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MartyZ

Need advise - weight loss medication

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I am overweight, according to BMI I am morbidly obese.  My doctor recommended a new weight loss drug, Contrave.  I see no issue with this except the fact that it is a combination of 2 other drugs, an antidepressant and an anti-addiction drug.  I am worried that next time I apply for PPP they will see this on my record and it would disqualify me.  Does anyone have any experience or knowledge in this area?  Would NJ be able to use this drug against me to deny me my rights?

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I know you want to believe that's true but it's your food choices.  You can eat a lot of vegetables, lettuce and lean meat without getting fat.  You need to see a nutritionist to teach you how to eat.  

 

Do yourself a favor before you do anything.  Take 1 week and make a food log, write down everything, don't fool yourself write it all down including gum, tic tacs, beer whatever.  Anything that you ingest goes in the log.  Take a look at the end of week and you'll see it's your choices rather than quantity.  It takes a lot of low quality food to fill you up and remember the calorie density of poor food choices.  

 

I dumped 100 lbs 15 years ago by eating until I was happy but good food.  

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You may have to watch out for Question 26 (may be 21, 25, 26 too) on STS-033 form.  Your health should be your priority, but I am always wary of any drugs that disclaim side effects such as "suicidal thoughts etc"...Drugs like that tend to cause more issues than problems they solve. 

 

In addition to what other posters recommended,  if your work/personal life allows,  goto middle of nowhere like the national park, and just keep walking .. slow, take your time.. 

 

However, if your Doc diagnosed any underlying issues (not just weight gain) that can ONLY be resolved by drugs like that, you know what to do. 

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That's my problem, I can't stop eating.  I am very weak when it comes to food.  This drug is supposed to curb my appetite.

this is gonna sound stupid....but don't knock it unless ya try it. try a hypnotherapist(for the eating part anyway). they've done very well helping a couple of my friends quit smoking.

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this is gonna sound stupid....but don't knock it unless ya try it. try a hypnotherapist(for the eating part anyway). they've done very well helping a couple of my friends quit smoking.

I have tried hypnotherapy for smoking and that didn't work.  I am not against trying it for eating though.

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I have NEVER seen a successful weight loss drug. I'm lucky to have been born naturally slim. No matter how much I eat, I stay the same weight. 

 

There are two things that I have seen work:

 

1. Surgery. Get your stomach stapled. If you do this and don't cheat, you WILL see results. This causes pain and discomfort if you try to overeat.

 

2. Cardio. One of my friends was obese, and he tried different OTC pills and supplements, but nothing worked. He joined in on one of my friends workout routines, and he lost significant weight, and gained a lot of muscle too. He is still a big framed guy (he is about 6' 2") but he has a shape and only a mild gut. Plus, when working out, you don't have to cut down on your food intake (much), you only need to make diet changes (by removing/ replacing certain truly unhealthy items). It has also done wonders for his self-esteem, and he now looks forward to working out.

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once the initial weight is lost you may be able to enjoy an active lifestyle, the idea is not to rely solely on the meds forever to control weight. I understand somewhat form being 320 pounds 3+ years back. Once the initial weight was dropped it was all about adjusting the lifestyle and eating habits to keep it off. I felt the rath this winter, layed dormant, kept eating, and gained 20 lbs back. Already started trimming up when it got nice out. i wish you the best of luck man!

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Thanks for all your advice guys.  I will do some more research and make my decision.  Doctor said it's not addictive so I figure I can try it for a month or so and see the results.  I guess I will have to chance NJ trying to use this drug against me as my health is more important.  Worse case I will have a letter from my doctor ready to go in case I have to answer "yes" to any of the questions.  I have tried many diets before, the only one I was successful with was the south beach diet, lost 35 lbs but gave myself gout, then gained everything back.  Exercise is the best option and I used to work out regularly when I was younger but now it's hard to find the time. Again, thanks for all your advise.

