If there's something out there on the market for weight loss, we've tried it. By we , I mean myself along with many people and patients around me willing to try various new strategies.
Maybe you say: "Well that's not a clinical trial. How can we know that there aren't small effects?"
Who cares about small effects? If a weight loss strategy causes you to lose 1.2 lbs over 3 months--who cares? Sure, it may count towards a slight measure of health in a 230 lb 5 ft 3 inch woman. But it is insufficient to engage that person's interest and keep them on track. That little result, in fact, will discourage interest in weight loss and cause someone to return to previous behaviors.
What I'm talking about is BIG weight loss--20 lbs the first month, 40 lbs over 4 months, 50-60 lbs over 6 months.
Right now, there are only three things that I know of that yield such enormous effects:
1) Elimination of wheat, cornstarch, and sugars
2) Thyroid normalization (I don't mean following what the laboratory says is "normal")
3) Intermittent fasting
Combine all three in various ways and the results are accelerated even more.