Is CLA for weight loss something you’re considering trying?  You certainly wouldn’t be alone, or misguided.

In all my years working with or within the Fitness industry, I’ve found that the number one most common body composition goal of gym goers has to do with leaning out or losing weight.  Even the GymRats who are focused on packing on muscle will at some point try to lean out a little bit and shed a pound or two of body fat if they can.  There are just about as many supplements out there touting weight loss and fat burning as there are unused gym memberships (and that’s a lot). So what’s worth trying and what can you expect? Here’s my Trusted Nutrients Review:

In one of my recent 1st Phorm Reviews I examined thermogenic supplements and specifically 1st Phorm Commander.  These are hugely popular weight lifting supplements and function in part by raising the heart rate (often with caffeine) which in turn increases body temperature and “burns” calories.  These supplements are often stacked with many other ingredients to form “proprietary” blends.

Do fancier, more expensive products work better?  Or are you simply paying more for the glossy magazine advertisements and slick product packaging?

What is Conjugated Linoleic Acid (or CLA)

Fats or rather fatty acids are a dietary necessity that facilitate digestion and metabolism.  The play an important role in the body’s ability to utilize fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, K and the Carotenoids.  If you were to eliminate all fats from your diet, your body would turn to proteins and carbohydrates to try to compensate for their absence, but with limited success.¹  Linoleic acid is one fatty acid that cannot be duplicated or produced by the body in any way.  It must be obtained from food or supplements. CLA is related to the omega-6 fatty acids that you may be more familiar with (which is / are another essential element the body cannot produce itself.)

CLA for Weight Loss

Obviously there is no replacement for eating a nutritionally sound diet and maintaining a good workout routine, however there’s nothing wrong with enhancing that with supplements (provided you’re cleared by your physician to experiment with them.)  As I explained earlier, I’ve tried more thermogenic products than I care to remember including 1st Phorm Commander.  To explore taking a more holistic approach to my weight lifting supplements I decided to research and experiment with more natural options.

The reported benefits of CLA are far reaching.  A sub-component of CLA called isomers have been shown to have the potential as an anti-carcinogenic agent. CLA has also been shown to enhance the immune system, lower insulin resistance and control cholesterol!  Find a weight lifting supplement “stack” that can make those claims!

The argument that CLA helps to aid in weight loss and the reduction of body fat has also been studied. At the turn of the century the Journal Of Nutrition released it’s findings that CLA reduces fat while preserving muscle tissue.  In the study the control group that consumed a CLA supplement lost more body fat than the comparable control group that consumed a placebo.²  The study found that just over 3 grams of CLA was the level needed to see a marked weight loss response.

Trusted Nutrients Review – CLA

After doing a bit of homework on Amazon, I decided to purchase my CLA from Trusted Nutrients. I was impressed with their communication and education of customers and the knowledge they shared.  Their CLA-1500 product is a softgel that is derived from Safflower Oil.  2-3 softgels per day will give you the 3 grams of CLA mentioned above.

Keep in mind that when you see all the sexy commercial products leaping off the page of your fitness magazine, that these companies are spending an exorbitant about of money to advertise and convince you their product is better.  The consumer ends up paying for that advertising through inflated retail prices!  Trusted Nutrients puts their effort into producing natural products at the most affordable prices possible.  What other company staffs Certified Nutrition Consultants to help you with your supplement choices?  This is just my first Trusted Nutrients Review, however I’m trying several of their products. I’ll being sharing my opinions about those supplements as well!

¹Garrison, Robert, Jr. M.A., R.Ph. (1995) “The Lipids,” The Nutrition Desk Reference

²Shoman, Mary (2014) “Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) Supplements May Speed Weight Loss,” thyroid.about.com

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