Looking for a fat burning supplement

irgv · May 28, 2013

Hello! I am a 22 year old 5'2 female. I weigh 165 at the moment and I've been trying to lose weight for about a year now (on & off) and i've lost about 20 lbs. About two months ago I really committed to working out. I've been doing crossfit 3 days a week, and I do other activities on the other days such as bike riding or jogging. I'm also eating MUCH healthier than I was... so I'm really bummed because it's taken a long time for me to lose weight. In these past two months I've lost 10 lbs. I want to start drinking a supplement, preferably with natural ingredients, so I can reach my goal faster. I will, of course, keep on exercising and eating healthy but if there's some way for me to get there quicker, I'll do it! I'd really appreciate any info you can give me.

Thanks!

Jrahien · May 28, 2013

There's no natural substance that increases fat-burning that I know of. Green tea extract is shown to increase metabolism a little bit, so you could try that, but I haven't heard of it having a significant effect. Caffeine before exercise is another possibility, in that it would stimulate your system and allow you to expend more energy. It's not a true fat-burner, though.

In terms of substances that do actual fat-burning, there are no safe ones that I know of. All of them are chemicals that do pretty unnatural things to your system. However, to burn more fat, try adding more sprinting intervals to your running and cycling workouts.

TaylorT · May 28, 2013

For a starting point, I would note the amount of calories consumed and build a measured plan around your routine. You are more likely to stick to your goals this way and consistently make progress.

JustinRVA · May 28, 2013

If you're active and you aren't meeting your weight loss goals, then something in your diet has to change. Do you know your macros or your TDEE? I know the formula isn't as simple as saying it like this, but you need to burn more calories every day than you are taking in. Safe weight loss occurs at about a loss of 1/1.5lbs a week. That would mean you need to eat about 500 less calories than you burn in a day. That's 3500 cals a week. If you're losing more than that, you're not doing it safely.

Diet is the most important factor in losing weight. You can't out train bad nutrition.

kiwiinmn · May 28, 2013

JustinRVA said:
If you're active and you aren't meeting your weight loss goals, then something in your diet has to change. Do you know your macros or your TDEE? I know the formula isn't as simple as saying it like this, but you need to burn more calories every day than you are taking in. Safe weight loss occurs at about a loss of 1/1.5lbs a week. That would mean you need to eat about 500 less calories than you burn in a day. That's 3500 cals a week. If you're losing more than that, you're not doing it safely.

Diet is the most important factor in losing weight. You can't out train bad nutrition.

Hate to sound combative BUT in 30+ years in and around the fitness industry I've seen countless trainees "out train bad nutrition" in some cases for a lifetime, in others just for the short term... some on ped's others not and just blessed with good genetics; some older and many much younger... This is a term coined by someone that wanted to make their nutritional plans more "wantable"... Nutritional planning is very important but is nothing without a good well developed periodized exercise program geared toward muscle hypertrophy and fat reduction. For the majority of the population at least.

Diet and Exercise are comparable when talking about fat loss. Research, and a congressional enquiry into the weight loss industry in the late 90's suggests that not more than 10% of the population lose and keep fat off with nutritional planning only for more than 2 years. In actual fact due to the loss of muscle tissue during these periods of {starvation) dieting your chances of losing and keeping your unwanted fat off with nutritional changes only is about as good as doing nothing at all... thats why you see all the disclaimers on all the diet ads you see everywhere. This was congress' answer to the problem. "when used in conjunction with an exercise plan" "results not typical" "individual results may vary" have become common place in the diet supplement industry. Don't you think it's strange that there are more diet programs available, more information, more trainers, more supplement and weight loss companies incorporating every day and the population is getting FATTER at an alarming rate...

Fitness and fat loss is a life time endeavour, not something that you rip into 2 months before summer arrives to try and squeeze into that size 1 bikini and then forget about it again until next summer comes around again.

And for the original poster should she be reading this... tdee = total daily energy expenditure. I have 100 bucks saying she had no clue what this meant.

kiwiinmn · May 28, 2013

irgv said:
Hello! I am a 22 year old 5'2 female. I weigh 165 at the moment and I've been trying to lose weight for about a year now (on & off) and i've lost about 20 lbs. About two months ago I really committed to working out. I've been doing crossfit 3 days a week, and I do other activities on the other days such as bike riding or jogging. I'm also eating MUCH healthier than I was... so I'm really bummed because it's taken a long time for me to lose weight. In these past two months I've lost 10 lbs. I want to start drinking a supplement, preferably with natural ingredients, so I can reach my goal faster. I will, of course, keep on exercising and eating healthy but if there's some way for me to get there quicker, I'll do it! I'd really appreciate any info you can give me. Thanks!

The comments about energy expenditure v energy intake are very relevant. You have to also know how many calories you are actually burning up during exercise or for that matter on a daily basis. Its a well known fact that people cannot accurately guess their daily calorie intake, daily caloric expenditure and their bodyfat levels.

Try and get a trainer or someone you trust in the industry to observe your workouts and calculate approx how many calories you're using, I bet you'll be surprised at how many your NOT burning up. There are many good websites that will help you calculate your dailies and also give you suggestions on your nutritional requirements. drsquat.com is one of the best

The suggestion of losing 1.5 - 2lbs per week as being a good safe reduction is correct so you're already on the right track... keep in mind also that it has taken you 20 odd years to put this weight on so your not going to lose it all in a few short months. You should look at this as a life time endeavour and keep the aim at losing that 1-2 lbs a week and when you get to your ideal body weight move to a maintenance plan and keep up with your exercise for your lifetime... you'll love it and be in the shape you want to be every summer, winter, spring AND fall...

There are no secret potions or powders or pill. Hard work and a good sound nutritional programs is all that works in this endeavor. It's my guess without knowing more about you that you're not actually eating enough food... or the right nutritional makeup.

Happy to give you more detailed info if your interested...
Hope this helps some.

bosshoss · Jun 1, 2013

It is true that a sound diet and fitness program is all that you need to lose weight and body fat, but fat burning supplements do help. Thermogenic fat burners that have caffeine in them are great for increasing your energy, focus, and metabolism. The key to them is to understand how much caffeine is good for your body. Have to much and the side-effects will tear you up, not have enough and they will not be effective.

Zilpherest · Jun 1, 2013

Instead of trying a supplement, have you ever thought about changing your diet? what you could try to do to lose weight on top of going to the gym is try lowing the amounts of sugar you take in per day, from there lower the amount of fat as well. Make sure you eat every three hours keeping your body on a constant energy level. No granola, no almonds. after you do that for a week and you get used to the huge diet change, go into it fully!

Wake up and eat something within 45 minutes of being awake, make sure there is less than 7 grams of sugar, and less than 10 grams of fat. NO BREAD!!!! Bread rises by yeast right? What triggers yeast??? SUGAR!

have snacks every couple of hours (3 is perfect maybe 4) and follow the same rules no more than 7 grams of sugar no more than 10 grams of fat no bread.

Most of all you need to cut out alcohol as much as possible. Same concept with beer as it is in bread. Still has yeast, but not only that, from what I have looked into the alcohol content turns into sugar after you drink it. (I'm not 100% positive on that one... I never really looked too far into it)

Make sure to eat every 3 to 4 hours though even if you plan on going to bed 15 minutes after your marked time.

Another key aspect is sleep!

Try to stay away from supplements that help you lose weight because as soon as you stop taking them, your body usually adds all of the weight back in time and stores it as complete fat.