Do diet pills work? And why am I never hungry anymore?

[amdhunter]

I am at my wits end. I want to lose more weight, but it doesn't seem to be happening. I've cut down my calorie intake to ~1000 calories per day, and (very recently) started a walking regimen that takes me 5 miles a day. My goal is to eventually get up to jogging speeds, and to start biking in the summer.

I was wondering how do diet pills work, and are they effective? Does anyone have experience with them?

Also, over the past few months, I notice that I never feel hungry anymore. I get brief moments of "empty stomach growls", but it will last a minute or so. Is this normal? As a test, I've skipped 3 days without eating, and not once did I feel hungry. WTF?

It's been taking a mental toll on me because it makes me feel like I am making zero progress with low calorie intake.

 

[interchange]

Unfortunately we don't get to choose what our body metabolizes (technically catabolizes) and what it doesn't. We are wired to survive famine so we will conserve as much as we can before going to our fat stores, and it's really remarkable how efficient our bodies can be when calorie restricted.

As far as answers go, I would say a few things. #1 is patience. Eventually calorie restriction wins out and people often have many plateaus before seeing success. #2 is make sure you have adequate nutrition in your diet. #3 is that I think weight-lifters do it best. By alternating "cut" and "bulk" they are not fighting their bodies by asking to add mass (msucle) and cut mass (fat) at the same time. #4 is that weight training will help in the long run for body composition more than walking/running, although at a trade off of the cardiovascular benefits. Best is to do both.

Last is avoid diet pills like the plague. Yes they work by putting stimulants into your body. They are as dangerous or more dangerous than man-made stimulants that have been pulled off the market for weight loss. They get away with it though because they are from "natural sources". So are billions of deadly substances. I've definitely seen more than one person in the ER whose symptoms are attributed to diet pills. Thankfully none of them had any serious complications, but I wouldn't risk it.

There are better "experts" on this stuff on this forum than me, so I'm sure you'll get some responses. Just bear in mind the source.

 

[HNNstyle]

Diet pills work by making you full before you eat anything but you've already stopped eating so that really doesn't matter in your case. Walking 5 miles a day is really time consuming, not worth the effort, burns very little calories per hour, and not something you can maintain for the rest of your life. When I first started getting back into shape, I had a pretty hard time to get it going too but it's really doable. I would say, stop jogging and pick up the legs and run. My routine when I first started again was 1 minute jog, 30 second sprints, and 3 exercises involving weight lifting. I did 6 sets of this under 24 mins with a maximum of 30 second breaks between each round and workout routine. Basically, I used the mechanics of HIIT to create my own workout.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

You're below 1000cal and you're wondering why you've stopped losing weight? Research has shown that if you drop below a certain caloric intake, your body will actually SLOW your metabolism significantly (up to 35&#37😉. Look at the fat loss sticky - http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=162171. There's information there on how to lose weight.

In addition, diet pills are a terrible way to go. Remember Hydroxycut? Remember when it got pulled off the market for giving people serious liver damage? None of those are monitored by the FDA. It's not safe. You should honestly read the fat loss sticky, re-evaluate your eating habits/diet/activity levels, and try again. We have people who have like 100+ pounds using the sticky. You can lose weight too.

 

[amdhunter]

Diet pills work by making you full before you eat anything but you've already stopped eating so that really doesn't matter in your case. Walking 5 miles a day is really time consuming, not worth the effort, burns very little calories per hour, and not something you can maintain for the rest of your life. When I first started getting back into shape, I had a pretty hard time to get it going too but it's really doable. I would say, stop jogging and pick up the legs and run. My routine when I first started again was 1 minute jog, 30 second sprints, and 3 exercises involving weight lifting. I did 6 sets of this under 24 mins with a maximum of 30 second breaks between each round and workout routine. Basically, I used the mechanics of HIIT to create my own workout.

Yeah, I am slowly conditioning myself to start jogging. I am trying to build up endurance first. Right now, I can't run more than a block without getting winded. I break into a major sweat and heat from walking right now, so it must be doing something.

When the weather gets nicer out, I plan to really go at it. I am lucky that I get out at 4PM, and will have a ton of daylight later to really get into it. By then, I hope I have the stamina to start running.

