Quick Summary

"Fat Gripz are made from a high density military grade compound a lot like rubber that can be pulled open and will then snap back and clamp itself round the bar. This will instantly convert dumbbells, barbells and pull-up bars into thick bars (so that you can reclaim your lost size and strength gains)."

Introduction

I carry a few staple of accessories in the gym and Fat Gripz are one of them. These were gifted to me 2 years ago and still work as great as the first day I've received them. I mainly use these for straight barbell curls and have recently incorporated these into my pull-ups.

Effectiveness

I would rate these 8.5/10.

I appreciate that these things are pretty thick and durable. The first time I used Fat Gripz, my forearms were extremely sore. Overtime, I've noticed a huge difference in my grip, forearm pumps and less wrist pain whenever I'm curling. I've also gotten a lot of compliments regarding vascularity. With these Fat Gripz, I mainly focus on getting that slow burn and negative movement. In my honest opinion, I feel that this product is a great accessory if you're looking to add a little extra to arm routines.

Value

$38.95 on bodybuilding.com. If I didn't know the effectiveness of Fat Gripz, I would say the price point is kind of high. After using them, I loved them enough to buy a pair for my buddy for his birthday.

Conclusion

Fat Gripz has been pretty solid to me. I've noticed strength increase through consistent use and the forearm pumps are super cool to see. Overall, the Fat Gripz is very simple to use and would be a great addition to include with other gym accessories.

Quick Summary

L-Carnitine helps your body use stored fat as energy, which should help with stamina and body composition. It is recommended that L-Carnitine is taken with carbs for optimal absorption and energy output. At the dosages in L-Carnitine 1500 Heat by VMI I do not believe the carnitine helped with my workouts or goals at all.

Introduction

I purchased L-Carnitine 1500 Heat from Campus Protein at an introductory sale of 24.99 for two bottles. This was a pretty good deal for the product because it is now 24.99/bottle on all platforms.

Ingredient Profile

L-Carnitine Heat contains 1500mg of Carnitine from 500mg each of L-Carnitine, Acetyl L-Carnitine, and L-Carnitine L-Tartrate. The heat portion of this product comes from 50mg Green Tea Leaf Extract, 25mg Gamma Butyrobetaine Ethyl Ester Chloride, 15mg Paradoxine Grains of Paradise Extract, and 2.5mg BioPerine for optimal absorption and usage of the ingredients.
This heat section supplies 25mg of EGCG, most studies used around 300mg, this is a good ingredient but is poorly dosed.
It also includes 1.875mg of 6-paradol which should help to create a sweating/burning feeling. This compound increases the activity of brown adipose tissue and increases calorie burning. The only study I could find showing effectiveness features 40mg of 6-paradol, which is far more than L-Carnitine Heat offers.
-Butyrobetaine helps the uptake of L-carnitine and your body's production of L-carnitine, no complaints here, great ingredient.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste was fine, the grains of paradise and Bioperine add a spicy flavor but I did not mind it. The Patriot Pop was a bit better than the gummy bear.
The daily recommended dose was 1 tablespoon, after two weeks without noticing the burn part of the product I moved up to 1.5 tablespoons. I took this product every day while in a caloric deficit until I ran out of two bottles.

Effectiveness

I do not think this product was effective at all for me. I made progress towards my fat loss goals at the same exact pace with and without this product. Before I started using it I was losing roughly 1.5lb/week while maintaining strength and consuming ~250g protein a day to spare muscle. I had the same exact pace while on L-Carnitine Heat and after I stopped using the product. Even at the 1.5 tablespoon serving, I did not ever notice the "Heat" feeling that was advertised.

Value

It is hard to rate the value because I do not believe the product is worth anything because it did not work for me. I would say if you really wanted to try an L-Carnitine product to save your money and buy one that is better dosed.

Side Effects

N/A

Conclusion

This product really did not work for me and I do not think I would buy it again or recommend it to anyone.

Quick Summary

Thanks to Barbender for supporting the TROOPS. Torque appears to be their only product at the moment. Fairly solid profile, if a little on the simple side. price is decent at $1/scoop. Full disclosure on the label is always a plus.

Introduction

I workout 5x per week, cardio 4x per week right after (not on leg day though ;-) ). Normally supersets or trisets for everything. 3x20. One body part per day, except tris and bis are done together, and core on two days in addition.

Ingredient Profile

Torque has a straightforward ingredient profile, and kudos for being fully disclosed on the label. For endurance and energy there is 1.25g of betaine and 280mg caffeine anhydrous (amount is fine for me but I would have preferred some slow release caffeine too, as i was running out of energy during the 30min cardio after my workout). There is 500mg of NALT for focus, then 3g L-citrulline malate (I added another 3g) and 3 g of AAKG for pump. For endurance there is 3g of Beta Alanine. No creatine in here.

i was not keen on the heavy use of synthetic red dye. Its not a dealbreaker but unnecessary. Its a nice change when you get a PWO with no colorant at all in it - like the now defunct (I think) Momentum Catalyst.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I had the fruit punch flavor. It was OK. Mixed easily enough (no creatine monohydrate in there which is what normally causes the clumps in PWO mixes). I stuck to a single scoop. At 280mg caffeine anhydrous I dont want to go higher than a single scoop. However, it certainly was not a 3/4 scooper like a couple of PWOs I have tried recently.

Effectiveness

Using a single scoop, I found Torque a bit underwhelming overall. Energy was low by the end of my 50min workout, leaving me a bit flat for the 30min cardio. Also, with no creatine in there I found I was a couple of reps short of what I normally do (I normally do supersets 3x20 for everything). And finally the pump wasn't really noticeable. So after a few workouts, I ended up adding 1g taurine, 3g cit malate, 1g Agmatine Sulfate (this works better for me than AAKG for NO production and pumps) and 2.5g creatine HCl to each scoop of torque. Still missing some delayed release caffeine, but with my additions it had most everything I need. Problem then is that the $1/scoop is no longer a great deal, due of the cost of the additions.

Value

Available either direct or from Amazon at $29.99, and the 30 scoop container making Torque $1/dose. Its a decent price, though there are good PWOs out there at under $1/scoop

Side Effects

none

Conclusion

A simple, straightforward, fully disclosed PWO at a decent price, but doesn't have quite enough to distinguish it from others out there in my opinion.

Quick Summary

Everybody uses creatine or should use creatine if not already. The list of benefits is long and proven under many different circumstances. I read some interesting facts about a fairly new type of creatine (Ethyl Ester) and TBN put up CEE bullets on the TROOP program.
Note : I did not finish the whole bottle due to unwanted side effects
The effects were disappointing after what I read on this fairly new type of creatine. The side effects made this an experience I would like to forget as soon as possible.

Introduction

35 years old financial auditor trying to balance life with three kids and a busy job. Trying to get in some quality time at the gym in the meantime. When I manage to squeeze in some gym time I can use all the supplement help that's out there.
Creatine is part of my standard supp stack. Tried some different variants in the past couple of years. Some decent, some really good. Most Troop supps are not available for shipment to Europe. After claiming this product and payment of the shipping costs I received the CEE bullets. Much thanks to TBN and the Troops program!

Ingredient Profile

(CEE) is creatine monohydrate with an ester attached. Esters are organic compounds that are formed by esterification - the reaction of carboxylic acid and alcohols.' This is a fairly new type of creatine. Some pro's and cons can be found online. Not as thoroughly researched as your standard creatine Mono. Requires less total grams to be effective, no sugar needed and no loading. This version, as is the case with most newer versions, eliminates the monohydrate effects and is reported to lead to less bloating and stomach discomfort.. Some evidence indicate that it is better absorbed than Monohydrate. Other studies show it leads to less creatine content in blood and muscles. I was curious as to how this would work out for me personally. There is also an Pro Octane Blend added to the produt; 440mg of Glycine L Arginine Alpha Ketoisocaproic, Citrulline DL Malate, Taurine, and Histidine.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

No taste, just pills. The advised dose is 4 pills before and 4 after training. On non training days 4 with breakfast and 4 with supper. Suggested is to take the pills with two glasses of water which I did. For optimal training experience, 8 pills before and 8 after training are recommended.

Effectiveness

On the effectiveness I did not experience much. I think creatine ethyl esther is not a type of creatine that works wonders, or maybe not for me specifically. I did not experience an increase in strength during training; at least not to the extent I experienced this with other types of creatine. I also did not experience any fuller looking muscles which I often experience with creatine. This could be due to the fact that creatine ethyl ester leads to less water retention. I used the CEE bullets as suggested, but effects were much less when compared to other creatines used before. I will have to try another CEE supplement to be sure. Overall the effectiveness was pretty mediocre, I expected much more from reading up on creatine ethyl ester and especially after reading the claims on the bottle (40X Stronger than Creatine Mono, freaky/explosive muscle gains). To be fair, I did not finish the whole bottle -see the side effects section- but CEE is known for not needing a loading phase.

Value

CEE bullets can be bought for just under 30 dollars at amazon. For a creatine this is pretty expensive, especially compared to a simple creatine monohydrate. For a Ethyl ester variant this is a fair price. Most other known brands sell for 25-30 dollars. Considering the effectiveness -and for me personally the side effects- I wonder if it's worth it in general

Side Effects

As noted before I discontinued the use of this product. The pills really hit my stomach hard. After use I had some serious acid reflux. When taking them on a filled stomach it wasn't that bad but still not pleasant. Before training they would usually settle alright. The suggested 4 pills after workout however did some serious harm. I heated up and actually had to threw up on three separate occasions. I don't believe any supplement should cause this and hence discontinued use. After approximately half a bottle.
For optimal training, 8 capsules before and 8 after were suggested. Considering the side effects I did not dare to go there.

Some forms or brands of creatine have caused me some minor stomach discomfort before, but more in the sense of some bloating and definitely not this severe. I read that CEE would be ideal for those who suffer bloating and cramps from regular creatine. As it turned out it was a poor choice.

Conclusion

The price of CEE is higher than that of other forms of creatine. If the advantages would be greater., this would be justified. As it turned out, effects were not better at all. Combined with the side effects mentioned I would not recommend TBN CEE bullets. I will have to (and will) try another creatine ethyl ester product to know for sure if this is a type of ingredient that does some good. The overall experience and effects with CEE bullets is not one I would consider recommending.

Quick Summary

Solid post-workout recovery but truly shines as a stand-alone intra-workout BCAA product.

Introduction

As I've written in other reviews, I'm a fan of consistently supplementing BCAAs for overall health and recovery. I try to ensure I'm ingesting 5-10g of BCAAs every morning during my fasted window, regardless of whether I work out or not. I've also experimented with heavy doses of BCAAs, up to 40g daily, in order to determine the optimal dosage-to-recovery ratio. Personally I notice solid DOMS improvement at ~15g BCAA daily, with no noticeable benefits beyond that dosage. For measurement purposes, I'm 6'1" and 205 lbs.

Recover Mode was an interesting pickup for me. Listed as a post-workout product, the profile is essentially that of a loaded intra-workout. I was already running a simpler BCAA product however I do not usually supplement anything postworkout as I lift in the morning, in the middle of my fasted window. I've actually, GASP, stopped supplementing protein as a result of maintaining this eating regimen, thus I figured Recover Mode would be a good addition to my stack.

Ingredient Profile

For most of my BCAA supplements I am primarily concerned with the actual dosing of BCAAs. 5g of essential BCAAs per serving has been clinically proven to be the minimum effective dose for an average-sized human. Recover Mode includes 5g at a 2:1:1 ratio along with a LOT of other goodies. Notable are the minerals and electrolytes for hydration support, 3g of Glutamine for recovery, as well as 2.25g of Creatine Monohydrate, which I can personally do without.

Also included are some common players in pre-workout and intra-workout products. You're getting a light dose of Beta Alanine (1.6g) and a solid dose of Taurine (1g), which are common non-essential amino acids used to support and improve athletic performance. Interesting to have these in a post-workout, but the benefits list is long for these two ingredients so I can see why they are included.

In that same vein, one scoop also nets you 1.5g of Betain, another ingredient with a long list of claims revolving around improved performance and muscle gain, and 1g of L-Carnitine which, once again, is a common ingredient in other types of supplements given its role in energy production.

Long story short, you've got a wealth of common ingredients to support hydration, muscular endurance, performance, and energy production but not a whole lot of specific recovery-boosting ingredients aside from the BCAAs and Glutamine.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

I received the Blue Razz flavor which is VERY strong, even in 32oz. of water. Taste-wise it is standard for a blue raspberry flavored supplement. Nicely done, not overly sweet, no medicinal aftertaste. The dyes and flavoring are heavy but overall not bad.

I generally dumped one scoop into my 32oz. bottle and sipped post-workout. I did experiment with this as a stand-alone intra-workout a few times as well. Mixes well with minimal foaming or residue.

Effectiveness

I personally can't tell the difference between most BCAA products. I do notice a difference in my general recovery time and the amount of DOMS I experience when I'm taking a BCAA versus when I'm not, but not usually between individual supplements. And, as I mentioned above, I've found my personal threshold of performance improvement maxes out at ~15g of BCAA daily.

Yes, I was running other BCAA supplements during my time on Recover Mode, but I do think the combination of these products was a plus. I was getting 5-7g BCAA intra-workout, and another 5g from Recover Mode post-workout, and I definitely felt like my DOMS was as light as it can get. I was dealing with minimal soreness most days and felt refreshed and energized post-workout. I do wonder if, without additional BCAA support, Recover Mode would be as effective on its own. While I really like the profile, it's not as loaded with recovery-focused ingredients as you might find for example there's nothing to address glucose replenishment. Not a big deal for me, just a note given how this supplement is categorized.

As stated in the summary, I thought Recover Mode was fantastic as a standalone intra-workout. The wealth of performance-focused ingredients combined with the hydration support excelled at providing that extra boost to get through my workouts, to carve out a few more reps, and to just generally feel like I hit the weights hard. I think I would honestly say I preferred Recover Mode as an intra-workout given how effective it was.

Value

Most solid BCAA supplements will cost you around .80c per serving. Some of the flashier products with broader ingredient profiles will run you closer to $1.00 per scoop.

At $30 for 30 scoops, this is exactly what I would expect to pay for Recover Mode and, honestly, I think this is a good value. You're getting a versatile, loaded product with effective doses across the board.

Side Effects

None.

Conclusion

If you've got the cash to blow for a post-workout stacker, this is a good option, but I'd absolutely recommend this as a straight up intra-workout. You're getting more from Recover Mode than most other basic BCAAs at a good price point. Nice work from EVL on this product. Definitely one I'll grab again in the future.

Quick Summary

TBN Total Go is a decent whey isolate competitor but it has some serious shortcomings that hold it back from going head-to-head with the industry leaders.

Introduction

I claimed TBN Total Go because I was in need of a new protein and despite the mixed reviews I wanted to try it for myself.

Ingredient Profile

6/10
As noted by other reviewers (special shout-out to MMAFreak and JayT), the ingredient profile on Total GO is plagued with flaws. It has a bunch of buzz words for fast advertisement, but most supplements do as well so that's not really a big deal. Of note, however, is that it is labeled as cage-free, halal, grass-fed, gmo-free and organic without any sort of certification or backing for either of those terms. I'm also not quite sure how protein can be cage free since it comes from milk not eggs but still. Similarly, halal claims should have some sort of certification as, like kosher, it is a religious dietary restriction. Also, I thought it halal was just for meat? Furthermore, although the website lists it as a concentrate I don't see that on the actual container. Finally, there is no GMP certification sticker or third party testing certifications so its hard to really accept with near 100% certainty that this ingredient profile, buzzword claims aside, is entirely accurate.

On the plus side, this has almost no sugar (no added sugar), additives, nor preservatives. Additionally, if the label claims are accurate then it is also a organic, grass-fed and non-GMO protein powder which is a real luxury in a market flooded with cheap protein sources, GMOs, and fillers.

1 Scoop provides: 117 calories, 1.7g of fat, 2.1g of carbs (sugars), and 24g of protein. That is extremely clean and should fit into anyone's macros. Sure you could find a protein even less fat and carbs but the difference at these levels is negligible. If this is accurate then it is a great nutritional profile at the very least.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

7/10
I received the strawberry flavor and it was ok. Being a naturally flavored supplement, I didn't expect anything that would absolutely blow me away and wow my taste buds. That being said, it was extremely good for natural flavoring and tasted better than a lot of artificially flavored strawberry protein powders. I mixed anywhere from 1-1.5 scoops with 8-12 oz of cold or room-temp water and occasionally I would add it to a smoothie. The actual mixability was fine but the foam was out of control. I've never had any supplement that foamed this much. It would take about 5-10 minutes for it to die down and be drinkable. That is just ridiculous. There's really no reason for that. This would be a much better supplement if TBN fixed this problem.

Effectiveness

7.75/10
Proteins are notoriously hard to rate effectiveness. I typically try to judge drinkability (a mix of absolute taste and whether or not I could stand it in multiple situations - i.e. not just post-workout but whenever needed), digestibility, and fullness/satiety.

Since I found the taste to be rather good, I had no problem using this protein in a variety of scenarios. I sometimes had a scoop for breakfast (both in a smoothie and on its own), post-workout, or just mid-day as a snack. I always found that it went down smooth and easy. The only problem I encountered in this area was the severe foam. The foam did in fact prohibit me from drinking it on a few occasions where I was in a rush after the gym and couldn't be bothered to wait for the foam to die down. I deduced a fair amount of points from the effectiveness rating for this.

I didn't experience any digestibility problems associated with low quality sources of protein like cramping or gas. Those are huge tell tale signs for me that I am not only not getting everything from the protein but also that I'm likely impeding gains by limiting physical activity due to pain during those times. Since I never experienced any issues here, I can have at least some certainty that it is not a low quality whey concentrate.

I noticed about average satiety with this protein. If I was taking this as a snack or post-workout, I would stave off the hunger pangs for about 2 hours. If I was having this for breakfast, I felt that I remained full for about 3 hours. This is good in my opinion as if you're looking to replace unhealthy snacks or foods with some protein powder, you want to retain similar levels of satiety to prevent yourself from overeating. That being said, this was not a protein that sat heavy in my stomach, so if I was trying to gain weight I could have easily downed 2-3 scoops of this a day without a problem.

In short, this is a solid protein in terms of effectiveness. The foaming is annoying and prohibitive at times but it still tastes great, digests well, can be used in multiple situations, and provides decent satiety. If the foaming problem didn't exist, this would be closer to a 9 or so in effectiveness.

Value

6/10
The cheapest I could find this for is $67.75 for 3lbs or 45 servings. That is about $1.50 a scoop/serving. Seeing as most proteins of similar or better quality with similar macros can be had for near $1.00/serving this is a bit pricey. If this could be confirmed as a non-GMO, grass-fed, and organic protein manufactured in a GMP facility then perhaps something close to the $1.50 price point could be justified but without at least a USDA organics sticker you'd have to be crazy to make that assumption. Plus, no competitor that I am aware of has a foam problem like this. Furthermore, this can only be found on TBN's website or Amazon as far as I know. That availability makes this even more uncompetitive as other proteins can often be found from third party retailers on some sort of sale that includes either freebies like shaker cups or deals on other supplements that may be useful in your rotation (pre-workout, creatine, etc.) thanks to retailers trying to compete with one another. Unfortunately, it looks like there is really no deal to be had here.

Side Effects

10/10
I experienced no side effects while taking TBN Total Go.

Conclusion

6.5/10
I got to a 6.5/10 rating by averaging the scores for Ingredient Profile, Taste/Mixability/Dosing, Effectiveness, and Value as I believe each of those sections is especially important with this particular product. It is a rare case that each of these should sections should have equal weight, but it is also rare that one encounters enough problems or things of interest to say in each category. This produced a 6.68/10 rating and I then deducted 1.68 to get to 6.5/10 as a way to account for the serious label and foam problems that I think would turn many consumers off from trying this product - especially when solid, well established competing products can be had without these problems for less. In the end, I wouldn't recommend this to a friend or to any of you until TBN addresses some of the major concerns other reviews and myself have raised with this product.

Quick Summary

Pretty good value for the overall quality contained in this greens supplement. It tastes pretty good as well.

Introduction

I have not normally run a greens product in the past because I used to stick with multivitamins, but I am noticing that I am beginning to enjoy greens products more. I feel like they are better absorbed by my body and a more natural way to receive vitamins and minerals than being synthetically produced for the most part with multivitamins. I have never had neon pee with a greens supplement. Granted, there usually is not an insane amount of B or C vitamins added into greens supplements, but to me it is pointless having that amount when most of it ends up in the toilet anyway.

Ingredient Profile

50 calories, 3 g fat, 6 g carbohydrate (1 g fiber, 1 g sugar), and 1 g protein. The profile is broken up into five different blends. The first blend is the PhytoFood greens complex which is just over 4 g of healthy greens including: wheat grass, broccoli, spinach, spirulina, chlorella, kelp, etc. The next blend is 2.5 g of digestive support and fiber including: chia seed powder, flax seed, oat bran, pumpkin seed, and turmeric. Third blend is the antioxidant fruit and veggie blend at just over 2 g consisting of: milk thistle, beet root, acai, green tea, goji berry, pomegranate, etc. Next blend is 0.5 g of probiotics and enzymes. Final blend is the trademarked VitaBerry ORAC blend at 200 mg.

Overall it is a pretty nice profile containing many super foods and other healthy ingredients. Sweetened with stevia and naturally flavored. Vegan, non-GMO, soy free, GMP facility. Good stuff here.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste: Received the berry flavor and I only used it in smoothies as I have said in the past that I believe that is the best way to consume these. Normally my go to smoothie is a milk alternative base, unflavored plant based protein powder, frozen blueberries, a frozen banana, and a kiwi. Sometimes I will add other fruits, non-dairy yogurts, avocados, etc. I added a scoop of this to my smoothies and I actually really enjoyed the taste of it. There is definitely a berry flavor present and the "green" taste was hidden well enough where it was barely noticeable in this preparation.

Mixability: I did not mix this in a liquid by itself, so I cannot really comment on this aspect.

Dosing: Add a scoop into water, juice, or smoothie and mix thoroughly. Keep refrigerated once open to maintain freshness.

Effectiveness

Like I mentioned above, greens supplements are the way to go in my opinion over multivitamins. I did not have any problems with the profile and thought it was pretty decent and overall effective in keeping my body running smoothly. I also mentioned it tasted fine in smoothies and that is an important factor to consider when looking to purchase a greens supplement. I am sure that it would have tasted fine on its own too since the berry flavor was so prominent, but I would just prefer to throw these in a smoothie. It never gave me any trouble with digestion. I really like how it is completely vegan, non-GMO, naturally flavored and sweetened, and made in a GMP facility. It contains over 35 different super foods, so that is nice to see. There is not really much else to say about greens supplements aside from the profile/quality, the taste, and how it digests. I guess you can also include your overall health, but I am not really prone to sickness anyway, so that is not a big indicator on the effectiveness for me. Overall, I was pleased with the results of PhytoFood.

Value

The site Vitamindiscountcenter.com has this for $36.99 for 30 servings, which is $1.23 per serving. It also says that it is available for free shipping. I have never heard of the site, so that is up to you if you wish to save a few more bucks than ordering through reputable sites like Amazon or Suppz. Amazon has it for just under $38 and Suppz has it for just under $40. A bit pricey especially since it is not organic, but it is not an awful value since many of the ingredients included are really expensive. Suppz usually runs discounts once in a while, so maybe you could find this cheaper there.

Side Effects

None.

Conclusion

Overall a fine greens supplement. The taste was not bad at all and the profile is pretty good. May be a bit annoying keeping it in the fridge and taking up space, but that is not too uncommon with green products. I would recommend this, especially if you get it on sale somewhere. Thank you NutraHouse for allowing me to try this.

Quick Summary

A different kind of fat burner, this one has some promise

Introduction

Greetings SR! Back again with another review and this time it's the fat-buner 'The INCINERATOR' by Flex Nutrition. Firstly, I want to thank the SR TROOPs program and Flex Nutrition, for giving me the opportunity to try this product out. If you want to know of my background, you can find it in my profile here at:
https://supplementreviews.com/users/jamesjsix

Ingredients

8/10
Serving Size: 2 Caps
Lyzme5 - 500mg
CLA Powder (standardized to 35% CLA) - 300mg
Raspberry Ketones - 175mg
Garcinia Cambogia Extract - 100mg
Green Tea Extract (standardized to 50% polyphenols) - 75mg
Other ingredients for the caps themselves

First thing you'll notice with this supplement is that there isn't huge doses of the more common fat burners. Others have covered this but the bottom line is that CLA, Green Tea Extract and Garcinia are all pretty low amounts.

Next we have the Raspberry Ketones which is supposed to be a fat burner but examine has very little data on its effects in general. The only studies I could find its ability to do this are not human based but on rats and equivalent dosages would be at 1.1g-5g for a 200lb person, so this might be very low as well.

Lyzme5 is the trick pony in this supplement. What it looks like it's supposed to do is make it easier for your body to burn fats for energy as a whole. I would suppose that the overall effect then is to use the low dosages of the other ingredients to mobilize the lipds and then the lyzme5 makes it easier to burn them off (conjecture there).

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Two caps so no taste, but they do have an interesting look to them, a spotted dark brown on a light brown.

Again, not really applicable here, but they are not that big so easy to swallow.

Dosing is pretty standard for a weight loss product, take 2 caps 2x a day 30 minutes before meals. This dosing is pretty easy to follow for me so no issues here. Flex sent me a message with the product that the product works best as it is built up so to make sure i take it for a continuous 30 days. I was able to follow this but as a whole, life can get in the way so if you are not sure you have the discipline to hold to the full 30 days, might be an issue.

Effectiveness

7.5/10
Other reviewers are a bit all over the map on this one but my results were positive. My goal with this product was not overall weight loss but fat loss. As with all fat burners, diet is crucially important and I followed a maintenance diet that was calorie neutral. The first 2 weeks I noticed no real effects as my weight and BF stayed the same (current BF was at 20.5% taken as a weekly average). In week 3, I dropped .5% and in week 4 dropped another 1% leaving me with a total BF % loss at 1.5% and a result of 19%. My final weight came down by only .5% through the course of the 4 weeks.

I take these results as the product doing what is supposed to do, aiding in fat loss when combined with a diet and workout program.

Value

7.0/10
Flex Nutrition has this for just under $30 for a 60 ct bottle. That will get you 30 servings but per their instructions to me, I would need to purchase 2 bottles to get my 2 servings per day for 30 days. That puts me at essentially $1 a day for this product. Not the most expensive fat burner out there but not exactly cheap either in my opinion. I think there is certainly value in there for someone that doesn't do well on other thermogenic fat burners and wants a little help in fat loss but its not a steal.

Side Effects

A bit surprisingly, none

Conclusion

7.4/10
This product is in line with my realistic expectations for a fat loss product. It's not a fat loss miracle pill but for me, it was effective and I think it helped me to tick my BF% down a notch when the diet I was following was not able to do so on its own. Key question, would I buy it at the listed price? Probably yes. I don't think it's as effective as some of the stronger thermogenics, but those come with side effects that I didn't get with this product. This one was more of a throw it in with my multi and get a little benefit at $1 a day. Overall, a nice little product.

Quick Summary

The natural version of VMI's protolyte lacks flavor, is very expensive, and has significant issues with foaming.

Introduction

I'd like to start by thanking VMI Sports for giving me a chance to try this. Natural, non-gmo supplements seem to be a growing niche in the industry as people become more aware of their food sources. I applaud their effort to try to penetrate this space, but I think this product needs a little more work to be a real contender in it.

