Abdominal Non Food Fuels

Non-Fuel Foods

As far as Non Food Fuels and Supplemented Nutrients go, this is a real mine-field.

There are thousands of "fat loss" products out there. The truth is most are useless. And many of the products are just plain stupid. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of "natural" nutrient materials that will actually help you to lose that ab fat. I could write a book on this mockery! Suffice it to say, don't waste your money buying a majority of natural "diet" products from anyone, including us. Simply writing the words "Fat Burner " on the label, does not make it so.

Let's look closely at some main product niches to help you separate the good ones from the pretenders.

Fat Loss through Central Nervous System Stimulation.

This is a huge area. It seems that virtually every company has a natural herbal based stimulant.

Do they work? Excellent place to start. Yes, they stimulate. Yes, for many, they cut appetite significantly. Yes, the make you feel like jumping around more, which will help you to expend calories. No, they are not magical metabolic boosters. No, they are not thermogenic and will not help you by pumping up your core temperature.

Are they safe? Yes and no. On one hand, there are the Marketers which would have you believe they are safer than mommy's milk. And on the other hand, you have "news" (I use that word very loosely) magazines like 20/20 that would like you to believe that they are only one step above ingesting toxic waste. The truth is that they safe for many and not safe for others. The fact is that the products that work contain a potent combination of Ephedra or Ma Huang (an herbal stimulant) and either caffeine or its herbal parent Guarana or Kola. Too much of this mixture can cause headaches, extreme nervousness and sometimes even depression. Your blood pressure can rise and your heart can palpitate. If you are grossly overweight or suffer from hypertension or heart disease, obviously, these negative side effects are not good things. In fact, in certain extreme cases, once or twice yearly, they can contribute to death. Plus there are some people out there that insist that they have gotten addicted.

Scared? Or did you just take too much Ephedra? Let's balance the equation. When used properly and not abused, and when used by reasonably healthy individuals, there is little potential for problems. Sure, you might feel jumpy but that wears off. Why take them if you didn't want to feel jumpy (energized) to begin with? Blood pressure…well that rises further and faster making a fist then taking the average herbal stimulant. What about the couple possible deaths? A tragedy, for sure, but compare that to the over 3,000 yearly deaths directly attributable to aspirin which is widely considered safe enough to give to our babies. And addictions…..please, I know people addicted to Video Games, to Soap Operas, to the Weather Channel. It would be idiotic to avoid checking out the Weather because there are people out there who can't stop flipping back to see Marshall Seese point at a map. And it would be idiotic to avoid an herbal stimulant because Aunt Marge knew a lady from church who had a sister who had a daughter who had a friend who had a roommate who got addicted to Ripped Fuel. It could happen but for all you know she was using the bottle to hide her crack.

So, are they safe? Decide for yourself. I wouldn't feed them to my seven year old (but then she's a thin kid who has more energy than is produced by a high speed collision of atoms) but I have taken them pretty steadily for years and years myself. Why? I think they are safe for me and I like to train on them.

If you decide to try them, please don't get suckered in to the high intensity ad hype. There are some absolutely outrageously priced products being pushed at you (yes, even by us). Let's look at some of the worst price offenders. Metabolife…..perhaps the most expensive of the group. This product could be copied for less than $1.50 in manufacturing costs. Big ads cost big money! Xenedrine RFA….a popular product that aspires to be a metabolife clone; ripping people off from sea to shining sea. Hydroxycuts….my personal nemesis. Will someone please show me real research that HCA does anything for fat oxidation? This expensive raw material addition to simple Ma Huang and Caffeine really pushes the price through the ceiling. Stackers…..now there is a perfect example of the herbal business at work. Stackers were a fine product that I used to take. I'd buy them for a bit less than $7.00 and we'd sell them for between $10-$13. The maker, NVE, decided to run radio ads in the Northeast and sent us our next shipment for $20 each with a suggested retail price of $40.00. Same product, same size. Speaking of rip off…thy name is Stackers. Ripped Fuel…well despite its name, It's a better priced choice than most. It isn't quite as pricey, although you are still paying for Twin Labs good, publicly traded name.

What do I take? I thought you'd never ask! I use a modest little product from ISP Nutrition called Thermal Cutsby Sci Fit. Its cost is one-third of the price of some competitors and I actually like the product better. They cut back on the caffeine a bit so it energizes without making me agitated. A winner in quality and in price. Must be true because I have to sell three bottles of this to make the same amount of profit as I do on 1 bottle of Xenedrine.

A second niche is "fat burners." Of course, no one really believes that their fat will be burned off. But you should have a reasonable expectation that perhaps the product would lead to an increase rate of fat utilization, or in the best of all worlds, actual fat oxidation.

I have studied natural fat burners for years and I am ready to tell you the one most clear scientific finding I have uncovered. Ready…..finally, you are about to learn the truth. And it is…….a products usefulness is inversely proportionate to the size of the lettering "FAT BURNER" on the front. The larger the word, the less useful the product. Similarly, I have also found that the best looking abs pictures are also found on the most useless of products. Think I am being silly; think again, its true!

Instead of going through the dopey (but pretty) products that don't work, just remember the rule of thumb. Avoid any product that says FAT BURNER or that has a hot abs picture. Now let's look at some of the better abs (fat oxidizr/fat loss) products.

In order of importance. The envelope please..........

And the winner is GABA. GABA is an amino acid (a natural product) that you take right before bed on an empty stomach. If any natural product works as well as GABA for body fat loss, I have not seen it. In fact, I have friends who drop fat and lean out abs taking GABA and eating a steady diet of pizza and an occasional beer. GABA is the fat bomb and there are a few great pure powders out there like AST. I recommend In Shape Dream Shape. Great product at the best price.

A second great fat oxidizer quickly making headway in the Battle Against the Bulge is Glutamine. Another amino acid that you take daily. Use a pure powder and buy the most cost effective brand you find. That changes month to month. Right now, it might be Sci Fit Glutamine.

A third good ab producing fuel is Pyruvate. This is a relative newcomer but it seems to help speed body fat loss and provide extra energy to perform harder and better workouts in the gym. Lots of high priced choices out there. The brand to take, hands down, is NOW. Great quality at a super price. Make sure to take 5 grams daily or it won't do a thing.

Outlaw Biosciences has a couple cool products in this niche. The first is called, appropriately enough AM ABS FORMULA. Why, you ask? Simple, you take it in the morning. This is a herbal mix that does not contain stimulants but does help fat loss. I am becoming a real advocate of this product.

Finally, there is Bug Juice made by Trigger Factors. I place this at the top of the heap for strength production but virtually everyone finds fat loss effects as well. This product is an all natural plant sterol mix and I would not exercise without it. Enough said?

Sure there are other things that might help. Chromium is one. Alpha Lipoic Acid is another. Chitosan might be a third.

I hope this has helped narrow down the field for you. If you have questions on any specific product I am always only an e-mail away.

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