Garcinia Cambogia - does it work?

has anyone tried this? i can't find any negative feedback on the internet but like all these products it sounds far too good to be true! :ohwell:
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Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. There are no magic pills for weight loss. Just eat right and move more!
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,839 Member
    Not for weight loss in humans, maybe for blood sugar, the research on side effects is minimal. Weight loss occurred in rats but not in humans.

    From WebMD: Possibly Ineffective for:

    Weight loss. Taking garcinia fruit rind extract doesn't seem to decrease weight, fat breakdown, or energy expenditure in overweight people. There is some mixed evidence that garcinia might help people feel full even when eating less, but it's too early to recommend garcinia for this use.

    http://examine.com/supplements/Garcinia+Cambogia/:

    At least in rats, evidence of suppressed de novo lipogenesis has been noted and oral consumption of (-)-Hydroxycitric acid appears to reliably reduce food intake and body weight (the latter to a degree where food intake cannot explain all the observed effects). Studies in humans, for the most part, fail to replicate this; this may be related to less actual activity of de novo lipogenesis in humans and a much higher level in rats. Some isolated studies do note weight loss, but it appears to be quite variable and unreliable. Many studies also do report subjective appetite decrease, but tend to record dropout rates (how often people leave the study due to being unable to maintain the diet protocol) rather than food intake; even then the benefits are still unreliable and sometimes not present. Although there is some limited potential for (-)-Hydroxycitric acid as a weight loss aid, the magnitude of effect is quite low (up to 2kg over 3 months) and the benefit is unreliable; making it hard to recommend this compound as a fat burner or anti-obesity agent.
  • alliemum3
    alliemum3 Posts: 6
    If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. There are no magic pills for weight loss. Just eat right and move more!

    thanks, i think you are right!
  • alliemum3
    alliemum3 Posts: 6
    Not for weight loss in humans, maybe for blood sugar, the research on side effects is minimal. Weight loss occurred in rats but not in humans.

    From WebMD: Possibly Ineffective for:

    Weight loss. Taking garcinia fruit rind extract doesn't seem to decrease weight, fat breakdown, or energy expenditure in overweight people. There is some mixed evidence that garcinia might help people feel full even when eating less, but it's too early to recommend garcinia for this use.

    http://examine.com/supplements/Garcinia+Cambogia/:


    At least in rats, evidence of suppressed de novo lipogenesis has been noted and oral consumption of (-)-Hydroxycitric acid appears to reliably reduce food intake and body weight (the latter to a degree where food intake cannot explain all the observed effects). Studies in humans, for the most part, fail to replicate this; this may be related to less actual activity of de novo lipogenesis in humans and a much higher level in rats. Some isolated studies do note weight loss, but it appears to be quite variable and unreliable. Many studies also do report subjective appetite decrease, but tend to record dropout rates (how often people leave the study due to being unable to maintain the diet protocol) rather than food intake; even then the benefits are still unreliable and sometimes not present. Although there is some limited potential for (-)-Hydroxycitric acid as a weight loss aid, the magnitude of effect is quite low (up to 2kg over 3 months) and the benefit is unreliable; making it hard to recommend this compound as a fat burner or anti-obesity agent.

    thank you! i couldn't find anything so thats a great help :flowerforyou:
  • Doberdawn
    Doberdawn Posts: 733 Member
    I don't know how authoritative examine.com is... I don't even know what that is. I read the WebMD site and couldn't find the article someone on here said existed. Not saying it didn't, I just couldn't find it.

    But, I have heard of ncbi.nlm.nih aka the National Health Institute. They posted an article from the Journal of Obesity which did a review of all discoverable studies on using Garcinia Cambogia. They ruled out ones that were not on obese humans and which did not meet certain standards of accuracy.

    "Only randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies were included in this paper. To be considered for inclusion, studies had to test the efficacy of oral HCA or any of its salts for weight reduction in obese or overweight humans. Included studies also had to report body weight as an outcome."

    They found that "The objective of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy and effectiveness of HCA as a weight reduction agent. The overall meta-analysis revealed a small difference in change in body weight between the HCA and placebo groups." ... "The evidence from RCTs suggests that Garcinia extracts/HCA generate weight loss on the short term. However, the magnitude of this effect is small, is no longer statistically significant when only rigorous RCTs are considered, and its clinical relevance seems questionable. Future trials should be more rigorous, longer in duration, and better reported."

