Multivitamins and weight loss: Any connection between the two?
jyoti_0
Posts: 87 Member
Hi,
Is there any connection between multivitamins and weight loss?
What has been your experience?
Curious to know, since I feel I lose weight when I am taking multivitamins. Maybe just my wishful thinking
Is there any connection between multivitamins and weight loss?
What has been your experience?
Curious to know, since I feel I lose weight when I am taking multivitamins. Maybe just my wishful thinking
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Replies
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I’ve wondered this too, but I think there are a few things at play. First, when I’m remembering to take my multi and log it, it also usually means I’m being a diligent logger, which means I’m probably losing weight. So correlation, not causation.
Second, taking a multi rounds out my nutrients, and I just feel better in general. So I’m more likely to be active. And, when I take a multi, I also take hair, skin, and nail gummies. So I feel pretty! Feeling good is motivation for me to keep at it. Again, correlation!
However, there could certainly be some chemistry in the multi that helps with hormones, water retention, etc.
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Yeah, no. cheers.9
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Nope.
I've been calorie counting for 7 years, been on and off various supplements for various reasons, multivitamins included. Never noticed the slightest effect on bodyweight or calorie needs.
I suppose theoretically if your nutrition were so terrible that it sapped your energy so you moved less, or caused cravings so you ate more, maybe supplements could improve the situation and help weight loss . . . but I think it's very improbable, and if there were an effect it would be invisibly tiny.
My advice: Try to eat so you don't need a multivitamin.6 -
Multivitamins are a massive scam for the most part. You can easily get those vitamins from eating a healthy diet.3
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Nope.
My advice: Try to eat so you don't need a multivitamin.
This is a good goal, but for a woman who is reducing calories to lose weight (I average 1400-1500 per day), it’s actually pretty difficult to do without a meticulously planned diet and near perfection in sticking to it. In my case, I eat a variety of produce and nuts and lean meats. I study my nutrients breakdown, see what I need more of, and try to fill in blanks. I mean, I spend a LOT of time on it! Yet there are nutrients I consistently fall short on. And since I know how much effort I put into my plan, and also know there are many people who don’t have the interest or inclination or time to spend on it like I do, I don’t think the goal is as easy as it sounds. Attainable, yes. But lofty.
To stay sane while I try to drop 20 pounds, I need to be able to eat a Christmas cookie instead of a bowl of beans, even though I might be a little short on iron. I selected my multivitamin specifically because it has the most things I tend to lack.
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To support my statement above that taking a multivitamin makes me feel better and therefore more likely to be active, here is a link to just one publication from a reputable source that indicates nutrition deficiency can lead to fatigue.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/could-a-vitamin-or-mineral-deficiency-be-behind-your-fatigue
Again, this is just one, but it’s worth a Google. Supplements aren’t magic energy or weight loss pills. But deficiency in certain nutrients can certainly lead to couch potatoing.
I saw some links to publications about nutrient deficiency and cognitive and mental effects too. I did not explore yet, but at least for me, feeling well all around is definitely linked to my performance, and ultimate success or failure when it comes to my overall weight loss (through diet and exercise) regime.
Also, for what it’s worth, I found the following about older adults and supplements (I’m almost 51).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17659898/2 -
i took a multivitamin for decades every day at my highest weight, lowest weight and all weights in between. it didn't seem to affect weight loss or gain. i can't say if it made me feel better since i've taken one almost every day for over 30 years...1
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Rockmama1111 wrote: »To support my statement above that taking a multivitamin makes me feel better and therefore more likely to be active, here is a link to just one publication from a reputable source that indicates nutrition deficiency can lead to fatigue.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/could-a-vitamin-or-mineral-deficiency-be-behind-your-fatigue
Again, this is just one, but it’s worth a Google. Supplements aren’t magic energy or weight loss pills. But deficiency in certain nutrients can certainly lead to couch potatoing.
I saw some links to publications about nutrient deficiency and cognitive and mental effects too. I did not explore yet, but at least for me, feeling well all around is definitely linked to my performance, and ultimate success or failure when it comes to my overall weight loss (through diet and exercise) regime.
