Pill help and scales are the devil.

mysticwryter

Yeah, I may know what you are thinking "why do the pill when there are so many other options?". Well ....

I have no other options...

I've been working on my weight since Sept. Given, I've lost 60 pounds all together since then (which is amazing and proud of it). I was told that with my calorie intake was too little so I've increased it to 1200-1500/day. Also I decided to increase my workout time from 30 mins to 45 mins. I've decided to change it up and I've been on the ellipitcal machine for the past 3 days. I'm also doing group PT (Physical Training) every Thursday morning and we did 30 minute cycle calisthenics today.

There is an Insanity/P90X group that will form up Feb. 6th and I hope that I can join that.

I was thinking on the lines of my health and carreer, I was thinking of trying to get a perscription to help assist with my weight loss. I need to get rid of this and get to a regulated weight based on my height.

I do plan on talking to a doctor if I do not see any progress in the next 2 weeks. I hate seeing that I'm working as hard as I can yet I'm not seeing any results.

I would love to have some support and help with this decision.

Also, scales are the devil. I weighed myself in early Jan and weight 200 while now after being back at base I've gained 8 pounds?!?! Seriously?!?! I did a little experiement and found that my weight flucutated on this sale at the gym. At first it said 212, then 205, then 207, then 208. I feel that getting on scales are just a way to tear you down, providing no support in what I'm trying to do.

What do ya'll think?

HardeesGal

My exercise of choice is the elliptical. I did 2 hours today. Lol. I think maybe you just need to stay off the scale for a month or so. Just go by how your clothes are fitting you.

kiwiwizard

don't know anything abt the pill but I agree the scale is the devil - makes me hiss like an angry cat. I work out 2-3 hrs/day 5 days a week and the scale is depressing. Some days a think having the fat surgically removed would be Ok but then sanity wins out & I head back to the gym. Don't know if heredity plays much of a role but I remember my Mum going thru all this for years when I was growing up. she did diet pills and would lose weight, have her clothes altered then would put the weight back on when she stopped taking the pills. Probably doesn't help u much but these are my thoughts . . . Good luck :-)

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

The only thing that pills will do is suppress your appetite causing you to eat less. You might as well just decrease your intake if you can do it on your own.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Oh, and don't worry about the scale, just take measurements.

Rynatat

I don't lose weight: I can almost starve myself (not that I want to!) and barely lose a couple pounds. I workout with varied intensity 6 days a week with a good variety of yoga, t'ai chi, pilates, circuit training, light/mild cardio, core work and strength training. I currently weigh the same per the scale and measure out the same per my tape measure as I did 2 years ago. However, I am almost 2 pant sizes SMALLER than I was 2 years ago. People keep asking me if I am losing weight, and I tell them the truth: no. I'm not losing weight. I am however building muscle which burns fat & teaches your body that muscle is more important & it's OK to let go of the fat.

As someone mentioned, pills suppress appetite so you don't eat as much - use caution as you can send your body into deprivation mode so when you stop the pills you lose control as you suddenly "taste" food again. Try different workout combos: for me, strength training is my "fit", light cardio (may 10-15 mins a day to warm up at the gym and HIIT spurts when I workout at home), any more cardio & I gain weight. Every Body is different: try to learn what your body's "fit" is, without the pills (which are a temporary solution to a permanent problem that could be made worse).

blu_meanie_ca

If she's military she has to go by a scale.

LesleyGillan

Do what you feel you need to do, IF you decide to take diet pills make it the lowest dose possible and a temporary aid. Just remember that when you stop them it is all down to you and you alone to keep the weight off. I think the worst thing about them is if you rely on them for the energy needed to workout more, you could let your activity decrease without them.

I have taken them years ago and I did lose all my weight, I got healthy and when I stopped taking them I kept up the activity and didn't put the weight back on because the way I was living then was normal, the healthy choices like walking instead of driving were habit, as were the small snack like meals instead of the stuff yourself till overfull type. I think I actually grazed.

However I injured my back, put a lot back on and the next time I used them I yoyo'd because of the lack of good healthy habits!

Hope this helps a little but ultimately the decision is yours!

icyeyes317

Most docs are very much against taking pills for weight loss. (I had to fight to get Adipex, and I wanted it for an entirely different reason). They can be VERY dangerous, and you have to be in perfect heart health to take something like that. (Adipex, for instance, raises your blood pressure and heart rate. Not good for someone that already has high blood pressure).

Whomever said to just decrease your intake was about spot on. That is what the majority of the pharmaceutics do, chemically decrease your appetite. There is minimal raising of metabolism, but nothing a change of diet can't do.

You may need to change what you are eating, as well as change your routine more. My husband knows much more about it than I do, but that seems to be the usual response from him when people say they have plateaued.

compumomma

If she is military she does not have to go by the scale. My husband was in the Navy for 20 years and the last 10 years he failed the weigh in every 6 months. He would have to be measured. He would pass then. My sister was over 200 pounds and retired as a Chief in the Navy. Again, she would fail the weigh in but pass the measurements (although in her case I don't know how)

I have been working out and watching what I eat since April of last year. I started at 205 and after 8 months I am down to 187. Barely 20 pounds. However I do know that my clothes are fitting differently and I am losing fat on a somewhat regular basis. Stop getting on the scale and start measuring yourself to see what changes are really happening to your body. Remember muscle weighs more than fat and could be a reason why the scale doesn't budge. I would be extremely careful of taking pills as they can have very bad side effects.

