InStone LeanFire (Lean Fire) Fat Burner Review

Posted By Paul on Sep 7, 2012 | 7 comments

The LeanFire fat burner comes to us courtesy of InStone. InStone is action superstar Sylvester Stallone’s line of performance supplements. And what better guy to plug supplements than Stallone? Heck, while his acting may not be on par with say, Brando or DeNiro, he is in awesome shape, and his work ethic cannot be faulted. And who didn’t love the “Rocky” series? I mean, c’mon!

LeanFire is, not surprisingly, InStone’s fat burner offering. It’s a solid but hardly earth shattering product that contains a decent blend of ingredients.

What’s in it?

Well to begin with, you’ll find the combination of Green Tea (reviewed in full here), and caffeine. Green tea has plenty of fat burning powers of its own (details and references in the full review), but one study suggests the combination of green tea and caffeine has additional benefits (Obes Res. 2005 Jul; 13(7): 1195-204). As such, the combination is probably a good one. However…

One word of caution… there is a LOT of caffeine in this product. Yup… 300 mg of pure caffeine alone — and that’s not even including the caffeine content of the green tea in Lean Fire. That’s the equivalent of a minimum of 3 cups of coffee in one serving. If you’re sensitive to caffeine, this is probably not the product for you.

The good news is that a serving size is 3 capsules, and that by cutting the dosage back to a single capsule, you can effectively assess you tolerance for this product, a reduce the likelihood of caffeine-induced side effects.

Other ingredients?

1. L-Tyrosine: an amino acid, and the precursor to several important neurotransmitters, a full review of L-Tyrosine can be found here. L-Tyrosine is a thyroid-hormone precursor, and supplementation may increase thyroid hormone levels and boost your metabolism. Unfortunately, there’s no definitive evidence that this is so. At the appropriate dosage, it can also has a beneficial effect on mood and concentration.

2. Rhodiola rosea root: an adaptogen like ginseng, this may help mental focus as well as energy and stamina. Doesn’t play a huge role in this formula, as studies demonstrating its effectiveness required an intake of 170 mg/day. It’s doubtful LeanFire contains enough Rhodiola to have much of an effect.

3. Evodia rutaecarpa: a Chinese fruit that some claim burns fat by increasing the body’s production of heat, as well as reducing the body’s ability to store fat.

The claims are supposedly “scientifically” proven. The problem is, they haven’t been scientifically proven in humans. There have been some promising “in vitro” studies and some done on rodents, but the jury is still out on whether this product has positive weight loss effect for humans (see this PubMed extract for more details).

4. E & Z Guggelsterones: are standardized from Commiphora mukul (also known as guggul) — the standardized extract of a resin of a tree native to India. This resin has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. A study published in The Journal of Associations of Physicians in India in 1989 showed this substance to have a powerful effect in decreasing blood fats (called triglycerides) AND LDL cholesterol (that’s the “bad” cholesterol), while elevating levels levels of the good cholesterol “HDL.”

Additionally, several studies indicate guggulsterones may stimulate the thyroid gland, resulting in a positive effect upon the body’s main thyroid hormones, T3 and T4.

5. 7-Keto: is a metabolite of DHEA, with no apparent side effects – i.e. no conversion to testosterone or estrogen, and no effect on the sex hormones. What’s promising about 7-keto is its positive effect on thyroid hormone levels — without any adverse effects of any kind.

In quoting a recent study in his superb Fat Loss Revealed (where the control group lost 0.57% of their bodyweight, and the group on 7-keto lost 1.8% – about 6 lbs on average), Will Brinks’ says 7-keto is a potentially promising weight loss agent!

The promising beginning aside, these are clearly early days for 7-keto. More studies need to be completed to more thoroughly demonstrate 7-keto’s fat burning ability.

Bottom line? There are a couple of decent ingredients in this compilation, a few “so-so” ones, and a ton of caffeine (if you’re going to experiment with this product, start with the lowest dose to asses your tolerance).

Of course, a couple of decent ingredients does not make LeanFire a miracle pill… if you’re not willing to make the appropriate changes to your diet lifestyle, LeanFire will do nothing for you. If you are, and you are not overly sensitive to caffeine, LeanFire is as good as product as any to experiment with.