A few months ago I took a product with Ephedra(sp?). Once I read about the negative side effects, I quit taking the product.

Does anyone know of any safe weight loss product? Something that is not quick fix item but can serve as a supplement to working out.

I've never used a weight-loss product, but I've heard hydroxycut works really well. A friend of mine is a fitness competitor (Kim Lyons) and uses it for about 6 weeks prior to her competitions.

At the risk of being a wet blanket, I would suggest staying away from these products entirely. Even the makers of "Hydroxycut" said that their research showed an average weight loss of ten pounds in eight weeks (not that amazing) when combined with diet and regular exercise. Forgive me if I think the diet and exercise were responsible for the weight loss.

There's no big secret here; reduce calorie intake and increase calorie expenditure. Drink lots of water. Eat a lot of veggies and fruits as part of a well-balanced diet. (I should state here that I am extremely skeptical about the whole high-protein/low-carbohydrate diet fad. Yes, people following its guidelines lose weight; people following the guidelines of any diet with strict guidelines lose weight. But I suspect that a high complex carbohydrate/moderate protein/low fat diet is most appropriate for the majority of human beings. This is not to say anything about diabetes or other special cases.)

I'm going to be a wet blanket too. It just so happens that I've recently lost about 25 pounds, and I've written about my experiences on my web site (link #1, link #2). It all boils down to just two things:

• Eat less.
• Exercise more.

If you find a way to do those two things, that you can stick with, you'll lose weight permanently and by the way you'll be fitter too.

ECA stacks. that is ephedra, caffiene and asprin. ephedra, despite the press it has recieved is safe, when USED AS DIRECTED!! (EPHEDRA - THE REST OF THE STORY) (if the bottle says to take 2 pills and you take 6 of caourse there will be adverse effects) the ephedra and caffiene will porvide you with a ton of energy. asprin thins your blood and which helps get the blood to the muscles.

you MUST combine this with a good amount of cardio (I would suggest 30-45 minutes, at least 3-4 times a week) I would also suggest adding resistance training to your workout routine, as muscle helps to burn calories and fat while your at rest. if you don't want to bulk up, use light weight and high repititions with short rest periods between sets of lifting.



I wouldn't suggest eating LESS so much as eating SMART. take in less calories then you need to maintain your current weight. (which is different for everyone) I would suggest rice and beans as your stables. avoid starchy carbs, (pasta) and increase grains (oatmeal, rice etc...) cut down on saturated fats, your fats should be poly and mono unsaturated (such as fat from fish) your diet should be about 55%carbs, 30% protein, and 15% fats

Congrats, plat, I'm sure those 25 pounds won't be missed.

Obviously, the safest weight loss program does not include synthetic or herbal supplements but good old fashioned exercise and diet adjustment (meaning a permanent change and not a "diet")

To go even further, I would say the safest form of exercise (with the least amount of strain on joints) is swimming or underwater isometrics.

Low carb diets do work, and they are especially good for a person who for some reason can't exercise, but they are not very good to your body, especially your kidneys. By replaing carbs with protein, you force your kidneys to work overtime filtering out the nitrogen from the amino acids you eat. Plus, if you exercise regularly, you need carbs to burn before you get to your fat-burning stage, or else you will burn muscle instead. I think a lot of people are only concerned with weight loss and not necessarily with increasing the amount of lean muscle on their bodies, which I feel is more important.

Supplements may increase the rate at which you lose weight, but none of them should be taken for long periods of time, and often when you go off of them, you gain back the weight you had lost (which is probably why Mrs. P's fitness competitor friend takes hydroxcut regularly before competitions). And a word about hydroxycut, it doesn't help you burn fat, it helps you lose water weight. I know a lot about water weight, I wrestled in high school and was dehydrated for 3 months out of the year. Losing water weight does not make you healthier, it just makes you lighter. As I said before, IMO lean body mass is more important than weight.

I've never tried any of the weight loss pills. everyone who had kept telling me about being "hyper" while taking them.

What I DID do and it worked amazingly well in a short time was to cut sugar TOTALLY from my diet. Sugar is the DEVIL. I still had my normal carbs ie rice, pasta... but cakes, cookies, chocolate, candy, soda, ice cream, ...all the GOOD Stuff (and easy on the high-in-sugar-fruits) was out out OUT!

lost 13 lbs in 2 weeks. anytime I need to drop fast, this works for me.

Yeah SoCal, I agree. Pasta is not the worst type of carbohydrate. Simple sugars (glucose, fructose, etc.) don't require any work on your body's part to break down, at least starch has to be taken apart before it is turned into fat.

