I Tried the Entire Product Line from Biotrust Nutrition. Here’s What Happened.

BioTrust is a nutrition supplement company that sells high-quality products for muscle building, fat loss, and overall health.  A few years ago, I went all out with BioTrust.  I got on their mailing list.  I ordered their entire product line.  I read their e-book 53 Fat Burning Smoothies & Milkshakes.  I read their physical book Belly Fat Free.

So what was the result?  Did I get six-pack abs?  Was it all a waste of money?

This article was originally written in 2014. BioTrust’s product line has expanded considerably since then, but this article is still relevant today.

Disclaimer: In this article, I  discuss my own opinions and/or observations on health topics.  I am not a doctor.  The information here are only observations and opinions, not medical advice.  Please consult your doctor before making any changes that might affect your health.

Round 1

So a $460 investment and a week later this is what I received at my doorstep:

That is:

• 1 bottle of AbsorbMax
• 1 bottle of LeptiBurn
• 1 bottle of Pro-X10
• 1 bottle of IC-5
• 1 bottle of BCAA Matrix
• 1 box of Protein Cookies
• 1 box of Protein Bars
• 3 Bottles of BioTrust Low Carb (Vanilla Cream flavor)
• 3 Bottles of BioTrust Low Carb (Milk Chocolate flavor)
• The order also came with a PDF copy of “53 Fat Burning Smoothies”

After receiving the package, I went to work planning out how I would use these products.  I decided to ration out everything over the course of three months according to this schedule:

• 1 serving “Low Carb” protein powder per day, preferably in the form of a breakfast smoothie
• 1 protein cookie per week when hunger or cravings strike
• 3 protein bars per month for use when I need an energy kick before a workout
• First two weeks: Pro-X10
• Second two weeks: Pro-X10 + AbsorbMax
• Third two weeks: AbsorbMax + IC5
• Fourth two weeks: IC5 + Leptiburn
• Fifth two weeks: Leptiburn
• Sixth two weeks: BCAA Matrix

I hoped to eat well, get plenty of rest, exercise, and take these supplements during the three months to lose about 24 pounds of body fat.

The results were a bit disappointing, to be honest.  I can’t put all the blame on BioTrust, because I hadn’t done my part in the “eat well, get plenty of rest, exercise” parts.  I had quite a bit of work for my day job to pretty much kill the “eat well, get plenty of rest” portion.  I did okay with the exercise part, doing about 15 minutes of weights and 15 minutes of cardio most days.

My body fat and weight were about the same as when I started.  So what does that say about BioTrust products (except BCAA Matrix, which I hadn’t gotten to yet)?  Not a whole lot.  It just means that they aren’t magic pills.

Pro-X10 and AbsorbMax weren’t supposed to affect my fat burning.  They were supposed to repair my GI tract, which it’s hard for me to tell if it was effective.

IC5 was supposed to allow my body to burn carbs rather than store them as fat.  No magic there.  I definitely ate a lot of carbs while I was taking the IC5, and no change in body fat.  (However, maybe I was taking in too many carbs, and perhaps my weight would have gone up if I wasn’t taking the IC5)

I took the LeptiBurn with no visible results.

As for the protein powder, protein cookies, and protein bars, I did think I got a little more muscular than when I started.  I was using my bathroom scale for a rough estimate of body fat, and even though it didn’t show much change, I also knew it wasn’t a very accurate method of measuring body fat.

53 Fat Burning Smoothies & Milkshakes

One of the things BioTrust sent me as part of my order of their entire product line was an e-book entitled “53 Fat Burning Smoothies & Milkshakes”.  I read through the e-book and decided to try all 53 shakes, one per day.

Which smoothie was my favorite?

Well, I was a big fan of most of the shakes involving chocolate — Chocolate Lover’s, Peanut Butter Cup, Chocolate Cherry, and Choco-mint were all heavenly indulgences.  There were a few surprises, however.  The Apple Cinnamon smoothie was so amazing, like an apple pie in a cup.  The Green Tea Protein smoothie was really good as well.  Popeye’s Super Spinach smoothie was surprisingly good.  I also really enjoyed the Creamy Vanilla Mint, Orange Creamsicle, and PB&J smoothies.  Chocolate Turtle was delicious, but I couldn’t enjoy it knowing that it had raw egg in it.

