question for mom2hunt

[rach1happygirl]

I really enjoyed reading you success story. A lot of things you said felt like you were reading my life. I've only been on phen for 1 day, and am very hopeful (and a little sceptical) but am really benefiting by reading the users healthy habits formed along w/ Phen.

My question is since your success story (nov. 2002) have you been able to continue to lose since being off Phen? Why wouldn't you stay on it until you reached your goal? I'm concerned that if I stop taking it, I'll gain the weight back or stop loosing. I know it has to do w/ lifestyle changes but I'm still nervous about that. (can you believe i'm worried about going off and I've only been on it one day!! what's wrong with me!? :rolleyes:

By the way, you look great. I'm very close to what you weighed when you started and seeing you now is quite the motivator! Good for you!

[mom2hunt]

Thankyou for such nice words!

Since November (I belive I was 155 at time of success story) I am now 142. So still losing. I honestly felt that after 4 months of Phen, I had already gained the tools I needed to get off and running with my weight loss journey and felt comfortable without it to continue moving forward. Don't worry about that at all now, everyone is different. You will know when you are ready to quit the Phen (stay on for at least 3 months).

THE THING TO REMEMBER: The phen doen't make you lose the weight, it works as an appetite suppresant, gives you extra energy, speeds up metabolism, and gives you cotton mouth (reminding you to drink your water). YOU are the one that makes the pounds fall off by allowing the appetite control to prevent you from unhealthy food choices, the extra energy gives YOU the opportunity to move around a little more (burning extra calories), the sped up metabolism can stay higher by your new changes in lifestyle such as exercise and activity, and YOU drank your water to continue to use as a tool to flush out the waste.

So after remember, YOU will make the weight come off, not the Phen. So make those good choices NOW and it will remain easy after letting go of the Phen. The weight can stay off easily as you make new desicions for life. The key is this....you need to burn more calories than you put in your mouth each day. DO NOT starve yourself, without food your body will feel starved and in turn will slow your metabolism down b/c it is fearful that it must save the food unsure of when it will be fed again. So the food will metabolize much more slowly and your weight loss will slow down. My trick was feeding myself every 6 hours with small meals. I stayed knowlegable of how many calories hit my tongue and made sure to burn more than that each day. About 3500 calories above and beyond what hits your tongue will equal a pound of weight loss. So eat but move more. WATER IS SOOOOO IMPORTANT too. Slowly move into exercise as it may be hard at first. Start with walks around the block and gradually increase time and distance until you are ready to move onto a bigger challenge. It took me 3 months to move onto something other than walking and by that time I had already dropped 45 lbs. It will go fast, stay motivated and ask me ANY questions along the way.

P.S. This site is what gave me the motivation and the strength to never give up. I am a changed woman. Stay right here for support. We will all help you reach Goal! GOOD LUCK! :)

[Frif]

You answered my question too! Thanks.. (off the subject) Rach are you from Long Island? ..Tricia

[rach1happygirl]

No, upstate NY, about 2 hours north of Long Island.

[rach1happygirl]

MOM2HUNT:
I really appreciate your words of wisdom. So many people on these forums have lost amazing amounts of weight and I keep thinking that the Phen is a wonder drug that can only be successful. But after being on it for 5 days now and only losing 2 pounds I realize it's me that will make it work. Your suggestions and recommendations were just what I needed to hear after weighing myself this AM and not seeing a loss. I'm hoping that because it's my time of the month, that may have something to do with it but it's hard to tell. My husband and I are like what you said in your story,,,,we love to eat out. I have to say it's the only thing that I really look foward to on the weekend. I'm also doing Weight Watchers along w/ Phen, so I'm really working on lifestyle changes. I thought about joining one of the challenges (did you ever do that, or just read the posts?) but there's a lot of chit chat on there that I don't really have time to read. I think I may look for a challenge buddy on my own, just so I have a reason to log on each day and know that there will be a message for me to respond to.

Thank you for your kindness. :)

[mom2hunt]

rach1happy:

I would love to buddy up, and have my sister chime in when she is available so that you two can compare stories because of the very close start date. She started 1/18/03, you started 1/15, right?

How much do you need to lose? My sister name is Lyndsey, she actually has a lot more to lose than me. She wants to lose about 150 lbs, so she really needs some support. She hasn't actually joined the site yet, still lurking as a visitor. But I believe that this is exactly what she needs.

I am excited! Lets get together and set up goals and goal dates.

[rach1happygirl]

That sounds great!

Here's a little bit about myself. I'm 31 years old. I've been married for 11 years (next month) with 5 year old twin girls. I have been on Nutri systems, Herbalife, Appetite control, and Weight Watchers. I've always been "heavy" but after the girls were born, I gained at record speed. I weigh as much now as I did when I was nine months pregnant with twins! It makes me sick to my stomach. My girls are now old enough to make remarks like "you can't wear that sweater mommy, you're tummy's too big".....or....."mommy you're too big for that chair"...or...(my personal favorite) "mommy, that underwear is getting too small on you, you're really growing!" because of course when i say that to them, they're so proud that they're growing. I don't want them to think looking like I do is ok or healthy.

I started at 208 and today is a week on Phen and so now i'm at 205. I'm 5'5" and my goal is 140-145. In my dreams I'd like to be 130, but I don't think it is a weight that I'd be able to maintain.

LINDSEY!!! you need to join so we can all encourage one another. No matter how much weight we need to lose, it's 1000 times easier when you know someone is waiting to hear what you've eaten the day before. I personally am on weight watchers, which i feel is great w/the Phen because it helps me to stay on the program. I am a very emotional eater. It's never because I'm hungry, it's usually my environnment that causes me to eat. I wasn't sure an appetite suppressant would work, but it seems to be, thankfully. It's a little early to tell though for sure.

I look foward to hearing from you and your sister. I usually log on in the AM, depending on my day. Then right to the treadmill, after getting my daily boost from the forums!

Talk to you soon. :)

[rach1happygirl]

Hey, how did your BR sugery go? I noticed you haven't posted in a while, is that where you've been?

If so, I really hope it went well, and you're feeling good. :heart: