Down side to diet pills?

[Samurai Jack]

Has anyone had any experience with those "appetite suppressant" diet pills such as Dexatrim? I'm gearing up for another cutting cycle and want a little help with the hunger pangs provided that the stuff actually works. It took me four months to lose ten pounds last time I did this, and while the results were fine without any pills, it was four months of complete misery.

Any advice?

[Pork Chop]

Just to give u nightmares....

The ticket I got recently was due to an interraction between my Hot Rox diet pills and Fuze tea (energy drink).

So basically, I got a ticket for doing 82 in a 55 because i was gonna explode out both ends. That led to a 700 dollar doctor bill (over 500 was reimbursed by insurance), 1 day off from work, 57 bux in court fees, 80 dollar ticket, 600 dollar lawyer, and probably years off my life from nerves and such.

That being said, Hot Rox screws with my constitution MUCH less than anything like Dexatrim or ephedrine based products.

Just be careful and remember to read labels.

[Samurai Jack]

Doctor's bills!?!! How did getting a speeding ticket lead to an injury? Did the wife get a little pizzed or somethin'?

:D

[spiraler]

i guess man, although they can be addicting and can give you bad moodswings. i used to take them for fun with my friends just to stay up all night and drink or whatever. but if you use it properly and dont overindulge, i dont see the harm, althogh it can cause heart attacks cuz it speeds up the heart rate, actually its just a mild version of crystal meth, if you ask me, id stay away.

[Chief Fox]

4 months to loose 10 pounds. I would guess that you could loose weight quicker than that. What is you diet like?

I lost 10lbs last spring in about 6 weeks. I kept my same workout schedule and just changed my diet. I was eating so much I didn't have time to be hungry. There's gotta be a better/healthier way than diet pills.

I'm not an expert or anything but I could let you know what I changed in my diet if you want.

[Samurai Jack]

4 months to loose 10 pounds. I would guess that you could loose weight quicker than that. What is you diet like?

I lost 10lbs last spring in about 6 weeks. I kept my same workout schedule and just changed my diet. I was eating so much I didn't have time to be hungry. There's gotta be a better/healthier way than diet pills.

I'm not an expert or anything but I could let you know what I changed in my diet if you want.

Thanks for the offer, Chief. If you really think it'll help why not share? Honestly though, I'm what you'd call a hard-gainer and a hard-loser. I normally consume around 2500 calories a day. During my diet I gradually cut it down to 1,200 and started running 3X a week. Honestly I don't want to do much more if it involves more cardio or less calories. I already practice martial arts for eight hours per week and lift weights 2 or 3 days a week. If I ate any less than 1,200 I'd have to work out less and I don't think that'd help me at all.

I guess I'm sort of a genetic freak or something.

[Pork Chop]

i ended up in the emergency room because i had everything comin out both ends for hours on end due to the interaction of the drugs.
The er paperwork also helped with my wreckless driving case.
after puking PAST the point of dry heaving, i really loved the iv.

[spiraler]

chi gung standing meditation will make your whole body sweat.... maybe that wiil burn some calories no??

[FngSaiYuk]

Hey, if it's just for a few months, then go for it and pay attention to your body and be carefull of what you mix. I've used them in the past 'cuz of the 'speed' like effect, however I've recently (2 months ago) quit them and regular caffeine (basically most stimulants) in lieu of goin' for more rest/sleep and an 'as fresh as possible' diet. I feel MUCH better now - those 'speed pills' just muck your body up if you take them for too long.

So really, what I'm trying to say here, is, try it, be carefull, know your goal and purpose for using it and stop it as soon as you've achieved your goal. Also, make sure it's a SHORT TERM goal. Long term weight reduction and maintenance should NOT include speed/diet pills of any sort!

BTW, hate to go off on a tangent, but today was my first day attempting a high rep squat workout and DAYUM are my legs SORE!! Much respect to you guys who've done/been doin' those 20rep heavy squats!

[Samurai Jack]

Or 20-rep deadlifts... 20-rep squats are for sissies! (just kidding) ;)

So the appetite suppressant sort of pills speed you up too? I never liked the speediness I got from things like E/C/A stacks. I was just hoping to not be so darn hungry all the time.

[AndrewS]

SJ,

I'd avoid stimulant-based appetite suppressants. They tend to lead to rebound weight gain, and ephedra has some fairly nasty potential side effects.

