Here we’ll be taking an in-depth review of Skald manufactured by Beldt Labs.
Skald Oxydynamic Fat Scorcher has been around in the weight loss market for a while now, making it one of the many fat burners available. This particular supplement to get cut is tied to boxing and MMA sports.
Like many fat-burning supplements, this contains a range of ingredients that can benefit those looking to lose weight.
What Is Skald Oxydynamic Fat Scorcher?
The manufacturer, Beldt Labs is based in California since 2011 and specializes in creating supplements mainly for the USA MMA and athletic markets. They have some pro athletes endorsing their products such as Stephen Bonnar from the UFC Hall Of Fame. Of course, it’s best to ignore marketing hype when it comes to dietary supplements. Ingredients and results are far more important!
The company has been known to produce fat-burning supplements and the latest in its product line claims to be the first fat burner with respiratory support.
Each capsule of Skald is formulated to include ingredients from natural extracts. Aside from its natural ingredients, Skald also contains some vitamins and minerals that can offer claimed benefits to the body.
Key Facts
| Manufacturer | Beldt Labs |
| Uses | Increased energy, Fat loss, Appetite control, Respiratory system support |
| Key Ingredients | Green Tea Extract, Caffeine, and N-Acetyl-Tyrosine |
| Price | $49 per bottle |
What Does Beldt Labs Skald Do?
Unlike other supplements that make use of just one mechanism of action, Skald is claimed to work in a multi-dynamic manner.
The Skald fat burner works by, increasing the rate of fat metabolism, increasing energy expenditure, limiting fat absorption, and helping to reduce calorie intake by suppressing appetite. On its sales page, it is said to provide three main benefits which are:
- Energy & weight loss
- Respiratory support
- Appetite suppression
Some Skald users have also reported experiencing more benefits like improved cognitive function and increased mental focus.
The powder version of the product also includes a “hydration complex”. This seems to be a mixture of electrolytes including potassium, magnesium, sodium, calcium, and some extra taurine.
Skald performs these functions because of its proprietary blend of ingredients. We’ll discuss this later because propriety blends make it difficult to know exactly how much of each ingredient is in a product.
How Does Skald Work?
With the 3 main functions mentioned above, we can match up the ingredients to these claims:
Energy & Weight Loss
The first mechanism is by boosting the metabolism of fats. It achieves this by forcing the body to make use of the stored fat in the body as a source of energy to meet up with the high energy levels required for workouts.
It does this by increasing the metabolic activities of the body to burn more calories, thereby, leaving the body with no choice but to turn to the stored fat in the body as the only alternative source of energy.
Ingredients that are known to support this include green tea extract and caffeine. Just like the Instant Knockout fat burner, this contains plenty of caffeine.
But as Skald contains a proprietary blend of ingredients, we don’t know how much of each there is.
Respiratory Support
Respiratory support is mentioned a lot with this product. With improved respiratory function and breathing, you may improve exercise performance and be able to push yourself harder during workouts. Elecampane root powder and Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus leaf) powder are ingredients that are used to treat bronchitis and asthma.
Note that only the powder version seems to contain Mullein, not the capsule product.
Appetite Suppression
The third mechanism is by suppressing appetite to regulate the amount of calorie intake. You cannot lose weight if your calorie intake is matching your calorie expenditure. To keep this in check and ensure the effectiveness of the product, the body’s demand for food needs to be duly regulated.
Skald Ingredients
The Skald fat burner ingredients are listed under a propriety blend of ingredients that they call their Oxydynamic Blend. This makes it difficult to know the exact amounts of each ingredient.
The product is manufactured in a GMP compliant facility which has requirements on monitorin and manufacturing processes.
Skald differs from most other weight loss supplements by being offered in both capsule and powder forms. The ingredients included in these 2 versions are quite different. For instance, Skald powder contains an electrolyte blend of sodium, magnesium, potassium, and calcium plus added taurine.
These 2 versions also have different dosages.
The general ingredients of Skald include; Caffeine Anhydrous, N-Acetyl-Tyrosine, Green Leaf Extract, Bitter Orange Fruit Extract, White Willow Bark Extract, Verbascus Thapus Leaf Extract, Elecampane, Black Pepper (Bioperine), Gelatin, and so on.
Natural ECA Stack
You may have heard of the ECA stack consisting of Ephedrine, Caffeine, and Aspirin. This was popularly used by bodybuilders for weight loss in the past before one of the key ingredients was banned by the FDA. This was following safety concerns after there were deaths linked to supplements containing ephedra and ephedrine.
Skald seems to be trying to create a natural version of the ECA stack. It contains caffeine as well as Synephrine (Bitter Orange Extract) which has a similar molecular structure to ephedrine. There is also White Will Bark, which is often referred to as a natural aspirin.
Caffeine Anhydrous
As with the majority of fat burners, there’s no surprise to find Caffeine Anhydrous on the ingredient list as it is scientifically proven to cause thermogenesis, boosting metabolic rate resulting in weight loss. There is also a significant overlap between fat burners and pre-workout products. This overlap lies in the fact that they both contain stimulants to enhance brain function and energy production.
Each capsule of Skald contains 110mg of caffeine. Beldt recommends starting with a single pill to assess tolerance and then moving on to the full dose of capsules.
A full serving of Skald contains more caffiene than 2 cups of coffee.
However, stimulants like Caffeine Anhydrous can act differently for different people and can be influenced by preexisting tolerance and weight. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to understand the body’s reaction to the capsule.
N-Acetyl-Tyrosine
N-Acetyl-Tyrosine is a soluble form of L-Tyrosine which is an amino acid commonly found in meat, milk, and nuts. While it is used in nootropic supplements to improve mental focus, there is limited research on its effectiveness.
