15 replies to this topic

[Mr Serendipity]

OK. So wow. Every time I think I have my supplement regime down, I discover/rediscover something completely amazing.

 

So basically it started on Wednesday. I took a B-Complex called B-Vital by Higher Nature.

One tablet typically provides: 200mg Vitamin C; 25mg Vitamin B1; 16.67mg Vitamin B2; 25mg Niacin; 50mg Pantothenic acid; 16.67mg Vitamin B6; 50µg Folic acid; 50µg Vitamin B12; 25µg Biotin; 50mg Siberian Ginseng; 20mg American Ginseng; 20mg Korean Ginseng.

 

That Wednesday I felt shivery and felt like I was coming down with something. But even though I felt like this, I had to do deliveries for my job, and it felt like some of the best driving I ever done, great reactions, focus, and smooth.

 

Well I did end up coming down with a very bad cold/infection. You know green mucus stuff. I megadosed several times throughout the following days my base supplement stack (Vitamin C, E, Zinc, Ginger) and am just about recovered today (Sunday).

 

However even though this cold was hammering me at the time, I also felt great! I was still taking 1 x B-Complex in the mornings.

 

 

So what effects did the B-Complex have?

 

1. Where I was stuck before, now I'm not. You know when every thing feels like an effort, even the small things. Well no more! You just do things with relatively ease and stress free. No moaning, no lack of energy, you just do things that before felt like an effort or an annoyance. You just have more patience and Zen calmness. The best example I can think of, is helping an older relative with computer problems, and its just no big deal.  

 

2. Mental Energy even with a lack of sleep. OK, so either the B-Complex in the morning or me megadosing my other supplements (for the cold) was giving me too much energy/insomnia, and one day I only got 4 hours sleep. YET! That day I didn't feel sleepy at all or have any mental tiredness, it was absolutely crazy. What's even more crazy was that night (where the previous night I only had 4 hours sleep), I still didn't feel tired at night and trouble falling asleep. Another point to make, even though I was worried logically I wasn't falling asleep, I wasn't getting emotionally stressed over it at all.

 

3. Zen calmness, a stress free life. Well I don't know whether it's complete Zen, but yeah, stress is pretty much non-existent or at least greatly reduced. For example verbal arguments or negativity doesn't really effect you much at all. Everything is just a calm pace of existing.

 

4. Excitement and a cool confidence/positivity in my goals/ideas. Now I've always sort of been excited/confident about my goals/ideas throughout my life, but I've learned not to trust it because it never transfers into real world results. But I believe the excitement before was more related to my mild OCD, thinking about a thought again and again in my head. While now the excitement is more like a real emotion, real excitement.

 

5. Anhedonia cure? It's funny just last week I was contemplating why I still suffer from anhedonia even with my regular supplements (before b-complex). I always felt stuck in a rut, nothing felt pleasurable or gave me pleasure. While I haven't noticed increase in pleasure per se, I don't feel I lack pleasure either at the moment, I don't feel emotional numb/stuck in a rut like I use to.

 

 

Why am I attributing the effects to Thiamine (Vitamin B1) and not the entire B-Complex?

 

While I am getting these effects from a B-Complex (which includes small amounts of ginseng in their forumla). I believe the effects I'm describing are mostly coming from Thiamine.

 

I created a thread here before where I experimented with thiamine and sulbutiamine: Megadosing Thiamine for Motivation and Sexual Arousal?

 

Here's an interesting quote for past me on stress:

 

"Finally when I was done, I get ready and we start to leave, but she's still moaning at me for taking so long, and I'm indifferent to her complaints, so she lashes out and scratches me through my clothes. Then she got upset for lashing out and hurting me (some of my skin was grazed/scraped off), but it honestly didn't bother me at the time or even now. She was so upset with what she had done, that I had to calm her down and tell her it didn't matter, I forgave her, and let's get to the party. But usually something like that would of upset me a lot, because I have the firm belief that if someone can't handle a verbal argument or confrontation, then they should leave it, or not start one, but never resort to violence."

