Phentermine

shannonshock13
shannonshock13 Posts: 355 Member
edited October 11 in Health and Weight Loss
So i was on Phentermine (30mg) for about a month and a half. I only lost 13 pounds while taking it but i was also exercising daily and eating very healthy.

I stopped taking it about a week ago cos i just didn't feel like it was doing anything for me anymore. I thought that it just suppressed your appetite and that it didn't do anything to raise your metabolism or magically melt fat away.

When i went to the DR to get it he tried to put me on some ridiculous diet plan with insanely small portion sizes and virtually no fat....he pretty much wanted us (my friend and I) to stay under like 10grams of fat a day.

Now i never really followed the NO FAT portion of this diet. I did make my portion sized quite a bit smaller which was nice. I was reading the Eat Clean Diet while going to the Dr. so i was reading that you had to eat fat (healthy fats) to lose fat so i was like there is no way i can only eat 10 grams a day thats nuts.

I only lost 13 pounds on the pill. My friend who now never eats (or so she thinks) more than 20 grams of fat a day and has been on the pill for 4 months has lost like 45 pounds (and she was smaller than me to begin with). She works out WAY less than i do [like 1 day a week if that]. She eats lean cuisines like all day long..... i just dont understand.

I went to the dr twice and had my thyroid and stuff checked and everything is normal.

Has anyone else ever taken Phentermine... or does anyone have any knowledge on the subject?

Replies

  • larsonp
    larsonp Posts: 55 Member
    Losing more than a pound or two a week is darn near starvation.
    If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to alter your perception of "what is working" and what is not.

    I do not want to diminish your goals, but I also don't want you to yo-yo right back up after saying nothing works for you.

    Track your calories (fat's don't matter as much as people would have you believe), be consistent. The weight will come off.
  • Sherri71
    Sherri71 Posts: 208 Member
    What is in this pill? What is the store brand name? Typically "magic fix" pills are only a temporary solution.
  • I love phenterimine!!! When I stop taking it I gain the weight back sometimes more..Just follow the eat less move more theory and skip the phenteremine..Good luck!!
  • justevil00
    justevil00 Posts: 11 Member
    I took it for about 3 weeks in Jan. Then got off of it to see if I could still eat normally and healthy on my own, now that I did 21 days on it. 21 days makes a habit, or so I heard. I lost 14 pounds in Jan. Now, I have a lot more to lose than you do. I was also only taking a half a pill a day. I want to do this as MUCH on my own as I can. Ultimately, it is about leading a healthier lifestyle. I know it gets frustrating when you dont see the same results as everyone else, when you are workin hard. I still have the phentermine and the Dr prescribed another month to me. I will hang on to it as a crutch, but wont rely on it. I want to be as healthy as I can, even if the scale doesnt agree with me.
  • Phentermine works for a short period of time i found. I lost 8 lbs the first month then 5 the next then nothing!!! after I stopped it, i gained it all back plus more!!! wth right??
  • shannonshock13
    shannonshock13 Posts: 355 Member
    The pill is Phentermine (it's also called Addipex) I think the same way about pills but i was desperate and wanted to try it. I dont regret taking it for that month and 1/2 cos i feel it helped me get my eating under control cos my portion sizes were way too large and i was over eating like crazy.
  • NBFIT
    NBFIT Posts: 79
    My friend & her sister were on Phentermine. They both lost alot of weight. Mainly, I think, because it suppressed the appetite so much. However, my friend (when she would eat), did eat healthier than before. I don't think either of them exercised much though.
  • Tanya68
    Tanya68 Posts: 16 Member
    I took it some years ago and lost 27lbs but the moment I stopped I gain it back plus 10 extra. I say stay away from them. They are a short term solution to an ongoing problem. Continue to eat right and exercise and it will happen, we need to be patient and stick to it.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    I watch what foods I'm putting in me. I do cardio and strength exercise. Right now at a Daily 1250 calorie goal I'm allowed 42g of fat. I don't always get to that goal but I do try. I'm not putting on weight. I am losing. I've went from 20mm to 14mm on my body fat caliper.

    My guess is if she barely works out she is losing lean muscle mass not fat.
  • shannonshock13
    shannonshock13 Posts: 355 Member
    Phentermine works for a short period of time i found. I lost 8 lbs the first month then 5 the next then nothing!!! after I stopped it, i gained it all back plus more!!! wth right??


