Hi everyone! I am relatively new here, and I have to say I love the support that this community has to offer.

I am here now to ask some advice from all you experts.

I have been trying to lose weight for about 4 months now. I have been going to the gym 4-5 days per week, walking to and from work daily (1 mile), eating 4-6 small meals a day, drinking plenty of water. I saw a dietician who through a blood test determined I had an allergy to eggs and dairy, so I have cut all that out of my diet and replaced the protein with soy, chicken and fish. I still have seen only about a 7 pound weight loss in three months. I finally caved and went to see a doctor yesterday who is stumped beacause he says I seem to be doing everything right. He is running a glucose test and a thyroid test on me, and he said if those come back OK, he suggest I go on Phentermine for a couple months to kick start my metabolism. He says I am a good candidate for the drug because I have 50+ pounds to lose and I have already incorporated healthy lifestyle components into my life, so I wouldn't be using the drug as a crutch.

I am about 190 pounds and need to be 130-140. I am not a fan of prescriptions, but I really am starting to get frustrated, and would love to get some results to re-motivate myself.

I would love to hear from any of you as far as your thoughts and opinions, and again I am very glad to have found this site. Thanks!

Jen

Hi Jennie,
I see weight loss as a lifestyle issue. I can see that you're taking this seriously and when you don't see results you get frustrated.
Don't be, you're defenitely moving to right direction and if you feel good inside then everything is fine. Sometimes your body just don't answer like you wish.
Give some time to your body and you get results, too fast weight loss can cause a jojo effect. Meaning that you lose weight and then you gain more.
Slow process is the best, it's not just loosing weight it's learning a new lifestyle.

Cheers
Abraham

Jen,

I want to echo what Abraham is saying. I am currently 351 (down from 365) on my way to 245 lbs. It has been slow going for me as well. I would encourage you to stick with it. The inherent danger of using a prescription is that it can become a psychological crutch. If you opt for that route see if the doctor can taper you on to the meds and then back off. The essential element to permanently loosing the weight is to change how you think about food and your behaviors associated with it. Lots of small consistent changes will make a life time of difference.

JAU

Hi,

I am running short of time..quick post.
Well, you have to wait for your test results.
And like the others said, stay of meds for now. Believe me change will happen. Why don't you track your calories just to make sure you are eating as much as you think you should eat.

Good luck and will be back when I find time.

Jen,

My sis has an issue with weight loss too. She is far more disciplined with her eating and exercise than me and almost everyone I know. For her lifestyle she deserves to be much lighter. I know how frustrating that can be. Seeing the numbers slide is the best motivation to stay on the course. When the rewards are so unfairly not commensurate, it takes super-human will power to keep at it.

I am not qualified to comment on the drugs. I just want to wish you luck.

Vrinda

Thank you Vrinda for the words of encouragement.

I guess I will keep plugging away, wait to see what the tests reveal, and cross the drug decision bridge if it comes to that.

I appreciate it everyone.

Jen

Jen, I suggest that you have an honest discussion with your doctor. He/She may have some knowledge of resources. I have been told that the prescription medication available can have a lot of uncomfortable side effects.

I think that you can get this done if you persevere and continue to plug away.

I think there are 2 obvious things that need to change:

calorie intake for the day
macronutrient breakdown of those calories.

stop eating so much fruit (fructose sugar), increase the amount of lean meats you are consuming. Lower the amount of calories you are consuming each day by 500.

Go on the phentermine if you are happy with it!

Nick

My calorie amount and what I am eating were set by my dietician. I am at 1300-1500 calories per day. I eat one piece of fruit daily 4-6 servings of vegetables daily and lean protein with each meal. I eat no junk food, don't drink soda, and am not a coffee or alcohol drinker.

There is not much else that I can do to change my diet. I don't want to lower my calories even more at the risk of pushing my body into starvation mode. Plus, I am trying to be on an eating program that I can maintain, and what I am doing now is something that is easy to maintain.

I should get my test results today, and then I will make my decision. Thanks again for the advice!

Jen

UPDATE:

I just got my blood test results back and it turns out that my thyroid is slow. So, I will not be going on Phertermine, but I will be going on medication to help speed up my thyroid. I am still not thrilled about prescriptions in general, but I guess I will see how it goes. In the meantime, I am starting to see a little progress, and I am still plugging away as you all suggested.

Jen

Jen,
While going on medication is not fun at least there is something definitive that you can point to that is effecting your weight loss. This should be encouraging to you!

JAU

Yes Jeremiah, that is very true! I am kind of excited about that part. Thanks!
Jen

Well, I wanted to give you all an update on this...I went back to the Dr. yesterday to monitor how the thyroid medication was working. He showed me my thyroid test results and said that the number that was supposed to be in the 2-12 range was a 50. (TSH levels I guess?) He said that if his ever got to be half of where mine was, he would be laid out on the couch with no energy, so he is stunned that I am able to workout 5 days per week. He said that I am likely just used to it.

The medication he started me on was a low dose to see how I would react, so he took more blood yesterday and will slowly increase the levels until it is stabilized, and then he said I will likely start to see some results in my weight loss. He told me to be patient and give it a month or two...

We'll see...in the meantime, I will just keep doing what I am doing.

Thank you all for the great support, this site has proven an invaluable resource for me.

Jennie

Jennie,

Thank you so much for updating us. While I am sure it is discouraging to so those test results, no you have something quantifiable to work with. I hope for the best, please keep us posted.

JAU

Jennie, congrats on taking this sensible route. It is tough to go through all of this and even tougher to go to a doc and ask for help. Sounds like your doc is taking things one step at a time. Please keep us posted.