So I really need to lose weight. I exercise at least three times a week, although that's difficult as I work full time and even though the gym I belong to is open 24 hours, sometimes I'm so tired when I get home, I just can't make myself go. I'm working on eating better, although I have a lot of restrictions due to allergies and just plain can't-stands. I've been replacing some meals with smoothies or shakes - sometimes a Slim Fast chocolate protein mix with soy milk and a banana and other times a veggie/fruit smoothie involving a cup of baby spinach leaves, a banana, and a mixture of whatever fresh fruit is in season, usually a plum, a peach, or mandarin oranges/pineapple in cups when nothing else is around. But I feel like I'm not doing enough, mostly because like I mentioned before with the allergies and can't-stand-foods, I don't eat very healthily. I do the best I can, but sometimes I just can't stop myself from having some chips when I get home (although I do buy baked ones) or I can't not eat the whole pizza when I get to have one. It's just so hard.

So what I was wondering is if any of you take any diet pills and what you think about them in general?

I'm going to be starting on Forskolin soon, which is a natural diet supplement that comes from the coleus plant. You know, those plants with the super pretty brightly colored/patterned leaves? I'll pop a picture down below. Anyways, you're supposed to find a version with at least 20% pure forskolin and I found one that gets good reviews, is made in the US, and has a 100% money back guarantee, so I'm going to try it. I've tried green coffee bean, raspberry ketone, pretty much any natural supplement that's been out there, but nothing seems to do what it promises. It's supposed to help you to lose an average of 7lbs. a week without changing anything about your lifestyle, which sounds great and is within a healthy range of weight loss. It doesn't promise something ridiculous like 20lbs. a week which some of them say, so it makes me think better of it. I figure with giving up soda, eating better, excersizing more, and taking this, I should lose something shouldn't I? So anyways, wish me luck.

Now stare at the beautiful coleus...

Hi! First off, I am absolutely not judging you. I consider myself fat and I am coming to you with the best intention.

First and foremost, the diet pills/hunger cut pills will not help. There are no medicinal plants, magic tricks, special herbs or anything else of the sort to make you lose weight without making real dietary change. Working out will not make you lose weight on the long term. It helps to gain muscle mass. If you do weight lifting, it makes you work AFTER you finished working out (it's cool - not going to lie). Coming back to the plants, some of them can help you with vitamin absorption and "filter" fat. But to the point of making the job for you? Rather doubtful :c

You said that you were using protein powder in your shakes. Are these non-GMO, little to no sugar and high in protein? Big businesses tend to make them look healthy but they are not. I use vegan powder when I really need to do it because I'm convinced that liquid food cannot help you going through the day on a long term basis.

You also said that you were eating pizza and chips (but don't we all?) Do you keep track of them? Do you consider that you can sit with a bag of chips and eat it all? Do you control your portions? Food is the key. It gives you the fuel that you need and oddly enough, you don't need much to achieve what you need to get everyday. Fruits are very good, but they are also caloric and high in sugar. That's the reason why you can eat a mountain of veggies, but keep a light hand on fruits. I think you said that you've taken SlimFast product. Have you checked their % of sugar and fat? You need to avoid any type of double digit % with processed food for sugar, fat, sodium and carbs.

I really hope your weight loss journey will get better c:!!

pretty much covered everything, but I will repeat what she said: don't bother with diet pills. Even those that work are just a temporary solution to something that requires a change in the way you think about food and your lifestyle in general. I've struggled with weight for a while and have finally begun to lose a decent amount and keep it off (even though I have some ways to go) by tracking every single calorie I consume on the My Fitness Pal app. It's free and easy to use. Limit your intake of sugar (I am still guilty of eating a bit much); you really should have no more than 35g of processed sugar a day, if that. Fruits are good and though high in sugar, have the fiber to keep you full and the vitamins to keep you nourished. In general, though, you will want a nice balance of fats, proteins, and carbs--your macros. The My Fitness Pal app will help you track these easily.

