General Diet Plans and Questions - Merida---Let's Try It Again In 2002

I am starting a new thread cause two pages is too long for me. I never thought I'd be starting one of these again---everyone had dissappeared.

Barbara, I will answer your question via email. Glad however that Merida is helping with your appetite.

Ruthieeeeeeeeeeee, there you are girl. Love your snow scene. How are you doing. Yes, don't take Merida till after doc has said OK.

Frosty, I was just thinking of you the other day. Welcome back. Wedding over, new job--WOW. And 4 lbs is not much to gain. I gained 12 lbs when we vacationed in Hawaii in November and have just managed to get back to where I was.

My goal for the rest of this month till Jan 1 is to stay at the weight I am now. I figure that I will eat at some parties and keep on my food program and exercise throughout the holiday season.

To date, I have lost 90 lbs, so I am satisfied.

Take care and post.

Nik,
Hi-Long time no chat!:)
I used to come to the chat room in the evening-but mostly stay in the forum now-and I wanted to pop in and see how you were doing. 90 pounds is wonderful! You have lost the equivalent of a junior high school child! A whole person!
You are one of the greatest women on this site-and wanted to wish you well as you go down.
I was off track for a while due to some minor health problems, but I am back on track this past week and have lost 4 already, and I feel better.
Take care,
Aphil
202/198/160

I'm am completely impressed that you have managed to drop those extra vacation pounds....Good for you!:D

I am struggling immensely due to my usual stresses.....(have an exam tonight...and I should really be studying...get the picture?).

I am hoping to "relax" and concentrate more on myself once this is over....and I CAN EVEN VISIT ON CHAT AND STAY UP LATE AND TOTALLY ABUSE MYSELF...isn't that wonderful? I can't wait!:lol:

Stayed the same this month.....which is good considering all I've been eating....have a few more lunches and social events this month..so it will definitely be challenging.

Anyhow...keep up the good work...you should be very proud of yourself....see you in Chat some evening soon!

Frouf:cool:

Thanks for wlcoming me back!

Heh, Frouf I noticed you live "way up in Canada" I am in Calgary, how bout you?

Nik - ditto to the congrats on you losing 90 pounds. You must feel wonderful! I think your goal until January is both realistic and attainable - I hope it happens for you.

Hey, way to go Nik! 90 pounds is awesome.

I go in for a D&C tomorrow followed by some hormone adjustments. After that I will be on my Doc's case re starting Meridia. Will do the lying down and being drugged heart test if necessary. Somehow I don't think I'll ever pass the treadmill test until I ditch some of this weight.

2002 is gonna be it! But I'll lurk and snoop and pop in before then!

...with the surgery and with the prescription from your doctor....hope all goes well.

Frosty...I'm located in Ottawa, Canada....just a hop skip and a jump away from you! ;)

Frouf:cool:

Good luck Ruth!

I am struggling this week, I am afraid that the christmas baking has won over my will power.

I think you have the right idea Nik - I hope to maintain my current weight over Xmas...I will be busy with that nevermind trying to lose.

Heh Frouf, Ottawa is a lovely city. I haven't been in awhile but have very fond memories!

Hope everyone is doing better than me!:dizzy:

Greetings.....boy is this a busy time of year. I made cookies tonight (for a cookie swap) and instead of trying just one, had to try three.

Ruthxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, I had D&C after coming back from Hawaii.....my doctor loves to do them---think they pay for her winter vacation. Hope everything went well.

I am also doing WW at Work since I figured another group could not hurt. Our leader told us that the average person gains 7-11 lbs. over the holidays. I could put that on overnight. I am trying to plan what days, I will splurge so hopefully will not be in an eating frenzy.

This is my first holiday season on my food program. Trying to enjoy but not to overeat.

Hope everyone is doing well. Take care.

