As a Registered Dietitian, helping people with their weight goals has always been a passion of mine. For decades people have been on the hunt for weight loss products and solutions to help achieve their ideal body weight. There are no magic pills to make you lose weight but there are several weight loss supplements that help assist your weight loss journey. Most of these products won’t work alone but when combined with lifestyle changes, such as exercise and a healthy diet, they can help you drop some pounds. As we approach summer you might be asking yourself, what are the best weight loss supplements?
I sat down with Gwynne Maiorana, Director of Merchandising for Weight Management, Herbs, Greens, and Beauty, as well as Jennifer Gartin, Category Merchant, Herbs and Greens and Weight Management at GNC to rank their best weight loss supplements of 2023. As a dietitian, I added my own expert advice. With summer here, suit up with your swim trunks and bikinis and find our best weight loss supplement round up!
The TOP WEIGHT LOSS SUPPLEMENTS
- Best Overall Weight Loss Supplement: BodyDynamix® Slimvance® | Skip to review
- Best Protein Powder for Weight Loss: GNC Total Lean® Lean Shake™ 25 | Skip to review
- Best Meal Replacement for Weight Loss: GNC Total Lean® Lean Shake™ + Slimvance® Stim | Skip to review
- Best Appetite Control Supplement: GNC Total Lean® Lean Shake™ + Slimvance® Stim | Skip to review
- Best Stimulant Supplement: BodyDynamix® Slimvance® XP and Performix® SST V3X | Skip to review
- Best Non-stimulant Supplement: Vitauthority Multi Collagen Burn | Skip to review
- Best Sleep Support Supplement: BodyDynamix® Slim PM™ Metabolism Support* | Skip to review
- Best Supplement to Support Healthy Blood Sugar: GNC Preventive Nutrition® Healthy Blood Sugar Formula | Skip to review
- Best Water Balance Supplement: BodyDynamix® Water Pill | Skip to review
Both Gwynne and Jen agree, our OG weight management supplement…. Slimvance is the real MVP for overall best weight loss supplement. Slimvance is a blend of plant-based ingredients offered in several products within the BodyDynamix assortment. The top products are Slimvance Core Slimming Complex and Slimvance XP. The herbal botanical blend is unbeatable with clinically studied ingredients to help you lose inches and pounds.^* Gwynne said it best “This product is actually proven to help you burn more calories while at rest, to me that is a game changer.” Gwynne is calling out the most recent findings from a clinical study, where participants took a placebo or a once daily dose of 900 mg Slimvance and made no changes to their daily routine for 7-days. At the end of the study, those taking Slimvance burned on average nearly an extra 175 daily calories vs. the placebo compared to baseline.^* That’s almost as much as a 30-minute brisk walk!
The real power behind Slimvance comes from their long-term studies, where a walking plan and 1800 calorie diet in conjunction with Slimvance helped participants lose nearly 10 more pounds than the placebo group!^◊* As a dietitian, I couldn’t agree more. A clinically studied blend of turmeric, moringa, and curry are the perfect nature-inspired ingredients to support those weight loss goals. Not only is Slimvance proven to help you lose 10 pounds plus 3x more inches from the waist and hips,^◊* it also won the “Weight Management Ingredient of the Year”, not once, but TWICE!
Read more: What Is Slimvance? Ingredient Deep Dive
The Total Lean® brand supports weight management across all aspects, whether you are maintaining your weight or trying to lose weight. That’s partly why Gwynne said the Total Lean Lean Shake 25 is the best protein powder for weight loss. As a dietitian, I couldn’t agree with Gwynne’s “why” more! She said, “You can’t beat the macros in this meal replacement protein powder. You’ve got 25 grams of protein and 7-8 grams of fiber per serving which will help fuel your day and help keep you full! That’s the same amount of protein as four large eggs and the same amount of fiber as two small apples! You’ve also got 22 vitamins and minerals that will help fill nutritional gaps on your weight loss journey and you can’t beat the flavors! Rich Chocolate is absolutely my favorite – tastes like a chocolate milkshake, but mixed berry, and Girl Scout collab flavors won’t let you down either!” She really nailed the nutritional value breakdown for the best protein powder for weight loss.
Other protein powders typically don’t have such a powerful punch of nutrients for just one scoop of protein. Other protein powders miss out on beneficial ingredients like fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Meal replacement shakes are a great way to displace excess calories to help promote weight loss. As a dietitian, we preach reducing your overall calorie intake by approximately 500 calories per day to promote around a 1-2 pounds weight loss per week. Replacing a meal with a shake designed to fill nutritional gaps is an excellent tool for weight management. One of the main ideas behind the best meal replacement for weight loss is just that… weight loss! That’s why Gwynne said “Total Lean Lean Shake + Slimvance will give you the hunger support you need and help you shed pounds and inches! You’ve got clinically studied Slimvance to help you lose weight and burn up to 12x more calories throughout the day!” ^◊* I love this option because it’s packed with powerful ingredients and comes in some delicious flavors like strawberry banana for a sweet treat.
