# Weight Loss Supplements



## TallCoolOne (Jan 18, 2010)

I have been in weight loss mode for the last month and I have lost about 8 lbs. I have been upping my time on the bike, doing 1 day of strength training per week, weening off of diet soft drinks, cutting my overall calories, decreasing my "empty" calories--beer, junk food, etc. and been trying to increase my protein intake maintain my muscle mass. I want to lose another 16 lbs in the next couple of months.

Does anyone have any supplement ideas that work for weight loss that do not cause your hat size to increase or "other" things to shrink, cause dehydration, cause you to lose all contents of your intestines, cause a shivering response in the body, cause your blood pressure to go up, or generally mess with your overall long term health? 

In my research I have seen everything from pepper capsules to non-ephedra ephedra whatever that means.


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## new2rd (Aug 8, 2010)

Watch what u eat, sounds simple but unless u are tracking the calories, there's a lot of room for error. I started using "my fitness pal" which is a free app on the iPhone. It's very helpful. I tend to eat 2500 calories a day, the problem is that when I don't ride I eat the same. The good news is that I've been riding 5 days a week. Sorry, but no magic pill out there. Depending on your muscle mass 1-2 lbs a week is realistic, but u must diet and exercise. I'm on my way down to a perfect weight, just 10 lbs to go, but I have until July to get there.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

None of them work. None. 

Look to things which help you recover (like booking a message or compression gear) or train smarter (working with a coach or personal trainer)- those will get the the maximum bang for the buck.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Meth works.


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

Coolhand said:


> None of them work. None.
> 
> Look to things which help you recover (like booking a message or compression gear) or train smarter (working with a coach or personal trainer)- those will get the the maximum bang for the buck.



This. Also, skip alcohol and sweets for a limited time, say... 30 days. You'll be amazed. Finally, add lots of cooked veggies to your meals and get away from all starchy side dishes. Once we stopped cooking a starchy side (or serving bread) and instead went with squash, broccoli, spinach, etc., the weight started falling off. Baked sweet potatoes are also an excellent substitutions. Salads are not that great a veggie source because they are such a burnout item and many dressings undo whatever benefit you might get from eating salad in the first place.


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

Try increasing your fiber and protein intake. Helps you feel full faster so you eat less. Plus you'll feel full for longer. Green tea might help but there is no miracle out there in pill form. I used to think there was and tried a bunch of crap. Ended up just pi$$ing my money down the drain. Literally. Eat smart. Train smart. Recover smart. You'll lose weight.


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## MonkeyClaw (Feb 3, 2012)

Your choices are:
1) Limit calorie intake by shear willpower
2) Limit calorie intake by following the rules of a diet (all diets that work limit calorie intake, they just use different rules and justifications to do it)
3) Limit calorie intake by using a stimulant
4) Increase calories burned by exercising more
5) Increase calories burned by exercising harder
6) Increase calories burned by increasing body mass
7) Increase calories burned by using a stimulant

Notice a couple of common threads - Limiting calorie intake and increasing calories burned. The easiest way is to limit calorie intake. It takes a lot more effort to burn extra calories than to just avoid take them in (physically - though mentally it's not easy to avoid them sometimes!). Increasing body mass runs counter-intuitive to losing weight and generally to tri and cycling, though for very skinny people it can be helpful. Any legal 'pill' you find is either a stimulant (like ephedra) or a placebo.

When you talk about maintaining muscle mass, are you trying to bulk up? Or just keep what you have or need to be strong at whatever sport you are trying to be good at (Tri or cycling I assume). Personally, I would skip the additional protein supplements if you don't need them. If you are at a huge caloric deficit, then your body will cannibalize proteins (it always does to a certain extent as part of the rebuilding/recovery process) but not to the extent you need to supplement them. Your regular food should have plenty of proteins, carbs, etc. for you to continue exercising and losing weight. The protein and 'sports nutrition' (generally, carbs and salts) really end up being empty calories too. The rule of thumb is that if you are losing 2 lbs/wk or less, you are doing fine. If you are losing more, then increase consumption a bit. If you are losing less, decrease consumption.