I weigh over 200lbs and rely heavily on powders and bars to meet my macro needs when it comes to protein. This often means I'm taking in quite a lot of sucralose and doing so can cause some stomach discomfort. Having an opportunity to replace some of that artificial sweetener with something natural is something I'm always glad to have a chance to do.

I was also a big fan of the original Protolyte from VMI, so I had high expectations going into this one.

Ingredient Profile

ProtoLyte Naturals has a serving size of 27.6g, which yields 21g of protein; this about 76% protein which I consider to be good, not great. Typically a whey isolate will have a higher protein content by weight. However, VMI also adds another ~1.2g of Minerals and Electrolytes to aid in recovery, which effectively brings the amount of "good stuff" to 80%. This is still below average for an isolate but my only real gripe is that it doesn't taste better with essentially 20% of the scoop being dedicated to taste.

The last things worth noting are that ProtoLyte also contains an enzyme blend to aid in digestion and is sweetened with Stevia.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

This category was the deal breaker for me. In my opinion, it's the most important aspect of a protein.

Dosing: I typically took 1 scoop in the morning and 1 scoop after work but well-before dinner.

Taste: I was very surprised by the difference between ProtoLyte original and natural. The natural flavor really lacked the flavor I was expecting. It was very bland and had a noticeable bitter aftertaste from the Stevia. The vanilla was light yet noticeable, it might have been find if it weren't for the bitterness that followed.

Mixability: While I never had an issue with chunks, mixing in a shaker or in a blender resulted in an absurd amount of foam. I'd usually use the shaker with about 6oz of water, and the foam would end up filling the entire shaker bottle. I posted a picture at the end... what you can't see is the shaker ball buried beneath, and this was after shaking it, drinking it, commuting 20 minutes to work, responding to a few emails, then picking up the bottle to go clean it.

Effectiveness

ProtoLyte was fine in terms of aiding in recovery and not causing digestive issues. I never had an upset stomach after drinking it at all, and my DOMS didn't change compared to how they typically are with the same protein intake. I will say that it didn't keep me full quite as long as my usual protein, but my usual protein is also a concentrate instead of an isolate, so that's not surprising. Overall this seemed very clean and I would have enjoyed using it if the taste and foam weren't so objectionable.

Value

Right now I think you can only buy this direct from VMI for $49.99. That's $2/serving. Expensive, but if it tasted better and was natural it might be justified. Considering it's only 25 servings and I went through it in 12 days, it's probably not an option for me though. I'd need the flavor to improve and for a larger serving size to become available to bring down the cost per serving.

Side Effects

None.

Conclusion

I wanted to like this... I really did... but unfortunately, I didn't. I like the idea and applaud the effort, but the foam, the taste, the price, all did it in for me. I have total faith in VMI as a company though and would gladly give version 2.0 a shot if they ever take this back to the lab. I don't think it would be a bad idea to even add real organic sugar to it either. I just don't think Stevia is the end all be all solution for natural supplement sweeteners.

Thanks again to VMI- look forward to seeing more from these guys in the future.

Quick Summary

One of the few times Insane Labz has a fully disclosed profile. Cheaply made hydration and endurance enhancer, that did not much of anything for me. It is very cheap, but save your money and buy something that will actually hydrate you.

Introduction

38 years old, recovering from total reconstruction surgery on my left ankle, but finally back in the gym! I like to have a supplement that provides some extra supplements either during or after my workout. Back in the day I used to drink Gatorade, but now I realize you lose some benefits with all the sugar and calories involved. I received Krampus during a New years special for free with another purchase. I have tried a couple other electrolyte supps in the past, so lets see how this one stacks up.

Ingredient Profile

Well, in a rare occurrence Insane Labz actually has a fully disclosed label here. Lets break down each ingredient to see why it was included.

Folate (Folic Acid) 500mcg: This aids in cell renewal, as well as reducing the risk of birth defects for pregnant women. RDA is 400mcg for men over 13 years old, and this is dosed a little high at 500mcg.

Vitamin B12 (as Cyanocobalamin) 2mg: Boosts your mood, energy level, memory, heart, skin, hair, digestion and more. This vitamin is so important for you, mainly getting you that energy boost, that you will see it sold a lot as a stand alone. RDA of 2.4mcg and here we have 2mg. The B12 here is the cheaper and lower end version called cyanocobalamin.

Magnesium (as Magnesium Citrate) 200mg: This aids in bone structure. RDA here is 400mg (men 19-30 years), 310mg (women 19-30 years), 420mg (men 31+), and 320mg (women 31+). This is a good addition to your multivitamin.

Chloride (as Sodium Chloride & Potassium Chloride) 360mg: Very important for your blood. Maintains proper blood volume, blood pressure, and pH of your body fluids.

Sodium (as Sodium Chloride) 210mg: Helps keep the water (the amount of fluid inside and outside the body's cells) and electrolyte balance of the body. 2300mg is the RDA for sodium, so this nice addition keeps your diet supplemented and does not go overkill.

Potassium (as Potassium Chloride) 150mg: Plays a role in many body functions including transmission of nerve signals, muscle contractions, fluid balance, and various chemical reactions. 149 - 298mg is the RDA here.

OXYGOLD (Fulvic Acid) 50mg: This is a key ingredient found in most Insane Labz products. This is there for bio-availability and nutrient uptake. A very informative video on this can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO4yryNnuAE. That video will do a much better job than I could.

Overall the profile looks promising. What is missing here that you typically see in electrolyte replenishing supplements are some sore of trace mineral compound. The electrolytes are dosed decently, so you would expect this to work, but as you will see below that is not necessarily the case.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste: I got the Santa's Helper flavor. You can church it up any way you want, but its blue raspberry. It was very sweet, tasted okay, but sweeter than I like. Very drinkable though as long as you sipped it, big chugs would cause some issues with the sweetness.

Mixability: I typically used a funnel and mixed this in a 12oz bottle of water. I had no issues mixing it at all with just a few shakes and used a blender bottle on occasion with no residue or anything left over.

Dosing: Directions call for one scoop daily. I dosed this post workout, mid morning, or intra workout.

Effectiveness

Electrolyte supplements are real easy to gauge effectiveness because you know when your hydrated or not. You should be taking an extra trip to the bathroom to urinate if this does its job. Well it was a hit or miss for me. When I took this post workout or mid morning, some mornings it would cause me to feel more hydrated, but most mornings it would just be me drinking flavored water. I say about 20% of the time it would hydrate me, the rest I would feel no real change beyond drinking that bottle of water. Intra workout this was just way too sweet for me and would give me some stomach issues while trying to lift due to its sweetness. So that was a no go. This ones a tough one to gauge because it worked sometimes, and not the other times.

Krampus is touted to aid in hydration and endurance. Hydration was a hit or miss as i stated above, but endurance why I do not see how. It just simply did not work in that aspect for me. Any effect I did feel was so minor that it really made no difference to me. Disappointed in this.

Value

I got this as a free gift with purchase, but you can find this for $14.99 for 60 servings at A1 Supplements. That comes out to 25 cents a serving which is insanely cheap. However, I do believe you get what you pay for and I think all the ingredients here are on the cheap end and really did not seem to do much for me, so that kills its value. If this worked like I thought it would this would be a steal, but that is not the case here.