Well, I managed to gain control of my eating - the total damage was +2 pounds. I guess that is better than the 11 you mentioned that the avg person puts on right Nik?
I know Christmas isn't over yet, but I am pretty sure I made myself sick and disgusted with over doing it.
Tonite is my office xmas party at a swanky restaurant, so you know what that will be like! Actually, it is only an appie and drinks kind of party so I will keep it under control.
My goal for Jan. 01 is to weigh 197 - wish me luck:^:

No, 2 lbs is nothing Frosty. I am just trying to do as well as I can. It is hard. I find myself reverting to old habits. Went to a cookie swap on Thursday night. Lots of yummy cookies came home and I, of course, had a few. Fine, not a big deal. But then Friday a.m. I eyed them first thing. Had the container open and almost took one but got a grip and made my Cherrios and milk. It is soooooooo easy to just keep on eating.

The party you went to is just the type where I love to eat. I love "pickies"

Unfortunately for me, I find that I can still eat quite a bit and not feel the effects. One would think that after almost 11 months my body would reject too much food.

Good luck during the rest of the season.

Went looking for this and found it on the 2nd page. Figure that I would post and let you know how I have been doing during this time of feasting.

Got on the scale yesterday and looks like I have gained 1 1/2 lbs. I can only look at this as a positive. I think about what I was doing last year at this time. The holiday season (Thanksgiving thru New Years Day) was a time for full scale eating, with the usual promises that on January 2nd, I would "be good". I have eaten at parties, eaten foods that are "special" holiday foods etc. But I have also been sticking to what is now my normal routine. Three meals a day and if I snack it is with healthy snacks

I do confess, however, that I will be glad when January rolls around. There is soooooooo much food everywhere.

Hope everyone has a safe New Year's Eve

Official weigh in this morning shows that I am starting 2002 at 199.5.
I am pretty motivated for the new year and to move out of neutral into drive for weight loss - who's coming for the ride???

Congrats Frosty---you must feel wonderful. I am recommitting since I have not done well over the holidays.

My New Year's resolution (although I do not believe in them) is to get back to exercising every day.

I did that for months and if I planned on every day then I usually got 6 days of exercise in.

I look forward to the coming months......

Take care.

So much for starting the New Year gung ho - I feel awful. I seemed to have managed to have come down with an awful cold. So, I plan to give into it today and relax to try to get rid of this...
How is everyone doing??

Thankfully the cold didn't last longer than a couple of days.
I even made it to the gym 2x!
Also, I have been making a real effort in planning and preparing healthy foods.
So far, I am right on track. Today was weigh in day and I lost my Christmas gain and am at 198 again.
How is everyone else?

I had a good week and weigh in at 197. I think the thing I am most proud of myself for this week is hauling my butt back to the swimming pool. Last night I attended a Deep Water Running class and loved it!

Frosty, you are doing great.....must feel really good.

I went to doctor on Friday. I am going to try 15 mg a day. I am nervous about it so asked him for 5 mg to take along with my 10s. I have been on Merida for just about a year and in Sept felt that they were not helping as much but did not want to take the 15mg then but will try it now.

He was pleased with my weight loss even though I have only lost 12 lbs. since I saw him in September. My blood work looked good so onward I go.

I have been exercising every day again and feel good about that but wish I had the energy to get to a pool. Your class sounds wonderful.

Good luck.....keep the faith.....we can do this.....

Nik - nice to hear from you, I was worried everyone had dissappeared.
Good luck with the 15 mg, I know this must be a tough decision for you. Maybe it will give you the kick start you need...
You sound a little down, everything ok?

Frosty, I added a five mg pill to my 10 as of yesterday. No adverse affects yet but it is only the 2nd day. I am doing OK. Have another health problem (hopefully minor) to deal with but sometimes it weighs heavily on my mind.

I am still doing the daily exercise. I came home tonight and was sooo tired but exercised anyway and I actually felt good.

We have lost everyone---just the two of us now. I wish I knew more people who took Merida. When I began this weight loss jouney last year there was only one other woman in my group that was taking Merida.

Hope you are doing well. Let me know.

I hope things are still going well for you with your new dosage Nik. I also hope your other health concern is nothing too serious!

I am doing fine. My weigh in is tomorrow am, and I have a feeling I just stayed the same. With my increase in activity, my appetite has also increased!