Fruits are still worth eating though, because the sugar in them comes along with so many vitamins and minerals, but sugary candy is completely empty calories. At least chocolate has some antioxidants in it.

Weight loss pills? I thought those were ultimately just a myth.

I mean, the commercials are pretty deceiving. The before and after pictures after almost laughably fake.

For instance, the "before" picture will generally show an overweight individual. The "after" photo will show the apparently same person except with ripped muscles.

How in the world would a pill give you muscles?

As for advice, if your serious, I would ask your doctor for help before you do any type of crazy pill.

Actually, the before and afters for hydroxycut are real. The company pays models (I knew one of them) to gain a bunch of weigh for the 'before' and lose it for the 'after' photo shots. Not sure how much of that was contributed by the pills themselves though. I'm sure it's mostly diet related.

yeah, suppliments are really not the way to go. They're pricey and you really don't get your money's worth. Often they aren't safe either.

Ditto on the eat less (or eat better as the case may be) and exercise (exercise can be as simple as walking for those that are really overweight).

it won't. a pill like stacker 2 (an ECA stack) just gives you energy, and thins your blood. the energy is to be used however you wish (run, bike, etc...) and the thin blood helps your muscles by allowing it to penetrate them and give you a better pump. thin blood helps your muscles during resistance training (see weight lifting) as does the energy (to delay/avoid fatiuge, and keep you going longer) the fact i that people have a decent amount of muscles under their fat. anyone that drops from 15%-20% body fat to 5-8% will appear to get "ripped" (I don't consider you ripped 'til you have AT LEAST 16 inch arms) perhaps that is why people looked ripped in those ads?

if you work out you will lose weight, pills like stacker2 give you energy to keep working out to lose MORE calories, thus more weight. (if you bike for 30 minutes you may burn 80 cals, where if you bik for an hour, you may burn 160, which is better)

I would again suggest an ECA stack, plenty of carido, and eating healthy foods.

I hate to over-simplify: but I will.

Two words: Ultimate Frisbee

I know a quite a few people who have taken stackers. For the most part none of these people are overweight. They use them for energy. I know of 3 people who took them and thought they were having friggin heart attacks.
High pulse and heart pounding and palpitations.
I think eating right, cutting down on caleries and excericse are the way to go.

Scientists actually are looking for a magic pill. I read the other day that they have identified a chemical which the stomach releases to let the mind know that you're full. The process of taking a discovery like that, and making a marketable medicine is a long, involved, and expensive one. If it does reach the market, it will be a patented prescription drug for a number of years.

Relax, meditate, and envision yourself as thinner. Envision the process that you went through to become thinner. Write it down. Examine it. Does it seem to be a viable plan? If so, proceed. If not, repeat. If the plan fails, modify the plan, or form a new one. Do not be afraid of failure, be afraid of failing to try.

Include your doctor in the process. There may be a treatable physical cause, you may only think you have a weight problem, or you might have unsafe weight loss goals. Mental counseling can help.

Diet and exercise is the classic advice; but you're not going to stick with a diet that doesn't taste good to you, a diet that leaves you feeling hungry all the time, or an exercise program that seems too strenuous for you.

There are a number of support groups like Weight Watchers and Overeaters Anonymous. If one group doesn't feel comfortable, or meet at a convenient time; ask around. Perhaps another group will provide a better fit.

A simple change of habit may help. When I switched from sugar sweetened pop to diet pop, I lost about 30 pounds which I have never regained.

At one point in my life, I decided that the only exercise program that I was apt to stick with was walking. I'm not a runner, a jogger, a swimmer, or a sports fan. A supervisor who had observed me walking said, "You're not walking fast enough to do any good." He then provided me with a chart to prove his point. The chart showed me how many calories per hour were burned walking at various speeds. I converted it to calories per mile at each speed, and concluded that the speed was essentially moot if I was walking, and not running or jogging. I started walking 10 miles a day, and eventually stretched it out to about 100 miles per week. It helped to control my blood sugar, reduce my dependence on medications; and I not only lost several pounds, I lost my first wife in the process.

On the day that I met Paladin Elspeth, one of the first questions she asked was; "I'm new in town. Would you know where it's safe to take a walk?" We walked a lot of miles together while we were courting.

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Here, Here!!!

I am an ex powerlifter, after tearing out my rotator cuff. I have had little to do with weights. I can still do pushups but any more weight actually causes pain. So, I started play ultimate frisbee in college. Man, it is a great sport, competitive but friendly, no refs and non stop running. It is by far one of my favorite past times. Oh, and weight reducer.

Monty