Your CLA experiences

[RVlady]

Rachel,

I've been taking it right after breakfast.

My sister is a certified herbologist and her take on this is that you may feel awful when your body really needs something and you start taking it until you adjust.

These headaches are real killers and it's hard for me to accept that this may be good for me. When I read everyone's stories, I have to slap my hand away from the bottle.

What I notice when I tough it through and take even the one capsule a day is that my skin becomes a lot softer. I have not taken enough of it to tell whether I would lose more weight or inches. The max I've been able to do is 1000 mg for the day.

[telzey1]

RVLady - you know, I did get headaches the last week I was on it. I ate my breakfast with my supplements and then usually got right on the bike. By the time I was done I had a splitting headache that lasted a few hours. A couple times lingered all day until I took a motrin.

I thought it was from pulling a muscle exercising or something. It crossed my mind it could be the CLA, but since I had been on it for a week or so prior without headaches and because no one else seemed to report them, I thought it was probably something else.

[zoey123]

Out 40+$$$$$ Nothing! Ouch! Gave it a good 3 1/2 weeks of 5 a day...

[davec21236]

Thanks for all your input and advise ! This was a very balanced view of this supplement.



dave

[THINNER-2003]

Originally posted by Rebecca1
Okay, first of all, I didn't say you had unrealistic expectations, but it's clear from all the rabid "Hallelujah! CLA!" threads we've had lately, a lot of people did and do. I'm just trying to bring the discussion back to reality.

With reference to the above quote, I did -- and I didn't. I'm still taking it, in fact. Over time, I have found that the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Of course, I also get a fair amount of CLA in its natural form -- from the fat on my grass-fed beef, from cheese made from the milk of grass-fed cows. I'm sure that has something to do with it, too.

Be that as it may, as I said before, it really doesn't matter to me whether people take the stuff or not.

Well, you quoted me then posted under it- so I guess I assumed you were talking to me. Silly me.

I must say though- if I had positives - and not just negatives... I probably would feel the same way as you. For instance, even if I stopped losing weight right now I'd continue with this WOE because the benefits in other ways (energy, better skin, etc) far outweigh the negative of not losing weight- if that were to happen.
If you took it, and immediately stopped losing weight and stopped losing inches, stopped taking it and started losing weight and inches again- yet started taking it again.... which you seem to imply by quoting what you did of my post and saying that you did and didn't yet are still taking it- well, to each his own. I guess your positives (what are they? If not weightloss or inch loss- what else was a positive you receive from taking CLA? I couldn't even tell I was taking it besides the not losing any weight or inches while taking it) MUST outweigh the negatives of not losing weight or inches for you to continue taking it? If so, that's great.

I'm not sure what you mean with the comment about getting CLA from natural forms also- I'm sure I do too. Not sure what that has to do with me not taking CLA pills anymore because they completely stopped my weightloss and inchloss while taking them.
??

[sixgallery]

I've been taking 4000mg for a few weeks now and have definitely lost inches (but not pounds) so I'm just going to assume that it's from the CLA..who can be sure? All I know is that the jeans that wouldn't zip last week fit comfortably and that's worth the $20 to me.

[nl_schober]

CLA worked for me. I took 3000 mg a day for about 2 years. BEFORE I started Atkins. It was recommended bcs I have Hashimotos thyroiditis which slows down everything. As I understand it CLS helps your cells work more efficiently. So if your cells are already at top performance it might not help you.

I've stopped bcs a) I'm at goal even though I'm trying to 'firm up and b) the only study I know of was for 6 months and it ws recommended not to take it longer than that.

[TennisBum]

Well I didnt read all the posts, but I wanted to add something. Every study done on CLA shows that it can take anywhere from 4 TO 6 WEEKS for you to see any results. I cant remember how many posts I did see stating they had only been taking it for a week or two and didnt see any results so they are going to stop taking it. In my opinion that is not enough time to qualify a person to say it doesnt work. I've been taking it for 4 weeks now and definitely see some results. But you really need to be exercising regularly or you could be wasting your time taking it.

