How to make phentermine more effective

June 10. 2021

Phentermine is one of the most successful weight loss prescription medications used to treat obesity in patients who cannot lose weight solely by working out and following a healthy diet. It has also been around for the longest, as it was FDA-approved back in 1959. Although it was used combined with other weight loss drugs throughout history, numerous research studies have shown that phentermine should only be used by itself to enhance its appetite suppression benefits and minimize the risks of side effects. 

Phentermine is mainly used to suppress appetite while enhancing metabolism function and the fat loss process. However, it should only be prescribed to individuals who struggle with an overly increased hunger, frequent cravings, and have a BMI (Body Mass Index) equal to or higher than 27. Patients with no weight-related health conditions can be prescribed phentermine if their BMI is equal to or higher than 30. Individuals with a normal BMI and looking to shred only a few pounds should not take phentermine to aid weight loss but rather consider other effective weight loss tools, such as lipo C injections or specialized meal plans. If you fulfill these requirements, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our local experts in Chicago and Indiana to maximize your phentermine results.

How does phentermine work?

As we mentioned earlier, phentermine’s primary role is to suppress appetite, and it belongs to a group of drugs called “anorectics.” It does so by increasing the levels of specific neurotransmitters in your brain (dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine). Once the levels of these neurotransmitters in your brain rise, you start experiencing less hunger and cravings. However, unlike the hCG injections (used to decrease your appetite during a low-calorie phase of the hCG diet), phentermine should reduce hunger in people who have a hard time sticking to their healthy recommended calorie intake. Therefore, it’s not advisable to take phentermine to skip a meal or starve yourself. Moreover, starving yourself can easily lead to a reduction in your metabolism function, slowing it down and preventing you from losing more weight.

Many obese individuals appear to struggle with how their body regulates hunger hormone levels. Two main hormones that control appetite include leptin and ghrelin. While your stomach produces ghrelin to increase the feeling of hunger, its levels should decrease for about three hours after you consume a meal. On the other hand, your fat cells continually produce leptin in fat cells to genuinely suppress your appetite if there are enough fat stores in your body. If a problem occurs with these processes, your body may produce sufficient amounts of these hormones, but your brain may not respond to them. That’s where appetite suppressants and phentermine for weight loss can come in handy.

It’s advisable to use phentermine as an addition to a supervised weight loss program. If you’re wondering whether or not this appetite suppressant is suitable for you, we suggest you take a minute to complete our quiz and explore your options. 

How to make phentermine more effective?

Although you can find over-the-counter phentermine options, it’s not recommended to take this weight loss drug by yourself and without a prescription from your doctor. An experienced physician will first consider your case, determine whether or not you’re eligible to take phentermine, and give you all the necessary information regarding the dosage, your recommended diet, and an exercise regimen.
One of the most important aspects regarding phentermine consumption is the right timing. To get the best results, you should have phentermine once a day, in the morning on an empty stomach. By doing so, you’re making sure to reap all its benefits throughout the day and minimize the risk of side effects. One of such side effects includes insomnia or trouble sleeping, which tends to worsen later on during the day. Regularity is also a vital aspect, so try your best to stay consistent during your phentermine therapy. If you skip a dose, consult your physician before taking any steps on your own.
Although phentermine is not a magic pill, and won’t shred your pounds away by itself, if it’s used correctly, it can significantly boost your weight loss in a short period of time.

Here’s how to make phentermine more effective:

Set realistic expectations.

First and foremost, it’s essential you talk to your doctor about setting realistic goals that are within a healthy weight-loss range. While this seems like an easy first step, keep in mind that the number on the scale is only a part of the whole goal idea. To begin with, we recommend you determine your finish line; knowing it’s there and approaching it can give you a great deal of motivation to keep going towards it. Making your weight loss goal reachable at the same time can prevent you from giving up halfway through.

Next, surrounding yourself with people you love and trust to support you and hold you accountable for your actions can increase your chances of success. You shouldn’t be looking for someone who uses blame and other negative approaches to motivate you; instead, opt for those who can push you forward with their positivity. If you feel this step is not attainable for you, don’t hesitate to ask your doctor for some professional help and support. Lastly, don’t forget to make your goal measurable; only then will you be able to know you’ve met it. We’re not talking about weighing yourself multiple times a day, but instead, use a measuring tape or your favorite clothing items to see how they fit as the time passes.

Drink enough water.

We know – you’ve heard this a billion times, but if you’ve ever increased your water intake, you’ve also indeed witnessed several health benefits. Simply put, having enough water in your system ensures that your body works at its peak. It improves your mood, nourishes your skin, minimizes the risk of kidney problems and helps the body flush out all the excess water it’s been holding onto. The excess water usually builds up in the area around your stomach or your legs. It is typically a result of a poor, high-sodium diet or an insufficient water intake. People who start taking phentermine and increase their water intake simultaneously witness a rapid weight loss since their bodies quickly start getting rid of water weight. In addition to that, drinking plenty of water while taking phentermine prevents dry mouth, one of the most common phentermine side effects.

Have proper nutrition.

It’s common for people to assume that taking phentermine makes it easier to starve themselves and eat small portions of pretty much any type of food to achieve weight loss. However, we strongly advise our patients not to starve themselves and instead aim to establish a healthy relationship with food and train their discipline by eating healthy portions of nutritionally balanced meals. It’s vital to stay away from foods high in saturated fat, sugar, salt, and preservatives because they make your urinary pH much more acidic, which causes your body to expel phentermine faster. On the other hand, by indulging in a food filled with all the valuable nutrients, you’re ensuring an alkaline urinary pH, which, in return, helps your body expel phentermine at a slow rate.

