Supplements or no supplements when beginning a weight loss journey ?

knitsakes

Hi! It’s been awhile! My name is Amy and have a question to help me sort through what’s best when it comes to supplements. What are your thoughts? Take this poll

kshama2001

E. I supplement for reasons specific to me, for example, Vitamin D because I live in Massachusetts and my levels were low, DGL to prevent heartburn, and when I was anemic and had my iron levels tested, iron.

What do you mean by "Elevated supplements to activate metabolism"? I can't think of anything that actually works that does not come under "illegal because it's dangerous." I used to work for a company that sold various products that had one or more of the first four ingredients listed below, and they didn't actually work to boost metabolism/lose weight.

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-increase-metabolism/

...Myth #6: Everything Else
I can keep going on and on here, but to save time, let’s just throw everything else into this final category.

That means stuff like…

• Green tea.
• Caffeine.
• Garcinia cambogia.
• Yohimbine.
• Ephedrine.
• Drinking cold water.
• Whatever else you may have heard of that supposedly speeds up your metabolism.

It’s all either A. something that has some proven metabolic benefits that are simply too insignificant to make much (if any) difference in the grand scheme of things, B. unproven/disproven myth-based nonsense, C. things that work but come along with potentially dangerous side effects, or D. some combination thereof.

paperpudding

My answer would be none of the above.

I didn't take any supplements nor did I eat clean fresh food only.

I try to eat an overall reasonably nutritious diet - but it isn't fresh food ONLY.,

penguinmama87

kshama2001 wrote: »

E. I supplement for reasons specific to me, for example, Vitamin D because I live in Massachusetts and my levels were low, DGL to prevent heartburn, and when I was anemic and had my iron levels tested, iron.

paperpudding wrote: »

My answer would be none of the above.

I didn't take any supplements nor did I eat clean fresh food only.

I try to eat an overall reasonably nutritious diet - but it isn't fresh food ONLY.,

Yes to both of these. I don't take any supplements specifically to aid in weight loss. I do take some specific to my health needs (in my case, a general multivitamin aimed for women in childbearing years, plus calcium, Vitamin D, and iron, based on the results of blood testing.) I also drink coffee because I have small children.

I think it's laudable to try and eat highly nutritious food most of the time, and I think doing this can help many people lose and then maintain a healthy weight better than eating primarily hyperpalatable modern convenience foods. But I don't think there's anything magical re: "clean" eating, whether for weight loss purposes or other.

Rockmama1111

None really apply. Or all but the last option apply. I aim for fresh food as much as possible and cook a lot, but I also have some protein bars in the cupboard (is that a meal replacement?) and I like a McDonalds cheeseburger on occasion. I take a multivitamin. No metabolism pills for me ever.

AnnPT77

I don't like polls here - my own irrational weirdenss. Supplements - outside some individual doctor-diagnosed deficiency - are a minor factor. Focus on major factors before minor factors.



This chart is one Layne Norton posted on Facebook, but you'll find similar charts (from decent sources like him, or others). It's about fat loss, in this case, but those about more performance oriented nutrition - muscle gain or CV performance - look pretty similar.

IME, I have a limited budget of time and attention. Focusing first on the lower levels of that pyramid, others later, is a good way to make more effective progress within that budget.

I take various supplements, most of them recommended by doctors for reasons specific to me; a few because I know I have challenges in some respect. (Example: Vitamin D because living in the North, plus older.) None of them are for weight loss.

It won't hurt to take a multivitamin as insurance nutritionally. (Avoid the ones with huge multiples of your daily requirements.) Use a protein supplement if you can't seem to get enough protein from food. Try to get good overall nutrition from actual foods, to the extent possible.

Don't get distracted searching for weight loss hacks. There aren't any . . . at least not safe ones.

tomcustombuilder

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I don't like polls here - my own irrational weirdenss. Supplements - outside some individual doctor-diagnosed deficiency - are a minor factor. Focus on major factors before minor factors.



This chart is one Layne Norton posted on Facebook, but you'll find similar charts (from decent sources like him, or others). It's about fat loss, in this case, but those about more performance oriented nutrition - muscle gain or CV performance - look pretty similar.

