Metabolife Extreme Energy

Designed to provide you with an “additional boost of energy to help maintain your lifestyle” and to “keep you fueled to continue with your weight management plan”, Metabolife Extreme Energy is a fairly soft-spoken in its advertising given that it has “extreme” in its name.  This isn’t bad though as too many products have a bark much stronger than their bite.  What kind of bite will this product take out of your fat?
Metabolife Extreme Energy Ingredients
Strangely, and unlike several of the other Metabolife products, this one includes a proprietary blend (688 mg) which does not disclose the exact concentrations of the following ingredients:

• Asian Ginseng
• Eleuthero
• Guarana
• Green Tea
• Rhodiola
• Theanine
• Yerba Mate

Given that green tea is usually a key ingredient in many diet products and would only be significantly effective at 300 mg or higher, there isn’t a lot of room for much else here.  Combining green tea with yerba mate and guarana should provide a decent amount of caffeine and a boost of energy.  Yerba mate is also known to help reduce appetite in high concentrations.  Ginseng and eleuthero (formerly known as Siberian ginseng) may also provide more mental focus.  The biggest problem here is that there just can’t be enough of everything to make the pill as potent as it claims to be.

Metabolife Extreme Energy Pros

• Quality ingredients for energy

Metabolife Extreme Energy Cons

• Weak concentrations

Metabolife Extreme Energy Conclusion

For only about $20 plus shipping costs, this product isn’t exactly priced like a rock star product and I doubt that it could really help you lose weight or party like a rock star.    It is just too weak even for the price.  I do not recommend it.

Metabolife Caffeine Free

Metabolife Caffeine Free is the “stimulant-free” version of Metabolife.  It claims to provide effective fat burning power but without anything to accelerate you metabolism or boost your energy levels.  That sounds like making bricks without straw, but lets see what miracle this product might offer us…

Metabolife Caffeine Free Ingredients

• Thiamin 1.5 mg
• Riboflavin 1.7 mg
• Niacin 20 mg
• Vitamin B6 5 mg
• Pantothenic Acid 10 mg
• Calcium 140 mg
• Chromium 133 mcg
• Sodium 300 mg
• Potassium 200 mg

This product label has all the makings of a cheap vitamin supplement.  The most highly concentrated things in this are sodium and potassium, which will in no way help you lose weight.  Excess sodium is the last thing you need if you have high blood pressure as well.
There is absolutely nothing here that will help you lose weight any more than a cheap vitamin from the grocery store.  In fact, this is worse as it contains fewer ingredients.

Metabolife Caffeine Free Pros

• None

Metabolife Caffeine Free Cons

• Over-priced
• Few quality ingredients
• No effect on weight

Metabolife Caffeine Free Conclusion

This product is absolutely one of the weakest I have seen and not just because it doesn’t contain caffeine.  There just really isn’t any way that this is going to help you lose weight and you would be crazy to spend the money on this product.

Metabolife Break Through

Metabolife Break Through is one of those products that comes along every once in a while and claims to be the absolutely amazing and little-known solution to weight problems.  Of course, by “once in a while”, I mean every day.  What it means by break through is that it will supposedly help you break through the wall that many hit as they are trying to drop a certain number of pounds.  It is difficult to have the motivation to continue, but apparently this stuff helps.  What proof does it offer?

Metabolife Break Through Ingredients

• Caffeine
• Cayenne Fruit
• Chromium Polynicotinate
• Green Tea Extract
• L Tyrosine
• Potassium

This formula is basically a stimulant blend.  It is apparently trying to get you “hopped-up” enough to keep working out no matter how unmotivated you feel.  With caffeine, green tea, and L-Tyrosine, you should expect a good jolt of energy. Cayenne should further boost your metabolism to burn more calories.  Even so, with only 101 mg of caffeine, this is not nearly the most powerful energy supplement I’ve seen.  200 and 300 mg concentrations are not uncommon, so if this product really wanted to be “break through” in terms of originality, it would have to try a little harder than some stimulants, chromium, and potassium.

Break Through Pros

• Green Tea/Caffeine
• Decent price

Break Through Cons

• Unclear concentrations
• Not that powerful

Metabolife Break Through Conclusion

So this time Metabolife isn’t asking an arm and a leg at only $30 per bottle, but the truth is that unless you seriously step up your workout routine, there isn’t any way that using this product you will “break through” the wall that many people reach when on a weight loss campaign.  I do not recommend Metabolife Break Through.

Metabolife AquaSlim

Metabolife AquaSlim – Power Juice or Weak Sauce?

Metabolife’s AquaSlim isn’t the first appetite suppressant drink mix, but it comes from a company worth knowing about (and not in a good way).  This company has been taken on numerous counts of false advertising and ignoring health risks by the FTC and FDA, respectively.  There is no real guarantee of integrity, so you’ll have to go on the little information we can find if you want to evaluate whether this product is worth – let’s face it – the risk.

