Belviq - new diet drug - week 1 - awesome cutting cycle tool

[SofaGeorge]

I read George's article on Belviq and decided to give it a try. One week in I think this stuff will soon be a staple of many people's cutting cycles. It can best be described as "Will power in a bottle."

I wrote several self studies about DNP more than a decade ago (most notably when I tried to out eat DNP and found that at 600mg I couldn't out eat the drug.) My conclusion was that DNP was actually going to be useless to most people because although it was phenomenal for burning off body fat - once people went off their 2-4 week cycle everybody put the fat right back on.

I came to believe that DNP should not be considered more successful than behavior modification, ie diet and exercise.

But that is the problem. Most here can increase exercise, but dieting aka calorie restriction aka eating less sucks. You can feel tired, low energy.., and come nighttime the will power fads and you start eating.. undoing the entire days effort. The next day you start the same vicious cycle again.

Let's face it... Dieting sucks.

My first thought on Belviq was "Hey, I don't feel like crap." in fact, I actually felt fresh and energized... Ie, normal. There is no speedy amphetamine like effect from the drug... But I actually felt normal... The kind of every day healthy happy that makes it easier to stick with something. I cut calories to 2,000 a day and am keeping it low carb and low glycemic as best as possible. So far I've dropped from 233.8lbs to 228.8lbs, but what is most noticeable to me is how easy the first week was in sticking like glue to my diet. I have had NO carb cravings, no temptation to cheat at all... And I feel good on what I am eating.

Getting away from the psychological "down" of dieting is making cutting calories a breeze. I'm boxing and kick boxing 3 hours a day... Weight training 45 min 5 days a week.. and so far I am high energy and feel great. (I'm also sleeping well. Cutting calories usually causes me to be restless... But so far no problem.) that's why I am calling this stuff will power in a bottle. In reality, will power is the key to a successful diet.. and so far this stuff rocks.

I will try to update this weekly. I am trying to go down to six pack abs.

Age: 54
Starting weight: 233.8 lbs
Current weight: 228lbs (week 1)

Cutting cycle:

400mg test enanthate wk
200mg masteron wk
300mg EQ

 

[ceo]

Hey old timer! Good to see you. Sounds like you're staying busy.

I'll be following your progress here. Looking forward to the updates.

 

[notjake11]

Never heard of it before but just did a quick search and came up with this:

WASHINGTON – Arena Pharmaceuticals said its weight loss drug Belviq will be available to U.S. patients beginning next week, nearly a year after the drug was officially approved by federal regulators.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Belviq last June for adults who are obese or who are overweight and have at least one serious medical condition, such as diabetes or high cholesterol. At the time, Belviq was the first new drug approved by the FDA for long-term weight loss in more than a decade.
Despite only achieving modest weight loss in clinical studies, the drug was safe enough to win the FDA's endorsement, amid calls from doctors for new weight-loss treatments
The drug's launch was delayed for months by logistical hurdles, including classification by the Drug Enforcement Administration. According to the drug's label, Belviq will be classified as a Schedule IV controlled substance, which means it has a low potential for abuse. A small segment of patients in company studies reported experiencing euphoria and hallucinations.
Arena Pharmaceuticals and partner Eisai Co. said Friday the drug will be available beginning Tuesday. Under an agreement between the companies, Arena will manufacture and supply the drug from its facility in Switzerland and Eisai will market the drug in the U.S.
Because of the delays to its launch, Belviq actually arrives on the market 10 months after competitor Vivus' Qsymia, which launched in September. Studies have shown that Qsymia produces more weight loss than Belviq.
Patients taking Qsymia for a year lost 6.7 percent of their body weight in one study and 8.9 percent in another study.
Arena's studies showed that patients taking Belviq, known generically as lorcaserin, lost just 3 percent to 3.7 percent of their weight over a year. About 47 percent of patients without diabetes lost at least 5 percent of their weight or more, which was enough to meet FDA standards for effectiveness.
The FDA said patients should stop taking Belviq after three months if they fail to lose 5 percent of their body weight. Patients are unlikely to see any significant weight loss by staying on the drug, the agency said.
Side effects with the drug include depression, migraine and memory lapses.
Belviq is designed to stimulate serotonin receptors in the brain linked with feelings of satiety, leading patients to feel full.
The drug will face an uphill battle in the U.S. market for weight loss treatments. Analysts have generally been disappointed with Qsymia sales, despite that drug's superior results.
Qsymia sales have fallen short in part because of limited insurance coverage and high out-of-pocket expenses for patients with coverage.
Qsymia also has only been available through mail order, but Vivus said last month the FDA will allow some retail pharmacy distribution. The company expects to announce more on that in the third quarter.
Vivus said batches from the initial production of Qsymia had a shelf life of 24 months, and the company is applying to the Food and Drug Administration to extend that to 36 months for current and future production.


Read more: Weight Loss Drug Belviq Gets Overdue U.S. Launch | Fox News Latino

 

[notjake11]

I'm curious now about both Qsymia and Belviq as I definitely have serious issues with food cravings. As a former fat kid (lost 85 pounds of fat two years ago) I have to fight that battle every day.

