Avant Labs' H.E.A.T. Log / Review

sawastea

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During the next 32 days, I will start my cutting cycle which includes Avant Labs’ H.E.A.T. (“HEAT”). My goal here is to shed the winter girth that I normally go through due to the cold weather as well as holiday seasonal eating. Unfortunately, my winter bulk was cut short in late February as I had surgery and was unable to do any exercise until early last week, where I started off doing moderate intensity cardio (stair stepper, treadmill, elliptical, bike and rowing). I’m still not 100% but will try my best to do a very fair review. A very big plus of being on the DL (disabled list) is that I did not take any supplements, besides the normal everyday supps like whey, R-ALA, multi-vitamin, and EFA’s. The only supp I took during the past week was Legal Gear’s PowerTrain, which I finished.

What am I trying to accomplish?
Well, frankly, my goal here is to eat roughly 2200 (+/-) calories a day while dropping my BF% as much as possible, which is preeminent. Unfortunately, muscle loss will occur, though I will try to eat as much lean protein as possible (1.5-1.75g/lb body weight) and eat low GI carbs as well as healthy fats. I will not be following a macronutrient breakdown, per se, but I will be eating in accordance to my energy expenditure (carbs + protein around exercise). I’ve done some reading on the Avant Labs’ forum in regards to HEAT, so hopefully, I have a good understanding on how they are suppose to function.

Diet
I will eat cleanly throughout the week and aim for roughly one cheat meal/day (possible re-feed) a week. I will be eating a lot of chicken breasts, fish, lean steaks, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, yams, brown rice/basmati, beans and veggies. In terms of fats, I will be consuming 1-2tbsp of flax oil, 10g fish oil, as a bolus, at night and will take 100mg CoQ10 with it, daily. I will also randomly consume coconut oil (MCT’s) as well as natty PB.

What kind of HEAT dosing will I be doing?
With HEAT, I will start at one cap, three times daily for the first day, then two caps, three daily on day number two and full dosing thereafter. HEAT will be dosed prior to morning cardio, prior to lunch and prior to afternoon sports activity.

Exercise
I’m a big fan of outdoor activities and I play many recreational sports. I play a lot of softball and my season will be starting today. Because of the amount of time I play softball (3-4 times a week), it will be difficult for me to get in a real good workout (weight training). I will still *try* to weight train as frequently as possible (3 day split) but as previously mentioned, muscle loss will occur. Prior to any weight training I consume oatmeal with whey protein and immediately PWO, I will consume a whey shake (45g) with some high GI carbs (dextrose/maltodextrin) as well as oats in water. On cardio days, I will not eat pre-exercise and eat oatmeal and whey protein post exercise.

Stats
Currently, I’m 192lbs, 6’0”, ~13% BF (measured by my PCP). My goal is to lower my BF% as much as possible, safely. Note: This is my first cut of 2004. I normally do 2-3 cuts prior to my summer months, which are maintenance, and I try to stay around 9-11%.

Supplements I will be using
* HEAT (dosages were explained)
* Whey protein (will take one scoop at breakfast and one scoop prior to training and two scoops PWO)
* Protein blend (Great protein when I’m in a jam as well as prior to bedtime)
* Multi-vitamin (Currently taking Optimum Nutrition Opti-Men, twice daily)
* EFA’s (I will be consuming roughly 10g fish oil at night, flax oil with breakfast)
* R-ALA/ALA (100mg R+ (300mg ALA) with every 30-40g CHO. This will be ideal during my re-feeds)
* Nicotine (2mg dosages. I will be using this as an appetite suppressant)

I am trying to keep my supplements as low as possible without compromising the review.

Questions?
If anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will answer them to the best of my knowledge and if I cannot get you a straight answer, I will find someone who can.

Finally, I will post my log once a day, preferably at night after my final dosing and will number each day accordingly in the subject line.

You can read more about HEAT here




**I will be trying something new here. I want to make this an interactive log, meaning, I will be taking suggestions from YOU and possibly incorporate it into my daily diet/exercise. Please don’t post ridiculous questions/statements. Suggestions are HIGHLY recommended**

:cool:
 

sawastea

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Day 1

Exercise

Took one cap this morning with a liter of water and headed to the gym (cardio). Nothing to note besides the usual 'morning fatigue.' Didn't sleep too well this weekend as I was visiting a friend in CT. Took another cap with lunch and another one with supper.


