Shilajit Dosing: 5 Mistakes I Made (So You Don't Have To)

So I'm standing in my kitchen at 7 AM, staring at this black tar-like substance in a little glass jar, and I'm thinking: "I just paid $89 for what looks like something I'd scrape off my driveway."

It was March 2022. My testosterone had been hovering around 480 ng/dL for six months - not terrible, but not great for someone who's busting their ass in the gym five days a week. I'd spent probably $300 trying different shilajeet capsules and shilajeet tablets from Amazon, and honestly? I felt nothing. Maybe a placebo energy boost for a day or two, then back to baseline.

My buddy Marcus - the guy who got me into BPC-157 a year earlier - kept telling me I was doing it wrong. "You're buying garbage and taking it at the wrong time," he said over coffee at our usual spot. The barista was playing some indie music I didn't recognize, and I remember feeling defensive. How hard could it be to take a supplement?

Turns out, pretty hard. I was about to learn that the hard way.

TL;DR - The 5 Mistakes:

Disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional. This is just my personal trial-and-error over two years. Always talk to your doctor before trying anything new, especially if you're on medications.

Mistake #1: I Took My Shilajeet at Night (Like an Idiot)

Week one with my first "premium" jar of Himalayan resin - I'd finally upgraded from the cheap naturalshilajit stuff on Amazon - I was taking it around 9 PM. My logic? I read somewhere that minerals absorb better at night. Plus I was already taking my magnesium before bed, so I figured I'd stack them.

By day three, I'm lying in bed at 11:30 PM, eyes wide open, mind racing. Not anxious exactly, just... alert. Too alert. My wife asked if I'd been drinking coffee after dinner. I hadn't.

It took me almost a week to connect the dots. Shilajit - the real stuff, anyway - contains fulvic acid that actually boosts mitochondrial function. Your cells start producing more ATP. That's great for energy, terrible for sleep. I was basically taking an energy supplement right before trying to shut down for the night.

I switched to taking it at 6:30 AM with my first coffee. Within two days, I noticed I wasn't hitting that 2 PM crash anymore. By week two, my gym sessions at 5 PM had noticeably better endurance. I wasn't imagining it - my workout notes showed I was adding reps.

The fix: Take your salajeet in the morning, preferably with your first meal or coffee. The energy boost is real, so use it when you actually need energy.

Mistake #2: I Bought Fake Shilajit (Twice)

Let me tell you about the $34 I completely wasted in April 2022.

I ordered this shilajeet powder from some seller with 4.5 stars on Amazon. The listing had all the right keywords - "pure moomiyo," "Himalayan mumijo," "84 trace minerals." The reviews looked decent. It arrived in like two days with Prime shipping.

The powder was this light brown color, kind of dusty. It dissolved in water really easily - almost too easily. I took it for three weeks. Felt absolutely nothing. Not even placebo effect nothing. Just... nothing.

Then I read an article about how something like 70% of shilajit products sold online are either diluted or completely fake. Real shilajit is expensive to harvest and purify. It comes from rocks in the Himalayas at high altitudes. Some companies just mix fulvic acid powder with random minerals and call it shilajit.

I got paranoid and ordered a lab test through a service Marcus recommended - cost me $78 just for the analysis. The results came back with barely any fulvic acid and concerning levels of lead. I literally threw the jar in the trash that night.

My second mistake? I then bought the cheapest "verified" option I could find. Another $42 down the drain on something that was probably legitimate but so low-quality it might as well have been fake.

What actually worked: I finally bit the bullet and bought PrimaVie, which is a standardized, purified form that's actually tested for heavy metals. Yeah, it cost $89 for a two-month supply. But it was the first time I actually felt the benefits everyone talks about. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

Look for third-party testing certificates. Check for standardized fulvic acid content (should be at least 50%). Pürblack live resin is another legitimate brand I've used. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Mistake #3: I Took Way Too Much (My Stomach Paid the Price)

So it's May 2022, I've got my legit PrimaVie shilajit, and I'm thinking: "If the recommended dose is 250mg, then 500mg should work twice as fast, right?"

Wrong. So incredibly wrong.

Day one at 500mg - I felt amazing. Energetic, focused, like I could run through a wall. I texted Marcus: "Dude, you were right about this stuff."

