Dietary supplements and metabolism boosters

[wakeride74]

So are any of these things worth a crap?? After a 5 month reprieve I am starting back to the gym and I don't have much weight to lose (maybe 5-10 lbs) but I really want to get some definition (not interested in mass gain) and get a little cut.

I always see these stupid ads for Hycroxycut and other such Dietary Supplements that are supposed to aid in weight loss and muscle definition. Are any of these actually worth taking or is it just a waste of $$?

[Jacktorse]

I take many of the vitamin supplements from here: http://rayandterry.com/. I read Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman's book: Fantastic Voyage, Live Long Enough to Live Forever, and I found it to be an intelligent analysis of nutrition research. I did not read it for the live forever portion, though I found those sections interesting in a different way.

A basic takeaway from this book is that your body becomes depleted of certain essentials over time which leads to premature illness and aging.

HTH

[akerman]

No, they don't work.

Fortunately the oldfashioned approach still works! Consume less energy than your body needs. This way the body convert some of your body fat (and some of your muscle too if you're not careful) into energy to restore the energy balance.

You can also stay at your current food intake (provided your weight is consistent) and do some exercise instead, thereby increasing the energy need of your body.

Or, you could do both.

A natural way to boost your metabolism is to eat lots of protein (meats), and to elevate your pulse to near max for 10 minutes time a couple of times pr week (exercise).

[jpr703]

No, the diet pills are not going to help you much and even if they did, you could backlash as soon as you quit taking them. The trick is to eat better quality food. Try taking a multivitamin and increasing your protein intake. I know several people who have lost weight that way and kept it off. If you're body is getting all the nutrients it needs, it will be much easier to reduce your overall food intake.

As for the gym, a combination of some weight lifting and lots of cardio is probably the fastest way to get to where you want to be. Don't go crazy, over-exert yourself and give up in two weeks though. Find a reasonable gym schedule and stick to it.

[hongda]

Also note that your body weight fluctuates quite a bit during the day, so don't rely solely on your weight for evaluation.

[Blitzula]

Creatine and protein powders work in conjunction with a good diet and weightlifting program.

[mjg]

eat some fish food.

it works.

[Teerawit]

Save your money for real food.

The only supplements I'd get are creatine and whey protein powder. Oh and multivitamins.

The real fat loss comes from exercising and weight lifting. You HAVE to eat healthy, too.

[HiWire]

I'm trying L-arginine right now. It seems to make some difference, though I'm not sure how much over a placebo effect. It's used for cardio recovery.

[FalconP]

"Metab boosters" and things that purportedly "help your burn fat faster" -- they're all bunk.

Vitamins and mineral pills -- some dieticians recommend them (whether for self-serving reasons, I don't know).

[MuZI]

Originally Posted by HiWire

I'm trying L-arginine right now. It seems to make some difference, though I'm not sure how much over a placebo effect. It's used for cardio recovery.

Where did you hear it was used for Cardio Recovery?

I've seen Arginine/Orthinine used for Nitros Oxide production for lifting.

If you want recovery products buy some Branch Chained Amino Acids(BCAA) with Citrulline Malate. EAA's also help but I haven't used them myself so I cannot comment.

[rant] Many supplements don't work for people because they rely on them too much or use them wrong. Supplements are just that....supplements..they supplement your goals.

I know wayy too many people who slack off on diet/excercise, overdose on a supplement and complain [/rant] <- Not targeted towards anyone who has posted so far.

[MuZI]

Originally Posted by wakeride74

So are any of these things worth a crap?? After a 5 month reprieve I am starting back to the gym and I don't have much weight to lose (maybe 5-10 lbs) but I really want to get some definition (not interested in mass gain) and get a little cut.

I always see these stupid ads for Hycroxycut and other such Dietary Supplements that are supposed to aid in weight loss and muscle definition. Are any of these actually worth taking or is it just a waste of $$?

There is a new hydroxycut comming out called hydroxycut hardcore, I do not advise anyone with less than 2-3 years of excercise/lifting to use this! It contains Yohimbine HCl (methylated?) which is VERY VERY potent.

Instead, I recommend Green Tea EXTRACT. Very cheap and it helps with appetite suppression and speeds up metabolism. Synephrine is also a good choice (alternative to ephedrine).