 

[amdhunter]

You're below 1000cal and you're wondering why you've stopped losing weight? Research has shown that if you drop below a certain caloric intake, your body will actually SLOW your metabolism significantly (up to 35%). Look at the fat loss sticky - http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=162171. There's information there on how to lose weight.

In addition, diet pills are a terrible way to go. Remember Hydroxycut? Remember when it got pulled off the market for giving people serious liver damage? None of those are monitored by the FDA. It's not safe. You should honestly read the fat loss sticky, re-evaluate your eating habits/diet/activity levels, and try again. We have people who have like 100+ pounds using the sticky. You can lose weight too.

Reading it now. 🙂

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Reading it now. 🙂

Hope it helps. If you follow it to a tee, you'll definitely notice some change. It may not be as quick as you'd like, but it's the healthiest and most sustainable way 🙂

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yeah, keep your caloric intake above 1500/day, and try something a little more time efficient in terms of calorie burning.

You could try that LoseIt thing, if you have a smartphone.

 

[Joepublic2]

Yeah most of those pills are either straight up stimulants or plant alkaloids that due to legal loopholes can't be regulated by the FDA. Amphetamines are prescribed for weight loss but not unless you're literally morbidly obese most of the time as stimulants are a class of drug that have a huge potential for abuse, rapid onset of tolerance, and a lot of potential side effects. So if you just want to lose weight any way you can (possibly at the cost of your long term health) try to get some stims from your doctor; if you want to improve your health just eat better and exercise more.

 

[episodic]

Check out fat2fit radio - they have BMR calculators and stuff there. This is an excellent podcast. I lost over 150lbs adhering to their principals - and 'never' ate less than 2200-2300 calories a day.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Some diet pills work by making you less able to digest food. Something to note is as you lose weight it becomes much harder to lose significant amounts on say a weekly basis. Going from 215 to 175 took me two months. Going from 150 to 135 took a bit longer than two with about the same diet (even a little more exercise). I've never used diet pills though.

 

[jmarti445]

Check out fat2fit radio - they have BMR calculators and stuff there. This is an excellent podcast. I lost over 150lbs adhering to their principals - and 'never' ate less than 2200-2300 calories a day.

2200 calories, that must put you around 160 or so with weight. I lost a lot of weight using that principle only problem is I put it back on, now 6 years later I'm back to using that principle again and having great results. The trick is not to go back to the way you were before and I'm doing it this time for sure.

 

[amdhunter]

Yeah, keep your caloric intake above 1500/day, and try something a little more time efficient in terms of calorie burning.

You could try that LoseIt thing, if you have a smartphone.

Been using LoseIt for a while now. It's what I use for calorie counting. As for efficient calorie burning, I am working up to a jogging pace - but am far from able to right now. Little steps. I enjoy the walks a lot too. Gives me time to catch up on my podcasts, and I've started to discover music again.

 

[amdhunter]

Yeah most of those pills are either straight up stimulants or plant alkaloids that due to legal loopholes can't be regulated by the FDA. Amphetamines are prescribed for weight loss but not unless you're literally morbidly obese most of the time as stimulants are a class of drug that have a huge potential for abuse, rapid onset of tolerance, and a lot of potential side effects. So if you just want to lose weight any way you can (possibly at the cost of your long term health) try to get some stims from your doctor; if you want to improve your health just eat better and exercise more.

The doctor I saw said I was obese and that's it. She said I need to eat less and take in more exercise. She wasn't nearly as helpful as I thought she'd be. At least my blood/cholesterol is OK though. I was worrying I was becoming a diabetic. lol

 

[tedrodai]

Yeah ignore the ppl who say you're wasting time with walking. The important thing is to make progress, and if walking is what you can do, that's what you do. Everyone has to start at their own level. Good luck finding your way through it and maintaining your motivation.

 

[alkemyst]

I have found only activity keeps my weight down. i can diet and I still target a weight about 10-20lbs more than I want.

ECA stacks work well for me. My body responds to it. I think a big part of it is the ability to do more 'work' while I am taking it, esp in 4-5am workouts.

I best weight loss was 86lbs in three months. Taking off 10-15lbs per month is just a matter of getting back to the gym 3x30mins a week for me though.