Day two at 500mg - stomach felt a bit off in the afternoon. Kind of crampy. I ignored it.

Day three - I'm going to spare you the details, but let's just say I became very familiar with my bathroom for about 48 hours. My wife asked if I had food poisoning. I didn't. I had "I'm an idiot who took double the recommended dose of a mineral-dense substance" poisoning.

Here's what I didn't understand: shilagite is PACKED with minerals - over 80 of them according to traditional use. Your body needs time to adjust. Taking too much too fast is like flooding your system. The fulvic acid also increases nutrient absorption, which means you're absorbing more of everything, including things that might upset your stomach in high doses.

I backed way down to just 200mg for a week. No issues. Then slowly increased to 300mg. That seemed to be my sweet spot. I stayed there for months.

Start low: Begin with 200-250mg daily for at least a week. Pay attention to your digestion. You can increase to 300-500mg, but do it gradually. More is not better with mumio mineral supplements.

Mistake #4: I Took It Whenever I Remembered (Inconsistently)

June through July 2022 was a weird time. Work got crazy - we were launching a new product at my company, and I was pulling 60-hour weeks. My supplement routine fell apart.

I'd take my shilajit on Monday and Tuesday, forget Wednesday and Thursday, remember Friday, forget the weekend, take it Monday... you get the idea. I was going through the jar slowly, taking maybe 3-4 doses per week instead of 7.

By mid-July, I'd been "on" shilajit for three months, but I wasn't seeing the testosterone or energy benefits I'd read about. I was about ready to call it quits entirely. Another supplement that didn't work.

Then August hit. Work calmed down. I committed to taking it every single morning at 6:30 AM when I made my coffee. I set a phone reminder. I put the jar right next to my coffee maker so I'd see it.

Week two of consistent dosing - I noticed my recovery between gym sessions felt better. Week three - my morning brain fog was basically gone. Week four - I got bloodwork done for something unrelated, and my doctor mentioned my testosterone had gone from 480 to 612 ng/dL. "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it," he said.

The difference? Consistency. Salajith isn't like caffeine where you feel it immediately. The minerals accumulate. The fulvic acid optimizes your mitochondrial function over time. Missing doses means you never build up the cumulative benefits.

The fix: Take it at the same time every single day. Set a reminder. Put it somewhere you can't miss it. Treat it like brushing your teeth - just part of your morning routine.

Mistake #5: I Didn't Cycle It (and Hit a Plateau)

By November 2022, I'd been taking 300mg of shilajeet every morning for about 12 weeks straight. The first 8 weeks were great. Energy was solid, gym performance was up, mental clarity was noticeably better.

But somewhere around week 9 or 10, I started feeling like the effects were fading. Not gone completely, but definitely muted. I wasn't getting that same morning energy boost. My workout performance plateaued.

I asked Marcus about it at the gym - he was doing deadlifts with that same weird mustache he refuses to shave. "Oh yeah, you gotta cycle it," he said between sets. "Your body adapts. Take a break every couple months."

I didn't believe him at first. Why would I stop something that's working? But the research actually backs this up. Your body can develop tolerance to supplements, especially ones that affect hormones and energy systems. The benefits don't disappear entirely, but they diminish.

I took two weeks completely off in early December. Felt fine - no withdrawal or anything. When I started back up at 300mg in mid-December, it was like flipping a switch again. The energy was back. Mental clarity returned.

Since then, I've been doing 8 weeks on, 2 weeks off. Some people do 12 weeks on, 4 weeks off. I've found 8/2 works better for me - I don't lose as much momentum during the off weeks.

Cycle your moomiyo supplement: Don't take it continuously for months on end. Try 8-12 weeks on, then 2-4 weeks off. Your body needs the break, and you'll get better results when you restart.

What I Wish I'd Known from Day One

It's January 2026 now. I've been using shilajit on and off for almost four years. My current protocol is pretty dialed in:

My testosterone has stayed between 590-650 ng/dL for the past two years. My energy is consistent. I don't crash in the afternoons anymore. Is it all the shilajit? Probably not - I also lift regularly, sleep 7-8 hours, and eat pretty clean. But it's definitely part of the equation.