Hang in there, and please keep me posted.:)

Hi..I have been reading your posts for a few days now and I guess I didn't realize that there were only 2 of you. Well can I make it 3?

My name is Marsha. I am married. Mom to 3 daughters. I work with special education kids.

I have been on Meridia(10mg) since Jan 5th. At that time I was 227 and as of today I am 214.

I really haven't experienced that full feeling yet that everyone talks about, but I have had a dry mouth. No other side effects.

I have started journaling recently and am trying to get more motivated to exercise. Since starting the pill I have become more aware of what I am putting in my mouth and why. I have also doubled my water intake.

Any support you can give would be greatly appreciated and I am more than willing to return that support too. :) Hope you are all doing well. Talk to you soon.

Marsha

Hi Marsha....it was good to see you in chat.

I never experienced a full feeling with Merida. A woman who used to post here all of the time said it best. Merida took away her food thoughts. That is what it did for me. Prior to taking Merida, when I tried to cut back (hard to cut back from all the calories I was consuming per day), I would constantly think about food. What I could NOT eat and what I was going to eat. Merida took that away. I mean not totally but quite a bit.

Since Merida increases the seretonim level in your brain, you have a feeling of well being. At least that is how I understand it.

Just in case you do not know this Marsha, if you call the Knoll Company they will send you a registration card and you get three months of Merida for 1/3 off and the next three for 1/2 off. That is, assuming that your insurance does not cover it. Most do not.

I have lost 91 lbs in a year and am looking forward to losing another 25. It is slow going now so I must be patient. However, I really have adjusted to eating less.

Hope Merida works for you. Keep us posted and do come into chat. I discovered the chat room about a month after I began to post here. Since I am a BIG NIGHT EATER, it was the perfect thing for me.

"See" you soon.

Good Morning,

Thanks for the welcome!!!

Yes I do find that I am in better control of how much, when and what I eat. I have a much easier time of saying "NO" now. That was always my hardest problem. The other was eating out of boredom and loneliness. My husband is a truck driver and is gone overnight about 3 days a week. It is those nights after my girls have gone to bed that I would get bored or lonely and head to the kitchen. Now I have better control and am learning to channel my boredom and loneliness to other things. I am catching up on my reading, housework, doing yoga, and now I am learning sign language. Plus I am going to bed earlier. Can't eat if you are sleeping!!!

Now as for the rebate on my prescription. No my insurance doesn't help pay for it. I guess they would rather have me fat so I can have a heart attack etc. then have to pay those bills instead, but that is a whole other story.:)

I went to the doctor on Jan 4th and he gave me my prescription and the packet about Point of Change. It had rebate cards with it but they expired on Dec 31st. So I called the Knoll 800 number. I was told by the lady on the phone that they no longer offer that. So I will have to pay the $92 a month for it myself. Fortunately for me I can afford it and my husband doesn't mind. His philosophy is if I can pay X amount of dollars to get my hair and nails done each month. Then it certainly isn't going to hurt us to pay for the medicine that can give me the extra push I need to get to a healthier weight. I have heart disease on the paternal side of my family and high blood pressure and diabetes on my maternal side. My mother is a 2 shot and 1 pill a day diabetic.

Well enough rambling I am off to have my breakfast, play with my animals and get a walk in before I have to head back to work.


Hope you have a wonderful healthy eating day. Take care.

I will visit chat again soon!!

Marsha:D :D

Hi...It seems like there are only a few of you, but I thought I might add myself to the list. I took my first Meridia this morning and I think that I spent the whole day thinking about it so I haven't a clue if it had any effect. I feel stuffed right now, but that could be because I had a bit too much dinner at a delicious restaurant tonight!

I have lost and gained weight often in the past. About 2 years ago I lost about 30 lbs by sorta following WW and exercising rather obsessively. I maintained that loss for over a year and then the stresses of life hit me and I gained almost all of it back in the course of a few months.

I am currently seeing a doctor who specializes in weight management. They have an integrative program- nutrition, psychology, etc. I have lost about 9 lbs on my own but it never seems to come off as easily as in the past (probably b/c I am only working out 3 times a week or so- I want to make sure it is sustainable in the long term!) So today I took my first Meridia- I am hoping that eventually it helps take away some of the importance of food in my life. I would like to lose way more than the 20 lbs that I have gained...but right now I am focusing on getting back into some of my smaller clothes that I have had to abandon.