Based on what you've said, I think you're losing at a healthy rate. What I've done is increase the amount of fruit and vege's I eat to fill myself up, along with weighing/measuring meats, pastas, and other fatty foods to ensure I don't go overboard with them. I also work out a pretty good amount, but I don't eat to make up for the calories burned (people grossly overestimate the calories they burn while exercising). When I was in weight-loss mode, I would weigh myself every day at the same time (second thing in the morning) to see if I was on track or not. There are always minor fluctuations, but you can see the trends.

Good luck, it sounds like you're already on the right track!


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## SlurpeeKing (Jul 23, 2010)

Ive lost 60 pounds in the last 2 years, i've yo-yo'd a few times, especially around the holidays. I was off the bike and eating whatever from Oct-Dec, went on a cruise from jan. 2-6 (eating fest). I made a comitment to myself that the second i stepped off the cruise i was back on the bike and eating right. Im down 23 lbs in 5 weeks from eating only whole foods with one cheat meal a week. I havent really tracked my calories but from past experience im around 1500-1800 a day and riding 7-8 hours a week. 

8-10 oz of lean meat per day, tons of vegetables, limited fruit, 1 cup of whole grains per day, 1/2 cup of dairy per day.

One of the most important things i did was cut out all soda, diet and regular, i only drink coffee and tons of water, thats it. Nothing else.


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## sdeeer (Aug 12, 2008)

Clenbuterol, while not legal, does work. So did ephedra, but is banned as well.

Meth and coke work too, but again, illegal.

Caffeine and EGCG have some support in the literature but not enough to say "These WORK'

Here are two recent reviews on the topic:

An Evidence-Based Review of Fat Modifying Supplemental Weight Loss Products

and

Fat burners: nutrition supplements that increase fa... [Obes Rev. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI (which is not free....But a good one too)

I interviewed with GNC to be a product development scientist. The interview was pretty much over when I had to hold back my laugh as she told me they introduce 200 new products per year that are PROVEN to be effective.

The money would have been better than academia, but I don't think I could have sold my soul


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

sdeeer said:


> Clenbuterol, while not legal, does work. So did ephedra, but is banned as well.
> 
> Meth and coke work too, but again, illegal.
> 
> ...


I've long suspected that 99% of their research budget goes into researching new names for products. I have no idea what products like vpx friction are, but their descriptions are creative, to say the least. Gotta love statements like "While similar products may require 3 scoops, it is forbidden to use more than one scoop of FRICTION® due to its extreme potency."


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## kg1 (Apr 17, 2002)

*Exactly my experience*



JayTee said:


> This. Also, skip alcohol and sweets for a limited time, say... 30 days. You'll be amazed. Finally, add lots of cooked veggies to your meals and get away from all starchy side dishes. Once we stopped cooking a starchy side (or serving bread) and instead went with squash, broccoli, spinach, etc., the weight started falling off. Baked sweet potatoes are also an excellent substitutions. Salads are not that great a veggie source because they are such a burnout item and many dressings undo whatever benefit you might get from eating salad in the first place.


If there is a diet Nirvana (literally release from prior state of bondage), JayTee is showing the way. Good quality protein, veggies, good fats, and a little bit of fruit and nuts. Don't eat it unless you prepared it or could have prepared it. There's a lot of slow acting poison (i.e., sugar) in our food supply.

Congratulations on the 8lbs. That's tremendous.

Thanks.

kg1


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## tindrum (Mar 5, 2008)

the best stuff i've found is really the stuff that takes the edge off appetite. none of these solutions make me not-hungry, i'm just satiated with a little less. i'm at a point now where i am right again on par with my lowest weight (about 150), and also with my highest level of fitness ever. i had been lean before, but not strong and lean.
that said, a low calorie whey protein supplement has been beneficial to decrease hunger taken an hour or so before dinner time and seems to help with my recovery (i know this is all anecdotal, i could be recovering faster because i am stronger than i used to be).. i drink some mixed with soluble fiber after i do a hard ride. green tea extract mid-afternoon has been associated with weight loss, gives me some pep and also seems to curb hunger to some degree.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Huey wants it too*



TallCoolOne said:


