Diet supplements
 

Are pills and other metabolism boosters healthy? I know there's no magical weightloss pill but are there any reasonably healthy dietery supplements I'd be able to take that would help me lose weight? I currently have a rigorous work out routine as well as riding my bike 80+ miles per week. I'm just curious to know if anyone out there has tried anything that helped them lose weight?

On a side note, what about protein shakes? Those are supposed to be taken... alongside a workout, I think? Or maybe it's before? Which is better? Any recommendations for a decent protein shake that's still reasonable in cost.

One thing I've been looking at is this. I'm not sure how useful this may be, or if it's a scam but it SOUNDS decent enough. Is this worth trying?

Eh, anything that my friends have ever tried that said "lose xx amount of pounds in xx amount of time!" usually never lived up to the promise. That, and from articles I've read from doctors/people who understand nutrition better than me, say that it's generally unhealthy to lose more than 2-3 pounds per week, and even that is pushing it. Unless of course, you're making drastic life changes and used to weigh 1000 pounds.

One thing that HAS worked for me, however, are supplements that contain some kind of green tea extract. I take a multi-vitamin that contains that green tea extract (One-A-Day WeightSmart). Green tea has been shown to have an impact on people's metabolism, and I can vouch for it.

Protein shakes are great to supplement a diet with, and especially for meal replacements. But you don't want to have more than 1-2 daily. I've read opinions that say its best to have them before, and ones that say its best to have them right after. Apparently, it's just up to whichever you prefer. The only downside to them is that they're kinda expensive, even for the cheaper ones. They'll run about $2-3 each, typically.

It sounds like you have a great program together, I hope it works out for you!