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Weight loss is as simple as kcal in vs kcal out. Reduce your intake of calories to your maintenance level, ex: 2kcal/day as maintenance. Maintenance will depend on person to person as build such as height, metabolism rate, ect., will vary.

 

Also exercise along side diet will help with weight reduction. Cardio is probably the best option such as HIIT or as simple as a 2mile/day for 3-4 days a week.

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There is a difference between cardio (cardiovascular exercise) and weight loss exercise. Cardio is for your heart, and is induced at higher heart rate to strengthen the heart muscle. Fat burning exercise is done at a lower heart rate. It's based on age and I believe weight. I'd strongly recommend seeking out a professional nutritionist, and a personal trainer experienced in slow paced weight loss. If you lose too much too quick (i.e. Biggest Loser), you will be swimming in loose skin. Slow and steady. Good luck from a former fat guy.

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I know you want to believe that's true but it's your food choices.  You can eat a lot of vegetables, lettuce and lean meat without getting fat.  You need to see a nutritionist to teach you how to eat.  

 

Do yourself a favor before you do anything.  Take 1 week and make a food log, write down everything, don't fool yourself write it all down including gum, tic tacs, beer whatever.  Anything that you ingest goes in the log.  Take a look at the end of week and you'll see it's your choices rather than quantity.  It takes a lot of low quality food to fill you up and remember the calorie density of poor food choices.  

 

I dumped 100 lbs 15 years ago by eating until I was happy but good food.  

+1 

I've been losing weight successfully for the first time ever. there is a free app called 'my fitness pal' enter EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth.

it tracks calories, and nutrition info, and has helped me start making better choices. i was never good at portions, but what you think is a healthy choice quite frequently is not. (unless you have training, for the most part we don't know how to eat properly anymore) real eye opener to see the 'healthy choice' is anything but. Also -  do not go by the FDA food pyramid, or whatever it is called - the excessive eating of grains is what farmers use to fatten livestock.  Good Luck - from a fellow fat guy who is finally working on losing it.

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I am on metformin now, I don't need a different diabetes medicine, yet.  Right now the focus is weight loss.  I am still trying to decide, weighing the pros and cons of the medicine.  I know this might sound like an excuse but I really don't have time to work out more than 1 day a week.  I used to walk 2 miles at work during lunch but it's too hot for that now.  I need to try to find time for the gym and will definitely talk to a nutritionist.  right now I am trying to figure out if I should also take the drug or not as an added measure.

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The following is the disclaimer mentioned on the front page of the mentioned drug. I know every drug has some side effects and NJ has ridiculous (and outright unconstitutional) process, but not sure how a Doc can write a letter for firearms with this disclaimer. And if PD will accept it.

 

I am not suggesting any one of us will experience the said side effects, nor am I judging or implying things. Regardless of facts and circumstances, its all about perception, unfortunately. 

 

 

 

CONTRAVE can cause serious side effects of suicidal thoughts or actions. One of the ingredients in CONTRAVE is bupropion HCl. Bupropion has caused some people to have suicidal thoughts or actions or unusual changes in behavior, whether or not they are taking medicines used to treat depression. Bupropion may increase suicidal thoughts or actions in some children, teenagers, and young adults within the first few months of treatment. If you already have depression or other mental illnesses, taking bupropion may cause it to get worse, especially within the first few months of treatment.

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I can tell what worked for me to drop nearly 90lb. Mind you, I have more to lose, but for me what worked best has been food.

 

I don't count calories, but I watch WHAT I eat, not how much I eat.  I started with a paleo diet and eliminated nearly all carb based food, processed food, etc. I would eat all the meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, etc that I could but I wouldn't touch bread, pasta or any wheat based products, avoided most if not all grains, sugar, soda, and so on.

 

At the same time I started being really serious about walking the dog twice a day, then increasing my activity level and exercise more, but really it is first above the type of food you eat. You don't need to starve yourself, that never works, you need to feed yourself food that actually does something useful for body instead of most of the garbage we call food nowdays.

