Which Weight Loss Supplement Works Best?

My girlfriend and I are both above our goal weights. We would both like to lose about 30 pounds. The problem is, she decided she wants to try weight loss supplements. She told me the other day that she "isnt at a point in life where she wants to give up having sodas and pizza." We dont go to the gym much right now. She wants an easy way to lose weight, but I tell her we have to put in the effort if we want to lose weight. Much of her problem stems from severe irritability if she doesn't eat frequently. She's trying to eat high-protein and low-sugar and has cut back to one soda per day. She told me that I could research and pick a supplement that she would try, but if I didnt she was going to pick one. I am very apprehensive about these supplements. The two types of supplements I have been looking into both seem relatively safe at low doses and have potential. They are EC stacks and DNP (a proton uncoupler for the ETC). Both are pretty drastic, but she has to eat frequently and often goes over her calorie quota for the day (around 1300). Do you have any recommendations? I am going to try to recommend today that we just go to the gym again everyday instead, but wanted to get your advice on the supplements too in case that fails.  Todd N.

Hi Todd,
I appreciate your predicament; you both want to make a change, but your girlfriend isn't ready to do the work.

You can tell her, these supplements don't work, and I have a few reasons to back that up:
1) ALL weight loss supplements come with a suggested diet and weight loss plan to accompany taking the pills. ALL weight loss supplement ads and commercials have a little asterisk * that states "results not typical". Taking an over-the-counter pill alone will NOT cause weight loss.
2) If your girlfriend does not eat less AND exercise more there is no way she will lose weight. It's a simple equation: Calories OUT must exceed calories IN in order for their to be a net energy loss, which results in weight loss.
3) Whenever skeptical/hopeful that a supplement works, I use Oprah as my guide: Is Oprah still overweight? YEP. She has a slew of employees and investigators scouring the world for the secret weight loss potion (Is it Optifast? Is it Garcinia Cambogia?) If there is ANYTHING out there that promotes weight loss, Oprah's staff will have discovered it and Oprah will be nice and skinny. Until I see a skinny Oprah, I know there are no magic weight loss pills available

The bottom line is, your girlfriend may choose EITHER to eat what she likes OR to lose weight. You can't have both. Not every day. That would be like saying "I want to save for my retirement but I must buy these new shoes/new purse/new iphone/new car in the meantime". Pick one; you can't do both. But you can buy a pair of shoes once in a while.

She doesn't have to give up pizza and pop forever, but here's a simple equation: Eat 100 fewer calories a day and lose 1 pound a month (approximately). Give up 3 sodas a day (which it sounds like she has) and lose about 3 pounds a month.
Can she compromise and eat relatively healthy for ONE day a week? Perhaps she can gradually up the number of days per week that she eats in her target calorie range.
Or: If 1300 calories leaves her too hungry, try going up to 1500 per day for an easier day and just a tad slower weight loss.

Burning 100 calories works the same: Burn 300 calories at the gym each day, lose 3 pounds at the end of the month; burn 300 calories 3 days a week, lose 1 pound per month.

She doesn't 'need' to eat frequently and more and junk food, she just WANTS to. Everyone has to put up with a little discomfort when they are making a change--every change is difficult and takes thought and mental energy.

She might try coming up with a list of the reasons she wants to lose weight to find her motivation. At this point the in-the-moment motivation to eat what she feels like is outweighing the desire to lose weight.

One weight loss plan I highly recommend (and lead teleclasses with) is The Beck Diet Solution.

Either way, when she's ready to lose weight she'll have to be ready to do the work.

http://www.mycoachlaurie.com/register_for_life-changing_weight_loss_series

How Long Will It Take me to Lose 50 Pounds?

