CLA..does it actually work?

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Replies

  • speedy740
    speedy740 Posts: 141 Member
    SHER: I was planning on also taking cla by ALLMAX. do u still take this brand and have you had any results?
  • TigerBite
    TigerBite Posts: 611 Member
    Grass-fed dairy ... sheep's milk products are high in CLA ...

    EDIT: In reply to the question, "What other foods have CLA?"
  • saradord
    saradord Posts: 129
    I have recently started eating a Paleo diet which means eating like our ancestors did, ( the cave man diet). I lost 20lbs in 2 months and have been taking CLA and it has helped tremendously, Cla take the access fat that your body doesnt need and turns it into muscle, so instead of weighing your self take measurements, Of course through the Christmas holiday I have cheated but I will be back to my regular died again, also if I do want a snack I will eat gluten free cause GLUTEN is BAD!!!!
  • saradord
    saradord Posts: 129
    I have taken this Brand and it was the best and good price too.
  • ronaldhollers54
    ronaldhollers54 Posts: 1
    ive been taking cla (3g per day) for last two months. ive noticed a decrease in fat around the mid section and im able to do more reps with more weight quicker with cla than with out it. all areas of my work out. i think it works just stick with it. i havent lost any weight or gained any. i think i need to add more protien to my diet.
  • mybigjourneybegins
    mybigjourneybegins Posts: 4
    CLA is a lipid — that’s an organic substance that can’t be dissolved in water. Types of lipids include cholesterol, triglycerides and fatty acids; CLA is part of the fatty acid group. When taken as a supplement, CLA gets taken up into the body’s fat cells, where it can help break down stored fat and release it into the blood stream. When taken alongside a healthy diet, CLA can be a catalyst, giving the body a helping hand burning fat.
  • Babydelite1984
    Babydelite1984 Posts: 3
    I honestly think it does work I'm taking them too
  • FitterBody
    FitterBody Posts: 367 Member
    Ok, I NEED to set some of you guys straight. And this is not my account, but a family member's. I managed a supplement store for 3 yrs, and exercised religiously for the last 15. My BMI is in single digits, and I've tried every product under the sun.

    1). DO NOT EAT LARGE AMOUNTS OF GRASS-FED, or ANY other type of beef. It's a great way to jack up your blood pressure, cholesterol, and FAT. Even if you manage to lose the weight, your body will be ROTTING on the inside, so who cares how you look.

    2). CLA begins to become effective @ 3 servings a day, right before your largest meals. TIMING IS EVERYTHING, and I will explain why in a minute. 1g per serving is fine for most, but if you are larger, take more. I am 6'5" and a lean 220lb, so i take 2-3g per serving. It takes 3-4 months to see results, but it DOES WORK.

    3). This is for people who are down to the last 10-15 lbs of fat to lose, and are trying to get their abs, butt, or quads to "pop".

    4). This is HOW CLA works:

    We hold 3 type of fat; Visceral, Superficial Exterior, and Subcutaneous. Fat is just stored energy--just like gas in a tank. VISCERAL fat lies under muscle and between organs--for that reason it does not effect body TONE. Many fat burning supps target this fat--you will drop waist sizes but will not increase tone. SUPERFICIAL EXTERIOR, Is a fat that lays over the muscle. Therefore, it DOES effect tone. However, this fat is quite easy to burn. Most people store this in their arms, face, neck, which is why these are the places that usually slim first. SUBCUTANEOUS is the culprit. This is a dark, dense, concentrated fat that lies over the muscle.

    Everyone has problem areas--it is where they gain weight first, and lose it last (usually belly and love handle in men, belly, butt, and thighs in women). The reason for this lies within your DNA. It is a holdover from Humanity's cave-dwelling days. This is your last-resort, emergency energy supply. When we didn't know when our next meal was going to come, we NEEDED this evolutionary trait. And keeping in mind that you CANNOT TARGET WEIGHT loss by area, the only way to burn this is through cardio. The issue is, ANY fat you store, will first be SUBCUTANEOUS,. This means you will take 2 steps forward through exercise, but 1.5 steps back as soon as you eat. What CLA does, is TRICKS your body into NOT producing subcutaneous fat, so you stop replacing it with more when you eat. The only issue is it take months to complete this transition, and you MUST time it with your 3 largest meals to prevent the meal's fat content and fat potentiators from being converted to subcutaneous fat.

    I hope this clears things up...and please, for the love of god, stay the HELL away from the red meat (that includes pork--it is NOT a "white" meat).

    "What CLA does, is TRICKS your body into NOT producing subcutaneous fat, so you stop replacing it with more when you eat. The only issue is it take months to complete this transition, and you MUST time it with your 3 largest meals to prevent the meal's fat content and fat potentiators from being converted to subcutaneous fat."