Diet

Meal 1
* Oatmeal with 2 scoops ON 100% Whey, 1 tbsp lecithin, 1/2 cup of strawberries/blueberries and 1/2 tbsp of Udo's

Meal 2
* 8 egg whites with a bag of carrots and 1/2 cup cottage cheese

Meal 3
* Low fat chicken cordon blue with 1 tbsp olive oil

Meal 4
* Low carb tortilla with 1/2 can tuna and 1 slice FF cheese

Meal 5
* Low carb tortilla with 1/2 can tuna and 1 slice FF cheese

Meal 6
* 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, 1/2 tbsp natty PB, 2 scoops protein powder

Meal 7
* 2 scoops protein, 1 tbsp lecithin, 10g fish oil

As you can see, my diet is very basic and it won't fluctuate too much between days.

Total cals for the day: 2,260
 

sawastea

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Day 2


Exercise

Took two caps this morning with a liter of water and headed to the gym (cardio). Was much more alert this morning, though I had a great sleep last night. In terms of how I am feeling, there is nothing to report as of yet. Diet was very solid, though I will say I got some suggestions on the Avant Labs board to possibly start doing carb cycling, which as its name suggests, cycles carbs from high to very low and so forth, throughout the week. I was unable to perform p.m. exercise due to 1) dentist appointment and 2) had to do some grocery shopping :D

Today, I took 2 caps, 3 times a day. Tomorrow I will begin full dosing at 3 caps, 3 times a day


Diet

Meal 1
* Oatmeal with 2 scoops ON 100% Whey, 1 tbsp lecithin, 1/2 cup of strawberries/blueberries and 1/2 tbsp of Udo's

Meal 2
* 1 can of tuna with 4 egg whites scrambled in carb free salsa and 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Meal 3
* Low fat chicken cordon blue with 1 tbsp olive oil and one cup of spinach

Meal 4
* Low carb tortilla with 1/2 can tuna and 1 slice FF cheese and a handful of almonds

Meal 5
* Low carb tortilla with 1/2 can tuna and 1 slice FF cheese and 1.5 cups broccoli

Meal 6
* 3.5 oz flank steak with 4 oz flounder and 1 cup black/kidney beans

Meal 7
* 2 scoops protein, 1 tbsp lecithin, 10g fish oil


Total cals for the day: 2,320


Miscellaneous
Do you want me to keep a tab on my weight daily, or twice a week, to eliminate the daily fluctuation due to water, etc? Of course, my goal is to reduce BF%
 
hamper19

hamper19

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once or twice a week for weight is fine IMO
 

sawastea

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Day 3

Misc

Had to get into work early today so the early a.m. cardio was out. Stressfull day and wasn't able to eat according to plan (i.e. real foods) but on a side note, I had an Atkins Advantage bar (smores) and it wasn't too bad ;). Anyway, I'm at full dosing today. Not much to report in terms of how I'm feeling on HEAT, as of yet.

Exercise

When I got back from work today I went balls out in the gym. I put in roughly 1hr of circuit training as well as 15min cardio. Workout was great. Not much to report besides that. Hopefully, within the next few days, HEAT will kick in. Weight as well as BF% are staying steady. I have a softball game tomorrow and Friday so it will be difficult to throw in the splits


Diet

Meal 1
* 2 scoops ON 100% Whey, 1 tbsp lecithin, 1/2 cup of strawberries/blueberries and 1 tbsp of Udo's

Meal 2
* Atkins Advantage Smores Bar

Meal 3
* handful of broccoli and 3 slices of FF cheese

Meal 4
* Low carb tortilla with 1 can of tuna and 1 slice FF cheese

Meal 5
* PWO shake. 2 scoops of whey, dextrose/malto/oats in water

Meal 6
* 4 oz flounder and 1 cup black/kidney beans

Meal 7
* 2 scoops protein, 1 tbsp lecithin, 10g fish oil


Total cals for the day: 1,985
 

sawastea

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Day 4


Random Thoughts

From the advice of D Sade, I took HEAT (all 3 doses) on an empty stomach to get the best benefits. The difference, was definitely noticeable today. Mental alertness was better then the previous three days. I was NOT hungry at all but had to force myself to eat 6 meals. Ate very well. I had a good nights sleep and my mood today, was much better. I have reduced my caffeine intake to <100mg daily, which I might debate on raising it, if it makes a significant difference.

