Anyone try this with success or failure?
there are probably people who are really anti-pill... but I was finding it impossible to lose weight without literally starving myself. I dieted really carefully for about 8 weeks and lost 1lb. I could lose that through natural fluctuation without dieting, and eating normally (ei generally sensible food with the occasional treat thrown in) never took me over what I started at. My motivation and self-esteem had reached rock bottom.
After having high cholesterol results, my Dr put me on Orlistat, which he said could address both problems together. It prevents the body absorbing 30% of the fat in a meal, and is much less damaging than those that try to adjust the metabolism.
The impact of side effects vary from person to person, and I don't suffer too much with them, but they can cause some bowel problems, especially initially and after very fatty meals (one element of the drug, I feel, is a form of aversion therapy, as it certainly makes you think long & hard about whether you really want that burger if you know you'll have to pay for it the following day... or skip the pill and not benefit from its effects).
Because of comfort eating prior to going on it, I have lost the extra weight I put on plus a further couple of lbs (I think about 7lb in total over 3 weeks or so), but I had a very stressful week last week and lost my appetite as a result, which probably accounts for a few of those lbs.
Some people lose as much as 10lb or more in their first week, though I think this may be to do with the fact that others on the drug are starting at a much higher weight than me.
Drs guidelines are to expect at least a 5% weight loss in the first 3 months, and 10% in the first 6. If this isn't achieved, they are advised to stop treatment. If it is working, guidelines suggest a patient can be on them for up to 2 years.
i first used reductel i lost 13 kgs in 3 weeks
than i used lipo-6 which is great to cut down my body fat to 6%.
so again i agree to work with pills but under the supervision of a doctor.
I am one of those people who are really anti-pill. I haven't seen a single peer-review article showing how pills, those that are effective at all, are more effective than simple diet and exercise.
Meridia works with Diet and Exercise. That is... Meridia on it's own will not make you lose weight. If you eat 5,000 calories a day, even while taking the Meridia, you will gain weight.
However, Diet and Exercise are shown to work without the Meridia.
In the end, it's your decision, and your doctor's, but it's my opinion that you don't need it, that if it's effective at all, it's not more effective than Diet and Exercise.
I'm not a big believer in the diet pills - however, I still tried hydroxycut - and I love it. I don't believe that it "burns fat" but it DOES give me more engry and not a bit of the jitters like coffee gives me. Also it does curb my appetite a lot. Before I would have been starving on a low calorie diet, now I have to "make" myself get the last few hundred calories in a day on most days. I've been taking it for over a month. I also don't find that I need to take as much as it says on the bottle to get results. They say two at a time, three times a day. I either take one three times a day or I take two in the morning, one or two at lunch, and none at night and have been having great results.
Now notice - I still count calories and still work out, I'm not relying on the drug to drop the pounds per say - just to give me the "pick up and go" I need to blow through my day without munching on snacks all day. I'd have to look back but I think I've lost around 10 lbs since starting to take it a little over a month ago, before that my weight loss as at a stand still.
Original Post by hkellick:I am one of those people who are really anti-pill. I haven't seen a single peer-review article showing how pills, those that are effective at all, are more effective than simple diet and exercise.
Meridia works with Diet and Exercise. That is... Meridia on it's own will not make you lose weight. If you eat 5,000 calories a day, even while taking the Meridia, you will gain weight.
However, Diet and Exercise are shown to work without the Meridia.
In the end, it's your decision, and your doctor's, but it's my opinion that you don't need it, that if it's effective at all, it's not more effective than Diet and Exercise.
Exactly! It all works with diet and exercise... well duh! I lost over 103lbs now with just diet and exercise and no pills. Now let's say I was taking something with that like Meridia. They would tell you that I lost it due the drug and in the bottom in tiny type it would say results not typical and done with diet and exercise. It wasn't the drug and there is no proof it was...
It boils down to this for me... if there was some magical pill that worked like it said it did they wouldn't have to pimp it to you on an infromercial at 3am on the Food Network. They would be billionaires and it would be all over the news... that isn't the case with any of the pills. Coincidence? I'm afraid not. Would have been easier then what i've done the last 6 months to lose the weight, lol...
Prescriptions make me nervous!
Try taking hydroxycut hardcore, it is simple and works for many. I have never had side effects from it.
Don't expect to take it and lose weight, if you don't work out and at least try to eat right it won't do anything for you.
i tried pills but i felt terrible. i couldnt look at the food... as well as i couldnt look at anything at all. my husband said i was crabby all the time. i felt sick and even though i had energy i didnt enjoy my everyday life.
so i finally dropped them and went on a japanese diet to start with. i lost 20 lbs in two weeks and now i learned to recognize hunger and watch what i eat. i'm happy that i can eat so many things and still feel good about it. now i also started to exercise so i have way more energy, i met some nice people at the gym and i'm open to try new activities like skiing or skating, because i am stronger now.
I'm not a big fan of medications, diet or otherwise.
However ...
About five years ago I hit a frightening point in my life. I had always been big, but I just kept getting bigger. One day I went in for a routine checkup. I stepped on the scale expecting to cringe when that 300ish popped up and instead it read 350!
That was the first time I really committed to change. I started working out regularly and trying to eat better. The former was easy. The latter was not so much.
My doctor prescribed me a drug called Phentermine. Basically it effects the part of your brain that tells you that you are hungry.
It doesn't work forever. In two to three months your body will build up an immunity to it. But in those two months I was able establish better eating habits that have stayed with me every since.
