Using Multiple Plans to Lose Weight (shh even meds)
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What happens when you come off the pills? What's to stop you putting the weight back on? In reality the reason you yo yo is you are trying to go on a 'diet' rather than thinking about the big picture and how you will live the rest of your life. You can't stay on the pills for ever and in some cases they can be useful personally I think doctors too easily give them out now. In the end it's your choice but try and think past the bit when you have lost the weight and think how you will maintain it.0
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My doctor and I decided on Belviq after ten years of yo-yoing by counting calories alone. Three times I counted calories successfully only to gain it back when I stopped. Twice was the old school carry a diary and add them up. The last time was with MFP.
My doctor termed me fit but fat. I could carry a backpack many miles a day without too much struggle. I was active, but I just ate too much. My job involved summers where I had no control over what I was eating, only how much I ate. I was surrounded by people who were burning thousands of calories a day, my job was to be in the office running things. I was sedentary. The menus needed to be high calorie for the people who were surfing, kayaking, scuba diving, etc. So every summer I would gain weight. Then fought to lose it.
Our plan is for me to reach 165 on my 6'1" thin frame. Then after a month or so of maintaining that weight remove Belviq from my plan and just use MFP. If I gain weight, we'll look at the options again. The hope is my teaching, coaching, and student life will settle down a bit so I can exercise regularly.
So far after three weeks on Belviq I am pleased. The first couple of days I limped through some minor adjustments, about the same I received with blood pressure medication changes. Headache, backache, etc. Now about the only concern I have is fatigue. But that can also be explained by my college semester is ending next week, my teaching semester ends next month, and I've been burning the candle at both ends. I have felt this tired every May for the past two years of graduate school.
Sounds like you are just lazy. Counting calories works without meds and you know it but only want meds because you gain when you stop counting. That's laziness.0 -
There is another thread where everyone who hates weight loss medications has jumped in. There were a couple posters who are using MFP and asking for a place to support each other. It clearly is not on this site.
I've been studying Belviq along with my doctor for over a year, and extensively the past three months. I appreciate all the friendly advice from people who have no idea how Belviq is intended to be used or how it works. Because I have read so much, before beginning a medication that I may be taking for the rest of my life (as it is prescribed and intended), I am being accused of being a shill for the company. Interestingly if I entered this blindly and ignorantly I would be much less suspicions. LOL
So it seems that the consensus here is if your doctor recommends Belviq, do not post on MFP. I get it.
I wish you all the best.
No doctor is going to allow you to take prescription weight loss drugs for the rest of your life.
What you are going to have to do for the rest of your life is count calories. So get used to it.
If you are having such a difficult time keeping the weight off, maybe you should be tested for endocrine disorders. Even though I'm sure it's simply you consuming more calories than you expend, which results in weight gain.
Also, you say you count calories but do you use a food scale?0 -
So, OP, why did you make this thread if you don't want to hear opinions about the pills you're taking?
I took OTC diet pills and they did nothing to my weight and health. Feel free to block me as well.0 -
You lost weight but once you stopped tracking you gained it back. The same will happen with the meds. Once you stop taking them you will gain the weight back. Why not continue tracking calories at a maintence level once you lose it?
Like Texsox, I am having a hrd time losing it in the first place. I just got prescribed Belviq and am on my 3rd day. I believe this thread was created due to the fact that I asked in another thread if there were a supportive place to discuss Belviq, without getting ridiculed by the anti-pill people.
I realize this is a public forum, but as you can see from this thread, we are looking for ONE thread where more than half the comments are by like minded people looking for support.
We all have beliefs / opinions about weight loss pills, but please, if your not supportive of us, why even come in here and give your 2 cents ? just do your own thing, and leave me alone.
Thanks.0 -
I think the key with fitness is sustainability. Sure I could eat 400 calories every day and lose weight but could I sustain that for the rest of my life? and would that adversely affect my health? If your able to eat at deficit effectively and lose weight then whats the point of the medication? Will it excelerate your losses?0
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You lost weight but once you stopped tracking you gained it back. The same will happen with the meds. Once you stop taking them you will gain the weight back. Why not continue tracking calories at a maintence level once you lose it?
Like Texsox, I am having a hrd time losing it in the first place. I just got prescribed Belviq and am on my 3rd day. I believe this thread was created due to the fact that I asked in another thread if there were a supportive place to discuss Belviq, without getting ridiculed by the anti-pill people.
I realize this is a public forum, but as you can see from this thread, we are looking for ONE thread where more than half the comments are by like minded people looking for support.
We all have beliefs / opinions about weight loss pills, but please, if your not supportive of us, why even come in here and give your 2 cents ? just do your own thing, and leave me alone.
Thanks.
People don't just come in to these threads to "ridicule" you (which no one has, we advise against this because it's not sustainable for your lifetime).