Kind of hard to explain this feeling. Throughout the mid afternoon, I felt like my blood pressure started to increase. Normally, you can sense that your BP is elevated without touching yourself. When I measured it, several random times throughout the afternoon, I was constantly in the 110/70 range. Not sure if I was the only one who has experienced that :confused:

Exercise

Had a great cardio session this morning. Did 30min at 4.2mph at 10% for 30min. Finished and could've actually gone for more. Unfortunately, due to my surgery, I still cannot start HIIT up but am looking forward to it :( :D. Got back after work and played some tennis for about an hour. Felt very refreshed and EXTREMELY focused during my match. I've played tennis many years and grew up playing it.


Diet

Meal 1
* Oatmeal with 2 scoops Nectar Lemonade, 1 tbsp lecithin, 1/2 cup of strawberries/blueberries and 1/2 tbsp of Udo's

Meal 2
* 5oz chicken breast with 1/2 tbsp olive oil, and spinach

Meal 3
* Oatmeal with 4oz chicken breast, 1/2 tbsp PB

Meal 4
* Low carb tortilla with 1/2 can tuna and 1 slice FF cheese and a handful of almonds (this is my 'go-to' meal at work :D)

Meal 5
* 1/2 cup brown rice, 6oz sirloin steak, spinach and broccoli

Meal 6
* 2 scoops protein, 1 tbsp lecithin, 10g fish oil

Total cals for the day: 2,225
 

max silver

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How long do you feel it's necessary to wait after dosing HEAT stack before eating? I generally tend to wake up about half an hour before I have to head to work, would 20 minutes or so be long enough to absorb the product before eating my first meal of the day?
 

sawastea

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Good question. I do know it should be taken on an empty stomach so it can get fully absorbed. I'd personally wait a little longer, closer to 35-45min. I'm still experimenting with the timings of my dose, but as of now 45min before my meal works best
 

max silver

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I tried this morning taking it about 25 minutes or so before eating, and as far as absorbing the product is concerned it seems to have worked fine. It took a few hours to really start to feel the effects however. I think part of that was the fact I was up late watching playoff hockey and was pretty groggy in the morning upon waking up. But after a few hours, the tiredness seems to have mostly subsided. I'm a stimulant veteran of sorts, and decided to jump right into a full dose of 3 capsules to kick things off.

Have you tried combining it with nicotine yet? I haven't quite mustered up the courage to throw nicotine into the mix just yet, as I've only taken one dose of HEAT. I was utilizing nicotine for appetite suppression the last few weeks, and as of so far it doesn't seem that for myself that the suppression of HEAT is quite as strong. It's kind of odd, I'm sort of hungry, but at the same time find that when I drink any water I feel sort of full.

I myself am utilizing Twin Peaks carb cycling, and find that this is a really easy method for cutting. You get to eat until your satisfied two days of the week, and with these days just around the corner the low and no carb days are never that hard to handle. I think I've finally found myself a source of absolved, which I've had a bitch of a time obtaining due Canadian supplement laws. I feel that the absolved, comined with HEAT stack, sesathin, and guggolbolic extreme should make an extremely effective cutting stack.
 

sawastea

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I have been away for the weekend and was not able to update my log, sorry

Anyway, just got back from a weekend softball tournament. I took 9 caps a day and exercised frequently due to the tourney, however my nutrition was below par, at least by my standards. Knowing that I was going to be away from civilization, I pre-packed a few tuna/tortilla's as well as several Triple Delicious protein bars. By no means were they ideal, but they did cover some basics, by eating every 2.5-3hrs. The bars themselves, did not keep me satiated, but they were much better then the hot dogs and hamburgers everyone else was woofing down. Got back a little while ago and cooked up some oatmeal with 2 scoops of protein powder. I will eat again in an hour or so (2 scoops protein powder with 10g fish oil). I'm burnt to a crisp and am EXTREMELY exhausted.

I am looking a bit leaner in the mirror and will weigh myself tomorrow morning. So far, especially as of late, HEAT has turned into a nice little thermogenic.