Also, for what it’s worth, I found the following about older adults and supplements (I’m almost 51).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17659898/
Had you quoted my full post, it would've been clear that I said there could be a effect of sub-par nutrition on energy level thus an indirect effect on weight loss. I still believe the statistically probable effect would be small: I'm most familiar with the USA, and it's true that sub-ideal nutrition is quite common . . . but nutrition so bad that it has that type of effect is far less common. Meaningful for some people? Perhaps. For most? Improbable, I'd still say.
I do take supplements (more than the average person, probably). I do think taking some supplements can be a good idea if one is selective, and think it's reasonable to take a multivitamin as sort of an insurance policy (even though I no longer take a multi myself).
Here on MFP, though, we sometimes see people saying "I hate vegetables and fruits and don't much eat them, but I'm OK because I take vitamins". It's not the same. That's where I'm coming from.
I've been alive long enough to see quite a few essential or beneficial nutrients discovered by science. I assume we're not done finding them yet. Once they're identified, they tend to be added to supplements . . . but they were in food all along. In addition, certain micronutrients are better absorbed in the forms in which they occur in food, and a few are more toxic if overdosed in the forms that are commonly used in supplements. (Vitamin A is a case of the latter.)
That's my reasoning behind saying that a person should try to get all the necessary nutrients from food. I probably should've added that it's fine to take a moderate sort of multivitamin as insurance. (Some of the megadose health-food-store-type ones are scary, IMO.)
FWIW, I'm 67, so definitely older; lost weight at the kind of base calorie goal you're talking about at age 59-60, and on top of that I'm vegetarian, so the nutritional situation is a little more complex than for omnivores. ("Little" is not sarcastic in that sentence: The difference is pretty minor IME - a few things to be more careful about - B12, iron, calcium, etc.)
I didn't find it all that time consuming or complex to get good nutrition on lowered calories, after taking a few weeks to dial in some good eating patterns. I'm not dissing you here: How complex, time-consuming or difficult it is is going to vary quite a lot from person to person. Our starting points differ, tastes differ, and more. I'm making the comment that I didn't find it difficult simply to balance yours, lest those who worry that nutrition is way too complex and confusing decide it's not worth even making an effort. Humans are adaptable omnivores, we don't need to be exactly exact every single day (averages over short time periods matter more), etc.
I'm lucky to truly enjoy veggies and fruits, and find them filling - a boon during weight loss. For me, most of the micronutrients fall into place nicely with my routine veggie/fruit intake . . . but I target 10 x 80g veggie/fruit servings daily, with an emphasis on varied types and colors, and almost always meet or exceed that. Most Americans get fewer than the recommended 5 servings. That's not a good thing, in terms of micronutrient intake.
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Think about it: how would a vitamin help with weightloss? You lose weight by eating less or moving more, or a combination of both.
Does a vitamin make you move more? Hmm.. maybe, if you do have a deficiency. But the average multi vitamins are of rather poor quality, things that block absorption of some vitamins are included, and dosage is generally too low to do much.
Do vitamins make you eat less? Not really, apart from a placebo effect
Ok, then do vitamins wrap up food and transport it out of your body without it getting absorbed? Nope, really, not.1 -
Had you quoted my full post, it would've been clear that I said there could be a effect of sub-par nutrition on energy level thus an indirect effect on weight loss.
I quoted the part I was responding to, which is the advice to aim to get nutrients from food. I was explaining my experience that it’s pretty hard to do, especially when reducing calories. That’s all.
My second post today did not quote you because I was following up on my own claim that I feel better all around and therefore tend to be more active. I have a few aging-related annoyances that improve when I have optimum nutrition. I wanted to support my claim with articles, and if anything, it was for people who might see the other claim above that multivitamins are a scam.
OP asked if there is a connection. I think there could be, though maybe not a direct cause—as I think/hope I articulated. These are things worth considering and exploring.
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zebasschick wrote: »i took a multivitamin for decades every day at my highest weight, lowest weight and all weights in between. it didn't seem to affect weight loss or gain. i can't say if it made me feel better since i've taken one almost every day for over 30 years...
and conversely I did not ever take multivitamins - neither at my highest weight, lowest weight or anything in between.
I took folic acid/calcium when pregnant many years ago and briefly iron supplements, for 6 months as recomended by a doctor.