Metabolife AquaSlim Ingredients

Oddly enough, the only active ingredient in this juice is Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA).  This is contained in the patented ingredient SuperCitrimax.  Though some studies on lab mice have shown that HCA ma reduce blood lipid levels, there is no evidence that it will work in this respect for humans.  In any case, blood lipid levels aren’t nearly the problem for most people with weight issues.

Aside from this, the juice offers other vitamins like calcium and potassium and either mixed berry or pineapple/orange flavors at a price of about $3 per bottle (including shipping cost)

AquaSlim Pros

• Decent price ($6 for a 4-pack)

AquaSlim Cons

• No proof of effectiveness
• High shipping cost ($6)

Metabolife AquaSlim Conclusion

This product boils down to just an energy drink…without a whole lot of energy.  Though it may taste good, I wouldn’t think twice about paying $12 to get a 4-pack shipped to me.  I do not recommend AquaSlim.

Metabolean

Will Metabolean get you Leaner?

BeFit Health & Fitness of Canada has brought Metabolean , a diet pill like…many others.  I use “brought” instead of “brings” because this product has been officially discontinued but remains available for purchase in some places online.  What made this product so special, if anything?  Why was it discontinued?

Metabolean Ingredients

Though there are several conflicting sources about the actual ingredients and concentrations in Metabolean, I found the following formula most convincing.

• Garcinia Cambogia -1000 mg
• Citrus Aurantium (30 mg synephrine) – 750 mg
• Green Tea Extract – 325 mg
• White Willow Bark – 275 mg
• Potassium Pyruvate – 250 mg
• Oligopeptides – 250 mg
• Spirulina – 150 mg
• Alpha Lipoic Acid – 50 mg

There are a few ingredients here that are actually fairly uncommon in the diet pill world like spirulina, a nutritious bacteria used as a dietary supplement since the time of the Aztecs.  Oligopeptides sound crazy but are essentially a grouping of amino acids.  As for ingredients that take direct effect in weight loss, the only two and possibly three apply.  Green tea and synephrine (although I recommend something with more synephrine, like Fenphedra ) are a good blend for increased energy and metabolism and garcinia cambogia has been shown in some studies to help reduce appetite.

Metabolean Pros

• Several quality ingredients
• Decent concentrations

Metabolean Cons

• Discontinued

Metabolean Conclusion

There was obviously some issue with either popularity or safety that existed with this product.  It is unclear which it might be here as it seems relatively safe, but some of the ingredients together might interact negatively.  When it comes down to it, I wouldn’t recommend trying it if you run across it, but look for products with similar ingredients and in slightly higher concentrations (37.5 mg of synephrine for example instead of just 30).

Meridia

Is Meridia Safe?

There are a number of prescription weight-loss aids out there, each one of them trying to overcome the negative stigma brought by the disastrous Fen Phen.  Meridia is one such prescription pill that was developed by Abbot Laboratories to be an appetite suppressant.  Is it safe and will it work?

Meridia Ingredients

Meridia is simply the brand name for one ingredient – sibutramine HCL monohydrate.  This is a chemical relative of amphetamines, but does not have quite the same stimulant effect.  It is intended mainly to reduce the appetite by triggering receptors in your brain.   There is enough research behind this chemical to support its effectiveness, but it comes with its downsides as well.
As for safety , side effects that have been reported with Meridia include dry mouth, increased appetite, nausea, strange taste in the mouth, and sexual impotence.  Other health risks that are still being investigated include sudden death, renal failure, and heart failure.

Meridia Pros

• Clinically researched/proven

Meridia Cons

• High prescription cost
• Considerable side effects

Meridia Conclusion

Meridia is clinically proven to reduce appetite in most cases, yes, but if you think you can lose weight without exercising with this product you are mistaken.  You may reduce calorie intake, but there is plenty of other work to be done.  As this product poses several serious health risks, is fairly high cost, and requires your doctor’s recommendation I definitely do not recommend it is a first resort.

Meltdown by VPX

Meltdown your Fat?

Others have pointed this out, but it still gets me every time.  Meltdown , a diet pill by VPX Sports, claims on its website that it “kicks ephedrine’s ass.”  I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty silly for a diet pill to have to prove that it’s better than an ingredient banned by the FDA. It also claims to provide “the euphoria of 40,000 chocolate bars and removes fat like a blow torch.”  The pill at least seems pretty complex, but is it more effective than ephedrine without being unsafe?

Meltdown Ingredients

The “university research” which the website uses to “prove” its claims is apparently one ambiguous study about some of the ingredients in Meltdown.  As for proof for their formula itself, there is nothing but testimonials and pictures of models who may or may not have ever taken the stuff.
The product label is confusing with unnecessary and confusing names for ingredients and blends like “yohimbine synergistic fat loss trifecta.”  These fancy words might have impressed me when I was in elementary school, but now I know the familiar signs of BS.  Essentially this product boils down to an unclear concentration of the following:

• Methyl synephrine
• Methyl hordenine
• Phenylethylamine
• Yohimbe
• Yerba Mate
• Caffeine

So the company gets the claim of “40,000” chocolate bars by including the amount of phenylethylamine (PEA) that would exist in 40,000 of some kind of chocolate bar.  This may enhance mood, but not necessarily weight loss.  There is also a high dose of caffeine to get you energized.  Essentially this is a stimulant pill.