I cannot be too certain, but my total cals per days have been in and around 2200 +/-
 

sawastea

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I've been very busy lately, hence, not updating the log on a daily basis. Stress has been high and softball has been in full swing. I have been keeping my dosing/servings normal at 3x3. So far, during the past week, the main factor that has stood out has been the appetite suppresant (loss of appetite) that I have been experiencing. My diet has been sound. It becomes VERY hard to plan ahead when you're on the road for a tournament. League games are easy, as a tuna wrap will suffice as well as pre-packaging a whey + ICE + GO shake (adding water at the fields). My heart rate has been holding steady at 110/70. My weight has gone down to 189 and am looking a bit leaner in the mirror (have not checked BF%). My water intake has been close to 2 gallons daily. I will now start lowering my calories to under 2000 a day, while maintaing protein high and reducing carbs a bit. My only dilemma is my love for almonds/walnuts (damn, they're good!). It's hard to eat those bad boys in moderation. At this moment, I am pleased with HEAT
 

sawastea

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I'm going on two weeks come Monday. I had 3 games last night and didn't get home until 11:30pm (went STRAIGHT to bed). I played EXTREMELY well and was VERY energetic (not the EC feeling, but calmer). I was unable to get up early to do any cardio today, but rather had to pack from my trip to Boston. I'm still on 3x3 and will continue that until I'm finished. I will *try* to use the complimentary gym at the Plaza hotel this weekend, though nothing is set in stone. I had breakfast as 6:30 this morning (2 scoops of protein with flax) and am not hungry at all, though I will get something to munch momentarily. I'm feeling warm today, though I'm a bit light-headed for the lack of sleep. I'm fitting better into my 32" pants and they are not as snug. I will take some measurements on Monday, but I'm positive, all numbers will be lower :D. Diet has been around 2100 cals these past two days and have not had any 'bad' meals. I'm looking at a posible cheat day on Saturday. Not much else to report. I will try to get into more detail on Monday.
 

Ivan Drago

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Staying at the Plaza huh? Big time! jk, though it's a nice place.

What brings you up to Boston?

Great log btw, I've been keeping a close eye on it as I want to use some topical products in the future, but am not quite sure which to use.
 

sawastea

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Staying at the Plaza huh? Big time! jk, though it's a nice place.

What brings you up to Boston?

Great log btw, I've been keeping a close eye on it as I want to use some topical products in the future, but am not quite sure which to use.
I had to go up for a conference this past weekend. Beautiful city, BTW. There is a lot to see and do around there. Amazing on the amount of people running yesterday morning when it was 30+ degrees :D

The Plaza was okay. Nothing special. It was nice to have a king bed for myself, but that place was PACKED this weekend with snapperheads from all over. Seems that there were multiple conferences that weekend :eek:
 

sawastea

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Got back last night from my conference in Beantown. Was unable to do any exercise besides the morning push-ups and crunches. The whole day I was up and about in several conferences. Sunday, I got up really early and walked for a few hours around Boston. Beautiful city for those who have never been there. I was sweating after about 20min, and it was in the upper 30's! I felt very good throughout both days as I was extremely alert, though it was BORING. My diet was mediocre. Didn't eat very often and my protein intake was at roughly .8/lb. I took a few MRP's with me and ate them throughout both days. I only had two good meals both days (lunch and dinner), but have been drinking an adequate amount of water daily. I weighed myself this morning: 186.9 lbs. It is raining today so I will try to hit the gym tonight for a workout. Tomorrow I have a game, and depending on the rainfall, will ultimately depend on my intensity tonight. I'm back to normal with my daily ritual, will report back later
 

sawastea

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This stack has really been turning into a winner. My mood has been FANTASTIC, even with a major lack of sleep I've had due to work stress and the hours I've been putting in. I've been fully satiated eating small meals throughout the day, which has always been a problem with my endo frame. My BP has been very good (no major fluctuations) and my diet, whenever applicable, where I'm able to control every meal, has been outstanding. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get a great amount of protein in, but have been hoovering around 225g/day. Exercise has been okay, and possibly, my only flaw. I've been playing a lot of softball so my weight training has suffered greatly (SUCKS!). Again, I have been VERY pleased with the results thus far.

Please, if anyone has any qustions and/or suggestions, let me know.
 

sawastea

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Everything seems to be working nicely. I've been fully satiated and have not noticed any side effects (i.e. high BP, head aches, etc). I've been studying lately for my CFA exams, though I won't be taking it for a while. I've been fully focused while studying (major plus). My dosing has still been 3x3X3, was debating on changing it to 2x2x2x3, however, I don't think it should create a big difference in terms of what I'm trying to accomplish. I have been very busy with sports, so as of this moment, it is my main source of exercise. My diet has been sound as well as my water intake. Got a little sloppy last night as a few buddies came into town and we partied up, but you still gotta enjoy life ;). I have a little over a week left. Measurements will be taken tomorrow. I'm confident all numbers will be down.
 

