Hey all....
Nik, you sneaky thing, you!
As long as it works why not cut back and save a little money?? Go for it!
I have a confession too. I took it ( or i should say retook it ) for about 10 days and then got the heebies after all the side effects hype and havent' been back on it! The good news is that i am still down in weight even off of it...working out and a little less food.
I invested my meridia money in an exercise bike. I am in a 14 but my body is really fighting these last few pounds. I am still over 200 and that's the only scale weight i care about. If i was 199.99 and in a size 14 , i'd be fine! weird huh? My ultimate goal is a size 9-10. I really would love to see about 155-160 on the scale ( at that weight i am in a size 9-10) but for now i just want to slide that old weight off that 200 bar ya know? I am going to add on quite a bit of cardio. I do go to curves 3-4 times a week,but since that is weight training too, i don't think i am getting enought "pure" cardio. I am going to bike for 45-60 minutes a day. Nik, i know you do major cardio, does it really just make the flab melt as they say? If you could share any tips you have ( since you are 14 months into this thing) i would greatly appreciate it
Well, everyone goodnight
Ms. MM
218/212/155-160

...but no such luck....still hanging around trying to figure this all out. I think I am at the point where I understand there are some underlying issues regarding weight loss.

It is fine and well to go on an eating plan and exercise, etc., but I know this is just a temporary bandaid as I need to explore why I eat so much...overeating is obviously a major coping mechanism for me (and others obviously) and until we get to the root of the problem, overeating remains a symptom of a bigger issue.

I feel I am pretty stressed: home life is challenging, with an almost 16 yr old (need I say more?)...a 10 yr old (who thinks she's 20) and a 3.5 yr old.....we are suffering from "step parenting" issues, and this is starting to wear me down as I seem to be the "referee" in most battles. I think I turn to food as it makes me feel better - at least for a while....but once I step on that scale it's a different story.

I am also in a "career transition" mode as I try to find a better job after just completing my MBA!

I am now over 200 lbs...which means I have gained back about 10 of the 25 lbs I lost while on Xenical. I am again "restarting" my eating plan today, and trying to focus on one meal at a time, one day at a time. I am doomed genetically, with both parents having suffered from heart problems, and with my mother who suffered from many complications due to diabetes and angina...you would think this would scare me into eating right but it doesn't!!!

Enuf moaning I guess...and did I mention it's actually snowing here today (Ottawa, Canada)....last week we were wearing shorts and enjoying 90 degree weather...go figure!

Good luck with you Meridia Nik...sounds like the "every other day" plan is a good one.

I will try and drop by in chat....hopefully that will keep me out of trouble (and the kitchen!).

Take care and good luck to all!

Frouf

P.S. ...and Cancun Mexico was WONDERFUL>...left the 3 kiddies at home and were pampered and spoiled in a 5 star resort....would love to be there right now!

Hey All,
Well, I did it. I am back on meridia! I noticed the difference in my appetite right away. I must have eaten a third of what i normally eat. I was really reluctant to take it again after all of the media attention it got recently,but it is the only thing that has ever worked for me! I have been battling my wiehgt big time since my second daughter was born. If i can take this at least long enough to get in a somewhat normal wieht range, then it's worth it. I have neve rhad any side effects from it--except really bad dry mouth--so i am going to stick to it. I'm sure I will be leaning on you guys ( especially you Nik, you being the "veteran" of the bunch) for support, so I hope we keep this topic going
MauiMamma
218/210.5/155 ish

5th week for me, and I am still going OK. I haven't lost a huge amount, but the side effects have gone. No more headaches, no more muscle aches (Except my back ,but that isn't the meridia, I think it is our mattress that needs replacing!!)

I have lost about 7Lbs. I haven't been back to the doctor yet to get officially weighed, and our scales are not the same as his..
My next doctors visit is on 6th May, so I've got another week to see how things go.

My appetite has shrunk so much it's not funny. I eat about a third of what I used to eat, and it's so good to feel full and satisfied after eating, not full to bursting, sick and ready to eat more.

I find that my cravings for sweet things has reduced so much. I used to go to the shop and buy chocolate almost every day, now I can leave the chocolate and not feel bad.

