Losing weight can be a challenging journey, and many men seek ways to enhance their efforts. The market is flooded with weight loss supplements promising quick and easy results. However, it's crucial to distinguish between effective supplements and those that are ineffective or potentially harmful. This article explores some of the best male weight loss supplements, focusing on those supported by scientific evidence and emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to weight loss.
Understanding the Basics of Weight Loss
Before diving into specific supplements, it's essential to understand the fundamental principle of weight loss: creating a calorie deficit. This means consuming fewer calories than your body burns. While supplements can be a helpful tool, they are not a substitute for a healthy diet and regular exercise. A fundamental truth of losing weight is that your calorie intake must be less than the amount of calories you burn. There’s no getting around this.
Multivitamins: Filling Nutritional Gaps
When dieting, it's easy to miss out on essential nutrients. A balanced, whole food-based multivitamin can help ensure you meet the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of essential vitamins and minerals. Being deficient in important nutrients can contribute to the negative feelings that people often chock up to simply being on a diet: lagging energy, mental fog, subpar sleep, and grumpiness or unstable moods.
The Ritual Essential for Men Multivitamin 18+ is a well-reviewed multivitamin with quality ingredients. The only notable complaint was the mint flavoring.
Fiber: Promoting Fullness and Digestive Health
Fiber plays a significant role in appetite regulation by helping you feel fuller for longer. It slows down digestion and provides food in the form of prebiotics for the healthy bacteria in your gut.
Read also: The Ultimate Guide to Male Diet Supplements
Metamucil is a plant-based fiber supplement with good reviews for taste and effectiveness. Fiber comes in two varieties: soluble (which dissolves in water and your body can digest) and insoluble (which passes through you more or less unchanged).
Protein: Preserving Muscle Mass and Boosting Fullness
Protein is a heavy hitter. It keeps you full, supports your metabolism, and helps maintain muscle while losing fat. Eating fewer calories means getting less of the three calorie-containing macronutrients: protein, carbs, and fats. Protein of all types, including not only whey protein but also plant-based protein, is also renowned for its ability to boost your feelings of fullness.
Whey Protein
A whey protein shake provides a convenient way to boost your daily protein intake with no meal prep needed. Our testers love Transparent Labs 100% Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate because we know exactly what's in it, and almost every flavor we've tried is a 5 out of 5 on taste. Yes, it's a little more expensive than other protein powders but you get what you pay for.
Plant-Based Protein
The best vegan protein powders on the market provide the same essential amino acids as whey or egg protein, in similarly craveable flavors. Vega Sport Protein is plant-based, third-party tested, and gluten-free, making it suitable for a wide variety of people. One scoop provides 30 grams of vegan-friendly protein. Our testers report taste and blendability is not comparable to whey protein, but far better than other vegan-friendly options on the market.
Casein Protein
As a high-quality protein source, casein also helps to preserve muscle mass when calories are low, Destini says. Transparent Labs Casein Protein provides 25 grams of protein per scoop and is extremely popular among users. Unfortunately, it may be sold out when you try to buy it, but you can sign up to be notified when it is available again.
Read also: Meal replacement guide for women
BCAAs: Reducing Muscle Soreness
Branched-chain amino acids or BCAA “don’t do anything” and accuse you of wasting your money if you buy them. BCAAs don’t do much if you already eat adequate protein. “BCAAs contain no calories, and they can help with muscle growth in those who don’t consume enough protein,” explains registered dietitian Destini Moody.
A November 2019 meta-analysis in Vitamin and Nutrition Research backed up another well-known reason people take BCAAs: to limit exercise-induced muscle pain. The researchers found a “large decrease in DOMS,” or delayed-onset muscle soreness, in subjects taking BCAAs after exercise compared to placebo. If stevia does not cause you any stomach issues, Transparent Labs BCAA Glutamine is a well-formulated supplement worth considering.
Caffeine: Boosting Energy and Workout Performance
There’s a reason why 85% of American adults consume caffeine on a daily basis, either from coffee or from supplements containing caffeine anhydrous. And that reason is energy. No matter your experience level, pretty much every attribute you’re likely to train in the gym can be improved with a little caffeine, according to the International Society of Sports Nutrition’s position stand on caffeine.