    Here's the cite for those who want to read all the details. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010674/
  • i've been taking garcinia cambogia for about a month now... I have been losing 2.5 pounds a week BUT i also switched to a whole food/plant based diet so (and walking daily), not sure if I can attribute the weight loss to the GC, I am going to stop taking it for a month and see if my results change or stay the same... if they stay the same I will probably drop the GC altogether. I will follow-up in 30 days with results
  • judystx
    judystx Posts: 2
    It does work but like others have said, you need to exercise and control how much you eat. I lost 2 pounds the first week and 10 punds more the next two weeks. Just be aware of how much you eat. It wont be hard to control your urges since it acts as an appetite suppressant. Good luck!
  • HoudinisBox
    HoudinisBox Posts: 9 Member
    I've been using it for about 2 months now, and I've lost 21 pounds. But I've been eating better too, so the loss is probably a combination of both.
  • jess6742
    jess6742 Posts: 146
    If there was a diet pill that acutally worked like it said it would no one would be fat. The diet industry thrives off of short term weight loss and false promises. I would save your money for something that will actually help you lose weight. With all the money you would spend on the product you could probably have an appointment with a dietician or join a gym.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    The thing about Garcinia Cambogia is, it is cheap, so no one is making tons of money off of it. I have found it very helpful for decreasing my appetite and making it far easier for me to say no when it comes to sweets. I have only been taking it for 2 weeks, am probably at my ideal weight already, so I haven't seen any weight loss or inches loss yet even though I have been counting calories and exercising too.
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    A calorie deficit is all that is needed to lose weight. Does the pill work? Nope. Anybody who says it does work has changed other behaviors and it was not the pill. Calorie deficit for weight loss and exercise for fitness. That is all.
  • mattschwartz01
    mattschwartz01 Posts: 566 Member
    While it may or may not help, there is no substitute for eating nutritiously (and less quantity) and getting physical activity. There really is no magic pill or secret formula. The not-so-secret formula is eat less and move more!
  • vidaben
    vidaben Posts: 2
    Thanks for your post.
    Good luck and waiting to hear your results and opinion:).
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    Amy? Is that you?
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    Yeah that's what I thought LOL
  • asever1
    asever1 Posts: 1 Member
    Sorry I posted something a second ago thinking you were asking about MyFitnessPal.
  • Whether Garcinia Cambogia works or not depends on the person and their current health conditions. My wife is taking Garnicia Cambogia to ADD to her diet and exercise program. The reason why she started taking it is because of the nutritional values Garcnicia Cambogia has that can give her a little boost. Same idea as people working out and taking protein shakes.
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
    Let's assume it works great. What happens when you stop taking the pill? Stop grasping for temporary solutions to a lifelong problem.
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
    No.

    If it sounds to good to be true, it IS too good to be true.
  • I tried it, NOT worth it. It's definitely not worth the money either. I took it for a month and lost 8 pounds, eating whatever I wanted and not exercising. But that isn't healthy. And as soon as I stopped taking it, those 8 pounds came right back. Don't waste your money on junk like I did, get into a fitness and exercise routine.
  • Ok so i took it as directed with diet and excersise for 4 weeks
    and only Gained weight
    Just another gimic fools like me fall for. Since I have stopped the pill and kept on diet and excersise I am seeing a few pounds come off, much slower than I'm told it should be coming off with my level of excersise and caloric intake, not sure what else to do to ecelerate this weight loss supposed to be 2 lbs a week--but more like .5 lb per week if that, so discouraged!!!!!!!!!!!
  • i took it for a few months and it acted as a mild appetite suppressant. i would advise you to save your money. also, i think a lot of the "real" reviews for the product, are fabricated. be wary of "GET ONE FREE BOTTLE" cons.
  • toadg53
    toadg53 Posts: 302 Member
    I've taken GC off/on since July 2013. But I have also religiously followed the diet my nutritional doctor gave me along with a lot of walking. When I have finished a bottle, I took between 10 days and 2 weeks off. I have had consistent weight loss and have hit no plateaus. So I cannot definitely attribute any loss strictly to my any of the 3 things I am doing. However, I can say that I have tried weight watchers, and just about every single other diet that's out there and I have never had success like I've had thusfar and have never dieted without hitting a plateau. I do believe that the GC has helped with decreasing my appetite and has reduced any cravings I had in the beginning. I recently had surgery and the doctor suggested I stop the GC for ten days prior, so I've now been off for about 2 1/2 weeks. I haven't gained, in fact have lost, so I am thinking I will hold off on starting again just to see how things go without it. I've been thinking maybe I continued just for a crutch. If my loss slows down, I will give it a go again. Maybe it works differently for different people??
  • First off GC is supposed to be an appetitie surpressant, not something that makes you lose fat. I, for one need something to reduce my appetite. Just ordered a bottle. I'll let you know if it works.