I also tried some that bombed for me.  The Blue Bomber (fitting name?) smoothie was the worst one by far.  It was way too thick but tasted so flat after thinning it down with more liquid and adding more stevia sweetener.  Banana Split also came out way too thick and didn’t taste all that great.  The Veggie Lover’s Smoothie is a bit of an acquired taste.  I suppose if you love juicing and drinking vegetables, this one would be for you.  It is pretty before you blend it though (see pic above).

After all this experience in making smoothies, I came up with the perfect smoothie recipe to share.  While this smoothie recipe is not exactly the healthiest, it does pack the necessary protein and would satisfy all chocolate cravings.

Steve’s Perfect Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 2 scoops chocolate protein powder, such as BioTrust Low Carb
• 1½ cups chocolate almond milk
• 1 tbsp pure cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp honey roasted peanut butter
• ½ frozen banana
• ½ tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
• ½ tsp coconut extract
• 5 ice cubes
• stevia to taste, if the chocolate almond milk was unsweetened

Directions:

Blend everything together in a blender and enjoy!

Round 2

After the failure of the first round of BioTrust dieting, I wanted to give it one more try (maybe I don’t learn well from my mistakes).  I bought a month’s supply of their entire product line of supplements, then used them all as directed:  AbsorbMax, Pro-X10, OmegaKrill 5X, LowCarb, BCAAMatrix, IC-5, LeptiBurn, Omega Dessert, Protein Cookies, and Protein Bars.

Three weeks into my orgy of pill-popping, I realized something terrifying (again)… my weight wasn’t budging at all!  So rather than deliver news of a second straight month of dieting failure, I sought to fix what I was doing wrong.

I decided to go with a strict Slow-Carb diet for a week before going back to the final week of BioTrust supplements.  After one week of Slow-Carb, I lost a solid 3 pounds (That breaks down to 2 pounds of fat, and 1 pound of lean mass, which I attribute to keeping off weight training while a neck and shoulder injury healed).

Then for the final week of my BioTrust experiment, I was much more religious about following the “BioTrust diet”.  After one week, I only lost 1 pound, but it broke down to 1.5 pounds of fat lost and 0.5 pounds of lean mass gained (still doing no weight training, but I think the cardio and moderate carb intake helped with the lean mass gain).

Let me explain what I mean by the “BioTrust diet”.  It’s pretty much the aforementioned orgy of pill-popping, plus the diet outlined in the book Belly Fat Free.

The Belly Fat Free (BFF) diet follows many of the same principles as the Slow-Carb diet, but in a more balanced toned-down way that actually makes it a bit more complex:

Slow-Carb	BFF
Avoid “white” starchy carbohydrates	Avoid processed carbohydrates, but whole grains and carbohydrates from whole foods are okay
Eat the same few meals over and over again	Eat a variety of foods
Don’t drink calories	Don’t drink calories, except for low-fat or skim milk or real fruit smoothies or protein shakes
Don’t eat fruit	Eat whole fruits
Take one day off per week and go nuts	Take one day off per week and have a “splurge meal” or two, but don’t go nuts.  Eat what you like, but in moderation

As you can see, the diets are very similar and both diets work, but BFF has many exceptions and additional rules that make following it less simple.  Because of this, I like the effective simplicity of Slow-Carb much better, even though it is much more extreme.

The bottom line

After my experiments with the BioTrust product line, my recommendation is to go Slow-Carb to drop down to your ideal weight, then go more of a BFF-style diet for long-term weight maintenance.  I didn’t notice any changes as a result of taking the BioTrust supplements, so I don’t think they’re worth the high price.  However, I still believe BioTrust makes high-quality products.  Just don’t expect them to work like magic.  And of course, regular cardio and weight training really speeds up the weight-loss process and makes for an overall healthier body.