Above all else, though, to lose weight, you need to eat less than you burn each day. To find out how much you need to maintain your weight--what your body needs simply to complete basic functions--go here to calculate your BMR. Another important number is your TDEE--what your body burns simply through everyday activities. If you want to see a change in your weight, try to eat somewhere between 300-500 less than your TDEE each day. If you need to, reduce your daily calories slowly. You can calculate your TDEE here

Once you do this, you'll have a better idea of what you're up against and may take comfort in knowing that weight loss really is just a numbers game---calories in vs. calories out. Losing weight itself isn't hard; teaching yourself to look at food in terms of calories, limiting your portion sizes, and understanding how to make healthy and manageable choices are the challenging parts. The good news is that you really don't have to sacrifice any foods to lose weight, so long as you eat a variety of good food regularly. That means that if you want pizza on the weekend, you should be able to eat it just fine and not gain weight (and still keep losing) so long as you factor it into your daily intake and adjust your diet the following day (and the day before) accordingly. I do highly advise against drinking calories, though (with the exception of milk). It adds up fast. If you drink soda, try to replace it with water. Lemon tastes wonderful in water!

Good luck!

You've gotten a lot of good advice so far, so I won't go all broken-record on you here (though I will say that I wholeheartedly agree that diet pills are sketchy at best and should be avoided like the plague if you value your health =P).

One thing I will add is: If you hope to achieve any permanent results, you can't think of this as a "diet" or just a temporary adjustment until you hit your goal weight. If you go in with that mentality, the second you stop you risk gaining everything right back - especially if you don't slowly ease yourself into an adjusted "maintain" diet and instead jump right back into old habits. If you want to lose the weight and keep it off, you need to look at this as a complete lifestyle change from here on out.

This, first and foremost, means it needs to be manageable on a day to day basis. Trying to do too much too fast is another quick and easy way to end up saying "it's too hard, fuck it" and throw everything out the window when you get a really strong craving. So start slow, and ease yourself into the transition if you need to. If that means allowing yourself to eat some chips every now and again, don't beat yourself up about it - just monitor your intake, and don't over-indulge (pouring yourself a bowl instead of just grabbing the whole bag, for example). And just know that if you do happen to break and eat an entire pizza in one night, it doesn't automatically mean all progress is lost. Acknowledge it happened, pick yourself back up, and keep going - just don't give up.

Definitely non-GMO, low sugar (what's there is a Stevia extract and cane sugar mix), and high protein. I don't sit with a bag of chips and eat the whole thing. I'll take out what it says the portion size is and eat that. Thanks for your opinions and advice!

I'll check out that app. I've never heard of TDEE before either, but I will look at that also. I do really like to mix fruit in my water though - usually lemon, although I do really like lime too. Thanks!

Yeah, people are always telling me I need to make a lifestyle change and not 'diet'. Those people are normally the nursing staff where I work (I'm 'just' a front desk person though lol). Thanks for your advice!

I remember I tried that "Garcenia Cambodia" stuff when it came out and was the current diet fad. I must've spent at least $50 on a bottle of these USA made vegan gluten free pill capsules. I followed the instructions and nothing. I even quit drinking soda and eating fast food and I still didn't lose any weight from them. I do remember getting horrible headaches. I definitely learned my lesson. I think every few years they slap a new name on a bottle and people just buy them up. Personally I'd say screw the diet and order a nice pizza. :P

I advise extreme caution with diet pills. They hardly if ever work and nine times out of ten, they make you lose the weight fast enough to throw the rest of your system out of whack or cause organ damage/failure.

it took me 2 months to lost good amount of weight and lowering my clothes sizes through regular exercise and better diet. so if you don't get immediate result with your activities minus the pills, no worries, it probably just took slightly long time to take effect.

junk food cravings is one of the hardest to let go, but it will go away eventually. if you are really hungry late at night, don't go starve or junk food, find something that can fill you up fast in small amount. for me it was boiled egg smeared with ketchup or small chunk of meat. and next day, try to have a bit late dinner so you won't go midnight hungry.

Enjoy My Fitness Pal! It's simple, and has so many sources for what you eat that plugging in items is a breeze. Don't stress either - I'd suggest just eating normally for now and seeing how many calories you are taking in. It's surprising at first to see how many calories companies pack into their products!

TDEE basically is how many calories your body burns passively throughout the day. If you eat lower than that, your body will burn excess calories, which means burning fat! But be prepared for a slow burn - sometimes the weight will come off quick, but there will be plateaus, or times where your weight barely moves - or even goes up a little bit! These periods are totally normal, so do not feel disheartened by them!

As long as you eat below your TDEE, you will lose weight. It's science, after all! Don't kill yourself with a drastic change too - make small changes at first, and over time, you'll realize that you don't need to eat as much to be full. Cut too much at once and your body will feel like garbage.

Keep us posted on future results! c: