Garcinia Cambogia

[TahTay]

Does any one have a opinion on the effectiveness of garcinia cambogia? Pros...Cons? Research results?

[brittany_gillie]

Yes, I have tried Garcinia Cambogia after already loosing some weight. after about 3 weeks i found no difference and stopped taking it. But I had much success taking Green Coffee pills, twice a day after breakfast and dinner. I dropped weight quickly with light exercise and healthy eating while taking.

[gerrymcd]

The only way to safely lose weight is by 'hard work' - aka diet and exercise.  Which is unfortunate!!! 

Save the money you'd spend on this product, or any of the other  miracle 'diet' supplements - they really don't work. 

[danid512]

I will chuck my two cents in.

I take this. Not to lose weight specifically.

I burn over 3000 calories a day, I work very hard at the gym. It also makes me RAVENOUS.

As someone that used to be 350 pounds and is now 225, I have always had a very poor habit of over eating. I decided to try this product a few weeks ago just to see what happened. Worse case, I'm out 20 bucks.

I have had a definite decrease in my food intake. It's not that it makes me feel "full" and I am certainly able to eat my meals (which was an original concern of mine). What it does for me, is curb my appetite between meals. I'm not sure where the logic or reasoning is (perhaps it is just mental for me) but I find myself no longer htnking about snacks and food between meals nor obsessing about them, which is very different for me. I also eat when I am bored and I have noticed that this has significantly decreased since I have been using this.

I'm not going to say it works like magic. It does not. But for me (and everyone is different) it has very much helped with my tendency to eat between meals and to have a "satiated" feeling through the day.

Obviously, as a result of my decrease in calorie intake and a continuation of my calorie burn, I have noticed weight loss, though not a ton more than previously.

As an example on my workout routine which has not changed, and my eating habits previously, I was losing 1-1.5 pounds per week. Over the past two weeks I have averaged about two pounds per week. Not a huge difference, but enough. And honestly i think i would take it even if it didn't help the weight loss, by the simple fact that mentally, it has seemed to help.

Read that how you wish. I'm not telling you to take it nor endorsing it. It's not magic and the real answer is calories in vs calories out but I'm also not going to poo-poo it. I have had no side effects and shockinly, my doctor was comfortable with my additon of this into my diet (I did check with him prior to starting it in case he had a negative reaction to it).

[abb123]

@brittany_gillie What does that mean you saw no change?  You stopped losing weight? Did you try taking them before or after the green coffee pills?  Most sites and instructions I have read say that you need to take the pills for a minimum of 30 days to start seeing the true effects of the extract.  Is it possible you weren't putting out the effort to really see the results?

[julid]

There are no magic pills to help you lose weight.. if they did there would be no fat people.

The only thing that makes people lose weight is to eat less and move more.

[abb123]

@julid 
Not a very helpful comment.

There is no such thing as magic, but there absolutely are pills to "help" you lose weight.  You can't replace good diet and exercise, but you can supplement them.  

[gerrymcd]

Do you have an example of a pill that has been rigorously tested and proven to 'help' weight loss?   I don't know of any OTC supplements with that credential. 

[julid]

@abb123 

 

It's not meant to be helpful... it's meant to be truthful. Pills don't do anything it's all diet and exercise and why should I or anyone else encourage someone to take something they don't need.

 

It's a waste of money and energy and some pills can be harmful. 

[abb123]

@gerrymcd The very substance the thread was started over has had many tests... I don't know what qualifies as "rigorously" for you.  Here is an article that sites several clinical trials detailing positive outcomes for GC. In fairness, some of the studies showed that people didn't respond at all to the introduction of the extracts, but that is like saying dentists shouldn't use gas on patients because some of the patients have no reaction to it, which clearly means it never works.   I say, if you are looking for a little boost, in addition to a good diet and exercise, why not try a cheap supplement with very little risk?

http://authoritynutrition.com/garcinia-cambogia-extract/

Besides that, I never mentioned OTC or by Prescription only, my only statement was that there ARE pills/medications that can aide in weight loss.  Appetite suppressents, thermals, etc... They aren't going to work miracles alone, but no reasonable person would expect them too.

[abb123]

@julid In this case it was neither helpful nor truthful.

[gerrymcd]

---

abb123 wrote:

@gerrymcd The very substance the thread was started over has had many tests... I don't know what qualifies as "rigorously" for you.

A 'double blind test' with randomized controls.  

"why not try a cheap supplement with very little risk?"

I think a supplement can fall into a couple of categories.

1. It doesn't really do anything.  In which case, I'm paying $20 for some colored chalk.  But, the placebo effect is well established.  If someone truly believes a supplement causes appetite suppresion then they probably won't feel as hungry.  

2. It actually does something to modify metabolism. In which case the supplement is causing some change in biochemisty of one or more metabolic pathways, ie the supplement is acting as a drug. Personally I wouldn't self medicate, especially not with a drug that has not been tested for long term side effects, and is manufactured without strict quality controls. Every prescription medicine on the market comes with a list of known possible side effects.  Even TV ads for commonplace drugs end with a laundry list of side effects 'up to and including death'.  

Just because a supplement is advertised as 'natural' doesn't automatically mean its as potent a drug as one you pickup at the pharmacist.  Except, if people taking 'the purple pill' succumb to heart disease in numbers beyond the statistical average for their demographic red flags will (eventually) be raised.  The same can't be said for appetite suppresants, thermals.  No one will ever know if people suffer long term side effects, there is no record of who is taking them, and in what quantitites.

[abb123]

@gerrymcd 
I guess the research must be done for you.  
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2011/509038/

12 clinical trials, randomized double blind.

Conclusion: "The evidence from RCTs suggests that Garcinia extracts/HCA generate weight loss on the short term. "

To your other point, that is completely your choice not to self medicate. But ALL drugs are tested for long term side effects, it doesn't mean they are unsafe.  Tylenol, Aspirin, etc... of which I'm sure you have used in some form...  It seems like you won't use them even if they do work, so why bother with the discussion?

[gerrymcd]

Conclusion: "The evidence from RCTs suggests that Garcinia extracts/HCA generate weight loss on the short term. "

Yes, but the paper also concludes "Furthermore, the methodological quality of most of the studies identified from our searches is poor, and most studies are of short duration. These factors prevent us from drawing firm conclusions about the effects of HCA on body weight..

However, the magnitude of this effect is small, is no longer statistically significant when only rigorous RCTs are considered, and its clinical relevance seems questionable."  

In which case it may have worked for you, but in terms of a general purpose weight lose agent, there is no evidence it works.  

Sorry if that conclusion comes across as being unhelpful or combative or something else negative.  That is not my goal here.  As I've said, the diet industry is full of unsubstantiated claims......as it appears is the case with Garcinia extract.

As for bothering with the discussion..... you seem to be missing my point.  When I take tylenol/asprin/etc - which I do - I can reference the known side effects. They have been well characterised and documented.  I can also check for interactions with any other medication I might be taking at the same time, to check for cross reactions.

With supplements the active ingredients have not been tested long term for side-effects, nor have they been documented, nor do we have a documented history of people reporting side effects.  For example, at the most basic level drugs are either metabolised by the liver or the kidneys.  If your doctor prescribes a medication that is somewhat hard (ie toxic) on your liver they can make sure you are not taking other liver effecting drugs that would amplify the effect.  With supplements none of this knowledge exists.  Hence my reluctance to self medicate with unknown 'drugs'.