Because of my screwed up sleeping patterns, Doug suggested that I try
G8, and Al was kind enough to send me a tub to use, to see if it made a
difference. It DID - although not the way you might expect (explained
below) - and this is what happened...
What is it?
For more information on G8, review
Finaflex-Redefine Nutrition :: G8.
Formula:
The formula was actually what intrigued me about G8 and the only
reason I said "yes" to trying it [since every other natural Growth
Hormone booster - aside from IGF-2 - has NOT worked with my body and
screwed me up for quite some time on cessation of use (explained
below)].
Smell: Like lemon scented dishwashing liquid.
Taste:
I am not a fan of Lemon flavour in general, but the Lemon Freeze G8
flavour was downright nasty and almost like drinking chalk (if you
ground it up) - one of the worst tasting supplements I have ever used.
Mixability: G8 mixed well with water. No clumps, although a little bit of bubbles on settling.
Texture: Like fruit juice once the "bubbles" settled.
ELEVATE
Growth Hormone Levels:
Although I would have liked to see the changes in my Growth Hormone
levels from pre to post-G8, I did not have bloods done. That said,
Growth Hormone contributes to muscle growth and leanness in females, and
I definitely noticed an INcrease in muscle mass - particularly in my
delts and arms (even though bodyfat INcreased, definition also became
stronger) - over the period of my use of G8 [although my training was
slightly above my Maintenance training levels and my caloric consumption
was almost ~3,000 in excess of my Maintenance calories, any muscle
gains cannot be solely attributed to G8].
Mood and Overall Sense of Feeling: During my use of G8 my mood was all over the place due to external circumstances.
Sex Drive and Libido:
Libido was up and down when using G8 - rather high during the first
week, subsiding a little into the next. Regardless, circumstances meant I
didn't do anything about it.
RESTORE
Insulin-Like Growth Factor Levels:
Although it would have been interesting to see the changes in my
Insulin-Like Growth Factor levels from pre to post-G8, I did not have
bloods done. As mentioned above under "Growth Hormone Levels", "I
definitely noticed an INcrease in muscle mass - particularly in my
delts and arms (even though bodyfat INcreased, definition also became
stronger) - over the period of my use of G8 [although my training was
slightly above my Maintenance training levels and my caloric
consumption was almost ~3,000 in excess of my Maintenance calories, any
muscle gains cannot be solely attributed to G8]."
Dopamine and Serotonin Levels:
Although I would have liked to see the changes in both my Dopamine and
Serotonin levels from pre to post-G8, I did not have bloods done. That
said, I have a Dopamine IMbalance - one of the reasons why most
natural Growth Hormone boosters have the OPPOSITE than INTENDED effect
on me (yes, I know, my body is screwed up) - with mine being TOO LOW.
Not only that, but my Adenosine levels are too HIGH, which comes into
play as well.
Self-Confidence: Supplements don't have an effect on my self-confidence.
RECOVER
Recovery:
My recovery was good. I was training pretty hard, upping the intensity
each time as I could. My second week using G8, I upped the intensity in
resistance sessions by a reasonable amount (which has contributed to my
joint conditioning worsening), albeit going a little "easier" re pm
cardio, using the Recline Bike instead of a 7-mile Run, due to the
increasing pain in my knees.
Sleep:
Sleep was all over the place (see "Sleeping Patterns" under "Other
Notes" below), with the first week I was using G8, UNable to sleep for
~1.5 days, and then - very likely because of the heavy training and lack
of sleep for ~1,5 days - slept for almost HALF a day. Sleep, when got,
was VERY deep and Uninterrupted, although I most often woke very groggy,
not wanting to get up and it taking some time to, feeling like someone
was trying to drill a hole in my head.
OTHER NOTES
Other Effects:
Despite being HIGHLY stressed (one of the only two instances when my
skin can be affected negatively) and during the only time I might see a
blemish or two, it was surprisingly NOT affected by the circumstance, as
clear and smooth as ever, which was nice...Appetite was also
drastically elevated during my use of G8, moreso than my "usual", and
for the two weeks of using G8, I was eating ~10,000 calories on the
"days" when I was AWAKE, bringing me out at an average close to ~7,000
calories per day (since on a couple of days I did not eat at all, due to
rising and training hours) - no wonder my body composition (see "Body
Statistics" under "Other Notes" below) concurrently changed so
drastically (my Maintenance calories are ~4,300 a day)....
Cliffnotes on observations during use and week-post cessation of use of G8:
Training Schedule
Week 1 - four resistance sessions, three days of double cardio (two done
on cardio only days, the other on Full-Body day, two done re 7-mile
run); training all done from ~2200 (instead of usual start from ~0430)
Week 2 - four resistance sessions, three days of double cardio (two done
on resistance training days, only one done re 7-mile run); day off this
week on Tuesday instead of Sunday; training all done from ~0530
(instead of usual start from ~0430)
Week post-cessation of G8 - "easy/deload" week with only three days of
resistance training and four days of cardio, only one session of running
(normally would do 5-7 runs a week)
Sleeping Patterns
Week 1 - no sleep for 1.5 days and then sleep for almost half a day
Week 2 - slept for 4-5 hours daily, albeit all over the place, falling sleep time INconsistent
Week post-cessation of G8 - with the exception of Monday (where no sleep
at all) and Sunday (where slept for ~10 hours), rest of the week
sleeping for ~1 hour early in the day and then 3-5 hours later in the
day most days, waking with appetite HIGH
Body Statistics
Start pre-use of G8 - 8% bodyfat at 108.4 pounds
End of Week 1 - 8.5% bodyfat at 111 pounds (+0.5% bodyfat; +2.6 pounds body mass: +1.837 pounds lean, +1.763 pounds bodyfat)
End of Week 2 - 9% bodyfat at 113.2 pounds (+0.5% bodyfat; +2.2 pounds body mass: +1.447 pounds lean, +0.753 pounds bodyfat)
End of Week post-cessation of G8 - 8.9% bodyfat at 115.2 pounds (-0.1%
bodyfat; +2 pounds body mass: +1.9352 pounds lean, +0.0648 pounds
bodyfat)
CONCLUSION
Overall:
This is rather difficult for me to do, since G8 DID give me great sleep
- when I slept: Deep, UNdisturbed, and restful. BUT, it also severely
messed up my sleeping patterns (which, honestly, even though they have
had their moments of being on track, have not been the same since I came
to the US), which I did not enjoy. And the OTHER effects I experienced,
especially re appetite (although this can also be attributed to
training heavily and being awake for more than a day many days), I did
NOT appreciate (given what my appetite is ALREADY like).
Would I use it again?
I actually STOPPED using G8 after two weeks of use because, despite
the awesome sleep it gave me, it was (and still is) DRASTICALLY
affecting my sleeping patterns, which in turn was having some very
UNwanted effects re other factors. So, no, I would not use G8 again
myself personally.
Would I recommend?
If one is looking for extreme deep and rested sleep, and they have had
no issues (like I have) using natural Growth Hormone boosters in the
past, then yes, I might recommend G8 (any recommendation/s I made re
supplements are based on what will be best for that individual re their
goals and needs and other personal factors, etc.).