 

[SofaGeorge]

Never heard of it before but just did a quick search and came up with this:

WASHINGTON – Arena Pharmaceuticals said its weight loss drug Belviq will be available to U.S. patients beginning next week, nearly a year after the drug was officially approved by federal regulators.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Belviq last June for adults who are obese or who are overweight and have at least one serious medical condition, such as diabetes or high cholesterol. At the time, Belviq was the first new drug approved by the FDA for long-term weight loss in more than a decade.
Despite only achieving modest weight loss in clinical studies, the drug was safe enough to win the FDA's endorsement, amid calls from doctors for new weight-loss treatments
The drug's launch was delayed for months by logistical hurdles, including classification by the Drug Enforcement Administration. According to the drug's label, Belviq will be classified as a Schedule IV controlled substance, which means it has a low potential for abuse. A small segment of patients in company studies reported experiencing euphoria and hallucinations.
Arena Pharmaceuticals and partner Eisai Co. said Friday the drug will be available beginning Tuesday. Under an agreement between the companies, Arena will manufacture and supply the drug from its facility in Switzerland and Eisai will market the drug in the U.S.
Because of the delays to its launch, Belviq actually arrives on the market 10 months after competitor Vivus' Qsymia, which launched in September. Studies have shown that Qsymia produces more weight loss than Belviq.
Patients taking Qsymia for a year lost 6.7 percent of their body weight in one study and 8.9 percent in another study.
Arena's studies showed that patients taking Belviq, known generically as lorcaserin, lost just 3 percent to 3.7 percent of their weight over a year. About 47 percent of patients without diabetes lost at least 5 percent of their weight or more, which was enough to meet FDA standards for effectiveness.
The FDA said patients should stop taking Belviq after three months if they fail to lose 5 percent of their body weight. Patients are unlikely to see any significant weight loss by staying on the drug, the agency said.
Side effects with the drug include depression, migraine and memory lapses.
Belviq is designed to stimulate serotonin receptors in the brain linked with feelings of satiety, leading patients to feel full.
The drug will face an uphill battle in the U.S. market for weight loss treatments. Analysts have generally been disappointed with Qsymia sales, despite that drug's superior results.
Qsymia sales have fallen short in part because of limited insurance coverage and high out-of-pocket expenses for patients with coverage.
Qsymia also has only been available through mail order, but Vivus said last month the FDA will allow some retail pharmacy distribution. The company expects to announce more on that in the third quarter.
Vivus said batches from the initial production of Qsymia had a shelf life of 24 months, and the company is applying to the Food and Drug Administration to extend that to 36 months for current and future production.


Read more: Weight Loss Drug Belviq Gets Overdue U.S. Launch | Fox News Latino

To be honest I don't think any of the news articles will be very applicable to our crowd. Most people here are different than the average overweight person. People here mostly train at the athlete level, have higher perseverance to begin with, and are highly motivated to educate themselves about diet, carbs, glycemic index, cardio etc... It puts us in a different category than the average user. (I used to regularly see Lee Priest drop 100lbs when he would cut for a show. The average person just can't do that.). This is why I want to test the limits of this stuff.

 

[NegroPops]

so basically.. it is like adderall, but without the upper side effects. sounds good

 

[biesel13]

I'm curious now about both Qsymia and Belviq as I definitely have serious issues with food cravings. As a former fat kid (lost 85 pounds of fat two years ago) I have to fight that battle every day.

Damn bro. Good for you man that's awesome.

 

[NegroPops]

I am guessing that since it was just released that you have to have a script to get it? I am currently at 7% body fat, how can i go about tricking my doctor into thinking i'm obese?

 

[notjake11]

I am guessing that since it was just released that you have to have a script to get it? I am currently at 7% body fat, how can i go about tricking my doctor into thinking i'm obese?

Its also not cheap - $200 a month. And like you saod as new as it is need a script. Need to find me a doc with a loose pen.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using EliteFitness

 

[SofaGeorge]

Week 2 Update

I just weighted myself... 224.4lbs down another 3.6 lbs for the week... Down 9.4 lbs total.

I'm a little concerned I may be dropping weight too quickly, but I'm going to assume a couple pounds of this has to be water.

The things I'm noticing:

1: I have ZERO carb cravings

Snacking and binge sprees are usually what kill most diets. This is different. I have no compulsion to cheat. Sticking to my diet continues to be effortless. So far I haven't cheated once.

2. I feel great!

I'm boxing/kickboxing/weightlifting minimum three hours a day. Normally I'm low energy when cutting, but this is probably just the psychological of calorie restricting. Now, I feel normal. I'm fresh and normal energy. I feel good... No run down feeling at all.

Calorie restricting with Belviq is easy so far, and it is making cutting a breeze... The easiest ever. It needs to be used in conjunction with a lowered calorie low carb diet ... So something like Weight Watchers is perfect. I'm careful about my meal plan.

I've read a couple articles about this stuff that said the people using it lost only 3% weight. That's just weird because there doesn't seem to be any limit I can calorie restrict down to. Maybe they were only on it a short time.

Bottom line... If Belviq keeps working I predict it will become a new staple of cutting cycles. It makes it very easy to stick to your plan, and sticking to your diet is key to success.