The tale of fat loss supplements

Fat loss supplements have been around for a few years already and, by now, we should know which ones actually work or not. In this regard, it seems that a lot of ”experts” know what you should take to lose weight. For instance, if you go to your local supplement shop, they will make sure to point you out the newest and best fat burner. Their selling speech is always the same : ”I have ”lots of clients” who tried it and lost weight, you should try it out too!”. Also, if you go on fitness forums, rest assured that online experts will educate you on which one you should take. After all these years of fat loss supplementation, can we really say they work?

Before we address whether or not they work, it’s important to understand the reason why people decide to buy them. Some decide to buy fat loss supplements because they are lacking motivation. This can be due to a few factors : they got bad advice, they got mixed answers to their questions and don’t know what to do  (they are confused), they have not seen progress in a while, they focus on their weight instead of their body composition, etc. Some buy fat loss supplements because they are not willing to change their lifestyle (eat better, exercise, etc.) and some simply buy those supplements because they think that if they were bad or don’t work, we would be prohibited to sell them (they don’t know that most of these products are not regulated).

It’s also important to acknowledge the fact that supplement companies are making claims that can mislead people. Some guarantee that you will lose a certain amount of weight in a certain time. The companies that do that are proud to write on their package that it was clinically proved to work . Some market their product as a miracle cure for fat loss (e.g. Acai) and use ingredients that we have never heard of or know little of (e.g. shark teeth). Some just market their product to look quite appealing and hope people will pick the product because of the appearance instead of the content. For instance, if they are trying to sell a fat loss product to a bodybuilding crowd, the package will probably look ”hardcore” and almost sci-fi-like. If they are trying to appeal to women (average Jane : mother, somewhat girly, have weight to lose but fear to put on muscle, etc.), the package often looks user friendly and comes in ”girly colors” (pink, teal, etc.). And, guess what? No matter how they did it, supplement companies made 50 billions of dollars last year. But, are we getting what we paid for?

A recent research presented on July 12 at the International Conference on Obesity in Stockholm by Mr. Ellrott proved that 9 of the most popular (almost all fat loss supplements are based on one of these compounds) fat loss compounds are useless to lose weight. Some of those compounds are L-carnitine, polyglucosamine, guarana seeds powder, Konjac (also called glucomannane), fiber, some plant extracts and other compounds such as bean extracts. The study was done on 189 randomly selected obese people. For eight weeks, they compared the fat loss supplements against a placebo. The results? People who used the supplements lost 1 to 2kg and people who were on the placebo lost at least 1,2kg. Not too great, if you ask me. Obviously, they concluded that those compounds are useless. Another research done by Dr. Igho Onakpoya found no proof that supplementing with chromium, CLA, Konjac, and green tea would make us lose weight (more compounds were also proved to be useless).

These results should not surprise us. Supplements of all kinds are poorly researched and, just like processed foods, they will adapt their formula according to the newest trend. The idea of popping a pill to lose weight is, however, an insult to the complexity of our body. It’s very unlikely that getting more of a single nutrient or compound will hack our biologic ”rules”.  Losing fat is simple but it’s not necessarily easy. One thing is sure, you have to respect your body if you want to lose weight. By this, I mean that you have to feed your body the proper foods (those we evolved to eat) and exercise in a smart way.

Popping a pill might be a good psychological reliever and help us have the illusion that we are doing the right thing, but in the long run, it’s very unlikely that you will actually see results (a pill can’t make up for a bad diet). As I just said, losing fat is simple but not easy. Allow me to explain myself. To lose weight, you have to be consistent : you have to stand up for yourself (stick with it), you have to cook (that way you know what you are eating), select the right foods (this might help you), exercise once in a while (low intensity activities daily and higher intensity activities every 2-3 days, if possible), sleep well, manage stress, and stop doing  all counter productive behaviours (e.g. late night eating in front of the T.V).

It’s simple to lose weight. Indeed, I just gave you the recipe to success. One word of caution : do this without obsessing about it. It’s not easy. It’s hard to change our lifestyle, our way of eating and even the way we act around people. And really, the latter part is why so many of us will try fat loss supplements. If you can, however, address all those changes slowly, but surely, I have no doubt that you will be able to get where you want to be. I’m not going to lie to you, you will have to face challenges and you will probably want to quit (life is getting busy, friends are picking on you, etc.) but if you stick with it, you will succeed. Will you be that person ?