Hi, DISNEYmooner2008!
I've spent tons of time lately researching diet supplements. Do any of them work? Well, some of them certainly do, but I don't want to take them because of other health issues. For example, caffeine almost certainly helps with weight loss, but my stomach can't handle even small amounts of caffeine (I get bad heartburn.) Citrus Aurantium may also be effective, but I don't want to take it because it will interact with some prescription meds that I'm on. Phenylpropanolamine helped me a lot in the past, but it was taken off the market.
In general, there is a problem that most people figure you shouldn't need to take any medication to lose weight; therefore, if a diet medication causes even a slight risk of side effects, it often gets pulled from the market. Unfortunately,
any medicine that actually does something is virtually guaranteed to have side effects in
someone, so that means effective diet pills often get taken off the market. The whole thing is ridiculous because millions of people smoke to lose weight (or won't give up smoking because of fear of weight gain), and smoking is far more dangerous than diet pills such as phenylpropanolamine or ephedrine, but the tobacco lobby is stronger than the diet pill lobby, so cigarettes are available on every street corner while safer diet pills get banned! (Sorry for the rant.)
All right, given all that, what should you do?
First, you ask whether people combine diet and exercise with diet pills. That's the approach that I'm taking. I'd say you shouldn't take any diet pills unless you are willing to exercise and restrict your eating as well. Yes, there are substances that will cause weight loss even without dieting (cigarettes, amphetamines) but they are very dangerous and not worth it.
Second, I'm generally in favor of buying individual supplements instead of "proprietary blends" such as NV. The reason is, most proprietary blends don't tell you how much of each ingredient you are getting, and many throw in all sorts of extra ingredients that you may not need. For each extra ingredient that you take, you raise your risk of side effects.
I see that the "fat burning" ingredients in NV are green tea extract, theobromine, and hoodia, but it doesn't say how much of each is in the formula. Green tea extract is probably helpful for weight loss and quite healthy for other reasons; it has caffeine but not much. I've been drinking green tea and believe it helps, but my stomach has been acting up lately (that darn caffeine!), so I'm going to have to look for a decaffeinated green tea extract instead.
Theobromine is extracted from cocoa. It is similar to caffeine, but may have some health benefits that caffeine doesn't. (It is toxic to cats and dogs, however.) I have been eating various sugar-free cocoa products but haven't specifically been taking theobromine; it's on my list of things to try. I'm not sure if it will cause the same stomach problems I get with caffeine or not.
Hoodia is new and there isn't a lot of evidence on whether it works. Also, it is a very expensive ingredient and apparently a lot of stuff sold as hoodia is fake. Since NV doesn't say how much hoodia they give you, and the other ingredients listed with it are far cheaper, I'd guess NV doesn't have much hoodia. I don't know enough about hoodia to say whether I think it's safe.
So, if NV interests you, I'd buy some green tea (or its extract) and theobromine and give them a try; not sure about hoodia.
Third, if you are interested in supplements, I'd suggest that you join
www.ConsumerLab.com They are an independant lab that tests and reviews supplements. I don't know of any other organization like them. It cost $30 a year to join, but I feel it's worth it. They have a very good article about supplements for weight loss.
Fourth, there are a number of people here who take Alli (non-prescription strength Orlistat.) There should be a thread about it somewhere around here.
Fifth, this thread is about supplements, but I figured I'd mention that prescription drugs that actual work for weight loss are starting to become available. Byetta is a new drug for Type 2 diabetes that causes weight loss of 25 pounds without dieting in 25% of obese patients who take it. It isn't available for obese non-diabetics, but a somewhat similar medicine, Symlin, may be soon. In Europe, a new drug called Acomplia is available. It works for weight loss but can cause depression, and therefore has been denied approval in the US. It's possible to buy it online, but it's expensive. I'm thinking of buying some for my husband, who is a diabetic and can't control his blood sugar even with three shots of insulin and Byetta a day, despite tons of exercise and a healthy diet. In the US, Sibutramine (Meridia) is probably that most effective non-stimulant prescription drug for obesity.
I have to say, though. I don't think I'd use anything stronger than maybe Alli, green tea or theobromine if I just had a few pounds to lose. The prescription stuff is intended for obese people who have health problems from their weight and can't get the weight off any other way.
I am exercising 3-4 times per week and eating about 1000 calories per day. I was wondering if anyone has tried any supplementation to their weight loss program?? I was looking into NV and a few others.. Thanks for any help!