IME, I have a limited budget of time and attention. Focusing first on the lower levels of that pyramid, others later, is a good way to make more effective progress within that budget.

I take various supplements, most of them recommended by doctors for reasons specific to me; a few because I know I have challenges in some respect. (Example: Vitamin D because living in the North, plus older.) None of them are for weight loss.

It won't hurt to take a multivitamin as insurance nutritionally. (Avoid the ones with huge multiples of your daily requirements.) Use a protein supplement if you can't seem to get enough protein from food. Try to get good overall nutrition from actual foods, to the extent possible.

Don't get distracted searching for weight loss hacks. There aren't any . . . at least not safe ones.

i like a lot of what Layne does however I’d flip 1 and 2 as a deficit is mandatory for Fatloss and sustainability would be dependent on food choices and size of deficit so 1 and 2 actually need to almost be one in the same.

yirara

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I don't like polls here - my own irrational weirdenss. Supplements - outside some individual doctor-diagnosed deficiency - are a minor factor. Focus on major factors before minor factors.



This chart is one Layne Norton posted on Facebook, but you'll find similar charts (from decent sources like him, or others). It's about fat loss, in this case, but those about more performance oriented nutrition - muscle gain or CV performance - look pretty similar.

IME, I have a limited budget of time and attention. Focusing first on the lower levels of that pyramid, others later, is a good way to make more effective progress within that budget.

I take various supplements, most of them recommended by doctors for reasons specific to me; a few because I know I have challenges in some respect. (Example: Vitamin D because living in the North, plus older.) None of them are for weight loss.

It won't hurt to take a multivitamin as insurance nutritionally. (Avoid the ones with huge multiples of your daily requirements.) Use a protein supplement if you can't seem to get enough protein from food. Try to get good overall nutrition from actual foods, to the extent possible.

Don't get distracted searching for weight loss hacks. There aren't any . . . at least not safe ones.

i like a lot of what Layne does however I’d flip 1 and 2 as a deficit is mandatory for Fatloss and sustainability would be dependent on food choices and size of deficit so 1 and 2 actually need to almost be one in the same.

I'm conflicted here. You won't lose weight by being in a calorie deficit for a day or two. You need adherence and your food choices need to be sustainable. On the other hand, your food choices might be sustainable and you adhere to it and you still won't lose weight if you're not creating a calorie deficit. Both really go hand in hand here and should be on number 1 together. But I can understand why they did it the way they did: you need motivation to change something to start with. If this is absent, the whole rest of the pyramid is useless.

neanderthin

yirara wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I don't like polls here - my own irrational weirdenss. Supplements - outside some individual doctor-diagnosed deficiency - are a minor factor. Focus on major factors before minor factors.



This chart is one Layne Norton posted on Facebook, but you'll find similar charts (from decent sources like him, or others). It's about fat loss, in this case, but those about more performance oriented nutrition - muscle gain or CV performance - look pretty similar.

IME, I have a limited budget of time and attention. Focusing first on the lower levels of that pyramid, others later, is a good way to make more effective progress within that budget.

I take various supplements, most of them recommended by doctors for reasons specific to me; a few because I know I have challenges in some respect. (Example: Vitamin D because living in the North, plus older.) None of them are for weight loss.

It won't hurt to take a multivitamin as insurance nutritionally. (Avoid the ones with huge multiples of your daily requirements.) Use a protein supplement if you can't seem to get enough protein from food. Try to get good overall nutrition from actual foods, to the extent possible.

Don't get distracted searching for weight loss hacks. There aren't any . . . at least not safe ones.

i like a lot of what Layne does however I’d flip 1 and 2 as a deficit is mandatory for Fatloss and sustainability would be dependent on food choices and size of deficit so 1 and 2 actually need to almost be one in the same.

I'm conflicted here. You won't lose weight by being in a calorie deficit for a day or two. You need adherence and your food choices need to be sustainable. On the other hand, your food choices might be sustainable and you adhere to it and you still won't lose weight if you're not creating a calorie deficit. Both really go hand in hand here and should be on number 1 together. But I can understand why they did it the way they did: you need motivation to change something to start with. If this is absent, the whole rest of the pyramid is useless.

