Carb Blockers, Fat Burners, Metabolizers...
 

i lost 90lbs 6 years ago on atkins... got sick... got off... didnt get back on... gained it all back...

now im back on and in my 5th week and 20lbs lite..

anyway... i think i have a handle on the food and drink issues...

my issues are with products that claim to be 1) carb blockers 2) fat burners 3) metabolizers...

do these things work... any expierences... any recomendations...

iggy

Hi Iggy!

Most of those things (carb and fat blockers) either don't work, give you diarrhea, or are just plain unnecessary with low carb. You are already burning fat for energy and the fat you eat is poorly metabolized by your body for energy, so why the need to block it? Now...if you are eating a lot of carbs with fat, they might be helpful (although I have serious doubts). There are no "magic" pills out there. If there were, it would be front page news in every newspaper and medical journal out there.
Having said that, some people do use thermogenics (metabolism boosters) and you may find a good bit more information on that in the nutrition/supplements forum. They are not without side effects for some people, but others find them helpful.

Ditto to what Lisa said about "fat burners" and "metabolizer." In my opinion, a big waste of money: LC is the most effective fat burner, and doing weight training to gain lean muscle mass is really the only way to increase your metabolism. Also, alot of these products that claim to "burn" fat or alter your metabolism contaim ephedra, which carries a high risk of causing fatal cardiovascular problems.
As for "carb blockers"--I wish! I'm an insulin-dependant diabetic, and believe me, if such a thing really existed, I'd be taking it. What these "carb blockers" are are mostly fibers (such as chitosan or guar gum) and/or herbs (such as gymnema sylvestra and garcinia cambogia/citrin). While these things may somewhat slow down the absorption of glucose by your body (and that depends alot on dosage and other factors), the overall effect (which is measurable if you test your blood glucose levels as often as I do), is not enough to compensate for the body's reaction to a heavy dose of carbs. Some of these fibers can be helpful in reducing cholesterol, but the same benefit can be gotten much more cheaply by adding some ground flax seed to your diet--also, most people who lose weight on LC also experience a beneficial effect on their lipid profiles.
Remember: when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Significant weight loss--as you have seen with your own success with LC'ing--only really comes with significant effort (or something really unhealthy, like chain-smoking. Or, in my case, diabetic ketoacidosis).
So, stay with what you're doing--and save your money for filet mignon!!! :wave:

A few links that should help you in your searching:

THERMOGENIC INFO: Xenadrine, Hydroxycut, Ripped Fuel, Diet Fuel, Metabolife, AdipoK - this is a monster thread with the pros and cons of burners and metabolisers created by Trainerdan (you can find more info in the General Exercise forum and Nutrition and Supplements forum)

Carb Blockers? - here is a past discussion on Carb Blockers with quite a bit of information.

HTH
Nat

thanks guys... sticking to atkins... 3" lost around the waist and about 25 pounds lost in 5 weeks...

no mas carbs...

iggy