Good Luck with your decision and know that there are a lot of us that get frustrated and have a slow loss.

Tykk

I checked out the pills with my doctor. Two things to know - they are largely based on amphetamines, so they can be addictive. And in some people they cause heart problems. They're also not that magic bullets - average weight loss is modest. Read up on the side effects and consult with a doctor to decide if it is worth it. (For what it's worth, I decided to pass.)

Re scales - most scales are terrible. I tried out many, many models before finding a set that gave me a repeatable weight. Many scales cheat by the way, and remember the last measurement they gave out to give the appearance of accuracy. You can test this by weighing yourself, weighing a big jug of water (or something else heavy) to "reset" the scale, and then weighing yourself again. If you compare your two measurements, often you'll see a big difference.

TLTucker80

Well I had to break down and talk to my doctor about something to help me lose weight. I had been dieting and walking everyday for three months and the only thing that was happening was me gaining more weight. But he told me that was because of the meds he had and has me on. without those i cant function so stopping the meds are out the question My doctor keep telling me not to worry about the weight until he got the right doses of my med then we would work on the weight. I had gain 75 pounds while i waited to get the right doses so this past month on January 4th he started me on the amp injections and Phentermine 37.5mg and i have lost 12 pounds since then

psuLemon

Pills don't work. If they did there would be tons of skinny people in america... Also, if you do programs like insanity or p90x, then you need to eat more than 1500 calories. They generally require 1800+. If you feel hungry, then just concentrate on getting more protein and fat. They have greater satiety than carbs.

TLTucker80

But the pill is not the answer for everyone and just because i need them doesn't mean someone else does. The 3 months i tried to lose weight i was eating 1400 calories a day and walking 5 miles a day and it wasn't working i was gaining 10 to 12 pounds a month. Believe it or not I actually eat more now on a diet then I did when i wasn't dieting. I would only eat 1 meal a day before when now I'm eating 2 full meals and 3 snacks a day.

The only time I weight my self is when I go to the doctor. I always hated to see what that scale would say so the only time was when they made me at the doctors and even though I have lost 12 pounds since the 4th I still don't get on the scale unless the doctor makes me because I'm still scared to see what it says.

chozeh1

Hi,

Scale..hmm I think it depends on your view and what works for you... I do know women fluctuate anywhere from 1-5lbs depending on your body as well as menstral cycle time even with women who no longer have one..etc.... also scales vary and is it on a flat surface..I sometimes feel gravity has alot to do with it as well things like geographical location (high mountain areas vs lower plains)... I personally don't accept any of these as an excuse for myself because I am striving to be at a healthy weight where these fluctutions won't matter.

I threw my scale away a long time ago because I felt like a commercial I saw where the lady had a scale chained to her ankle and everywhere she went cling clank cling the scale followed lol.. BUT all this did was cause me not to face reality and I reached my highest weight ever 298lbs. Now the scale is my new bff because if something is a little off it makes me hit my workouts harder..watch more my calorie intake and water..I may have to decrease the salt a little more and when I see the positive results I say ok hey! my body likes this...

PILLS as another said pills will only just make you not hungry it doesn't magically boost our metabolism and causes fat to melt away how do I know I have been on many diet pills over the yrs and once I was off I slowly began to gain the weight back...why? because I did not learn how to change my lifestyle... in my mind although on pills I still ate what I wanted and wondered why I only lost 5lbs..then I decided to fast from things I loved rice, potatoe, never a big bread person, and pasta... I increased my veggies and fruits..snacked on nuts instead of chips... lean meats (fish, chicken, and turkey)....now this has become my way of eating so far... so here I am lost 20 lbs in 2 mths... now at 271 and I have a long way to go but 2.5 lbs a week is my goal 10lbs a month overall goal...

We have to find out what works for our bodies...am I taking in too much sodium and sugar... am I not eating enough calories... even bowel movements believe it or not so am I getting rid of toxins in my body..am I stressed...getting enough sleep...all of these things play a role in our health....fiber fiber fiber 30 mins b4 meal followed by 6-8oz of water creates that full feeling...

Listen to YOUR body ..what is it saying? how is it feeling? try it for a week whatever it is and see if it makes a difference...

I celebrate all your accomplishments thus far and I believe when you sit back and relax ... you will find out what works for you

mysticwryter

I've been going to the gym and getting on the elliptical for about 45 minutes. I was eating around 800-1000 calories a day and I figured that I need to eat more to keep my metabolism up, so I'm going between 1200-1500 calories a day. I am going to try and swtich up my exercise routine every week. This week, like I said is the elliptical and I'll continue that until Tuesday (since I started it Tuesday). At home, I don't sit around and not do anything. I clean the house; since we got a stroller for my son, I'm going to be walking more. I believe we may walk around the mall or something like that this weekend (not power walking but I am moving around, lol).

If I have to be in a gym for 2-4 hours a day, that's not possible for me. If I was single and had no children, then it wouldn't be a problem. I did increase my workout time by 15 minutes. Maybe if I increase it next week another 15 minutes making it a total 60 minutes of working out. I also do not have someone to work out with; I'm doing this all on my own will and I don't know if I'm pushing myself enough. I know I keep my heart rate up when I'm working out (between 160-180bpm).

Should I increase my workout time everyday? I mean looking at my diet and workout via here, it looks like I'm doing a hell of a lot more than before.