Any one take them? If so which one and what are the side affects? I'm totally fed up with not eating much at all and working out an hour a day and NOT seeing any results!! Been going through this for several months and think I need something to help me get over the plateau. Can anyone help me ? I apprehensive to just start taking something like that because I don't want to gain it back after I stop taking them. I don't want to have to take pill for the rest of my life, just need a bit of help.
Anna
I have taken green tea pills and they will help you for the short term. They help you lose water weight and are an appetite suppressant. If all you need is something to get you over the hump, they should help you out. The only side effect I noticed was more frequent potty breaks. 
It sounds like you might be doing what I did. You have put yourself into starvation mode and your body won't let go of the excess weight. I have tried quite a few different types of OTC weight loss products with absolutely no results. Or should I say good results. Some of them made me sick.
One thing that did work for me was a diet plan that you can get on-line that explains a lot of things and lets you choose the things you are willing to eat and then it makes a meal plan for you for 11 days. Then you go off the diet for 3 days, and then make a new menu. It's actually quite good. I am an incredibly picky eater with food issues 
I did lose weight with it and felt really good. Although it has specific things for you to eat, it's pretty easy to substitute as long as you are staying within the basic guidelines. What I mean is if the menu calls for a protein meal of chicken, but you don't' have or don't want chicken, you can substitute turkey.
Anyway, here is the link, don't let the name keep you from using it. http://fatloss4idiots.com. It has a ONE time fee of $39. Then you can use it as for as long as you want. It really does work.
I know this isn't the answer to the question that you asked, but I hope it helps anyway.
Michele
OMG-I have tried them all. I mean ALL. I am practically a connoisseur of diet pills and little diet meals. 
They keep taking the good ones off the market, lol.
The most recent one I've tried is Alli. I got it in June and haven't lost anything besides the few pounds that I initially lost b/c I was starving myself due to the explosive diarrhea and "anal leakage" that you might get. I got none of the side effects they warned about, BTW.
Trimspa sucks.
Metabolife sucks.
Slimquick doesn't doesn't work and makes me totally jumpy.
Stacker is alright as far as managing hunger, but it makes me jumpy if I drink any caffeinated beverages.
My metabolism is totally screwed up. I started starving myself at age 11, and contiued a very unhealthy diet until I got pg with dd. My body went crazy when I actually started eating again, I gained 75# both times I was pg. The weight came off right away, except for those last few pounds. Nursing may have messed with my system, too.
I run 5 miles or more a day and eat like 1500 calories, so I should be okay, but I'm still heavier than I like. Oh well.
Thanks everyone! I'm really afraid to mess up my body by taking anything unnatural or damaging. Hence the reason I asked for your help. I think I've decided to try the green tea pills. I'll give it a few weeks and see what happens. I'm just so sick of the up and down!! No matter what I do, I can't seem to get below a certain weight!!! Just frustrated. Never thought of the "starvation mode". I have been following Weight Watchers for almost two years now and have only lost 22 lbs. Seems like if I even look at a donut I gain so am afraid to eat much. 
I probably ranted long enough, thanks for listening! Anna 
Anna31,
I have been overweight my entire life. I have tried every diet every created and have tried lot of OTC drugs. They dont work long term. The weight you lose is not really lost its just following you around hiding behind trees and when you arent looking, it hops right back on and invites company!! 
I recently decided to stop dieting and start thinking about what Im eating. And I know this sounds like you doctor but you just need to eat right.
In December 2006 I had a physical and my blood pressure was a little high. Not bad, but on the high side of normal. My family has a history high blood pressure ,evreyone is on meds. I dont like to take medication unless there is no other way to fix a problem. This I knew I could fix. So I just started eating better. More fish and chicken, veggies and fruit. I gave up pork(which hard for me because my bony 108lb sister cooks bacon every morning ) and only eat really lean beef sometimes. And I eat all day. You can snack on cheddar cheese rice cakes--they taste like cheetos. I always have iceberg lettuce in the fridge. If you like to snack on cereal try the heart smart cereals. Almonds are good for you.
Blah blah blah.
