Diet Pills

Help yourself with the post-smoking-weight-loss/gain by jumping into training with everything you have and leave the diet pills for ....well, for losers  others.

I really have no experience with diet pills but there are probably side effects.  Why take a pill and suffer any side effects effects when you can just lose the weight naturally.  Maybe it takes longer but I guarantee that is healthier and isn't being healthier the point. 

Why not start off the new chapter of not smoking and weight loss on the right foot.  Losing weight physiologically is not difficult.  It's calories in calories out.  What IS hard is the will power and over coming the psychological factors associated with eating and that is what you really need for long term success.

Right it complicates it but it doesn't change the basic principal.  Calories metabolized - Calories burned at a deficient will mean you always lose weight.  With those conditions however finding the calories your body is actually metabolizing I imagine could be very difficult and that is where things get complicated.

Is it harder to balance having a suppressed appetite with needing to eat enough to support tri training? 

Found this on Wikipedia:

Phentermine is a drug primarily used as an appetite suppressant. Chemically, it is an amphetamine (and a phenethylamine). It is typically prescribed for individuals who are at increased medical risk because of their weight, as opposed to cosmetic weight loss.Phentermine is sold either as an immediate-release formulation (Adipex® or as a slow-release resin (Ionamin®, Duromine® in Australia and New Zealand).

So unless you are morbidly obese, I wouldn't use them. I get that it could "jump start" your weight loss plan but if you read through the history of the drug, I'd be leary. You can read all about it here.

Remember Fen-Phen? The diet drug that was linked to several deaths? Phentermine (Adipex) was one of the ingredients.

Here is the most disturbing thing I read about this drug:

Since the drug was approved in 1959 there have been almost no clinical studies performed. The most recent study was in 1990 which combined phentermine with fenfluramine or dexfenfluramine and became known as Fen-Phen.

....Phentermine is still available by itself in most countries, including the U.S. However, because it is an amphetamine, individuals may develop an addiction to it. Hence, it is classified as a controlled substance in many countries.

So be careful and if you are going to use it, I wouldn't use it for very long.

Good luck!
Sharon

I will admit, it is mainly for cosmetic purposes...though, according to my Dr., I DO need to drop several pounds.

Does anyone know an accurate, up-to-date source for the height/weight optimal weight chart?

There is no optimal ht/wt IMHO.  Body fat % is what you should be concerned with.  For most women, optimal is something like 18-24%. 

Can you get your doctor to give you a body fat measurement test with calipers (7 point test of skinfold thickness) instead of an Rx for pills so that you'll really be able to know what you current vs. goal bf% is? 

Um, because scales are notoriously inaccurate?  Skinfold testing is not for people with "hardly any fat".  It applies to anybody.

Wha-wha-what????