Among the opinions about the many means to get rid of excess weight, the reviews about "Metformin" for weight loss are especially prominent. How to take this drug, why is it so effective and how does it act on the body that leave so many flattering comments about it? We will try to figure this out now.
Description and form of release
Metformin is a substance that is an active ingredient in some diabetes drugs. In the pharmacy, it is sold under various names, but the original medicine is Glucofage tablets, manufactured in France. And before we find out the doctors' reviews about Metformin for weight loss, how to take this drug and how effective it is, let's take a closer look at what kind of substance it is.
It turns out that initially this medicine was used to reduce blood sugar, but later it turned out that it can be taken also for people suffering from obesity. Therefore, now all drugs containing such a substance have become very popular among people who are overweight. Most often, they prefer the means of “Seofor” (Germany), “Gliformin”, “Novoform”, “Formin” and “Metformin” (Russia), as well as “Formin pliva” (Croatia) and some others.
All of these drugs come in the form of white coated tablets. Their active substance is metformin hydrochloride in the amount of 500, 800 and 1000 mg. In addition to it, the tablet also contains corn starch, talc, crospovidone, magnesium stearate and povidone. The tablets themselves in the package contain 30, 60 or 120 pieces.
Action on the body
But do not rush right after you learn about the prescription of drugs to find out how to take Metformin correctly for weight loss. First you need to find out the reviews of experts about it, because it will be from them it will become clear how this substance works and how it helps to lose weight.
So, the effect of the drug increases the susceptibility to insulin, which supplies glucose inside the cells. After all, when it does not get there due to a decrease in the body's sensitivity to insulin, then the pancreas tends to produce more of this hormone, the blood sugar level rises, metabolism worsens, and the body begins to make reserves of fat, which leads to weight gain. And the substance leads to the normalization of the body's production of insulin, due to which the metabolism is accelerated, and fat does not accumulate.
But in addition, the drug also has some other properties:
- lowers blood cholesterol;
- suppresses appetite and reduces hunger;
- prevents the formation of glucose from proteins and fats obtained from food;
- accelerates the processing of carbohydrates that enter the body, converting them into energy, which contributes to weight loss;
- gradually dissolves accumulated body fat.
Clinical trials
Will help to understand how to take "Metformin" for weight loss, reviews about this substance. It is worth exploring the opinions left by people who participated in the clinical trials of drugs that contain it.
The studies were conducted by American doctors who selected 2,000 volunteers who were overweight, who were divided into three groups. The participants of the first one lost weight with the help of physical exercises and diets, the second one took the drug and did nothing else, and those who were in the third group combined taking the drugs with metformin with sports and changing the diet. As a result, those who entered the first group were able to lose about 5 kg in a month, the participants of the second group lost about 3 kg, but those who combined both methods of losing weight were able to lose 7 kg of excess weight.
This once again proved that you can not completely and completely rely only on magic pills, you need to try to combine all methods of losing weight, make every effort, take care of yourself, and only then the result will be what it should be.
Contraindications
As you can see, drugs containing a substance that is designed to normalize blood sugar levels are quite effective. However, you should not immediately begin to figure out how to take "Metformin" for weight loss, reviews about which you were so inspired. After all, usually preparations containing this substance are taken under the supervision of a doctor, so if you want to avoid unpleasant consequences, you should not drink tablets if you have such diseases and problems as:
- type I and type II diabetes when there is no insulin in the blood;
- renal, heart or liver failure;
- acute infectious diseases;
- alcohol abuse
- recovery after surgery;
- pre-stroke or pre-infarction condition;
- dehydration of the body;
- poisoning;
- intolerance to any component of the drugs;
- liver or kidney disease;
- pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Side effects
In addition, it is very important to remember well from the doctor’s reviews how to take Metformin for weight loss in order to avoid side effects. And there can be many of them during the course of taking medications. Particular care should be taken if symptoms such as appear from the consumption of drugs:
- severe and frequent headaches;
- heart palpitations or breathing;
- nausea or vomiting;
- diarrhea;
- weakness and very fast fatigue;
- loss of consciousness;
- anemia;
- itching or rash on the skin.
If such side effects occur, you should immediately reduce the dosage of the drug, and if this does not help, then you will need to stop taking it altogether. In severe cases, you will need to go to the hospital, where the doctor will prescribe symptomatic therapy.