Best appetite control was a no brainer. Both Jen and Gwynne said Total Lean Appetrex Control. Jen said “It’s proven to help reduce your calorie intake when taken just once daily prior to either lunch or dinner.* I definitely recommend this one as part of any weight loss regimen!” With a clinically studied formula, Appetrex control has been shown to reduce calorie intake!^* In fact, after just one week of taking the supplement, participants reduced their calorie intake by nearly 10% versus the placebo.^* If this was extrapolated across the entire day with a diet consuming around 2,000 calories per day, that could be almost 200 calories less per day! While it doesn’t seem like much taken at face value, it adds up when it’s a long-term habit!
Best stimulant supplements had two product winners – our Slimvance XP, from Gwynne highlighting the 200mg of caffeine per serving. It’s tried and true with our Slimvance core clinically studied to support weight loss.^◊* For a more extreme stimulant with 350 mg caffeine, Jen said Performix® SST V3X is a supercharged formula for anyone looking to really feel the effects of their thermogenic supplement with it’s potent blend of caffeine, Teacrine® and Dynamine™.
Jen warned this is not for beginners!” I personally lean towards Slimvance XP since it’s a nature-inspired formula with our clinically studied Slimvance blend, a clinically studied grains of paradise seed extract, and coffee bean extract for igniting your metabolism.^* Not only are these ingredients combined to help you lose inches but it also increase calorie burning with AfperFIT.* Selfishly I love my coffee and might have too much caffeine personally if I went for the Performix dose! But if you want the extra stim, choose the Performix product!
Jen highlighted one of the newer products to market, Vitauthority Multi Collagen Burn as her top non-stimulant supplement. Her reasoning is straight forward stating “We have a great product we recently launched by Vitauthority Collagen Burn. It’s a great tasting Strawberry Lemonade powder that mixes easily with water. Not only does it contain a Metabolism Support Blend, but it also contains collagen, as well as a SOD-B Dimpless, an antioxidant from cantaloupe melon shown to visibly reduce cellulite. Yes, I said it, the SOD B Dimpless supports the reduction of visible cellulite!*^ This all-in-one formula will not disappoint!”
As a dietitian, I love that the formula includes protein. In fact, just one scoop provides 7 grams of protein. Protein is an essential macronutrient to help you stay fuller longer and is often under consumed by women. The added boost of protein to your daily intake in a delicious strawberry lemonade flavor can help you meet your daily protein needs.
Another Slimvance winner is Slim PM as the best sleep support supplement for weight management. As Gwynne said, “who doesn’t want to burn more calories while getting a more restful sleep?”. Jen agrees, Slimvance core is a great stim free option to help boost calorie burn without the caffeine.^◊*
As a dietitian, sleep is often underrated as a lifestyle pillar important for weight loss journeys. Sleep allows your body to rest and recover, allowing your body to help reset. Slimvance PM contains melatonin and L-theanine, which helps you relax.* An added bonus is the AfperFIT ingredient to support metabolism.^* What a great formula to aid your sleep and metabolism!
As a dietitian, I know the importance of healthy blood sugar control for optimizing your health. But maintaining healthy blood sugar isn’t always easy. Preventive Nutrition Health Blood Sugar Formula contains clinically studied Reducose® to help support a healthy blood glucose response* Plus Chromium and Cinnamon Bark Extract, which are two of the leading herbs stated to best help blood sugar levels.* That’s why Gwynne said our best supplement to support healthy blood sugar control is the Preventive Nutrition Blood Sugar Control. She said with a clinically studied ingredient and herbs known to support blood sugar levels, it’s a win for this category.
Added bonus from a dietitian: To get the best results for healthy blood sugar control, combine with a balanced diet and exercise. Try to add protein and healthy fats to carbohydrate rich foods to optimize blood sugar levels.
Excess water can lead to holding on to more pounds. That’s why Jen said her top supplement pick for water balance is BodyDynamix® Water Pill. As Jen said, the water shedding formula improves bloating in just 7 days!^* And she’s right! In a clinical study, a daily dose of 1.37g Bimuno® B-GOS® Galactooligosaccharides, significantly improved bloating, gas, and digestive comfort after 7-days and 14-days.^* That’s just what you’re getting in the water pill formula! I don’t know about you, but if my gut feels bloated, and I’m not feeling great on my weight loss journey, a water pill can help!
Remember, everyone’s journey is unique, so finding the right weight loss supplement that suits your needs and preferences is key. GNC has tons of resources to help you with your weight loss journey and building a routine. With the right mindset and a holistic approach to weight loss, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your fitness goals.
Read more: Diet and Weight Management Articles