 

I'm not a fanatic about it, I'll have a piece of cake or some ice cream or whatever now and them, but they are treats, and really most of the time I rather have bowl of berries or some other fruit anyway.

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Not sure if this was mentioned yet.  Contrave's main competitor is a much better drug (from my research into the company that developed it) - ask your doctor about Belviq.  

 

It's supposed to have less side effect and be more effective.

 

But to echo what's been said here, diet and exercise are still very important.

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Dont take the drugs. Its not the correct way. These pills never are. Anything but pharmaceutical drugs. Maybe that lapband thing. A guy that worked for me atleast ten years ago. His wife. Way over weight. Same thing. Heart pills and diabetes. After the stomach surgery she was just about off of every pill. Unfortunately she just died a couple months ago. From being over weight for so many years. The ticker went out on her.

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Counting calories is really the only reliable way to lose weight in my opinion. I'm currently down about 30 lbs in the past 2 months simply by counting everything I put in my mouth and running 3 miles every morning. I realized just how many calories I was eating while picking through the fridge and cabinets in the afternoon between work and dinner. A pop tart here, a granola bar there, before you know it you've consumed several hundred calories without noticing. Now I consume 1,300-1,500 calories per day while burning 500-800 on my runs. It's the simplest way to know if you're doing it right.

 

As others have said, changing your eating will lose you some weight, but once that plateaus, you MUST include exercise. If you don't want to count calories, start by at least changing your habits. Switch to diet soda (or preferably water), no more cream and sugar in coffee, absolutely no fast food, etc.. If you're big enough to start, that'll help you drop a few pounds right off the bat. But beyond that, either wake up early or deal with the sweat and take a 45 minute walk every day. It doesn't seem like much, but walking consistently does wonders as far as getting you healthier overall. And obviously, the more you burn, the more you can eat.

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there is always time to take care of your body. log EVERYTHING you eat in myfitnesspal. you might need to cut back on certain things to work out but look at the big picture. What good is your busy schedule if your only taking years off your life by not taking care of your body. take baby steps on eating healthier. just remember, its hard in the beginning but it gets easier.

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There are a bit more things, but start with these two...

 

STEP 1: DIET

 

Since you're morbidly obese, skip the chemicals and start with improving your diet. I recommend you doing the paleo diet, where every meal consists of:

 

Protein

Vegetables

Natural fat - 5 almonds or slice of avocado

Fruit - optional

 

Eliminate all of the following:

 

Grains

Dairy

Sugar

Legumes

 

STEP 2: EXCERCISE

 

You need to work out at a minimum 3x a week to see any results. Do mostly resistance training (weights), as that burns more fat and you probably have very little muscle. After working out make sure you have a whey protein shake within 30 minutes.

 

Also start getting into the habit of moving/walking around, as you probably have a sedentary lifestyle.

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I'm morbidly obese on the BMI scale, but so are most athletes.  I'm not saying i'm an athlete, not even close, but I actually have a lot of muscle, my problem is that I have a tractor tire around my waste.  I'm 6' 2", 290 lbs.  54inch chest and 44 inch waste, so i'm not all fat.   I can power squat over 1,000 lbs, free squat over 350 lbs, bench 250 lbs, and I can easily handle a 1hr spin class.

 

What i'm saying is that I literally have no time to go to the gym anymore (full time job, 4hrs a day in traffic, part time college, wife and 2 kids) and I have never been able to stick to a diet (I just love food too much), but i'm trying.

 

That is why i'm looking at different options, you guys did however convince me to stay away from the drugs so I will start by trying to reduce my calorie intake and stop eating garbage.

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You'd be surprised how much you can lose by cutting out starches like breads and fried foods. Start with that. I know it's hard because we all love bread, but...

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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You'd be surprised how much you can lose by cutting out starches like breads and fried foods. Start with that. I know it's hard because we all love bread, but...

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

If you don't exercise regularly, carbs are your enemy. If you can't eliminate them, there are at least healthier options. 40 cal bread, CarbSmart ice cream, etc..

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