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BusyMomma2012
BusyMomma2012 Posts: 41 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 24 years old and according to my BMI I'm considered obese...I don't feel obese, I don't look like I'm obese...But I know that I am not even close to what I should be. I have been working out pretty regularly for the past year and can't seem to lose more than 10 pounds. I'm even starting to go back up in my weight due to stress. Has anyone ever used the drug Phentermine? My doctor thinks that it may help me to jumpstart my weight loss. I'm so frustrated right now that I'm willing to try anything. Just curious to see if anyone has had any success with it?

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  • beastmode_kitty
    beastmode_kitty Posts: 844 Member
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    I dont know if I would take prescriptions for weight loss. Maybe try changing up your routine or adding/subtracting from your daily calorie intake.
  • _Sally_
    _Sally_ Posts: 514 Member
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    How long have you been tracking your calories regularly for? I know regular working out (hard!) for a year did not help me lose weight.. I only started seeing results when I accurately tracked my calories and weighed and measured everything (which meant a lot fewer meals out!)

    Don't resort to drugs. You don't need it and it will do you more harm than good.
  • MuffinMan25
    MuffinMan25 Posts: 110
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    I read online that diet pill has some nasty side effects. I would not recommend any diet pill. with that said:

    LOG all food and drink, EVERYDAY

    Drink at least 64oz of water

    Workout 5-6 times a week, Start out walking and move forward when you can add more intensity

    Results are slow, take photos during you weight loss journey and don't beat yourself over the number on the scale

    Eat your workout calories

    :smile:
  • angisnee
    angisnee Posts: 236 Member
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    I took a peek at your diary, and I see that you're not logging some days but assume you're still eating something. The days that are partially filled out, I hope you are eating more than that. (I only went a couple weeks back.)

    I have about 15 pounds left to goal. I had to increase my calories (reduce the deficit to 1/2 pound/week) in order to lose any more weight. It's slow-going, but at least it's moving down again. If you don't have too much to lose, you might consider changing your goal so you can eat a bit more each day and then try to get up to that goal everyday. If you're exercising, it's a good idea to at least eat some of your exercise calories as well. I enjoy every single one of mine! :)

    Hope you find something that works, and please try some other tactics before resorting to a weight-loss pill.
  • pkpzp228
    pkpzp228 Posts: 146 Member
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    diet pills aside, don't put too much stock into BMI, it's an antiquated hardly relevant measure of fitness. Keep you head up and stay with it, every healthy decision you make moves you closer to your goals and that's all you need to worry about.
  • Tiffanydepiano
    Tiffanydepiano Posts: 169 Member
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    I have prescription for it right now.
    It makes me feel a little high for about the first 3 hours then tapers off and really cuts down on wanting to eat.
    It makes it hard to fall asleep at night though.
    I am more productive throughout the day.

    It's basically prescription speed.
  • Troll
    Troll Posts: 922 Member
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    BMI is a bad way to track. Arnold (yes, THE arnold) had a morbidly obese BMI in his prime bodybuilding days. I don't track mine at all anymore. When it says 98lbs is overweight, we have problems
  • alliebeck2
    alliebeck2 Posts: 34
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    Personally, I would stay away from phentermine, simply because it, like all prescription medications, has some untoward side effects. That being said, in order to jump start my own weight loss, I invested in a digital kitchen scale and a chest-strap heart rate monitor. I weigh every single morsel of energy that passes my lips so there is no room for me to underestimate my intake, and wear my HRM during exercise - I know precisely how much energy is going in, and I can get a rough estimate of how much is going out.

    To figure out what's going out, I calculate my BMR (based on the Katch-McArdel formula using lean body mass) + activity level (which I set at sedentary) and then subtract 10% of the total, due to inevitable adaptive thermogenesis that occurs as you lose weight. I then add my exercise calories to that number, and that is my estimate of energy expenditure. Then I just make sure that what I'm eating is less than what I'm expending.
  • shonasteele
    shonasteele Posts: 473
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    I checked out your diary too - are you eating enough? I hope you just didn't finish filling out most of those days, cuz 600 calories a day doesn't cut it. You need to be eating enough or you will be messing up your metabolism. Track EVERYTHING faithfully for a couple of weeks and take the info to your doctor to evaluate what you should be doing.

    Also, if you've been doing the same exercise for a long time your body adjusts to it and it won't be nearly as effective anymore. You need to change things up regularly to get the most benefit from it.

    I'm not totally opposed to trying drugs to get you started, but only AFTER you have tried to do it properly first. If you've seen a nutritionist or doctor and followed their advice (food, exercise, water, etc.) for several months and it's still not working, then consider a short stint of drugs to get the ball rolling, but don't use them as a crutch to make up for not doing what you need to be doing.

    One thing to keep in mind is that doctors often turn to drugs too quickly as a way to solve problems because it's easier for them (and the patient) than doing it the healthy, old-fashioned, hard-work way.

    Good luck!
  • anvacarz
    anvacarz Posts: 58
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    Ask your doctor for a referral to a registered dietician instead. If you are at all uncomfortable with taking a med, tell him and see someone who knows what they are talking about. Doctors can be very "pill oriented" and get very little training in nutrition during med school. So, do yourself a favor, see someone who studies food/diet for a living and pay closer attention to what you are eating.
  • BusyMomma2012
    BusyMomma2012 Posts: 41 Member
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    I paper track my calories and am always between about 1300-1500 calories a day (just don't always get a chance to put it on here). I have tried everything-switching up workouts, cutting out white flour, cutting out all processed foods...nothing seems to help. I have been talking to my doctor and we have been making adjustments for the past few months. Hoping that this will help me to get a jumpstart on everything...and if it really does give you energy, It may help me to be able to workout more.

    I've worked with a nutritionist and a personal trainer..nothing seems to work. I use to be a very healthy weight and very fit...then I developed an ulcer and couldn't eat without getting sick..probably only ate around 500 calories a day if I was lucky. Once the ulcer was taken care of and I was able to eat normally, I started gaining...Pretty sure it screwed up my metabolism and it never really got back to where it should be.
  • shonasteele
    shonasteele Posts: 473
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    Yup it sounds like you've tried pretty much everything! My two cents... if it was me, I'd probably try the drugs. Good Luck!
  • Kimber1012001
    Kimber1012001 Posts: 30 Member
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    Hey dear,

    It's defn the stress to blame for the creep up I would say! Cortisol has a huge effect on the body and when ure stressed, it gets released more than normally. Personally and no matter what I do, when stress attacks come, the weight parks itself rt there or increases. As soon as the stress eases up, so does the scale ;)

    I would suggest that you switch up the routine and go for more relaxation/meditation based weight bearing exercises eg. yoga, pilates so you can focus on keeping the cortisol at bay. If you can find it take BALLET!! I swear it's so challenging but w all that classical music, it's calming as well as incredibly toning.

    If you really wanna focus on cardio and are on a time crunch, have u tried really cranking up the intensity of the workout?. I felt when I did ratios of 30s of full blast running (80% MHR) on the treadmill with 2min of rest walk/jog (60%) over 30 mins I shocked the body. I was dead after but I found it to be crazy effective!!!

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