It will be nice to have a few other people to talk to while on this "Journey". I know of 2 other people who have taken Meridia-1 it didn't work for, she didn't feel a difference, and 1 had the nervousness, shaky side effects and discontinued use. I am hoping that it will give me the extra push I need!

Hope everyones weekend is going well...I will check in soon.

Marie

Welcome Marie. I was in the same type of program as you are now in. Well I am really still in the program.....went every weeks for 10 weeks with group headed by psychologist and saw a nutrionist also. Doctor that I see is and endricronologist who heads this particular hospital's obestity program.

For me what the psychologist said made the biggest difference and also exercise...... I am beginning my second year on Merida and other than dry mouth did not experience any adverse side effects.

Hope you have great sucess. Keep us posted.

Hi Marie, Marsha and Nik

I hate to be a party pooper but I am not going to continue with Meridia. I had my 6 month check up with my Doctor, and basically I have lost 10 pounds. I am frustrated because I lost 8 of those pounds in the first month!
I am going to try and do this without Meridia as it is too expensive ($125 in Canada a month!!) to keep on.
I want to wish you all the very best (and please come and visit sometime I plan to post on the Countdown to 175)

See ya
Frosty

Sorry to hear that Frosty. I will come and see you. I don't know what or where Countdown to 175 is but I fill find it.

Merida is expensive so I don't blame you one bit for stopping. Also why take a pill and risk side effects if something is not working.

Take care

Hi Everyone,

Frosty sorry to see you go! Goodluck in you weightloss journey wherever it may take you.

Marie-WELCOME!!!!

I am down 2 more pounds. I go to Doc on Fri for my 1 month checkup. The Meridia seems to be working for me. Having a little trouble with cheating the past few days, but I think it is due to that time of the month. Not craving so much today though as it is almost over. Do any of you still have that problem even though you are taking the Meridia? It seems like nothing can take away those cravings you get at that time of the month. OH WELL!!

Off to bed!! Goodnight everyone.

Marsha

:)

Hi all...So I wrote a fairly long message a few days ago and wouldn't you know that the minute I went to post it my computer had some sort of error and I lost it all :(

I feel like things are going pretty well. I definately feel like the Meridia is working for me...I have been trying to make smaller portions since I am a member of the clean plate club and I would likely finish a larger portion if it was in front of me.

I have felt alot more zippy...I am not sure that is the appropriate word but I often feel more energetic sometimes to the point where I feel a little bouncy. Being the worrywart I am, I was thinking my blood pressure was shooting up in just a few days but I took it last night at the gym and I am still in the normal range...which is good.

I think this week I am going to try and focus on eating more fruits and veggies...It seems like I have cut down my portions but have just been eating less of the the carb and protein part of my meals...a few fruits and veggies here and there but I felt like I was doing a better job before I started the Meridia this week.

Reading through some of the other posts I am thankful for my insurance. I got a 3 month supply for $7 through a Walgreens mail order prescription program...it seems like quite a deal!

I am interested in finding out if anyone knows more about the chemistry of the drug. I looked on their website but it doesn't seem to say much...I know what it does but I am wondering why...I am going to ask my doctor next time I see him but I didn't know if you all had any insight.

Off to my condo association meeting. I need to go and beg them for mercy...the exercise room is directly below my apartment and I get awoken about 3 days a week by my inconsiderate neighbors at 5 am who like to run on the treadmill with the tv blasting...time to enforce some courtesy rules...Bless their hearts for wanting to work out...I just want them to find a more appropriate time to do so!

I will pop in again soon...hope everyone is well!

Marie

Hi Marie,

Try going to the web link that I have posted at the bottom of the post and see if that helps answer questions about why Meridia works. I found it when I first started taking it.

Hope things work out for you at your meeting.:)

Marsha

http://www.obesity-news.com/merfaq.htm

Just checking in.