People come into these threads for the following reasons:
1) Some have been there and done that and are trying to save you time, energy and frustration when you possibly gain the weight back.
2) It's not just about you. It's also to make sure newbies and the lurkers who read it get BOTH sides of it. They should be as educated as possible, and yes, they could do the research, but if they just come on here and see 20 people preaching how it worked for them (at that time). These posts never come up a couple years down the line showing whether the weight stayed off or not. Most likely not, because people don't have a plan after they reach their goal weight.
3) There is no jump start, there is no quick fix, there is no magic pill. It takes hard work, dedication, a food scale, moderation not deprivation, and realizing it has to be a lifestyle change.
If you are having a hard time losing weight, I'd ask the following:
1) Do you own a food scale? If so, are you weighing everything you eat.
2) What is your calorie goal? What are you netting?
3) Are you exercising?
If you aren't losing weight, you aren't in a deficit.
If you are gaining weight, you are in a surplus.
If you are maintaining, then welcome to maintenance - eat less to lose weight.
Then depending on how much you have to lose, you have to set your goals correctly:
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 30 lbs to lose and are trying to lose 2 lbs a week, that's too aggressive and you probably aren't eating enough.0 -
My doctor and I decided on Belviq after ten years of yo-yoing by counting calories alone. Three times I counted calories successfully only to gain it back when I stopped. Twice was the old school carry a diary and add them up. The last time was with MFP.
My doctor termed me fit but fat. I could carry a backpack many miles a day without too much struggle. I was active, but I just ate too much. My job involved summers where I had no control over what I was eating, only how much I ate. I was surrounded by people who were burning thousands of calories a day, my job was to be in the office running things. I was sedentary. The menus needed to be high calorie for the people who were surfing, kayaking, scuba diving, etc. So every summer I would gain weight. Then fought to lose it.
Our plan is for me to reach 165 on my 6'1" thin frame. Then after a month or so of maintaining that weight remove Belviq from my plan and just use MFP. If I gain weight, we'll look at the options again. The hope is my teaching, coaching, and student life will settle down a bit so I can exercise regularly.
So far after three weeks on Belviq I am pleased. The first couple of days I limped through some minor adjustments, about the same I received with blood pressure medication changes. Headache, backache, etc. Now about the only concern I have is fatigue. But that can also be explained by my college semester is ending next week, my teaching semester ends next month, and I've been burning the candle at both ends. I have felt this tired every May for the past two years of graduate school.
Well, if you REALLY have been trying hard with other methods and have had some success, but then regained, maybe an additional "aid" could be helpful for you, but that doesn't mean it wont have side effects and "cost" you something, and if you have no plan to stay at that weight once you get there, how is this any different than losing with calorie counting or one of the diets you tried previously? If you do this, you will rebound just like you did before, unless you take a medication constantly, and this incurs cost, side effects and unknown body effects (yes all supposedly tested new medication is really not very thoroughly tested, you are the test sample case for many many years till there is a real picture). Have you tried upping your caffeine/B vitamins/ginseng/green tea instead? This can also have side effects too in some people, but it does produce an extra "boost". Just like the rest though, it requires hard work/exercise, +calorie restriction to ever "get anywhere" with it. Then there is even bitter orange, which is a "safer" ephedra substitute, but safer is relative, it may also kill a certain percentage of people like ephedra does, we just dont know, and wont know, because no big pharmaceutical company can patent bitter orange and pay for the studies...which again really don't tell the whole story. So again it comes back to: what are you willing to do to keep yourself at the weight you want to get to? Nothing so far can do that, except for you, your diet and your exercise. And most "aids" not only wont work alone, but can harm your health in other ways. That's why people are against them, and I think its right that you do get negative comments talking about it, because it serves to warn others. You should be ready to brave negative responses and data against it if you want to do something controversial which may hurt you, and doesn't really solve your problem I'd say. At least brave them for the sake of others, or you are being very selfish.0 -
Not sure about others, but I can eat at a deficit and not lose weight. I don't know if it's my anti-depression med that I have to stay on for the rest of my life, or not. I have gone and done thyroid tests twice, and the doctor says it's normal. I have tried so many things, adding a pill will just be another tool to help me lose, along with calorie counting, exercise, etc. I am looking into the FitBit.
Back to Belviq. Anybody taking this have fatigue ? I am only on my 3rd day and have fatigue that i'm hoping will subside. Aside from that I haven't had any other side effects yet, which is good.
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Not sure about others, but I can eat at a deficit and not lose weight. I don't know if it's my anti-depression med that I have to stay on for the rest of my life, or not. I have gone and done thyroid tests twice, and the doctor says it's normal. I have tried so many things, adding a pill will just be another tool to help me lose, along with calorie counting, exercise, etc. I am looking into the FitBit.
Back to Belviq. Anybody taking this have fatigue ? I am only on my 3rd day and have fatigue that i'm hoping will subside. Aside from that I haven't had any other side effects yet, which is good.
