The Truth About Medical Weight Loss Clinics: Do Diet Pills Actually Work?

Medical Weight Loss Clinics: The Good

Done with the right professional, in the right clinic, this process can change your attitude toward food and your eating behaviors for the better. When I tried the program for the first time four years ago, I received a meal plan complete with the calorie counts of each recipe, nutritional values, and what I could order from certain restaurants. The clinic checked in on me constantly, and I only stopping going because I moved.

When you're choosing a clinic, make sure to pick one that offers those amenities and isn't overcrowded with patients. If you find a location that's willing to give you some pills and a shot with little-to-no supervision afterward, run away in the other direction… fast. They don't have the time or resources to keep your best interest at heart.

My favorite part about the process is, it introduced me to B-12 shots, which are normally performed by medical weight loss clinics. I'm not currently on a weight loss journey, but I still stop by a local clinic to get the shots, which help with fatigue and mood, especially for people with digestive or gut issues.

Medical Weight Loss Clinics: The Bad

Along with B-12 shots and meal planning, many weight loss clinics offer phentermine as an appetite suppressant and diet supplement. What weight loss clinics may not tell you is, phentermine is dangerous and addictive AF. There was a time when I was really into taking Adderall to keep up with my schoolwork in college, so I know an upper when I see it. Although these pills can be okay if taken in moderation and for short periods of time, many people get addicted and the effects can be fatal.

Fenfluramine-phentermine, nicknamed fen-phen, hit the market in the 90s and accounted for 18 million of the prescriptions written in 1996, making it a worldwide epidemic weight loss drug. It wasn't long before the public discovered that the drug had caused many users to have heart valve problems and pulmonary hypertension. Although the drug combo was taken off the pharmaceutical streets in 1997, phentermine lives on and probably does so in the purses and pockets of many of the women that we know and love.

Although phentermine alone doesn't have the dramatic weight loss effects of its predecessor, the drug still has the potential to be deadly if not taken under a doctor's consistent care.

Medical Weight Loss Clinics: The Ugly

My bottom line here is, medical weight loss is not the devil. Nor is it your savior. As I think back to Brittney and the day I made that foolish and unfounded promise to myself, I understand that my goal was never based on my own reality, it was based on what I wanted people to think when I stepped on the scale.

To truly be your own #BodyGoals, first, you have to unlearn your negative self-image beliefs, and that won't always be a pretty process.

In fact, tearing down your insecurities can get pretty ugly, and there's no amount of meal planning, vitamins, and pills that you can use to avoid that inevitable truth. You have to do the work!

If you're considering starting a weight loss journey, girl go for it! But check your motives. Find a doctor that cares about you, rather than one that thinks that pills are your only option. And lastly, if you do decide to go the phentermine route, have some tests run by your primary care provider first and don't take them for longer than a 12-week period.

15 years later, I'm proud to say I'm 178 pounds and I'm not mad about it.

Do I wanna lose a few pounds? Sure. But will I do it in a way that's unhealthy and challenges my physical health? Hell nah. Medical weight loss can be a great tool when paired with a healthy mindset, good food choices, and exercise. True transformation comes from the inside-out, so it's best to start there.