We all make the decision to lose weight at some point in our lives. Whether it is for an event, health reasons or simply to reclaim our bodies from unwanted weight gain; we have all stood there wondering about the best ways to make it happen.
When it comes to any kind of weight loss, the first steps you should take is to eat right and exercise more. With these changes, you can successfully take back control. But what about herbal weightloss pills? Can they help support this weight loss?
During this article we will explore the idea of natural weight loss pills and whether they can be used to assist your dieting dreams.
What is a herbal weightloss pill?
There is a lot of confusion surrounding herbal weightloss pills and natural weight loss pills, mainly because they are viewed as being different. But that simply isn’t true…
They both harness many of the same natural herbs, plants and ingredients to create unique formulations that can positively strengthen and assist your weight loss goals. In other words, they are one and the same as their whole purpose is to offer you a synthetic free way to lose those excess pounds.
NOTE: Herbal/natural weight loss pills are often referred to as botanicals or phytomedicines.
How do herbal weight loss pills work?
Now whilst herbal and natural supplements are basically the same; how they help you to lose weight can differ depending on what ingredients they have used.
For instance, some will focus on suppressing your appetite and curbing cravings, whilst others will seek to increase fat burn, your metabolism and your energy levels. The difference is in the method.
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Fat Burners – primarily these use thermogenesis to raise your internal body temp and increase fat/calorie burn. However, fat burners can also help your body to burn stored body fat (by harnessing the fatty acid molecules found in your fat cells and converting them into energy – which is then used to fuel your muscles, tissues and organs); boost your fat metabolism (energy expenditure); inhibit fat absorption, and increase fat oxidation (during exercise).
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Appetite suppressors – by curbing your cravings and making you feel fuller for longer, this encourages you to eat fewer calories and ultimately lose weight. Glucomannan is a root fiber that absorbs water to form a gel. This gel-like substance then sits in your gut and is slowly digested, stopping you from eating too much or snacking.
- Metabolism boosters – by elevating your metabolic rate, this can stimulate increased fat and calorie burn. At the same time, they can boost your energy levels, giving you the stamina to workout and exercise for longer. And the longer you exercise, the more calories you’ll burn.
Common ingredients in herbal weight loss pills
Then of course there are the natural ingredients they use, which enable these type of weight losses to happen in the first place. All of the following nutrients are common faces in herbal weight loss supplements:
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Garcinia Cambogia – the skin on this fruit contains hydroxycitric acid (HCA) which helps to inhibit fat-producing enzymes and boost your serotonin levels. Combined this can help to reduce your appetite and cravings. In a 2011 review, 12 studies revealed that this fruit can cause weight losses of 2lbs over several weeks.
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Glucomannan – a natural plant fiber (from the konjac plant), during digestion it absorbs water to form a gel-like substance in your gut. Not only does this gel take a while to digest, it also makes you feel fuller for longer, ensuring you eat fewer calories and smaller portions. During 3 studies, when combined with a healthy diet, glucomannan helped participants to lose 8-10lbs in weight in 5 weeks.
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Bitter orange – this type of orange contains synephrine that can help to reduce your appetite and enable you to burn more calories.
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Green Tea Extract – this natural energy booster and fat burner can help reduce inflammation and ramp up your metabolism. Simply drink 1-2 cups of it a day and it can revitalize your physical performance. This is all due to the catechins (antioxidants) it contains that help to speed up recovery (after workouts) and reduce body weight. Its main antioxidant EGCG is believed to assist with fat burning as it increases norepinephrine activity which helps your body to shed fat. TIP: drink 1 hour before you workout to maximize fat burn.
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Raspberry Ketone – during a study on isolated fat cells (from rats), raspberry ketone increased fat breakdown and the presence of adiponectin.
- Caffeine – contains fat metabolism enhancing properties that according to studies can increase your metabolism by 3-11% and fat burn by 29%.