 

And another on motivation: 

 

"So the first thing I want to identify, is I believe sulbutiamine causes a lack of stress in the person, so they don't get completely annoyed and just want to finish what they're doing. The lowering of this stress causes and automatic increase in patience. You don't feel the frustration and anger that you just want to round something off, be done with it, or just give up on it. It's almost you keep doing what your doing until your done, you don't give up, because the stress is not overwhelming you, or making you angry, frustrated, and upset. The second reason I believe sulbutiamine helps with motivation, is because of the excitement and highs in emotions it causes. When you're excited about something, you automatically have a bigger reason to do it, because you want to do it. Probably both these ideas work on exactly the same mechanism, as in by having such high emotions and excitement, your stress and negative emotions are reduced significantly or blocked out."

 

 

Why did I stop taking Thiamine (Vitamin B1) back then?

 

Well back then I was quite foolish with supplements, and I use to megadose things to the extreme (I attribute this to my OCD), and it was no different with Thiamine back then. Reading the thread, I was taking teaspoons of the stuff, so I was getting around 2-5g most likely. 

 

This ended up resulting in the following 3 conclusions on negative effects I made in that thread:

 

1. The first was major restless sleep, I was tossing and turning all night, and woke up never feeling rested.

 

2. The second was neuropathy in my right hand and arm when waking up. Maybe it was major pins and needles, but it was quite scary for me, as I already developed slight neuropathy in my right hand when I messed around with that slimming drug bodybuilders use (DNP).

 

3. The third was I didn't notice any significant improvement with focus, in fact it might have worsened. I was pretty day dreamy, which may have attributed to the time passing faster effect. However the time passing faster effect also disappeared, and I was just left with an unfocused dreaminess.

 

 

Why didn't I take a B-complex in general as part of my stack?

 

Well this was me mainly going on other peoples opinions on longecity. I would read a lot of, no one needs a B-complex, not necessary, useless etc... But a lot of people say the same about taking high doses of Vitamin C, and I would disagree with them on that.

 

Also in recent years I've become a bit conservative with supplementation. I now introduce supplements much more slowly to myself, and only keep them in my stack if I actually see an improvement in my health and well being. I've let go of reading too much into all the positive effects of supplements whatever they may be (vitamin/herb/drug), because they all seem to come with a list of amazing benefits. Rather now I test them and keep them if they work. Smart huh lol.

 

 

Why Thiamine/B-Complex was just what I needed!

 

Thankfully by slowly introducing and learning from the supplements I put into my body. I can say I've slowly chipped away at all my health problems bit by bit by finding the supplements that work.

 

If you've read my thread: Vitamin C for Brain & Nootropic effect

 

Vitamin C pretty much reduced/cured my mild OCD, got rid of my brain fog, but is calming on the mind. I was looking for more energy, and while Vitamin C may have given it, I attribute this with experimenting with DLPA at the same time.

 

So basically I LACKED A DECENT STIMULANT IN MY LIFE. And now I think I've found it.

 

From what I've read from this thread on myprotein (forum now down, use wayback machine): High dose Thiamine 

 

The person experimenting here took 1g everyday for 2 months and still seemed to get results without diminishing returns or a come down from the stimulating effects of B1:

 

"That said I get a significant effect from thiamine HCL, I have been taking between 500mg-1000mg a day for at least that last few weeks and to be honest I've been feeling like I've been on a mild dose of stimulants for that time, without any comedown."

 

"I've still been taking 1g (83,000% RDA) of Thiamine HCL most days now for 2 months, I havn't **** out my liver or turned yellow or anything. I've got an awful lot of mental and physical stamina. Of all substances I've tried thiamine is definitely the "makes life better" supplement. "

 

 

Don't forget I've got great synergy in my supplements at the moment

 

As aforementioned, my current stack has been built up over a lot of time and testing. So I can't say in confidence people will experience similar results. Every supplement I take, has cured something significant in me, and I couldn't imagine where my brain would be if I didn't take Vitamin C, Zinc, and Liquid Magnesium which cured a lot of problems in brain and body. I 100% believe I wouldn't get as good results without having these too. And brands matter for a lot of supplements, while some supplements it doesn't matter what brand you take (for example Vitamin C Ascorbic Acid tablets can be any brand in my opinion). In the end you have to introduce them slowly and focus on the observable effects they have on you, and not just go on what you've read whether it's anecdotal or scientific research.

 

 

End...

[Galaxyshock]

Sulbutiamine makes me happy as a kid in an amusement park and calm like L-theanine ^10, but taken too often results in hyperanticipation and panic symptoms. I guess regular thiamine wouldn't have those issues? those strong B-complexes never had the effects of sulbutiamine though, sulbu feels a bit drug-like.

