Hi i am new here i am 23 & weigh about 160 i have no energy at all. I am going to start doing a work out then walking whenever it gets a little warmer. I have been searching looking at all the different kind of supplements to take. If anyone has taken any of these could you please let me know what you think.
I wouldn't even bother with the herbal speed. It can actually backfire on you... most of those pills you mentioned are the same thing - ephedra/ephedrine/ma huang (i.e. herbal speed) usually with aspirin and caffiene added (called an "ECA stack"). The rest of the ingredients in those pills don't do anything for the most part...
What you need to do is eat a healthy diet, with lean protein and clean carbs (whole grains, fruits, veggies) and LOTS of water (I drink at least a gallon a day).
If you want permanent fat loss, you need to make drastic lifestyle changes. Pills ain't gonna do it and they can be pretty dangerous to boot! Just because something is 'natural' doesn't mean it's good for you or harmless...
I agree %100, stay away from the pills.
Getting plenty of excercise and getting in shape will boost your energy level. The more active you become the more you will want to be active and the more energy you'll have.
Whatever you do, stay away from these "all natural, herbal so it must be good for you substances" My sister was taking one of the many forms of these because she could not be bothered with eating well or exercising...she wanted a pill to do it for her...(How this even makes sense to anyone is beyond me) She is now a 42 year old stroke victim who has no use of her right side and has expressive aphasia--meaning she is very limited verbally, she knows what she WANTS to say, but cannot get the proper words out, if any. She is unable to work anymore, she has a Master's degree that will do her no good anymore. She is also NOT THIN! So they didn't work anyway...Given a choice, I know she'd rather be overweight than handicapped in this way.
I know she was warned against taking these pills, but she thought, like many of you reading this..."This will NEVER happen to me!"
Never say never...take care of your bodies, eat well, exercise, drink your water...be healthy.
I took Endurox for 1 week and ended up in the ER with heart palpitations. Also, have you looked closely at the fine print on the Xenadrine commercials? It said average weightloss with the drug (if it has ephedrine in it, it IS technically a drug) AND the program is about 8 pounds in 8 weeks. Well, I typically lose 14 pounds in 8 weeks just eating healthy food. You have GOT to either:
1) control portion size (thus creating a calorie deficit)
or
2) count calories (find out your BMR and activity level
AND
exercise
Here's a good website with BMR calculation based on age, weight, sex OR lean body mass if you know it:
The guy is a bodybuilder and has a lot of good articles on diet and fitness. He thinks herbal supplements are stupid too. All you need is a good multi-vitamin/mineral and maybe creatine if you want to bodybuild. If you restrict fat and calories a lot you'll also need to supplement with Essential Fatty Acids.
Hi, I also agree - stay away from ephedrine based stuff. I've taken it and got shaky, irritable, depressed, it was awful and couldn't wait for it to wear off.
Despite that I do need that extra 'kick' in the gym and to curb my appetite. Have you tried the formulas that don't contain ephedra - ie. Eas betalean without ma huang or maxilife 7-keto. They don't give you the bad effects but still suppress your appetite and give me the energy that I sometimes lack, especially for cardio.
Hi! WAIT --- Do NOT CLUMP HERABLIFE in this mixture. I must say - like EAS (Body For Life products) they have MANY products. I agree with the above posters that you should avoid anything with ephedra / ma huang *(chinese herbal equivalent). But I use Herbalife shakes and they are free of any that crap! It isnt too different from any other protein shakes.
A lot of people assume herbalife is all diet stuff, but they have vitamins...etc. I even took the shake during my pregnancy and my Dr. commented on how healthy I was throughout my pregnancy. But YES - Avoid anything with the above mentioned additives!
You do NOT need to use any supplements if you want to do BFL (Body for Life) unless you decide to enter the 'official' EAS challenge - and even then there are lots of places on the Internet where you can buy the products way cheaper than at the EAS site - such as www.netrition.com and www.vitaglo.com. I know quite a few bodybuilders who don't use any supplements other than glutamine and proper nutrition. (that includes me at this time - even though I've used the Myoplex Lite Cappuchino Ice shakes in the past).
And EAS lately has been putting out a whole plethora of products. Many, quite frankly, are overblown, hyped, and a waste of money...
Vitamins - I've always just bought the women's multi from Trader Joe's and it's worked fine for me. 20/20 did an expose a few years ago that showed there is nothing special about pricey vitamins. I suppose if I wanted a 'better' vitamin, I'd just take a prenatal.
Just wanted to add two cents - and dispel the myth that you must use supplements to do BFL - they're suggested in the book but not required for a successful transformation! Eating clean and working out with intensity are the two best 'supplements' you can add to your life - it's worked for me!
I just happened to pop in here and have been reading about these drugs and supplements. P.S. I agree with what everyone said. I tried Metabolife and a couple of other ones with lots of caffeine in them. Didn't sleep for days. Just stayed up and snacked!
My question for MrsJim and for anyone else taking multivitamins. What kind do you take/recommend. MrsJim, I love Trader Joe's and have seen vitamins there and in other "healthy" stores but there are so many different varieties. Any suggestions?
It Pays To Take Your Vitamins
NEW YORK, June 24, 2002
After 20 years, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has completely reversed its policy and is now encouraging all adults to take at least one multivitamin a day. Jeffrey Blumberg, a professor of nutrition at Tufts University, visits The Early Show on Monday to help put this in perspective.
Dr. Robert Fletcher and Dr. Kathleen Fairfield of Harvard University wrote the new guidelines for JAMA in two articles. The first one looks at findings from published articles from 1966 through Jan. 11, 2002 about vitamins in relation to chronic diseases. And the second is their recommendation based on the information they reviewed.
