A lot of discussion has taken place. If I missed some questions as I started back pretty far - just let me know...
Great stuff Dana! We need to get you on Invalid Link Removed radio show again this month!
I saw an article touting astaxanthin for weight loss - what are your thoughts?
I am in favor of many carotenoids from multiple paths in a fat-loss regimen. For instance, Asta boosts Testosterone to a small degree; it offers anti-oxidant effects (and oxidation, in simple terms, is how your body eliminates fats), it improves glycemic variation (probably the most quintessential fact to produce fat loss), and so on. Getting enough asta is probably not always the easiest; kind of like the use of Fucoxanthin and how it was thrown into products with the success of the product Fucothin - just not at high enough a dose to save for many other filler ingredients in attempt to make you wooed by the concept of more ingredients.
Also Dana - what do you think of the notion that having 'cheat' days of overfeeding can keep the metabolism up and help fat loss? Seems dieting leads to lowered fat burning after as little as a week right?
Decreased caloric intake has the INVARIABLE effect of lowered/slowed metabolism through regulation by the thyroid gland (hypothalamic dysregulation), which if I am not mistaken, we did talk about to a degree on the show. You would have to lower calories continuously in order to continue on the positive fat loss cycle, so the incorporation of well-timed CONTROLLED "cheat" days/meals makes perfect sense. And we can get into the discussion about leptin effects, et al - however, this is a very lengthy discussion.
seen above you aprove of african mango?
Yes, but sourcing and dose have been something plaguing the industry.
Ummmm, nice postulate - but no; I remain unconvinced that there is a lot of utility and probably less important for those that use fish oil supplementation anyway. I am convinced impact on WAT is more an effect of PPAR effect than anything adrenergic to mimic albuterol.
Can you please elaborate on how or why a cortisol control product such as 7oxo is in contrast to a stimulants/pro-adrenergic product ?
Does this mean I shouldnt stack something like 7oxo and ECA? Would it not be effective at fat burning?
Did you mean - why I list them in different groups? If so, this is purely due to mechanism of action more than anything else.
If you mean something along the lines of what Mr.Cooper suggests in a later post; then while there is opposition on levels of cortisol impact....carefully-controlled use of such agents can certainly be employed. And whether fortunate or unfortunate - and despite the FACT that fat LOSS is, indeed, a CATABOLIC process - maintenance of muscle mass imparts a more significant effect on the level of overt metabolism and we have seen this again and again in studies.
I think there is an inherent assumption by many that you should incorporate all ingredients and around the clock when attempting fat loss, however - it is more pertinent to cycle things.
For instance...
An adrenergic/stimulant should be employed on a 5-on, 2-off -OR- 3-on, 1-off basis.....NOT every day; possibly even better is an every other day ingestion (don't tell this to supplement manufacturers as they will suggest it to be absolutely ludicrous for obvious reasons). How would an anti-cort aid fit in? The half-life of caffeine fits in at about 4.9-6 hours; barring you're not a smoker (which invariably shortens this timefram requiring higher doses to yield the same lasting effect). At which would leave your Fat-loss/Anti-catabolic stack as such.
6AM - Anti-Cort Aid
12PM - Stimulant
6PM - Anti-Cort Aid
Why not earlier ingestion of a stimulant? Well, while it may assist your progression to the gym; it also heightens your cortisol output making maintenance of muscle tissue unequivocably non-existent. Again, when all else fails...keep one thing in mind: maintenance of muscle mass keeps metabolism working at its highest level. If it came down to losing weight at all costs; anyone can get thin - stimulate cortisol in excess 24-hours per day. However, when considering maintenance of muscle mass in lieu of fat loss (the reason I think anyone frequents this site); this is the challenge and why it isn't as simple as everyone walking around with that svelte physique.
Keep in mind that other agents with different half-lifes apply to this scenario in a very different manner. Caffeine is merely the prototype example.
Are cortisol reducing/blocking supps worthwhile when dieting/cutting do they help with fat loss or do they just stop cortisols catabolic effects when dieting?
Too much cortisol can be an inherently bad thing in diminishing return terms while you lose muscle mass and with it; a declining metabolism. Couple this with the potential hypothalamic effects discussed above and you have essentially solved the reasons diets slow down to a virtual hault in probably 85-90% of individuals.
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