Calorie counting has been the standard advice for years: if you burn more than you eat, the weight comes off. It definitely works for some people because it builds awareness of what’s going into your body. But let’s be honest, tracking every bite, weighing food, and logging meals can get exhausting. For many, it’s not something they can keep up long term.
That’s where natural supplements come into the conversation. They’re not magic pills, and they won’t undo a poor diet, but they can support your body in ways calorie counting doesn’t. For example, certain supplements promote better sleep, balance stress hormones, or improve recovery. Since poor rest and high stress are two of the biggest drivers of stubborn weight gain and especially around the belly and this kind of support can make a real difference.
So which works better? The truth is, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. Calorie awareness gives structure and helps avoid overeating. Natural supplements can make the process smoother by supporting sleep, energy, or metabolism. Together, they can create an environment where weight loss feels less like a struggle and more like a lifestyle shift.
What about you? have you found calorie counting sustainable, or do you lean more on natural support? I’d love to hear what actually worked for you.
‘Natural supplements’ are snake oil.
Calorie counting is how one gets a handle on what a realistic amount of food to eat is and to get a handle on which foods are calorie dense without any real nutritional benefit, which are fine in small portions. Adjusting to a proper intake, and expanding that to cover nutritional values of food, is the only real successful life long approach.
Yep.
Supplements of anything only help if you’re deficient in that thing, and figuring that out is a challenge, at best.
What natural supplements?? I haven’t seen anything but “eating less” that works. Even GLP1 is an appetite suppressant so you eat less. How you do it is up to you. Find something that you can sustain and be consistent with.
“The Zone”, by Barry Sears, PhD Biochemistry.
He lays it all out (in 1994!), and since then research is repeatedly proving him correct.
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Calorie control
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Calorie quality (300kcal of snickers /= 300kcal of meat/fat/vegetables).
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Activity - without activity, the hormonal system gets out of whack. Exercise helps stabilize it, and improves metabolism of those calories
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If you’ve found supplements that help with sleep or stress, then by all means keep taking them for that purpose. If it also helps you with your weight loss, then that’s great, but I don’t think it makes sense to think of them as weight loss supplements.
I personally take vitamin D supplements and it supposedly helps with sleep. I have no idea if it’s been contributing to my weight management or not though. For that, I’ve just been counting Calories. It could be easier, but I’ve been keeping up for several years, so the friction isn’t too big.