In the past 4 years, as part of my spiritual and emotional recovery, I’ve been taking a hard, honest, compassionate look at my own addictions and shortcomings. I will be sharing my story with you in a couple of emails per week for the next 5 weeks.
Addicted to fat burners
I am often asked by friends and clients about fat burners for fat loss. I always find myself suppressing a knee jerk reaction to this question because of my own personal experience with these products.
Fourteen years ago, I participated in the sport of body-building over a period of 24 months and 5 shows. The shows were sanctioned “drug free” with a mandatory urine analysis and polygraph test. Fat burners were not considered a drug.
My coach encouraged me to use a fat burning product to aid in the reduction of my body fat. Because I also have an addiction to wanting to please people, I did anything she told me to do. I did lose fat and placed in the top three at every show, winning first and overall in my very first show.
Was the fat burning product the reason for my success?
How will I ever really know? The federation I competed in was drug free yet this product was allowed. The dose was up to 4 tablets 3 times per day. Based on my body weight (ranging from 114 -124 during my “in season” preparation) I started with 2 pills, three times daily increasing to 3 and then 4 as they became less effective. I was taking 12 fat burners per day to manage my appetite so that I could eat all the foods prescribed by my coach without the cravings.
After the shows (when I really needed to gain weight back) I continued with the fat burning product except one day per week, I would “clean out my system” or so I thought over a 24 hour period. I didn’t think I was addicted because I would take a day off each week.
Sick and scared
A friend suggested I was addicted to this product and to prove MY point, I gave the product to this person to get rid of it. After the initial 24 hour cleansing (that my body had grown accustomed to) I developed a blinding headache the morning of day two. My headache turned in to nausea, vomiting, anxiety and basically all the harmful symptoms linked to any fat burner you might google; except I didn’t die. I cannot remember ever being so sick and it scared me.
Fat burners are not for me! To this day I am still attracted to them AND caffeine. I love caffeine and must be diligent with not over doing it at my low body weight. I now tell my story when asked about fat burners and encourage my friends and clients to make their own choices.
Recovery
As I recover and reclaim the damage I’ve done to myself, I’ve come to realize our bodies are beautifully and wonderfully made. Today, I water and feed my body in the most nutritious way I can. If I have to ask whether or not I should take an unnatural supplement … then the answer for me is NO!
Call me if you want to talk about the healthiest ways to care for your body. My personal cell is 361-549-4604, I have the staff and the tools to help you Achieve Your Personal Best at any age!
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