But never a multi vitamin.
if you need/want to take supplements, do so - but no, any weight loss effect is likely to be correlation, as posters above described, rather than any actual linked effect.
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I take Vitamin C and Vitamin D and I notice they help me with my energy level, particularly during the dark, cold winter months. So, increased activity could be a positive effect of vitamins.
Also, I take them with a large glass of water before eating my lunch, so the water intake could cause me to eat less than I would without the water. Another possible positive side effect, but certainly not a direct cause of weight loss.3 -
Back in my 40s I discussed vitamin supplementation with my eye doctor as I noticed the clinic was promoting a certain brand of vitamins for "eye health" and I have family history of ARMD. He said to take lutein. At the time, lutein was only found in the 50+ multis so that's what I started taking. Of course, now I'm well qualified to take a 50+ supplement lol.
I look at it as insurance. I certainly don't want to feel like I have to shovel in kale and spinach every single day just to get my lutein, especially in the winter months when cold salads become less appealing. Or play the "gee, how do I cook my spinach today?" game.
Taking a multi (or any other supplement, I have a few extras) hasn't had any appreciable impact on my weight, however.4 -
Rockmama1111 wrote: »To support my statement above that taking a multivitamin makes me feel better and therefore more likely to be active, here is a link to just one publication from a reputable source that indicates nutrition deficiency can lead to fatigue.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/could-a-vitamin-or-mineral-deficiency-be-behind-your-fatigue
Again, this is just one, but it’s worth a Google. Supplements aren’t magic energy or weight loss pills. But deficiency in certain nutrients can certainly lead to couch potatoing.
I saw some links to publications about nutrient deficiency and cognitive and mental effects too. I did not explore yet, but at least for me, feeling well all around is definitely linked to my performance, and ultimate success or failure when it comes to my overall weight loss (through diet and exercise) regime.
Also, for what it’s worth, I found the following about older adults and supplements (I’m almost 51).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17659898/
I'm going to absolutely agree with you and the Harvard Health article that nutrient deficiency, in my case, iron, can cause fatigue. I had crippling fatigue when my anemia was untreated.
However, I would never suggest someone take an iron supplement without first having bloodwork done - too much iron can also cause problems and it's important to track levels over time. For the last few years, I had to not only supplement but also get iron infusions several times per year.
My anemia was caused by uterine fibroids that lead to heavy bleeding. My last hemorrhaging incident was in September. I had a hysterectomy Nov 3 and bloodwork on Nov 28. My hematologist said my iron stores are now better than they've been in 10 years
While I'm recovering well from the surgery, my energy levels still aren't where I'd like them - my surgeon says to give this another month and to strive to do as much as I can without overdoing it. But my days of anemia fatigue are behind me, hooray!
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The only correlation I could see is if one were deficient in certain vitamins like D or B12 they would likely see an increase in energy by supplementing with vitamins which would cause them to move more and increase their CO. I was D deficient for quite awhile and always fatigued because of it until my Dr. had me start supplementing that.
Another possible correlation could be that if you start being mindful of taking a vitamin supplement you may also be being more mindful of other health things like better nutrition in general, regular exercise, etc.4 -
Yes, micronutrients help your body perform better.
Think of it like a vehicle.
Sure the motor Jan’s tranny are strong, but how is the air filter? The oil levels? Tranny fluid?
How about making sure there’s no tiny leaks in your system?
Can a watch perform well if it’s missing even the slightest cog?1 -
I_AM_ISRAEL wrote: »Yes, micronutrients help your body perform better.
Think of it like a vehicle.
Sure the motor Jan’s tranny are strong, but how is the air filter? The oil levels? Tranny fluid?
How about making sure there’s no tiny leaks in your system?
Can a watch perform well if it’s missing even the slightest cog?
Yeah, good analogy. Optimal performance. It doesn't create weight loss but allows the body to work at a level that is more efficient. Cheers
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neanderthin wrote: »I_AM_ISRAEL wrote: »Yes, micronutrients help your body perform better.
Think of it like a vehicle.
Sure the motor Jan’s tranny are strong, but how is the air filter? The oil levels? Tranny fluid?
How about making sure there’s no tiny leaks in your system?
Can a watch perform well if it’s missing even the slightest cog?
