My Arginine Mix From Life Enhancement

This is an unpaid, unsolicited endorsement.

239 lb. and the Miracle of Cinnamon

I fell under 240! Yea! For only the fourth or fifth time since the early 90's I have fallen below 240 lb. The lowest was 228 in late 2003, early 2004.

To review: On June 23 of this year I weighed 252 lb. Shortly thereafter, I restarted the Atkins diet. Of course I am usually sloppy in its implementation which is why I am reluctant to call it Atkins. I call it a high protein diet.

Usually I eat a tomato/day. I eat a few salads and a few store-bought crispy stringbeans and a few ounces of unshelled sunflower seeds.

One reason for my success (roughly 2 lb. per week) is that I have attended fewer weddings, cook-outs, social events this summer. Not through a policy of social isolation but probably coincidence and/or the dismal economy. At any rate, social isolation has certainly improved my dietary success.

Reason number two: Cinnamon.

Just a teaspoon of cinnamon makes the tonnage go down
The tonnage go down
The tonnage go down
In the most delightful way

Through the use of cinnamon and arginine supplements I have cut down to two meals/day. Of course, I have been taking arginine for over 20 years. So the improved results have to be credited to cinnamon.

I work M-F 3-11PM. I usually eat a large protein meal at 1PM. I nibble unshelled sunflower seeds (I swallow the shells. Fiber nonpareil) on my grueling hour or so commute. From 3 to 11 has been problematic before. For better or worse, I have access to free food. And it's gooood! Pharmacy reps shower my bosses with manna from heaven. Upscale manna. Gourmet manna. Manna divine.

And if the pillboys did not provide enough temptation, my kindly co-workers are forever offering to share their lunches, their dinners, their snacks. They even cook for me and offer to buy me sandwiches and pizza and Chinese food. Gluttony is always but a syllable away.

In the past, I would get so hungry that I would yield to temptation. But now I am able to curb my appetite with a teaspoon of McCormick cinnamon every three or so hours. I also take arginine 1x per shift. Both arginine and cinamon elevate blood sugar. There are redundant hunger signals but the ones associated with low blood sugar are probably the worst--fatigue, irritability, loss of mental focus, headache to name but a few. I cannot perform my work duties when I am extremely hungry and the cinnamon and arginine help me to do so.

Once or twice/week the supplements will underperform and I will be HUNGRY! I carry packaged salami with me. 4-8 oz. of processed meat and it's back to work I go. Yes, I would rather taste the piece of heaven that only a pharmacy rep can provide (referring to their food, not their product) but I also want to lose weight. I want to have one wardrobe, not three. I want to give some baggy clothes away.

I sometimes eat a small amount of salami before commuting home. Around 12:30 AM I eat my second and final meal of the day. If I cheat on carbs, this is when I do so. I love killer carbs as much as anyone. :(

The 240 lb. mark is big. I am back in the game.

Temporarily Suspending Arginine, Glutamine, and Whole Sunflower Seeds

Three days ago I discontinued arginine, glutamine and whole sunflower seeds. For whatever reason, one of those things, or the combination of those things was preventing me from losing weight. When you are burning fat on a high protein diet, you can taste it. It's an acquired taste but it's reassuring. And of course I brush my teeth frequently when I diet.

The glutamine might be the culprit. I have suspended glutamine several times because I have not resolved the excitotoxin controversy. It is a topic I hope to explore at this website in the not too distant future. I have also suspended whole sunflower seeds because they do contain carbohydrates. For the same reason, I have discontinued salads and I drink most of my coffee black. A little half-n-half here and there but mostly I drink it black.

Lastly I have given up the stevia-sweetened arginine. Stevia is another of those controversies I want to explore at this web sight. But for now, I want to discuss arginine. I am 51 years old and I have been taking arginine supplements almost daily for over 21 years. Arginine did not help me pack on the muscle the way I wanted it to. Nor did it help me lose weight. However, it probably did make me strong and it probably does help me to lift weights without getting sore muscles.

Maybe things will change soon but right now I can only get to the gym once or twice per week. Even on those occassions, my time is limited. In my opinion the most efficient calorie burn is a routine of weight lifting using heavy weights and few repetitions. Yeah, yeah, yeah Mr. Testosterone we know free weights are more macho but I don't have all day to fiddle around with free weights. I use machines (except for some dumbbell exercises) because it takes all of five seconds to set the weight (except on the leg press but I can't find a machine substitute.)

Considering that I am 51, fat, and have lead a sedentary life, I am surprisingly strong. I max out on a lot of the machines and I am at 70-90% capacity on the other machines. I attribute this to amino acids, especially arginine. As I have mentioned, my muscles never get sore, no matter how much I lift. Tired, yes. Sore, no.

I have hit plateaus before where I just stopped losing. In 2008, a reasonablly-priced gym opened in my area and I became a member. I thought that exercise might be the missing component in my weight loss regime. Not a lot of success in the first year but now I have this site going and that motivates me to succeed by being ever mindful of details.

But without arginine I don't feel confident going to the gym. Part of me is saying "what's the point?" All of me is saying, "what's the point?" Without arginine or something like arginine, strenuous exercise probably does more harm than good, at least with people over 30. Might as well treadmill for hours and hours like those pot-bellied seniors.

I want to get back to the gym. The plan is to start taking arginine 1-2 tbsp daily instead of the 6 tbsp, twice daily. I then plan to increase the amount for as long as I can still taste the fat burn. Maybe stevia is innocent. maybe it was glutamine that was stalling my weight loss. Maybe it was the whole sunflower seeds. At any rate, I hope to return to the gym tomorrow.