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Stacking the Deck

Posted June 24, 2008 at 01:30 PM by Donnell Peavy

Section: His Fitness, Alt. Therapies, His Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health, His Nutrition, Diets, Supplements

stacker By now, many of you are probably familiar with the term “stack”, even if it’s only through the Stacker2 and Stacker3 commercials. For those who don’t know, a stack is basically just a combination of supplements taken together, or “stacked” to produce optimal results. In its simplest form, a stack consists of two products. From there, it can easily become more elaborate. This article on muscleandfitness.com covers nine basic stacks that are geared toward burning fat. You should consult your physician before trying any of these, but of course, you don’t need me to tell you that.

Caffeine and Green Tea Extract – Burnin’ on a Budget
It’s pretty much impossible to buy an energy drink which doesn’t contain caffeine. Many pills on the market today contain green tea extract. They are by far the most affordable products on the list, making them ideal if you are on a budget.

Forskolin and Carnitine – Being the regular readers that I know you guys are, you may remember Forskolin from my recent article on the fat patch. Forskolin is the catalyst of the production of hormone sensitive lipase, which signals fat cells to release their contents. Carnitine aids in the process by transporting fat into the mitochondria, where it is then burned as fuel.

Red Pepper and Ginger – An old basketball coach that I know used to tell his players to take red pepper, lemon juice and syrup for weight loss. I thought he was crazy. Now, years later, it is the basis of another fad diet called master cleanse (which actually came out in the 70’s, but was revived in the early 2000’s). Ginger and red pepper speed up the metabolism.

Sesamin and TTA – These regulate the burning and storage of fat.

Calcium, Selenium and Zinc – Minerals can play a role in weight loss also. Selenium and Zinc are minerals which aid in thyroid hormone production, which increases metabolic activity. Calcium regulates calcitriol, which causes the body to produce fat. See, milk does do a body good.

Glutamine and Arginine – These two amino acids not only aid in protein production, they increase metabolic rate and nitric oxide levels, both of which aid in fat loss.

Whey and Soy – We all know that whey is excellent for muscle growth, but it also contains hormones which act as appetite suppressants, discouraging eatin

Glucomannan and 5-HTP – Glucomannan is a soluble fiber. Eating this causes water to be absorbed into your digestive system, causing a full feeling.

CLA and Fish Oil – Fish oil (sounds appetizing, doesn’t it?) contains Omega – 3 fatty acids prevent dietary fat from being stored as bodyfat. Studies have shown that CLA can shed body fat while simultaneously aiding in strength gain and preservation of muscle mass.

If you are reaching a plateau in your weight loss efforts, giving some of these a try my be all you need to send your metabolic rate through the roof and have you back on the fat burning track.

Research sources and for further information [muscle and fitness]