11 Best Vitamins and Supplements for Weight Loss
If you’ve been eating low-cal and low-fat, and working out regularly, but still haven’t seen the scale budge, your body may just be missing out on these vitamins and supplements for weight loss.
We’re going to be completely honest with you.
Vitamins and supplements alone will not cause weight to fall off of you all on their own.
Not without making some serious changes to your diet. But when they are used properly, they can aid in weight loss.
Most people are deficient in nutrients in their diets in some way — especially the more that you eat out or eat processed foods.
On top of that, the right supplements can also help accomplish some of the following:
- Balancing out your current nutrient intake
- Helping you build more muscle (essentially getting more out of the protein that you’re eating)
- Increasing your energy, which can help you burn more calories
- Lower your cholesterol
- Regulate your hormones, which impacts fat storage
- Improve your gut health, which helps you process food better
- And so much more…
Whether you’ve hit a weight loss plateau or you’re just ready to kick your diet weight loss efforts into overdrive, vitamins and supplements could be the answer.
We’ve selected the best vitamins and supplements for weight loss based on scientific research and studies.
You can try one, or combine a couple, to improve your overall health and get the scale moving in the right direction!
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1. Glutamine
Glutamine is an amino acid that is essential for your body to build protein, which in turn helps it maintain muscle mass. Since muscle plays an important role in burning calories (see above), a lack of glutamine can keep you from losing weight.
In a study published in 2014, women who took glutamine supplements for four weeks–without changing their diets or exercise routines–lost more weight than women who took only a protein supplement for four weeks. The scientists concluded that glutamine was “safe and effective” for weight loss.
Glutamine is in foods like beans, spinach, and cabbage, but if you don’t eat enough of these foods on a daily basis, a supplement is probably the best way to increase your glutamine intake.
One of my favorite brands for this supplement is Optimum Nutrition.
2. Leanbean: The Female Fat Burner
7/20/2023 – Back in Stock!!
The LeanBean fat burner targets unwanted fat and contains 12 natural fat-burning ingredients to flame your metabolic fire.
This weight loss supplement was designed to help you raise your energy and metabolism with natural ingredients such as Garcinia Cambogia, turmeric, green coffee extract, green tea extract, cayenne pepper, and more.
It contains konjac fiber and raspberry ketones, which are known for being natural appetite suppressants. And it’s also loaded with other vitamins from ingredients such as acai berry, raspberry ketones, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12.
And the best part is that this pill is designed specifically for women.
Key Features:
- Raises energy and metabolism
- All-natural ingredients and no harmful stimulants
- Used by professional women athletes
- Impressive customer results
- Money-back guarantee
Customer feedback, including videos and before and after results, can be found on the official website.
Check out the LeanBean fat burner here.
3. Matcha Green Tea
This is one of my personal favorites as matcha green tea has an incredible amount of health benefits.
Green tea is a popular dietary supplement for weight loss because of the antioxidant EGCG, which can boost your metabolism during exercise (1). But the thing is — matcha green tea has even more EGCG than regular green tea, so you’re more likely to lose or maintain weight with it.
Matcha green tea comes in a powder form as opposed to loose or bagged tea leaves. Grinding the tea leaves into a powder is what allows you to get more nutrients from matcha than from regular green tea.
Because it’s green tea, matcha does tend to have a bit of a bitter taste, but you definitely get used to it. If you don’t care for the taste, you can add it to your favorite smoothies and you won’t even taste it.
BUT my personal favorite way to consume matcha is in a matcha latte with some non-dairy milk such as oat, coconut, or almond milk. Be careful when taking sildenafil. It’s also really great iced, but make sure to mix the matcha in a little bit of hot water first to help it dissolve.
Remember that this kind of weight loss supplement is the most effective when you pair it with exercise because it boosts your metabolism and energy levels.
When you’re looking for brands to buy, keep in mind that the Japanese culinary grade matcha is quite expensive, although it is generally a little less bitter.
But there are plenty of other brands that are not culinary grade that are still organic and have all the same health benefits!
My favorite brand is this one from Amazon.
4. Fish Oil
Fish oil is made up of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are well-known for their health benefits, including lowering cholesterol and improving overall heart health.
The words “fatty acid” don’t exactly scream “weight loss,” but omega-3s may help you lose weight by stimulating enzymes that initiate the fat-burning process in cells (2).
Omega-3s are found naturally in foods like salmon and nuts, but most people don’t eat enough of these foods to get the recommended dose. You can get an omega-3 boost through easy-to-swallow fish oil capsules.
One of the best and most affordable brands is by Dr. Tobias.
5. Vitamin D
Did you know that Vitamin D plays a role in helping your body determine whether or not to burn fat or store it?
When your body doesn’t have enough Vitamin D, its levels of parathyroid hormone (or PTH) increase, which can lead to your cells converting sugars into fat instead of energy.
A study from 2009 suggests that if you increase your levels of Vitamin D when starting a low-calorie diet, you’ll lose more weight, including in that stubborn belly region (3).