Yeah, good analogy. Optimal performance. It doesn't create weight loss but allows the body to work at a level that is more efficient. Cheers
Sure. But there's a context. Different sources paint that picture differently, but this is pretty standard.
Truth in attribution: This is one Layne Norton posted on Facebook. It's about fat loss, in this case, but those about more performance oriented nutrition - muscle gain or CV performance - look pretty similar.
Multivitamins can be a factor, but other things loom larger. Someone new to this - not sure whether OP is new - will benefit most from dialing in the foundation factors, as a focus. But a sensible multi can't hurt, mostly . . . and might help.
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Yeah Ann, I like Layne's hierarchy for weight loss, but I suspect the longest lived people on the planet wouldn't know what most of that means or be interested imo. Cheers2
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No measurable connection. Vitamins are useful because we need them. If we don't have enough, a deficiency develops and that is not good. More than we need has either no effect at all and if the excess intake is too high, it is harmful.
As other posters have noted, multivitamins and other supplements are largely a scam. They exploit the erroneous idea that if a thing is good, more of it is better. But vitamins and minerals are not good for us, they are necessary. There is a difference between those two terms. Think of a car: a car needs oil and if there is not enough, the car will be in trouble. However, adding more oil than it needs will do absolutely nothing and may cause problems.
For the rest, the only way to lose fat is to ingest less energy than you need to stay alive. All the rest is secondary information that complicates the picture without adding anything particularly useful for weight loss.
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neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann, I like Layne's hierarchy for weight loss, but I suspect the longest lived people on the planet wouldn't know what most of that means or be interested imo. Cheers
OP's question was literally about multivitamins and weight loss.
Longevity is cool, too, though.
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While it doesn't hurt to take a mulit vitamin, it's NOT the cause of weight loss. It's all about calories in and calories out.
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neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann, I like Layne's hierarchy for weight loss, but I suspect the longest lived people on the planet wouldn't know what most of that means or be interested imo. Cheers
Excuse me but I'm confused. What does "the longest lived people on the planet" have to do with the OP? This comment comes way out of left field, unless you'd care to explain its correlation. Sometimes your posts just leave me shaking my head. Could be me though. Maybe I just have difficulty with a higher intellect than mine. Supplements are the discussion.3 -
Yeah Ann I like Laine's hierarchysnowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann, I like Layne's hierarchy for weight loss, but I suspect the longest lived people on the planet wouldn't know what most of that means or be interested imo. Cheers
Excuse me but I'm confused. What does "the longest lived people on the planet" have to do with the OP? This comment comes way out of left field, unless you'd care to explain its correlation. Sometimes your posts just leave me shaking my head. Could be me though. Maybe I just have difficulty with a higher intellect than mine. Supplements are the discussion.
Doesn't have anything to do with the OP, it had to do with Ann's pyramid for weight loss.0 -
neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann I like Laine's hierarchysnowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann, I like Layne's hierarchy for weight loss, but I suspect the longest lived people on the planet wouldn't know what most of that means or be interested imo. Cheers
Excuse me but I'm confused. What does "the longest lived people on the planet" have to do with the OP? This comment comes way out of left field, unless you'd care to explain its correlation. Sometimes your posts just leave me shaking my head. Could be me though. Maybe I just have difficulty with a higher intellect than mine. Supplements are the discussion.
Doesn't have anything to do with the OP, it had to do with Ann's pyramid for weight loss.
How? Nothing on the pyramid mentions longevity. Please try and be clear.1 -
snowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann I like Laine's hierarchysnowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann, I like Layne's hierarchy for weight loss, but I suspect the longest lived people on the planet wouldn't know what most of that means or be interested imo. Cheers
Excuse me but I'm confused. What does "the longest lived people on the planet" have to do with the OP? This comment comes way out of left field, unless you'd care to explain its correlation. Sometimes your posts just leave me shaking my head. Could be me though. Maybe I just have difficulty with a higher intellect than mine. Supplements are the discussion.
Doesn't have anything to do with the OP, it had to do with Ann's pyramid for weight loss.
How?snowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann I like Laine's hierarchysnowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann, I like Layne's hierarchy for weight loss, but I suspect the longest lived people on the planet wouldn't know what most of that means or be interested imo. Cheers
Excuse me but I'm confused. What does "the longest lived people on the planet" have to do with the OP? This comment comes way out of left field, unless you'd care to explain its correlation. Sometimes your posts just leave me shaking my head. Could be me though. Maybe I just have difficulty with a higher intellect than mine. Supplements are the discussion.