L-Tyrosine has been found to reduce stress during exercise.
But for effective stress reduction for acute stressors, the amount taken should be between 500 and 1000mg. Since all of the ingredients per pill only come to 341mg, it’s unlikely that there is enough in each serving for this.
Green Tea Extract
Green Tea Leaf Extract is another ingredient commonly found in fat-loss formulations. It contains the catechin EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate). Clinical studies have shown the effectiveness of green tea extract in weight loss due to its thermogenic properties and the promotion of fat oxidation.
A study found that participants burned an additional 179 calories, on average over 24 hours.
While green tea extract can aid weight loss, the results are not particularly exciting. A study consisting of 10 men, showed an increase in burning 4% more calories over 24 hours.
Bitter Orange Fruit Extract (Synephrine)
Bitter Orange Fruit Extract (Citrus Aurantium) is taken from the Bitter Orange tree which is native to Asia. It contains the alkaloid Synephrine which is often included in weight loss products due to its effects of improving lipolysis and increasing basal metabolic rate.
Synephrine is similar to ephedra. Ephedra was commonly utilized for weight loss but was banned in 2004 by the FDA due to its potential effects on the heart.
Some research suggests that it is effective for weight loss when combined with caffeine and St. John’s wort. But it does not improve strength in those who weight train. The combination of Synephrine, Caffeine, and Willow Bark will likely create a thermogenic effect to increase body temperate and blood flow to the muscles.
Synephrine can increase blood pressure and heart rate in healthy adults. It is also a banned substance by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Theobromine
Theobromine is an extract taken from the common cacao plant and is responsible for the bitter taste of dark chocolate. It has been found to have similar effects to caffeine but more mildly. It also has appetite-suppressing properties.
Theobromine functions to improve circulatory and respiratory systems. It is suggested that the anti-inflammatory potential of it may be responsilble for this.
Research suggests that it helps to reduce blood pressure. In a study involving 84 patients, theobromine was shown to significantly lower blood pressure in doses between 250 and 1000mg. But it is unlikely that Skald contains this volume of theobromine.
Black Pepper Extract (Bioperine)
Black Pepper Fruit Extract is a common yet effective ingredient in fat loss and pre-workout products. The active ingredient Piperine has been shown to enhance the bioavailability and absorption of other ingredients.
BioPerine is the brand name for Piperine and was found to enhance absorption rates by at least %30.
This is why some people add black pepper to turmeric tea.
Skald Fat Burner Dosage
Skald comes in either powder or capsule form. It is recommended that tolerances are assessed before going to the full dose.
Beldt Labs recommend using the product in cycles of 6 weeks on and 2 weeks off.
Capsule Form
For the pill form of Skald, it is recommended to start with one capsule daily before gradually increasing it to two (if desired) depending on the body’s response to it.
The capsule should be taken in about 15-30 minutes on an empty stomach before breakfast. A second pill can be taken 5 or 6 hours later.
The packaging comes with some dosage limitations:
- Don’t take more than 2 capsules at a time
- Don’t take more than 3 capsules in 24 hours
- Don’t stack Skald with other stimulant-based products.
Powder Form
The powder form of Skald seems to be targeted as more of a traditional pre-workout. The general dose for powdered skald is one scoop mixed with 6-8 ounces of water to be taken 15-30 minutes before workout on an empty stomach.
This also comes in similar precautions as the capsules. They include;
- Don’t take more than 1 and a half scoops at a time
- Don’t take more than 1 and a half scoops in a day
- Don’t stack Skald with other stimulant-based products.
Before and After
After a good bulking period, it came to the time of year to lose some fat. I have many years of experience losing weight and using fat burners. I know that with a healthy calorie deficit and without a fat burner, I can healthily lose around 2lbs a week.
I added Skald to test its ability and compare it to the results of other fat burners that I’ve used in the past.
- Before: 196lbs
- After: 185lbs
I lost about 11lbs in 4 weeks after using Skald. That averages to around 2.7lbs per week. 0.7lbs more than if I didn’t use anything.
Side Effects Of Skald
Skald does not have any severe side effects because the manufacturer claims that it does not contain dangerous ingredients. However, as with any supplement, diet pills especially, exceeding the recommended dosage can lead to unwanted side effects.
To avoid long term effects and bring tolerance down again, Beldt recommended taking 2 weeks off after every 6 weeks of use.
A full dose of Skald will mean consuming 330mg of caffeine per day. Depending on your current caffeine tolerance level, this can lead to sleep problems, agitation, and an upset stomach.
Synephrine has been linked to some side effects in the past. Research studies have mixed results regarding their safety.
A small number of customers have mentioned having heartburn and bloating from using the formulation.
Skald Vs Hydroxycut
Compared with Pro Clinical Hydroxycut:
- Skald contains a slightly higher amount of caffeine per serving at 220mg vs 200mg.
- Skald contains respiratory-supporting ingredients.
- Hydroxycut Pro Clinical contains Vitamin D and Vitamin B.
- Both contain weight loss-supporting fruit extracts.
Compared with Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite:
- Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite contains a higher amount of caffeine at 270mg vs 22omg.
- Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite contains theanine for added focus.
Skald Fat Scorcher Review Summary
Skald Oxydynamic Fat Scorcher is a popular supplement. But is it worth the price?
The bottom line is that it certainly contains a strong list of active ingredients (even if we don’t know how much of each is present) that can offer potential benefits. These have been shown to help with fat loss, enhance metabolic rate and improve energy.
There is plenty of good feedback and reviews online regarding the effectiveness of the fat burner supplement. So while it is more of a premium product, it could be just what you need to get past your weight loss plateau. The company’s money-back guarantee is also nice for peace of mind.
Leave A Comment