> I have been in weight loss mode for the last month and I have lost about 8 lbs. I have been upping my time on the bike, doing 1 day of strength training per week, weening off of diet soft drinks, cutting my overall calories, decreasing my "empty" calories--beer, junk food, etc. and been trying to increase my protein intake maintain my muscle mass. I want to lose another 16 lbs in the next couple of months.
> 
> Does anyone have any supplement ideas that work for weight loss that do not cause your hat size to increase or "other" things to shrink, cause dehydration, cause you to lose all contents of your intestines, cause a shivering response in the body, cause your blood pressure to go up, or generally mess with your overall long term health?
> 
> In my research I have seen everything from pepper capsules to non-ephedra ephedra whatever that means.


Huey Lewis was looking for the same thing but that was several years ago and I don't think he found it. You won't either.


I want a new drug 
One that won't make me sick 
One that won't make me crash my car 
Or make me feel three feet thick 

I want a new drug 
One that won't hurt my head 
One that won't make my mouth too dry 
Or make my eyes too red 

I want a new drug 
One that won't spill 
One that don't cost too much 
Or come in a pill 

I want a new drug 
One that won't go away 
One that won't keep me up all night 
One that won't make me sleep all day 

I want a new drug 
One that does what it should 
One that won't make me feel too bad 
One that won't make me feel too good 

I want a new drug 
One with no doubt 
One that won't make me talk too much 
Or make my face break out


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## sdeeer (Aug 12, 2008)

Kerry Irons said:


> Huey Lewis was looking for the same thing but that was several years ago and I don't think he found it. You won't either.


Dr. John Hawley (and many others) are looking for it too........

But are having trouble finding it as well.

http://www.nutrociencia.com.br/upload_files/artigos_download/exercicio mf.pdf


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## The Angry Roadie (Jan 31, 2012)

last year i used this oxyelite pro from gnc...they gave me a sample and i liked them. i normally drink coffee a lot but i ended up being pretty moody and irritable on them in the beginning. they definately did work for me.

whatever junk is in them is supposed to make you your body heat up so you burn more calories.

The only problem with them is by the afternoon sometimes i would feel flat after work from being so energetic and my workouts lacked the energy

i ended up going down to 179 from 210 in the winter which is the lightest ive been since mid high school about 10 years ago.

if you have a little self control and motivation they will work


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## speed metal (Feb 8, 2007)

spade2you said:


> Meth works.


That is true I have seen those before meth...after meth posters. Those people was skinnier after meth.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

sdeeer said:


> I interviewed with GNC to be a product development scientist


Glad you didn't go there.

GNC...friends don't let friends set foot in GNC.

There are lots of potent---and I mean potent---pre workout drinks now. Stuff like 1MR and Jackd make clenbuterol look like kid's stuff. I tried 1MR, lots of guys at my gym use it, and I was wired. Worked out for two hours instead of my usual one hour, and then did an hour on the stairclimber, and was still full of energy. 
It would probably be good for weight loss too because it tasted horrible, and made everything else I ate or drank taste the same....


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## Dwayne Barry (Feb 16, 2003)

JayTee said:


> This. Also, skip alcohol and sweets for a limited time, say... 30 days. You'll be amazed. Finally, add lots of cooked veggies to your meals and get away from all starchy side dishes. Once we stopped cooking a starchy side (or serving bread) and instead went with squash, broccoli, spinach, etc., the weight started falling off. Baked sweet potatoes are also an excellent substitutions. Salads are not that great a veggie source because they are such a burnout item and many dressings undo whatever benefit you might get from eating salad in the first place.


I misspent some of my youth lifting weights too much and trying to "get big" and following the typical bodybuilding diet. So lots of complex carbs and lean protein, veggies and fruits. I'd eat meals of just brown rice with raisins/nuts, lots of oatmeal, etc.

Almost no refined sugars or very much fat. I'm sure my metabolism was much higher as I was young and had significantly more muscle mass but I couldn't gain weight without having a pig-out day once a week or so. I was also eating these very healthy meals every 3 hours or so, and had energy to burn. I also remember how sweet things like carrots starting tasting after not having sugar on a regular basis.


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