[baccheion]

AOR Advanced B-Complex has benfotiamine (33.33 mg in one pill or 100 mg in a full serving) and is one of the cleanest b-complex supplements I've seen.

I remember reading something about the body not absorbing more than ~10 mg thiamine (and it not really/readily crossing the blood-brain barrier), hence the use/invention of sulbutiamine to address B1 deficiency.

Sulbutiamine is said to affect D1 receptors (upregulation via decreasing dopamine) which could easily result in more motivation.

Thiamine is said to increase acetylcholine at lower doses (< 100 mg) and GABA at higher amounts (>= 400 mg?).

Edited by baccheion, 23 April 2018 - 07:43 AM.

[Mr Serendipity]

Woooowie!

 

So my cold finally went today, so it took 8 days, with me megadosing my supplements over the last week.

 

Anyway I took 3 x b-complexes this morning as I was quite tired (I've been having a lot of late nights, built up some sleep debt). Then I took my standard supplement stack:

 

Zinc w/Copper

2g Vitamin C

E-400 (Vitamin E)

Ginger

Gingko

 

And had a couple of swigs on my cousins Red Bull. Note I avoid caffeine because it never works out for me. But I wanted to take a small dose of caffeine, along with my supplements to counter balance the negative effects, to help wake me up.

 

Anyway I wasn't full of motivation or anything, but it was the first day back to the gym (after years of being out). So me and my cousin went. 

 

BOOM, WOOOWIE!

 

So even though I wasn't full of motivation or anything, and I started low on my weights again. It just felt soooo easy in a sense. It just felt as though my blood circulation was there, and I could bust those weights out. I did my sets, and usually I want to go home but have to wait for my cousin if I go with him because he takes longer. But no I decided to go for a fast paced walk on the treadmill, and even though time wasn't going fast or anything, it just felt easy to keep on going. Sort of Zen, no hurry up thoughts going within my mind. I would have easily went the 30 minutes for a brisk walk, but the treadmill broke at 21 minutes lol.

 

Anyway I'm definitely psyched. I've had plenty of experience in the past with gym, got to good heavy weights. But I was never taking the basic essentials, which I believe are essential now. Mainly Zinc, Vitamin C, Liquid Magnesium, and B-Complex. So this time round, it feels less mentally and physically exhausting.

 

I also know with my previous experiments with Vitamin C, that it kills my negative inner voice and OCD. I even wrote up about it in my Vitamin C thread, and quoted other people who had a similar effect (killing the negative inner voice). Combine this with the newly discovered B-Complex/Thiamine, and well my mind is good now. Also I discovered with Vitamin C, is it's a very powerful NO booster, and combining that with Gingko is going to make my bodies circulation awesome. Lastly the Zinc + Vitamin C combo will help all my tendons and ligaments grow well as I slowly increase the weights. And liquid magnesium helps keep the muscles relaxed. And all my previous experience with gym, I know exactly what to do, avoid, and prevent injuries. So I feel pretty good about getting back into the gym this time round.

 

People need to get their basic supplement needs down. Seriously. Fuck all the exotic supplement shit or hit and miss nootropics. I don't suffer from Brain Fog anymore, I don't suffer from cramps any more (even if I scrunch up my foot really hard), I don't suffer from mental fatigue anymore, I don't suffer from stress or anger anymore. Get the basic nutrients in and then experiment here and there with extra things. I take Gingko and Ginger, but these are extras for me that have an effect. But I would never choose those over Zinc, Magnesium, B-Complex, Vitamin E, and Vitamin C, because those supplements alone cured most of my problems, and I could drop Ginger and Gingko and not notice much difference. But if I drop the other ones, well I can see and feel the difference.

 

Anyway good luck, and get your basic supplements down, they make gym way easier mentally.

[Mr Serendipity]

OK just a quick update.

 

I experimented with Thianine alone again, 500mg one day, 300mg a different day, and it just gave me brain fog both times. My cousin tried 100mg (just 1 pill), and got the same negative effect.

 

I still believe Thianine is responsible for the motivation effects (and maybe B5 by helping my adrenals). But from my recent experiences, it's best to just take a B-Complex. As you can see in the first post that my B-Complex only has 16.67mg Theanine in it, but it seems like that's all I need to get all the benefits I've been experiencing and am still experiencing (less stress, more zen, more motivation).

Edited by manny, 28 April 2018 - 04:45 PM.

[Mr Serendipity]

Well guys I think B-Complex was the last needed supplement in my stack. I've been going to the gym regularly since I recovered from my flu, and I'm now pushing myself even more by including cardio and increasing my gym days and time exercising because I feel that I can.

 

In fact I'm more confident then I've ever been when it comes to sticking to an exercise regime. Cardio/gym feels sooooo easy atm. I want to go to the gym everyday now, I have so much freaking energy to burn.

 

My plan is:

 

Gym 7 days a week

Mon, Wed, Fri = Weights + 30m Cardio

Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun = 2h Cardio

 

I'll give you an example of what I mean:

 

I'm fat, the biggest I've ever been, and weigh 108kg (238 lbs)! I did my first attempt at 2h cardio yesterday. I use the Elliptical Machine because I don't want to destroy my joints. I would do 30 min, then have a small break, do a few stretches and refill water, and then do another 30 mins and repeat. I ended up doing 1h 30m. What gave out? Not my heart, not my breath/chest, but soreness and pains in various places, like my ankle, side of the leg, joints, and numb toes.

 

But get this, my heart, my speed, was a constant fast speed (no slowing down)! No out of breath, no serious struggle, no stopping whatsoever, I was only sweating a lot! If it wasn't for those other pains, I could have easily kept going and going. And I'm not even worried about those other pains, to me they're just muscles I haven't trained for a long time (because I've only just started doing cardio/legs). Once those weak leg muscles strengthen, I can see myself doing 2 hours a day at a constant speed, every day, easily!

 

Now my heart rate was around 162. My age is 30, so my maximum heart rate is 190. So I was hitting 85% of my maximum heart rate constantly.

 

Today I could only do 30 mins cardio this morning because of time constraints. But my heart rate was around a constant 152 (80%) for those 30 minutes. It already seems like my heart rate's improved, because I was going at the same speed as yesterday.

 

Now I don't put this all down to B-Complex. That was the last piece of my stacks puzzle. The fact that I'm religiously taking my supplement stack twice a day now, getting in 6g of vitamin c in total, and 40mg zinc, obviously helps when it comes to the heart and healthy blood vessels. Plus my previous thread log on Vitamin C, where I discovered how much energy it gave me, cured my brain fog & fatigue, and reduced the inner negative voice. Combined with B-Complex which helps with my motivation/getting out of the rut. Well lets just say I'm finding exercise very easy, and am positive I can keep going this time. 

 

The last point I want to make, is I've been practicing amygdala clicking too since February (I have another thread on that). And I believe I have released certain neurosis through that, which may have attributed to a better psyche or paradigm shift in mentality when dealing with long term goals. But I can't be 100% sure on this. It's more likely down to B-Complex, because I noticed a significant difference with motivation/stuck in the rut problems after I first started taking it (check first post in this thread).

 

Oh my last last point. I think the reason I find exercise easier, is because I've got more energy from taking my supplements regularly. So I generally think more energy gives you better motivation, though it's only a part of it and not the end all.

 

 

If anyones wondering what I take, here is my current awesome supplement regime:

 

Morning:

Gingko Biloba Extract

Ginger Root

Vitamin C (3g)

Zinc (Citrate) w/Copper (Gluconate) (20mg, 1.25mg)

Vitamin E (E400 by Healthy Origins)

Buckthorn Oil

B-Complex

 

Evening (around 7pm):

Same as the morning but excluding B-Complex and Gingko Biloba Extract to help avoid sleep problems

 

Before Bed:

Liquid Magnesium

5-HTP (100mg)

 

[tunt01]

I question whether or not 2 hours of cardio is healthy, particularly if the rest of your routine is largely sedentary.

[Mr Serendipity]

Don't assume my routine is largely sedentary just because I'm currently overweight. I've been hitting the gym for nearly a month now, I wrote about starting weights in my 2nd post of this thread.

Muscle memory is a miraculous thing, your muscles and strength come back so fast. I'm already up to 27.5kg dumbbell bench (that's 27.5kg each hand). My heaviest dumbbell bench was on July 7th 2015 at 37.5kg, so I'm only 10kg behind from 3 years ago, and have only been gyming for 4 weeks. Muscle memory is freaking amazing.