    Yea i heard that too!! I don't want that to happen to me so thats part of the reason why i stopped. Cos eating virtually no fat and then once you go off it and go back to normal life and realize you eat way more than 10-20gr of fat a day the weight will pile back on. And i DID NOT want that to happen to me, i want to do this the right way so it will stay off.
  • I think the only thing that really works is the eat less/healthier and exercise more thing. Who wants to be on a pill forever? I've had friends who do various prescription/OTC pills and they almost always gain it back after discontinuing the pills. It's great that you are exercising and you've probably gained some muscle too. When someone is on that sort of crazy diet (10 g of fat...I would impale someone with my celery stick), I'd almost think it was the diet and not the pill that is getting that kind of results.
  • I was on the phentermine 35mg for a long time, I was working 2 jobs and going to school and it provided me the energy I needed to get through the day. But I was becoming addicted to them, I couldn't function without them and I wasn't really losing weight but I wasn't gaining it. After awhile I was losing focus so I went to a new Dr, who told me I couldn't just come straight off the pill... so he gave me the 30mg and told me to take them 2 times a day, once if I didn't feel I needed the 2nd pill.

    I haven't been on them in about 2 weeks now because I have been sick, but they were working for me.... not really increasing weight loss, but helping with my appetite. The Dr who had me on the 35mg pills had me on a 1000 calorie diet, the fat wasn't limited to only 10grams a day though, but he did want me to only eat foods from the earth, not packaged foods, especially not lean cuisines.

    Maybe your friend is eatting a lot of protein? I know when I was first on these pills I was following a high protein diet... 2 protein shakes a day and a healthy dinner or lean cuisine, with 2 snacks a day. I lost a lot of weight and inches working out 30-60 minutes a day. But I did notice when I stopped taking the pills I was hungry a lot more often... I'd suggest not getting back on them once you can get yourself off of them.
  • shannonshock13
    shannonshock13 Posts: 355 Member
    I think the only thing that really works is the eat less/healthier and exercise more thing. Who wants to be on a pill forever? I've had friends who do various prescription/OTC pills and they almost always gain it back after discontinuing the pills. It's great that you are exercising and you've probably gained some muscle too. When someone is on that sort of crazy diet (10 g of fat...I would impale someone with my celery stick), I'd almost think it was the diet and not the pill that is getting that kind of results.

    hahaha!!! :) I think the same thing, she has developed a really unhealthy outlook on fats. When i tell her i eat 40gr of healthy fats a day she can't believe her ears. But she also is seeing more results than I am so, she thinks she's right.
  • shannonshock13
    shannonshock13 Posts: 355 Member
    I watch what foods I'm putting in me. I do cardio and strength exercise. Right now at a Daily 1250 calorie goal I'm allowed 42g of fat. I don't always get to that goal but I do try. I'm not putting on weight. I am losing. I've went from 20mm to 14mm on my body fat caliper.

    My guess is if she barely works out she is losing lean muscle mass not fat.

    I'm going to go out and get a pair of those today. Cos i really think i am making progress and losing fat but then also gaining muscle which is fine with me.
  • kbairdphillips
    kbairdphillips Posts: 275 Member
    I just know Phentermine (Addipex) is bad for you in so many ways. I have taken them on and off throughout the years and I'd lose a little the first month or so, the weight loss would stop, and then I'd gain it back plus some. Calorie counting is the answer, loosing no more that 2lbs a week is the best way to do it. Those pills are not only addicting but they completely suppress your appetite. When I took them I would literally forget to eat to the point I'd get muscle cramps in my stomach.

    My current primary care doctor refuses to even prescribe them (I asked for some a little over a year ago), and that's the case for a lot of doctors offices that I've worked for. My cardiologist thinks they should be banned by the FDA.......that's how bad they are!
  • thecanface
    thecanface Posts: 1,180 Member
    i took phentermine for two months, took half a pill every other day. i always ate what i wanted, and of course not as much as before since it shrank my appetite so much, but it didnt matter if it was pizza, or a salad, i ate whatever i wanted.. i never worked out. ever. and i still lost 35 lbs. i didnt gain all the weight back either.. i did gain about 18 lbs, but that was over a whole year and a half - without diets, without work outs. i loved the stuff and i would kill to get back on it again at least for a month to boost my weight loss, and then maintain my weight.
  • I love phenterimine!!! When I stop taking it I gain the weight back sometimes more..Just follow the eat less move more theory and skip the phenteremine..Good luck!!

