I Lost 50 Lbs in Four Months

Like many people across the country and the world for that matter, I had a weight problem. I started out like many people just being about five to ten pounds overweight. I had battled with these extra few pounds for years, but because it was only five or ten pounds, and my BMI (body mass index) was within the normal range, it was not much of a concern. BMI is a system that is widely used by doctors today to measure an individuals body fat Wikipedia.com.

I did exercise pretty regularly. I went to the gym three or four days a week where I spent about 20 minutes on an elliptical trainer and about 20 minutes weight training. I never paid much attention to my diet and pretty much ate whatever I wanted. When I was younger, my metabolism and the exercise that I did kept me in what I consider pretty good shape, except for those extra five or ten pounds.

As years passed, my job changed from involving more physically activity to being more sedentary. Also, my hours at this sedentary occupation increased as I began to work 45-55 hours per week. As a result, I had less time to work out and was only going to the gym 2 times a week do the exact same work out that I had always done. My metabolism began to slow down, as it does with most people as they get older. Even though I was aware of these facts, I still did not change any of my eating habits. The five to ten extra pounds turned into ten to fifteen extra pounds.

Again, since it was only ten to fifteen pounds, I was not too concerned and just told myself it was a result of getting older. This pattern continued, and the ten to fifteen extra pounds turned into fifteen to twenty extra pounds. Before I knew it I was not longer just a few pounds over weight; I was sixty to seventy pounds over weight, and my BMI put me in the obese category.

I started my weight loss program by increasing my workouts to 4 days a week and increasing my aerobic workout to about 45 minutes. I also began to try to watch what I ate. I was able to lose approximately 5 pounds in about a two month period of time, not exactly stellar results.

The hardest thing for me was to maintain a healthy diet. I decided to try some of the over the counter weight loss medications. I tried products that were suppose to increase your metabolism such as hydroxycut and others that were suppose to curb you appetite such as Dexatrim and Hoodia. None of the products that I tried worked for me, and over the next four to five weeks I lost only two more pounds.

I decide to make an appointment with my doctor to see if there were any other options available to me. After a long consultation with my doctor, he suggested a medication call Phentermine Wikipedia.com.

Before my doctor would prescribe the medication he needed to ensure that I was healthy enough to take it. I was given an EKG (electrocardiogram) on my heart, a blood test and a blood pressure test. I was given a one month prescription and scheduled for a follow up appointment two weeks after I began taking the medication.

Phentermine worked wonders for me. It decreased my appetite and increased my metabolism. While on the medication I continued to exercise four to five days a weeks and tried to watch my diet. In the first month I took the medication, I lost about twenty pounds. After having no adverse side effects, my doctor prescribed the medication for me for three more months with follow up appointments every two to three weeks.

I continued to lose weight at a fast pace, approximately fifteen pounds my second month and ten pounds my third month. By the forth month I was on the medication, it began to lose its effectiveness, and I lost only about five pounds.

I have been off the medication for about two to three months now, and I have not gained any of the weight back. I have had to change my lifestyle, but I don't mind too much. I continue to work out four to five time a week and try to watch what I eat in order to make sure that I never go back to the way I was.

I learned through my experience that most of the hype over all of these over the counter weight loss medications is just that --hype. If you are really interested in losing some weight, use a great resource that almost everyone has, your personal physician. There are many different methods and weight loss programs that your doctor can use to assist you in losing weight. My doctor prescribed Phentermine for me, and it worked great. Phentermine is not for everyone, so consult your Physician to determine if it is right for you or if other doctor prescribed weight loss programs are better suited for you.

Sources:
Wikipedia.com. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phentermine. Retrieved 10/02/2007.
Wikipedia.com. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index. Retrieved 10/02/2007