Does anyone know if it's ok to take Diet Pills while on Mtx or any of the other RA drugs?
I find that I am hungry a lot, so I want something to curb my appetite and maybe increase my metabolism.
Thanks for all your input!
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I would caution you - anyone, really - against using diet pills. The best way to lose weight is by changing your lifestyle to eating healthy, balanced meals and to move more and when you have a chronic illness like RA, it is especially important to be as healthy as you can be . Dieting, whether it's by severely restricting the food you eat or taking diet aids (diagnose such as bad for your body), tends to lead to gaining weight when you go back to your real life, then you diet again, go back to normal, gain more weight - its called yo-yo dieting and every time you gain weight, you gain more. Eating 5-6 small meals a day (three main meals, the rest healthy snacks like e.g., baby carrots) should take care of your hunger.
In the next few weeks we will be publishing posts on diet and exercise with RA, so keep an eye out for those. In the meantime, you may want to do some more research about portion sizes and the ratio of different foods that make up a healthy, balanced diet - as part of your research, check out the new, revised Canada Food Guide, which was developed free of influence from any particular lobby and is generally considered a very good resource. I'm sure the US has something similar, but being Canadian, I'm familiar with this one. You can also discuss the issue with your doctor and ask for a referral to a nutritionist.
Hi Lene,
Thank you so much for commenting.
My problem really isn't over eating, but cravings. For my height, I am probably only about 10 lbs at the most over. I am short and I worry about it alot. I work out almost everyday (treadmill, eplipitical,) so I am active, but I do get craving that are hard to fight. I worry that the RA will cause me to gain more weight, when I want to lose. Plus, I remember in the past when I took certain diet pills, they gave me a LOT of energy. I want my energy back......But thank you for that guide, I am definately going to check it out.
Thank you again, I really value your opinion.
God Bless!
cravings can be hard to resist. I follow the three D's that I learned when I quit smoking - drink a glass of water, distract yourself, delay five minutes. Cravings tend to pass and if you give yourself the buffer zone, you may find it easier. When you have a craving, you can also try the baby carrot thing - it gives your mouth something to do, so maybe you can trick it. After I started the Biologics, I discovered something interesting - for some reason, the meds made it hard for me to tolerate sure - it makes me feel sick when I eat too much of it. And not eating sugar anymore has taught me how addictive it is, because if I do up my sugar intake even for a few days, I start craving more of it. I do allow myself a few small cookies every day (because if you don't, life is just not worth living), but if I take a couple minutes to sit quietly and really savor the cookie, two is enough. If I eat them faster, all of a sudden I want five.
The stuff in diet pills is often things like caffeine, so you get on an artificial kick of energy. To find a healthier and more sustainable form of true energy, try meditation or yoga. And maybe be a little easier on yourself - RA comes with a fatigue factor, so have a nap when you feel tired. Worrying about an extra couple of pounds or beating yourself up about not having enough energy actually takes a lot of energy. I've learned to be a lot nicer to myself and in the process discovered just how much energy it takes to have unreasonable expectations of yourself. What's most important? Being happy and relaxed or losing 5 pounds? I wrote something on my personal blog about weight last month - in the last few years, I've changed my mind about weight and its importance and instead of summarizing here, I'm going to take a shortcut and just direct you over there.
Have a great weekend!