Anti-depressants are notorious for weight gain. I took them for anxiety and gained 111 lbs over 3 years because of the meds. If I were you, I would talk to your doctor about getting off of them and instead using exercise as "medication." Anti-depressants mess with your metabolism and most of them increase hunger. Taking the medications was the biggest mistake I ever made.
I don't take Belviq but fatigue is a side effect. Along with headaches, dizziness, and nausea.0 -
Well..thank you very much with your outline of how I will block you. If you are going to post - dont expect everyone to pat your back and tell you you are doing the right things...that is how you ended up on this website in the first place.0
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Not sure about others, but I can eat at a deficit and not lose weight. I don't know if it's my anti-depression med that I have to stay on for the rest of my life, or not. I have gone and done thyroid tests twice, and the doctor says it's normal. I have tried so many things, adding a pill will just be another tool to help me lose, along with calorie counting, exercise, etc. I am looking into the FitBit.
Back to Belviq. Anybody taking this have fatigue ? I am only on my 3rd day and have fatigue that i'm hoping will subside. Aside from that I haven't had any other side effects yet, which is good.
I'm also on an anti depressant. I'm losing weight. (I know each pill is different)
Are you weighing your foods? If you aren't, I'd bet you are eating more than you think you are, therefore making you not have a caloric deficit.0 -
I used take xenadrine ten years ago before they banned ephedrine and it worked very well for me. It killed some other people though. My doctor discussed weight loss meds on my last physical. My bmi was right on the line for surgery and we talked about that too. At the end of the day he recommended that I lose the weight on my own without medication or surgery. It is truly the long term healthiest way to go about it. I took the talk about surgery and meds as a wake up call and have been doing very well since and don't see myself relapsing this time. Looking back I'm glad I didn't take the medical intervention route. Probably not what you're looking to hear but it's my truth. I hope your medications work out for you.0
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Not sure about others, but I can eat at a deficit and not lose weight. I don't know if it's my anti-depression med that I have to stay on for the rest of my life, or not. I have gone and done thyroid tests twice, and the doctor says it's normal. I have tried so many things, adding a pill will just be another tool to help me lose, along with calorie counting, exercise, etc. I am looking into the FitBit.
Back to Belviq. Anybody taking this have fatigue ? I am only on my 3rd day and have fatigue that i'm hoping will subside. Aside from that I haven't had any other side effects yet, which is good.
You do not have to take anti depression medication for the rest of your life. If your doctor told you that you need to find a new doctor. You should be working with a therapist on your issues with the goal of getting off the medication. People accomplish this every single day and so can you!0 -
Food is the most abused anxiety drug, exercise is the most underutilized anti depressant.0
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I think the private group is your best bet. I personally have taken diet pills in the past and didn't learn anything with them. after I stopped taking them, I gained the weight back. I had to learn to eat healthy all over again, learn to portion control and exercise and stay within a deficit to lose weight. It has been a lot of work but its damn rewarding knowing I did it without any short term fixes.0
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Not sure about others, but I can eat at a deficit and not lose weight. I don't know if it's my anti-depression med that I have to stay on for the rest of my life, or not. I have gone and done thyroid tests twice, and the doctor says it's normal. I have tried so many things, adding a pill will just be another tool to help me lose, along with calorie counting, exercise, etc. I am looking into the FitBit.
Back to Belviq. Anybody taking this have fatigue ? I am only on my 3rd day and have fatigue that i'm hoping will subside. Aside from that I haven't had any other side effects yet, which is good.
If you aren't losing fat you aren't eating at a deficit. You might have a condition or a circumstance in which your maintenance calories are lower than you would estimate from an online calculator but that just means that the estimate was wrong. By definition you lose fat if your caloric intake is under your caloric expenditure (deficit). If you don't lose fat then you, by definition, are not at a deficit. Now if your measure of your fat loss is your scale weight that adds a whole other layer of potential error associated with water retention.0 -
If you just want people to pat you on the back and say good job I suggest you search or start a group on MFP.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups
On the right side there is a Browse Groups or Start a New Group.0 -
You do not have to take anti depression medication for the rest of your life. If your doctor told you that you need to find a new doctor.
Not true. Some individuals with chronic depression will require antidepressants forever, because all the exercise endorphins and cognitive behavioural therapy in the world won't alter their faulty brain chemistry.0 -
You do not have to take anti depression medication for the rest of your life. If your doctor told you that you need to find a new doctor.
Not true. Some individuals with chronic depression will require antidepressants forever, because all the exercise endorphins and cognitive behavioural therapy in the world won't alter their faulty brain chemistry.
Exactly. I've been exercising for 2 years, I still have to take mine. I thought what a couple others thought, that with all the exercise that would "fix" it. So I got off of them for a little bit...yeah, no. Right back on them. Faulty brain chemistry isn't anything that can be fixed with exercise.0
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