First of all, I would like to go to a doctor and get a prescription for a weight loss medication, but my health insurance won't cover it and I'm a broke college student. So I'm trying to find something that actually works as an appetite suppressent. I'm doing the exercise fine (been going to the gym 5 days a week for almost a month now!), and trying to stick to a 1300 a day calorie plan, but I'm always hungry!!! I tried the (generic) Hydroxycut because it said it reduced appetite, but I think it actually made me more hungry. Has anyone else found a supplement that works?

If you are going to the gym 5 days a week, you may be eating too few calories - which explains your hunger. You should probably aim for 1600 to 2000 calories per day. This may sound counteractive, but if you consume too few calories, your body will reduce the rate at which it burns them, so you get less benefit.

The best thing to do is experiment with how much food you eat, also taking a close look at the types of foods you eat to make sure the calories are rich in nutrients and fiber. Take a multivitamin for good measure. Some foods, such as high protein choices, help with hunger. If you'll post your average daily diet, some of our members might help you make changes to help your success.

Another tip is to stretch your meals out into 6 mini meals instead of 3 regular meals. This allows you to nibble throughout the day and keep your hunger at bay. Drink lots of water, or try v-8 juice to help keep you filled up. The hunger really does go away after your body gets used to the changes.

Some of the over the counter pills may help with hunger, but usually come with potential dangers, too, because of all the crap they include, and that is the real problem. If you want prescription medications, have your regular doctor write the prescription, but have it filled at drugstore.com and save a bundle of money.

I don't personally feel any pill is going to work unless you actually, deep down, want it to work. And if that's the case, you can lose weight without a pill. Like Suzanne said, you could be taking in too few calories. You can't just pick 1300 calories a day for everyone and decide that's a healthy number. It's going to depend upon your current weight and your activity, among other things. When I was over 200 pounds, it wasn't uncommon for me to consume perhaps 2000 calories a day.

If you're hungry, by all means, you need to eat. But also be sure that it's hunger. Sometimes it's just the emotional need for food because it's what we've always used to satisfy something other than hunger. In which case, an appetite suppressant will be worthless anyway.

Thank you both for responding. I am doing the six small meals a day thing, as my trainer told me about that. But the problem is, I'm used to just constantly eating. That's my main problem, and that's the reason I'm so heavy. I eat at work, I eat at school, I eat at the computer, I eat while watching TV, etc. I'm trying to break those habits and just eat at the kitchen table but I'm used to eating like every fifteen minutes if I (thought) I felt hungry! I figured an appetite suppresant would help with that. I guess I can try going up to 1600 calories, the only reason I was at 1300 was that my trainer recommended that. (I weigh 210.)
Here is my average daily diet:
Breakfast - Whole grain cereal, skim milk, piece of fruit
Snack - Yogurt
Lunch - Sandwich on whole grain bread, salad, piece of fruit
Snack - Cheese stick
Dinner - Chicken or fish (I don't eat red meat), vegetables, potatoes
Snack - Nuts

I had the same problem. Especially the "eating at the computer" bit. What I did was substitute it with sugar free hard candy and gum...something to keep my mouth busy that won't constitute a lot of calories throughout the day. You can chew a piece of gum (sugar free or not) for a long time for just a minimum of calories. It's mostly that our mouths have been trained to do something. But by changing to the gum, I've found that after months and months of it, I'm not even reaching for the gum as often as I used to. I'm slowly retraining my thinking I guess.

AlmostHeaven made some really excellent points. I totally believe that even if/when they DO "work", appetite supressants aren't really effective in the long term. WHY? Because a lot of us don't eat because of stomach hunger, but rather because of head hunger and/or because the food is there and we want it because we like the taste or whatever. (I know there's been plenty of times in my life where I won't even be the slightest bit hungry, but I'll be offered ice cream or cookies or something like that and that would be that...)

Michael Fumento in Fat of the Land commented that the public isn't waiting for a pill that will reduce their appetite and make them eat less - they're looking for a pill that will let them eat whatever and however much they want and STILL lose weight. I think he has a pretty good point there...

Besides think of it this way - appetite suppressants (both OTC and prescription) have been around for DECADES and yet there are more fat/obese folk than ever. What does that tell you - personally, it tells me that they don't work for the vast majority of the people...

Adding on to the mouth training bit....

I used to be a rabid smoker (2 to 3 packs per day - YIKES!). I quit because of finances at a low point. Good enough reasoning, since I never took it up again. Smoke free since June 16 2001. I remember the exact date of that but not the exact date I decided I was going to lose weight and get healthy. LOL

But I also used to smoke more at the computer. I always wanted something in my mouth....and in the car. Just being idle, sitting...and I wanted my mouth to be busy, either eating or smoking. If I absolutely feel a need to munch on something and a piece of hard candy or gum won't get it, I go with fruit...strawberries or cantaloupe are really low in calories for the quantity. They can keep my mouth busy for quite sometime and not put a dent in caloric intake for the day. But these days, I have tons of packs of gum sitting around and have slacked off on chewing it. It will last me a long time at this rate. LOL And I've noticed that I so rarely eat at the computer anymore...generally only when I'm in a rush and need to eat lunch before leaving the house, but also need to get something done on my computer. Then I'll combine them. But no more mindless munchies while sitting here. Though I do tend to find my mouth moving to the words I'm reading or typing these days.

