Anyone else taking Phentermine?

I don't think that Linda (or anyone) posted with the intention of judging or offending you. I think that they were just suggesting that you take a look at reasons why you eat and try to alter that behavior because if you don't, you'll never be successful in keeping any weight off. Phentermine is a short-term fix for a long-term problem, like most diets are (doctor supervised or not).

I encourage you to do exactly what your doctor says and speak to him/her with concerns about calorie consumption. Everyone is different and your doctor is the best person to talk to regarding issues specific to you.

But, I also encourage you to speak with your doctor regarding additional support that is available to you (whether is be counseling, nutrition, or anything else) that can help you get the root of your issues with food in order to be successful over the long-term.

For me, personally, I've made excuses for myself long enough. So, I work in an office and sit my butt all day. That doesn't mean I should just snack mindlessly on garbage or not exercise. I also have PCOS and it can be slow and difficult to lose weight. But, that doesn't mean I should just give up and eat whatever I want all the time. I have a wildly distorted view of portions but that doesn't mean I should continue to eat double and triple of everything. At a certain point I have to take responsibility for my poor eating habits, regardless of the reasons I concoct for them being there, and simply change.

Good luck!

Ok, I totally missed the part where the OP said she was looking for a quick fix.. Lol.. If someone sees where she said that please quote it and let me see it. Why does everyone assume she is looking for a quick fix? She obviously came on here because she KNOWS she isnt eating enough. I dont believe at all she is trying to starve herself.

I wasn't going to comment, until you mentioned you have PCOS. There are a lot of us here that have it (me for one) and we all know it is hard to lose weight. We have to work 5 times harder than the average person due to our insulin resistance. A lot of people on here do not know what PCOS is or the fact that it actually is hard to lose weight. I am currently on Metformin for it and I have found that when I am at the right dosage (for me its 1000 mg/day) I am able to actually lose weight. If I am at a lower dose I am unable to lose the weight. I don't know much about the medication you are on, so I will not comment on it. With PCOS, it seems that lower carb is better, especially since PCOS makes you crave carbs. I have just started the 17 day diet and I am already noticing a difference. This is just my two cents, so take it for what you will.

Wow. Thanks for the honesty, but what a way to kill someone's way of trying to lose weight. I mostly ate whatever I wanted out of boredom, it has nothing to do with mental issues. I've taken the nutrition classes, seen a dietian, and yes, a therapist as well. Everything I have done has not been helping me, and like I said, I needed a "boost". Americans are served twice the serving amt at restaurants, and that is what we are used to. Instead of eating one lil plate of spaghetti, I will normally have twice that or more. It's the portions I have issues with, especially if it's something I really like. Being of Asian descent, I grew up eating a lot of rice. Which was also causing the weight gain since I ate so MUCH of it.

Quite frankly... I did not post on MFP's forum to get judged, only to ask if any one else has taken this medication and if they had the same effects. I know 45-50lbs is not a lot to some people, but I'm still considered "heavily Obese" with my age and height. I've been heavy my entire life, and I'm not about to let it spin out of control again.

Thanks for adding your two cents.