The one thing I've learned, is the body adapts pretty damn quick with cardio. I remember dying on my first session at 5 mins, out of breath and everything. But by the 2nd attempt the next day, I could already measure a marked improvement from the 5 mins from the previous session. Your body adapts fast, hell my heart rate went down from 162 to 152 in 1 day on the machine.

I still think the advantage this time round for me though is all down to the supplements. Ive got them right get this time. The right supplements make a hell of a difference.

[tunt01]

Don't assume my routine is largely sedentary just because I'm currently overweight. I've been hitting the gym for nearly a month now, I wrote about starting weights in my 2nd post of this thread.

Muscle memory is a miraculous thing, your muscles and strength come back so fast. I'm already up to 27.5kg dumbbell bench (that's 27.5kg each hand). 

 

This really has little to do with my point.  You can actually damage your heart and physical well being by over training.  2 hrs is quite a lot of endurance, especially for someone just starting to train again or who is otherwise sedentary and then running 2 hours straight.  It's not good for the body.

 

Beyond 45 to 60 mins, I'm not sure how much value there is for endurance training.

[Mr Serendipity]

 

 

In some individuals, long-term excessive endurance ET may cause adverse structural and electrical cardiac remodeling, including fibrosis and stiffening of the atria, RV, and large arteries. This theoretically might provide a substrate for atrial and ventricular arrhythmias and increase CV risk. Further investigation is warranted to identify the exercise threshold for potential toxicity, screening for at-risk individuals, and ideal ET regimens for optimizing CV health. For now, on the basis of animal and human data, CV benefits of vigorous aerobic ET appear to accrue in a dose-dependent fashion up to about 1 hour daily, beyond which further exertion produces diminishing returns and may even cause adverse CV effects in some individuals.

 

Don't make flat out claims that it's not good for your body when the conclusion itself isn't conclusive for everyone.

 

I could point out to this meta-study where scientists determined 2-3 hours of exercise was optimum for reducing a lot of chronic diseases: http://ergo-log.com/...three-hour.html

 

 

The researchers accessed 174 epidemiological studies on the relationship between physical exercise and the risk of chronic disease. They then gathered all the data and reanalysed it. The researchers confined themselves to ischaemic heart disease [heart attacks in plain language], strokes, breast cancer, bowel cancer and type-2 diabetes.

 

...

 

For most of the chronic diseases that the researchers investigated, the relationship between physical exercise and the risk of contracting the disease looks like the one shown in the figure below. The one illustrated is for heart attacks.

The more exercise people get, the lower the chance of a heart attack. The most protective effect of exercise is gained by doing between 3000 and 4000 Met minutes of physical activity. Doing more exercise than that will not have a bad effect, but is unlikely to add any health benefit.

 

The figure below shows the effect of physical activity on the chance of heart attack, stroke, breast cancer, bowel cancer and type-2 diabetes.

 

 

The study published recently in the BMJ suggests that positive health effects will only be gained by doing much more than 600 Met minutes of exercise – somewhere between 3000 and 4000 Met minutes to be exact. So that's seven times more than that half an hour of walking.

 

 

Now don't get me wrong, I don't actually believe too much cardio is healthy. But I honestly don't think 2 hours 4 days a week is too much, especially in an individual who religiously takes his supplements twice a day, which include a combined total of 6g of Vitamin C and 40mg of Zinc, two nutrients designed for the heart and healthy blood vessels. I also take liquid magnesium, vitamin e, and b-complex (among other things which I've previously posted). I've tested my stack, and added slowly to it. I've felt healthier when I got my stack right while being overweight, then I did back when I wasn't overweight but wasn't taking these nutrients. I've also cured my peyronies disease (something apparently incurable, and that's a lot to do with fibrosis), jock itch (another thing supposedly incurable), brain fog, brain fatigue, cramps (I can't physically cramp myself even if I scrunch up my foot) and probably a few other things I can't even think about.

 

Anyway I'm not really hear to debate, I'm only posting my experiences. I think there is too much BS and conflicting studies out there, along with cult mentality on the only right way. Just look at Jack Lalanne, he exercised everyday of his life (after the age of 15), and his routine was 90 mins weight lifting and 30 mins of vigorous swimming (a total of 2 hours), until he died at the ripe age of 96, and without suffering from nearly all the ailments most old folk get. Oh and let's not list his achievements, for example at age 70 handcuffed, shackled, and fighting strong winds and currents, he towed 70 rowboats, one with several guests, from the Queen's Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary, 1 mile!

