Weight Loss Fads - Part 1 - The Reason Behind the Research

One of the biggest topics dealt with in the fitness industry is the issue of weight loss. So many people are overweight these days and they all seem to be looking for a quick fix for fast fat loss.

You can tell that the supplement companies know this with all the new weight loss fads that pop up. But do any of these supplements really work? I’m not satisfied with infomercial claims or what’s written on the label; I’m going to do my own research.

Why Should You Do Your Own Research?

You see, most of the time you’re told an emotional story about someone who took the supplement and saw miraculous results from it. The problem is that all too often the “star” of the story did more than just take this new miracle supplement, if they even took it at all.

Most of the time they’ll start working out and modify their diet along with taking the supplement. We all know by now that raising your activity level AND modifying your diet is all you need to do to lose weight. You don’t need a supplement to see weight loss results when you do those two things.

But when the supplement company makes their weight loss claims they only seem to give praise to the supplement; ignoring the fact that the person made other lifestyle changes. Most studies require the participants to make such changes while they use the supplement and you’re told to workout and eat better on the supplement label.

That’s besides the fact that the FDA isn’t even required to approve dietary supplements before they’re put on the shelves. They claim that they don’t have the resources or the time to make sure that supplements are safe and effective. They’re leaving it up to the supplement companies in hopes that they’ll conduct legit studies and put out honest claims when they promote their supplements.

This is why I do my own research before I even think about using a supplement and you should too.

There are 4 big weight loss supplements that I keep hearing about over and over again. I’m not personally considering using any of these methods, diet and exercise are just fine for me, but I’d like to do the research for the knowledge and to help others who are thinking about using these supplements.

Here are the supplements I’m going to look into:

• Acai Berry Supplements
• Colon Cleanse Supplements
• Hoodia Supplements
• Resveratrol Supplements

I’m sure all of you have heard of some, if not all, of these supplements. Since they’re such big fads, I want to see if any of them are actually worth taking. This should be a learning experience for both you and me.

We’ll look at:

• What each supplement is.
• Where the weight loss claims come from.
• A few weight loss studies done to test each supplement.
• A comparison of all the study results for all 4 supplements.
• A conclusion: What actually works?

I’m going to try to find studies that the supplement companies didn’t perform themselves. I also want to find studies that show the participants losing weight WITHOUT having to change their level of activity or diet.

Hopefully by the end of this series of articles we’ll all have a better understanding about these popular weight loss supplements. Let’s get right into it.

>> Continue Reading Part 2 – What Are Acai Berries? >>