the diet pill industry knows exactly what they are doing. They are targeting people who are desperate, and who will go to extreme and dangerous measures to reach their weight loss goal. I have never been prescribed diet pills, but I have taken my share of the ones sitting on the grocery shelves. I have taken more than the prescribed amount recommended because I thought "more is better. more is faster. more will ensure that I don't eat". I have had moments where I didn't care about potential side effects of these drugs. I have had moments where I would rather die thin than live fat. yes, I have done things to my body that are unhealthy...poured tons of laxatives into an already starved body, thrown up weight watcher meals because it was "too much", then excercised to make sure I got all the calories..I would say that lately, however, and lately meaning gradually over the past few months, I have used better judgement to guide my eating disorder habits. I don't always do the smart thing...but I think I am doing less dumb things...lol. Joanna, I am trying to take your workout advice..I am taking a couple of days off every week, and I stick to a 45 minute workout. I get so tired anymore, part of which is my macrocytic anemia...my B12 deficiency caused by years of malnutrition...until recently, I would workout in pain because of shin splints or sore joints..I have decided I may not do the marathon...there will be more later. Joanna, maybe you could use this type of topic as a magazine article discussion to raise awareness of the dangers of diet pills. I would be glad to share examples of how awful they made me feel, and how they don't work. It really does have to be a whole mindset change...pills just temporarily cover the issue, they don't fix the underlying problem that led to being overweight to begin with...now THAT would be a pill worth finding. tracy