To answer your question, Marsha, I still get cravings and not just around that TOM. My doctor told me straight away that Merida was only an aid to my losing weight that is why I needed group meetings etc etc etc. When I was in Hawaii, I ate, and could eat everything. I started to take my Merida every other day so as not to waste it. I had forgotten if there were side effects if I stopped it completely so that's why I took it at all. Thank you for posting that site addy. I will check it out. I read all that I could get ahold of when I began a year ago but need to have my memory refreshed.

Zippy Marie. how are you doing. Think I feel a bit more zippy some days also. Also, think that I over worry about potential side effects and listen to my body too carefully almost expecting something. Again, one of my frustrations has been not knowing anyone who takes Merida so I could compare. I have just past the year mark for taking it and want to read what the studies say

I have been exercising every day ( one day off per week) and I am started to feel a bit better. I seem to be at a plateau and the exercise makes me feel like I am doing something.

Take care, keep the faith and take one day at a time.

Happy Saturday to everyone.

Hi Nickolas..good to hear you are exercising so much. That has been my biggest downfall. I am going to start going to our local YMCA on Monday morning with a co-worker that is trying to lose weight also. She isn't taking Meridia, but is taking Wellbutrin to stop smoking and is finding that it is working similar to the Meridia as far as weightloss goes. Her doctor told her it would. So we are going to be exercise buddies. We also exchange healthy recipes and give each other those WooHoo's when we need them and help each other through the hard days. My husband is good for support too, but we work opposite schedules so he can't always be right by my side when I need him to be. He does leave me encouraging notes and cards though.

I saw my doc yesterday for my 1 month checkup, and he was so encouraging. My BP was fine and my weightloss surprised yet delighted him. He is also a big supporter.

You are right. It is hard not knowing someone who is using Meridia. The internet has been my greatest source of strength when it comes to this.

I hope you all have a healthy eating day. Drink lots of water and try to get in some exercise.

Bye!
Marsha

Just checking in!

I have not given up my quest to get on Meridia. When I went to the doc about the chest crud he said "well, get better first and then we will talk about Meridai." He says my heart is in good shape even if I did flunk treadmill kindergarten! So there is hope of a larger group!

Thanks for the URL, GEM33. I'll take a look at it later as I have to run right now.

Keep on trucking, girls!

Good evening everyone (or should I say goodmorning!) I just got home from a date...we went to second city (the famous improv troupe in Chicago where alot of the people on Sat night live start out) and then out for sushi and then even a few kisses goodnight :) Whoo hoo...I had a bit of a headache and I told him so, and something had come up earlier about me not sleeping that much and I told him I was taking a medicine that sometimes had side effects...Anyways that got him curious and starting to ask questions but I am keeping my mouth shut for the time being...this was our third date...brutal honesty probably won't be coming for a while!

I have been doing pretty well with the eating...although I still am not doing as well as I should with fruits and veggies. I went to the grocery store today and bought absolutely nothing that would make a real meal...Sometimes nothing seems to appeal to me. Although I did get the ingrediants for pumpkin fluff (a low point recipe I saw on a WW site...) somehow dessert always seems to appeal!!!

It has been one week today on the meds...overall I feel pretty well although I certainly have been getting some mild side effects..although who knows if half of them I get just from worrying that I am going to! I was supposed to go see my nutritionist on Monday which I was really looking forward to for an official weigh in. My insurance originally approved 5 visits to the weight management doc/program I am in and I have used those up. They were supposed to get more approved but there has been quite a he said/ she said between the doc and my primary care physician...Apparently the letter requesting more visits is floating around somewhere besides to the appropriate people so I had to cancel my appointment and reschedule when I can get everything straightened out. Sometimes HMO's can really stink!

As part of the program they like you to see a psychologist...I saw mine for the 3rd time on Friday...she is really nice and I feel like I can talk to her about stuff...although I feel like all I do is talk...I can't say that she has given me any real suggestions...Maybe she is still gathering background info? Who knows...

Well I should head off to bed. My mom is going to be in town so I need to maintain my favorite daughter status and drive up to the burbs to see her! Hope everyone had a great weekend!!