Froufy gal, you sound stressed. This battle with food is a hard one and when you add all the other stresses of life it can sometimes be overwhelming. I know how you are feeling...believe me. Just hang tough---you have NOT gained back all of the weight you lost so that is a real positive. Are you going back on Xenical? I wonder if everyone knows that people can take Xenical and Merida together. I have never met anyone who has though. I think it is good to explore why we eat but the basic fact is we still eat. I'm sure I could come up with twenty different reasons why I eat...ah well. You take good care of yourself...check in.

MauiMama, I had terrible dry mouth....but that was about it. If you nervous about Merida still, get checked by your doctor often. I really think the danger comes when people ignore the symptoms they might get. Glad to hear your appetite has decreased.

Glasseyes, 7 lbs is super. That is over a lb a week. I think your doctor will be very pleased. I too have a doctor;s appointment on May 13th. I am not that excited. After losing quite a bit of weight my weight loss has slowed down. We shall see what he says.

Keep up the good work. I'll be checking in

Hi Glasseyes, Froufy and Nik,
Froufy sorry to hear things are stressful for you right now )
Just hang in there...i love the saying when you hit rock bottom there is no where left to go but up!
Glasseyes i think 7 pounds is killer.....i would be so stoked right now with another 7 lbs. It doesn't seem liek a lot, but i bet if you took a pic of yourself before and after the 7 lbs, you could really see the difference!! My friend recently lost 11 lbs and it hit me how different she looks when i saw a picture of us back in december...hang in there
Nik, i am back on and doign fine. I have never had trouble aside from the dry mouth--so i am committed to stickign with it. So far, so good....
how much have you lost to date, nik??
bye all
Ms. MM

Well here I am again....still trying.....but it is hard.

I have started back on the Xenical as of last Monday the 22nd and I am determined to keep trying and do the best I can. I am also using Fitday (www.fitday.com) to keep track of my food intake and seem to be able to keep my calories between 1500-1700 daily with about 30% fat. (Okay we did eat out last weekend and I may have overindulged slightly!...but at movies last week I just had a couple of handfuls of popcorn instead of gorging on the whole bag and getting a refill!).

I find if I plan my meals and keep track of them it makes me more accountable and better able to eat properly. I have been bringing lunches & snacks to work to try and avoid grabbing whatever is around when I'm hungry.

I think I have already lost about 3-5 lbs (scale is fluctuating a bit and its PMS week) so something is working. No I am not exercising...yet.....that is something I REALLY NEED TO WORK ON!

The main problem is the candy dish on my desk. I am extremely WELL KNOWN and appreciated for having a candy dish on my desk. I try to fill it with lower fat stuff....but alas I find myself nibbling a little too much (today I have those marshmallow bananas and strawberries in it)...any ideas or suggestions.....I don't want to remove it....everyone who visits my office/desk expects their little treat????

Glad to hear everyone is hanging in...Yes Nik, I know you can take Meridia and Xenical together...but I hope I don't have to resort to that. I will be making another dr appt towards end of May - I have not been in a while due to "falling off the wagon". I hope to be close to where I was at my last appt. in January...and go on from there.

Good luck to all!

Frouf

Froufy, you are not going to like what I am going to say so either close your eyes for this paragraph or skip my message. YOU MUST GET THAT CANDY DISH OFF OF YOUR DESK NOW. There is just no other way....and don't tell me will power. I am not a believer in throwing everything out at home etc that will tempt me....I have four others in my family so I have had to learn to resist. But having candy (well I love candy) sitting right in front of you is just too much. Waaaaaaaaa I love those marshmallow bananas. Never have had the strawberries....could you send me some??? I too always had candy in my office. Now I still bring in things (tootsie roll pops, blow pops, and occasionally Hershey's kissses) but I leave them on the receptionist's desk. Either that or get something that you hate hate hate but others like. That would be a hard one for me....hmmmmmm maybe airheads. Anyway that is my advice---sometimes too honeys

You sound like you are doing well. We can't expect perfection from ourselves so I think it is great that you could portion the popcorn. That's what we all have to learn to do. Last Easter (2001) was really the first time I ever did that. Took a little of everything that I loved. Sometimes I can't do it and need to have a LOT of everything.

I was not suggesting that you take Merida and Xenical together...it was just a random thought. I hate drugs and the thought of those two together makes me nervous....unless it would make me thin very quickly.

