Carb blockers, do they work? How?

JamiesMummyX

Do carb blockers work and if so how?

Anyone with any personal experiences using them? Which ones? I keep seeing a advert for XLS or something similar.

I have used fat blockers before but realised pretty quickly how pointless they were, they force you to eat less and therefore you don't need them. But these carb blockers have no side effects listed as opposed to the fat blockers.

I eat alot of carbs, love chips breads rice pasta veggies, I refuse to cut down on them because I love them so much and I don't really have an issue with them, but if I can lessen the calories from them says it can cut off 50/60% off then surely that's a good thing if the rest of my diet is overall good but I need to lose some weight.

I'm aware people have lots of mixed opinions on fads and doing things the right/healthy way and I understand that but I'm not asking for opinions just experiences and maybe a couple facts for and pro them.

Anyone, please?

allana1111

Garcinia cambogia works.

FredDoyle

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-truth-about-starch-blockers

Yuck. Just eat smaller portions of the stuff you like. It's your choice. Buckle down or remain overweight.

Starch blockers probably do allow complex carbohydrates to pass through the small intestine largely undigested, says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman.

“But when they get to the large intestine, the starches ferment, give off gas, and cause bloating and diarrhea,” Gerbstadt tells WebMD.

TavistockToad

I eat alot of carbs, love chips breads rice pasta veggies, I refuse to cut down on them because I love them so much and I don't really have an issue with them,

but I need to lose some weight.

so you do have an issue with them, the issue is that you need to eat less as you want to lose weight... so you need to use some will power and learn portion control, not take pills....

allana1111

The way garcinia cambogia works is WITH diet and exercise. But you take it an hour before you eat.. it suppresses your appetite some but the thing it does for the most part is instead of converting carbs/sugar to fat, it converts to energy. Granted, I do eat a caloric deficit and exercise, but once I hit a plateau and wasn't losing anymore, once I took those and remained working out/eating mostly right, I started losing again. But make sure they're 100% natural and AT LEAST 50-60 HCA.

thedaintyone

I've been interested in buying some Garcinia. Have you really had success with it??? I once tried to take green coffee bean with raspberry keytones but it made me have anxiety and I had breakouts of acne all over my back, so needless to say, I am very cautious to try any other pills.

JamiesMummyX

I eat alot of carbs, love chips breads rice pasta veggies, I refuse to cut down on them because I love them so much and I don't really have an issue with them,

but I need to lose some weight.

so you do have an issue with them, the issue is that you need to eat less as you want to lose weight... so you need to use some will power and learn portion control, not take pills....

As I said, I'm asking for experiences. Do you have anything constructive to add for the question I asked?

I am losing weight and can work my love of carbs into a calorie controlled diet with no issues, but if they are safe to use and work fine then I can bump up with some bonus weight loss whilst still eating it with no problems. Admittedly I could speed up my weight loss if I cut down on the carbs a bit without the tablets, but we're not here to criticize my eating habits, so really I'd like advice on the question asked only and save any other issues I may or may not have for a different thread.

ascrit

Short answer: no, "carb blockers" don't work.

Ideally your diet should consist of a mixture of carbohydrates, fats, and protein. If you are serious about losing weight the right way then you should consult with a registered dietician and get some guidance on the levels of macro nutrients your body needs to perform at its optimum levels. Also, make sure that you are upping your activity level.

I have found in my own experience that as long as you are eating properly then there is no need for supplements to achieve your goals. Be smart, consult experts, get informed about what works best for you. Good luck!

SashleyA

Short answer: no, "carb blockers" don't work.

Ideally your diet should consist of a mixture of carbohydrates, fats, and protein. If you are serious about losing weight the right way then you should consult with a registered dietician and get some guidance on the levels of macro nutrients your body needs to perform at its optimum levels. Also, make sure that you are upping your activity level.

I have found in my own experience that as long as you are eating properly then there is no need for supplements to achieve your goals. Be smart, consult experts, get informed about what works best for you. Good luck!

This also my own experience. I also love carbs- rice, pasta, chips, potatoes, fruit. So I eat them, just watch my portion sizes and haven't had problems. Personally, I'd be concerned about the side effects of the carb blockers. Anything that causes diarrhea and fermentation in your intestine sets off huge red flags for me. What does that do to your digestive system long term? Are there any studies that show that? Is it worth the quicker weight loss?

3laine75

Garcinia cambogia works.

= D

ladymiseryali

You're not going to get the answers you seek because this site is dedicated to fitness, not fads or pills. Sorry. You know that in order to lose weight, you may need to cut down on your carbs and learn portion control.

It's just that simple. I'm not saying cut out carbs and deprive yourself, but learn how much ONE serving size of chips is and eat ONLY that. Learn how much ONE serving size of rice is and stick to that. Don't waste your money on pills. That doesn't help you in the long run.

castlerobber

I have used fat blockers before but realised pretty quickly how pointless they were, they force you to eat less and therefore you don't need them. But these carb blockers have no side effects listed as opposed to the fat blockers.

I eat alot of carbs, love chips breads rice pasta veggies, I refuse to cut down on them because I love them so much and I don't really have an issue with them, but if I can lessen the calories from them says it can cut off 50/60% off then surely that's a good thing if the rest of my diet is overall good but I need to lose some weight.

Carb-blockers are just as pointless as fat-blockers. Not very effective, with unpleasant side effects.

You can't have your cake and eat it too, sorry. You're tacitly admitting that you know such a starch-heavy diet isn't good for you.
Replace most of that bread and pasta with veggies, fat and protein.

