Update 8/1/20. Bob Harper of the Biggest Loser, is saying in TV commercials when it comes to weight loss “it's as simple as 1,2,3: eat right, be active and try my new Smart Weight Loss formula”. Really? I've heard about eating right and exercise but what about Bob Harpers Smart Weight Loss Formula? Does Bob know something about weight loss the rest of us don’t? I was intrigued, especially when Bob uttered my two favorite words (next to Star Trek!) – Clinical research. According to Bob, his Smart Weight Loss Formula is backed up by two clinical studies. I did some digging into this supplement and uncovered some interesting facts. Let’s now take a look at Bob Harpers Smart Weight Loss Formula and see if we can figure out if it’s right for you.
Smart Success Weight Loss products
If you go to BobHarperSmartSuccess.com you see that his weight loss formula is actually 3 different products:
- Smart Weight Loss 7 day starter kit
- Smart Weight Loss Formula
- Smart 7 Day Cleanse (this product contains senna which can be very dangerous. I do not recommend)
I'm going to focus mostly on the Smart Weight Loss Formula first and briefly review the other products at the end of this review.
Smart Weight Loss Formula Ingredients
- Vitamin C 7mg (useless for weight loss)
- Calcium 175 mg (useless for weight loss)
“Invigorate Energy Blend” (455 mg). This contains the following:
- Coffee extract (probably helps weight loss)
- Pomegranate powder (no proof it helps weight loss)
- Goji powder (no proof it helps weight loss)
Trim Smart Blend
- Frauenmantel extract (Alchemilla Vulgaris leaf)
- Wild olive extract (Olea Europea leaf)
- Cormino extract (Cuminum cyminum seed)
- Horsemint extract (Mentha longifolia leaf)
Smart Weight Loss Clinical Studies
Now let’s look at the two clinical studies Bob Harper says supports his weight loss formula. These clinical studies are summarized on the Smart Weight Loss website. Here is basically what they say:
Study 1
12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Subjects using the “key ingredients” in the Smart Weight Loss Formula lost an average of 20.94 lbs. versus the placebo group, who lost an average of 1.70 lbs. Both groups followed a calorie-reduced diet.
Interesting.
Here is what they don’t say about this study.
- Where is the study published? There is no reference so people can go and read the study themselves. This is a big problem in my opinion.
There is a big difference between “clinical study” and “Published peer reviewed study”. Without letting other researchers look over how the study was done, how do we know the study is not flawed?
- How many people were in this study? 10, 20, 100? They don’t tell us. This is another big problem because if the study only had a small number of people, it reduces the likelihood that others would see the same results.
- How many calories did people eat? They only say people ate a reduced-calorie diet.
- What was the placebo? They dont tell us. This is important. If the people getting the placebo knew they were not getting the real supplement, they may have cheated more on their diet, thinking “what’s the use?” Placebo choice can make or break a study.
- How much of the weight lost was body fat? They only say that people who took the Smart Weight Loss supplement lost 20.94 pounds. My question is 20.94 pounds of what?
Was it 20.94 pounds of fat?
Was it 20.94 pounds of water?
Was it 20.94 pounds of muscle?
They don’t tell us.
I have no proof but I am guessing that the 20.94 pounds is a combination of some fat, carbs, and water (carbs store lots of water) and maybe a little protein. That’s basically what you see when people go on a diet.
- How did they measure body fat? If they are saying people lost 20.94 pounds of fat, how did the researchers measure it? They don’t tell us. Somebody fat measurements can be pretty inaccurate.
- Who did the study? They say it was a “third party” but that’s vague. It’s implied this means an independent lab did the research but since they don’t specifically say it, we can’t assume this.
Study 2
This study lasted 8 weeks and was backed by the company that makes Bob Harpers Smart Weight Loss supplements. That’s not bad as long as the research is good and the company did not influence the results.
This study was also a randomized, placebo-controlled study. That's good. People using the same key ingredients lost 16.5 pounds (those taking the placebo lost 1.73 lbs).
Again, they don’t tell us a lot about this study either:
- It looks like this is not a published/peer-reviewed study
- What was the placebo?
- How many people were in the study?
The weight loss study Bob doesn't tell you about.
According to Bob Harper's website the “key ingredients” in his Smart Weight loss Formula are:
- Frauenmantel extract (Alchemilla Vulgaris leaf)
- Wild olive extract (Olea europaea leaf)
- Cormino extract (Cuminum cyminum seed)
- horsemint extract
There is a reason why Bob calls them the “key ingredients” – and here it is.