Side Effects

Experiencing nothing at all.

Conclusion

Overall, I felt like I was just drinking blue razz flavored water most days. On the days it did work it would be great, but I never got that cool sensation of feeling hydrated. If it did anything it was so minor it was hardly noticeable. However, if your looking for something to flavor up your water then here you go.

Quick Summary

Psychotic preworkout capsules by Insane Labz is a quality product! Kicks in fast! A little pricey!

Introduction

I first tried the psychotic capsules while preparing for a bodybuilding competition. It was super effective in delivering an extra rush of energy while working out on low carbs. Although a little pricey, I would buy it again!

Ingredient Profile

A few of the key ingredients in Psychotic are creatine monohydrate, caffeine anhydrous, beta alanine, and hordenine HCL. Creatine and caffeine both contribute to the stimulant factor of this preworkout and give you a boosted level of strength and energy. The amino acid beta alanine will reduce fatigue levels during your workout so that you will have more endurance and be able to do more reps. Hordenine HCL contributes to the increase in focus and the boost in your mood.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

You don't have to worry about flavor since this preworkout is in tablet form! It's a little odd that the serving size is six capsules, but they go down really easy with several ounces of water.

Effectiveness

They were very effective! You start to feel energy just a couple minutes after taking them, then you feel a rush of energy 20 minutes after taking them along with a very confident and focused mental state. The energy is sustained through your entire workout and you are left with the euphoric feeling of a lifter's high.

Value

It was a little expensive. The preworkout worked very well but I don't know if it was worth the $50 I payed for it online. It comes with 150 capsules but the serving size is 6 capsules, so it only contains 25 servings. Typically I spend around $30 for 30 serving preworkouts so this was a little pricey for me.

Side Effects

If taken on an empty stomach, Psychotic can make your stomach a little upset! I noticed I got cold sweats in the middle of my workout though! I was shivering a little in between sets.

Conclusion

If you have an extra $50 laying around, this product is worth buying. It does its job really well, but it's debatable whether the cost is worth it.

Introduction:

I've been meaning to do a review on this product for awhile now. I used a free coupon to purchase this on Amazon when it was first introduced. The label on this product intrigued me with "intense energy and fat loss." I get up pretty early and wanted to use this as a pick me up to replace coffee as well as Monsters. What I noticed about this product that was unique from other fat burners was the "respiratory support." Not many or if any other supplement companies have this so I thought I'd give it a test trial.

Ingredient Profile:

Prop Blend - 341 MG

Caffeine Anhydrous - 110 mg

White Willow Bark Extract

Green Tea Leaf Extract

Bitter Orange Fruit Extract

Mullein Leaves Powder

Inula Helenium Root Extract

Bioprene Black Pepper Fruit Extract

*Disclaimer*
I'm not a nutrition expert and don't really have knowledge in some of the ingredients in this product other than caffeine, but other reviewers have disclosed information on them.

With the prop blend in this product, the caffeine anhydrous discloses 110 mg, however, its hard to say how much content is in the other ingredients. A cup coffee has about 95 mg of coffee, thus, this was a good product for what I was looking to use it for.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

8/10

Taste: The strawberry lemonade flavor really stands out and tastes as you would expect. Sweet and tangy!

Mixability: Very easy to mix. I just put a scoop on top of water. Swirl and drink!

Dosing: The directions suggest 1 scoop on an empty stomach 15-30 mins before breakfast and an additional scoop may be taken 5-6 hours later. I normally took 1 scoop unless I needed a boost later in the day. Good alternative for me since coffee gets me super dehydrated.

Effectiveness

4/10

I have used this product as a pre-workout and as a stand alone wake me up. I did not use this product to measure any fatloss. As a preworkout, it wasn't very effective for me. As you can see in the profile, the ingredients are for energy and "fat-burning." No focus and no pump ingredients. I would say I that I am pretty tolerant to high stim products, so Skald wouldn't be as effective for me in comparison to stim sensitive users. As a stand alone, I felt that this product delivered a little energy on tough days at work but the appetite control wasn't really there and I don't know if the "respiratory support" was very effective. I still had appetites to eat regularly (every 2-3 hours). I used this product as recommended. Once in the morning and the second serving 5-6 hours later.

Value:

4/10

Current price on Amazon is $39 with free shipping for a 60 serving product that you may have to take twice a day, which would bring it down to a 30 day product. For $39, I could easily spend it on other products that may be more effective. It was a great trial, but I don't think I would purchase in the future.

Side Effects
none.

Conclusion

I felt that this product this didn't deliver as labeled. $39 is pretty steep if you're taking this product twice a day. Flavor was good but effects weren't as good for me. Others have had better experiences than myself, but if you have disposable income, consider trying it for yourself.

Quick Summary

Not quite an intra-workout product, but also not a pre-workout, wouldn't recommend.

Introduction

Greetings SR! Back again with another review and this time it's the intra-workout 'WORKHORSE Intra-Workout Compound' by Black Sheep Supplements. Firstly, I want to thank the SR TROOPs program and Black Sheep Supplements, for giving me the opportunity to try this product out. If you want to know of my background, you can find it in my profile here at:
https://supplementreviews.com/users/jamesjsix

Ingredients

6/10
Serving Size: 2 Scoops (42.9g)
Calories: 75
Sugars: 18g
Dextrose: 20g
L-Citrulline: 5g
Raspberry Ketone Powder 99%: 2.75g
L-Glutamine: 2g
MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane):1.5g
L-Arginine Monohydrochloride:1g
Agmatine Sulfate: 1g
Beta-Alanine: 1g
Beet Powder: 500mg
Caffeine Anhydrous: 100mg
Other trace ingredients

First thing you'll notice with this supplement is that there is a good amount of sugar (Dextrose) in it. Dextrose is a very high GI carb that is quickly processed by the body. While more common in some intra-workouts, this stood out to me pretty quick that I'm essentially putting down a good about of sugar water with everything else in there.

Moving on from there, the L-Citrulline is pretty much the clinical dose (depending on research, some show 6g as the most effective dose).

Next we have the Raspberry Ketone Powder 99% which is supposed to be a fat burner I assume but examine has very little data on its effects in general. The only studies I could find its ability to do this are not human based but on rats, however the amount of lb of mass is comparable (1.1g-5g for a 200lb person).
For the rest of the ingredients, most of these dosages are on the lower side of ingredients but depending on if you take this after a pre-workout, you might be getting above the clinical dose.

Finally, not quite sure on the math about the total of ingredients. If you add up everything from the dextrose down, you get 34.55g. The total dosage should be 42.9g so not sure what's going on there and the weight I got was 26g from a single scoop which comes out to be 52g for a single dose.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

4/10
Good news is that this is an all natural product so for those that don't want the artificial taste in their sups, this product will be alright. The bad news is that it tastes like it isn't artificially flavored and for all the dextrose in it, it's not overly sweet. I got Raspberry Beetdown flavor and I can't really say it tastes like anything at all, maybe more beet than anything else, and the L-Citrulline comes through fairly clearly.

