After hitting a weight loss plateau months ago, I decided this was a good time to try Calorease, a supplement which is said to reduce up to 500 calories a day.

I’ll admit that I first heard of Calorease when it was mentioned on a recent episode of Dr. Oz. Actually the good doctor never mentioned Calorease by name, but the patented ingredient FBCx. As I quickly found, however, FBCx is to Calorease what acetaminophen is to Tylenol. In other words, they’re the same thing in the eyes of most consumers.

So I went down to a local GNC to pick up said Calorease only to find an empty shelf staring back at me. The eager assistant (who was in obscenely good  shape, by the way) told me that ever since the Dr. Oz episode aired, Calorease has been flying off the shelves.

Indeed, Calorease even disappeared from the GNC website, presumably because they, too, are out of stock. Even the official Calorease website currently lists their 90-count out of stock.

What is Calorease?

This “dietary supplement” is a “naturally sourced soluble dietary fiber.” It is said to work by binding with, and eliminating, dietary fat. You take six pills per day, taken two at each meal. This is said to reduce your total calories by 500 for the day. Alternatively, you can simply take Calorease whenever you eat a high-fat snack or meal. One pill is said to bind with 9 grams of dietary fat, meaning your two-pill dose will bind to 18 grams of fat per meal, for a total of 54 grams per day.

500 calories per day equals 3500 calories per week, which means – theoretically – you should expect to lose about 1 pound per week while taking Calorease.

Simple enough?

Bogus Reviews

Before I even stumbled into GNC for my own box of Calorease, I popped open a web browser in search of reviews by those who had already tried the product. Not surprisingly, I found myself wading through a marsh of shoddy one-sided affiliate reviews which extolled the virtues of Calorease, only to end with not-so-subtle affiliate links to purchase the product.

Undeterred, I managed to find a few somewhat a few unbiased Calorease reviews, but these objective voices were diluted by the waves of fake reviews flowing online.

My Calorease Review

I finally managed to nab a box of Calorease at GNC (my overly in-shape assistant suggested that I visit the store on the day their shipment arrived. That plan worked.). The first thing I noticed was that a 180-count of Calorease is only a 30-day supply, meaning you’ll be taking six of these bad boys every day if you take the maximum amount.

My starting weight was 176.6, a number I have maintained for months. Because I eat six small meals a day, rather than three big ones, I decided to take Calorease with three of my meals, choosing those meals with the most calories and fat.

I already had a pretty set regimen, so I did not alter my diet or exercise in any way during my test of Calorease.

The result?

After 4 weeks of taking Calorease with no other lifestyle changes, I weighed in at 176.0, meaning I lost about half a pound. So I can safely say that Calorease probably did something, but it was by no means the magic pill touted online, nor did I feel it was an overwhelming success. That half pound certainly didn’t seem worth $50.

I should also point out that I didn’t experience any side effects in any way while taking Calorease.

Final Thoughts

I can’t say I was terribly impressed with Calorease, with only about a half a pound of weight loss in 28 days. It was no magic pill in my eyes, but maybe it affects everyone differently, and maybe my diet is so low in fat that Calorease was not effective for me. If you’ve tried it, I’d like hear how my experience compared with yours. Let me know what you thought of Calorease.