If I could go back and talk to March 2022 me, standing in that kitchen staring at expensive black resin and feeling skeptical, I'd tell him: "Stop overthinking it. Start with 200mg every morning. Buy the real stuff. Be consistent. Cycle it. That's literally all you need to do."

Would've saved me $300 and three months of wasted time.

Combining Shilajeet with Other Supplements

One thing I learned around month six: kanthamrit and mumio benefits stack really well with certain other supplements, but you have to be smart about it.

I've had good results combining shilajit with:

What I don't combine it with:

If you're on medications, especially for thyroid or diabetes, talk to your doctor before adding salajith or any mineral supplement. It can affect absorption and effectiveness of prescription drugs.

Real Talk: Is Shilajit Worth the Money?

Here's my honest cost-benefit analysis after four years:

I spend roughly $45 per month on quality shilajit (I buy in bulk now, which brings the cost down). That's $540 per year. Sounds like a lot when you say it out loud.

But compare that to:

For me, it's absolutely worth it. But I'm also not struggling financially. If you're on a tight budget, there are cheaper ways to improve testosterone and energy - like fixing your sleep, lifting heavy weights, and eating more protein. Those are free or close to it.

Shilajit is a nice addition to an already solid foundation, not a replacement for basic health habits.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between shilajit resin, powder, and capsules?

Resin is the most potent and traditional form - it's basically the purified tar-like substance straight from the rocks. It's harder to dose precisely but generally more effective. Powder is easier to measure and mix into drinks, but can be less potent and easier to fake. Capsules are the most convenient but often the most expensive per dose and you don't know exactly what you're getting. I prefer resin for effectiveness, but I've used capsules when traveling. The shilajeet capsule price is usually 20-30% higher than equivalent resin.

How long does it take to feel the effects of shilajit?

If you're taking quality stuff consistently, you might notice energy improvements within 5-7 days. But the real benefits - testosterone increases, better recovery, sustained energy - take 3-4 weeks to become obvious. I didn't see significant changes in my bloodwork until week 6. Some people report benefits faster, but I'm skeptical of anyone who says they felt amazing after one dose. That's probably placebo or they happened to have a good day.

Can women take shilajit, or is it just for men?

Women can absolutely take it. My wife actually started using it about a year after I did for energy and iron levels (she tends toward anemia). The testosterone boost is much less pronounced in women, but the mitochondrial support and mineral content benefits everyone. She takes 200mg daily and hasn't had any negative effects. That said, pregnant or breastfeeding women should avoid it - not enough research on safety in those situations.

What does "salajeet in english" mean, and are there other names I should know?

Salajeet is just the Urdu/Hindi spelling of shilajit. In English, it's sometimes called "mineral pitch" or "rock sweat," but those aren't common. Other names include mumijo (Russian), moomiyo, mumio, and mumie. They're all referring to the same thing - that black or dark brown resinous substance from high-altitude rocks. If you see these terms, it's the same supplement, just different cultural naming conventions.

The Five-Second Moment (Looking Back)

It's weird to think about now, but there was this specific moment in August 2022 - week three of taking shilajit consistently every morning - when I realized something had shifted.

I was at my desk around 3 PM on a Wednesday. Normally that's when I'd be dragging, fighting to keep my eyes open, reaching for my third coffee. But that day I just... wasn't tired. I was working on this annoying spreadsheet that usually would've made me want to take a nap, and I was actually focused.

I remember looking at my coffee mug - still half full from the morning - and thinking: "Huh. I didn't need this."

That was the moment I went from "I'm trying this supplement" to "This is actually working." Not some dramatic transformation. Just a quiet Wednesday afternoon where I had energy when I normally wouldn't.

Four years later, that's still what keeps me taking it. Not wild promises or miracle cures. Just consistent, reliable energy and recovery that makes every day a little bit better.

Was it worth the $300 I wasted figuring it out? Yeah, probably. Would I do it differently if I could start over? Absolutely. That's why I wrote this.

If you decide to try shilajit - whether it's shilajeet liquid, mumio mineral, or whatever form you choose - just start smart. Morning dosing. Quality product. Consistent timing. Reasonable dose. Cycle it.

Skip the mistakes I made. Your wallet and your stomach will thank you.