Hydroxycut, does it work?

If you mean "will I lose weight by just eating these and not changing my diet?"... the answer is "absolutely not". Without changing diet and having lower calorie consumption nothing works at all, considering your actual diet and intake is 90% of your weight gain/loss.

I lost 90 lbs. in 9 months by doing a combination of dropping my caloric intake, playing DDR almost every day, and eating multivitamins and thermogenics (Hydroxy is a thermo). I tried out the "let's just eat Hydroxy" before I really got serious, and I lost 2 lbs. in 6 months (which obviously sucked beyond belief, considering you should lose 1-2 lbs a week by cutting calories). If I had to change one thing about what I did to lose weight is that I would not have bought the thermogenics because they basically did nothing at all and cost a bunch of cash. The only thing you really need to be concerned with is cutting your calories down and keeping it that way, it's the only thing that works and will keep weight off in the end.

Seriously: the best deal for weight loss is proper diet and exercise.

I fail to see how you can't make time.

I flirted with the idea, but the research I did convinced me that it's not even good as a supplement to diet and exercise. Every nutritionist who wasn't trying to sell something advised against using it.

Everyone wants to sell something that can make you look slim and fit without making you actually do the work. The world isn't set up that way. Life rewards work and we actually need it to be healthy and functional. Anything that tries to bypass that natural order of things is going to have a drawback.

It
A) won't work or
B) isn't good for you. Then there is always
C) All of the above.

Even more important than how you eat is how you exercise. Last year, without changing my diet, I went from 185 to 160 in about a month and a half. All I did was run a mile every day. Plus, exercize has the benefit of actually giving you muscle.

edit: Crap, my rating dropped again. I really need to stay out of politics here. :P

There is one way to lose weight. You have to burn more calories than you consume. And since people who need to lose weight can never actually do this, we have a billion dollar weight loss industry that keep pumping out worthless products, and dangerous pills.

I used to drink 10 cokes a day, I got pretty up there. I stopped, and haven't had one since, and I had a big drop in my weight by the middle of the next month. Eat normal, sensible meals instead of junk food. Eg: Have cereal in the morning. The cereal and the milk is good for you. I mean real cereal too, not candy cereal that's loaded with sugar.

Try walking. It works. Anywhere you can walk instead of taking a ride, do it. If you live in an apartment building, (or work in a building), take the stairs. Do a few minutes of exercise at night before you go to bed. It gets easier, and you get used to it. You actually start to feel better when you lose some weight, and you don't have as much junk food in your system. I sometimes do some excercises for a few minutes during the commercials when I'm watching TV.

This is how you lose weight. Everyone has known this since the beginning of time, but very few actually do it. They say "Oh, I've tried everything and nothing works." Which translates into... "I've tried nothing, and I stuff my face all day." I'm telling you this first hand. ;)

Fat people eat too much, do too little, and have a mile long list of excuses.
Skinny people eat sensibly, and do some physical activity.

This thread is full of truth. "What you eat and what you do" are the only true factors in weight loss/control. If you consume as many or more calories than you burn, simply put, you can't lose weight. (unless you have some sickness or strange chemical that won't let you absorb food... and that's no good).

A friend of mine recently started smoking crack (several months ago) and has since lost almost all of his body fat. I dont know if its because he can no longer afford food, or all the running from cops, or if crack smoking is more enjoyable than eating even when youre hungry, or if its something else. But damn it works. Yes, I have to recommend crack.

Quote:

Original post by AndreTheGiant A friend of mine recently started smoking crack (several months ago) and has since lost almost all of his body fat. I dont know if its because he can no longer afford food, or all the running from cops, or if crack smoking is more enjoyable than eating even when youre hungry, or if its something else. But damn it works. Yes, I have to recommend crack.

Hydroxycrack?

I want to point out that cutting calories doesn't necessarily equate to eating less. As a matter of fact it's the opposite. To keep your metabolism up during the day you ideally want to eat every 3 hours (for a total of about 5-6 meals a day). Obviously these are very small meals, but what happens is that it keeps your body burning calories all day. Exercise is important too, but you burn the majority of your calories during the actual workout so the eating helps keep that going throughout the day. If you can, you also want to weight train, since muscle is the most metabolically active tissue in the body so the more muscle you have, the faster you'll burn calories.

You don't have to do all of the above to lose weight (just as long as you have a calorie deficit), but it's more of a beeline path for those really serious about bulking up and losing weight. I read a gigantic 500 page book in December on real weight loss and muscle training (diet/exercise) and there was a ton of nutritional science so it's still very fresh in my mind :)

It sure does work, it works for the people selling it. They've no doubt made millions...

Quote:

Original post by Vampyre_Dark Do a few minutes of exercise at night before you go to bed.

All great advice but I'd advise against this (unless you REALLY, REALLY can't find the time any other way). Exercising produces a nice adrenaline rush but could effect sleep if done right before bed.

A few tips:
- Only eat what you've bought from the grocery store (no fast food)
- Never buy anything from the grocery store that doesn't have to be prepared before eating (and no, microwave dinners don't count, even if it's some Healthy Choice BS).
- Exercise (even if it's just walking to the grocery store)

EDIT: ...and remember that you burn more calories early in the day than you do at night. Try not to eat late.

Smoke. Smoking kills your appetite and gives you something to put in your mouth that's not a cheeseburger.

Cocaine's good, too

Seriously, though, just eat less. Be hungry. That's how I lost weight. The idea that wanting to eat is a problem that can only be solved by eating is what led to my atrocious physical condition.

A hiking trip was just the thing to fix me up. Not only was it good exercise and everything, but I was so damn hungry on that trail I thought I would die. I didn't, and the realization that you don't die from starvation if you stop eating before you feel full is the most important thing in any weight loss plan.