It sounds like a 1200 kcal diet put your body into starvation mode, and was a true b*tch to do. If your weight is stable at 2500 kcal a day, cut back to 2200 over 5-6 meals a day for a couple of weeks, follow skinfold measurements or a tape measure, and if you aren't losing, cut back to 2000. Check your diet and manipulate the macronutrient profile- some people do well on low-carb or low glycemic index diets, others on low fat. The most important thing is to find a sustainable way of eating that you can live with (unless you're trying to make weight for a fight or something, then all bets are off).

Some other stuff you might try:
- a multivitamin
-1000-1500mg of calcium a day- good for another 6 lbs over 8wks by one study I read, and extremely benign
- get your doc to draw thyroid function tests- occult hypothyroidism can be a cause of difficulty in weight loss
-cut the caffeine out (it increases insulin resistance)- good luck, I never could
-up your fiber consumption to 20-30g a day (binds fat and carbohydrate in the gut, slowing absorbtion, presumably blunting insulin response)

Spiraler,

there's probably little benefit to that. Sweating is a way of cooling off- generating heat implies you're using energy, but standing is not a big calories burner. Look at BK Frantzis or many other of the folks who pimp standing. Not exactly lithe.

Andrew

[FngSaiYuk]

Or 20-rep deadlifts... 20-rep squats are for sissies! (just kidding) ;)

So the appetite suppressant sort of pills speed you up too? I never liked the speediness I got from things like E/C/A stacks. I was just hoping to not be so darn hungry all the time.

I've been eyeballin' your 20-rep deads, and will actually be working at them soon. Really, these high rep lifts are due to my maxing out the weights I own.

Anyways, to be honest, I haven't really dealt with the pills that are supposedly ONLY appetite suppressants. I just find that most speed pills tend to suppress appetite as well.

[Samurai Jack]

Well be careful with the deadlifts. The 20-rep deads really are harder than 20-rep squats (hard to imagine, I know). If you're going to try it I advize you to buy Stuart McRoberts "Beyond Brawn", carefully plan out a cycle using his suggestions, and get ready for some hurt. It's honestly the least pleasant training protocol I've ever attempted, though very productive.

[IronFist]

Isn't 1200 kcals actually 1,200,000 calories?

[IronFist]

82 in a 55 zone was considered reckless driving?

[hunglengjon]

Isn't 1200 kcals actually 1,200,000 calories?

Correct. A dietry calorie refers to the kcal which equals 1000 calories.

[IronFist]

So what we think of as "one calories" is actually "1,000 calories?" Why would they use the same unit for two different measurements?

[Chief Fox]

All it took for me to loose weight was to identify a few key things in my diet that were either causing me to gain weight or to stay at the same weight.

I then did the best I could to remove those items and replace them with healthier or cleaner calories.

A typical day for me used to be:
-cereal for breakfast or I might go by Sonic or McDonalds sometimes.
-Then I would have something like subway for lunch.
-I'd probably have a soda or two in the afternoon.
-I'd chow down on some carbs when i got home. Like pretzels or chips.
-Then I'd have a healthy dinner. grilled chicken with rice and beans or something like that.

What I discovered was that I was eating way too much fast food, not enough protein and too much soda.

A typical day is now;
-cereal in the am when I get up. Right before I leave for work I would have a protein shake.
- Around 9:30am I'll have some cottage cheese or a peanut butter sandwich.
- Around 11:30 I'd have a piece of fruit.
- I do my lunch workout and then have a light lunch (salad with chicken or a turkey sandwich)
- Then around 3:30 I'd have another piece of fruit or some baby carrots.
- I rarely have a meal replacement shake if I was hungry after that.
- I come home from work and have a few pretzels or something.
- then I would have the same kind of dinner. (chicken, rice, beans)

i drank either no soda or just a lot less, tried to eliminate fast food as much as possible and consumed more protein and the weight came off easily.

So my suggestion is keep a food diary for a week. Just to get an idea of a typical week. Identify the bad foods and replace them.

Sorry for the long post, hope this helps. :)

[Vash]

1,000 calories = 1 KCalorie = 1Calorie.

I think. hell, I don't know. Why you asking me?

[Pork Chop]

82 in a 55 zone was considered reckless driving?

Yah, virginia has a rule that anything over 80 is reckless.
but that also always makes me suspicious of the cops maybe upping it to get me over 80. I didn't see how fast i was going- but 82 did sound kinda high.

[hunglengjon]

The calorie thing is pretty dumb.

Hell maybe that's the way to lose weight? - count REAL calories. You'd think twice about that cheeseburger if you think of it as 6000 calories!

[fa_jing]

you mean 600,000 calories...


Anyway, my one diet tip is no all-starch snacks or meals. Thank you.