Doesn't have anything to do with the OP, it had to do with Ann's pyramid for weight loss.
How?
The pyramid would demand that people understand nutrition to a higher level than the norm. There's quite a few people on this planet, the vast majority I would presume that maintain and lose weight without any knowledge of nutrition. I guessing Ann needed to let me know that for weight loss there is a hierarchy after I mentioned that multivitamins don't create weight loss, but may help optimally. While I appreciate Ann's insight and yours btw, weight loss can happen outside of understanding anything about nutrition. It was a little cryptic I will admit. Cheers
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This response is to address your edited post.
As far as "nothing on the pyramid mentions longevity" I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that weight lose in the context of health and not just vanity translates into living longer.0 -
neanderthin wrote: »snowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann I like Laine's hierarchysnowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann, I like Layne's hierarchy for weight loss, but I suspect the longest lived people on the planet wouldn't know what most of that means or be interested imo. Cheers
Excuse me but I'm confused. What does "the longest lived people on the planet" have to do with the OP? This comment comes way out of left field, unless you'd care to explain its correlation. Sometimes your posts just leave me shaking my head. Could be me though. Maybe I just have difficulty with a higher intellect than mine. Supplements are the discussion.
Doesn't have anything to do with the OP, it had to do with Ann's pyramid for weight loss.
How?snowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann I like Laine's hierarchysnowflake954 wrote: »neanderthin wrote: »Yeah Ann, I like Layne's hierarchy for weight loss, but I suspect the longest lived people on the planet wouldn't know what most of that means or be interested imo. Cheers
Excuse me but I'm confused. What does "the longest lived people on the planet" have to do with the OP? This comment comes way out of left field, unless you'd care to explain its correlation. Sometimes your posts just leave me shaking my head. Could be me though. Maybe I just have difficulty with a higher intellect than mine. Supplements are the discussion.
Doesn't have anything to do with the OP, it had to do with Ann's pyramid for weight loss.
How?
The pyramid would demand that people understand nutrition to a higher level than the norm. There's quite a few people on this planet, the vast majority I would presume that maintain and lose weight without any knowledge of nutrition. I guessing Ann needed to let me know that for weight loss there is a hierarchy after I mentioned that multivitamins don't create weight loss. While I appreciate Ann's insight and yours btw, weight loss can happen outside of understanding anything about nutrition. It was a little cryptic I will admit. Cheers
The point of posting the pyramid was to encourage the OP to think a little more deeply about multivitamins and weight loss in a larger context . . . to "understand nutrition to a higher level than the norm", to use your words. The "multivitamins improve weight loss" idea, taken alone, is simplistic. Sure, multivitamins can be useful. But keep it in perspective, maybe?
We often see folks around here focus energy and attention on peripheral issues, minor contributors to weight management (hacks, "one weird trick", etc.) . . . at the expense of focus on the most influential aspects. Some people call that "majoring in the minors". They're not bad things to do, but may be a distraction.
For example, if someone cuts calories aggressively far, but takes that multivitamin thinking it will keep their energy level up, they're probably shooting themselves in the foot.
I know I probably talk way too much around here, but honest to cr*p, in my own pathetic way, I'm sincerely trying to help the OPs with the topics they've introduced, not make some grandiose point about the larger world for my own gratification. When I got here to MFP, some of the old hands of the time were very helpful to me, in my attempts to understand a little more.6 -
neanderthin wrote: »This response is to address your edited post.
As far as "nothing on the pyramid mentions longevity" I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that weight lose in the context of health and not just vanity translates into living longer.
Well,---really? That's a no-brainer. I was wondering if that was your vague tie-in.
I live in Italy. People here lose and maintain without thinking about it, and my husband is a prime example. Understanding nutrition to a "higher level than the norm" is not necessary, and the pyramid seems pretty straight forward to me. You don't have to be an intellectual to read it, unless, of course, you know some secret that you've come across in your studies.
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Nope no secrets, I'm still figuring out the 92 USDA pyramid after researching it for 20 years.0
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