In 2008, there was a study published in the journal, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The study was NOT on Bob Harper's weight loss formula.
Researches were actually testing if another supplement called WeighLevel to see if it helped. The WeighLevel supplement also has the 4 “key ingredients”– and had them at least 3 years BEFORE Bob Harper's supplements. The Weight Level supplement may be discontinued as it cannot be located.
As far as I can tell, this is the ONLY study of these 4 ingredients that has been published in a scientific journal (Remember, the clinical studies touted in Bob'sLoss Formula seem to be unpublished and not peer-reviewed).
Other Smart Weight Loss Products
Bob’s weight loss formula has 3 separate products:
- Smart Weight Loss 7 day Cleanse supplement
Here is the scoop on the other 2 products
The Smart Weight Loss 7 Day Cleanse
This product contains senna which is a laxative. For more on senna see these reviews
Senna was one of the main active ingredients in the weight loss supplement Zi Xiu Tang Bee Pollen. The 7 Day Cleanse also contains Acai fruit which is useless for weight loss.
See the reviews on the Acai Berry Diet and Fact about Acai Berry.
The Smart Weight Loss Starter Kit
This is basically the same thing as the Smart Weight Loss Formula. It has 2 parts – an AM formula and a PM formula. Both contain the same 4 “key ingredients” except that the AM formula also has caffeine (coffee extract) and some other things that do nothing for weight loss.
To be fair, the ingredients in Bob's supplements pale in comparison to the supplements that Jillian Michaels was previously associated with.
The Smart Weight Loss TV Commercial
I watched the Bob Harper TV commercial and I noticed something interesting.
During the commercial Bob says “its key ingredients have proven in two clinical studies”.
Have proven? Have proven what?
Notice Bob does not say its key ingredients “have been proven to cause weight loss” in two clinical studies.
Bob just says the key ingredients “have proven in”. The way Bob says it, the sentence makes no sense and is vague.
Was that an error? Was it fancy Hollywood editing to get around FDA red tape?
Also notice in the TV commercials nobody ever says “the product causes weight loss”.
Instead, they say “It really works”.
Saying it really works is vague language that’s used frequently in supplement ads to tap dance around the law and make people think something promotes weight loss.
Some may think my securitizing of Bob’s words are petty, but I need to do this because of who Bob Harper is. He’s on a hit TV show and is famous. People will take his words as gospel because they like Bob. Heck, I like Bob too!
During the commercial, you meet “Erin” who says “I lost 23 pounds the Smart Way”. Other people are also shown in TV commercials.
But if you read the words at the bottom of the screen you see that these people also:
- Went on a diet and exercised
- And were PAID for their testimonials!
How much did they exercise? How many calories did they eat per day? How long did it take to lose weight? These are important questions because if you don’t do the same thing, odds are you won’t see the same results.
Does It Work?
I have many questions about the clinical studies Bob Harper mentions as proof of his Smart Weight Loss Formula. As I've shown you, the only published study on the “key ingredients” appears to be on a totally different weight loss supplement.
Bere is Bob Harpers Smart Weight Loss on Amazon.
What do you think?
Yes Bill writs a lot of very well researched and common sense stuff about health and fitness. I always recommend his site to people!
GREAT, I will have it posted tonight. BTW, I just read the post by Dr. Bill, GREAT endorsement!!! http://www.drbillofhealth.com/exercise/review-bob-harper-smart-success-weight-loss-supplement-clinically-proven-nonsense/
Dwayne Wimmer
Hi Dwayne, thanks and sure if I can get a mention and link back to my site that would be great!
Joe,
Great post, I would like to share this with my clients and repost it on my blog, if you don’t mind.
Thanks,
Dwayne Wimmer
I love Bob and his workouts and advice for eating well and counting calories does work. However, this supplement in my opinion does nothing. Okay, to be fair, it did give me more energy for my workouts but that was it. I took it for just over 2 weeks and absolutely no change. I’m a healthy gal who was just hoping to drop an extra couple of pounds but nadda. I say, just stick with the hard work of exercise and counting your calories which DOES work.
Best thing to do is get hyper and work out.
Kate thanks for sharing that information. After Dax (see comment above) first alerted me that Bob Harpers weight loss supplement is similar to Hydroxycut, I looked at the TV commercial Hydroxycut is running and yep -its the same study as you rightly pointed out!
