oh! And be prepared to wake up in your own faeces... Nice...

Reply 18

miss_buttercup

so if you use laxatives regularly to help you loose weight, is that classed as an eating disorder/bulimia?

Reply 19

Anonymous #4

miss_buttercup

so if you use laxatives regularly to help you loose weight, is that classed as an eating disorder/bulimia?

Yes - purging is purging, whether you do it by manually stiumlated vomiting, using emetine or using laxatives...

More people die of bulimia as a result of the embalances of electrolytes (affects the heart), than ever starve themselves ala anorexia...