    So if what CLA is doing is stopping you from producing subcutaneous fat then would it not be easier and a lot cheaper to just eat at a deficit so that you are not producing fat but burning it?

    (And, just an after thought, if you reduced your fat ratio in your meals then there would be less fat to be converted and more energy used to convert the protein and carbs and therefore even less surplus to convert to subcutaneous fat?)
  • Tallulah3513
    Tallulah3513 Posts: 2
    I always take mine with a meal, any pill I take, I take it with a meal. And a full glass of water. Then there's no risk to getting sick after you take it.
  • Tallulah3513
    Tallulah3513 Posts: 2
    We do have GNC stores in the US. The person I spoke to most recently who works there said that she highly recommends taking CLA with L-Carnitine. L-Carnitine assists in fat metabolism and plays an essential role in making fatty acids available for muscle tissue. It also promotes heart health. I just started taking them both together yesterday. I use the Nature's Bounty brand.

    I haven't seen any results yet, but I did just start. A couple of comments down I noticed that some people said that they didn't start seeing a difference until after a month or so?

    Anyways, I hope it works out for you!
    Best of luck achieving your goals!
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    Any time you are wondering about a supplement - check out examine.com

    It will usually have an article about it - that also breaks down all of the actual science (by study, usually linked so you can view it yourself as well)

    http://examine.com/supplements/Conjugated+Linoleic+Acid/

    From the site:

    However, human studies on CLA are very unreliable and the overall effects seen with CLA are not overly potent as well as sometimes contradicting. CLA is a good research standard to investigated fatty acids and the PPAR system, but its usage as a supplement for personal goals is quite lacklustre.

    •Insufficient evidence to support significant influences on HDL-C (links to 15 studies to support this)

    •CLA is considered ineffective for weight loss to the high degree of unreliability in the results, with most evidence suggesting no effects and some sparse evidence to suggest both increases and decreases. (links to 21 studies to support this)

    •Evidence is too unreliable to conclude an inhernet effect of CLA on fat mass. There may be a context-dependent reduction in body fat and explanation for the observed variability, but at this moment in time too much evidence concludes no effect (links to 19 studies to support this)
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    Dear lord this thread is terrible and should have remained buried.

    If you want to see some actual research on CLA see post #4 (hint......it's not so good)

    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=112301601
    If you cannot commit to swallowing a pill daily, what chance will you have at losing AND keeping the weight off?

    your approach could not be any more backwards.
  • HeirBorn
    HeirBorn Posts: 1
    I've used CLA before and i was very pleased with the results. At the time I was using it, I was working out about 3 days a week, cardio and weights. I dropped like 40lbs and was seeing some good definition in my physique. I'm back on it now and i'm working out like 2 days a week, and I expect nothing less. Make sure you get the Tonalin kind, because it's the process that's been clinically tested to work. I've also heard that the are no associated side effect with the Tonalin. I'm a witness, the stuff works in shedding that layer of fat that's hard to get rid off. Just make sure your'e exercising and watching your calorie intake to achieve the best results out of it.
  • gdmerritt1
    gdmerritt1 Posts: 4
    I'll weigh in...pun intended...

    I retired from the Army in 2005 and kept eating like I was in the Army, but not doing anything else. I got fat. I started with MFP and a Fitbit in January, 2014 and lost 55lbs through eating right and exercising. I plateaued with 5lbs left so bought some CLA at GNC and gave it a shot while working out the same, and cutting back on the calories just a little more. I gained 1.5% body fat and 5lbs according to my Arai scale. Google search on CLA shows some (quite a few people actaully) gain weight and body fat while taking CLA. Enough people that it is not a statistical anomaly. Unfortunately I am one of those people. I cut out the CLA and a week later I have lost 1.5% body fat, and dropped 4 of the 6lbs gained...

    YMMV...
  • melaure
    melaure Posts: 33
    Gnc recommended this to me due to my hypothyroid condition a few months ago. I bought it but placed it in the bathroom and forgot all about it. I finally started taking it this week. Prior to now, I was eating healthy and exercising daily and was not dropping ANY weight at all (story of my life). I have lost 3 lbs this week since starting the pill. That's enough for me to keep going!
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,862 Member
    Ok, I NEED to set some of you guys straight. And this is not my account, but a family member's. I managed a supplement store for 3 yrs, and exercised religiously for the last 15. My BMI is in single digits, and I've tried every product under the sun.

    Single digit BMI? I smell a troll... or a corpse.

    ETA: Or just a maroon who doesn't know BMI from BF% I suppose.
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