Meltdown Pros

• Lots of PEA

Meltdown Cons

• Highly over-priced ($65)
• No real evidence behind product itself
• Meltdown Conclusion

There are definitely some good ingredients in this product, but there are enough proprietary blends here to make the actual concentration of everything very unclear.  I find a lot of good in this product, aside from the marketing, but not quite enough good to merit the company’s $65 price tag.  It may be found a little cheaper elsewhere, but in general I don’t think its worth the money.

Man Scorch

Should you take Man Scorch seriously?

As far as product names go, Man Scorch is probably one of the funniest products I’ve reviewed.  What about ingredients?  When it comes to value, if you get stuck with a product that doesn’t work, its no laughing matter.

Man Scorch Ingredients

The most significant ingredients included in Man Scorch include-

• Green Tea (250 mg)
• Oolong Tea (250 mg)
• Caffeine (200 mg)
• Evodiamine (50 mg)
• Synephrine (20 mg)
• Raspberry Ketones (125 mg)
• Phenylethylamine (150 mg)

Amazingly enough, this product has a very good formula.  Each of these ingredients listed, except for evodiamine, has some significant research behind its effectiveness.  There are pleny of antioxidants in the tea ingredients and the 200 mg of caffeine more synpherine (like in Fenphedra) will definitely accelerate your metabolism.

Man Scorch Pros

• Good ingredients
• Reasonable price

Man Scorch Cons

• Ridiculous name

Man Scorch Conclusion

Again, I am amazed that this product actually has a pretty decent formula for weight loss.  It will definitely give you a boost of energy and may help you make more out of your workout.  If you are sensitive to caffeine or stimulants, you should be wary of this mix.  Not the best product I have seen out there and not necessarily just for “man”, but not bad if you want to give it a shot.

Lipoxinol

Is Lipoxinol “Unequaled”?

When it comes to diet pill advertising, I have certainly heard my share of BS.  Sterling Grant Laboratories probably stands above most with claims for Lipoxinol as silly as “most effective approach to losing weight ever developed!” This little pill is said by the company to be absolutely “unequaled in its ability to maximize metabolic rate, provide appetite suppressing effects, and support thyroid function."  This is especially ridiculous when you consider that the pill was discontinued by the manufacturer.  Whats the deal?

Lipoxinol Ingredients

Though it was discontinued , this pill is still available for sale online in some places, so its important to know whats in it.

• Glucomannan
• Xanthan gum
• Caffeine
• ForsLean
• Green Tea
• Guggulsterones
• Sclareolide
• Kelp

This is actually a pretty good formula, at least containing a few ingredients for each ridiculous claim.  Fiber ingredients like glucomannan absorb water to help you feel more full.  Caffeine and green tea is known to help boost energy levels.

As for stimulating the thyroid, guggulsterones, kelp, and sclareolide have some evidence to suggest they will do the trick, but definitely not a big enough trick to help you lose more weight.

Lipoxinol Pros

• Several high quality ingredients

Lipoxinol Cons

• Unclear concentrations
• Discontinued for a good reason

Lipoxinol Conclusion

Despite their best efforts to throw out some serious BS, this company actually had a decent formula with Lipoxinol.  Unfortunately, I see a lot here to be wary of and wouldn’t recommend you pay $50 for this unclear mix even if you can find it online.

Lipovarin

Lipovarin is a diet pill claiming  the “highest grade of patented, clinically proven ingredients” that will supposedly “energize your body and put you on the path to a new leaner, healthier you.”   That sounds fantastic.  I’ve always wanted a new leander, healthier me…but how do they back up the claims and using terms like “clinically proven”?

Lipovarin Ingredients

• Citrus Aurantium
• Green Tea
• Caffeine
• Serotain
• Metabromine

Clearly, the main effect this product might have is to boost your metabolism.  The citrus aurantium or bitter orange extract is included here in 350 mg concentration, though it is unclear how much synephrine (the active component) is in that dose.

As for the other ingredients, there is a lot of potential here to further boost metabolism as well as to increase the synthesis of serotonin in the brain with serotain.  Metabromine isn’t directly related to weight loss, but I guess you can’t win ‘em all.

Lipovarin Pros

• High on energy

Lipovarin Cons

• Slightly over-priced

Lipovarin Conclusion

In general this is a good supplement and contains its fair share of stimulants as well as antioxidants.  As it is a little unclear on the ingredient concentrations and contains a few unnecessary ingredients, it doesn’t appear to actually be worth the $35.