Joe E., a 46-year-old president and owner of a marketing communications firm, has used creatine several times each time with positive results. Joe always followed the recommended loading and maintenance dosages on the product’s label. For 5 days, he supplemented with 20 grams of creatine, taken four times a day. During the maintenance phase, he cut back to 10 grams, taken in the morning on an empty stomach and again right before his workout, or in the afternoon.

“I tried to mix it with liquid, but the product I was using didn’t dissolve well,” he described. “So I’d take a scoop of it in my mouth, then wash it down with either white grape juice or a sports drink.” (Both beverages are excellent choices. Creatine is shuttled into muscle cells with help from the hormone insulin. Noncitrus fruit juices and sports drinks contain glucose, which causes a surge in insulin. The net effect is more rapid uptake of creatine by the muscles.)

“Within three days while still in the loading phase my energy level was at an all-time high. I was lifting more weight during my strength-training workouts and feeling fully energized for the 2-hour basketball game I play three times a week.”

Remarkably, in just 3 weeks, Joe’s body weight increased from 170 pounds to 178 pounds. To make sure that weight was mostly muscle, he had his body composition tested. Good news: He had reduced his body fat percentage from 10.2 to 9.4 percent. Vacation snapshots revealed a much-improved, aesthetically sculpted physique.

The only side effect Joe noticed from creatine supplementation was the slight water weight gain many users report. “My muscles continued to be larger than before, but eventually took on a more puffed-up look, rather than a sharp definition.”

Among natural weight-loss supplements, hydroxycitric acid (HCA) is the jack-of-all-trades. It promises to curb your appetite, shut off food cravings, block your body’s production of fat, speed up calorie-burning, conserve lean muscle, and boost energy. That’s a tall order to fill, but if you’re among the 95 percent of dieters who have tried to lose weight but have not had lasting success, HCA might be just the solution you’ve been searching for.

WHAT IS HCA?
Chemically similar to the citric acid found in citrus fruits, HCA is extracted from the rind of a sour fruit known as the Malabar tamarind, which is about the size of an orange. It grows on a tree called Garcinia cambogia, native to India and southern Asia. Both the fruit and the rind are common foods in this region; people eat them virtually every day. In India, the dried rind is used to flavor curries and preserve fish.

Because of its astringent and antiseptic properties, the rind has long been considered a medicine in India. People there have used it in gargles and taken it orally for stomach problems. The rind is also brewed into a tea, believed to help alleviate joint problems and bowel irregularities. Veterinarians in India use garcinia cambogia to treat mouth diseases in cattle.

The rind has industrial applications as well. It is used to polish gold and silver, and to help manufacture rubber latex. The wood of the tree is suitable for making posts and splints. Additionally, the seeds of the fruit are a rich source of edible fat, high in oleic acid, the most abundant fatty acid found in nature. Without question, garcinia cambogia is a very versatile plant!

HCA can also be extracted from Garcinia indica, grown in India and known as the red mango. Like its cousin garcinia cambogia, garcinia indica is prized both as a culinary spice and as a remedy for various medical conditions, including intestinal problems, skin diseases, and wounds. However, garcinia indica has lower concentrations of HCA than garcinia cambogia.

Commercially available in health food stores and pharmacies, fruit-derived HCA is a common ingredient in many weight-loss products under the trade names Citrin®, Citrin®K (which contains the mineral potassium), and Citrimax™. It is found in tablets, nutrition bars, chewing gum, and tea.

Author Bio: Georgiy Kharchenko – herbal weight loss, phenterine d, weight loss pharmacy

Category: Advice
Keywords: supplements, vitamins, weight loss pills, ephedra, herbs, stimerex, lipodrene, ephedra products