Magnesium: Improving Sleep and Recovery
Transparent Labs' Magnesium Bisglycinate tablets provide 300 grams of reportedly highly bioavailable, non-laxative magnesium supplement intended to improve sleep, recovery, and energy levels. And while magnesium is the fourth most-abundant mineral in the human body, the National Institutes of Health says that only half of Americans are eating as much of it as they should.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Reducing Body Fat
Omega-3 fatty acid supplements get the most press for their impact on heart and brain health. “Studies have consistently shown that omega-3 fatty acids can reduce body fat, particularly visceral belly fat which is the culprit of many chronic diseases, and which is particularly dangerous to accumulate if you’re over the age of 40,” she says. Sport Research Fish Oil is available in 2 doses 625 and 1250 mg.
Read also: Chlorine Brand Comparison
Vitamin B12: Combating Deficiency and Boosting Energy
“Deficiency in B12 can contribute to pernicious anemia, which can impact energy levels and have other consequences including physical disability,” Moody explains. ProHealth Vitamin B12 contains four forms of B12 in one dissolvable strawberry lozenge.
ZMA: Enhancing Sleep and Testosterone Production
The best nutrients for testosterone production are likely to be ones that improve your sleep quality. Vitamin B6, the third ingredient in ZMA, is a key player in your body’s natural melatonin production. Transparent Labs ZMO supplement provides clinically effective doses of zinc, magnesium, and oyster meat extract.
Electrolytes: Maintaining Hydration
When you exercise or play sports, you can quickly lose water weight in the form of sweat. For this reason, Moody recommends rehydrating with water and electrolytes both during and after exercise. Electrolytes are a supplement you can sip guilt-free on all day, in fact, and there are more options on the market than ever.
Iodine: Supporting Thyroid Function
Your body uses the trace mineral and antioxidant iodine in many ways, but the big ones are to synthesize the thyroid hormones T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine). Destini Moody, RD, recommends it to her male clients because low iodine intake results in low thyroid hormone levels and impaired thyroid function.
Specific Weight Loss Supplements
Some supplements are specifically marketed for weight loss, with ingredients intended to boost metabolism, suppress appetite, or increase fat burning.
PhenQ
PhenQ includes some common fat burner ingredients, such as caffeine. It also includes two unique ingredients, one made of nopal cactus, and one of red chili extract (Capsimax). That said, PhenQ is our top pick because of the unique combination of ingredients it offers, intended to support fat loss, maintain lean muscle, boost energy levels, and potentially curb cravings without excessive stimulants.
Transparent Labs Recomp
Pete, our resident dietitian, tested this fat burner. His first impression of Transparent Labs Recomp earned a 5 out of 5 rating, with Pete noting that he liked the travel-friendly size.
Legion Phoenix Fat Burner
Legion’s Phoenix Fat Burner is our pick for the best fat burning supplement for women. Though fat burners are not specific to any gender, we like that the Phoenix formula gives women the option to choose a stim-free version. Phoenix also contains ingredients such as 5-HTP to potentially reduce hunger and cravings, and grains of paradise, which may help decrease visceral fat.
Jacked Factory’s Burn XT
Jacked Factory’s Burn XT is our top pick for the best thermogenic fat burner, thanks to its unique combination of Acetyl L-Carnitine HCL, green tea extract, caffeine anhydrous, Capsimax® cayenne pepper extract and BioPerine®, all of which work together to potentially help enhance the body’s calorie-burning capability and support fat oxidation.
Transparent Labs Recomp Stim-free
Transparent Labs Recomp Stim-free is our choice for the best fat burner without any stimulants. It still contains ingredients that have been studied to potentially help burn fat, such as coleus forskohlii extract, which research has shown may reduce body fat while also maintaining lean muscle mass.
1st Phorm L-Carnitine
For men who like to stack their supplements, like mixing their L-carnitine with a creatine supplement, we recommend 1st Phorm L-Carnitine. Available as a mixable powder in five different flavors, 1st Phorn L-Carnitine is intended to support fat burning without heavy stimulants.
Fucoxanthin
Fucoxanthin is part of the edible brown seaweed and is often found in macro- and micro-algae.
