Nope, don't need any more coffee, thanks.
So, a friend from work heard me talk about how I was looking to lose weight, eat better, and get more fit. Today he brought me a couple of pills to try, having reported great success in his own quest for fitness. He gave me two Hot Rox 20/700 capsules and one CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) capsule. He says "Take one Hot Rox when you wake up, the CLA sometime during the day, and the other Hot Rox six hours after you get up. If your body reacts okay to it, you might consider buying some!" First one's always free, right?
The supplements and his hard work are clearly working for this guy, so I thought hell, why not. Because of where I was at in my day, it made sense to take the CLA pill first, then after awhile the Hot Rox pill, and the second Hot Rox pill after I get up later this afternoon.
Anyway, the WebMD article on CLA says: "CLA is a natural occurring fatty acid found in meats and dairy products, with claims of helping people lose fat, maintain weight loss, retain lean muscle mass, and control type 2 diabetes -- the type of diabetes that is often associated with obesity." Another buddy at work had been taking CLA for several years, and advised me that if I took the pill, I could very well say goodbye to anything fatty that I'd eaten that day (ew, really), and that it might upset my stomach, so take it with a lot of water. I hadn't had much in the way of fat up till that point, so I popped the pill, and sure enough my stomach was kinda warm and unpleasant for awhile. I suppressed that by drinking a crapload of ice water, which is good for me anyway.
It seemed wise to read a number of reviews about Hot Rox before taking it (if taking dietary supplements like this can ever be called "wise"). The most detailed review I found was here. I don't know how reputable that site is, but it seemed to jive with everything else I read. I took the following away from my reading: you need to take the stuff for quite awhile awhile to see any real effect, but if you start getting the shakes and you feel really jumpy and irritable, don't take the stuff. I took one pill about three hours ago, and sure as shooting I started to feel kind of amped, and my appetite is about nonexistent. Let me tell you, children, there's a lot of caffeine up in that little capsule. I don't have a sensitivity to caffeine, so it doesn't seem too bad right now. About the only negative side effects are a barely noticeable tremor in my fingers, a slightly stuffed-up head, and dried out eyeballs; these symptoms are similar to what happens if I have too much coffee. No big deal at all. I'll take the other one when I get up in the afternoon.
I don't know as yet whether this Hot Rox/CLA combination is something I want to sink money into, or if it's remotely healthy to do so. I know my wife would rather I didn't use supplements like this to lose weight, which might be enough of a deterrent that I don't do it at all (apart from this little experiment, of course). I'm curious to know whether any of you all have played around with these supplements, and if you have, what sort of experience have you had? If you don't use weight loss or fitness supplements, why not?
This entry has been cross-posted to Sparkpeople.com
The supplements and his hard work are clearly working for this guy, so I thought hell, why not. Because of where I was at in my day, it made sense to take the CLA pill first, then after awhile the Hot Rox pill, and the second Hot Rox pill after I get up later this afternoon.
Anyway, the WebMD article on CLA says: "CLA is a natural occurring fatty acid found in meats and dairy products, with claims of helping people lose fat, maintain weight loss, retain lean muscle mass, and control type 2 diabetes -- the type of diabetes that is often associated with obesity." Another buddy at work had been taking CLA for several years, and advised me that if I took the pill, I could very well say goodbye to anything fatty that I'd eaten that day (ew, really), and that it might upset my stomach, so take it with a lot of water. I hadn't had much in the way of fat up till that point, so I popped the pill, and sure enough my stomach was kinda warm and unpleasant for awhile. I suppressed that by drinking a crapload of ice water, which is good for me anyway.
It seemed wise to read a number of reviews about Hot Rox before taking it (if taking dietary supplements like this can ever be called "wise"). The most detailed review I found was here. I don't know how reputable that site is, but it seemed to jive with everything else I read. I took the following away from my reading: you need to take the stuff for quite awhile awhile to see any real effect, but if you start getting the shakes and you feel really jumpy and irritable, don't take the stuff. I took one pill about three hours ago, and sure as shooting I started to feel kind of amped, and my appetite is about nonexistent. Let me tell you, children, there's a lot of caffeine up in that little capsule. I don't have a sensitivity to caffeine, so it doesn't seem too bad right now. About the only negative side effects are a barely noticeable tremor in my fingers, a slightly stuffed-up head, and dried out eyeballs; these symptoms are similar to what happens if I have too much coffee. No big deal at all. I'll take the other one when I get up in the afternoon.
I don't know as yet whether this Hot Rox/CLA combination is something I want to sink money into, or if it's remotely healthy to do so. I know my wife would rather I didn't use supplements like this to lose weight, which might be enough of a deterrent that I don't do it at all (apart from this little experiment, of course). I'm curious to know whether any of you all have played around with these supplements, and if you have, what sort of experience have you had? If you don't use weight loss or fitness supplements, why not?
This entry has been cross-posted to Sparkpeople.com