|
Issue #13 Like most of you, I've probably tried a million different OTC (and perhaps pharmaceutical) products to try and facilitate fat loss. Without a doubt, the most effective fat-burning supplement I've ever used is lipokinetix. Now, I know what you're saying right about now, not another shameless plug for a nutritional product, not here in AE. I think it's important for everyone to know this article is not being written because I have a vested interest in Syntrax, I profit in no way from sales of their products. The scenario unfolded like this. After talking with Jason Meuller about various fat-loss products, I purchased some lipokinetix and absolutely loved it. I contacted Derek Cornelius, president of Syntrax, and asked if he could provide me with information that could help me write an informative article on his product. Derek was kind enough to not only send me some excellent references, but to forward some additional lipokinetix as well. That's the whole story, now on to the article. I'm sure many of you are familiar with DNP. This chemical has been heralded as the ultimate fat burner, and anyone who's ever used DNP would probably agree. DNP has been discussed in an earlier issue of AE, so I won't take up a lot of time rehashing its use here. However, for the purposes of this article, it is important that I discuss DNP's mechanism of action. DNP is what is known as a classical uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation. Oxidative phosphorylation is the mitochondrial process that oxidizes organic substrates such as pyruvate and uses the resultant energy to convert ADP into ATP--the high-energy molecule that the body uses for fuel. Basically the energy from the oxidation is funneled through many complex chemical reactions until finally ATP is formed. The chemical reactions are called coupling sites since they connect (or couple) the flow of energy with the flow of electrons in the chemical reaction. Imagine with me for a moment many pipes attached end to end via valves. Now, imagine the pipe connected to a water supply. When the water is turned on it will flow through the pipe until it reaches a valve. As long as the valve is open the water will continue to flow. Closing the valve prevents the flow of water. Pay close attention now! Pick out a joint along the pipeline and imagine poking a hole in the pipe at this point. Water begins to flow through the hole and is wasted. To keep the same amount of water flowing through the pipe beyond the hole you would have to go back to the water supply and increase the flow. If you can understand this, you can understand what happens with oxidative phosphorylation and uncoupling. The pipes are representative of chemicals, the water representative of energy and the valves representative of the electrons (energy) at which the chemical reactions occur. Basically, an uncoupler pokes a hole in the chemical pipeline (at the place of a valve/chemical reaction) allowing energy to escape and be wasted. To compensate for the wasted energy and reduced production of ATP, energy containing substrates such as pyruvate are oxidized at greater rates to free more energy to be used in the process (same as increasing the flow of water). For reference, an inhibitor is analogous to shutting off the valve--energy flow is halted or prevented. We are interested in the phenomenon of uncoupling and not of inhibition. Controlled uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation can be a very positive thing while inhibition of this process usually brings disastrous results. Interestingly, most uncouplers in high dosages actually become inhibitors and cause toxic phenomenon. Thus, as an uncoupler, DNP makes oxidative phosphorylation inefficient. Normally this process is about 60% efficient; DNP steps in and makes the process only 40% efficient. As with any energy converting process, the energy, which is not converted, is wasted as heat--in this case body heat. To maintain its normal supply of ATP, the body steps up its production (metabolism). In this whole process an incredible amount of calories are burned! What's even better is that nearly all of these calories come from fatty acids…i.e. adipose tissue! Sounds terrific, right? Unfortunately, DNP is one of those substances that has drawbacks that many feel outweigh its usefulness as a fat-burner. First of all, it's very hard to locate, you can't pick this stuff up at your local GNC. There are several sellers of DNP on the various boards, but let me ask you a question. Given that an overdose of DNP can be extremely unpleasant, are you willing to trust a total stranger with your life? We're talking mg amounts here people, very minute measurements that I honestly don't really feel comfortable trusting to anyone but myself. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on some properly dosed DNP, you're really in for a treat. You'll soon be experiencing what Hell is like as you sweat like you've never sweated before. All of your bodily secretions turn yellow; I ruined many a shirt until I realized not to wear light colors. Activities like brushing your teeth or checking the mail become the equivalent of the Boston Marathon as your ATP levels drop. Bottom line, DNP is extremely effective, almost too effective for many. It's like using Anadrol when Primobolan will do the trick. So what in the world does all of this talk about DNP have to do with lipokinetix? I'm glad you asked. Lipokinetix contains sodium usiniate, a naturally occurring uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation. Sodium usiniate has the same mechanism of action as DNP; it's just not as efficient. Now as bodybuilders, I know we're always looking for the most effective substance for any given purpose, but trust me on this one, DNP is simply too potent, it does its job too well. Now in all honestly, lipokinetix can make you uncomfortable at times, but compared to DNP, it's a pleasure cruise. My personal experience (and the results of the polls of many friends including Jason) is that lipokinetix will get responses even from people who have been using other products for months and months. I was sweaty, tired in an odd way, and not hungry in the least. I started holding water after about the second week, and it took about three days for the water to leave my system (this is similar to the side effects of DNP). I didn’t have much energy, I couldn’t work out very intensely. I went to a H.I.T. style of training just to train to maintain some degree of muscle. Overall weight loss was maybe 10 pounds in those three weeks, but I had my girlfriend visiting so I was eating like shit. Then I stopped it too because I needed all my ATP for other endeavors. Lastly I was worried about spontaneous combustion. This is an herbal supplement, its not an actual pharmaceutical preparation or even a quasi-pharmaceutical like homemade DNP capsules. How does this product compare to Ripped Fuel (any pre-made ECA stack)? It beats it hands down. How does this product compare to Clenbuterol? I think its better then Clenbuterol at over-all fat loss for a variety of reasons. I don’t want to pull a Testosterone here, so I am going to qualify that statement. Yes, Clenbuterol is a good weigh to stimulate weight loss through
thermogenesis. But the drawbacks are rapid attenuation and rapid depletion of T3 levels, not to mention its legality. Lipokinetix is a very good assistance to dieting; I would say it should be used in lieu of DNP for most people. My advice is to treat this product like DNP and Cytomel stacked. It’s certainly not that potent, but it’s a good idea to respect the product nonetheless. Train like you were on DNP; eat like you were on it as well. Take time off. Derek recommends the use of guggulsterones after Lipokinetix, and I concur with this idea. It can’t hurt. Bottom line, if you're serious about losing body fat, do yourself a favor and try lipokinetix. If you want to move up a little from Clenbuterol, this is a great product. I would include this product in the select group of nutritional supplements that actually works as marketed. |
|
|