Pyruvate vs. L-carnitine: Which one should I take?

Look, nobody's actually losing weight just by taking L-carnitine. Period.

I see there’s no point here. I was simply looking for an answer from someone who has actually used all of these products.
I really have no interest in trying to convince anyone of anything, nor do I want anyone attempting to talk me out of my own beliefs.
I sense a very negative attitude here, and I don't feel like continuing this discussion.
I didn't come here to argue with anyone.

I'm taking the Omega from Nature's Bounty—it's the 1000mg tablets, which pack 180mg of EPA and 120mg of DHA...

Linda Castillo94 said:I've been working out for about a year now, and I've stuck strictly to L-carnitine.
I know the difference between training with nothing in my system versus using L-carnitine. The results are definitely better when you use the supplement. That said, I don't think these things work the same way for everyone; for some people, there's zero difference, while for others, it makes all the difference.
I honestly can't tell how much MuscleTech is padding their sales numbers since the price for a box of ampoules is basically the same for both (though, okay, the pirouette version is slightly pricier). But the reason I actually started this thread is because the descriptions claim it has the same effect as L-carnitine, just with an extra kick to speed up metabolism—which is a massive need for me, since mine is painfully slow..

Try pairing L-carnitine with a fat burner! It helps transport those free fatty acids so your body can actually burn them for fuel. Of course, that assumes you're actually hitting the gym daily and eating right. If you want to go all out, you could also toss in some immune support—like royal jelly or bee pollen—along with some Omega 3..😉

Linda Castillo94 said:and I already gave you my answer to that... maybe try actually reading for once ☕

Fine, I read it!
From what I can see, you wrote that people around here don't have much experience using L-carnitine. I don't know about everyone else, but I certainly do. To be honest, I used to think I was sweating more just because I was taking it—but I'm starting to think that whole placebo effect isn't just some myth everyone talks about. These days, I'm sweating like crazy during every single workout even without any L-carnitine supplements!

The way I see it, everyone thinks if you just dissolve an ampoule of carnitine, you'll turn into a puddle in the sun. Yeah, right... they sold everyone on that gimmick, and now every girl trying to drop her body fat percentage is basically injecting herself with it!
That's why you see all those "shape and shake" products out there—shakes with added L-carnitine and shakes without it... blah, blah, blah. In reality, most of it is just marketing fluff for people who want a quick fix. As far as I can tell, that entire powder drink is basically just a glorified Gatorade! ☕ Only it's ten times more expensive!

And at the end of the day, your body produces its own L-carnitine anyway! So, you don't even really need it! 🤷

But like I said before! If taking carnitine makes you happy and you feel better doing it, then go ahead and keep taking it! 😉

Linda Castillo94 said:...The results are better with that supplement.... ..

🤷 What kind of results? 🤷

How much do you run at 6.2 miles, what's your 800m swim time, how high can you jump, or can you even crush 112 miles on a bike in 6 hours???

This is a hobbyist forum, yet every other post is about supplements—is this one better or is that one better 🤣

It’s like watching Gebre and Phelps debate ☕

jadetiger962 said:L-carnitine is absolute garbage. A total waste of cash.

Look, L-carnitine isn't trash, you just have to know how to actually use it.
It’s a seriously useful supplement, especially if you're stacking it with a solid fat burner.

Dennis Lewis6 said:L-carnitine isn't garbage; you just have to know how to use it properly.
It's actually a pretty useful supplement, especially if you pair it up with a decent fat burner.

Go back and give my previous post another read:

jadetiger962 said:http://www.forum.us/showthread.php?p...ne#post7380678

😂

jadetiger962 said:Go back and read the post in the link again:

This is a total joke. 😂

People are actually out here recommending L-carnitine to folks who once a week play 🤣handball
.
Are you kidding me? That's not even a workout.🙄

Honestly, if you really want to get your money's worth, why not just invest in a solid biochemistry or physiology textbook? You could actually learn what L-carnitine and pyruvate do instead of guessing. Think about it... Pyruvate is just the end product of sugar breakdown during glycolysis before it heads straight into the Krebs cycle. If you subtract the 2 ATPs lost by skipping the glycolysis step, you’re basically left with the exact same energy yield as if you had just drank plain water. But hey, if you really want to drop serious cash on that, be my guest.

