B-12 Shots

mariesmiles66
mariesmiles66 Posts: 28 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone on here take B-12 Shots and are they effective?

Replies

  • chunky_pinup
    chunky_pinup Posts: 758 Member
    Effective for what?

    There's a lot of reasons people get them. I get them because mine is chronically low - always has been my whole life.
  • mariesmiles66
    mariesmiles66 Posts: 28 Member
    I don't know if mine is low, but people say the shots give you an energy boost and helps lose weight faster.
  • chunky_pinup
    chunky_pinup Posts: 758 Member
    mariesmiles66 wrote: »
    I don't know if mine is low, but people say the shots give you an energy boost and helps lose weight faster.

    Weight is lost in a calorie deficit. It's definitely not a magic shot. I'm more lethargic when I'm due for one because my body just doesn't absorb it well, and I do feel more energetic when I receive them, but my weight loss comes from monitoring my calories.
  • mariesmiles66
    mariesmiles66 Posts: 28 Member
    So, have you been dieting long? I'm 50 and it seems to get harder. My weight has been up and down my whole life. Mostly up!!
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,184 Member
    I take B-12 shots for B-12 anemia and they are effective. They don't do anything for weight loss. I gained most of my weight while taking them. They may give people who aren't anemic energy. They just make me feel normal. If you want to lose weight you need to eat at a calorie deficit. There really isn't any "magic" shot or pill that will help.
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
    I had to have them when I was very B12 deficient - I was vegetarian but clearly not doing it well. I was very fatigued and they did help with that but I can't imagine they will do anything if you already have normal levels. They had no impact on my weight. As others have said there is no magic injection that will just make you lose weight - it's a hard slog but you have to find the right mental space and just do it - if I knew an easy way to do that I would be both thin and rich!
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,644 Member
    mariesmiles66 wrote: »
    So, have you been dieting long? I'm 50 and it seems to get harder. My weight has been up and down my whole life. Mostly up!!

    Your activity level and calorie needs tend to reduce when you get older. The best place to start is by reducing calorie intake. If possible, it would be helpful to increase activity as well, for lots of reasons other than weight
  • losergood2011
    losergood2011 Posts: 172 Member
    I have pernicious anemia which means I have to take them for the rest of my life or I will slowly wilt and die. It does help with energy but I don't think it helps with weight loss.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited January 2017
    I doubt you'd be able to get one if you weren't actually deficient...

    Being B12 deficient can make you lethargic so in that sense, it could affect the CO part of the equation...but in and of itself B12 does not promote weight loss. If you eat meat and don't have absorption issues, you should be fine anyway.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited January 2017
    This content has been removed.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    B-12 doesn't really give "energy" although it is advertised as such.

    I can definitely feel a boost of energy when i take a couple of B vitamin tablets.
  • lorindaleigh
    lorindaleigh Posts: 87 Member
    I take b12. They have really helped with my energy. I don't feel sluggish and worn down all the time. I have a lot more energy with the shots.
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
    One year ago i was b12 deficient and doctor told me to take b12 daily. I wasn't taking shots, just a pill. So fast forward to a year later, i developed a weird spots on my legs, looking like rash, but without any itching or discomfort. Blood test showed that my b12 level was high at that point, and doc thought that the rash was something systemic, but didn't know what caused it. So i figured that it could've been b12. Stopped taking it, a few weeks later it's almost gone. I don't know why i was low on it, i do eat meat, but be careful randomly taking supplements even if you need them, or think that you do.
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I doubt you'd be able to get one if you weren't ...

    Every darn diet clinic around here offers them... Groupons constantly.

  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,644 Member
    karahm78 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I doubt you'd be able to get one if you weren't ...

    Every darn diet clinic around here offers them... Groupons constantly.

    Yup. Even if you need a prescription, there are plenty of "medical weight loss clinics" that are basically cash cows peddling pre-packaged weight loss programs and vlcds. They are run by doctors with prescribing powers, and they'll write an rx for whatever the program says to keep you hopeless and dependent on them.
  • Madwife2009
    Madwife2009 Posts: 1,369 Member
    My husband has these, once every 12 weeks because he's B12 deficient. It was explained that for some people, when they get older, they cannot get B12 from their food and have to be topped up. My husband gets really tired just before he's due another shot. They don't help him lose weight at all and I'm not convinced that they help with his exhaustion, although that may be more to do with his lifestyle - his idea of an early night is 2am and then he has to get up again at about 7am.
  • sweetpea813
    sweetpea813 Posts: 112 Member
    I take shots because I am deficient but they don't do anything for my energy or weight loss. I was hoping for energy when I started them but that wasn't the case. But I do have tons of energy now but that's due to an hour long cardio class 5 times a week along with strength training. Got rid of my anxiety and mild depression too.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    So often, when it comes to vitamins, minerals, and the like, supplementing your diet is only beneficial if you are deficit. Most of the time, adding more when levels are sufficient, provides no benefit other than the financial benefit to those selling the products. I sat through a seminar once in which presenters reviewed the research on 10 common supplements--every one showed benefits to those who were deficient, none showed benefits if levels were normal. (Needless to say, those selling the products never mention that fact when they tout "research" that supports their products).
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    I am not a nutrition expert but just wanted to offer some information I read a very long time ago. Vitamin B is actually a complex and if you are taking it you should take the entire complex not just one component (B12) unless you are actually only deficient in one component and a doctor advises shots. Apparently they say it can create deficiencies in the rest of the complex. I have no idea if that's true but I would be cautious just the same. My source was a book written by Adele Davis (She wrote several but it most likely was either let's eat right to keep fit or lets get well).
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