[bejeweled1]

I just finished my 4th week of CLA. I've lost a total of 12 inches. My total wt. loss on Atkins since starting is 14 lbs. (guess I'm one of those slow losers). I'm going to stick with the CLA.

Nancy

[kapaw]

[color=deeppink] I can't figure out how to put someone's quote in to respond to it, but this is for bothofus or anyone can answer actually. When you say that you take it with protein. Is that a necessity and if so what do you take it with? I've been taking 2 at breakfast, which most of the times I'll have eggs and bacon and then 2 with dinner, which will be meat and veggies. So in essence I guess I am taking them with protein, but I never did it intentionally.

As far as for me, I think I can see some results. I've measured but not a big difference, but I can see more definition in the area from under the breastbone to my waist. But then I also do some crunches and waist twist with running on the TM, but not consistently. So I guess it is probably a combination of exercise, lo carbing and the CLA. I'll keep plugging away at it though. [/color]

[DixieDreamer]

I quit taking the CLA as the sheer volume of the pills I was taking resulted in too much glycerine intake for me apparently. I quit them last week when I started thinking about what I had added recently when my weight etc was not budging ... this week I have dropped 5 lbs in 4 days. I think the CLA itself is fine... but the carrier it comes in may be bad news for alot of us with sensitivity to glycerine.

Originally posted by 2bethinagain
If you took it, and immediately stopped losing weight and stopped losing inches, stopped taking it and started losing weight and inches again- yet started taking it again.... which you seem to imply by quoting what you did of my post and saying that you did and didn't yet are still taking it- well, to each his own.

No, that isn't that case. What I meant was that I have taken CLA for a long time without any quantifiable positives or negatives. I can't put a number on the way I feel, the flatter appearance of my lower abdomen, or on how my skin looks.

Originally posted by 2bethinagain
I'm not sure what you mean with the comment about getting CLA from natural forms also- I'm sure I do too.

CLA is a compound that was quite widely found in animal foods, until modern farming practices (including keeping dairy cattle in confinement, sending beef cattle to feed lots, and feeding most cattle grain) took over. Now, it is found in almost nothing you would buy in a supermarket.

I can't say whether you are getting any natural CLA or not, since I don't know what you eat or where you buy your food. But to do so, you would need to be eating grass-fed beef (finished on grass, too -- not grain) and dairy products (whole milk, cheese, and whole yogurt) from pastured cows. Again, they typically don't sell this stuff at the local A&P or Kroger's -- you have to search for it.

[allemania]

I recently posted a question asking about glycerin (or glycerine) in both CLA and flaxseed oil capsules and about the effect that this might have on weight loss (stalling). I didn't get too much response, although I was hoping for more. I just started taking flaxseed oil, and have ordered CLA Tonalin off of ebay which should be here soon. But I am a little wary of taking either of them now because of the glycerin.

Is the glycerin in the capsule only or inside the capsule in the actual CLA? If the glycerin is only in the capsule, couldn't a person just open the capsule and take only the actual liquid itself, and spare themselves of the glycerine?

[Mickey Lou]

I took 4000 cla a day for about two weeks. I dropped a couple pounds, but then again at the same time I cut pork rinds and pop from my diet, trying to break a stall.

Here's what happened to me!!!:

I broke out....a nice little constilation right on my forehead, and I never ever break out. I noticed some GI probs, but they were minor. So about the time I got sick of the zits, my ovary started hurting BAD- thought I was going to have to go to the hospital. It hurt for 2-3 days, some times excruciating. A day or so later, my hair started falling out!!!! And believe you me, I'm not just being a complainer!

I really, really believe that CLA messed with my hormones....acne is caused by testosterone....so are cysts, in a round about way. I have PCOS and I believe the CLA tipped my well-contolled symptoms to the bad!

I quit taking it about two weeks ago, slowly my hair loss is stopping, the ovary quit hurting (I really think I had a cyst get too big or something) and of course, the acne cleared up.