Do you feel suppliments, protein are necessities in weight-loss?
Brocksterdanza
Posts: 208 Member
Do most that have over 50 pounds to lose use suppliments to aid the process? Such as bcaa, protein, creatine, etc?
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When I lost my weight I didn't use any supplements. My personal opinion is that for weight loss, they are absolutely unnecessary. Just make sure your diet meets all your macro- AND micro-nutrient needs and supplements won't be necessary.6
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I lost 50lbs in seven months, no supplements and all my protein came from the food I ate.7
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No.4
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Brocksterdanza wrote: »Do most that have over 50 pounds to lose use suppliments to aid the process? Such as bcaa, protein, creatine, etc?
The only thing that's necessary for weight loss is a calorie deficit. Supplements are things you can take for specific reasons and can be helpful for meeting certain goals, but none of them are necessary.
Eric Helms recently authored two excellent, very comprehensive books (The Muscle and Strength Pyramids), in which he lays out evidence-based information about diet/nutrition and training. He has a pyramid for both aspects, and here's what his nutrition pyramid looks like (notice where supplements rank in importance - dead last in the hierarchy):
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Brocksterdanza wrote: »Do most that have over 50 pounds to lose use suppliments to aid the process? Such as bcaa, protein, creatine, etc?
I lost over 50 lbs and didn't use a single supplement.
Well ... I did take some vitamins, but they weren't for weight loss purposes.7 -
I'm a pescatarian but rarely eat fish so I do use a protein supplement in my coffee to help meet my protein needs.
ETA- I don't feel it's a necessity though.0 -
leanjogreen18 wrote: »I'm a pescatarian but rarely eat fish so I do use a protein supplement in my coffee to help meat my protein needs.
I don't know if that was intentional, but it did make me chuckle
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Haha. Fixed it.1
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Nope. Lost 50lbs and the only thing I did was eat at the correct calorie deficit for my weight goals.2
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Nope.0
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I used to be a big milk drinker. So in order to help drop the weight (75 lbs) I restricted my intake of dairy, because it became more important to eat my calories than drink them. And being over 60, my doctor gave me a calcium supplement to make sure I still got enough.
But other than that, nothing.1 -
Not at all. However, when i cut calories, I prefer to use protein powder because chicken breast gets monotonous. Also, I am a big believer in B vitamins, vitamin D. Helps me a lot with energy and mood.1
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Never used one. Don't plan on it1
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I don't think it's necessary for weight loss. I take some supplements for other reasons.1
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Protein is pretty important but you can get it from your food. Some people use a supplement for convenience but it's not necessary at all.
As for other supplements - most of them are snake oil.
Even basic vitamin supplements have a poorer evidence base than you'd think, in a lot of cases there is little evidence for the idea that the vitamin has the same effect in supplement form as it does in the context of the food it comes from. I'm not saying some supplements, like iron, calcium, vitamin C etc aren't helpful, but in general there is more evidence that adjusting your diet to get these nutrients from your food is probably a better option. Of course that isn't always possible, and that's where supplements come in - they're a sticking plaster, not an ideal solution at all.
When supplements are marketed as a first resort, or as a weight loss aid - and I'm including those multivitamins advertised with happy smiling sexy people on the back of buses, apparently optimised for men or women or teenagers or whichever group they've decided to milk- pure first press extra virgin snake oil. Save your money.4 -
I've lost 125lbs. Zero supplements, only calorie counting. Heck, I've been a bad girl and done almost zero exercise for the entire loss. Whoops.
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Brocksterdanza wrote: »Do most that have over 50 pounds to lose use suppliments to aid the process? Such as bcaa, protein, creatine, etc?
They aren't needed but can be convenient and helpful. I've used it myself and lost 30 pounds.3 -
Brocksterdanza wrote: »Do most that have over 50 pounds to lose use suppliments to aid the process? Such as bcaa, protein, creatine, etc?
None of the supplements you listed have anything to do with weight loss. BCAAs are protein, and are completely unnecessary if you have enough protein in your diet from other sources already. Same goes for protein supplements in general. Creatine helps (slightly) in the weight room for lifting performance. None of them contribute in any way to weight loss. The most important aspect of protein when dieting is to have enough of it in your diet (by whatever means) to help minimize loss of lean body mass/muscle (and strength training is equally, if not more, important).