Blumberg says that it is significant that JAMA, a highly respected and conservative journal, is changing its policy. This new guideline will encourage physicians and clinicians to talk to their patients about taking vitamins.
Doctors Fletcher and Fairfield write that the North American diet is basically sufficient to prevent extreme vitamin deficiency diseases such as scurvy, pellagra and beriberi. However, they report, "insufficient vitamin intake is apparently a cause of chronic diseases. Recent evidence has shown that suboptimal levels of vitamins (below standard), even well above those causing deficiency syndromes, are risk factors for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis. A large proportion of the general population is apparently at increased risk for this reason."
The body of evidence they reviewed showed that taking insufficient levels of vitamins B6 and B12 increases the risk for a person developing cardiovascular disease, neural tube defects and colon and breast cancer. Low levels of vitamin D contribute to osteoporosis and fractures. Low levels of the antioxidant vitamins (A, E and C) can potentially increase the risk for several chronic diseases.
Doctors Fletcher and Fairfield confirm that Americans are not consuming enough nutrients in their diet. The researchers reported that there wasn't enough evidence to recommend tailoring vitamin intake according to age, sex and physical activity. However, they did recommend that doctors talk to their patients about using vitamins and that women in their childbearing years take folic acid and avoid taking too much vitamin A.
Most multivitamin brands are very similar because they all have at least 100 percent of the daily-recommended value of all vitamins (except vitamin K). The articles say, "Many so-called multivitamins also often contain other food supplements such as minerals and herbs. The amount of calcium in multivitamins is typically between 40 and 60 mg, well below the generally recommended dose of 1000 to 1500 mg."
The researchers write that the only argument for taking more than one multivitamin a day applies to the elderly and women who might become pregnant.
"The recommended intake for vitamins B12 and D in the elderly is closer to 2 times the dietary reference intake, the article says. "For women who might become pregnant, folate at 800 mg. is appropriate." But Blumberg doesn't like the idea of the elderly taking more than one multivitamin a day.
"I disagree because older people are more sensitive to toxicity in vitamin A and you shouldn't double the dose,” he says. “There are in fact multivitamins that are formulated for older adults. You will find they have less iron and more vitamin D and some have more folic acid." Blumberg considers people to be elderly who are 70 years and older.
In regard to taking megavitamins, which Blumberg says is sometimes referred to anything with more than 5 times the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA), he says that it's beneficial for people with certain conditions to take them. But they should talk to their doctor first.
Since there are literally hundreds of multivitamin brands on the market, Blumberg suggests picking a branded product that you trust with an expiration date and that is formulated at 100 percent of the daily value. “Just look down the list. If it says 90 percent for some and over 100 for others, that's ok.” And he says that it's important to take a multi-vitamin with a meal to get the best absorption.
Multivitamins used to be pretty basic. Today, the varieties are endless. Should you take one that's "for women only," or the one that says "stress formula"? Should you buy a synthetic, natural, or whole-food formula? How much of each vitamin and mineral do you really need each day?
For answers to these and other important questions, we asked two female experts in nutrition what they look for when they buy multivitamins. Here's what they said.
Look for a "USP" symbol. This means the multivitamin meets U.S. Pharmacopeia standards for quality, purity, and potency, says Heather Holmstrom, M.D., a runner and family physician at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. In other words, it ensures that what's listed on the label is actually in the pill.
Look for a balanced supplement. So-called "natural" multivitamins often consist of synthetic vitamins mixed with natural ingredients. Many of these formulas contain extremely high (more than 1,000 percent) amounts of inexpensive vitamins, and far lower doses of key, more expensive nutrients, making the formula unbalanced and more difficult for your body to absorb and use, says Andrea Crivelli-Kovach, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of community health programs at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa. She recommends a balanced formula-where the percentages of the Daily Value for each nutrient are roughly equal.
Try this test. Some binding agents used in daily multis may prevent you from adequately absorbing the pill. To test the absorbability of your multi, drop it in a glass of water or vinegar. A good "whole-food" multi should completely dissolve in less than 20 minutes. Those with too-strong binding agents can take more than 2 hours, says Crivelli-Kovach.
Aim for 100 percent. Take a supplement that supplies at least 100 percent of the Daily Value for the following: vitamins A, C, D, and E, the eight B vitamins (B1, B2, niacin, B6, folic acid, B12, biotin, and pantothenic acid), and minerals iron, zinc, potassium, selenium, copper, and manganese. The multi should contain about 45 percent of the Daily Value for calcium, 50 percent for magnesium, and 35 percent for phosphorus. "Be cautious with brands that advertise 100 percent of these last three minerals, because it takes a great deal of compression to fit them into a tablet," says Crivelli-Kovach. "Which means the minerals will most likely not dissolve in time for your body to use them."
Don't go overboard. Your multi should not contain more than 100 percent of the Daily Value for the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K, as the synthetic forms of these vitamins can be toxic in high doses.
Stay away from "stress" and "energy" supplement formulas. "Keep in mind that if a supplement sounds too good to be true, it probably is," says Dr. Holmstrom. "Stay away from those that contain caffeine and ephedrine, as they can cause increased heart rate, high blood pressure, anxiety, and heart palpitations. Sometimes these substances are listed on the label, other times they are disguised as guarana, ma haung, or green tea extract." Also, many stress-formula vitamins contain dangerously high doses of B vitamins, so keep away from those.
Anyone ever taken these if so did they help
