is anyone taking weight loss supplements?

Not into weight loss supplements for all the reasons everyone has already shared.

Im using a thrermogenic supplement, vitamins, pre-workout supplements, and whey after workouts, and casein before bed every 3 or 4 days instead of whey. The whey is a great protein and the casein is a slower burning protein. The weight isnt coming off as quickly as one would expect with the amount of exercise I am doing, but the inches are pouring off. I know a lot of people on here do not buy into supplements, but if you are working out to tone up and gain mass in your muscles they really help. They dont burn the fat off, but they do give you the energy and stamina during the workouts.

Not in a million years. I've learned through SP to do things the healthy way: eat good, whole foods & exercise regularly.

Having a cup of coffee before your workout helps as much or more than diet pills. Plus its cheaper.

I tried Sensa for a week or so. I think it would work, but only because it makes your food taste gross, so you don't want to finish it.

I think the big problem is that most people who are overweight got that way by having bad habits. Too much food and/or too little exercise. There's nothing that a diet pill or powder can do to fix that. So, even if one of them isn't completely bogus and actually does help, chances are once you go off it, your old bad habits will take over and you'll put the weight back on.

That is why just about every reputable source of health and weight loss information suggests learning what to eat, how much of it to eat and to get up and sweat more. Only by creating new healthy habits do you have a decent chance of losing weight and keeping it off long term.

Do any of you know about Sensa? Just a fad or does it work for anyone?

thanks guys... i knew there was a reason i came back to spark people...

I think the best that you can hope for is that diet pills do nothing. That industry is largely unregulated. Too many of those pills have turned out to have side effects for me to ever trust them. When you see those commercials you almost always see the disclaimer at the bottom: this is not a drug, it isn't approved for the treatment of any disease, this is not approved by the FDA etc etc.

Given the epidemic of obesity in the world, I can only imagine how much money a company could make if they really proved their concoction worked and was safe. That they don't do that tells me something.

Anyway, a pill can only work while you're taking it. So unless the plan is to take it for the rest of your life, it's much better to create the habits that make you healthy long term.

Edited by: GAVRIELKAY at: 10/9/2012 (13:17)

No just cutting back on meals

If there were truly a pill that could a) take the weight off, b) teach us how to keep it off, and c) do it all safely, the world would be full of size 2-6 people and it would be all over the news, being talked about by reputable sources, rather than late-night infomercials. The world is not full of size 2-6 people, and reputable sources are noticeably silent about these magical cures. What I do hear reputable sources talk about consistently is the value of a sustainable exercise program, and healthy eating. It is the only proven, safe way to shed pounds.

I would wager a guess that it took a few years to gain the weight you're trying to lose. It is going to take more than a few weeks to take it off, no matter how much we all want to see instant and noticeable results.

You probably do have results, even if the scale does not show them. Others explained water weight gain during the early weeks as our muscles grow accustomed to the new work, and our bodies work to figure out what to do with all this new, healthy fuel. Just be patient, hon. It will happen. It will not happen overnight, and even a pill will not make it so.

The best you can see from a pill is some results. The worst you might see is an unnaturally elevated heart rate that can prove quite dangerous, even for otherwise healthy people.

Never have; never will. Eat healthy and exercise. Focus on how your clothes fit, your endurance, how you feel in general and not just the number on the scale. Save your money!

I took akavar back in 2008 for my diet. it really helped, but I stopped taking it and the pounds came back on easily. Im not saying no to it, just realize that when in maintenance you have to work a little harder to make up for the what the supplement did for you.

focus on the NSV (non-scale victories): how your clothes fit, how much longer you can exercise, the increase in the weight you can lift, your lower resting heart rate, etc.

if I only went by the scale, I would have given up a long time ago.

weight loss supplements? As Oprah said: if you could buy something that would make you lose weight, don't you think I would have done it by now???

they don't work long term and may actually harm you in the process.

I'm sure lots of people will comment about supplements.

But I really wanted to talk about weigh-ins, and expectations. A healthy and sustainable rate of weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week, and it sounds like you are more than beating this.

Weird things can happen on the scale in the first few weeks. For many people, one of the fringe benefits to eating healthier is that it can lead to a lower sodium intake. And less sodium = less retained water, and this can show up as a drop of several pounds in the first couple of weeks.

Also, when starting an exercise program, it is pretty common for your muscles to retain water. This can lead to little change (or even an increase) in the scale, even as you are burning fat.

However, muscle and water are considerably denser than fat, and this often shows up as inches lost, even if the scale is being unco-operative. On a short term basis, the scale is very sensititve to water weight changes, and on a week-to-week basis, isn't a great way to track your fat loss - you need to look at the longer term trend. The tape measure is far less sensititve to water weight changes, and is a better way of tracking your progress in terms of fat loss. And if you haven't been measuring to date, are you noticing your clothes fitting better?

M@L

Save your money. If those products really worked to take weight off and (more importantly) keep it off for good, everyone would be using them. The only proven way to lose weight and keep it off is through a healthy diet and regular exercise. No magic pills needed.

Hope that helps,

Coach Jen

No, never have and never will take weight loss supplements.

It came on naturally, it will go off the same way, with work, commitment, a plan, and effort

Hi, I've been eating really clean and exercising every day and I lost 10 lbs in the first two weeks. but for about a week and a half now, I have not been able to lose an ounce. I go up and down about a lb or two. Has anyone here had any luck with any supplements? I was looking up Slimquick, and Decaslim, but the reviews all sound so generic. Hopefully I can get some real feedback from real people out there. Thanks!