Weight-loss patches are a relatively new type of diet product, but in the time they have been available they have really proven themselves to be a safe and effective way of helping people to lose weight. So much so that dieters are choosing to use a diet patch rather than taking diet pills.
Lots of people ask if these slimming patches really work for weight loss? Unfortunately, there are many ineffective or even dangerous diet patches on the market. But at the same time, there are a few that really work for causing a healthy and safe rate of weight loss without side effects.
I decided to investigate this type of weight loss product, take a look at the brands available, and compare them to find out what the best weight loss patch actually is.
What is a Weight Loss Patch?
These are simple stick-on patches, typically to be worn for 24 hr on a discreet piece of skin from your upper arm to your ankle. It is important that the area isn't wet when placing the patch so it does not peel off. Some are waterproof so they can be worn even in the shower.
The patches are infused with ingredients that are thought to help with weight loss by:
- Boosting your metabolism so your body naturally burns off more fat
- Making you feel less hungry so you are less likely to snack or overeat
- Giving you an energy boost so you can face exercising more
- or all of the above
The ingredients are time-released in most brands of weight loss patch so your body isn't overwhelmed all at once and instead you can get the benefits 24hrs a day.
They are also known as transdermal patches because of their mechanism of action: the ingredients are absorbed through your skin rather than through your stomach like with other diet products such as diet pills. A nicotine patch is a good example of a transdermal patch used for a different purpose.
Advantages of Using a Weight Loss Patch
There are quite a few advantages of using a slimming patch over taking diet pills. Three main advantages of using a weight loss patch are:
- You don't have to remember to take diet pills the right number of times at the right time of day. Most of us live a busy lifestyle and it is easy to forget to put time aside just to take a diet pill. Just stick a patch on at the start of the day and forget about it while it helps you to lose weight.
- When you take a diet pill, often the ingredients are broken up by stomach acids and destroyed so they never get to work. With a weight loss patch, thanks to trans-dermal technology the ingredients go straight into your bloodstream ready for transport around your body so more of the active ingredients are absorbed and used by your body.
- Slimming patches can be safer. Because diet pill manufacturers know that some of the ingredients are simply destroyed in your digestive system, they respond by ramping up the dosage which in turn increases your risk of side effects.
Weight Loss Patch Ingredients
The ingredients in these patches have to be carefully selected, more so than with diet pills because they have to be able to be absorbed through your skin. Some of these popular ingredients include:
- Fucus vesiculosus – Also known as Bladderwrack and is rich in iodine to support your metabolism through your thyroid gland
- Lecithin – Contributes to lowering bad levels of cholesterol in the blood
- Hoodia – Not as popular as it once was, but acts as a powerful appetite suppressant
- 5-HTP – A mood-boosting ingredient that aims to ward off emotional eating
- Green Tea – A well studied weight loss ingredient once popular in tea form but now available from weight loss patches
- Guarana – A natural stimulant that has metabolism-boosting properties
- Acai berry – Rich in antioxidants that are thought to give a metabolism boost and suppress appetite
- Yerba mate – Has been studied to show a decrease in fat cells in subjects who were given this as a supplement
Some manufacturers obscure their patch's ingredients list, listing “proprietary formulas. So how can you be sure you are getting what you think you're getting? Always look at the label or ingredients list of your chosen weight loss patch to see what it contains and whether they are effective, safe or cause side effects.
Are Weight Loss Patches Safe?
They are typically thought to be a safe method of aiding weight loss because over the years there haven't been any great scandals such as with banned diet pills like Ephedra.
Despite this, some manufacturers of patches don't include a clear ingredients list which won't allow you to judge if they contain an ingredient you may be allergic to for example.
This tends to be true of the very cheap end of the market, with patches from Alibaba, Wish, eBay, and Amazon not being particularly well regulated. In addition, you may find fakes of trusted weight loss patches sold on these marketplaces.
That doesn't mean you can't get a good deal on a safe and effective weight loss patch. It just means you might have to think more critically before buying one.
Choosing A Weight Loss Patch
Picking a weight loss patch can be difficult. Whilst they all tend to work in the same way, by using through the skin delivery, they all contain different ingredients and therefore some are more effective or safer than others.
I decided to rank diet patches based on certain criteria.
- Is it effective? – I looked at weight loss results to see if the top-rated patches really work for weight loss.
- Is it safe? – There is no point at putting yourself at risk from dangerous side effects when some natural patches are completely safe.
- Is it expensive? Value for money is an important factor when it comes to choosing any slimming patch. Sometimes you pay for quality, while sometimes you can get a bargain.
Based on these factors we came to the conclusion that the top two weight loss patches are as follows:
* products judged based on a 5-star maximum rating *
| Acai Patch | SlimKick Patch |
|
|---|---|---|
| Value For Money |  | |
| Safety | | |
| Effectiveness | |  |
| Read Review | Acai Patch Review | SlimKick Patch Review |