Probiotics
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that live in your gut and help break down and digest food. One 2018 review of 15 well-designed trials found that probiotics, either in foods or in supplements, helped overweight and obese people reduce their body weight and body fat. Some manufacturers are combining probiotics with prebiotics, a type of fiber that feeds gut bacteria.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant found in tea, guarana, yerba mate and other herbs that is often added to weight loss supplements. “It is an excellent lipolytic agent,” Willis says. “By that I mean it helps liberate fatty acids from our fatty tissues, especially for cardiovascular exercise. Studies have shown only a moderate weight loss effect, however.
Green Tea
Green tea contains a class of phytochemicals that are known as antioxidants, Wiley says. A few studies do seem to indicate that green tea extracts could make you burn more calories, even when you’re at rest. Green tea may have other benefits, potentially protecting against heart disease and cancer.
Berberine
Early research also indicates berberine could help with weight loss.
Prescription Weight Loss Medications
The pharmacological treatment of obesity is a fast-changing landscape, and care providers must strive continuously to stay current. With a growing selection of weight loss medications available, patients may ask what the strongest or most effective weight loss prescription medication is, and which one is best for them. The answer is complicated, and newer is not always better.
Semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic)
Wegovy is a brand name for semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist. It was FDA-approved in 2021. It is administered as an injection and approved for use in adults and children aged 12 years or more with obesity (BMI ≥30 for adults, BMI ≥ 95th percentile for age and sex for children) or some adults with excess weight (BMI ≥27) who also have weight-related medical problems.
Tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro)
Zepbound is approved to treat obesity in adults with a BMI of 30 or greater. It is both a GLP-1 and a GIP receptor agonist. Like semaglutide, it works by reducing appetite and is meant to be used in combination with diet and exercise to lose weight.
Liraglutide (Saxenda, Victoza)
Liraglutide is a daily injectable medication that acts on hormones that send signals from the gut to the brain to make the patient feel full quicker and decrease hunger signals. Liraglutide is also approved for Type 2 Diabetes, under the brand name Victoza.
Phentermine
Phentermine is the oldest and most widely used weight loss medication. It was originally used as a short-term medication to jump-start weight loss, but now newer medical guidelines have added it to long-term therapy.
Phentermine-Topiramate (Qsymia)
Topiramate can be combined with phentermine to decrease appetite and cravings. Adults with migraines and obesity are good candidates for this weight-loss medication.
Naltrexone-Bupropion (Contrave)
Naltrexone-bupropion combines an opioid receptor antagonist with an antidepressant to affect the pleasure-reward areas of the brain and thereby decrease cravings and appetite.
Orlistat (Xenical, Alli)
Orlistat is a lipase inhibitor that comes in a capsule. Undigested fat is then passed through the body. An over-the-counter formulation is available at 60 mg capsules with each fat-containing meal.
Setmelanotide
Setmelanotide is a melanocortin-4 receptor agonist indicated for chronic weight management in adult and pediatric patients six years and older, with obesity due to certain rare genetic disorders.
Plenity
A medical device rather than a medication, Plenity was FDA-cleared in 2019 for people with a BMI of 25 to 40. It consists of a capsule that releases a biodegradable, super-absorbent hydrogel into the stomach. The gel helps to increase satiety, enabling the person to eat less.
Emerging Weight Loss Medications
Pharmaceutical platform Ozmosi predicts one to two GLP-1 launches annually starting in 2026. specifically for obesity. Lilly is developing at least two new options. The first, orforglipron, is an oral GLP-1 inhibitor that completed a Phase 3 clinical trial in early 2025. The other, retatrutide, targets GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon. Amgen is developing MariTide, a monoclonal antibody designed to increase GLP-1 receptor activity while reducing GIP receptor activity.
The Importance of Lifestyle Changes
"Supplements can give you a nudge in the right direction, but they’re not a long-term fix,” emphasizes Dr. Dasgupta. Real, sustainable weight loss comes from consistent lifestyle habits, such as eating balanced meals, staying active, getting enough sleep and managing stress.
Safety and Regulation of Supplements
Dietary supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and ingredients and their amounts may vary. “Supplements aren’t FDA approved the way medications are, so the quality and safety can vary,” says Dr. Dasgupta.
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