    As for losing weight, I lost 100 pounds over a year ago. Regained it back because I turned my focus from me to the *kitten* of a husband (now ex). He put me through hell and back - left me and played games. FIrst he wanted to come back, then he didn't....it was a nightmare. Anyway, from all of that I regained my weight that I worked so effing hard to lose!! I started working out again 2 weeks ago...starting to get energy back, which makes me very happy.

    All I can say is never again. Focus will remain on me always.
  • There is some research that shows it works, but the National Institute of Health points out that those studies are small-scale and of short duration and that they shouldn't be taken for gospel (as nothing should.) I wrote an article about Garcinia Cambogia that explains what it is and how it works, what the placebo-controlled studies show and what the National Institute of Health says about it. It also explains what to look for in a quality Garcinia cambogia extract, and the optimum dosage for effectiveness. The article is here:

    http://tulipsandtantrums.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-truth-about-garcinia-cambogia.html
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,385 Member
    Bump!
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    has anyone tried this? i can't find any negative feedback on the internet but like all these products it sounds far too good to be true! :ohwell:

    http://wafflesatnoon.com/2013/03/08/garcinia-cambogia-side-effects/
  • jennifries227
    jennifries227 Posts: 113 Member
    A few days ago someone else was asking about this stuff. Here's a link to that thread:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1213351-my-1st-post-please-i-need-help

    Please specifically note this reply:
    Right off the bat - NO there is no shortcut pill.

    Since I'm bored, I checked out what the National Toxicology Program had to say about this stuff.. Side effects they mention include arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), rhabdomyolysis (destruction of muscle fibers that leads to them being in your bloodstream, in turn causing kidney damage), and hypokalemia (potassium deficiency)

    In animal trials – no weight differences were found between a treated group and a control group after four weeks, but the treated group had lower insulin and leptin levels from taking it.. Increased serotonin levels in vitro (just in case youre planning more children)


    So short version, this stuff has the potential to really mess you up and going by the animal trials, wont help you lose weight. Plus it's pushed by Dr Oz, which is a red flag all by itself.




    http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/Chem_Background/ExSumPdf/GarciniaCambogiaExt_508.pdf

    ETA: The above link is from the National Institute of Health, which is way more credible than most sources I've seen mentioned so far. If you don't believe that, well, do as you will. Just be very careful taking supplements like this, as they are NOT regulated, and often don't contain as much (if any) of the ingredient they're supposed to. Recent studies have show that some of them even contain items that could be potentially harmful if you have allergies.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,385 Member
    A few days ago someone else was asking about this stuff. Here's a link to that thread:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1213351-my-1st-post-please-i-need-help

    Please specifically note this reply:
    Right off the bat - NO there is no shortcut pill.

    Since I'm bored, I checked out what the National Toxicology Program had to say about this stuff.. Side effects they mention include arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), rhabdomyolysis (destruction of muscle fibers that leads to them being in your bloodstream, in turn causing kidney damage), and hypokalemia (potassium deficiency)

    In animal trials – no weight differences were found between a treated group and a control group after four weeks, but the treated group had lower insulin and leptin levels from taking it.. Increased serotonin levels in vitro (just in case youre planning more children)


    So short version, this stuff has the potential to really mess you up and going by the animal trials, wont help you lose weight. Plus it's pushed by Dr Oz, which is a red flag all by itself.




    http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/Chem_Background/ExSumPdf/GarciniaCambogiaExt_508.pdf

    ETA: The above link is from the National Institute of Health, which is way more credible than most sources I've seen mentioned so far. If you don't believe that, well, do as you will. Just be very careful taking supplements like this, as they are NOT regulated, and often don't contain as much (if any) of the ingredient they're supposed to. Recent studies have show that some of them even contain items that could be potentially harmful if you have allergies.
    Thanks!