I get so many people asking me about fat loss supplements and fat burners alongside my views on every potion or trick going to increase their metabolic rate. My answers are fairly standard, they don’t work, you don’t need them and it is a marketing ploy to make money off the people looking for a quick fix. I know first hand that you can get to 4% body fat without supplements and likewise few to none of the natural body building champions every use them and they compete at 2-3% body fat.
There is a drug that can remove fat that professional bodybuilders use (Steroid bodybuilders) but if you misuse it then you can end up killing yourself. There are some products that raise metabolic rate. However, even these drugs have the same unknown side effect that all fat burners, fat strippers and other products have to accelerate your metabolic rate. That is, they magnify the underlying issue that every person faces when trying to get in shape. They increase your hunger, your cravings and accentuate your lack of energy. If you accelerate your metabolic rate by 20% then expect a similar increase in hunger and cravings and a proportional drop in energy if you resist increasing food intake.
What this means is the game of fat loss is exactly the same even if the fat loss products worked (which they don’t and they waste £££/$$$). I have discussed previously how to raise your metabolic rate through using food alone, read how here>>> This happens every time I am in a muscle building phase and guess what happens? My appetite increases alongside my metabolism and if I just let my hunger dictate eating I often end up gaining body fat. This is why I measure my food more during a muscle building phase than a diet phase.
So if the ‘magic supplements’ you want to take increased hunger and craving then you are back to square one. How do you control you desire for food vs moving more???
Another point of fat loss supplements is even if they were to work the amount they raise your metabolic rate would be small. A 10% raise would be 200 calories which you could eat in about 20 seconds if you not observing the basic rules of getting in shape.
Is there any place for such supplements?
Well, I am a result-ist, if you stick to your diet better while using them, albeit via placebo or other mechanisms then I am open to it (assuming you have not done any damage to yourself while using them). The placebo effect in such supplements can be powerful. This was seen in trials of the HCG Diet. This diet has you eat 500 calories a day and receive hormone injections which ‘suppress hunger and give you energy’. However, the placebo group also received these same benefits of energy and hunger control without having any hormone administered. So to that extent, if anything helps you improve results, I am open minded to it’s use. However, when it comes to fat burners don’t kid yourself, any fat loss supplement is garbage and you should steer well clear in almost every case.
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