 

So I'm not really worried if I do 2h cardio 4 times a week, and weights + 30 mins cardio 3 days a week. If I start feeling like shit after a period of when my body should have adapted by then, or that I'm overexercising/under fueling my body, then I'll re-examine myself and adapt my routine and diet.

 

Remember what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger! Oh and if it does kill you, you were going to die eventually anyway, so accept it. No one with a perfect diet or exercise regime escaped death, ask Jack Lalanne, God rest his soul.

 

 

Edited by manny, 19 May 2018 - 08:59 PM.

[John250]

As a former competitive bodybuilder I can tell you that your regimen is not that over the top. If you were weight training for 2hrs 7 days a week that would be one thing. But it would be more of a taxation on your CNS versus heart depending on the type of weightlifting you do. Also caloric intake plays a huge role. If you are in too far of a caloric deficit you can cause more damage working out only 30 minutes a day versus two hours a day. I’m a big fan of flooding your body with both BCAA’s and EAA’s pre/intra/post workout.

I’ve never heard of amygdala clicking but I just read up on it. Seems interesting. Have you ever tried Sceletium tortuosum? Seems to have a big impact on the amygdala.

[Mr Serendipity]

Good points John. I've never heard of Sceletium tortuosum but will look into it.

 

So my exercise regime had a halt for a week as we spent a week on holiday in a shitty resort with the worst unusable gym. But I restarted this Tuesday.

 

I've lowered my exercise to 1 hour a day, pure cardio (elliptical trainer/cross trainer). I plan on going back to weights once I shed some of this excessive fat. I started off around 108kg, weighed this morning and I'm 105.6kg (if I remember correctly); atm I'm not really tracking my weight properly, I'm just focusing on trying to stick to a daily routine, and hop on the scales every now and then to make sure I don't put on anymore. Once I hit around 85kg weight, most of my excessive fat will have gone, which I'll then move onto a weights + 30 min cardio routine. Also if we say I can lose 1kg (2.2lbs) a week with 1 hour a cardio daily, it's still going to take me 20 weeks (4.6 months) to reach my 85kg goal, and that's without missing a day.

 

Diet seems to be good. My appetite did feel like it increased one day, but I think I have a good enough hold on it atm.

 

Bad thing is I fell into the bad habit of smoking again which I had just recently kicked by vaping, due to the fact of not bringing my vape on holiday with me, and then buying cigarettes there. I'm hoping to get off this as soon as possible again.

 

Benefits of the cardio. Well there have been a few times my erections wouldn't just go down. I remember lying in bed trying to fall asleep, got turned on a little by my wife, and it just stayed erect for 15 minutes by itself while I was trying to fall asleep. The other time was after having sex with my wife and cumming, it wouldn't go down afterward for about 5 minutes. But those are the only 2 times I can recall. Oh and my libido has been up as well, but note thiamine (Vit B1) can also help with this.

 

The reason I've lowered my cardio to 1 hour, was because I wanted something more reasonable I could stick to. I think that day I felt I could go forever easily might have been an exception, like a stimulant high, I believe I had some red bull as well. However I tried experimenting with red bull (caffiene) a couple days this week at various doses (like 1/3 of a can or full can), but in the end I never replicated that stimulant high, and caffeine just makes me feel like shit all day even if I just have 1 full can of red bull (77.4mg of caffeine, less than a cup of coffee). I also tried with cocoa as I've had great stimulant experiences with that in the past, but it did nothing. Plus the biggest downside of the red bull/caffeine, was needing to shit while exercising. While I found out if I just take my supplements, I don't get that urge or need to.

 

I wasn't feeling it today (to go exercise), and with my recent past experiments trying caffeine or cocoa, I knew I needed something else. So I decided to try 3 x b-complex instead of just the 1 I usually take, and it helped wake up my mind and get my ass out of the house and into the gym, and no feeling of needing a shit when exercising either. However I better burn these b-complexes up, because taking 3 also made me more agitated, but after my hour of exercise it had gone.