Skipping your meals may be tempting once you start experiencing suppressed appetite, but we strongly advise you not to fall into that trap. Your body needs fuel to function properly, and so does your metabolism. Starvation and skipped meals can quickly lead to different types of metabolism malfunction, as mentioned previously.

Combine weight-bearing exercises with cardio.

Although the previous tips are typically more than enough to help you lose weight while taking phentermine, adding weight-bearing exercises and cardio to your workout schedule goes a long way in speeding up the process and ensuring a number of other benefits. Doing cardio workouts (such as jogging, dancing, aerobics, etc.) a few times a week helps you speed up your heart rate and enhance your metabolism. This is important because phentermine’s influence tends to decline over time, and cardio workouts can prevent you from becoming resistant to the drug or reaching a weight loss plateau.

On the other hand, weight lifting leads to lean muscles, which, in return, help you burn more fat even while resting. We suggest you consult your doctor regarding which type of exercise suits your needs and goals most. If going to the gym is not an option, you can engage in other forms of physical activity, such as walking, hiking, or swimming (an excellent option that doesn’t put additional stress on your joints).

Establish a long-term healthy lifestyle.

Although phentermine is an FDA-approved drug, it’s only approved for short-term uses. That’s why you should consider it a helpful tool to get you on the weight loss track, but also be aware that once you get that initial boost, it’s up to you to remain loyal to a long-term healthy lifestyle. Besides following a nutritionally balanced diet and exercising regularly, you also need to take enough time to rest and improve your sleep quality. By doing so, you’ll prevent those excess pounds from coming back to you and minimize the risk of weight-related health issues such as increased blood sugar levels, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.

Side effects of taking phentermine

As with any other approved weight loss medication, phentermine comes with certain side effects. And while following the above-mentioned tips on how to make phentermine more effective will minimize those side effects, some of them may still occur. One of the most prominent ones includes constipation. The main reason behind this lies in the fact that phentermine stimulates the central nervous system; while the stimulation increases certain neurotransmitter levels to suppress hunger, it also signals your body to divert any resources away from digestion. This process slows muscle contractions that move food through your digestive tract.

Other common side effects of taking phentermine include:

• dry mouth
• headache
• diarrhea
• increased heart rate
• insomnia
• nervousness

To avoid these side effects and prevent more severe ones, it’s vital to consult your health care professional about the use of phentermine. Some patients are not eligible to start taking phentermine due to a number of chronic diseases, including high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases in general, hyperthyroidism, etc. It’s also important to inform your doctor about any medicines you take because some drugs can interfere with these weight loss pills. If you’re wondering about the connection between phentermine and pregnancy, we advise you to consult your doctor about the use of appetite suppressants before, during, and after pregnancy.

How long does it take for phentermine to work

One of the first questions our patients ask when they start taking phentermine for weight loss is how long it takes for it to start working and bring noticeable results. However, approved weight loss medications work differently for everyone. How fast you’ll see the results strongly depends on several factors, including:

• your starting weight,
• your diet plan and eating habits,
• the level of physical activity,
• your health condition, etc.

Appetite suppressants are used to help you achieve weight loss, but they can’t make up for an unhealthy lifestyle and habits. With that in mind, it’s important to know that you are most likely to achieve efficient and timely results by turning to a medical professional who can determine the right dosage, exercise regimen, and eating habits for you to obtain during your phentermine use.

Can you take phentermine longer than 3 months?

At the time phentermine for weight loss was approved, not much was known about the chronic nature of obesity. Therefore, the FDA limited phentermine treatment to twelve weeks or less. In 2012 when the phentermine-topiramate combination was also approved, the treatment was prolonged to a year or more. Nowadays, many doctors prescribe phentermine treatment for more than twelve weeks, depending on the patient’s overall health condition. A study from 2019 found that patients witnessed greater weight loss results using phentermine for longer than three months. The researchers found no connection between the prolonged use of phentermine and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Still, it’s essential to take phentermine use seriously. Only a health care professional can advise you about the most beneficial weight loss program for your specific case and prescribe this weight loss medication.

Does phentermine give you energy?

One of the main reasons phentermine is so successful is because, besides suppressing appetite, it is also known to give you the energy to compensate for the decreased amount of it you get from food. It does so by stimulating your central nervous system and increasing certain neurotransmitter levels, which results in an energy boost, amplified alertness, and increased fat burning. During the first couple of days of phentermine use, many patients report feeling “wired” or “buzzed.” This sensation stops after a few days, so the continual energy boost becomes less noticeable.

While the components of this medication are fully absorbed within four to six hours, its effects last significantly longer. Some patients report feeling the energy boost for up to 12 hours after their previous dose of phentermine for weight loss. That’s why doctors recommend taking phentermine no longer than 8-10 hours before bedtime. Taking this medication later in the day (or taking a dose higher than recommended) may increase the chances of insomnia.

Final thoughts

Although phentermine is no invention, it’s still one of the most effective weight loss tools out there. This is partly because health experts are still discovering ways how to make phentermine more effective and longer-lasting in the human body. Nevertheless, it’s vital to understand that even though phentermine may appear as a harmless weight loss drug, it’s still a prescription medication and should not be used without the supervision of a health expert.

When combined with a proper diet plan and physical activity, phentermine can aid your weight loss efforts and ensure your energy levels are sufficient. If you’ve considered taking phentermine, please contact our weight loss clinic Chicago to schedule an appointment with our experienced medical staff, who will make sure to do a thorough medical examination before determining the best way to lose weight in your personal case. 

Author

Nurse Walton

Born and raised in Chicago, IL, Chanay received her Practical Nurse licensure and went to work in clinical specialties such as Home Health, Assisted Living, Long-Term Care and Dialysis Centers. Through this work, she realized the importance of diet, nutrition and weight loss among her patients. This led her to open A Better Weigh, Inc. Medical Weight Loss Center in 2009.