Next time you’re in the drug store, take a hard look at all of the available “fat burners” for sale. There are DOZENS of them on the shelves, just begging for your dollars. The average in price from a low of $20 to a high of $75 or more, in some cases a LOT more! Take a closer look at the label. They’re usually dressed up caffeine, sometimes with a sprinkling of herbal diuretics. Still, others offer compounds such as CLA, or Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Green Coffee bean, etc. The list goes on and on.

The long and the short of it is that these expensive and over-hyped weight loss formulas all have virtually ZERO science to back their claims. Instead, what if there was an incredibly effective (and CHEAP) OTC diet aid that really worked? One that showed fat loss preferentially in the abdomen. Or one that increases the “punch” of caffeine, ephedrine and other proven thermogenic like EGCG from Green Tea? Well, it’s out there today in the form of Tagamet (aka Cimetidine HCL). For a paltry $5, you get 60, 200mg tabs at your local big-box drug store.

CIMETIDINE: WHAT IS IT?

Cimetidine is an OTC histamine blocker used to treat gastric acid and peptic ulcers. If you dig deep enough though, you’ll find several studies found it reduces weight in healthy overweight subjects. Although the mode of action isn’t completely understood, a prevailing theory is that it suppresses hunger via a satiety peptide, cholecystokinin. Whatever it is, I can vouch for the fact it absolutely crushes appetite.

The last known studies on cimetidine for weight loss were published in 2000. In the study that caught my eye, those using Cimetidine not only lost fat preferentially around the waist – they kept it off vs. controls not using it (1).

CIMETIDINE: WHAT ELSE DOES IT DO?

Cimetidine also happens to extend the duration of action and “punch” of other medications, among them caffeine. This is a double-edged sword, one which you should approach cautiously. Still, it gives us some inkling as to what else might stack well with it.

CIMETIDINE: STACKS WELL WITH?

A dirt-cheap favorite of mine is Cimetidine + EGCG and caffeine. The ideal is 300mg of EGCG, 200mg of caffeine paired with 200mg of Cimetidine up to 3x’s daily.

While you’re there, look into their generic caffeine tabs, brand name “Jet Alert”. REASON: You get 90, 200mg tabs for around $3. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry watching people walk out of there having paid $25 or more for 1,3, 7 trimethylxanthine. Oops, I mean… caffeine... You get a much more favorable price point, by purchasing Jet-Alert.

CIMETIDINE SOLO

Finally, one very desirable quality of cimetidine is that it isn’t a stimulant. As such, you can take it to crush appetite in the afternoon right up to the evening and it won’t interfere with your sleep.

So there you have it: A dirt-cheap dieting aid that magnifies the fat loss, hiding in plain sight! In a future article, I’ll detail another obscure fat loss agent, this one with testosterone boosting properties as well.

References

  1. Birketvedt, GS. Et al. Combination of diet, exercise and intermittent treatment of cimetidine on body weight and maintenance of weight loss. A 42 months follow-up study. Med Sci Monit. 2000 July-Aug;6(4):699-703.