I'm a 32 year old female and I've been overweight for the past seven years, since I had my daughter and decided to be a stay-at-home Mom. I think I was just more active in my job, and had regular eating habits instead of snacking so much during the day. Now I realize I'm not feeling as young as I think I should and it's even getting uncomfortable to try to keep up with my daughter. I want to try to lose 50 pounds, but I don't know if I'll be able to stay on a diet if it's going to take more than 3 months. I get so discouraged easily when the weight comes off slowly. Can I lose all this weight in 3 months? I'm hoping you can give me an answer that I will like!  Gina S.

Hi Gina,
While it's possible to lose 50 pounds in three months (for 12-13 weeks time this equals about 4 pounds per week), it's not likely unless you are extremely overweight.  The general rule of thumb is to reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories a day (or burn 500 more calories per day--which means exercising hard for nearly an hour--or some combination of both diet and exercise) to lose one pound per week.

Using this math, in order to lose 4 pounds per week, a person would have to burn 2000 more calories per day than usual, or eat 2000 calories less per day. For the average person, 2000 calories IS the total daily intake, so you can hardly cut it down to zero!

The good news is, it sounds like you may have several daily opportunities to both cut calories, and to burn more. The best way to go about losing weight is to start keeping a food diary. There are numerous free websites that help you log your food while the calorie-tracking is done for you. A few my clients like are FitDay.com, SparkPeople.com, LoseIt.com and TheDailyPlate.com.

Substituting healthier choices for your snacks, realizing the times you snack out of boredom and not hunger, limiting portions, and eating regular meals can all help you eat a lower daily calorie level. Remember, for every 500 calories you can eliminate, you'll lose about a pound at the end of the week.

As far as exercise goes, it doesn't have to be an hour in the gym. Going for walks, playing ball in the yard, or going for a bike ride all contribute to burning more calories on a daily basis.

If you make small and reasonable changes in both diet and exercise, you can realistically lose 2 pounds a week easily. I know it sounds slow to take nearly 6 months to lose 50 pounds, but it will be a lot easier when you do it by making permanent habit changes instead of going on a diet that leaves you hungry and ready to go back "off" the diet!

I want to lose fat weight, but not muscle

Hi,

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am planning on starting a fat loss exercise program for myself. I have been at all different weights throughout my life and I have learned a lot of information about exercise, nutrition, weight loss, muscle gain, etc. but I am at a point in my life where I am only concerned with losing fat. I am motivated to put the time in to exercise and my only concern is that I am eating right so that I get the most out of my time spent exercising and dieting. Right now, I weigh 220 pounds and I'm 5 foot 6 inches tall. At times in my life I have been all the way down to 140 pounds. I have muscle on me but there is a lot of fat, love handles, etc. that I need to shed. I have been on diets where I have just shrunk my body, become a smaller version of myself but still feel just as fat. I am wondering what the results would be if I simply burn off all the calories that I eat without worrying about muscle loss. Thanks, Peter S.

Dear Peter,

Of course whenever someone goes on a diet we all hope to lose our fat weight and not their muscle! Each person's body loses differently (in different places, etc) and there isn't a lot we can do about it. Some of us will always feel we have too much fat on our "love handles" and others on our abdomen. If you want to maintain a muscular physique you'll have to work on exercising to keep muscles toned during your weight loss regimen.

There's also the chance that you view yourself as 'fat' no matter how much weight you lose because we keep a certain image of ourselves in our mind, no matter what we actually do look like. It might help to check your body fat percentage (either in a gym where they'll perform this test for you, or you can buy a scale by Tanita or another brand that measures your body fat easily and reliably). Then, as you lose weight, you'll have visual evidence that you are truly losing fat as you see this number continue to go lower.

Be sure to keep up a healthy diet while you're losing weight. Include plenty of protein (At least 1/2 gram per pound of your ideal weight, up to 110 grams for now at your current weight) and avoid fatty foods like fried foods, mayonnaise, margarine and butter, creamy salad dressings, and fatty pastries, donuts, chips, and cakes.

While you are reaching your healthy weight you will be developing healthy eating habits and once you get to where you want to be you'll know your future weight won't be yo-yo-ing over the coming years!