Mixability is okay but not great. I tried this product in both strainer style and shaker ball bottles and there is some settling but very little grit in it. I had to use closer to 24-28oz to get the product to fully dissolve, 42.9g is a huge amount of powder to mix in (and as mentioned above, I was weighing out even more than that)!

Dosing is where I have some issue with the product. Directions for the product are to "combine 2 scoops with 20 oz of cold water and shake vigorously. Drink entire mixture within 15 minutes of starting your warm up." For me this dosing was rather difficult as I also wanted to combine this with a pre-workout. As I'm taking another 16-20 oz of fluid in about 15 minutes before my workout on top of this, I was consuming well over a full quart of water within 30 minutes at the beginning of my workout. Needless to say, breaks were required pretty darn quick to run to the bathroom and kept me from getting into a good zone for my sets.

Additionally, without the pre-workout, that's still a lot of fluid to consume while I'm trying to do my warmup. Because of when you are supposed to take this product, I don't really think its an intra-workout product but more of a pre-workout product.

Effectiveness

5/10
I started out using this product as directed as an intra-workout and took it after a pre-workout. On the whole, I didn't notice much effect on top of the pre-workout so I discontinued the pre-workout on days I took this. Just taking it by itself, the sugar calories are nice if you don't normally have time to get your pre-workout carbs in and you need a quick supply of energy. On days that I didn't get a chance to eat this was noticeable and helpful. Other than that however, I didn't get much effect of this product besides a decent pump and I think that makes sense as on the whole, the ingredients are underdosed.

This product, just like in the dosing, straddles the line between pre and intra workout. The ingredients are a nice boost to a weak pre-workout to get you to clinical dosing, but as a standalone, just isn't all that effective compared to others out there. Also, as an intra-workout, i would like to see some thought to recovery, maybe the inclusion of BCAAs?

One other claim of this product is to help with joints. I'm looking for the MSM to do this but I cannot say I noticed much of an effect.

Value

5.0/10
Currently, this product is available from the home company product page as well as Amazon, with both of them at $50 for a 30 serving tub which leads you to $1.67/serving. I didn't see any coupons or anything else so that is the price you are going to pay. For that price, I just can't see much value in this product. The L-Citrulline is dosed well but besides that, there just isn't much in there besides sugar water. For the same price, I could get most of the top 10 pre-workouts on the SR boards in either stimulant or pump that have the same ingredients but are better dosed.

Side Effects

None

Conclusion

5/10
This product is a letdown for me as an intra-workout as I think it's more of a weak pre-workout than anything else. While it's not a terrible product, it just isn't dosed well enough to compete with others at its price point.

(Note: Run of this coincides with my run of Mythos Supplements - Antaeus Pre-Workout but they were only taken together 2x due to the large water intake and the combination of ingredients did not agree with me. All subsequent uses of this product were as a standalone.)

Quick Summary

A testosterone booster that is about the same as others out there, not that great.

Introduction

This is another product provided by the SR family so a thank you to them. I have tried many testosterone boosters and I have not found one that was worthy. This has natural ingredients for a testosterone booster. They have different ingredients but some same as other testosterones. The same for ingredient amounts found in other boosters but different to. I've tried a few and at 40 years old, I need a bit of a testosterone boost. This one was the same as most on the market.

Ingredient Profile

Cellucor P6 Ultra does not contain vitamins or minerals that should increase testosterone naturally. The P6 Ultra is the name of the ingredient blend with 1450 mg and it does not break down each individual ingredient amount. I like to know more about how much of each ingredient is in the blend. The blended ingredients are KSM-66 Ashwagandha which is Withania somnifera, Fenugreek, Macam, Agaricus bisporus fruit, and Panax ginseng. The Fenugreek and Panax ginseng are found in many testosterone boosters. Ashwagandha or Indian Gingsing is a medicinal plant used for many years. It can aid in helping with cancer treatment, high blood pressure, and stress. Its sole purpose for P6 Ultra is to boost fertility and testosterone in men. Fenugreek seed (also called testosurge fenugreek) has evidence to increase testosterone and weight loss. Macam has many benefits which include boosting fertility, increase testosterone levels, energy booster, assist prostate health, will regulate hormones, build muscle, and good for bone health. Agaricus bisporus is a safe mushroom that is found in North America and cooks use it to enhance taste with food. This is a common mushroom used for potassium and sodium. The mushroom in the P6 Ultra is to help with high cholesterol, hardening of the arteries, and digestive problems. Other uses include prevention of heart disease, weakened bones (osteoporosis), and stomach ulcers. Panax ginseng can boost energy, lower blood sugar, lower cholesterol, help with stress, promote relaxation, and manage sexual dysfunction.

These items are in other boosters so there is nothing good or bad about these ingredients. Every booster out there has some or all these ingredients, it's just that companies will change which ingredients to put in and how much of each ingredient. The ingredients are fine but not great either. I give this a middle ranking.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

This was in capsule form where you get 60 tablets and you take 2 per day anytime and you do not need to take food with capsules. The capsules are about the size of a multivitamin. The taste and mixability don't apply here because it is a capsule. The dosing is pretty similar to other testosterone boosters. I will give this a middle-ranking.

Effectiveness

The P6 Ultra says it will support strength and virility. It's hard to measure a testosterone booster or verify its claims. With blood work done once a month, you will know if the testosterone is increasing or decreasing but is not something I want to pay once a month. As far as it goes with how P6 Ultra made me feel, I can't say that it was a positive or negative. It was in the middle. There was not a boost in energy. I had a no real feeling of strength. I can not say virility was good or bad either. If you take a testosterone booster with caffeine ingredients or other pre-workout ingredients, you may feel your testosterone is better. If P6 Ultra did increase in energy by adding pre workout ingredients, then the energy you get will not be because you have an increase in testosterone, it will be just an energy increase. I give this a middle-ranking because I don't know if it was good or bad.

Value

The P6 Ultra was available on the Cellucor website for $20 to get a 30-day supply. This works out to $0.67 per day. This is a good price. I have found other boosters out there that contain the same ingredients for around $30 for a 1-month supply so this is a good price. I will give price a high rating but the value is middle because I do not think effectiveness was happening.

Side Effects

No side effects

Conclusion

I give this a ranking of 5 out of 10. The ingredients are similar to other boosters out there. The dosing is the same as most. The effectiveness is in the middle because I don't know if it helped or not. It's a good product because it does have good ingredients but you can find them in most testosterone boosters. I would not say there was anything that was overwhelmingly good or bad. The cost is low but the value is middle. Since the price is low, I think it is worth a try for others out there as everybody's different but, for me, it was a middle testosterone booster.

Thanks to RCSS for sending this out and my apologies for the long delay. When I first saw this product, I was extremely intrigued with the prospect of a pump product that worked as well as powdered counterparts with the convenience of already being in a liquid form. Choosing this from the vault was a no-brainer for me as I tend to lean towards products based on ingenuity, and I've has great success with RCSS products in the past.