If you don't have your diet on point, supplements aren't going to do anything. Your diet does the heavy lifting when it comes to weight loss, just as shown in the Nutritional Pyramid above. Calories matter most, then macros and micros. Meal timing starts to matter when you get to pretty lean BF% levels (maybe, say 10% or below) and are trying to cut further, and supplements matter least of all.6 -
I'm doing veganuary with the hope to becoming vegan longer term, so yes I think it's needed in my case.
After planning my foods, I feel my protein is a little low so will supplement until I've learned more about the diet and can get enough protein. Will also be supplementing vegan multivitamins and omega oils - again just until I have learnt enough to get the right nutrients via food.1 -
Brocksterdanza wrote: »Do most that have over 50 pounds to lose use suppliments to aid the process? Such as bcaa, protein, creatine, etc?
I'm just tracking what I eat and staying within calories set by MFP, so far I'm down 45 lbs.2 -
I'm down 55 lbs and will have a protein shake occasionally when I'm under on my protein for the day. Not sure it is needed as most days I get my protein from food. But I have grown to like the one I've got and it is actually a bit of a treat for me now.2
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I have found getting enough protein has really helped me stay on plan, and I have found protein bars and shakes invaluable on those days where I'm eating little or no meat. Definitely they aren't absolutely necessary, but they've made the process easier.2
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I have lost 80 lbs and did so without a single weight loss supplement. I do take multivitamins and drink an occasional protein shake, but none of that aided my weight loss.0
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Barring a medical condition, no. I have a friend who is low on iron and has other medical issues that ultimately interfere with weight loss. She doesn't take them to lose weight. She takes them to increase her quality of life (under the blessing and guidance of a doctor!) She will probably always have to. But the difference is that while having sufficient energy stores (vit D, iron, etc) sure help you find the energy to care about a calorie deficit, they don't in themselves make pounds fall off.2
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Brocksterdanza wrote: »Do most that have over 50 pounds to lose use suppliments to aid the process? Such as bcaa, protein, creatine, etc?
supplementing protein doesn't aid the process...there's nothing magical about those things that help with weight loss...they're just supplements. Protein supplements are used to help hit protein targets which should be higher when losing weight to preserve muscle mass. If you get enough protein with food, a protein shake isn't going to do anything more for you. Creatine is a weight room performance enhancer...has nothing to do with weight management.0 -
The only real "supplements" I use are probiotics. I try to get them in with things like yogurt, but take extra to help with the "belly flora".
I also take calcium/magnesium/Vitamin D. Never been big on drinking milk, and those have other positive benefits.
Those and a multivitamin.
Now, at one time, Special K had a "protein pink lemonade" packet that had some whey protein and fiber in it - about 5g protein and 5g fiber. They don't make it any longer - so I went to GNC and got some fiber powder and whey protein, then went and got Crystal Light pink lemonade and make my own with a 16 oz bottle of water. I don't rely on it completely, but when I was working, I'd have a bottle about 3pm. I'd start getting a little hungry in the late afternoon and would have that just to "tide me over" until dinner. If that didn't "fix it" - I'd have a chocolite protein bar (www.healthsmartfoods.com) - it's about 100 calories, gluten/sugar free, and has a goodly amount of protein and fiber.
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Do you have to? I don't think so. If anything a good postworkout protein would be beneficial to help you not feel as sore and helps build/repair the muscles. Also if you don't get enough protein then a meal replacement protein could help.
When I first started i didn't really take anything. Maybe some protein powder here and there. Now I found 1stphorm products and have been loving it. I ended up getting a vitamin (m factor goddess) and fish oil (full-mega). Just having those, I have noticed more results. My family has been sick since Christmas - myself included. Since taking those supplements. . I'm not as sick as my parents. Barely got it. I'm not doing anything different besides taking those so it's good to know that it helps. I also have a meal replacement (level1) and a post workout (Phormula1)0 -
No. I lost 40 with 0 supplements. I am trying to decide if I should add in some protein supplement now that I'm lifting though0
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Supplements are overrated1
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I lost over 60 pounds and I never used any supplements. I do think that protein is important, but I just got it through foods and not suppements.0
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