Is Lasix Weight Loss a Real Solution? A Detailed Explanation

Read how Lasix can be taken for weight loss purpose and is it safe or not.

Lasix is a diuretic (furosemide) that is used in medicine to prevent or deal with conditions related to swellings, cerebral and pulmonary edema, heart attacks, cirrhosis, etc. Its mechanism is rather simple: just like any other diuretic, it eliminates water from your system (that is, better said, from the cells), thus reducing inflammations. Due to the fact that diuretics make you pee often and tend to reduce bloating, some people associate them with weight loss. This article will explain in detail why you should think twice before using diuretics as a solution to your weight problems; but first things first:

Mechanism of action and results

When you use Lasix, weight loss may seem like a real solution because you'll experience immediate results. After getting the water out of cells, your body redirects it through blood to your kidneys, where the urine is formed. Recurrent doses will, naturally, result in a continuous dehydrating effect that will look like you've lost some weight. Your scale doesn't know the difference between natural weight loss and chemically-induced Lasix weight loss and it can't create a scenario for you. But here's what happens if you keep on taking diuretics to lose weight:

• By eliminating water from your supposedly well-balanced system, you force kidneys work at a different rate than the usual one.
• In addition, your heart will notice the difference and will try to catch up: you'll soon experience an accelerated rhythm, which may lead to tachycardia.
• Your liver will also be affected because it will recalibrate the secretion of bile, and so will the pancreas.

As a result, most of your internal organs and glands will be directly affected.

The results of trying the Lasix weight loss solution speak for themselves. You will notice a few pounds less, but this loss we'll be covered up immediately after stopping taking the pills. This is actually the good scenario. The bad one is that you will gain weight by accumulating more water than you used to and/or you will be affected from a medical perspective, especially if you do this repeatedly for a long period of time.

Diuretics and weight loss

This is by no means solely the case of Lasix. Any loop diuretic, be it furosemide, bumetanide, or a different one, will have a similar effect. However, you should be well aware of the fact that this is by no means the type of weight loss recipe you're after. Below you will find two different lists: one that explains the particularities of a real weight loss diet and one that focuses on the way diuretics can mime a similar effect shortly after being taken.

What you should look for

• When you're on a diet, you need to get fats out of your system, not water, and the easiest way to do it is by exercising daily. Even if you eat a lot, if you do a lot of exercise and don't become a couch potato, or, even worse, someone who alternates his or her lifestyle between the office chair and the bad at home, you have a real chance to get rid of excessive fat.
• Mechanically taking water out of your system is a lie as far as real diet are concerned, because you're not at all thinner: this is just an illusion that will go away once you get back to your original schedule.
• Diets should be sustainable and not interfere with your everyday lifestyle. If you can't find any after searching, browsing, or discussing with a nutritionist, either you have a medical condition that prevents your body from losing weight, or there's something wrong with your lifestyle. Either way, diuretics are not a solution here.

How to differentiate right

• When taking diuretics, you don't help your system burn the calories in any way.
• On the contrary, you will feel weakened and will consider longer periods of rest, which favor weight gain. So even if you manage to see direct results in a matter of days, check the scale after a few days.
• High doses of diuretics taken on a regular basis may lead to hypercalcification, which is a problem in itself. The idea is that prolonging this treatment for a long period of time won't help you; instead, it will create water and electrolytic imbalances in your body, which, at their turn, may lead to a set of very serious and damaging side effects.