 

[interchange]

The doctor I saw said I was obese and that's it. She said I need to eat less and take in more exercise. She wasn't nearly as helpful as I thought she'd be. At least my blood/cholesterol is OK though. I was worrying I was becoming a diabetic. lol

I don't know whether your particular doctor is 1) simply not good at this particular area or 2) did not have the time to address your concern or 3) did not realize that you wanted particular information and advice. What I would suggest to you (regarding getting help from an MD/DO) is to ask the office if you can make a follow-up appointment specifically for the purpose of discussing weight loss. That should alleviate part 2/3 of my concerns, but not part 1. If it's part 1, then just get a different doctor. 🙂

 

[HNNstyle]

I don't know whether your particular doctor is 1) simply not good at this particular area or 2) did not have the time to address your concern or 3) did not realize that you wanted particular information and advice. What I would suggest to you (regarding getting help from an MD/DO) is to ask the office if you can make a follow-up appointment specifically for the purpose of discussing weight loss. That should alleviate part 2/3 of my concerns, but not part 1. If it's part 1, then just get a different doctor. 🙂

A large portion of doctors don't practice preventative medicine. They only know how to treat you after you've been sick.

Yeah ignore the ppl who say you're wasting time with walking. The important thing is to make progress, and if walking is what you can do, that's what you do. Everyone has to start at their own level. Good luck finding your way through it and maintaining your motivation.

Walking over 2 hours a day is a more daunting task then the workout routine I gave him earlier. I wasn't trying to discourage the guy, just giving him the same routine that I used when I first started. I use to be in bad as shape as the OP or even worst but my early workout routine lasted no more then 24 mins and burned way more calories then walking 2 hours a day. I also feel that it's easier and more time manageable then a 5 mile walk.

 

[episodic]

2200 calories, that must put you around 160 or so with weight. I lost a lot of weight using that principle only problem is I put it back on, now 6 years later I'm back to using that principle again and having great results. The trick is not to go back to the way you were before and I'm doing it this time for sure.

Currently hovering around 185. Was 340. Yea, you have to make it permanent. I have looked at it as a lifestyle change rather than a diet.

 

[interchange]

A large portion of doctors don't practice preventative medicine. They only know how to treat you after you've been sick.

That's really insulting and very untrue. Whether or not the doctor is good at helping with the particular problem of obesity is another story. Part of the issue (I have noticed) is that many patients think they can address every issue they want in one visit. That's not really how it works. Doctors schedule time to address specific problems in visits. If you want to go outside that, the best bet is to schedule a new appointment to address your specific concern. Your concern may be primarily social. So what.

 

[HNNstyle]

That's really insulting and very untrue. Whether or not the doctor is good at helping with the particular problem of obesity is another story. Part of the issue (I have noticed) is that many patients think they can address every issue they want in one visit. That's not really how it works. Doctors schedule time to address specific problems in visits. If you want to go outside that, the best bet is to schedule a new appointment to address your specific concern. Your concern may be primarily social. So what.

I don't see how this is untrue and I'm not blaming the doctor. There is just so much medical knowledge out there that it would be hard to preach medicine in one single visit. When was the last time that you visited a doctor and he told you to eat 5 times a day, stay on a 1800 calorie diet, or exercise? It more then likely didn't happen until after you showed up overweight or tested positive for something dealing with your weight. When was the last time your doctor told you how to workout or how long you should workout before he spotted something wrong with you? On top of that, doctors get paid more when you get sick. There's no incentive for them to preach good eating habits or to exercise. Again, I'm not blaming the doctor. I'm just telling it exactly how it is or how it's been for me.


Edit: A dentist has a hygienist to preach good brushing habits and so I think a family doctor needs the same thing in the form of a physical trainer.

 

[Sixguns]

Currently hovering around 185. Was 340. Yea, you have to make it permanent. I have looked at it as a lifestyle change rather than a diet.

Same here, well not has much, down about 70lbs. But I keep telling people that I do not and have not done a diet. I have changed the whole way I eat and live. I try to tell them the same thing when they say the will do a new diet for a month. They go on to lose some weight and than after the diet is over, they gain all the weight they lost and some.

 

[don911]

The problem with diet pills that "work" without exercises is that once you stop taking them you just gain weight again. Losing weight has to be a lifestyle choice otherwise once you stop using the 'miracle cure' you will end up back at square one.