No talk about food and a typical reductionist viewpoint. Hopefully people get better results than what has historically happened.

AnnPT77

RE: The pyramid. Yes, it's ultra-simplistic - it's just a single summary graphic.

The point, in this particular thread, is that supplements are a smaller factor than the basics. It makes sense to start with focusing on the basics. Faffing about looking for "weight loss supplements" can be a distraction from figuring out a sustainable, calorie-efficient, personally-suitable routine. There's more payoff in the latter.

Anyone who wants near-endless detail and nuance can check out videos/blogs from any of a number of other reasonably well-educated sources (among which IMO Layne Norton is one), read research directly, etc. Even mainstream sources like USDA My Plate have some good, useful info . . . for anyone willing to look beyond a simple summary graphic. That doesn't make simplistic summaries irrelevant in all cases, I think.

The point here is to try to help OP, yes? With her question about how to "sort through what’s best when it comes to supplements"?

neanderthin

The pyramid is just basically saying, eat less and move more. Sustainability and adherence could be argued that it resulted in 75% of the population overweight and obese. I do agree that supplementation should be minimally focused on and probably a blood panel would be a better option.

tomcustombuilder

neanderthin wrote: »

The pyramid is just basically saying, eat less and move more. Sustainability and adherence could be argued that it resulted in 75% of the population overweight and obese. I do agree that supplementation should be minimally focused on and probably a blood panel would be a better option.

That's why adherence should be #2 however any diet must be sustainable or the weight will go right back on once the goal is achieved. Too many people get to their goal weight and figure "job done" then think they can go back to their old eating\drinking habits.

Courtscan2

I agree with none of the above, really. I do take a couple supplements that are specific to my goals - Creatine to help build muscle, and fish oil because I should really eat more fish. As for "clean" food - like....I eat mostly nutritionally dense foods, but I don't cut anything out altogether, or consider any food "bad" or "dirty". If I want a cookie, i have the cookie - I just log it and make sure it fits. I think this all or nothing mentality when you start applying morality to foods is what leads people to think they've failed if they eat the cookie, and end up eating the whole package since they feel they've already blown it, so give up altogether. As for multivitamins, I don't bother, I eat quite well. And my metabolism works just fine, I appear to be remaining alive, so no "activation" required.

neanderthin

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

neanderthin wrote: »

The pyramid is just basically saying, eat less and move more. Sustainability and adherence could be argued that it resulted in 75% of the population overweight and obese. I do agree that supplementation should be minimally focused on and probably a blood panel would be a better option.

That's why adherence should be #2 however any diet must be sustainable or the weight will go right back on once the goal is achieved. Too many people get to their goal weight and figure "job done" then think they can go back to their old eating\drinking habits.

It addresses the symptom, which is weight gain, as opposed to the root cause which can only be addressed on an individual basis. Personally, none of that pyramid makes much sense, basically lip service. imo. Cheers

paperpudding

Clearly the point of posting it was to show that supplements are but a very minimal part of the equation.

anything else about it is really tangential to the topic of this thread.

ahoy_m8

Hi, Amy. Best wishes to you for your weight loss efforts.

Most people who make a living advising on weight loss will say supplements make a very minor difference (unless they are selling supplements, in which case they will say the supplement makes miracles.) I have taken a multivitamin for years and not taken anything, and honestly, I cannot tell the difference at all. Without the multivitamin my vitamin D tested low in a blood test, so now I take Vitamin D when I remember. Again, I cannot feel the difference.

I also agree with the others that it doesn't have to be all fresh food all the time. IMHO, the important thing is that you have a pattern of eating that your genuinely enjoy because that will make it easy for you to stick to. The trick is finding that eating pattern that gives you the nutrition you need -minimums for fiber, fat and protein; carbs have no minimum- at the calorie level with the appropriate deficit for your situation (not too fast) and that you genuinely enjoy and look forward to.

Once you lose the weight, there is amazingly little difference between calories needed to lose the last few pounds and calories needed to maintain your healthy weight for the rest of your life - like one 250 calorie snack per day- so your enjoyment is a long term proposition. Cheers!