    Phentermine is not a long term thing. It is as good as crack and the reason you gain all the weight back when you are off of it is because you haven't learned how to deal with your cravings and want for more. I am not trying to be harsh but from a medical stand point phentermine is very bad for you and only for the obese.

    It is a short term med to help you lose weight to lower your risk for heart disease and other diseases related to obesity.

    It annihilates your appetite and really in the process will ruin your metabolism so when you aren't on it you have no metabolism making it harder in the future to lose weight and keep it off.

    be careful.
  • i took phentermine for two months, took half a pill every other day. i always ate what i wanted, and of course not as much as before since it shrank my appetite so much, but it didnt matter if it was pizza, or a salad, i ate whatever i wanted.. i never worked out. ever. and i still lost 35 lbs. i didnt gain all the weight back either.. i did gain about 18 lbs, but that was over a whole year and a half - without diets, without work outs. i loved the stuff and i would kill to get back on it again at least for a month to boost my weight loss, and then maintain my weight.

    as I said before. be careful this stuff is not a quick fix. If there were quick fixes to get skinny then we'd all be skinny! and 18 lbs in 18 months is 1lb per month. and if you don't learn how to cope with stresses, cravings, and portion control you will always struggle with this. Also, 18 lbs is not a minuscule amount of weight. 18 lbs have dramatic effects on your body.
  • i took phentermine for two months, took half a pill every other day. i always ate what i wanted, and of course not as much as before since it shrank my appetite so much, but it didnt matter if it was pizza, or a salad, i ate whatever i wanted.. i never worked out. ever. and i still lost 35 lbs. i didnt gain all the weight back either.. i did gain about 18 lbs, but that was over a whole year and a half - without diets, without work outs. i loved the stuff and i would kill to get back on it again at least for a month to boost my weight loss, and then maintain my weight.

    as I said before. be careful this stuff is not a quick fix. If there were quick fixes to get skinny then we'd all be skinny! and 18 lbs in 18 months is 1lb per month. and if you don't learn how to cope with stresses, cravings, and portion control you will always struggle with this. Also, 18 lbs is not a minuscule amount of weight. 18 lbs have dramatic effects on your body.
  • I was just put on the lowest dosage because my dr didnt like the fact I had gained 29 lbs since my last visit and my bp was slightly elevated. Said she wants the weight off! However...i understand the pills suppress the appetite.....but i eat when I'm not hungry....i can eat chocolate 3 meals a day hungry or not LOL so not sure how these pills will help but we shall see!
  • Brige2269
    Brige2269 Posts: 354 Member
    I was part of that Phen Fin craze in the 90's and sure I lost 50lb on it, but when they took it off the market and I stopped it, I gained it all back and then another 100lb on top of that. I vowed to never, ever take another pill again.

    Pills do not teach you how to eat. As said above, stick to a healthy life style and exercise.
  • nurseyoung34
    nurseyoung34 Posts: 1 Member
    I believe that if ppl were able to adhere to a healthy diet and exercise regimen and lose weight they wouldnt need the aid of a weight loss pill. Its obvious that ppl who take phentermine havent had any luck losing weight through any other method. If by stopping the "pill" weight has increased, its usually because the individual increased their caloric intake, possibly to the degree it was prior to taking the pill. Which would account for the weight gain. After all, when you lose weight your BMR also decreases, meaning you need less calories to fuel your body than you did when you weighed more. Anything in excess of what you need will be stored as fat. Also, if youve been accustomed to eating under 1200 calories a day while on phentermine, YOU put your metabolism at risk to slow down. Its not the medication thats not working in "most" cases, its the choices ppl make that lead to their weight gain. Look up the terms reverse dieting. This will lead to initally gaining more weight, but ppl often do this to get their metabolism increased after eating a very low calorie diet that slowed their metabolism. With all that said, phentermine only makes it easier to eat less calories in, one will lose weight easier without being hungry. Without the pill, hunger returns as it once was. Learning how to eat is a major challenge for most ppl. This will inevitably be a lifelong journey. I feel ppl need to accountable for their own actions and not blame medications for not working. For some, that is the case, but not for all because everyones body is different. I bet if the ppl who gained more weight than before they started the pill looked at their current diet, i would assume it consists of the same foods they ate prior to taking phentermine. Thats because their mindset of eat a healthy diet hasnt been mastered. If you continue to do the same thing, you will continue to get the same result. Im just saying.
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