Ingredient Profile

7/10

The serving size for this is 1 tablespoon or half of a "capful" and includes a 5g prop blend of glycerol, arginine, taurine, citrulline and HICA. A good profile, but definitely underused at one serving and definitely at 2. There are 32 servings per container.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

7.5/10

I received the Cotton Candy flavor, and it wasnt bad at all. Had a bit of a chalky feel in the mouth but went down smoothly and was pretty sweet to taste. I think they did pretty well here, all things considered.

Effectiveness

6/10

I really wanted this to be a huge hit. Having a more convenient way to take a product that would be just as effective as the powdered counterparts would be a big hit. I initially started with one serving but quickly made my way to 2. However, I found the Stacked NO shots to make a marginal difference on my workouts at best. Coupled with high rep workouts, I only noticed a slightly bigger pump than I would have without it. The workouts in the following weeks after the completion of this product weren't much different than the workouts I had with it. Vascularity was slightly increased, but nothing huge. Overall, pretty disappointing.

Value

6/10

$20 for 32 servings at Allstarhealth would be a pretty good deal if it were effective for someone at 1 serving. Considering I used 2 for the majority of the run, it would work out to a little over $1 each time, and there's far superior products in that price range that I would rather spend money on.

Side Effects

None

Overall

6/10

A neat idea that wasn't as effective as hoped. Fun to try, but I wouldn't shell out for this in the future.

Quick Summary

This product delivered. I used it as a morning meal replacement when I got lazy or bored with making egg whites. This protein is unique in that it is composed of 6 different protein sources, none of which are whey or casein. I have digestive issues with whey so I decided to give this a try. The taste and mixability were phenomenal. The result were what i expected from a quality protein source. I gained lean mass while taking this product and did not ever experience any bloating with this product as I do with whey. This protein is designed to be a meal replacement, not a post-workout protein. It is a slower digesting protein, which makes it much more suitable as a meal replacement to curb appetite and remain anabolic. There are many other proteins out there that would serve better as a fast digesting, post-workout protein. I would recommend this protein to anyone who doesn't like milk-derived protein as well as anyone who is looking for a really good tasting meal-replacement protein.

Introduction

I am an athletic build 6'4" 198 lb 15% bf male. I bought this protein for a number of reasons. First of all, I have not had a single bad supplement from Redcon1 yet. I am becoming more and more a fan of this brand every time I try a new one of their products. Secondly, I do not like to consume dairy or dairy-derivatives such as whey or casein protein because of allergy and digestive issues, as I had also mentioned in my Muscle Meds Carnivore review (https://supplementreviews.com/musclemeds/carnivor/review/favorite-56103). This protein contains no dairy sources. The protein is composed of beef, salmon, egg, chicken, brown rice protein, pea protein. With all of those different sources of protein I was skeptical on the results and flavoring, but as you will later see my worries were put to rest. The last reason I bought this is because I have been getting sick of eating so many egg whites for breakfast and wanted to supplement a different source of protein for some variety. The cost of this beverage is about the same as buying egg-whites so I decided to give it a try.

Ingredient Profile

Primary
Beef protein Isolate
Salmon Protein - My first supplement containing salmon protein. Don't worry no fishy smell or taste!
Egg Albumin- Egg protein is my favorite. I kind of wish this was the main protein source.
Brown Rice protein
Pea Protein
Coconut water- adds electrolytes helping you remain hydrated
MCT Oil -medium chain triglycerides, as opposed to long chain triglycerides (LCT), which are found in most foods. MCT is comprised of primarily caprylic and capric fatty acids, and is a light-yellow, odorless, translucent liquid at room temperature. MCT oil occurs naturally in coconut oil and other foods. It has been used to add calories to infant formulas. Recently, athletes, bodybuilders, and diet gurus have jumped on the MCT bandwagon, for it fat burning and an energy sustaining properties.

I am very happy that this product does not have dairy or soy derived protein sources.

Other
Natural and Artifical flavors - MRE tastes very natural no chemical or weird aftertaste
Cellulose Gum - used to make foods thick and creamy, without all the fat. It may help to suppress the appetite. It does help to thicken the shake up, giving it a richer taste.
Ground Cinnamon- For Flavoring; there is not enough cinnamon in this supplement to have an effect on Blood Glucose Insulin Sensitivity
Salt - Flavor and electrolyte source
Sucralose - artificial sweetener
Acesulfame-K - artificial sweetener

I wish more companies would use stevia as their sweetener. Although Sucralose and Acesulfame-K are artificial, I will still consume them. I will not consume any supplements containing aspartame.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing

Taste 10/10
I had the banana nut bread and blueberry cobbler flavors and I would say they both were delicious. Easily the best tasting protein I've ever tried. I mix it with just water and the taste is perfect in my opinion. I actually look forward to drinking this protein as a treat. No more plugging your nose and chugging your shake as fast as you can with this stuff. I have just ordered the pecan pie and dutch apple pie and I am really excited to try them. I will post in the comments or update the review after I try them.

Mixablity 10/10
This is also probably the best mixing protein I have ever used. A few shakes in the shaker and it is completely dissolved. It is almost hard to believe how well it mixes. No clumps and the protein is very smooth in taste. I have only mixed with water so can not comment on how well it mixes in milk. It is a pretty thick shake too, likely from the Cellulose Gum.

Dosing 9/10
24 grams of protein, 4g carbs, 2 g fat per 29 gram scoop ( i know that equals 30 grams but the container says 29 grams). 134 Calories, 0g cholesterol. The scoop is fairly small so I assume there to be very little to no fillers. This lite version is the low carb version of MRE. For the full carb-loaded meal replacement, Recon has original MRE. I have heard the original MRE is just as good quality and I may give it a try when I decide to go through my next bulk.

Effectiveness

I have noticed that my appetite has been less since I switched to this protein. This could be due to the fact that the protein I was taking prior to this one was fast digesting. I have steadily gained muscle and reduced fat while taking this supplement. I don't feel any difference in regards to recovery with this product vs any other common protein source. I like that Redcon1 has an MRE and MRE lite. This makes it easier to convert from bulking to cutting phases. For those looking to shred, this product does contain low-sugar and low-fat so you may want to consider a different protein during a shred that is fat-free and/or carb-free. My current goals are to maintain.

Value

A 30 serving tub is usually priced between $30-$40. So price per serving is around $1.00-$1.33 per serving. I am fine with paying this price because I really like this protein and I am using it to replace my egg white intake which is about the same in price. I think it's a decent value being that it is a whey alternative. I have not seen any larger sized tub of MRE lite.

Side Effects

None.
I had zero digestive issues with this protein, no gas, and no bloating.

Conclusion

I will keep continuing to buy this protein as long as the price point and quality remain the same. I love how well my stomach feels after drinking this shake. I don't get the bubble guts like I do from whey. I don't think there are better flavors or better mixability by any other company. I also really like that there are 6 sources of protein, helping me feel confident that I am getting a fully spectrum of amino acids. I would be interested to know exactly what the AA spectrum looks like as well as the protein bioavailability of this blend of proteins so that I can compare them to whey, however Redcon1 does not have this information readily available. Thank you for reading my review and feel free to ask any additional questions.