o Weight Loss Supplements Work? written in text with image of pills and measuring tape.

Do Weight Loss Supplements Work?

Do weight loss supplements work?

To answer your question, let’s just put it like this…⁣

There’s nothing on God’s green earth that’s going to lose weight for you if you’re not in a calorie deficit. And if you are in one, what’s the point of taking something to do what the deficit is already doing, which is making you lose weight?

Nevertheless, because you have your mind made up on shelling out cash for shit you don’t need, below is a list of some of the popular weight loss substances for you to choose from.

Caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee, tea, and energy drinks. It’s also a popular ingredient in weight loss supplements for its thermogenic, or fat burning, properties, which is supported by research.¹ Another claim is that it helps suppress the appetite. Studies suggest that caffeine’s effect on calorie intake isn’t significant and that minimal effect is only in people who don’t normally consume caffeine. Moreover, the effect disappears once a tolerance is built up.²

Garcinia Cambogia Extract

Garcinia cambogia is derived from a tropical fruit of the same name. The juice from the fruit contains hydroxycitric acid, which is said to inhibit citric acid lyase, a fat-producing enzyme. It’s also purported to suppress appetite. There’s nothing in the scientific literature that supports either claim.³

Chitosan

Chitosan is a sugar taken from the shells of crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. It’s supposed to bind to fats in the digestive tract so your body can’t absorb them. Research suggests that taking it results in a reduction in weight loss but that effect is very small and isn’t of clinical significance.⁴

Pyruvate

When the body breaks down sugar, it produces pyruvate, a molecule that’s then used to provide further energy along the Krebs cycle.⁵ As a supplement, it’s supposed to boost fat breakdown. Based on evidence from several studies, its effect on weight loss is weak.⁶

Green Tea Extract

Made from dried green tea leaves, green tea extract contains caffeine and plant compounds called catechins, including epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). The extract is said to help increase thermogenesis, or fat burning. Some studies indicate that it does help with weight loss, especially with the reduction of fat around the stomach.⁷ Other studies suggest that what effect tea catechins have on weight loss is minimal, if any.⁸

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a fatty acid that can be obtained from meat and dairy and is marketed as being able to decrease appetite, increase the breakdown of fat, boost thermogenesis, and hinder the body’s ability to store fat. If you’re not an animal, then the claims about its ability to do all those things are dubious, as weight loss is far less in human studies.⁹

By no means is the above list exhaustive. There are many, many more ingredients touted as helping to achieve weight loss.¹⁰ From the quick survey, though, you should be able to pick up on the running theme, one that applies to virtually every weight loss supplement on the market.

And that is?

*sigh*

That theme is that whatever weight loss pill there is that’s said to work has very little effect on weight loss, if there is any.¹¹

*sigh*

Glossary: caloric deficit, calories, dietary fat, fat, supplement

Author
Recent Posts

Monster Longe

Monster Longe is a personal trainer in San Diego. He has been lifting weights for +25 years and training clients in the gym and online for about half of that time. When not working with clients or making content that's easy to read, understand, and apply to everyday life, he enjoys long walks and leaving buildings crushed and entire city blocks decimated in his wake.