Ive have lost 55 lbs since December. And Im not dieting. I still eat cookies. Real cookies. But I only eat one or two depending on their size and give the rest to someone else. Try and stay busy. Clean the house Read a book. Do some yard work. Anything to keep your mind occupied.
Dont take OTC pills they are not good for you. I took metabolife and ende up with heart palpatations. Being thinner is great but being healthy is priceless. The way I figure is it took me 41 years to gain this weight, its going to take more than 41 days to lose it.
You can do it girl
I have tried everything under the sun and nothing works.....I feel strongly that there is no magic pill for weight loss, much to my dismay Using my treadmill a couple times a week and a 5lb weight combined with crunches and reducing "bad" starches & late night munching, I have lost and kept off 35 pounds since Feb 2005. As soon as I lay off the treadmill, my legs get flabby so it seems like a small price to pay.
As soon as I eat crackers, white refined crap-food or candy, my stomach pooches out like I'm in my 2nd trimester so that is why I avoid them...... I find if I eat yogurt & a banana for break, turkey sand for lunch and a salad w/ chicken or chicken w/ green beans for dinner combined with a sugar free treat at night and fruit/veggies between meals, then I am satisfied and trim. *****Easier said then done!!!!!!!*****
I wish you the best of luck - I have felt so much better since I lost that weight and much stronger too....but I had a bad couple of weeks so I gained no weight but really got flabby and yucky so I need to get back on track. I do take the occasional diuretic to combat water weight but other then that, I find the pills to be a big waste of money.
Thanks everyone! That's so funny about the fat hiding behind the trees just waiting to jump on you! So true!!! I know you are right about eating right and exercizing. That's what I thought I've been doing for the past two years on WW. The "occasional" cookie should not send the scale back up a notch or TWO!!! Is there ANYONE that can resist sweets ALL the time? Not me. Anyway, thanks for the pep talk girls! I appreciate it and feel a little better about it. I'm not going to eat a whole cake or anything just yet! 
I'm going to stay away from the diet pills to. You talked me out of it!
Anna
Here's a thought...sometimes when you exercise like crazy your heart rate is actually too high and you are working too hard. If this is the case, then toning down your workout to a less strenuous level may be what you need and you will burn more fat. I got a heart rate monitor for just this reason and discovered that I was working out at a level that was way too high. I've toned it down and it seems to be working better for me. HTH
mawagner may be onto something there. I read that if you are exercising above your target heart rate for over 20 minutes you are actually burning muscle.
Not much chance that I'm working out TOO hard. I'm doing those Leslie Sansone "Walk away the pounds" DVD's. I usually do the four mile, occasionally the three mile. I can't do real high impact because I have one bad knee. Good thought though! I'd never heard that you could work out TOO hard to lose fat. Learn something new every day!!! 
Hi! First of all, congratulations on your accomplishment with Weight Watchers. Without knowing you personally, though, do you think you could be at a plateau, i.e. the correct weight for your body type and structure (all things considered)?
In my opinion, you should not take any of those over-the-counter diet meds. They all have side effects, and each of us can respond differently to them. Just recall the effects of ephedra. And I'm sure you've heard about Alli. It's too risky, and your life is worth more than taking the chance to quickly lose a few pounds (which most people gain back once they stop taking the meds). I just don't think it's a very healthy decision.
If you do decide to try any OTC meds, please consult your doctor. Due to potential side effects you may (or may not) experience, it would be wise to rule out any forseeable complications.
How about consulting with a physical trainer? Even if it's just one session. You'd be amazed how much you can learn about how you should be exercising/eating to meet your desired goals. From your posted messages mentioning your knee problems, they can help you develop a program that will protect your knee, but still allow you to reach a target training zone, with respect to the intensity of your workouts. This will help you burn the most calories from a workout. It could be a very worthwhile investment, if you have the opportunity.
Also, a nutritionist may be able to help you. One thing you might want to try on your own first though is a food chart. Start with a basic one that just lists in column headings: Grains # per day / Protein # per day / Fruit # per day / Veggies # per day / Extras # per day / Water # per day / Exercise. [* The number of servings depend on your age, body type and fitness goal, so do your research on quantities first.] Each row is a date. For the first 2 weeks to a month, tick off what you are consuming, don't worry much about whether you are eating from the right food groups. (Pay attention to what constitutes a proper serving size, though.) Afterwards, you might see a trend where one or more of the groups is either very high or very low. (When I did this, I had most of my daily consumption in "Extras!" and basically NO water! No veggies! ) Then you can start tweaking your diet to get it more in line. If you don't eat enough veggies, for example, then during your first adjustment week you might want to just focus on improving that category. You can work it how you need to.