 

So my main focus now is experimenting with 3 x b-complex in the morning to wake me up/stimulate me, keep going to the gym daily and doing an hour of cardio, and quit smoking again.

 

If I can keep up 1 hour daily cardio for a month, that will be a miracle in itself, and I'm sure it has a lot do with the b-complex. However I will make the point, exercising isn't super easy, but doable. So I'd say the b-complex gives me that extra nudge, and rest is will.

 

But let's see what I report at the end of this month.

[Mr Serendipity]

OK here's a quick update.

 

1. I've experimented with higher doses of b-complex (yesterday I took 5 in the morning, but ended up having insomnia at night). So today I am going back to 2 a day. Higher doses does make exercise easier, but is not worth the insomnia side effect.

 

2. I've now lowered my cardio down to 30 mins a day. I feel this is the perfect amount for my willpower to be able to exercise daily, without the need to have stimulants like caffeine or high doses of b-complex to do it. 1 hour started to feel like a real drag and bore, while 30 minutes I can push through with sheer willpower alone, making it easier to stick to daily.

 

Also I found a study in 2012 where those exercising an hour a day lost less weight overall than those exercising 30 minutes a day! 

 

https://www.webmd.co...ise-shed-pounds

 

 

30-Minute Workout Does the Trick

 

In the study, researchers followed 60 moderately overweight men who wanted to lose weight. The men were randomly put into either a moderate or high aerobic exercise group.

 

The high-exercise group was instructed to exercise hard enough to produce a sweat, like from running or cycling, for 60 minutes a day. The moderate group only had to sweat for 30 minutes a day.

 

After 13 weeks, the study showed 30 minutes of exercise a day produced similar or even better results than 60 minutes a day.

 

The men who exercised 30 minutes a day lost an average of 2 pounds more of body weight than those who worked out for an hour.

 

Researchers say those who exercised 30 minutes a day actually burned more calories than they should have according to their exercise program.

 

 

In contrast, the men who exercised 60 minutes a day lost less body weight relative to the energy they burned during their workouts. The extra 30 minutes of exercise did not appear to provide any additional weight loss in body weight or fat.

 

 

I also feel lowering my cardio down to 30 minutes will help prevent injury and make it easier to stick to cutting calories through my diet.

 

 

3. I quit smoking again finally. And my sleeping pattern seems to be regular (touch wood).

 

4. I weighed 103.9kg this morning.

 

 

This is the longest I've stuck with a cardio exercise regime, though I've stuck with a weight lifting regime much longer when I was at university. I've still got a long way to go to get to my ideal weight (around 85kg I reckon), but I'm hoping I can make cardio exercise a daily part of my life for the rest of my life, so time to get there isn't an issue.

 

I do like to think far ahead when I have to switch to weights + cardio. Exercise is becoming boring (and most of the time will be), so I'm restrategizing my future workouts to keep it up regularly. I don't think I'll be able to stick to weights + 30 minutes cardio in the same session daily. But I might do 30 minutes of cardio 7 days a week in the morning (like I'm currently trying to do), and then weight lift in the evening 3-7 days a week. Because I feel the 30 minutes of cardio daily is so beneficial to me, I really don't want to give that up or get lazy. And I feel adding weights in the same session might do that, so splitting them up might help when it comes to willpower. Plus all the studies I've seen on ergo log, show weight lifting at night helps grow muscles more than morning workouts; my guess is because you go to sleep sooner after you've damaged your muscles, meaning your body can repair itself quicker after the workout with the benefits of better repair only sleep can give you (such as higher levels of hgh).

[jacsac]

How are things progressing?

[theobromananda]

Are you sure it is not the combination of ginsengs? Korean/Red Ginseng is incredibly stimulating and normally reserved for older people; when I take any amount I am more strongly stimulated than on any illicit drug/any amount of caffeine.

[Mr Serendipity]

Are you sure it is not the combination of ginsengs? Korean/Red Ginseng is incredibly stimulating and normally reserved for older people; when I take any amount I am more strongly stimulated than on any illicit drug/any amount of caffeine.

This is probably the correct answer. I’ve taken b vitamins in my multivitamin for ages now, as well as benfotiamine, and don’t get these motivating effects. So I reckon you were right, it was from the 3 ginsengs in the supplement. I’m going to try this supplement again as I’ve recently quit smoking and  I’m trying to get back into exercise again.