O.K. - I realize that not everybody is at the same point of self realization as others. The most important milestone of my journey so far happened over 4 months, and 36lbs ago. At that point in my journey, nobody was going to make or break my success. That milestone came when I owned the fact that I was solely responsible for the condition that I allowed myself to get into. At that point in time nobody could have "killed my way of trying to lose weight". I wasn't blaming the American diet, portion sizes, boredom, my ethnicity, my height, my family (although my Mother is a terrible cook, and that did keep me thin until I was 18). I am not "judging" anybody, but MYSELF. Until I was my own harshest critic, and decided to actually do something, I went nowhere. That decision took YEARS for me to see the reality of the very bad choices I had made. I was very angry with myself for YEARS. I did nothing for a very long time, and quite honestly, I would have been open to the quick fix of a neat little pill to keep my food habit in check. Then, after years of thinking about doing something, and growing angrier at myself, a close friend had a conversation with me that just put it all in perspective. His little chat made me a little perturbed with him, until I slept on it over night, and realized that he was right. I had been fighting everything, and finding blame, and excuses for a long time. The biggest thing I did was started being honest with myself. There is no tomorrow, there is only today, and yesterday never happened. Everyday offers a new opportunity to bash some calories, eat right, and be o.k. with myself. If I binge and miss goal; so what? That just makes me work harder the next day. Guilt? Not here (o.k. maybe a touch). I am trying to find a way to live my life as a better person, that includes being healthy, and trying to help others. Now you can think I am being a total jerk, and I may be. But, my hope is that one day, you can be truly honest with yourself and be good to yourself. It doesn't matter what anybody says in response to your post. You are you, and at the end of the day, you are piloting your ship. Nobody else. I have found many great people on this site, that are doing battle with the same demons. They help get me through, but ultimately what I do or don't do is a choice that only I make, and only I will live with those consequences. I wish you the greatest success, and hope that this journey takes you where you want to go. Every single person on this site is looking for the same thing. I hope we can all find it. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.

Hey Linda,

Don't think you're alone out here. I started taking Phentermine back in April. I had about 90 lbs to lose but just could not get started. I took the Phentermine just to get started. It was just a mental block I had when I would try and would not have continued success. My first month I lost 13 lbs, I was excited but I knew that the meds had a lot to do with it. But during that month, I also found this site. So the second month, I asked my Dr if I could cut back the amount I was taking (I started at 37.5) to see I could do it on my own. I began focusing more on what I was eating and the second month I lost 12 lbs!! The next month I starting running 4-5 times a week and was down to 15 of the Phentermine still using this site, lost 10 lbs that month. By this point I had enough confidence in myself that I didn't need the meds anymore. Since then, I am not losing as much weight as I did then, but I am still losing!! I'm a little over halfway to where I want to be and I'll make it there eventually. But I don't think I would have made it this far if I hadn't had that initial kick in the butt from the meds.

Don't worry about some of the other comments. A lot of times people mean well when they make comments, they are just excited about what worked for them. Sometimes its hard to remember that everyone is different and there is no one way for everyone (sure would be easier if there was!!). I was very skeptical about taking the Phentermine myself, but I was seriously mentally defeated at that point and I really just needed a win of any sort to get going. I knew once the positive results started, something inside me would kick in and sure enough it did.

Best of luck to you!! Remember that it takes different ways of doing things for some people. Just because some people wouldn't do what you're doing doesn't mean its wrong, its just not for them!!

I hardly ever eat above 1200 cals and can't lose weight on that.

It's my first post, but I had to say something... I just had testing doen for PCOS and the one thing my doc said was a combo of metformin and phentermine will really get your metabolism moving in the right direction.

If you have PCOS, it's not you. It's your body's inability to process insulin. It's not a BS disease she made up - it's a real thing that won't allow her body to process food properly. The metformin is key, and the phentermine will help. Be happy under 1200 cals, and stick with it according to what your doctor says.

And keep your head up.

My doc prescribed the weight loss pills to me since I am having a hard time losing weight. MFP says I need to eat 1200 calories/day in order to lose the weight I want. However, because of the meds, my appetite has been surpressed greatly. I find myself consuming about 700 cals a day so far.

My question is, is that normal? I am trying to eat more, but my brain and stomach are telling me no lol. I know it sounds unhealthy, but I needed something to help me - especially since diet exercise seem to not be working much at all.

Have you tried reducing your dose? How long have you been taking it? It's effectiveness wanes the longer you take it. I too ate that little the first few days, but this is 2 wks into 4 wks of it, and my tummy definitely lets me know when I'm under 1000 cal.

o_O *cough*

Well, before you leave, I have a little bit of advice.

The REAL reason 1200 cals is recommended is because it is extremely difficult to get all the nutrients you need (essential fats, vitamins and minerals) with less than that.

That being said, I would highly recommend you take omega-3 capsules and a multivitamin as well, just to make sure you don't run up a deficiency in anything.

Sorry you had such a negative experience!