"Shashay Doofray" :

Well, I don't know about everyone else, but I have taken duromine (i.e.
phentermine).  I never actually used up my 30 day supply, because I didn't
notice any difference in my eating patterns, though it did make me slightly
more energetic during exercise.  Only very slightly.

I suspect the reason many people have a negative reaction to them is because
they may aid in weight loss, but they don't help you maintain it.  You can't
keep taking them forever, and as soon as you stop, if you haven't fixed the
old, bad habits then the weight will just come back on.  Sooner or later you
have to learn to live without them.  You might as well save your money and
do it on your own from the start.

Aside from that, the pills have negative side effects for many people.
They're expensive.  I think they may have some value for people who are
going through stressful patches which would otherwise cause them to eat bad
foods or neglect their exercise routines.  But, to extend your analogy, if
you had a perpetual headache, you wouldn't keep taking painkillers, you'd
get to the root of the problem.  Weight loss drugs don't fix the root cause
of obesity.

Rowena.

273/213/150

You know that ads promising magic are lies right?  We are tired
of scammers lying to us.  We want good health.  You can't get
good health from a pill, you only tinker with problems.

For life long good health, you need to exercise and eat right.
Anybody who tells you differently, watch out because if they
are not selling you crap up front, they will once they think
you are convinced they are trustworthy.

Shashay, good question.

Personally, if there was a wonder pill that would make me want to eat
exactly as I need to maintain my weight, and which definitely had no
side effects, I would gladly take that pill. (I no longer need to lose
weight but I maintain it).

Unfortunately, I am not aware of such a pill. If you say "there must
be one", maybe you can point it out to us. My guess is that it was a
wild assed guess of yours and you would not be able to find such a
pill.

I know what caused my weight gain. I ate too much, wrong food and I
did not exercise enough. Once I fixed it, I lost 47 lbs in
100 days, magically. Since I fixed this problem, I am not regaining
either. Naturally, I know well tat if I started eating too much or
exercising too little, I would regain weight as well.

If I took some magic pill that would cause me to lose weight, went off
the pill, I would regain unless I adopted healthier attitude.

So... show us the wonder pill that you are talking about!

i

First you have the over the counter "diet aids".   These generally
contain either chromium, or some sort of ECA stack.   The thing about
these is 1.  Marketing promises vast amounts of weight loss with no
effort necessary.  2.  Since they are "herbal" medicines they are not
regulated by the FDA.  That means their ingredients don't have to
follow any guidelines.

3.  The thermogenic effects of these "fat burners" are actually very
minimal.  that means they may increase your metabolism - but not by
much.  They don't really help you all that much.  

I would suggest you do some research on fat burners....
http://www.drumlib.com/dp/index.htm#ECA is a good place to start.

The thing about alot of the over the counter types is they contain
ingredients that can be harmful to people when not taken under doctors
supervision.   Also, usually once the body gets used to the stuff
being in your system you don't feel the effects of the drug (the
"extra energy", etc) so people will take a higher dose - unsafe
dosages, which then lead to other health related problems (and death).

Then tehres the fact that some of the ingredients used can cause heart
problems and death in some people.   There are too many medical
conditions that can be affected w/ these herbal stimulants.

Now that leads us into the Medically prescribed drugs.   They too can
have alot of the same effect on metabolism and energy as the over the
counter.  But you must be under doctors supervision.   Well, alot of
doctors will try to get you to lose weight naturally before resorting
to pills.   Alot of insurance plans won't cover the cost of the pills,
and they aren't cheap either.

And finally - the key ingredient.   They may help you lose weight but
they don't teach you how to maintain weight loss.    For many people
who use drugs to help them lose weight, they will be on them for the
rest of their life.  That is a pretty expensive way to live.  

There's alot more that could be said - but this is at least a start.

Do some research on them.

I have nothing against them, but I hear that they work best if
used with an exercise and diet program--that oughta give you a
clue. Like the cellulite creams that "work best when applied
after vigorous exercise."

I lost my last 20 some pounds without spending a dime making
somebody else rich. I'm pretty proud of that. I understand that
some folks need extra help, and medically supervised programs and
prescriptions are great for them. But the stuff advertised on TV
and in tabloid mags smacks of snake oil and con jobs.

As always, my opinion, and ymmv.

Amy

I think it's because most of the products that are peddled don't
actually achieve what they claim to do.  A lot of products seem to
specify in the small print that they work in conjunction with a
calorie controlled diet, with exercise, or whatever, so why do we need
them if diet and exercise work on their own as we know they do?
I've never seen a product (not that I look at them that often) that I
believed could actually deliver weight loss in a healthy way without
the "pain" of dieting.  Can you give any examples?  
Promising weight loss without effort is one of the easiest ways to get
people's attention and get them to part with their money, which means
it's a good bandwagon to jump on if you want to make easy money
quickly.  This is surely one of the areas where "if something seems to
good to be true it probably is" applies in a big way.
janice

I've tried pills in the long run they never worked I lost weight but
sooner or later you have to stop taking them. I'm not speaking for
anyone else but maybe they're speaking from experience too when they say
pills aren't the way to do it. But If you think pills will help you I
say go for it. Just make sure what you take is safe and realize you
still have to learn good eating habits along the way.