Take care, froufy.........

..that candy dish has got to go....especially with the onset of PMS week ...lol

I do try to get stuff I don't like (which isn't much) and also lower fat stuff (trying to stay away from the chocolate and caramel goodies). My boss is a super sugar junkie and everytime he goes by my desk he pops a "couple" of whatever is there...and there are random visits throughout the day from others craving a little sugar.

The way my desk is set up I can't really move it farther away as this means everyone will literally be "invading" my space/cubicle and that won't work....my only compromise might be to move it to where my printer is....kind of behind me and to the side....at least out of sight, a bit awkward for others to reach...but doable???

I will see what I can do about it...and the strawberries are yummy...pink sugar sprinkled strawberry shaped marshmallows...need I say more?

Still hanging in...went to Pizza Hut for dinner...only one slice of garlic bread and the lowest fat menu choice (veggie edge pizza) with Diet pepsi....not too bad!

I know with PMS week looming the scale may not "register" the weight loss so I'm trying not to obsess about it for at least another week or so......

And I too would take the Meridia and Xenical and anything else for that matter if I could be skinny! oh well...I'll just keep trying for now!

What about replacing my candy dish with a celery and carrots dish? Wonder how that wiould go over?

Frouf

Hi everyone!
I had my first visit at the doctors in a month. I have been taking the Meridia for about 5-6 weeks. I have now lost 10lbs.
The doctor was quite pleased, and so was I....
I don't have to go back to him for a while now, but he has given me a goal of 22lbs by August. I am not sure if that's achievable, but I am going to try my darndest!.
All I have to do is start exercising..this is the hardest thing!


hope everyone else is going well!

Alright!! 10 lbs is an awesome achievement!! I am sure you will be able to do the 22 lbs by august
I am doing ok. I haven't had a weigh in for a while. I think i will get brave and go to the doctors scale by the end of the week...
Hey Froufy, Nik...long time no hear from
Have a good day all...
MauiMamma

That 10 lb loss must feel good, and I too feel you are well on your way to your August goal!

I am hanging in...and it's day 2 of an empty candy dish (been too busy to go shopping and replenish it)..so that's working..except for some grumpy low-sugar co-workers!

I am trying desperately to hang in while the PMS monster does his thing.....finding I am eating a bit more, but need to keep chewing..so trying to keep it low fat if possible (crackers, popcorn, pretzels, marshmallows, angel food cake, etc.) I am currently attacking a package of red licorice....yes it adds about 300 cals to my day, but only 1 fat gram.....so hopefully not too much damage being done.

So far looks like I'm down around 5 lbs....since about two weeks ago...but scale is fluctuating so will need to wait til next Monday to get a more accurate reading (will have to remember not to pig out too much on Mother's Day )

Anyhow..that's it for me...stressing out now about a MAJOR JOB INTERVIEW NEXT WEEK (have to write a paper and do a 10 minute presentation..no joke!). Will try and keep stress eating under control!

Later,

Frouf

Just a little update...
I am going into my third week and so far i have lost 6 lbs
I am shooting for 1-2 lbs a week. I would really love a big "jump start" but am scared to cut down on food to much and then have the rebound weight gain
Has anyone had that happend when they cut calories to low and then went back to a more normal way of eating ( from lets say 1200 a day to 1600) i'm always afraid even a small increase like that will make me blow up like a balloon
Hope to hear from you guys soon!!
MauiMamma

Just thought I'd drop in to ad to this thread. I have been taking Meridia (Reductil in Australia) for nearly two months now. The first month I lost 9lb and I think I have lost about the same this month (I have hopped on myown scales).

I had a slight headache at first, still have the dry mouth and have to eat lots of fibre to keep the bowels moving. Nonetheless I irmly believe the benefits outweigh these minor side effects.

I had quite major surgery in March and lost 14lb whilst in hospital, that was teh catalyst for changing my lifestyle. I started walking again during the recovery period. My dad had been singing the praises of Meridia (he's 75 and not concerned at all about the adverse press) so I thought I'd try it too. Like others I just don't think about food and do not feel attracted to junk food at all.

I still have about 70lb to lose but this time I pretty positive that I will reach my goal. I have joined a gym and have been working out 5 times a week.

Cheers,
Diana