weight loss supplements and programs

I had a lot of success with attending WW meetings. I didn't necessarily follow their diet closely but paying for those weekly weigh ins and listening to the lame half-hour lectures were certainly effective for me.

I've had limited success with Hoodia but it is really expensive and even then you're not guaranteed to be getting the real deal. I eventually gave it up as too risky.

The two drugs that are truly effective are now largely illegal - ephedra (ma huang) and phenylpropanolamine (PPA). Pseudoephedrine was not quite as effective as these two but it is also now really, really hard to get in decent quantities so it is a non-issue.

In summary, I don't know of anything OTC that is effective anymore.

A WW question-how are the recipies they offer you?  We are on an extreamly limited budget.  I have a lot of rice and pasta in my pantry without much room to spend on tons of fruits and veggies.  Is it possible to do WW and have success with it when you have an extreamly small food budget?

I am using Beachbody now and I really benefit from the accountability. I'm in a bunch of groups and it keeps me going!
 

I'm doing Weight Watchers (the old Point system) now.  It works but for me very slowly (1/2 a lb. a week for me)  but then I keep the weight off longer too.  I would not ever take anything that came in a pill.  If those things worked, everyone would be skinny IMO!  Basically it comes down to smaller portions, smarter choices, more exercise and self control!!  A hard combination but worth it.

I agree on WW you have to be mentally prepared for a lot of work, because it truly is an investment in time.  By the way, I rarely make WW recipes.  They make them unnecessarily complicated and takes forever to make a lot of them, with ingredients a lot of people don't keep at home.  I don't like the WW frozen meals either, for the most part IMO are bland and don't taste much like food.

I've converted my favorite recipes to either lower fat, or with the already low fat ones to Points so I will know how much I want to use.  We've been here for almost 2 years and it took me a year to commit to doing WW again (I'm Lifetime but don't go to the meetings until I'm 2 lbs. from my goal weight or I will get charged) but I've been doing it for almost 3 weeks.  Last time I lost 25 lbs (a LOT on a small person) but it took me 9 mos. to do.

I had no luck on WW because it really does take motivation. I have tried Sparkspeople but the same issue. I have come to the conclusion if you want to lose weight you do not need all that, just proper motivation, good food choices and exercise with exercise being the most important part. Some people do better with motivation when they have other people helping them to stay accountable. I do better when I have a concrete goal. I bought a pair of jeans one size to small, because i do not want to waste the money and I really want to wear these jeans when the weather turns cold I am motivated to do it.

Plexus Slim and Accelerator. Super easy - take a pill, drink a bottle of water with the Plexus Slim powder in it.  That's it.  Worked great for me.  Lost 13 pounds in 1.5 months.  Have kept it off after I stopped taking it. 

There is a free website you can access via your computer or smart phone that allows you to easily track your calories in and out.  It is MyFitnessPal.com  I like it a lot.  The application for my smart phone allows you to scan a bar code and it will add that item to your food log.  This isn't a supplement or program, but it's free, easy to use and really helps you make good decisions (assuming you look up the food before putting it in your mouth....lol).