JamiesMummyX

I've been on MFP for years (newish account) and I find it's just a few that need to shove there views down peoples throats on right and wrong (I understand it, kind of) which is why I asked directly for peoples experiences and I am sure there is many people on this site who would of used these, maybe still do used these and other types of diets/fads and such. They all come with there own experiences it's not just for calorie counting but the overall look at health, calorie counting is not always some ones first point of call for weight loss.

I know portion control, calorie counting ect works, I did lose 50 odd lbs a couple years back on here after having my son but life happened and slowly but surely put some back on, I'm not completely blind to the fact this works, I know it does, this is why I'm back and not on WW or slimfast websites.

I'm only asking for if people know these work and how, I've found a couple websites online, but still no people reviews other than on amazon, which is why I turned here...you never know!!

This might sound a bit sarcy/stroppy not meant to come across that way of course, everyones got there own views and that's cool!

---

Personally, I'd be concerned about the side effects of the carb blockers. Anything that causes diarrhea and fermentation in your intestine sets off huge red flags for me. What does that do to your digestive system long term? Are there any studies that show that? Is it worth the quicker weight loss?


The ones I was looking at said they had no side effects, though clearly the foods got to go somewhere so they can't be without fault on the few reviews I did see they said the side effects only last a matter of days, but when you look at it that way - it can't do much good for the insides, your right. As for if it's worth it, I wouldn't know because I don't know how well they work, if it comes straight back on, how long people tend to use them for ect, but probably not!

agthorn

The way garcinia cambogia works is WITH diet and exercise. But you take it an hour before you eat.. it suppresses your appetite some but the thing it does for the most part is instead of converting carbs/sugar to fat, it converts to energy. Granted, I do eat a caloric deficit and exercise, but once I hit a plateau and wasn't losing anymore, once I took those and remained working out/eating mostly right, I started losing again. But make sure they're 100% natural and AT LEAST 50-60 HCA.

Not really. http://examine.com/supplements/Garcinia+cambogia/

ninerbuff

Not really.

And if eating carbs is your issue, then portions should be addressed not using something that allows you to OVEREAT them.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

kgeyser

The way garcinia cambogia works is WITH diet and exercise. But you take it an hour before you eat.. it suppresses your appetite some but the thing it does for the most part is instead of converting carbs/sugar to fat, it converts to energy. Granted, I do eat a caloric deficit and exercise, but once I hit a plateau and wasn't losing anymore, once I took those and remained working out/eating mostly right, I started losing again. But make sure they're 100% natural and AT LEAST 50-60 HCA.

DeadliftAddict

Why block carbs? None of that stuff is really needed to get yourself in the shape you want to be in. People will have to learn not to look for the easy way or magic pill. Learn to track your food which is a whole lot cheaper, easier and proven than anything you will buy and experiment with. Track your food and macros and boom you can enjoy life and the fat will fall off. You don't have to starve or cut out the foods you enjoy eating.

VeggieKidMandy

I consider carb blocking not having any carbs in the house. I had a huge issue with carbs when i first started. After the first 50lbs came off, then i started to have more carbs in the house.

Ive lost 130 lbs in 15 months, with a huge carb tooth. trust me, just not having it in the house works better than taking some pills .After you lose your initial weight or kick the craving then you can slowly start to incorporate stuff like white rice and pasta back into your diet. Not saying carbs are EVIL in any means, but they can easily be over eaten. Especially if its most of what your diet ( before you started MFP ) consisted of.

auddii

No direct experience, but I searched pubmed for you.

This review article suggests that you can get the same effect from just eating more fiber (and with similar side effects, but would be cheaper than a supplement):
http://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezproxyhost.library.tmc.edu/pubmed/20150600

However, "carb blockers" only brought back 9 articles. You'd probably have better luck looking at specific names, but I don't care that much. You could just try search pubmed on your own and seeing what the research says.

cwolfman13

The way garcinia cambogia works is WITH diet and exercise. But you take it an hour before you eat.. it suppresses your appetite some but the thing it does for the most part is instead of converting carbs/sugar to fat, it converts to energy. Granted, I do eat a caloric deficit and exercise, but once I hit a plateau and wasn't losing anymore, once I took those and remained working out/eating mostly right, I started losing again. But make sure they're 100% natural and AT LEAST 50-60 HCA.

LOL...carbs/sugar aren't converted to fat...carbs/sugar are used for energy...if you are exercising, they are the first sources of energy you will use. They are the rocket fuel that helps you crush your workouts...run for miles and miles...cycle for hours on end.

Carbs/Protein/Fat all get converted to fat...when you consume more energy than you require to maintain.

OP...just eat less carbs and take in a more balanced diet...and eat more fiber.

30daysupply

Every single reply has avoided answering your question. I have some info. I have used carb blockers for years. I buy the ones that only contain phaseoleum vulgaris on the internet. Walmart sells some with chromium but chromium makes me sick. I know they work because I get hungry fairly quickly after I use them. To me, that means my food isn't being digested. Also, I am a diabetic. My A1C tests have become so normal since taking them that my doctor decreased my diabetic medication. Again that means to me that the carb blockers are not allowing the carbs to be digested and thereby raising my blood sugar. Best of all, I stopped gaining weight, although I haven't lost any, but am not trying. My question and what led me to this site is how do they work. As I understand it, they prevent the enzyme that digests carbs from forming, but I don't know if that happens in the mouth, in the stomach or where ever along the digestive tract. Therefore, do you have to take them before you eat to be effective or can you take them in the middle or at the end of a meal and still have them work. If they work on the enzymes in the mouth, obviously they need to be taken before you eat. If they work somewhere else in the digestive system, taking them while or after eating should work too. Can't find the answer to my questions either. Just my experiences.... Good luck. They work for me.