uh oh...i have caught the supplement bug...

YAHOO!  i lost another 3.5 lbs at weigh in.  That makes 27.5 total in 9 weeks.  I still have a long road ahead but making progress.  Small steps can often lead to big changes. I have to admit it has been pretty easy thus far. Have I craved food of course, but not too frequently.  I do not think I am or was really addicted to food...I just ate poorly. Still do; but smaller portions ha ha ha.  Now I read labels and make choices as to what are better options.  I still fill most of my diet with carbs--and I always will--but the pounds have been coming off fairly easily. I did start taking two recommended dietary supplements Dr. Oz suggested. I think if you took everything he suggested you would a) be broke and b) have to take a pill about every minute.  But a few intrigued me.  I did verify that neither was synthetic or bad (like speed causing jitters and such) One is called green coffee bean extract, apparently comes from a coffee bean in its purest form (a little caffeine but not much...less than coffee) and l-carnitine. L-carnitine is an amino acid we already have in our bodies naturally--this just give us more. Both are supposed to help with metabolism.  The second says it helps not only metabolically but also could curb your appetite. Supposed to take it twice a day...I of course can never follow instructions and decided that is too much...so I take it just once in the morning.  If you say "stop" I go.  If you say "don't walk on the grass"I have to touch it.  If the Principal says "do not look at the solar eclipse directly" I will stare at it the entire way home.  Why? because I think I know better or curiosity kills me. HA. So if you say take it twice...I will take it once.  I have never tried supplements as I feared they would be bad for my heart (I have prolonged q.t.--condition I was born with and CANNOT take any weight loss pills or drugs that increase your heart rate...most do)  I also do not like taking meds.  I fight taking my heart medicine and I do not even own aspirin or pain relievers.  I just do not like taking medication. In this case, I was bamboozled by the promises of Dr. Oz.   I researched them in medical journals and felt good about them.  The challenge is knowing if they are working. I would say the weight is coming off easily (not super fast but steadily) and I am not that hungry. However, I cannot say with any certainty the pills have helped.  Simultaneously I have increased my activity level and cut my calories.  My gut tells me I would be losing about the same amount of weight without the supplements.   But I think the pills may help curb my appetite which is why it seems easy AND I am curious if in an odd way they have helped my cholesterol.  I dropped 36 points but did not start changing my eating habits until 6 weeks prior.  Can it improve that quickly just by a diet change?  maybe it can. I am not a medical expert. But, I do know this-- I am not stopping the supplements as whatever I am doing is working...so I will stay the course.  for now...     I appreciate all of your support on my journey.  I have received feedback on facebook and knowing you are in my corner rooting me on gives me the strength to keep focusing on my health.  THANK YOU!  God Bless you all...