During a separate review comprised of 18 different studies, it was noted that CLA helped participants lose 0.2lbs a week for up to 6 months.
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Grapefruit essential oil – the active ingredients in this oil are reputed to boost metabolism, decrease your appetite, reduce your cravings and raise your energy levels. At the same time, its enzymes help to break down sugar.
- Forskolin – this plant extract contains cAMP a compound that can stimulate fat burn.
How do the ingredients of PhenQ aid weight loss?
Like we mentioned before, depending on the ingredients they use, the type of natural weight loss pill you’ll get will vary.
Now, you’ll get some such as PhenQ who will do more than target one part of your weight loss plan. Instead, their ingredient choice is based on their ability to assist you in a variety of areas.
So whilst PhenQ might primarily describe itself as a fat burner, it is also a decent metabolism booster and appetite suppressor – as seen by the following ingredients. PhenQ uses all of these at optimal dosages to help maximize your weight loss.
α-LACYS RESET – this key ingredient is supported by years of research and cutting edge science to become trademarked as α-Lacys Reset®. Thanks to this research it has been found to accelerate your metabolism (increasing the amount of calories used) and bolster thermogenesis (raising your internal body heat and calorie burn as it utilizes your fat stores for energy), ensuring you benefit from increased fat burn and weight loss.
In studies, it helped participants to lose 7.24% of their body fat and 3.44% of their body weight, whilst increasing muscle mass by 3.8%.
Capsimax powder – contains a blend of capsicum, piperine, caffeine and niacin (Vitamin B3) that are designed to escalate fat burn. The combination of capsicum and piperine triggers thermogenesis, helping to raise your internal temp and speed up fat burn. Piperine can also prevent the formation of new fat cells.
Chromium picolinate – a natural mineral normally found in meat, vegetables and wholegrains; chromium picolinate can help to curb sugar and carb cravings by controlling your blood sugar levels. By causing your cells to take in as much sugar as possible, your body will stop craving sugar (to be used for fuel for your cells) and carbs, instead enabling you to lose weight as you’ll take in fewer calories.
During an 8 week study by Cornell University, this mineral was proven to be effective at decreasing your appetite and carb cravings (in participants with depression).
Caffeine – you’ll remember from our discussion earlier in this article that this stimulant can assist with thermogenesis, helping to boost fat burn (by up to 29%) and weight loss. At the same time, it can decrease your appetite and help improve your focus and physical performance, enabling you to workout harder and for longer. Similarly, it can elevate your metabolism by 3-11%.
Nopal – derived from the nopal cactus, this plant is high in fiber, giving you greater control over your appetite and hunger. In addition, its high amino acid count can offer you the energy to tackle exercise, shift excess weight (caused by water retention) and burn more calories.
L-carnitine furmarate – this natural amino acid is commonly found in red meat, nuts and veg. and is reputed to turn fat stores into energy (allowing you to burn more fat), but also combat fatigue.
Conclusion
So can herbal weightloss pills help you to lose weight? Yes – when combined with a good diet plan and regular exercise. Like all weight loss pills, herbal weightloss pills cannot work alone to trigger weight loss. That is unrealistic and the results you’ll see will be minimalistic.
Instead, you should view natural weight loss pills – such as PhenQ – as assistive tools. Pills that will nudge your weight loss in the right direction by stimulating existing natural processes in your body. From boosting thermogenesis and fat burn (eliminating fat stores/cells from your body), to increasing your metabolism and energy levels (allowing you to burn more calories and exercise for longer), to suppressing your appetite and encouraging you to eat less; with these support mechanisms your diet WILL be more successful.
Our only recommendation is to do your research; check out their ingredients (and their uses), and only use herbal weightloss supplements that are backed by research and clinical trials. Do that and when you add them to your diet/exercise regime, you will achieve the body YOU want.
See here for more information on PhenQ or why not try our delicious Meal Replacement Shakes.
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