As I am typing this I just heard on the news that "proper diet and exercise is the best way to reduce heart risks." So there's another reason to stay away from the meds.
So I guess on that note, I'll end here. (Sorry so long.) Whatever you decide, please be careful.
Be well & happy everyone.
Thank you TCarra for your thoughtful post! I appreciate everything you said. I have wondered more than once if this is just the size my body WANTS to be!!! I don't think I look that bad, I just have a roll in my middle that I HATE. Otherwise, I am happy with the way I look. I'm 32, 5 ft. 6 in. and 173 lbs. I'm curvy, big busted which I think accounts for some of my weight. Not sure if we could afford a personal trainer or a nutritionist. With two young kids and one income, our wallets aren't exactly bulging! So, I am going to try to just relax a bit and stop obsessing. I do think I need to stop eating white flour and sugar all together. I'm a big carb girl. Gotta have burger on my burger!!! So maybe I'll start with that and see what happens. Thanks for your advice everyone!! I've decided to steer clear of those weight loss drugs. They sound scary, not something I want to flirt with!!!
Anna
This is not an OTC weight loss drug, but it's something kind of scary I heard recently. DH and I are friend with a couple who are pharma reps, and have 2 other friends that are also pharma reps. They all got skinny SKINNY and fast bu taking a prescription drug for ADHD. The wife was so little that she was buying her clothes in the little boy dept. at the Gap! The husband says that it gives you instant mental clarity, he has bad insomnia (also a side effect of the drug) and he said he's just pop one and be awake instantly. Both of them are off it now, but he said you get dependent on it and have to take more, and it makes you slightly wacky. Our other friend is on it still, is like 5'9" and was 115 the last I talked to her, and is very wacky now. Nobody will have anything to do w/ her b/c she is so out there. So don't take Adderall for weight loss!
Has anyone tried the Fat Smash Diet by Dr. Ian Smith?
I did that before my wedding. Just phase one and phase two. I lost 10 pounds the first 9 days (the detox phase) and lost another 7 in phase two. Now, I only did this for a little while.. Probably about a month or so. However, I kept riding my exercise bike, 30 minutes a day, and started eating fast food again, and never put on another pound. 6 months later, I have quit riding my exercise bike and have only put on 5 pounds. In other words, eat what you want, as long as you exercise, after you have shed the weight you wanted.
I know if I had stuck with it I would now be the weight I wanted to be, but I always had some excuse or another to not stick with it. My husband and I both decided we are going to start it again in September, after the trip to Ohio we have to take, and his friend's wedding is over.
There are two books for this diet. One has a blue and white cover. That is the one you want. The other one is red, if I recall correctly, and I looked through it after my husband bought it and to me it was just like saying.. You can eat more now, but you have to exercise 4 times as much as before. Just stick with the first book. It really and truly works.
Also, you don't have to be as strict as it says. It's entirely up to you. It depends on if you're wanting to lose a lot, or just a bit here and there. It also talks about that plateau you reach where you just can't lose any more. When you get to that point, you just do another 9 day detox and it helps you over it, and you start losing again.
Also, this stuff, http://www.wulongforlife.com/ is absolutely wonderful. You drink it twice a day. I put a teaspoon or so of honey in mine, because I thought it didn't taste great without it. Now, I didn't drink this at the same time as my diet, so I don't know if it actually does help lose weight, but for the time I was drinking it I remember my mother and sisters commenting on how beautiful my skin and hair was at the time. They said I looked positively radiant, which if any of you knew me would know I never look radiant, even when I'm overjoyed with happiness.. haha I do remember I felt better, I had more energy, I slept better, and I had a lot less headaches. (which I get frequently)
I hope this helps some of you. It really does work if you have the willpower to stick with it. (unlike me)
Holly
p.s. Wish me luck on starting it again.
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