What are some legal safe appetite suppressants?

Caffeine. When used in moderation, it is considered safe and effective. However huge dosages can lead to heart palpitations, nervousness, trembling, insomnia and even death when huge overdoses occur (we're talking really huge overdoses, far beyond what a normal person could happily drink. Usually these deaths have been the result of a bet on "who can drink the most " .) However, these side effects are much like any other "appetite suppressant", whether legal or illegal.

On the plus side caffeine is quite cheap. To an outsider, drinking espresso appears to be a lifestyle choice, rather than an act of slight desperation associated with use of drug-based appetite suppressants. The problem is when people begin to attribute weight-loss to a certain drug, or even to just "taking a pill", they get panicky at the prospect of running out of medication. Some people also start the pattern of "double dosing" - increasing their intake because they think they will lose weight faster that way. This can be dangerous, but also very expensive in the long run.

There is also the worry that when you stop taking pill-based appetite suppressants, all your weight will regain. This means that many people end up taking appetite suppressants long term, which doesn't really seem to be an ideal lifestyle choice.

Also, caffeine does not interact with other drugs, whether prescription or over the counter (with the exception of iron supplements; tea, coffee, milk and eggs ingested just before taking the supplement will reduce absorption a little). This cannot be said for other legal (or illegal) appetite suppressants - if you do choose a drug-based one, please let your GP/family doctor be aware of this, since they will need to make sure that any drugs they prescribe to you will not interact with it.

Have you tried eating high fibre, 'bulking out' foods such as pulses and wholegrain cereals? Alternatively, herbal alfafla leaf powder works (allegedly) by the same principle.