Ivan Drago

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Good luck with the CFA exam, when are you taking it?

What do you do for work if you're gonna be taking the CFA exam?
 

sawastea

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I'm currently signed up for the December sitting. I work for Lehman Brothers in NY. I took the GMAT a few years ago and plan on applying to a few NYC schools as well as schools in MA, PA (in general, the NE Ivy's)
 

sawastea

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Well, the stack was finally finished last night. Here are my final thoughts 'a la Jerry Springer':

Beginning weight: 192 lbs
Final weight: 184.7 lbs
Net Difference: -7.3 lbs

Beginning BF%: 13.1%
Final BF%: 11.7%
Net Difference: -1.4%

Beginning LBM: 166.848 lbs
Final LBM: 163.0901 lbs
Net Difference: -3.5421

Let me clarify a few things here...

I was consuming, on average, 2200 calories a day while taking HEAT. My training was minimal however I did get a fair amount of exercise due to softball. What I really liked was the fact that my calorie intake was NOT lowered by much (from maintenance), and I still lost a fair amount of weight, however, this is including LBM :(. I could only blame myself as I was unable to train hard throughout the past month. I could only imagine the numbers I could have put up if this was over the winter and I was in full training mode. I felt very satiated all day and did not have too many late night hunger pangs. Losing the weight I did, while maintaining "maintenance" level calories was pretty impressive. My sleep was good and so was my overall mood. Can't compare it to an EC stack, different 'beasts'. As previously mentioned, my only regret was my lack of weight lifting throughout this review.

I have been very pleased with this stack and I do recommend it. I will be updating my thermogenic list later on.
 

sawastea

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We got SCREWED by Fisher. Basketball season is useless and pointless now

Thanks, BTW ;)
 

jweave23

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So all-in-all:

It seems like a decent product from what I read, but I'm guessing (yes, guessing) that it really isn't any more effective than an ECY stack considering your numbers, which is currently available legally and incredibly cheaper.

I'll stick to my ECY for the money, but as always Avant seems to put out a decent product. :)
 

max silver

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I like this stuff alot more than ecy. It is a bit more expensive, but I jumped on the initial beta price, of 3 bottles for about 100 dollars. One bottle lasts a month at full dosing, so that price really isn't anything to complain about when you look at it that way. While I can't necessarily say it's more potent, I have a complete lack of sides from this combination, while ecy tends to wreak havoc on my prostate over time. Things like slight difficulty urinating, completely emptying bladder, etc. I experience none of that with HEAT.

I've also seen a nice trend of increasing strength levels in my current cutting phase, in pretty much every exercise I perform. I'm going into the 5th week of my cut, and I suspect that the strength gains may start to level off or even subsist altogether, but I can't complain about that in the least, as I've always tended to lose strength very quickly every other time I've cut down. So an A+ as far as lean mass retention is concerned.

I've experienced potent mood enhancing effects off of this combo, but only mild energy enhancement. It doesn't provide the cracked out, tingly energizing effects of ecy, but at the same time doesn't leave the nasty crash once it's effects wear off either.

I've been losing about 1-1.5 pounds of fat per week in a carb cycling diet, and that is right where I'd like to be. I tend to lose weight alot faster on ecy, but seemingly at the expense of strength and lean body mass. I've watched my caffeine intake more carefully this time out, and that might be part of why I've seen better results, as the massive caffeine intake I've utilized previously leaves me somewhat dehydrated.

I'm pushing things up a notch to increase my fatloss, as I'll be throwing some ab-solved into the mix, and just started on BSL GO (which I've already grown to love after less than a week of use), and will be utilizing the leptigen line, both basic and mass editions, depending on the day of the week and the subsequent calorie intake.
 

sawastea

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So all-in-all:

It seems like a decent product from what I read, but I'm guessing (yes, guessing) that it really isn't any more effective than an ECY stack considering your numbers, which is currently available legally and incredibly cheaper.

I'll stick to my ECY for the money, but as always Avant seems to put out a decent product. :)

Weave-ster, it's hard to beat a tradition ECY especially when price is involved ;)

Max Silver, thanks for contributing your thoughts

:cool:
 

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