I've just joined this forum and I'm sure it's been asked a million times but are there any pills that work for weight loss. Have tried to do my homework but end up getting really confused. Help & advice welcome

Hi, Diesellily, welcome to the Forum!

Problem is, people without a medical condition are overweight because a) they overeat and b) they don't exercise enough. No diet pill in the world will alter a person's perception of food - as soon as you stop taking them, the weight will go back on because you have not addressed the underlying problem. Believe me, I'm talking from bitter experience! You don't need to go on a diet, you need to alter your eating habits for life.......make sensible choices and make yourself aware of what you're eating. Check the fat/salt/sugar content of your food, try to stay within the guidelines - READ THE LABELS! Eventually it'll become second nature and be so worth it!

Good luck with your weight loss; be sensible and don't rely on "miracle" cures!

Best wishes

Janie

Firstly, thank you for the welcome, Janie. Secondly, I think you're probably right, the fact I'm getting confused is probably due to a mixture of company promotion and and real reviews.

One question though.....is calorie counting better or fat content?

For me personally, it was looking at the fat content of stuff; easier counting up to 50g than 1500 calories! Beware 'low-fat' things because they quite often contain lots of sugar.......and taste artificial anyway.

I lost over two stones by watching the fat, and choosing lower fat alternatives eg instead of pate, I'd have Morrisons Eat Smart (now NuMe) version. Tastes just as good with 25% (I think) less fat. Result! Cutting down on snacky things like crisps, cakes, biscuits, chocolate (that did hurt!) and other rubbish helped. Note 'cutting down' not 'cutting out' I still have my treats, but rather than them being food-related I buy something like bubble bath or a scented candle. I try to remember that what I put in my mouth now will catch up with me eventually! 30 years ago my Mum was advised to give up salt because she was in danger of developing a heart condition. Now she has angina, diabetes, high blood pressure, lousy kidneys.........mostly diet-related. I don't want to be like that.

Diet pills, shakes etc are no good in the long run. They don't teach you to eat properly. They're there to make money - and it's a massive industry. And who writes the reviews? Company employees under a variety of pseudonyms, perhaps? Don't fall for it, Diesellily - no immediate fix; just sensible eating & exercise!

Thanks Janey, you've given me the incentive to carry on. I've changed my eating habits since May and have lost a stone so far. I have a holiday coming up in 6 weeks and wanted to lose another stone quickly, before I go but I think I'm going to carry on what I'm doing as it obviously works although slowly. Having an arthritic knee, the weight loss has helped and like you say it's a life long habit I need to change rather than a quick fix that potentially will end once the target weight is reached.

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me, I really appreciate it.

I totally concur with Janie (no surprise there lol ) I was a right skinny minny,,not 7stone soaking wet till menopause smacked me in the kisser,,and with it lots of comfort food cos I deserved it,,after all,,wasn't I being kept awake by hot flushes? Therefore,,being awake meant I HAD to snack,,it was necessary to chomp on cakes,sweets,anything from the fridge,even the cats looked scarily juicy at times and,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I don't like chocolate so I convinced myself it was ok,,sadly my waistline and weight didn't agree,,I became a 'wide load' weighing 9st4 on a 4ft11 frame,,there was way too much timber on my beams!! I couldn't afford all the 'faddy' diets and there aint no way on Gods good Earth my brain would be able to compute 'milkshake' into 'full tummy'...so I did the same as Janie (and you)..started watching what I ate, lots of fresh veg,,huge salad(no dressing save a whisper) fruit when I felt the need for sugar,,,,just being sensible really,,I won't lie,,it crucified me at first but now it's second nature,I lost the stone and 4lbs,,now I've steadied at 8 stone and thats just fine..the real poohey thing is tho.....I've developed high blood pressure but Dr assures me it's nothing to do with my eating habits,it's just happened..Good luck hun xx(and you Janie xxxx)

Hmm...I've tried a lot of diet pills myself..they never seem to work on me. Working out that's what gives me the result I want.

hi all I tried diet pills too stopped me feeling hungry then they stopped working so didnt take them when I spoke to the GP he said they are really dangerous tablets that can cause you problems with sleeping and your bowels. I know see a nuitritionist who says the same as an earlier post diets don't work just healthy eating, if you lose more than 2lb per week it will go straight back on when you start to eat as its only water. Good luck with your diet I have lost 2 stone also have put on about 4lb as have some stress in my life so can't be bothered with dieting at the mo but will start again next week.