As for L-carnitine, it acts as the transporter that moves fat into the mitochondria. Believing that having more transporters will somehow speed up your fat metabolism is like thinking you'll use more electricity at home just because you have more power strips plugged into the walls. Fat gets burned when your body needs it, and trust me, your own natural supply of L-carnitine is more than enough to handle the job.

gentletiger46 said:I suggest you take your money and buy a decent textbook on biochemistry or physiology instead. Use that to actually learn what L-carnitine and pyruvate are for. Pyruvate is just the end metabolic product of sugar breakdown during glycolysis, which then feeds right into the Krebs cycle. If you subtract the 2 ATPs lost because you skipped glycolysis, you end up with the exact same amount of energy—it’s basically like drinking sugar water. If you want to pay a premium for that, be my guest.

L-carnitine is just the transporter that moves fat into the mitochondria. Thinking you'll burn fat faster just by having more transporters is like thinking you'll use more electricity at home just because you have more outlets installed. Fat gets burned when your body needs it, and your own natural L-carnitine levels are already plenty to handle the transport.

🙄
What kind of philosophy is that...☕
Thanks, we're well aware...😉
The debate was about what works better and if they actually do anything...😠

gentletiger46 said:I suggest you take that money and buy a decent textbook on biochemistry or physiology instead—at least then you might actually learn what L-carnitine and pyruvate are and how they function. Pyruvate is just the end metabolic product of sugar breakdown during glycolysis, which then feeds straight into the Krebs cycle. If you subtract the 2 ATPs lost because you've bypassed glycolysis, you're left with the exact same amount of energy as if you'd just drunk a glass of sugar water. But hey, if you want to throw your money away on that, be my guest.

L-carnitine is just the transporter that moves fat into the mitochondria. Thinking you'll burn fat faster just because you have more transporters is like thinking you'll use more electricity at home just because you have more electrical outlets installed. Fat gets burned when your body actually needs it, and your own natural supply of L-carnitine is already more than enough to handle the transport.

I honestly had no idea what pyruvate even was👍. thanks for at least explaining it to me

There isn't a single shred of research out there that actually proves L-carnitine does anything at all. I'm talking strictly about evidence-based medicine here. Period.

@ Nicholas Kern90. What’s the deal with that Omega 3 you picked up from CVS, and what happens if you actually overdo it on Vitamin E?😕, I’m currently taking about 2 to 4 daily—is there even a safe limit? Once I burn through my current stash, I'll probably just grab one of those massive 1,000-count bulk packs from TP-a.com

Carl Taylor said:There isn’t a single study out there proving L-carnitine actually works. I'm talking about real evidence-based medicine here.

@ Nicholas Kern90. What's the deal with that Omega 3 from Walmart and Vitamin E? What happens if you overdose on Vitamin E?😕 I'm taking 2 to 4 a day right now—what's the limit? Once I run through this stash, I'll just grab a 1000-count bulk pack from TP-a.com

Don't overdo it on Vitamins A, D, E, or K... check Google for the side effects, just like you would for RDA... I don't know off the top of my head.

Dennis Lewis6 said:🙄
what kind of philosophy is that...☕
thanks, we're already aware of that part...😉
the whole debate was actually about which one works better and if they even do anything at all...😠

If you already knew all this, then there shouldn't really be any doubt left about whether it works.

ironwolf52 - my pleasure!

gentletiger46 said:If you already knew how this worked, you wouldn't be having second thoughts about it.

Siki - happy to help!

Look, I never actually asked the question, so I'm not exactly "in a dilemma" here.😉

P.S. Before you jumped down my throat, maybe take a quick peek at my profile so you realize I'm a guy.😠