Magic Pills

Sadly, I have yet to find one. Sorry.

What I can do is run through which ones are useful, which ones have some clinical evidence to say they work, what's in them and what I have had experience with. I can also let you in to the secret of the best natural appetite suppressant there is... fact.

Don't buy weird and wonderful pills off diet sites on the  internet. You have no idea what you are purchasing, or what's really in them. Just don't do it. Also don't believe 99% of the reviews out there. Websites are set up to review their own products to sell them to you. People get paid to write good reviews. It's all about making money and not helping you lose any weight.

On the high street...These are weight loss aids which you take in addition to your plan of action. Remember these are all supplements, not a lazy way out. The blurb is always to be on your 'diet' and do your exercise as well.

Alli. £50 for 40 days worth. That's expensive! It's active ingredient is orlistat. It works by blocking a percentage of fat from the food you eat from being absorbed, and instead is passed straight out in your poop. Nice. All the genuine reviews claim that it does do it's job and it's job is to prevent you eating too much fat. If you do, you get side effects like stomach cramps and diahorrea. It's aversion therapy. I guess if eating too much fatty food is a problem for you, then these may help. But the weight loss will ultimately be from cutting down the fatty foods and the laxative effects of the pills. 

'Natural' Fat binders such as LipoBind with no side-effects all tend to contain Litramine which is basically cactus. Mmm spikey. Unable to find any scientific evidence these work and all the 'clinical' evidence is again peddled by the various companies marketing the product. If it works for you, even as a placebo then give it a go but I wouldn't waste my money.

Adios. Contains seaweed. It also contains Dandelion root which is a diuretic. This will help reduce bloating caused by water weight by the frequent need to pee. All that peeing could lead to you being a bit potassium deficient. I've tried these before, and yes, all that really happened is I peed more. I probably didn't feel as hungry on some of the days, but I think that is in part to monitoring what I was eating (see earlier blog post) and positive thinking. 

Herbal berries and cherries. Hoodia (which always sounds like lady bits to me), acai, goji, green tea, etc. There's no harm in adding these supplements in to your diet as they do have the antioxidant properties to keep you healthy. Significant weight loss will not happen on these alone. It's always good to have natural and organic products over mass-produced sugary and fatty ones. But go for the actual berries if you want to try them, don't just pop a pill. Goji berries taste a bit like cranberries. 

Supplements that I recommend you do take: 

Fish oil. Not cod liver oil. Either fish oil, or krill oil. Something to get your Omega 3 dose up. This isn't a magic weight loss pill either. It will just keep your body and brain healthy. I've just started taking them, so hopefully I will note any improvements in my blog.

Multi-vitamin. Really only while you are sorting out changes in your diet. 

Water. This is the best appetite suppressant there is. If you're hungry, drink a glass of water. It'll fill you up. Now I know not everyone enjoys water on it's own. A little sugar free cordial, or a wedge of lemon and lime will make it palatable. I drink lots of tea, but I drink water as well. It's recommended for a reason. Get it drunk.