Did Bob Harper know about this? I don’t know but I’m very disappointed that his product is not only based on Hydroxycut but that he would get involved with weight loss supplements that HE KNOWS won’t work long term for the vast majority of users.
Oh Bob, I could not BE more disappointed. I heard him on the radio pimping this product and was so excited to go online and read about it. I was very turned off by their website which looks like a scam parody but even more so to learn what a scam the product itself is!
Not only did it steal the clinical trial information from Hydroxycut but it’s made by the same company (Iovate) who have just taken their recalled product and re-branded it and bought Bob’s soul to re-market as “vegan” 🙁
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm152152.htm
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products by Iovate Health Sciences Inc., of Oakville, Ontario and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, N.Y. Some Hydroxycut products are associated with a number of serious liver injuries. Iovate has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.
Dax, I totally missed that thanks for catching it! Amazing!
Hi Joe,
Am I the only person who’s noticed that the package for Bob Harper’s weight loss pills site the same exact study as Pro Clinical Hydroxycut? Very intriguing. The only difference is that the Hydroxycut package claims that it was they who paid for the “clinical study.” They do indeed have some of the same ingredients.
So, basically, Bob’s formula is simply a form of Hydroxycut. The study was obviously done, though probably never published, on those ingredients.
Here is a link that shows the same study being quoted:
http://www.drugstore.com/hydroxycut-pro-clinical-rapid-release-caplets/qxp220624
Exercise, people, and eat healthy. The rest will definitely help you lose weight … but only by lightening the load on your wallet not your butt.
Craig, wow, I totally missed that – Thanks!
I was just reading the farcical ‘terms of use’ of his website. Huh? How can a website have terms of use? Seldom have I read such nonsense!
Amongst the gems were: “Do not proceed to view this Site if you are not a legal resident of the United States of America”. Oops. My bad. I did proceed. I await legal proceedings with keen anticipation.
“Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Iovate, its officers, directors, employees, and agents, from and (i) against any claims, actions, or demands, including, but not limited to, reasonable legal and accounting fees, alleging or resulting from your use of the Site or (ii) your breach of these Terms of Use. (iii) Your infringement of any intellectual property or privacy right of any person. Iovate shall provide notice to you promptly of any such claim, suit, or proceeding and shall assist you, at your expense, in defending any such claim, suit, or proceeding”.
Yeah, right. These guys are nuts.
DaleK, I like your choice of words and I agree it does make people feel like losing a pound or two a week is not enough. As an aside, the same can be said about the entire Biggest Looser TV show (definitely not reality and it looks like most of those people regain the weight after the show ends).
I liked Bob Harper a lot more when he was selling oatmeal on TV. I often contrasted him and Jillian in the personal trainer classes I teach.
Good website you have and a great background – both NSCA and ACE certified. I know several trainers in the New York area so if you ever need help let me know and I’ll spread the word in my health and fitness newsletter (Joe-Cannon.com)
Craig, thanks for your words. What you say about the double blind study is true however the choice of placebo can make or break a study. If the people taking the placebo knew they had the placebo, it might have influenced the outcomes of the study. Not all placebos are the same. It’s probable that people in the study could not tell the difference but unless we know what the placebo was, we can’t be sure.
I like the quote on your homepage by the way 🙂
Hey, don’t get me wrong, I agree with all that you have written. I’ll go further. This whole thing is a scam.
But you ask “If the people getting the placebo knew they were not getting the real supplement, they may have cheated more on their diet, thinking ‘what’s the use?'” Well, the (purported) study was billed as double blind. Therefore, none of the (alleged) participants knew they were taking the placebo.
I think that product is shameful, especially given who’s promoting it. I like Bob too! It made me sad to see him pimping zero effort weight loss in a box. Before I knew what it was I “liked” the product on Facebook because they were giving away a trip. I assumed because it was Bob it would be something sensible. Lots of people were saying they couldn’t wait to try it.
People are bombarded with this easy weight loss garbage so much so that when they are consistently losing 1-2lbs of fat per week they feel like a failure. I don’t know about men but for many women this leads to the endless starve yourself/gain it all back and then some cycle.
Doug, thanks for your kind words. Much appreciated!
Great report and analysis! The only real way to lose weight is to change one’s lifestyle. No product can replace eating healthfully, exercising regularly, and getting plenty of sleep. Thanks for revealing the facts behinds these claims!