I recall a friend ,a large girl who carried her weight well cos she dressed so classy,going to the Dr and being put on the new 'wonder diet' pills,,,and they made her lose bowel continence especially if she ate chocolate or anything high in fat...Suffice to say,,she soon stopped taking them !!

yes I know the ones leave an oil slick behind. These are okay these are licensed, the ones I was taking are availaber privately at a cost of £15 for a weeks supply DR said the private DR who was prescribing them should be reported wouldn't get involved in that as no one made me take them he said they was a cocaine derogative will steer clear of them then.

Personally speaking,,i wouldn't touch diet pills with a barge pole,,25 years ago they contained a 'speed' deriratve I remember my sister having them and being really quite poorly....

Janie1962's inaccurate answer is typical of some views, there are various reasons why people are overweight and she has just focussed on the two the media love.

I have three medical conditions which prevent me from loosing weight if I eat the wrong diet, so for me 5 a day would not help, however a fairly meat free, high protein high fibre diet helps the majority of my symptoms. I do Pilates which really has helped the asthma symptoms, and walk 3 miles every other day and do a lot of other walking in between.

Steer clear of the 'acai berry, this 1 weird tip etc' ads as all you will loose is money.

Also if you loose weight via pills and 'get thin quick' drinks you will be left with flaps of loose skin, so you still will have a poor body image problem, maybe even poorer than when you started.

However, I concur with others, reading food labels helps a lot, one example is Morrisons own brand low fat creme fraiche has far more salt in in than their normal variety, and has far more calories too! Sometimes the food calorie count can be high due to the 'classification' of food and the presence of 'cheese derivatives' which then put it into the 'red' light area although they are perfectly natural and naturally 'fat free'.

Just because it is 'fat free' does not mean it is good for you. Beer is fat free naturally, so are cigarettes.

Hi Diesility, please don't go down the path of slimming tablets, in 1980 we were living in Cyprus where you could (then) go into any pharmacy and buy slimming tablets without a prescription, i was about 8 or 9 pounds overweight but being young and in bikini's etc for most of the time i wanted to look good, so i purchased myself a pack. I can't remember what they called were but basically they were speed, one boiled egg for brekkie and one of these tablets and that was all i had all day, also i was drinking alchohol at night, my heart would race, i was as high as a kite for most of the time and couldn't sleep and i had a couple of near accidents while driving due to lack of concentration but still i carried on taking them. My hubby who was then in the forces came home from exercise to find me about two stone thinner and looking dreadful, sensibly (though i didn't think so at the time) he threw the lot down the loo, to cut a long story short these tablets made me really ill and in the end i put back on what i'd lost and more besides.

Since then I've tried all the quick fixes, slimming shakes, the oil slick tablets that have been mentioned, you name it and I've tried it. At last though I've seen the light and as you have already been advised the only way really is a sensible lifestyle, I've lost two stone in the last year just by cutting out junk food, i allow myself a treat on a weekend when hubby is home but the rest of the time i eat properly and the weight has come off slowly which is the best way, good luck anyway I'm sure you'll do really well

Sorry that should be Diesellily, see what those tablets have done to my brain lol.

Girly Those pills sound exactly like the ones my sister took,,would be about the same time too.. And I fail to see any problem with Janies post,,if weight isn't caused by an underlying medical condition,,or weight loss is hampered by the same.....then surely weight gain is caused by over eating of the wrong foods and lack of excersize? I know when I was immobile for a while I really had to fight the urge to 'comfort' eat..and believe me,I'm only srict with myself with excersize as I have limited mobility so for me,,swimming is the best and safest way .