Benefits
As you can see, the question of whether it is possible to take metformin for weight loss without the control of doctors, the answer will be mixed, because the drugs that contain it can lead to a deplorable outcome. However, despite this, if you compare the preparations containing this substance with a number of other means to get rid of excess weight, you can see that they have a number of significant advantages over them:
- The drug has a proven effectiveness, so that its administration will not be in vain.
- "Metformin" has a cumulative effect, due to which every day the result of losing weight will be more noticeable.
- There is no effect of withdrawal, so that after the end of the course of taking the drug, the weight lost will not return again.
- The medicine affects the very cause of weight gain, thereby preventing its re-gain.
- The price of the drug is remarkably correlated with its high quality.
How to take Metformin for weight loss
And so we came to find out how you still need to take the drug with metformin to get the expected result. First of all, doctors say that you can’t take the medicine for more than 20 days, and the daily norm of the substance should not exceed 1500 mg.
Moreover, if you are not confident in your state of health and are thinking how to take Metformin for weight loss without prescribing and observing a doctor to avoid side effects, you should gradually increase the daily dose of the substance. The first days you need to take only 500-850 mg of the component, and then you can gradually increase the dosage, so that in the end you can consume 1500 mg of the substance per day, stretching them into three doses - at breakfast, lunch and dinner. 22 days after the start of taking the drug, you will need to take a two-month break, and then you can start drinking pills again, but again only the prescribed amount of time.
Overdose
And now we finally know how to take “Metformin” for weight loss, reviews of which are so often found on various sites and forums where women share their secrets of losing weight. However, do not rush and increase the daily dose of taking the medicine, as this threatens a very sad consequence: the rapidly arising poisoning with lactic acid, that is, lactic acidosis.
Her symptom will be nausea, vomiting, cardiovascular failure and loss of consciousness. If, with the sharp appearance of these symptoms, one does not immediately call a doctor who will help cleanse the blood using hemodialysis, then in the future an overdose can lead to a coma. So, the dosage of the medicine must be monitored very carefully during its administration, because it is better to lose weight gradually and slowly than to spend weeks in the hospital.
Weight Loss Rules
However, it is not enough to know the dosage of the drug to be sure that you are exactly aware of how to take "Metformin 500" for weight loss. Reviews of drugs containing this substance confirm that in addition to taking the drug, it is also important to follow certain rules for losing weight, which help to accelerate the loss of excess weight:
- You need to exclude sweets, pasta, potatoes, white rice, dried fruits, beets, carrots, instant cereals, pasta and flour dishes from your diet.
- Oatmeal, buckwheat, white cabbage, lentils, turnips, celery, radishes, kefir, cottage cheese, chicken or turkey meat, rabbit meat should be included in your diet in unlimited quantities.
- Initially, you should not greatly reduce the amount of food eaten, but if taking medications does not lead to weight loss, you should reduce the daily calorie intake to 1200 calories.
- Be sure to drink two liters of water daily.
- In your daily routine you need to include simple physical exercises: jogging for 15 minutes, dancing to music or regular exercises.
Reviews and results of those who wanted to lose weight
Now you know how to take Metformin for weight loss. Reviews of those who have lost weight will give a more complete picture, but is it true that preparations containing this substance help to lose weight. First of all, many women complain that they were not able to lose a lot of weight with the help of tablets. Initially, he went somewhere around a kilogram per week, but then the weight loss stopped. However, as it turned out, in addition to taking the pills, these women did nothing more.
Others, who combined the consumption of the drug with sports and proper nutrition, boast that they were able to lose weight well and after that did not gain weight back. In addition, everyone who tried to lose weight with the help of Metformin noted that it is most convenient to buy tablets that contain 500 mg of the active substance, because you can simply swallow them whole. Others, however, argue that it is better to buy drugs where the content of the substance is 1000 mg, since they can simply be cut in half with a sharp knife, but significantly save on the purchase of goods.
Doctors' opinions on the drug
And finally, after we learned from reviews of those who are losing weight how to take Metformin for weight loss, let's find out how doctors speak about tablets with this substance. Many of them complain that those who want to lose weight have started taking this drug in general, since it was originally intended for the treatment of diabetes. Therefore, they advise less reliance on pills and more reliance on proper nutrition and sports, especially since this drug has a huge number of contraindications and side effects.
But there are other experts who agree that tablets containing metformin are an excellent way to lose weight. True, according to them, they should be taken by people suffering from obesity and a lot of excess weight, starting from 90-100 kg and above. Pills will help them the most, as they will give impetus to weight loss, affecting the very initial reason for weight gain.