I still struggle with my weight. The lowest I ever got was around 245. Since then I have been on and off of diets, but my eating habits have never returned to what they were that day I walked in the doctor's office and realized I had hit rock bottom.
I guess ultimately it's what you expect from a diet pill and how you use it. I know people who use the same drug I do who take it for two months to crash diet then go right back to the way things were when it stops working.
I don't recommend that, obviously.
I do, however, now believe if you are serious about changing your eating habits that diet pills can help you.
Be VERY careful with Meridia.....that one particular diet pill affects your central nervous system. I would definitely stick with Xenical.....that one is just a fat blocker....blocks 1/3 of your fat intake. I bet in a few years you will see Meridia being pulled off the shelves like Redux and Phen-Phen....
Just my opinion
~H~
I have always been against pills. However, after I found this site and approached my doctor regarding a low calorie diet, he suggested Phentermine.
I was really unsure about it and didn't get it filled for almost a week. But then I found out that my aunt and cousin are taking it and they seem ok with it, so I decided to give it a try.
I started taking the pill 2 weeks ago today. I also am on a portion restricted diet, not calorie restricted. But I have a good deficit. There is only so many calories you can fit in 5 cups of HEALTHY food. I have come to realize how many portions I WAS eating, I thought because I was only eating 1 plate and not going back for seconds then I was eating a serving. WOW! Was I ever wrong.
This isn't something he is going to leave me on for a long period of time. I think he is more/less using it for a boost to get me started. My aunt is on her last month, he only let her take it for 5 months.
I went to the doctor today and I have lost 23 lbs. But it scares me because everyone says that it will come back faster than lost b/c I took the pill, but I am learning new eating habits and making healthier choices.
I think for some people, taking a pill in combination with other methods(diet or exercise) is ok............but I think it is pointless for those who don't change their eating because as soon as they stop they are sure to gain it back. I mean eating habits is what caused the weight gain to begin with........only common sense that it will cause the weight gain again after stopping the meds.
I got engaged at the end of May '07 and we set an early April '08 wedding date. That gave me about 10 months to go from 151 (I'm only 5'2") to my goal weight of 125. I was so depressed about the 151 that my doctor put me on Bontril.
I have to say, Bontril works. I did experience a few side-effects at first (heart beating fast, insomnia and jitters) but they subsided in a few days. I eat about 1200-1400 calories a day and go to the gym 2-3 times a week (mostly running and some weights). My weight has gone from 151 to 129, which is about 1.1 pounds/week - a healthy pace.
Everybody is commenting on how skinny I look, which is great, especially since I'm pretty small anyway - I just got out of shape last year. Anyway, if I stay on Bontril 'til April, I should easily reach my goal and then some. My size 8 wedding dress will need to be taken in quite a bit!
I'm still under my doctor's care, and plan to consult her again after my wedding to wean myself off of it safely.
I would suggest trying it with a combination of diet and exercise first for about 3-6 weeks. This is assuming that you're healthy except for the additional weight that you're packing. If you have no progress during that time and you really are tracking your calories and activity so that you are above the minimums (1200F/1500M +300teen) and in the sweet 500-1000 calories deficit then consider a consultation with your physician and discuss the variety of diet pills.
Hopefully you'll be able to take it off and keep it off and use the diet pills to help build your non-diet healthy eating habits. I am very much against the non-prescription diet pills as they have little to no regulation. If they did a pre pill blood work up and a post pill blood work up and posted the results I'd have a lot more faith in their efficacy, however for the most part I think you'll do better by saving the money and using it towards a class or a gym membership.
For those who want to lose weight pretty quickly and are in reasonable shape I highly recommend martial arts...there's nothing quite as good in my opinion for getting your butt into shape as being in a class where you look like a wimp if you don't try. You don't have to be very good at all, but you do have to try. My definition of reasonable shape is essentially being able to stand up and kneel down without straining your joints. I've been doing aikido for 20+ years and the last ten have been overweight to the obese category. I started jui jitsu in the slightly overweight category just down from obese so you don't have to be in really good shape, just able to handle a bit of exercise or know when to take a break.
Original Post by proud_mom_of_2:I went to the doctor today and I have lost 23 lbs. But it scares me because everyone says that it will come back faster than lost b/c I took the pill, but I am learning new eating habits and making healthier choices.
I think for some people, taking a pill in combination with other methods(diet or exercise) is ok............but I think it is pointless for those who don't change their eating because as soon as they stop they are sure to gain it back. I mean eating habits is what caused the weight gain to begin with........only common sense that it will cause the weight gain again after stopping the meds.
That last part is the key.
There likely are some risks to taking diet pills. There are also some risks associated with being 200 pounds overweight.
As you say, the key is to use the medication to develop long-term eating habits that will continue to serve you well long after you stop taking the pills.
When i started calorie count i found that it was hard to eat low calories cuz i used to get hungry a lot and i had to find a way to supress my apetite, so i went to a weight loss dr. he prescribed me phentermine which supresses my apetite and makes me eat less calories a day. Everytime i go to his office they always check my weight, measurements and take my blood pressure because he won't prescribe it to someone that has high blood pressure.
Original Post by beckk76:
I have to say, Bontril works. I did experience a few side-effects at first (heart beating fast, insomnia and jitters) but they subsided in a few days.
That's exactly what happened to a few ppl I know...they ended up with heart valve problems about 5-7 years later. One is waiting to have surgery.
Be careful!
~H~
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