Janie1962's inaccurate answer is typical of some views, there are various reasons why people are overweight and she has just focussed on the two the media love.

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Umm........if you read my post PROPERLY you would have seen the words "Problem is, people without a medical condition are overweight because a) they overeat and b) they don't exercise enough."

All true Janie, like Lillibelle the minute i veg out i want to eat, especially if i am reading for some reason, luckily for me I have a lively Westie who loves his walks and won't let me off our daily 3 times a day outing, but i do feel better for it and what you say is right, overeating + no exercise = a big fat bum and all the rest

In my case...I didn't get a large bum,,I gained weight round my middle,,,it was horrible,,I looked pregnant and nothing fitted except elasticated trousers (I'm not a skirt/dress wearer) I looked like a TeleTubby (TUBBY being the key word

Yes I'm a trouser girl aswell Lillibelle, my weight goes straight to my bum & thighs but my waist stays reasonably 'slim', best go and take the terrible terrier out for a jaunt, not too far we do our big walk in the morning.

Of course they work, if you just take the pills and eat nothing else!

And if you get them from a chemist you can't afford to buy anything else!

Girly, just like you I like to snack while I'm reading - and I read an awful lot! My way round it is to choose a few grapes, still on the vine. By the time I've fiddled around with the damn things I've lost all interest!

I used to be very much a pear-shape but now I'm older I'm a definite apple. Slowly getting my figure back, but still need to lose more before I feel comfortable. The eating habits are becoming second nature; it's not always easy to make the "right" choices when I'm stressed, but at the end of the day it's only food!

Hope everyone's having a good day - I'm having a rubbish one, so I'm going outside with a cup of tea until I'm in a better mood!

Hope everyone's having a good day - I'm having a rubbish one, so I'm going outside with a cup of tea until I'm in a better mood! lol................me too Janie,,daughter-in-laws alarm woke ME at 5.30am..it eventually roused her at 6.15am !! My beloveds Dad is very ill and it's causing family friction because he (dad) is being cantankerous !! can't get a straight faffing answer from Drs at hospital. Son and missus are off to Greece Monday and driving me mental with their abject uselessness at organisation!! If it were left to them they would need the bloody TARDIS to get there !!,,So,,I'm a grumpystumps too xxxxxxx

Hello all,

I've just read through everybody's posts and I'm convinced that pills are not the answer. I did some homework on the 'net and you can't work out if the true reviews are true at all hence joinng this forum. Real people with real experiences and very much appreciated giving your time to reply.

{Message to Janey - I have tried to reply to your PM but it won't let me until I've written 30 posts on here....25 to go LOL}

No probs, Diesellily; you'll have to excuse my senior moment.......!!

I'm pleased you've come to the Forum; it does help knowing there are others who've been through it (and still are!).

I'm 50 now, and have probably tried most fads going! Yes, I lost weight on them, but never got down to my 'ideal' weight because I'd get bored - also I was very unrealistic about what my ideal weight was. I'm short (5'3") with quite large bone-structure. I'll never be the little waif I spent so long (and so much!) trying to become! I also never kept off the weight I'd lost, simply because I went back to my old habits. One of the diet aids back in the 80s was Bai-Lin tea (I bet you're too young to remember it!) I lost loads of weight using that..........a little while later the guy who marketed it was actually sent to prison because it was scientifically proven to be of no use whatsoever!!!! Gullible, or what? Point is, I lost weight because I was eating properly, NOT because of the tea!

I think the word "diet" conjures up really negative images, and "lifestyle change" sounds too precious - but that's what it is. When I first started, I cut out extra salt and sugar, then made other small changes like the lower-fat options etc. Even now, I have to ask myself "Do I really NEED this?" 99 times out of 100 the answer's no. The other 1 time I have it! Instead of comfort eating, I try to do something else nice for myself. A little scented candle costs just over a quid and lasts for hours, sitting in the garden with a cuppa is free!

You'll do it, Diesellily, you just need a bit of encouragement - and you'll certainly get that here!!!

Best wishes

Janie