Hello List,

 Just wanted to reply to some of these questions...

proven and 2.) are full of empty promises.

it's simply natural, the way it was meant to be, and changing the way our
society has conformed to eat habits.

are needing it because of their diet.  Therefore, a healthy diet especially
over a good period of time would probably aid a man and woman in their sex
life.  Can you see how eating affects so amy areas of ones life?  Many
people who are sick and need medicines are many times in that predicament,
due to improper eating and exercise.  I'm not saying everyone is in this
boat, but most.

 It

naturally w/o drugs if possible.  How much better would you feel knowing you
lost the weight by exercising and diet?  I know I'd feel better!  Most of
the people here are use to years of trying to lose weight and have tried
many drugs and know that ONE thing they can count on is THEMSELVES and
support of others wanting the same thing.

Paul

Oh, you get it, Shashay. Far better than most people. You are
absolutely correct that it is a huge double standard. The arguments
against diet drugs would sound utterly ridiculous if applied to other
chronic diseases. Look at the reasons given for the negative attitude
and substitute ‘heart medication' for diet drugs. Can you imagine
anyone saying you shouldn't take ‘heart medication' because it's
expensive? Or because some people have side effects? Or because ‘heart
medications' stop working if you stop taking them?!? Or because they
work best if you also make some lifestyle changes?

Another part of the problem is that many people think their personal
experiences with weight loss can be applied to everyone. But there are
different TYPES of obesity -- just like diabetes. Most people who are
moderately overweight don't have a clue what it is like to live with
genetic obesity. They don't realize that the genetically obese respond
VERY differently to diet and exercise. They haven't read the research
that investigated the effect (or lack thereof) of diet and exercise on
genetically obese animals. Heck, genetically obese animals didn't
obtain normal body composition even when starved/exercised to death.
Geez.... The failure of diet and exercise is why obesity scientists
looked for metabolic defects and ended up developing thermogenic
drugs.

One can debate whether a person with 20 or 30 pounds to lose should
take medication, but the attitude that ‘diet drugs are bad' hurts
people that have hundreds of pounds to lose because drugs are one of
the few things that have a real chance of working. Normal people, even
gluttons, do not gain hundreds of pounds. There are too many feedback
mechanisms. In cases of morbid obesity, genetic defects are the
driving force. Diet drugs/surgery/stomach pacemakers are their best
chance to avoid the misery of being crippled by obesity.

So, yes, it is most definitely a horrible and a harmful double
standard. My mother has high blood pressure and heart failure. Like
obesity, her condition is the result of both genetic and environmental
factors. However, unlike obesity, her diseases are widely recognized
as REAL diseases, so people accept the fact that she has to take
expensive medication for the rest of her life. They also accept the
fact that her medications have side effects and substantial risks for
a small percentage of people. Nobody in their right mind would tell
her to stop taking her heart and blood pressure drugs. And any
government that tried to ban her medications would be accused of
crimes against humanity.

But nobody gets in trouble for burning witches....

Live Long and Prosper!
DrumLib

DrumLib's Health Research Review
http://www.drumlib.com
Vitamin Price Comparison
http://www.drumlib.com/bestprice.htm
Disclaimer
http://www.drumlib.com/terms.htm

Well, it's because most people peddling weight-loss nostrums are scamming
you.  The only over-the-counter weight-loss drug with any scientific
efficacy is an ECA stack.  Drumlib answered here and Jayjay gave the link
to his site so I'll leave that be, but I can tell you that I've been doing
an ECA stack on and off for about 9 months.

It's a tiny benefit.  I do it mostly for reasons other than the
thermogenic effect.  Is the risk/cost worth the benefit?  It seriously
depends on the exact specifics of the case.  Ephedrine is an asthma drug,
I have asthma.  I already take caffeine and aspirin.  I sometimes (in
specific cases) have a need for a stimulant and my body can handle
it.  For me the answer is yes, sometimes.  For you the answer might be no.

But the fact is, even when I'm doing an ECA stack I don't lose weight
unless I work out six times a week and eat a restrained diet.  And NO ONE
keeps weight off once lost unless they change the habits that made them
fat, i.e., they have to eat less and exercise more.

And that gets to the crux of the matter: when you do a risk/benefit
analysis of almost ANY weight-loss product or plan, the risks and costs of
any of the drugs are so in excess of the teensy benefit they provide,
whereas the risks and costs of exercise and eating well are far outweighed
by the enormous benefits they provide.  So you add it up: big costs/little
benefit for drugs, little cost/big benefits for diet&exercise... and
voila, we short-cut our answer to say, "skip the drugs, do diet and
exercise."

Sorry.  I know you don't like that answer.  The good news is, though, when
you're ready to really do what it takes to lose the weight, that method
actually works and is practically free!

-- Wendy