Weighing In on Raspberry Ketones

Before Dr. Oz decided that the single best thing that everybody needs to manage their weight was raspberry ketones, nobody had ever gave a damn about them. Why did the wizard that is Oz choose them, you might ask? Lord knows I did. Well, a couple of studies released in 2005 and 2010 indicated it raised lipolysis  and the secretion of adiponectin. 

Wow, Vita-Guru, that sounds great, you say. Well it might be great, neither study was in humans. They were done in mice given a high fat diet - read here Standard American Diet. While, ultimately, your body is shaped by what you eat and how much you exercise, raspberry ketones could support your goals well. Remembering that you have many variables in your life that prevent you from achieving laboratory results, I would suggest you consider adding a couple of other supplements to your routine if you are trying to better manage your weight.

The first supplement to compliment RK would be L-carnitine. This amino acid like compound shuttles fat for burning throughout the body. Makes sense that with the RK making it easier for your body to break down fat that you would want to get it somewhere to be burned. I would also add Yohimbine. This tree bark extract has be shown to inhibit the receptors on fat cells that prevent them from releasing the stored energy, clearly also very complimentary to RK. Yohimbine can have a stimulating effect so be careful when you first start taking it.

Remember that these supplements are just tools to help you build the body you want. If you buy a hammer and swing it one way you can build a house. Swing it another way and you will tear the house down. If you swing it with your eyes closed you will hit your thumb. At the end of the day, it is still a hammer supplementing your arm to do work. The same applies to RK. Eating right and exercise are still the way you swing that hammer.

VG

Lose 10 Pounds Overnight!

I had someone ask me yesterday for a selection of diuretics and colon cleanses. She was going someplace warm for her vacation in a few days, and wanted to look better in her swimsuit. A “trainer” at a gym told her to get these items. Technically, he was correct, she would lose 10 pounds after a few very uncomfortable days. His advice had all the real merit of telling someone to roll down the windows because the car radio is too loud.

If your goal is to lose 10 pounds of fat to look better in a few days, the best thing you can be told is IT CAN NOT BE DONE!

Think about it.  You spent your life to look the way you do.  Are you really going to change that in days? I have been eating right and exercising for years, and I am no fitness model. It takes time to change your body especially without professional help.

With people making resolutions this time of year, I recommend changing what you eat, exercising, and using supplements to complement your efforts. You can build a house without a hammer, but it ain't easy! That is why I use supplements.

I have in the past recommended a foundation of supplements for body shaping: protein, creatine, glutamine, and arginine. I would add CLA. Conjugated linoleic acid is a great tool for the management of body fat. It used to be part of our diets when we were eating grass feed meat. One more thing we lost when “grain-feed” became a good thing. It works to prevent the absorption of bad fats from food, the reduction of empty fat cells in the body, and the production of lean muscle. It is generally safe, with little to no side effects. I would take 1 gram in the morning, 2 at lunch and 2 at supper. CLA will not win any races for speedy results, however. Most studies done are conducted over 1 year.

Another thing you could try is a product call SafSlim. Like CLA, it comes from safflower seed oil, but it has been shown to be more effective on belly fat in a 16 week trial. CLA was overall more effective on body fat, but SafSlim was more focused so it may be a better option.

Remember that you spent a lifetime looking the way you do. It will take time to change that. This weekend, just have fun and plan for the next vacation now.

Goals Are For Beating

Wow, guess it has been a while since I wrote anything. Sorry. I got focused on a goal that I set a year ago. I was watching some friends run in a marathon race and decided to try it myself. Last weekend the race had one more runner. The event that started me running was a goal that I was very focused on finishing. Long story short, I finished the 13.1 mile half marathon in a personal best time and a whole lot of pain. More on that later.

Looking back over the year I realized that setting that goal changed my attitude towards working out and getting healthy. I went from “trying to get fit and stay healthy” in the short term and got the final results I had been trying to achieve for a long time before.

I often tell people at the beginning of a body/life changing process to pick an event they want to do. Make it a challenge to focus their training. I have helped many people change their bodies and health over the years, but that seems to be the key to success. A goal needs to be specific and difficult, but still obtainable. Saying “ I am going to “run a full marathon” when the farthest you have jogged is to the fridge during a commercial is a sure way to become frustrated with yourself. Making your goal “to get fit and healthy” is so vague that you have no way to know that being out of breath after your fridge dash is bad.

Be honest with yourself about where your are at when you set your goal. Pick something you have always thought would be rewarding to do. Make it only achievable when the amount of training you can push yourself to give. Plan and execute! Then go beat the stuffing out of that goal!

Along the way you may find yourself where you originally wanted to be.