Yes, Another Blog

The world can always use another blog.

Have you heard of Lipozene or seen the commercials?

If you have seen the TV commercials for this stuff (I won’t even call it a supplement since they do not deserve to be called that) you would be led to believe that this stuff will burn fat by doing nothing at all except for taking this product. Yes, in fine print and in passing they mention a moderate diet and exercise but it is so quick that its lost in the main message.

Then when you do research on this product, and lets be honest how many of you actually do research on these type of products, you will discover that the only active ingredient is fiber.

Fiber.

You mean they are selling fiber as a fat loss aid? Yes they are and they are right. Fiber can, and usually does, help with fat loss. But what they fail to mention, other than the fact that their product is fiber, is the fact that the fiber they use is readily available at most health stores as a supplement at a much lower cost per serving.

The active ingredient in Lipozene is glucomannan, a well known dietary fiber supplement that has been used by Asian cuisine as a food additive (or main ingredient) for centuries. It is common to find noodles and some pastas made completely from glucomannan and sold as diet (fat loss) food. Some Asian noodles do not even mention diet benefits and just sold due to its mild neutral taste.

So what is my issue with Lipozene?

Let’s look at the Lipozene packaging and we will see that each dosage is 1500mg and since each dosage is 2 capsules we can assume that each capsule is 750mg. The recommended usage for Lipozene is 3 times a day for a total 6 capsules. Each bottle has 60 capsules for a grand total of 10 days worth. Lipozene sells for $30 for each bottle but they throw in a free bottle the first time you order. So lets forget about the free bottle and you are back to $30 per bottle for 10 days. A months worth will cost you $90 plus shipping and handling.

So Lipozene will cost you $90 every single month.

Let’s look at the alternatives. If Lipozene is just glucomannan then any other supplement that contains glucomannan will suffice so here is a brand name (NOW) glucomannan supplement. This product has 180 capsules, each capsules has 525mg of glucomannan. Their suggested dosage is 3 capsules which gets you to 1725mg per serving versus 1500mg with Lipozene. At 3 dosages a day this bottle will get you 20 days worth per bottle. And the price? You guessed it. A lot lower than Lipozene. NOW glucomannan is $9.25 per bottle.

So let’s see… Lipozene for one month is $90. NOW glucomannan for one month is about $12. Lipozene is 1500mg, NOW glucomannan is 1725mg.

Do I even have to explain why Lipozene is such a scam? And before any Lipozene users begin to tell me that Lipozene is much better quality than NOW let me add this. Which of the two companies, NOW or Lipozene’s parent company, Obesity Research Institute, has been fined by the FTC for misleading and deceptive claims on two different products that also contained glucomannan?

Get you glucomannan cheap here.

Here’s a subject most people really don’t talk about when talking about diets and fat burning;  Fiber.

I sometimes find that people spend so much time worrying about carbs, protein, and fats that they overlook one of the most important links in their diet chain.

The RDA (recommended daily allowance) for dietary fiber is between 25-38grams. Men are supposed to get more than women but I am not sure why that is.

Either way, I can tell you that no one gets anywhere near that much fiber each and every day. To tell you the truth I have done the math and it would be nearly impossible to get the RDA of dietary fiber with foods alone. It is possible but very difficult.

So various dietary fiber supplements are needed by most people to reach their RDA. I personally like psyllium husk powder. Products like Metamucil are an excellent source of Psyllium but I prefer the raw no favored kind and add my own flavor. Not only that but it is much cheaper if you get non-flavored stuff and mix it with sugar free Crystal Light or whatever favorite juice you want.

My favorite is NOW Psyllium Husk Powder in the 340gram bottle. It’s under $5 per bottle and it will last you anywhere between 15-30 days depending on how many dosages you take a day. Since I found that my normal dietary fiber intake was lacking with regular food I supplement it with two servings, one around noon and one at bed time. Each serving gives you almost 7 grams of pure dietary fiber. It may not taste the best and the consistency may take some time to get used to but it is by far the best stuff.

If you do go with the raw psyllium powder I want to stress that you need to take it with plenty of liquid; Twelve (12) ounces of water, juice, liquid at a minimum. Not only that, but you need to drink at least 6-8 (12ounce) glasses of water throughout the day. I usually drink between 1-1.5 gallons a day so I never worry about it but for those of you that are not used to drinking lots of water you better get used to it. Oh, and no…sodas do not count in those totals.

So why is dietary fiber so important? The main reason is that it keeps you regular. Trust me, once you become regular you will realize how better you feel. Not only that, but dietary fiber helps your body more easily digest your food and process all the good stuff (vitamins, minerals, etc) and helps push out all the bad stuff that you don’t need.

But one of the most surprising things that I discovered is the fact that fiber intake DOES help in the fat burning process by keeping your system running efficiently and digesting food properly. If your body is spending less time and effort trying to digest food it will spend more time burning fat.

Get your Psyllium powder or any other nutritional supplement at Bodybuilding.com:
[RAW]
[/RAW]