If there is a real magic pill for fat loss, a 2021 review of 315 trials of supplements and alternative therapies found little high-quality evidence for one. Two low-cost tools that weight-loss research has also tested are a notebook and a bathroom scale. Neither is a pill, and the research on both is worth reading before buying anything.
What the pill trials found
A 2021 systematic review by Batsis and colleagues (PubMed 34159755) retrieved 20,504 citations on weight-loss supplements and alternative therapies. It found 315 randomised controlled trials covering 14 supplements, therapies or combinations. Only 52 of them were judged low risk of bias and sufficient to support efficacy, and only 16 of those 52 showed a significant difference in weight between groups, ranging from 0.3 to 4.93 kg. The authors conclude that these products have a limited high-quality evidence base, and they point to minimal regulatory requirements for showing that a product works.
The notebook
Self-monitoring means writing down what you eat, how much you move or what you weigh. Burke and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh reviewed studies on it published between 1993 and 2009 (PubMed 21185970). Of the 22 studies they found, 15 looked at keeping a food record, one at recording exercise and six at self-weighing. The paper diary was the method used most often.
Across those studies, a significant link between self-monitoring and weight loss turned up again and again. The authors still rate the level of evidence as weak. The main limits they list are samples that were all alike and reliance on what people reported themselves. In all but two studies, the samples were mostly white and mostly women.
The scale
Claire Madigan and colleagues at the University of Birmingham looked only at randomised trials of self-weighing (PubMed 26293454). Their search found 1,401 studies, and 24 trials went into the review. The results split three ways:
- Self-weighing as the only change was tested in one trial, with no evidence it worked (−0.5 kg, confidence interval −1.3 to 0.3).
- Adding self-weighing or self-regulation techniques to a multi-component programme, in four trials, gave about 1.7 kg more loss.
- Full programmes that included self-weighing, compared with little or no help, gave about 3.3 kg more loss across fifteen trials.
That last figure comes from a 2016 correction (PubMed 27029188). A reader spotted that one included trial had reported pounds that were analysed as kilograms. The re-analysis moved the result by 0.1 kg, from 3.4 to 3.3 kg.
So a scale with nothing else changing showed no effect in the one trial that tested it. A scale used as part of a wider weight programme did.
Daily or weekly, and who is watching
The Birmingham team suggested daily weighing might work better than weekly, because it gives more immediate feedback. The trials did not show a significant difference between the two.
They also tested accountability, which they define as the sense that someone other than yourself is observing and cares whether you weigh yourself. In the original paper, trials with accountability showed significantly greater loss. After the correction, the figure for trials with accountability moved from −3.6 to −3.5 kg, and the authors now describe the difference as approaching significance (p = 0.05) rather than significant. The NHS weight-loss tips include a plain version of the same idea: share your weight loss plan with someone you trust, because they can help motivate you when you have a bad day.
Does weighing make people feel worse?
Benn and colleagues at the University of Sheffield note that the evidence on the psychological impact of self-weighing has been mixed. They pooled 29 tests of the question (PubMed 26742706) and found no association between self-weighing and affect (anxiety, for example), body-related attitudes or disordered eating. There was a small negative association with psychological functioning, which includes self-esteem. The authors say that for the most part self-weighing is not linked to adverse psychological outcomes, but that in some cases it may be more negative than in others.
Logging dates honestly
A food diary only works if the entries are right, and dates show why counting pieces can mislead. USDA FoodData Central lists one pitted Medjool date (FDC 168191) at 24 g, which at 277 kcal per 100 g is about 66 kcal. One pitted Deglet Noor date (FDC 171726) is listed at 7.1 g, about 20 kcal at 282 kcal per 100 g. Write "three dates" in a diary and the entry could mean about 60 kcal or about 200, depending on the variety. Weighing them, or noting the variety, narrows that gap.
The NHS counts a 30 g portion of dried fruit, naming dates among them, as one of your 5 A Day, and says it should be eaten at mealtimes rather than as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth. On FDC figures, 30 g is about 85 kcal of Deglet Noor or about 83 kcal of Medjool. Logged as one weighed portion with a meal, dates fit into the same plan as everything else. Among the NHS tips on what not to do is "do not stock unhealthy food", and it names fruit among the healthier alternatives.
About this site and where to ask
The about page describes Sayer Dates as serving everyone from retail buyers to wholesale supply, with orders delivered across the country. For questions, quotes or orders, the contact page gives a WhatsApp number, and more date articles are on the blog. A link kept from the earlier version of this post points to Pembekal Kurma Selangor.
This article is general information, not personal advice. If you have a health condition or take regular medication, talk to your doctor before starting a weight-loss plan.