Friday Five: Vitamins and Supplements for Weight Loss

Recently I have gotten a number of emails and questions about if there are any supplements or vitamins that I take on a regular basis or that I recommend. To be completely honest, I do not take any supplements or vitamins on a regular basis but there are supplements that I use a couple of times a week in smoothies and recipes, and I try to take Fish Oil 3-4 times a week. Other than that, I try to eat most of my vitamins and minerals through foods. With that said, I would love to learn what all of you are doing. Do you normally take vitamins or supplements? If so, which ones? If not why?

I am also really curious to hear about Alli, the FDA approved weight loss drug. Has anyone tried it? A friend is considering it and I would love to hear from folks with experience taking it.

1. Amazing Grass Greens Powder
I am pretty addicted to this Amazing Grass Greens Powder ever after reading about it on Joy the Baker. Look at the ingredient list: organic wheat grass, organic barley grass, organic alfalfa, organic spirulina, organic spinach, organic chlorella (cracked cell-wall), organic broccoli, organic pure acai from Sambazon, organic maca, organic carrot, organic beet, raspberry, rose hips, pineapple, green tea, acerola cherry, organic flax seed powder, apple pectin fiber, F.O.S. (from chicory root), L. acidophilus, alpha and beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase, siberian eleuthero root and peppermint. Crazy that all of that is packed into one powder. I add it to green smoothies often and sometimes just drink it mixed with water, and it always gives me a lot fo energy and leaves me feeling healthy. You know the feeling. It has 30 calories per serving.

2. Biggest Loser Low Calorie Protein Powder
Usually when I have smoothies as a meal, rather than a snack, I like to add protein powder so that I will stay full longer. I have tried many different protein powders on the market, especially after years of being a vegetarian, and this one is my favorite. It is low in calories which most protein powders aren’t and doesn’t have that weird, mealy, chalky taste. I usually buy the vanilla because I can mix it with everything, but the chocolate is good as well. It has 50 calories, or 1 pointsplus, per serving.

3. Fish Oil
I started taking fish oil about 3 years ago after hearing so much about it’s benefits all over the news and in my favorite health magazines. Specifically I take fish oil for the Omega 3 Fatty acids that are proven to help lower the risks of heart disease, strokes, and high blood pressure. These things all run in my family, on both sides, so I want to be on the safe side. And the only reason I don’t take it everyday is that usually I forgot at least 3 times weekly.

4. Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds are another ingredient that I often throw into smoothies or on top of my yogurt. They are full of dietary fiber and healthy Omega 3 fatty acids and 1 tbsp has just 55 calories and 1 weight watchers pointsplus. According to research, flax seeds help you body to regulate blood sugar and can help you stay full longer. For me that’s enough to add them to smoothies and yogurt to kick up the health benefits.

5. What are your favorite supplements and vitamins? Let me know in the comments and I will add them to the post!

You May Also Enjoy:

11 Response to Friday Five: Vitamins and Supplements for Weight Loss

Trixie on March 24, 2012

It would be great if you added the recipe you mention with each of these supplements:)
Laura on March 24, 2012

I too would love to hear about Alli. There are so many “wonder diet pills” out there but so many don’t work. In this economy I can’t afford to throw my money away!
Edwinna on March 25, 2012

I didn’t know that flax seeds help regulate blood sugar. I tend to be hypoglycemic so I’ll do some research and may have to give them a try! Where do you get the grass greens powder?
- Kristen on March 26, 2012
  
  I buy it on Amazon because that’s where I found the lowest price. I have also seen it in Whole Foods.
Victoria on March 26, 2012

The Amazing Grass Greens Powder seems like it would be a great fit to me! Do you know if this adds any additional points if added to smoothies?
- Kristen on March 26, 2012
  
  Personally I don’t add any points since it is only 20 calories and has lots of fiber. At most it would add one point if you wanted to add it.
Margo on March 28, 2012

Do you just get the unflavored Amazing Grass Greens Superfood powder? And is it really unflavored? I was looking at it on vitacost.com and they have a bunch of flavors (chocolate, orange dreamsicle, berry, etc.) and unflavored. They also have capsules and individual packets of the powder. I can’t decide what to try! I recently purchased a vitamix blender and have been making smoothies with whole fruits and veggies, adding in things like spirulina (blech!), hemp seeds, raw cacao powder and chia seeds. Maybe if this green stuff tastes better than the nasty spirulina, I can switch!
- Kristen on March 28, 2012
  
  I use the unflavored powder, although it still does have a taste. I would liken the taste to wheatgrass or spinach if you just mix it with water. However in a smoothie you can barley taste, especially if you are using banana or another strong flavor. I also find it is cheaper on Amazon by about $5.
Heather Fife on April 24, 2012

I never took supplements or even vitamins until recently, but it turns out minerals and vitamins shouldnt be ignored.

Recently I have been uncharacteristically depressed. I am a very happy and outgoing person and I knew something was wrong. It turns out that I was super deficient in vitamin D. I drink skim milk frequently and I had been taking 400 iu in my multivitamin, which said it met 100% of the daily requirement. My doc has me taking 5000 iu for two months and then 2000 iu after that. Also some docs believe that low vitamin D can stunt weight loss attempts. I am holding at my weight despite my best weight watchers attempts so I am anxious to see if the D will help!

As per the docs instructions, I am also taking calcium (600 twice a day) and fish oil once a day. I feel like my grandma with my M-F pill container, but I know long-term it will help a lot.
- Kristen on April 24, 2012
  
  This is really helpful information. Thanks for sharing it!
HC Montgomery on April 1, 2013

I’m a little late getting in on the conversation here, but I thought I would jump in anyway, late or not.

In this post All I was mentioned and you wanted to know if it worked, I guess. I noticed in the comments section someone else wanting to know about it, too… So I thought I would leave my own comment since I’ve tried it.

The first thing I have to say about Alli is that when I went to buy it I thought it was ridiculously expensive. I bought it anyway… For me, most weight loss pills aren’t an option because I’m highly sensitive to stimulants and pretty much all weight loss supplements include some kind of stimulant, if only caffeine. Alli I does not, which made at least trying it worth the price for me.

The way Alli I works is to block the fat that a person consumes… So if I ate fatty foods, I presume the Alli that I took prevented the fat (or at least some of it) from being absorbed in my body. I believe that is true, but that is not why I think Alli was an effective tool in my journey to permanent weight loss and why I recommend it.

When the fat is blocked from being absorbed, a person has still consumed it and it has to go somewhere… that means it will be expelled from the body. More than actually blocking the fat absorption, it was this expulsion that made Alli an effective tool for me.

I will not go into gory details about that. (If you really want to know, email me and I’ll tell you all about them, but I don’t want to go into all of that in such a public forum.) I will only say that the results made me extremely conscious of every little thing I put in my mouth because I didn’t like the way the fat I consumed ended up coming out. So even more than blocking fat, it made me take extreme care not to take in any fat at all.

That’s pretty much it except to say that if you decide to give it a try make sure you have three or four straight days to be at home and very close to the bathroom when you first start. Don’t plan any road trips or long shopping trips. If you work out of the home keep in mind you will be away from your desk frequently… and it might not be a bad idea to bring a change of clothes with you… No joke. This is some pretty powerful stuff.

Good luck to everyone in their fitness and weight loss goals!