Just went back and reread your last reply. About the trainer...I believe someone here was recently certified as a trainer? Mel? Or was it someone else? Anyone know?

I think picking a trainer is like picking any other professional. You can get good ones and bad ones. I don't know this trainer. But from experience, unless you're extremely tall, I don't feel that 1300 calories at 210 with the level of activity you're doing, is healthy. But I'm not a doctor...and I certainly don't play one on TV. I'm just going by my own experience and everyone differs. But that is a very low caloric intake. The lowest recommended generally is 1200, never to drop below that. So you're almost at the extreme low end. And a person generally doesn't start at the low end.

Mel and Meg (both of whom you can find at Maintainers and Ladies who Lift) are both certified trainers Meg just got her cert! (Congrats Meg!!!)

About the trainer...well it was a trainer at Bally's, and when I signed up it came with the "Body Gem" (I think that's what it's called) metabolic assessment. Then they give you an eating plan based on your metabolism. So I do believe that's where he got the 1300 calories number. I don't know how accurate the test is but perhaps I just have a really slow metabolism!

And on that note, do you guys recommend using the online calculators to determine your calorie intake? Most say that I need 2050 a day to sustain, so 1550 to lose. How accurate are those things? I've used them at fitnessmagazine.com and shape.com and self.com and lots of others.

from personal experience "diet pills" can cause both weightloss and supress appetite. are they worth the side effects on the other hand probably not. yes they work for some as with me really well but i suffered for it not only in my bank balance but i became addicted to the dream of a pill curing my problems made worse by the fact i could feel the benefits and see the scales changing. i till this day take them varying brands and even mixing them because as soon as i come off them i balloon up by about 20lbs in a matter of a few weeks

I have also had products work to help curb my appetite, to help me lose weight, etc. But the bottom line is, you have to have willpower as well. I think anything with a stimulant in it (i.e. the Hydroxy, Xenadrine, etc) is going to help boost your calorie loss, but not necessarily in a healthy way. Chances are, these products do a lot of damage to your body, mess with your blood-pressure, etc.

I stay away from those, even when I'm having a low-energy day, opting for some of that sublingual B-12 (and a good variety of vitamins I take at breakfast) to help with that.

You also have to teach yourself to have good eating / exercise habits, or all the miracle drugs in the world will not help you. What happens when you stop taking those pills after losing your weight and revert back to bad habits? You gain it all back.

It's not about a "diet" it's about making new habits, making a life change.

I did the body gem, and I weigh 170ish, and am 5 feet 8 inches; it told me to eat 1800 calories just to sustain my body. I think your body gem reading was screwed up.

According to one calculator I found, you would need 2133 calories just to sustain yourself if you are 5 feet 4 inches and 210 pounds at 30 years old.

I think it's in the best interest of your trainer for you to drop weight fast, because then you're more likely to reup with another 6 week session.

Those online calorie calculators have been discussed at 3FC before. IMO up to, say, 150 pounds they are probably fairly accurate, but after that they become pretty screwy to say the least, because basically it looks as though they take your body weight and multiply by some number or other, whether you weigh 100 or 200 or 300 pounds.

Personally what I would do is take my 'goal' weight - say 145 pounds - and then multiply that by 10-12, depending on how active I was (lower for less active, higher for more active) giving a calorie range of 1,450-1,740/day.

This month's issue of Shape magazine had a worksheet to use to calculate the number of calories needed to maintain current weight - you would take that number and reduce it by 500 calories to get your daily goal intake for losing weight:

1. Your weight in pounds _____________ divided by 2.2 =_____________
2. Your height in inches____________ x 2.54 = ______________
3. 9.6 x # from Step 1: ______________ = _____________
4. 1.8 x # from Step 2: ______________ = _____________
5. 4.7 x your age in years _____________ = ______________
6. 655 + # from Step 3 _________ + # from Step 4 __________ - _____ # from Step 5 ___________ = __________ (this is your resting metabolic rate)

7. Multiply your RMR by the appropriate activity factor:
* If you are sedentary (you do little or no activity): RMR x 1.2
* If you are slightly active (you perform light exercise/sports 1-3 days a week): RMR x 1.375
* If you are moderately active (you enjoy moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days a week): RMR x 1.55
* If you are very active (you engage in strenuous exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): RMR x 1.725

RMR___________ x activity factor_____________ = ________________
(This is the minimum number of calories you need each day to maintain your present weight.)

8. # from step 7 __________ - 500 = ________________(this is the minimum number of calories you need each day to lose 1 lb a week.)