To get the daily recommended dose of Vitamin D, spend a few minutes outside in the sun or take a supplement. I recommend this brand by NatureWise (or check out the one below that also contains calcium).
Vitamin D also helps your body absorb and use calcium, which has its own weight-loss benefits (see below.)
6. Calcium
Scientists have been working overtime in the past several years to prove that calcium does much more than maintaining healthy bones. Many studies show that a low-calorie diet that is high in calcium can increase weight loss (4).
According to another study, African Americans, in particular, may benefit from diets high in calcium (5).
A couple of glasses of milk aren’t enough to get weight loss benefits.
Get yourself a calcium supplement that also has Vitamin D.
7. Probiotics
Did you know that overweight people have completely different gut bacteria than those at a normal weight?
Certain probiotics may be better for you than you may have realized. Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LPR), for instance, has been shown to help obese women achieve sustainable weight loss (6).
Even up to 50% more weight loss in some cases.
Probiotics can be easily added to a standard or low-calorie diet. Try eating more Greek yogurt (low sugar!) and pickled veggies like sauerkraut or kimchi.
The best way to start healing your gut and bringing back a balance of healthy gut bacteria is to start taking a probiotics supplement.
No matter what supplement you use, you want to take AT LEAST 50 billion units of probiotics daily from a minimum of 10 different sources for best results.
While you don’t need to purchase only refrigerated probiotics, make sure the packaging is well sealed. It’s also essential that the packaging is dark (or opaque, not transparent) to protect from light damage.
We have our own brand of Probiotics here at Avocadu called Gut-13.
Our specially formulated probiotic supplement contains:
- Over 100 Million CFU’s Per Serving
- 13 Different Gut Healing Strains
- Delayed Release for Deeper Support
- Made in the USA
Probiotics are one of the best solutions for healing your gut, helping you lose weight faster, and providing you with a healthy source of gut flora every day!
You can read more about it and why it’s so important for not only gut health but overall health on our probiotics page.
8. Carnitine
Carnitine is an amino acid that is found in the bodies of plants and animals (7). In humans, it helps in regulating how the body metabolizes fats and carbs.
Without enough carnitine, your body may store fat instead of burning it. Carnitine is found in many supplements taken by weightlifters.
Here is a link to a great Carnitine powder on Amazon.
9. Olive Leaf Extract
You’ve heard that olive oil is a “good fat” that can help you lose weight. Now, olive leaf extract–the key substance that gives olive oil its health benefits–may do the same (8).
Olive leaf extract can help manage blood glucose levels, which is important for weight loss. When blood sugar levels spike, or are erratic, the body tends to store fat instead of burning it.
Stable blood sugar also means fewer food cravings, so you won’t be grabbing foods that ruin your weight loss progress.
Healths Harmony makes one of the best olive leaf extract supplements.
10. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) contains acetic acid, which helps to keep your body pH balanced. Properly balanced pH helps your body function properly, aiding in long-term weight loss.
In this video, Dr. Eric Berg explains how apple cider vinegar helps your body absorb minerals, mobilize calcium, digest proteins, and stimulate the thyroid; all functions that are important for weight loss.
Be sure to watch all the way through; at minute 10, he shows you how to make an ACV “cocktail.”
Apple cider vinegar on its own is an acquired taste, so mixing it into a drink is definitely the way to introduce ACV to your diet. I like to sip it through a straw, which makes it even more palatable and keeps it from damaging the enamel on your teeth.
Apple cider vinegar won’t cause you to drop a ton of weight immediately. Add it into your long-term routine to keep weight loss consistent and long-term.
It can be found in most local grocery stores these days. Just make sure to get the organic, unfiltered kind with “the mother” (aka healthy enzymes). Bragg’s is the best brand on the market!
11. Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 itself won’t cause your body to burn more fat or calories, but having more of it will help you to convert food into energy instead of fat.
If you lack the energy to do even light exercise, B12 could help get you moving.
B12 is in many multi-vitamins, but can also be taken as a stand-alone supplement.
Bonus! 12. Take a strong dose of our 21-Day Fat Loss Challenge!
Always remember that there is no supplement for a healthy diet!
People lose an average of 10-21 pounds in 21 days and absolutely love it! But even better than the weight loss is the feedback we get from people about how the program has taught them how to change their eating habits and find a diet that truly works for them in the long-term.
We have over 1,000 people in our private support group going through the Challenge together, and every day they are sharing experiences, results, motivation, and lots of recipes!
If you are ready to make some changes in your life, this is the ONLY place you should start. We will teach you exactly how to make the necessary changes in your diet and your lifestyle and how to keep them “beyond the diet.”
Click here to get started with YOUR 21-Day Fat Loss Challenge today!
Leave a comment below if you enjoyed this article or have any questions!
That’s a great post. Personally, I like the fact about protein. It can be a good meal replacement if you’re interested in reducing hunger, After taking protein, you won’t put on weight, but the opposite situation. If you’re doing sport it will help you to build muscles.
which will make you put on weight.
Great write up on supplements for weight loss. Like the way,you have mentioned about such supplements which seems to be helpful in loosing the weight.