Is it Safe To Take Diet Pills While Exercising?

This is a question that pops up often as people feel confused if they can take diet pills OR they should develop healthy eating habits and exercise routine. They seem to assume that a person can do only 1 thing at a time. But this isn’t true. In reality, the successful users of the prescription of the diet pills are those who take the medications as directed by the doctor and ensure that they develop healthy eating and exercise habits that can be beneficial for the long term.

Reminder: Always talk to your doctors before you start a new exercise. Mainly if you are concerned with physical ability to exercise, haven’t been active for a long time, if suffering from chronic health conditions, or taking weight-loss medicines that could affect your heart/cardiovascular system.

5 Reasons you should be active while taking diet pills

Here are the five reasons you should be active while taking diet pills, even losing weight without exercising.

#1. Overall Better Health

Living an active lifestyle is linked to healthy outcomes, independent of the weight or Body Mass Index (BMI). Losing weight or being physically fit might be the reason for your workout, but it is far from the only reason that gets you to move.

As per the 2011 study, exercising regularly and improving the diet can decrease cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and inflammatory markers. It also improves the ability to efficiently metabolize glucose no matter whether you have lost weight or not.

As per the Rotterdam study in 2017, people who are obese but perform a high level of physical exercise didn’t experience increased cardiovascular disease risk. However, this is the characteristic of sedentary overweight, and obese people.

That means exercising regularly may decrease the risk of high BMI, at least in terms of high-risk disease. But, if your weight isn’t reduced even after working for hours in the gym, don’t worry, there are even other positive health outcomes of exercising.

#2. Faster Metabolism

Another benefit of exercising regularly is that it burns out more calories. Many people go to the gym to achieve a leaner and toned body, or sometimes to burn off the big meal. But did you know that maintaining a high percentage of lean muscle boosts the metabolism?

Muscles are more metabolically active as compared to fats. Therefore, muscular people tend to burn more calories as compared to others.

Investing time to build or maintain lean muscles is essential, especially for people who quickly lose weight because the rapid loss of weight can cannibalize lean muscle tissue.

If you burn more calories and eat less, your body will use glycogen (carbohydrate) and adipose tissue (fats) as fuel for daily activities.

But, if these fuel sources become low, the body might start using the lean muscles as an energy source. No one would like to lose lean body mass when they are on the verge of slimming down. Therefore, regular exercising is essential, especially for those losing weight quickly with the help of anti-suppressant pills like Belviq or Phentermine (Adipex).

One of the important benefits of exercising is that it helps burn out extra calories while sweating. This means it helps burn out more fat and lose weight faster in the short term.

#3. More Energy

You might have heard many people saying that they don’t exercise because they feel drained out after long work hours, school or errands. But, many of them don’t know that exercising or performing physical activities regularly can increase their energy levels.

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that the people who have sedentary work experience less fatigue if they exercise regularly.

Also, sweating more releases the neurotransmitters that increase well-being, which makes you feel better and more energetic.

#4. Strong Immunity

Are you always sick? Don’t worry! Exercising regularly increases immunity and helps your body fight unwanted infections.

Even experts are not sure why the exercise helps us to fend-off sickness, but according to them, it may be related to:

  • Increased blood circulation: White blood cells and antibodies attack faster when the blood pumps more quickly.
  • High body temperature: Some bacteria don’t replicate themselves at a higher temperature.
  • Lowers stress level: Performing intense or moderate exercise releases the good hormones and decreases the detrimental stress hormones (Cortisol) levels.
#5. Improved Mood

Last but one of the important benefits of exercising regularly is improving mood.

Performing daily physical exercise can increase the endorphin and catecholamine (serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine) levels, which helps boost mood, memory, and concentration.

Also, regular exercising helps regulate sleep patterns and gives you a sense of accomplishment. Therefore exercising is very helpful in managing stress, anxiety, depression, and ADHD in people of all ages.

Thankfully, you don’t have to exercise regularly or go to the gym to perform an intense workout to gain these impressive and emotional health benefits.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in their recent study has found that exercising for at least 15 mins in a day can significantly reduce the risk of depressive disorders.

As per the data collected from more the 6 00,000 participants, people who have engaged themselves in an intense workout like running for at least 15 mins in a day, and lower intense activity like walking for at least 30 minutes in a day, had experienced a 26% drop in their odds of developing depression.

Are you confused about where to start?

Have you been less active recently? Then starting the workout again can be frightening for you. But, one good thing about it is that you don’t have to perform it intensely, which means you don’t have to go from 0 to 100 in a single day.

But before you take any exercise routine, it is always better to talk to your doctor about it. So that they can check whether you are fit for the exercise or not. They can also adjust the intake of medications as needed and help address/prevent activity-related injuries.

Once you have received medical clearance from your doctor, you can start with a small 5-10 mins of walking or more as per your body. Later, once your body is used to performing regular physical activity, you can increase the level of your workout.

As per the experts, healthy adults must perform intense physical exercise 75-150 mins in a week. Some intense workouts are swimming, running, skipping, aerobics, etc. Also, in a week, they must perform 150-300 minutes of moderate activity. It’s like walking, hiking, gardening, casual cycling, etc., to achieve maximum health benefits. If possible, then you can also perform muscle-building activities like weight lifting, dumbbells, etc., at least twice a week.

Thankfully, exercising daily provides equal benefits, whether you do it at home or in the gym. Therefore you don’t have to feel pressured to join the fitness club if you are uncomfortable with it. Instead, you can break a sweat whichever place is more comfortable.

Considering all these benefits, it’s worth spending some time exercising. Even if you are already losing weight with pills, the activities suggested by the doctor can help you boost weight loss. It will also help to improve your overall health in the short & long term.